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Apart from Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell, no other Australian batter in the top seven has faced Varun before

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-20251:42

Kumble: Varun has been exceptional over the last year

India could field a four-pronged spin attack again in the Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia in Dubai on Tuesday, after Varun Chakravarthy “did everything that was asked for” in the last group game, according to Rohit Sharma.Playing only his second ODI, Varun took 5 for 42 in ten overs against New Zealand as India defended their total of 249 by 44 runs. He had not played the first two group games against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but replaced Harshit Rana for the third one.”He [Varun] just showed what he is capable of. So now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right,” Rohit said. “He did everything that was asked for… he’s got something different about him. And when he gets it right, he knocks people over and he takes five wickets. So it is very tempting.”Related

• Favourites India enter Australia's territory in semi-final

• How Varun reinvented himself and became India's Champions Trophy wildcard

• Varun takes five as India top group and set up Australia showdown

• Varun keen to maintain the mystery as he makes compelling semi-final case

Varun’s variations and unusual action make it hard for batters to pick him, and of Australia’s likely top seven, only Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell have faced him before. Smith also last faced Varun in 2021; he has reinvented himself as a bowler since then.”We just want to go back and think about what the Australian batting line-up will look like,” Rohit said. “And try and see what kind of bowling options will go against them.”After dismissing New Zealand opener Will Young, Varun ended any chance of a successful chase by dismissing Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell in the 35th and 38th overs. Four of his five wickets were bowled and lbw, a testament to his relentless attack on the stumps.”I think he has become more accurate now,” Rohit said, adding that there was “a little bit of inexperience” about Varun when he made his T20I debut for India in 2021. “But right now, in the last two or three years, he has played a lot of cricket. Whether it is domestic cricket, IPL and for India in the T20s. And now the ODIs as well.Varun Chakravarthy is pumped after taking a wicket•Associated Press

“He understands his bowling very well. There is definitely something about his bowling which he is using to his advantage. Some of our batters also couldn’t figure him out [in the nets], which is also nice.”Varun was a surprise and late inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy squad, having played just one ODI in the preceding home series against England. That selection came after an impressive performance for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy – 18 wickets in six innings with an average of 12.16 and an economy rate of 4.36.”You want to try and fast-track him as quickly as possible and give him a go,” Rohit said about the selection. “Certain formats require certain skillset. And I thought whenever we look at these kinds of players, if the talent is there, then you don’t want to shy away from Varun.”There will be questions asked, there will be a few eyebrows which will be raised. But I think as a team, you want to do certain things which can help you win games. As simple as that.”

All 14 provincial presidents that make up the members’ council voted in favour of the new MOI

Firdose Moonda28-Apr-2021The CSA members’ council has unanimously agreed to amend the organisation’s memorandum of incorporation (MOI) to develop a framework for a majority independent board, which should avoid the game being derecognised and defunded by the country’s sport’s ministry.Related

• CSA members' council, interim board reach vital agreement

• CSA warns of '1000 job losses' if board is derecognised by South Africa government

• Breaking down the breakdown of Cricket South Africa

All 14 provincial presidents that make up the council voted in favour of the new MOI after only six had agreed to it at a special general meeting on April 17.The change of heart came after sports minister Nathi Mthethwa threatened to use the powers given to him by the National Sports and Recreation Act to strip CSA of its status as the game’s national governing body, which would effectively have meant the national teams ceased to exist. The minister was due to rubberstamp his actions in the government gazette, which is published on Fridays, this week.The signing of the MOI means that the interim board, who were ministerially imposed on CSA in October last year, have completed one of their biggest tasks in stabilising governance. Their outstanding tasks include overseeing the disciplinary hearings of senior staff members including former acting CEO Kugandrie Govender and company secretary Welsh Gwaza, before their term ends on May 15.”We have now reached the stage where we can move to complete one of the outstanding issues of our mandate which is to hold the Annual General Meeting,” Stavros Nicolaou, CSA Interim Board Chair, said.”I would like to thank the Members’ Council for ensuring that this resolution is passed. Cricket is now poised to move forward with a new governance structure. We look forward to taking the focus away from the boardroom and to the field of play especially ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year. We have kept Minister Nathi Mthethwa fully briefed on the latest developments.”

