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Pat Cummins will captain his first one-day series against England while Australia’s Test squad remains stable

Andrew McGlashan08-Nov-2022Travis Head has returned to Australia’s ODI squad for the series against England and Marcus Harris has been included as the spare batter for the Test matches against West Indies.Following the early exit from the T20 World Cup, a full-strength squad has been named for the three games against England in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne which will be Pat Cummins’ first series as ODI captain.Head fills the vacancy created by Aaron Finch’s one-day retirement having been unavailable for selection for the early-season series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand due to paternity leave. He has had an excellent 2022 in ODIs with 310 runs at 62 and a strike-rate of 112.72 when he faced Pakistan in Sri Lanka.In the Pakistan series, where he made 101 and 89 in consecutive matches, Head played in place of David Warner but now will open alongside him.Related

• 'All the skills are there' – Ashton Agar eyes Test recall for India tour

• Ashton Agar and Todd Murphy named in PM's XI with India tour in mind

• Hayden: 'Australian team has some thinking to do' after T20 World Cup exit

• How Starc's lack of IPL cricket has left him off the pace

• Australia's hometown exit: a campaign that started badly and never got going

“Our focus is to continue to build a squad with an eye to next year’s World Cup under Pat as the new ODI captain, so it’s an important series,” national selector George Bailey said.”Travis Head…has demonstrated flexibility in the types of roles he can play in our ODI line-up. Our next opportunity in the ODI format will be in India next year which will allow us to experience similar conditions as for the World Cup in October.”Sean Abbott misses out from earlier in the season despite a couple of impressive performances against New Zealand as does Josh Inglis. The multi-format quicks have all been included, along with Cameron Green, and they will then back up into the Test summer which begins in Perth on November 30.The squad for the two matches against West Indies is very stable with perhaps the only talking point the retention of Harris. After losing his place during the Ashes when Usman Khawaja’s prolific form led to a reshuffle of the order, Harris was the reserve batter in Pakistan then part of the Australia A squad in Sri Lanka either side of playing county cricket for Gloucestershire where he made 726 runs at 42.70.He has made a solid start to the domestic season with 287 runs in three Sheffield Shield matches although it is Victoria team-mate Peter Handscomb who is well ahead at the top with 518 runs.Scott Boland, who has not yet been able to add to his three Ashes Tests where he took 18 wickets at 9.55, is the extra quick in the squad behind Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. None of that trio will play Shield cricket before the Tests, but that is a preparation that Australia have become comfortable with in recent seasons. Green’s inclusion in the ODI squad means he is unlikely to feature in any Shield cricket this year with the India Test tour due to start in early February.Australia ODI squad vs England Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam ZampaAustralia Test squad vs West Indies Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

Match referee Andy Pycroft ruled that the surface provided “almost no assistance to any type of bowler”

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2022The Rawalpindi pitch has earned a “below average” rating for the second time in 2022. The latest rating follows the first Test between Pakistan and England earlier this month, in which England racked up a record 506 runs on day one to set up an eventual 74-run win.Though the match ended in a decisive result, there was little joy for the bowlers particularly in the first two innings, which produced seven centuries and totals of 657 and 579. England scored at well above a run a ball in both their innings.On day two of the Test match, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had termed the pitch “embarrassing”, and suggested that the contest it produced was “not a good advert for Test cricket”.Related

• ICC rescinds demerit point for Rawalpindi pitch that hosted Pakistan-England Test

• PCB appeals against ICC's decision to award Rawalpindi pitch demerit point

• Babar Azam: 'We didn't get the pitch we wanted'

• Switch Hit podcast: Pindi-monium

• Why does Ramiz Raja think Pakistan have a problem with their pitches?

ICC match referee Andy Pycroft seemed to agree with him while handing out a “below average” rating and a demerit point on Tuesday.”It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler,” Pycroft said. “That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals.”The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per the ICC guidelines.”In March, when Rawalpindi hosted the first Test of Australia’s tour of Pakistan, bat dominated ball to the extent that 1187 runs were scored for the loss of only 14 wickets over five days. That pitch had earned a “below average” rating too, with match referee Ranjan Madugalle noting that the Test match did not “represent an even contest between bat and ball”.Rawalpindi has now received demerit points in successive Test matches. Demerit points remain active for a five-year rolling period, and a venue stands to be suspended from hosting international cricket for a period of five years if it accumulates five demerit points. A “below average” rating earns a venue one demerit point, while “poor” and “unfit” ratings earn three and five demerit points, respectively.

A strong Australian contingent will head to the IPL with plenty to play for ahead of the T20 World Cup

Andrew McGlashan18-Mar-20245:25

Green? Williamson? Rabada? Who makes the cut?