Glamorgan recover from 132 for 7 through van der Gugten and Dan Douthwaite fifties

David Hopps08-Apr-2021There has surely never been a bleaker start to the Championship season than this, well, not since last year anyway. Cricket took place at Headingley, but it was cold comfort, staged stoically in front of empty stands in the hope of better times ahead.Perhaps Yorkshire can be grateful the stands were empty. As Glamorgan played with startling enterprise to turn 132 for 7 into 310 for 8 by the close, Headingley was not quite the same without a few derisive cries of “Rubbish, Yorkshire!” and “Call yourself Champions!” (They’re not but that’s just unnecessary detail). They’ll all be watching on in-house streaming services and can be trusted to store up resentment for when the crowds finally return.Timm van der Gugten was Glamorgan’s unlikely batting stalwart. His career-best 80 not out at No. 9, from 134 balls, was an innings of optimistic muscularity and only the fourth time he had passed 50. A rebellious stand of 122 in 33 overs with Dan Douthwaite was followed by some hearty wind-ups by Michael Hogan, who walked off with 40 and will have visions of his fourth first-class fifty in the morning.Batting mayhem from the lower orders is hard enough to bear on the hottest days when the pitch is flat and the sun beats down, but somehow it is crueller still when a fast bowler can’t feel his fingers and a pitch he imagined might be his friend has lost interest.Douthwaite produced the most considered resistance in that late spree. He failed to break through at Surrey and Warwickshire and was given his chance at Glamorgan during studies at Cardiff University. After a decent all-round season in 2019, he had a stint at No. 6 last summer, but he was back at eight, at least for now.Douthwaite was finally silenced with the second new ball five overs old when he allowed a delivery from Ben Coad to strike his off stump. He will relish memories of a hooked six against Duanne Olivier which was high enough to have required stepladders. Telling Olivier it’s not a pitch for bouncers is like advising Piers Morgan to avoid publicity.Even Douthwaite’s belligerence came with moments of fortune, most notably in a wild slog against Matthew Fisher which careered over slips. As the seamers flagged, he deposited the offspin of Joe Root over long-on for six in a manner that informed Root that part-time offspin might have its moments in international cricket, but it had no place on a freezing day of the Championship in April.Six years have now passed since Yorkshire’s back-to-back Championships under the stewardship of Jason Gillespie, and Mark Arthur, Yorkshire’s chief executive, has told the annual meeting on Zoom that the county can boast its strongest squad in his near-decade in charge.In these parts that represents title talk – and leaving out David Willey did suggest either strength in depth, misguided selection or a little bit of both. Willey appeared as 12th man at one point in a hi-vis jacket, Yorkshire woolly hat and face mask which was not how it used to be done in the days of Lord Hawke.Douthwaite’s misjudgement extended the disastrous leave-alones to three, one in each session. Without them, Glamorgan’s situation could have been even better. Fisher, who, at 23, needs to kick on this summer to justify the expectations of his teenaged years, tailed the ball in slightly to hit the off stumps of David Lloyd in the morning and Callum Taylor after lunch.Glamorgan’s gusto brought life to these strange, slightly artificial proceedings. Infection rates may be falling fast, but Yorkshire is now Covid Central according to figures from Centre for Cities, which suggests that seven of the top eight towns and cities for new infections are in the county. The storm is not yet weathered.Nevertheless, Championship cricket has withstood jokes for at least half-a-century about how nobody watches it, which suggests it is perfectly designed to play to quarter-full grounds from May 17. Even those who do turn up tend to prefer their own company so much that they inventing social distancing long before anybody had even heard of the phrase.Before van der Gugten and Douthwaite wrested attention, pre-match interest had centred upon only the second cricket meeting of the Root brothers, the previous being a Royal London Cup tie four years ago. “I’ve not seen him since September,” observed Billy, who has been locked down in Wales while Joe pushed his Test batting average towards 50 with impressive shows in Sri Lanka and India.Reintroductions were made from third slip as Billy reached the wicket at 29 for 3. He fashioned Glamorgan’s early resistance with a workmanlike 43, and narrowly survived being run out by Joe on 38 when he pushed Fisher into the off side, chanced a single and was short of his ground when the throw missed the stumps. Coad eventually dismissed him, from around the wicket, leaving him for Jonny Tattersall to hold a low catch to his left. There was a flirty half-century, too, for Kiran Carlson, who seems to like a square drive.Yorkshire will need to be more resourceful when they are up against it if their imagined title challenge is to materialise. The new-ball pair of Fisher and Coad can sustain them, but the captain, Steve Patterson, is 37 now, and Olivier must dream on days like this of the hot sun and fast, bouncy pitches of his native South Africa.