T20 World Cup push for Cameron Green, Spencer Johnson

Twelve or perhaps 13 of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad are locked in. But national selector George Bailey has gone on record saying that IPL performances will be factored into the final decision-making of the spots up for grabs.Cameron Green and Spencer Johnson are at the top of the list with most to gain over the next few weeks. Green was deliberately allowed to focus on red-ball cricket ahead of the New Zealand Test series rather than playing the T20Is and the result was compelling with his 174 not out in Wellington. Part of the selectors’ thinking was they knew he would have a full IPL to work on his T20 game.Related

• The constant and universal appeal of Mitchell Starc

• World Cup hero Travis Head arrives in India for the IPL

• Delhi Capitals sign Fraser-McGurk as Ngidi's replacement

• Green-powered RCB short on legspin and death-bowling options

• No late Sheffield Shield final availability for IPL-bound Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh

“It’s a constant conversation with multi-format players, working out the priority at any given time, and making sure they get what they need but he’s certainly one whose name I think, as we are finalising that 15 for the World Cup, will be firmly in the mix,” Bailey said.If Green hits his straps for Royal Challengers Bangalore (providing he can make the XI), having been traded from Mumbai Indians, his all-round skillset will make him a compelling option. The question could be whether he covers more bases than Steven Smith.Cameron Green has been traded from Mumbai Indians to RCB•BCCI

Meanwhile, Johnson currently sits behind Nathan Ellis in the pace pecking order should Australia take just the four specialist quicks. However, Johnson is doing all he can to force the selectors’ hands having had an impressive BBL before bowling with pace and hostility against West Indies and, briefly, New Zealand. If he lives up to his AU$1.78 million price tag with Gujarat Titans he could be a compelling option.”It’s going to be tight for those last few spots, I don’t envy George’s [Bailey] position,” Matthew Wade said after the recent series against New Zealand. “I wouldn’t want to be picking the 15, there’s going to be a couple of unlucky players. But…there’s always injury around. Guys that are outside the 15 may get opportunities as well so we’re happy we’ve got so much depth.”

The return of Mitchell Starc

It’s been a long time between IPL outings for Mitchell Starc. Through a combination of injury and prioritising Test cricket, his last appearance came in 2015 where he was part of an RCB side with a top three of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Starc’s overall IPL record reads 34 wickets at 20.38 with an economy of 7.16 and in the 2015 season, he claimed 20 at 14.55 with an economy of just 6.76.This time Starc will be with Kolkata Knight Riders and returns to the competition having smashed the record for the highest price with an eye-watering AUD$4.43 million at the auction, shortly after team-mate Pat Cummins had set a new record himself.”No doubt there’ll be some pressure that comes with the territory, but having the extra experience I have from my last IPL hopefully helps,” Starc said shortly after the paddle came down.Given Australia’s focus on Tests and ODIs over the last 18 months, Starc’s recent two outings in the T20I series against New Zealand were his first in the format since the 2022 T20 World Cup.”There’s a T20 World Cup, it’s a nice lead-in to that with the IPL and the quality of cricket that tournament presents. In terms of the [Australia] schedule, it’s much more quiet,” he said after getting his IPL deal. “Instead of bowling in the nets in April and May – generally there’s no batter there – so it’s much more interesting to go and play in an IPL and test myself against the best.”0:45

New SRH captain Cummins banking on inputs from Head, Vettori

Weary bodies and minds

The schedule might be quieter internationally for Australia this winter, but the IPL is yet more cricket for some players who have had a packed couple of years. While there is a considerable gap after the T20 World Cup in June, there will be some fingers crossed that key names aren’t burnt out before that tournament finishes.Travis Head, who will appear for Sunrisers Hyderabad, is a player that comes to mind. After the highs of the ODI World Cup, where he raced against time to enter midway through due to his broken hand, his form tailed off significantly during the home summer with his century in Adelaide the only major contribution. He was given a break during the white-ball matches against West Indies but struggled in the Tests against New Zealand. He is pencilled in to have a key role at the top of the order in the T20 World Cup.”There’s a lot of stresses,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said after the New Zealand Test series. “He was coming off a significant injury through that World Cup, and it takes a lot out of you mentally and physically. There’s no doubt we can learn some lessons on the back of Trav’s entry into all three formats and how to give him a bit of rest in the Australian summer.”Justin Langer returns to coaching in the IPL with Lucknow•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Justin Langer’s coaching comeback

Another interesting Australian angle at this year’s IPL is the return of Justin Langer to the coaching scene for the first time since his acrimonious exit from the national team. He will take charge of Lucknow Super Giants having replaced Andy Flower in the role.Langer will have a strong Western Australia flavour around him with Marcus Stoinis retained and WA and Perth Scorchers batter Ashton Turner picked up at the auction. However, Turner is coming off knee surgery that curtailed his domestic season. He has also brought WA and Perth Scorchers coach Adam Voges on as an assistant.Langer had outstanding success with Scorchers in the BBL and was in charge of Australia when they won the 2021 T20 World Cup. But it will be fascinating to see how he deals with the pressures of the IPL, particularly if LSG don’t make a good start.

All the Australia players at the IPL

Cameron Green (RCB), Glenn Maxwell (RCB), Mitchell Starc (KKR), Nathan Ellis (PK), Mitchell Marsh (DC), David Warner (DC), Jake Fraser-McGurk (DC), Jhye Richardson (DC), Adam Zampa (RR), Tim David (MI), Pat Cummins (SRH), Travis Head (SRH), Marcus Stoinis (LSG), Ashton Turner (LSG), Spencer Johnson (GT), Matthew Wade (GT)*The story was amended after Jason Behrendorff’s withdrawal

The captain’s two wickets threatened a huge result but West Indies’ depth saw them home

Shashank Kishore03-Jun-2024

John Kariko’s excellent spell put pressure on West Indies•ICC via Getty Images

From being labelled as the nearly men in the cut-throat world of associate cricket, the tide is beginning to turn for Papua New Guinea. They missed the bus in 2014 and 2016 after frittering away a good chance to qualify but are now playing their second T20 World Cup in three years, after breaking through for the first time in the UAE in 2021.Sunday’s T20 World Cup 2024 opener against West Indies was only their eighth against a Full Member and, for a while reputation counted for little as PNG smelt an upset. After having huffed and puffed to 136, they had West Indies on the racks at 97 for 5 in 16 overs. Then their dreams were shattered as Andre Russell and Roston Chase bailed West Indies out.Related

• Chase seals West Indies' jittery victory against spirited PNG

• 'I had to take it home' – Calm Chase eases West Indies' opening-game nerves

Assad Vala, the PNG captain, felt they may have been in a position to challenge West Indies with a “few more runs towards the end” after playing catch up for most parts of their innings. From 34 for 3, PNG recovered courtesy a fine 43-ball 50 by Sese Bau. Then towards the end, Kiplin Doriga injected momentum to make an 18-ball 27.”I think batting as well, I think we didn’t play the crucial moments the way we wanted,” Vala said. “They had batsmen towards the end, which we didn’t. I think we missed out on a few runs towards the end as well. But I think credit to them. They got a lot of experience. So, I think we played really well. We executed our skills really well.”We just couldn’t execute towards the end when we were put under pressure, but really happy with the overall performance of the boys. We didn’t post the target we wanted, but they fought till the end, so really happy with the effort.”Assad Vala’s two wickets had PNG dreaming•ICC via Getty Images

With Tony Ura, PNG’s highest run-getter and arguably their most destructive batter, gone early and Vala out for 21 to a sensational catch at backward point by Chase, PNG needed someone to step up, and Bau’s efforts gave them chance to be in the contest.Fast bowler Ale Nao dismissed Johnson Charles first ball. They should have had Nicholas Pooran first ball, but for a lbw shout PNG chose not to review, with replays confirming the ball had pitched in line and would have hit middle and leg. Pooran eventually got going as he went after Bau to hit him for 18 in his only over, but his dismissal for a run-a-ball 27 in the ninth over had PNG turn the screws as the spinners came storming back.Vala dismissed Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford, while John Kariko, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner, built on his wicket of Pooran to finish with figures of 4-0-17-1 to count as one of many positives for PNG. All told, PNG were in the contest until the 18h over.”I think Sese Bau batted really well. And John Kariko, the left-arm spinner bowled really well. I think, Alei upfront with the new ball. There was a lot of stuff that we did really well,” Vala said. “I think there are a lot of positives to take out from the game today. I think the overall performance was really good, but just the key moments that we just couldn’t put the nail in the coffin. But I think as I said before the effort was outstanding, we kept fighting against a really good side so happy, really happy.”How crucial did the decision to not review Pooran prove to be? Vala pointed to their inexperience of using technology as the reason for the one that got away.”It’s a bit of a funny story,” Vala said. “It was a bit like in street cricket, we don’t use a lot of DRS, so there was a lot of calls coming from everywhere – take it don’t, take it, take it, don’t take it. I didn’t know who to listen to but it is something we can learn from like I said we need to get the communication right when we [play] in the upcoming games.”