The Australia coach said both Handscomb and Stoinis would feature in the XI for the semi-final against England

Melinda Farrell in Birmingham09-Jul-2019Marcus Stoinis will be fit to play in Australia’s semi-final against England and Peter Handscomb will be in the XI as a replacement for Usman Khawaja, according to Justin Langer.Stoinis appeared to have recovered from a side strain he sustained in Australia’s loss to South Africa and batted and bowled during Tuesday’s training session at Edgbaston.”He looks good,” said Langer after training. “It was a very good nets session actually, there was a bit of heat in there again and it was very competitive and that always brings the best out in ‘Stoins’, so he did a good job today and he’s fit to go.”Handscomb initially joined the squad as a replacement for Shaun Marsh, who was earlier ruled out of the tournament with a broken forearm. Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh were also called in as cover for Khawaja and Stoinis, but Langer indicated that only Handscomb was likely to come straight into the team.”I’ll tell you the truth. Peter Handscomb will definitely play, 100 percent” said Langer. “He deserves it. He was stiff not to be on this tour, he was so unlucky not to be in the initial squad after what he’d done to get us to that point. He’s in good form, he played well for Australia A, gives us that nice balance in the middle order. He’s got good temperament, he plays spin well, he’s on top of his game, so Pete will definitely play.”Australia’s relaxed air was evident as they prefaced their training session by singing happy birthday to Austin Marsh, son of Shaun. Later in the afternoon, some of the players wrestled with the toddler on the outfield. The previous day the entire squad walked barefoot around the outfield, a practice described by some onlookers as a type of connecting or ‘earthing’, but the notion of any new-age ritual was shot down by Langer, who said it was something he would often do with his opening partner, Mathew Hayden.”What was it called?” asked Langer. “I don’t know what you call it, we just took our shoes and socks off and walked a lap of the oval. It’s a nice thing to do, it’s a nice place to be. Haydos and I used to do it, just as a bit of a ritual before every Test match.”You can walk on the best grounds in the world with your shoes off. So there’s nothing to it. We walked a lap of the oval, we had a tough game against South Africa, it’s just about staying as relaxed as possible.”We know we’re going to be up against it. England are a great team and we’ve got to be at our best, and the best way to be at your best is to be nice and relaxed. It was just walking a lap of the oval with our shoes off. We could’ve done it with our shoes on and nobody would’ve said anything.”There is certainly a far more laid back appearance to this squad than the last time they faced England at Edgbaston. In the only T20I of their 2018 tour, Australia lost by 28 runs before going on to lose all five ODIs of the series. But this Australian squad has a very different look, both in personnel and mental state.”If you go back 12 months ago there wasn’t too much to be relaxed and chilled about in Australian cricket, was there?” Langer said. “And that’s the truth. We went through a major crisis in our cricket. It didn’t just affect our cricket, it affected our country, so there wasn’t too much to be relaxed about. We’ve had to work hard on being more humble in what we do and being focussed on playing good cricket but also being good people as well. And I know there will be some English people who will laugh about that but its actually true. We had to work hard on that and that’s a good bunch of players.”You get more relaxed as you start playing better as an individual or as a team. Maybe we are a bit more relaxed but only on the back of playing good cricket and having had to work hard on that.”While Australia’s squad bears little resemblance to the one that was trounced last summer, Langer said he admires the way England have built a strong squad through continuity.”They’ve been together for four years,” said Langer. “And going back to the question about this being a more relaxed squad, you get to know each other and enjoy each other’s company. They’ve got great continuity, England, and obviously have unbelievable confidence because they have played together for four years.”And they’ve obviously got a good game plan and a lot of very talented cricketers. All those factors combined is why they’re the best team in the world at the moment. And we’re aware of that – it’s going to be a really tough game on Thursday – but looking forward to it as well. It’s always nice, England playing Australia in the Ashes or big games like this. We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”I have maintained it from day one, England are going to be really hard to beat in this tournament. They had a couple of little blips, but they fought back really strongly and that’s what we expected to happen.””Regardless of what happens on Thursday – and I’m sure Trevor Bayliss and Eoin (Morgan) are saying the same thing – regardless of what happens Thursday they would very proud of what’s happened in the past four years.”