Filling in as opener, Babar Azam had a good day with the bat but was left to ponder what could have been

Danyal Rasool06-Jan-2025Babar Azam found himself rooted to the crease in disgust. He couldn’t believe the shot he’d played after being set on a surface where there was limited threat from either the pitch or the bowlers. He must have thought he’d never make that mistake again, but two sessions later it happened.So, on a day where Babar scored two half-centuries, the bigger talking point surrounded his shot selection. Well set during Pakistan’s first innings in the opening session, Kwena Maphaka had bowled one well down leg side, and managed to coax Babar into tickling it through to the wicketkeeper. It has been a persistent issue with Babar – the strangle down leg. But then again, so is his manner of dismissal two sessions later when, in the dying throes of the day, he threw his hands at a wide delivery from Marco Jansen, and edged it straight to gully.Related

• Pakistan need to know what they want from Test cricket

• Babar, Masood fight for Pakistan after South Africa enforce follow-on

• Stats: Masood and Babar raise the follow-on bar for openers

• Masood practices the art of not letting go

Babar admitted the dismissals meant it was disappointment rather than relief that dominated his emotions. “I’m very disappointed with both innings. I started well, but didn’t finish well,” he said. “If you settle, you must go much bigger. That is why I was a bit upset. There were just 15 minutes left.”It was all the more frustrating because South Africa posed no danger of dismissing either him or Shan Masood, who scored an unbeaten hundred. Having sent down nearly a hundred overs across the two innings, their discipline over the last two sessions had been poor; they bowled 10 no-balls in 49 overs of the second innings. There was almost no swing or movement of the seam, and Pakistan’s openers appeared set to finish the day unbeaten, looking to salvage something after the disaster of the first.”The conditions here are different from Centurion,” Babar said. “When you come to South Africa, you don’t expect that [the pitch will be so flat]. With the new ball, it was a bit challenging, but once you settled down and built a partnership, it became easier. But there are some rough patches; you saw a couple of overs from Maharaj to Shan which got some turn and bounce. So the spinner is a bit of a challenge for the batter. But against the fast bowler, if you’re settled, just play your normal game.”There was, however, some relief for Babar. After about two years without a Test fifty, he had scored three on the trot, a run stretching back to the second innings in Centurion. However, all three dismissals were down to poor shot selection rather than bowlers working him out.”I should have capitalised during our partnership, but unfortunately it didn’t happen,” he said. “In the second innings, my partnership with Shan has helped us come back into the game a little. Tomorrow, we have to try and build a partnership, and the longer those partnerships are the more pressure there’ll be on South Africa.”But there is a bigger picture, one that his continued struggle of late has put him in a better position to appreciate. He is the highest run-scorer for Pakistan this series, and now has something every batter values: competitive time at the crease under his belt.”Things change in life all the time,” he said. “I learned a lot during this time [of poor form] when what I wanted to do I wasn’t able to do, and when I couldn’t do the things that people expected of me. I just kept telling myself to stay calm, and believe that my ability and hard work would be vindicated, and to try and enjoy myself. But what was really important was to spend some time on the pitch, and thankfully [that has happened this series].”

Pakistan’s hopes slip further after a heartbreaking loss while Bangladesh and Netherlands aim to keep their tournament alive

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-20231:24

Pujara: South Africa seem to lack a clear game plan while chasing

—Fixtures | Squads | Points table | Tournament Index

Top Story: South Africa rise to the top by the barest of margins in thriller

As Keshav Maharaj exploded into celebration, having swung Mohammad Nawaz to the fine-leg boundary for the winning runs with the No. 11 for company, waves of relief washed over his team-mates watching from the dressing room. South Africa had thrown off the yoke of the choke by the barest of margins against Pakistan in Chennai to chase successfully for the first time in their World Cup 2023 campaign.The one-wicket win took them level with India on ten points at the top of the table, but ahead on net run rate, though they have played an extra game.The victory was set up by their bowlers – Tabraiz Shamsi and Marco Jansen in particular – who dismissed Pakistan for 270 in 46.4 overs despite them having been well placed at 225 for 5 in the 40th. And when Aiden Markram – who overtook Virat Kohli to become the second-highest run scorer of this World Cup during his innings of 91 – and David Miller were putting together their 70-run stand for the fifth wicket, a South African win looked comfortable. All that changed when Miller edged Shaheen Shah Afridi behind in the 34th over, with the target still 65 runs away.Click here to read the full report

Match reaction: Maharaj caps unlikely World Cup comeback with cathartic winning role

South Africa’s last pair – Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj – rejoices after sealing a one-wicket win•AFP/Getty Images

Keshav Maharaj was just having dinner around the time when Pakistan’s concussion substitute Usama Mir pinned Rassie van der Dussen lbw for 21. South Africa were 121 for 3 at that point, needing a further 150 runs off almost 30 overs. Given South Africa’s gun middle-order – Aiden Markram at No.4, Heinrich Klaasen No.5 and David Miller at No.6 – Maharaj might have felt like he could just put his feet up during the chase, having put in a shift with the ball in Chennai’s oppressive heat.But it eventually came down to him scoring the winning runs for South Africa with No.11 Tabraiz Shamsi at the other end, lifting the lid on what had become a cauldron of immense tension at Chepauk.Read the full piece from Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai

Must Watch: Urooj Mumtaz on Mohammad Rizwan

1:18

Urooj: Rizwan was a massive letdown

News headlines

• Pakistan brought in Usama Mir as a concussion substitute for Shadab Khan during their World Cup match against South Africa in Chennai on Friday
• Pat Cummins has insisted there are no issues with Steven Smith batting at No. 4 despite the batter reiterating his preference for No. 3

Match previews

Australia vs New Zealand, Kolkata (10.30am IST; 6.00am GMT; 4.00pm AEDT)6:06

Bond: Top-order partnerships will prove critical for both NZ and Australia

Attention in New Zealand might currently be focused on another World Cup, with their beloved All Blacks on the cusp of regaining the Webb Ellis Cup. But the cricketers have started this tournament particularly strongly with only another Virat Kohli chasing masterclass denting their unbeaten campaign.Despite that, New Zealand can almost lock in a semi-final berth – defying predictions of many pundits – with a victory over Australia in another intriguing Trans-Tasman contest. But it won’t be easy with a rejuvenated Australia finally looking like the serious title contender expected of them after a shaky start to the tournament.Team newsAustralia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis/Cameron Green, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodNew Zealand (probable) 1 Devon Conway, 2 Will Young, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent BoultBangladesh vs Netherlands, Kolkata (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT)The World Cup has arrived in Kolkata, where Bangladesh can expect a fair bit of support at Eden Gardens when they take on Netherlands. There are supposed to be at least 2000 fans on their way from Dhaka and other parts of Bangladesh for this match, with the cultural connection with Kolkata and good travel options between the two making it a popular destination for Bangladeshis.Bangladesh come to Kolkata following a 149-run defeat against South Africa in Mumbai. Moreover, Netherlands’ inspiring performances issue a warning.Click here for the full previewTeam newsBangladesh (probable) 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Nasum Ahmed/Towhid Hridoy, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur RahmanNetherlands (probable) 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 5 Bas de Leede, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Teja Nidamanuru, 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Feature: Sitting down with Trent Boult and Tim Southee

2:01

Trent Boult and Tim Southee: ‘We hope that kids want to pick up a ball one day and bowl fast’

New Zealand’s old fast-bowling firm of Southee and Boult amble down memory lane, with the occasional pause to poke each other in the ribs”I remember hitting him for a six when we were about… how old were we then?” Boult has his head down. He’s probably just thinking but it looks like he wants to forget. “That would’ve been 15-16.”Read the full interview from Cricket Monthly

England Test coach says boards must “work with leagues” so best players remain available for international cricket

Vithushan Ehantharajah12-May-2023England Test head coach Brendon McCullum believes international boards, including the ECB, would be “completely naive” to assume their stars would turn down longterm franchise contracts.Recent reports have suggested that IPL teams are in talks with a number of English cricketers to sign annual deals. Given their investments across other tournaments such as the CPL, SA20, ILT20, Abu Dhabi T10 and the upcoming Major League Cricket in the United States, franchise owners have been working towards a situation where they can extend control over their most valuable assets beyond three months of the year.At the time of writing, it is understood no formal offers have been made to English players. However, Test nations such as South Africa and West Indies have long been at the mercy of franchise competitions when it comes to controlling the movement of their own players, and it seems only a matter of time before the likes of Australia and England must face a similar reality.Related

• McCullum puts faith in CSK to keep Stokes' Ashes ambitions on track

• Key: 'I thought, what's the worst that could happen?'

• Welcome to the IPL, England-style

In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, England men’s managing director Rob Key spoke of boards needing to work with players regarding franchise competitions for their own good: “You’re never going to compete financially with these competitions. So you’ve got to try and find a way to actually make sure that you do retain control of those players.”Speaking to SENZ Radio in New Zealand, McCullum echoed those sentiments, urging professional empathy in a fast-changing landscape.”The last few years, there’s been a shifting of the sand somewhat around international cricket,” McCullum said.”We’d be completely naive to think that players would turn down huge amounts of money on longterm contracts for a lot less work in these T20 leagues because they should be playing international cricket. Those days are fast approaching to be over. It’s definitely a shifting landscape and you’ve just got to be fluid.”What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to work with these players, you got to work with these leagues and try and allow, ideally, players to have their cake and eat it too because you want your best players playing.”The ECB’s more open approach when it comes to the IPL is reflective of the fact it sees no gain in maintaining England’s early antagonism to the competition. This year’s edition has seen a record 17 Englishman contracted, most notably Test skipper Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Harry Brook, who all signed on seven-figure deals.Brook, who has taken Test cricket by storm, is currently on an incremental contract with the ECB, earning around £60,000 (US$75,000) for representing England. That his deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad is £1.3 million (US$1.6 million) speaks of the disparity. While it is due to be rectified in the next round of central contract handouts at the end of the summer, particularly given Brook’s role as a multi-format batter, it is unlikely to be more than the eye-catching figure of his first IPL season.McCullum, however, does not anticipate a situation where he will not be able to call upon his best Test players in the near future. Indeed, he feels making international cricket a more enjoyable and meaningful experience can be an easy remedy as opposed to adopting a hardline stance on those who want to indulge in franchise cricket.”How much fun they’ve had, how much those experiences which they’ve been able to get in an England shirt is so great that they are prepared to continue to put their yards [in] even though it might not be as financially viable as some of the other leagues,” McCullum said.”I think we are a little bit lucky, too, because the amount of money that we can pay players is better than some of the other boards around the world. It’s not good enough to say ‘You know what, if they don’t want to play international cricket for us, then bugger them, we’ll move on and find someone different’.”As a spectator, you want to see the best players in the world representing their countries.”

Ilyas, Shoaib and Nadeem score fifties to anchor the chase; UAE still searching for their first win

Abhimanyu Bose21-Jun-2023Oman followed up a disciplined bowling performance with confident batting display to make it two in two in the World Cup Qualifier group stage. Jay Odedra, Bilal Khan and Fayyaz Butt helped restrict UAE to 227 before half-centuries from Aqib Ilyas, Shoaib Khan and Mohammad Nadeem and a nifty knock from Ayaan Khan helped them seal victory with four overs to spare.Ilyas and Shoaib put on a 100-run stand for the third wicket in Oman’s chase, but in a three-over period, Rohan Mustafa cleaned Ilyas up and trapped Zeeshan Maqsood lbw. On top of that, Shoaib, suffering from cramps, had to trudge off.But Ayaan and Mohammad Nadeem made sure UAE never got back in the game with a run-a-ball 76-run partnership that all but put the game to bed, with Shoaib returning to bat to see the game off.Oman got off to the perfect start after winning the toss and choosing to bowl. Bilal trapped UAE captain Muhammad Waseem lbw in the third over and Butt had Mustafa strangled down leg in the next.Vriitya Aravind and Rameez Shahzad then rebuilt for UAE, putting on an 87-run partnership. Aravind started quick, taking on Butt for 11 runs in the sixth over. But he slowed down after that and scored just one more boundary which was squeezed past slip off Maqsood.Shahzad on the other hand started slow, taking ten deliveries to get off the mark. It took till the sixteenth over for him to really get going, pulling Mohammad Nadeem for four through midwicket and following it up with a punch down the ground for another boundary next ball.Shahzad cut Odedra for four behind point in the 25th over and then looked to give him the charge, when the offspinner bowled a length ball that spun in to crash into his stumps.Four overs later, Odedra got one to spin in sharply from outside off to bowl Aravind out one run short of a half-century.Jay Odedra was among the wickets•ICC/Getty Images

Basil Hameed then gave a simple catch at point off Ayaan Khan before Odedra knocked over the dangerous Ali Naseer with another peach that spun past the outside edge from a length.Asif Khan, who looked stuck till then, responded to the fall of wickets by beginning to up the tempo as he took on Odedra for a six over long-on and a four over cover. With Asif there as the enforcer, Aayan Afzal Khan held up one end, scoring just three off 15 in their 20-run stand before Butt had Asif caught at cover in the 40th over.With the score still on 154 and having lost seven wickets, UAE were in threat of being bowled out for under 200. But then, Aayan began his assault on the bowlers. In the 41st, he pulled Bilal for a one-bounce four over midwicket before taking Butt for three back-to-back fours in the next over. He hit Maqsood for consecutive boundaries as well. He brought up his half-century off the first delivery of the final over and finished unbeaten on 58.UAE started well with the ball as well. Junaid Siddique and Ali Naseer started off with maidens and the pressure soon told on the Oman openers in the fifth over.Kashyap Prajapati looked to cut a short and wide delivery from Siddique but only found an edge to Hameed at slip. In the last ball of the over, Jatinder Singh went after another short and wide ball only to cut it to Karthik Meiyappan at point.Ilyas and Shoaib then batted UAE out of the game. They were happy to go after Meiyappan and Aayan and Zahoor Khan didn’t find much luck against them either. They looked in complete control until Mustafa knocked Ilyas over with a length ball that spun in to beat his attempted cut.Shoaib having to go off with cramps and Maqsood getting out in quick succession lifted the UAE camp, but Ayaan and Nadeem snuffed out any hopes they may have had.Ayaan took on the role of aggressor as he raced to 41off 36 balls, while Nadeem stayed solid and kept turning the strike over.By the time Ayaan got out, holing out to midwicket off Aayan, Oman were firmly in the driving seat and Shoaib came back out and went on to bring up a half-century of his own. Nadeem got the winning run, and brought up his fifty, with a single to deep third as UAE slumped to two defeats in two games in their campaign.