Pakistan and New Zealand meet in Dubai a few days after an astonishing implosion saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead in this three-match Test series

Danyal Rasool23-Nov-20186:26

‘I won’t lie but this kind of criticism really pissed me off’

Big Picture

Even the most ardent Pakistan supporters will have struggled to suppress a grin at their team’s comedy of errors on a fantastical fourth afternoon in Abu Dhabi. The humour is unlikely to have spread to the dressing room, however, where a devastated set of players and backroom staff saw three and a half days of hard work tossed down the drain, and where Pakistan should have been gearing up to seal this series in Dubai, they now look to avoid losing it at the earliest possible stage.Whether Sarfraz Ahmed’s side suffers a hangover from that four-run loss may go a long way to determining the tempo of this Test. New Zealand will, of course, be buoyed by their performance; games like those can often justify a career’s worth of grind and toil, and Pakistan have their work cut out subduing that positivity among the visitors’ ranks.Hard as it may be, Pakistan would be best served focusing on the winning positions they regularly got into throughout the first Test. The bare facts are New Zealand were clinging on to stop Pakistan from running out of sight in Abu Dhabi, and without significant assistance from the opposition batsman, would be on the other side of the result, as the run of play had suggested all along. It is what caused Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur the greatest disappointment, with the hope being if his men are able to reach a position of dominance in Dubai, it will not be squandered as easily.New Zealand established they were going to pose a much sterner test for Pakistan than their traditionally stronger trans-Tasman rivals Australia, and have put themselves in the position to return home with a fifth series win in the last six. The cricket they have played requires significant improvement, particularly the batting, which always appeared to be a grind in Abu Dhabi, but the team spirit and the fighting qualities that have long been New Zealand’s hallmarks continue to burnish as brightly as they always have.And therein lies the intrigue about this second Test. New Zealand might be good, but most sides have needed to be far better to win a Test match against Pakistan in the UAE. And though this win didn’t come to them easily, there was an element of it falling into their lap all of a sudden after four days of chipping away, with Kane Williamson and his men standing as proud survivors.It has long been said that good sides win when they’re not playing their best. It might be a platitude New Zealand will latch on to, but at the moment, it doesn’t quite convince. For that matter, neither do Pakistan.

Form guide

Pakistan: LWDLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand: WDWWW

In the spotlight

Asad Shafiq is a “fantastic little player”, according to Arthur. That he hasn’t then taken the next step and found a way to sneak his name into conversations about Joe Root, Virat Kohli, and indeed Williamson, is a blight not just on his own career, but every member of the coaching staff entrusted with helping him reach his world-class potential. He was the only batsman from either side to score over 40 in each try in Abu Dhabi. That he got out on 45 and 43 – unforgivably in the second innings when he should have led Pakistan to the win – is plaintively representative of a career which promised far more than it might ever deliver. Still only 32, Shafiq has time on his side to make amends, and the only hope one can have is the first Test was a watershed moment for him, and he appreciates his responsibility to a side he has perhaps become too comfortable in.With Ajaz Patel’s memorable debut cementing his role in the side and establishing him as a leading spin contender for his country, it is time for Ish Sodhi to make his mark as well. With a pleasing run-up and the natural advantage of height, Sodhi has become one of the world’s best spinners in limited-overs cricket, but an average of 47 in Tests isn’t good enough. His last outing in the UAE doesn’t inspire confidence either, where he took just eight wickets across three Tests at an unflattering 67.6 runs per strike. Four years on in Abu Dhabi, he had another relatively quiet Test match, and although three wickets for 78 represent a respectable return, it was notable Williamson favoured Patel to operate in the final stages on day four. That, as well as unpleasant memories from four years on, should spur Sodhi on to make a more central impact in the Tests to come.

Team news

The response to Abu Dhabi appears to be more measured than those of collapses past, meaning a fairly similar XI will line up in Dubai. However, Sarfraz did hint that left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi could make his Test debut.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Babar Azam, 6, Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Bilal Asif/Shaheen Afridi, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Yasir ShahNew Zealand took a bold decision in leaving Tim Southee out, but Ajaz Patel more than justified his place in the side on a frenzied final day. That means Matt Henry and Southee may find themselves locked out of the final XI again.New Zealand (possible): 1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 BJ Watling (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Ajaz Patel

Pitch and conditions

Dubai should see cooler weather than Abu Dhabi, and the pitch, while predictably dry, looks somewhat better for batting than that in the first Test. All that means the side winning the toss has another straightforward enough decision: bat first.