CSK have not yet said if they are going to release Stokes, having made him their most expensive auction buy ever ahead of the 2023 season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2023Ben Stokes, Chennai Super Kings’ England allrounder, has made himself unavailable for IPL 2024 to manage his workload and fitness. The franchise, in a statement on their website, said they were “supportive of Ben in his decision”.Super Kings, though, have not said if they will release Stokes.The IPL has set Sunday, November 26, as the deadline for franchises to announce their retentions and releases for the 2024 season. In case they do not release Stokes, Super Kings will have the option of retaining him ahead of the mega auction for IPL 2025. And if they release him by Sunday, Super Kings can utilise the INR 16.25 they had bought him for, in the auction next month.Related

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• How everything went wrong with England at the World Cup

At the end of the World Cup, Stokes had revealed that he would be undergoing knee surgery, a step he had been delaying for a while. Depending on his rehab, Stokes and the ECB will determine the timeline of his return.Stokes, who was Super Kings’ most expensive buy ever in the auction ahead of the 2023 IPL season for INR 16.25 crore (US$ 1.98 million approx. at the time), played just two games through the season, scoring 15 runs and bowling just the one over. This was partly because of the left-knee injury, which had forced him to start the season as a specialist batter. The injury to the knee is a long-standing one, but had flared up during England’s tour of New Zealand in February this year. Stephen Fleming, the Super Kings coach, had said at the time that the team would wait for Stokes to be “100% ready” before asking him to bowl.More recently, after coming out of ODI retirement to play the World Cup in India, Stokes was one of England’s better batters on show even as the team had a horror run in the tournament. Stokes played six of England’s nine games after missing the first three with a hip niggle, but ended as their second-highest run-scorer behind Dawid Malan. Stokes, who didn’t bowl at all at the World Cup, scored 304 runs in his six innings including two half-centuries and a century, ending with a scoring sequence of 64 (vs Australia), 108 (vs Netherlands) and 84 (vs Pakistan). He scored at an average of 50.66 and a strike rate of 89.14.As things stand, Stokes, the England Test captain, is hopeful of touring India for the five-Test series, to run from January 25 to March 11.”I’ve put a lot of hard work in away from cricket to give myself the best chance of a quicker recovery and, with Christmas and everything coming up, the main thing for me is getting this knee right and being ready and raring to go for that Test series in India,” Stokes had said after England’s last game at the World Cup.

Both are exceptional ODI outfits, coming in with a string of wins to their name. Both will also already have one eye on their respective semi-finals, which quickly follow Sunday’s game

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Mar-20252:19

Kumble: ‘Not in favour of resting players at this stage’

Big picture: Kohli joins 300 club

Scroll down to the form guide section. Actually, no need, because, spoiler warning, both teams have WWWWW next to them going into this match.These are two exceptional ODI outfits in potentially title-winning form, deep and balanced thanks to the allrounders they possess. They are well-suited to conditions at this Champions Trophy – particularly, perhaps, to those in Dubai where this contest will take place – thanks to their spin options and the variety of batting gears in their top orders.There has also been, especially over the last five years and a bit, a lot of history between these two teams.Related

• Phillips confident NZ have the resources to find success in slower Dubai

• KL Rahul plays down India's injury worries ahead of NZ clash

• India wary of keeping bowlers fresh for semi, says ten Doeschate

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• Trial by spin on slow Dubai pitches a key step in Gill's evolution

This should, for all those reasons, be a main-course kind of contest, but it’s an appetiser in the context of where this Champions Trophy stands. India and New Zealand are both through to the semi-finals, and know exactly where and when their respective semi-finals will be played. All that remains to be decided is whom they will face there, and it’s unlikely there’s a “preferred” opponent for either team, given it’s a choice between South Africa and Australia.With that in mind, and the short turnaround before the semi-finals – particularly in the case of India, who only have a one-day gap before their game on March 4 – Sunday night’s contest may not necessarily be played at vein-throbbing intensity. There’s a chance of big names resting, and also – as India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate suggested on Friday – of key bowlers not completing their full ten-over quotas.There’s one man whose intensity is never short of vein-throbbing when he’s on the field, though, and he’s set to play a very special match. Virat Kohli is set to play his 300th ODI, becoming the 22nd player and seventh from India to get to that landmark. Given how infrequently ODIs are now played, and given how far away Kohli’s closest contemporaries are – Mushfiqur Rahim (274) and Rohit Sharma (272) are the only two to have played more than 250 – will he also be the last to get there?Virat Kohli is poised to play his 300th ODI•Alex Davidson/Getty Images

Form guide

India WWWWW
New Zealand WWWWW

In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Kyle Jamieson

India’s batting is yet to face a truly daunting test in this Champions Trophy. They have batted second in both their games so far, and chased down targets of 229 and 242. Whether they bat first or second on Sunday, they are likelier to face a stiffer challenge from New Zealand, particularly from their fingerspinners Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell through the middle overs. It is perhaps in this context that Shreyas Iyer becomes especially important. Where Kohli and KL Rahul have gone at strike rates in the low 80s against spin in the middle overs since the start of 2023, Iyer has struck at 95.24. New Zealand know how dangerous Iyer is against spin – he hit five sixes while scoring 48 off 35 balls against their spinners during his century in the Mumbai World Cup semi-final of 2023.If the Kohli generation is India’s golden generation, it probably peaked around the time of the inaugural World Test Championship of 2019-21. And it’s quite possible that India may have won that trophy had they not happened to run into Kyle Jamieson. This towering and hugely gifted fast-bowling allrounder has gone through a testing time since then, mostly due to injury, and he’s now set to face India for the first time in any format since December 2021. Jamieson hasn’t yet had the same impact in ODIs that he has had in Tests; could the sight of his favourite opponents bring out his best?

Team news: Daryl Mitchell fit, but where does he fit in?

India only have a day’s gap between this match and their semi-final, but had a six-day gap between their previous match, against Pakistan, and this one. Do they believe, then, that their key players are adequately rested for 200 overs over three days? Or do they rest one or two of them? And what of the players on the bench, and their match-readiness should they suddenly be required in a knockout game? Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami went off the field with niggles at various stages during the Pakistan game, but both, according to the team’s press-conference representatives, are fit.India didn’t train on Saturday, but Rishabh Pant had an extended session in the nets on Friday, which suggests he could get a game – he has only played one ODI, back in July 2024, since his return from injuries suffered during his car crash. Given that as many as five left-hand batters could feature in New Zealand’s top eight, there’s a chance India may replace one of their two left-arm fingerspinners with the offspinner Washington Sundar. If Pant plays and adds his left-handedness to India’s top five, it relieves them of the need for Axar Patel as a floater.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Mohammed Shami/Arshdeep Singh.India, especially, will have a question of balancing workloads to address•Associated Press

Daryl Mitchell is fit again after missing the match against Bangladesh with an illness, and this leaves New Zealand with a major top-order headache. Rachin Ravindra, who was himself returning from injury, replaced Mitchell and scored a match-winning hundred against Bangladesh. Will Young scored a hundred in the tournament-opener against Pakistan. Devon Conway, who had replaced Ravindra at the top of the order, has also been among the runs, scoring 97 against South Africa in the tri-series that preceded the Champions Trophy.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Will O’Rourke.

Pitch and conditions: spin to win?

Dubai has been the most spin-friendly of the four Champions Trophy venues, with spinners currently returning an average of 37.07 and an economy rate of 4.36 here. Rawalpindi is second on both counts, at 40.60 and 4.81.This, of course, may also have something do to with the quality of India’s spinners. In any case, the pitches in Dubai, far from being square turners, have tended to be merely slow, with the large outfield also serving as an ally to the slower bowlers.Bangladesh and Pakistan both won the toss against India and chose to bat, reflecting the trend for dew not to be much of a factor at this time of the year. It’s possible that bat-first may still be the way to go, given the tendency for the pitches here to slow down over 100 overs.A clear, pleasant day is expected on Sunday, with a maximum temperature of 24 degrees Celsius.Vital runs aside, Tom Latham now has 100 ODI catches as a keeper to his name•ICC/Getty Images

Stats and trivia

• India and New Zealand have only met once before in the Champions Trophy: the final in 2000 when an unbeaten Chris Cairns century led New Zealand to a four-wicket win.
• India have won each of their last five completed ODIs against New Zealand; New Zealand won five in a row before that stretch.
• Tom Latham’s unbeaten 118 made all the headlines, but he also enjoyed a big moment on the field during New Zealand’s tournament-opener against Pakistan: the catch of Shaheen Shah Afridi, off Matt Henry, was his 100th as wicketkeeper in ODIs.

Quotes

“That’s a lot of ODI games and a lot of international games and yeah, he’s been… I mean, words fall short to express how good a player he’s been, and what a great servant of Indian cricket he’s been.”