Stats and trivia

• Should he play tomorrow, Asad Shafiq will have featured in his 60th consecutive Test match for Pakistan. That level of permanence is unmatched in the country’s history, with Javed Miandad’s 53 the next best.
• BJ Watling is 94 runs from 3,000 Test runs. He will be the 14th man from New Zealand to get there, and is the second-longest serving player in the current side, with only Ross Taylor having made his debut sooner.

Quotes

“Consistency is the key, especially playing here, and we’ll look to keep Pakistan under pressure”
“The mistakes we made in Abu Dhabi we’ve left behind in Abu Dhabi. We had a team meeting after the match and before coming to Dubai, decided we would look forward to the next game than dwell upon the previous one”

Mark Wood is preparing to press his claim for a late call-up to England’s Ashes squad by turning out for the Lions in a three-day match against Queensland

David Hopps26-Nov-2017Mark Wood is preparing to press his claim for a late call-up to England’s Ashes squad as Mitchell Johnson, the Australian quick who terrorised England four years ago, ridiculed their attack as a bunch of “sweatband swingers”.Wood’s opportunity comes in a three-day match for England Lions against Queensland in Brisbane before what is essentially an Ashes shadow squad moves on to Perth.Wood, who was England’s fastest bowler until he was stricken by ankle trouble, hopes to emerge from three operations to rebuild his Test career.If you believe Johnson, it can’t come fast enough.Johnson collected 37 wickets and three Man-of-the-Match awards on England’s last Ashes tour and is clearly missing all the attention.He took to Twitter to goad two former England batsmen, Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen, who are in Australia on media duties: “Hey @KP24 @MichaelVaughan yesterday [you] were carrying on about the pommy fast bowlers being able to bowl in the 140s. Ever since they’ve taken the second new ball they’ve been bowling medium pace. They are allowed to bend their backs, and there’s 4 of them #ashes #sweatbandswinger” Even on a surprisingly sluggish Brisbane surface, the advantage of speed on Australian pitches has been hard to ignore. Joe Root was struck on the helmet by Mitchell Starc, Alastair Cook was beaten on the hook by Josh Hazelwood and England’s tail looked unlikely to detain Australia for very long.Wood, 27, claimed the wicket which saw England regain the Ashes at Trent Bridge in 2015, but lost his England central contract and a tour place for Australia last month after an injury-hit season in which he managed only 14 wickets in seven first-class appearances and his ankle issues were compounded by persistent heel problems.He did take four wickets against Australia in an impressive Champions Trophy campaign, but by the time he featured in two Tests against South Africa, he was well down on pace. That did not dissuade Ottis Gibson from billing him as England’s most hostile fast bowler as Gibson relinquished England’s bowling coach role to take charge of of South Africa.Andy Flower, the Lions head coach, said: “Woody will definitely play in our match against Queensland. He’s looking fit and strong and full of energy. He had two good days bowling at the England players which he came through well, so this is the perfect game for him.”Wood met up with the England squad at net sessions in Brisbane before the first Test and was told in a meeting with the MD of England cricket Andrew Strauss, national selector James Whitaker and coach Trevor Bayliss that an appearance in the Ashes series was not being ruled out.That door might be slightly more ajar after a Test in which Jake Ball made little impression and fitness concerns have swirled around the leader of England’s attack, James Anderson.”They said that if I got my body right I’d still be in a position to have an impact in the series,” Wood said recently. “So in the back of my mind I’ve always thought I’ve got a chance.”But I’m not here to put any of the lads under pressure. You don’t want anyone to get injured – I’ve had enough myself to know you don’t want people to go through that. We’ll just have to wait and see.”I might be just in the background underneath the radar with the Lions hopefully doing well and I can just slot in. It’s a long series, so I’m still hoping at some stage I might be a part of it.”I’ve been building it up out here and my action feels good. It’s just I’ve got no overs under my belt. So the more bowling training I can do in games the better.”As newspaper headlines blared about an incident involving England’s wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, alleging that he had “headbutted” the Australia batsman Cameron Bancroft in a bar in Perth in the early days of the tour, attention will also be focused upon the deputy wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.It was not entirely clear, though, on the eve of the game, whether Foakes, who was originally carded at No. 4 as a specialist batsman, would take the gloves or whether Alex Davies would be retained as wicketkeeper.England are suggesting privately that the Bairstow story has been ramped up with the deliberate intention of destabilising the squad, but Strauss will continue discussions with Bairstow after the completion of the Brisbane Test in full knowledge that there have been calls for him to be suspended.Tom Curran, who has yet to play since he replaced Steven Finn in the Ashes party, also has his first run out of the trip.England Lions (12-a-side game): Keaton Jennings (capt), Nick Gubbins, Tom Westley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Liam Livingstone, Alex Davies, Paul Coughlin, Tom Curran, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, George Garton

Cheteshwar Pujara secured the longest occupation ever by an Indian batsman in terms of balls faced as he and Wriddhiman Saha ground Australia’s bowlers into the Ranchi dust on the fourth day

The Report by Daniel Brettig19-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:44

Chappell: I see India being 2-1 up

Cheteshwar Pujara secured the longest occupation ever by an Indian batsman in a Test match as he and Wriddhiman Saha ground Australia into the Ranchi dust on the fourth day. The tourists were unable to maintain their shackles on the middle-order pair after a pair of close calls went against them in the morning, leaving India as the only side who can win this match.That fact was underlined by the final eight overs of the day, in which Ravindra Jadeja bowled David Warner through the gate and then followed up by skidding through the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon with the day’s last delivery. Jadeja’s accuracy and variation of spin loom as the gravest threats to Steven Smith’s bedraggled team on day five.In all the Pujara-Saha stand was worth 199, denying Australia a wicket until the evening session when both batsmen fell in pursuit of quick runs to increase India’s lead. Jadeja prolonged the punishment with a rapid fifty, and the tourists were left with eight overs to survive before the close, manoeuvred into a position from which India have already won Test matches at home this season.Patience has always been a strength of Pujara’s, and by surpassing Rahul Dravid as the Indian batsman to spend the longest time batting in a Test, he showed fortitude of a truly rare kind. Saha offered excellent support, opening his shoulders to play attractively against a tiring Australian attack and reaching a deserved century.Pat Cummins, who again bowled with great quality for the tourists and deserved his four wickets, had Saha given out lbw with his first ball of the day, but the wicketkeeper’s referral showed the ball to be missing leg stump by millimetres.Closer to lunch Pujara was given out lbw to a delivery that Lyon straighted down the line of the stumps from around the wicket, but his review showed the ball to be spinning too much and also sliding past leg stump. Steve O’Keefe also came close to a breakthrough when Saha edged a cut shot attempt but the chance was dropped by Matthew Wade.Chances dried up almost entirely in the afternoon as Pujara and Saha went on to a partnership that has redefined the match and possibly the series. Not least by placing a considerable physical strain on Australia’s four-man bowling attack – Glenn Maxwell’s offbreaks were used only sparingly.Pujara’s performance has effectively cancelled out the big hundred made by Australia’s captain Smith, and put India in the ideal position to pressure the tourists on the final day. Saha’s assistance was also vital in frustrating a touring team that had started the day with hopes of quickly rolling up the India tail and setting a fourth-innings target.Cummins had briefly enjoyed the sensation of claiming a fifth wicket of the innings in his return to Test cricket nearly six years after his storied debut against South Africa in Johannesburg. Saha was nowhere near a ball angled into him, and there was some discussion with Pujara before he reviewed. The Australians were floored when ball-tracking showed the ball to be missing leg stump.From there Pujara and Saha accumulated slowly, against bowling that remained disciplined under an overcast sky that compelled the umpires to turn on the stadium floodlights. Pujara’s 150 was a marker of his concentration and temperament against bowling that rarely lapsed into looseness.Lyon was not used until midway through the session, and from around the stumps he appeared to have found a way to winkle out Pujara when the umpire Ian Gould raised his finger in response to the lbw appeal. However Hawk-Eye again went the way of India.Wade’s drop of Saha from O’Keefe on 51 drew an apology from gloveman to bowler, then shortly before the interval Lyon again appealed and then referred, this time for caught behind when Saha essayed a sweep shot. But replays found no evidence of contact and left the Australians having made no progress for their morning’s efforts.Smith took the third new ball soon after play resumed, and once more Cummins produced a series of testing deliveries but was unable to claim the wicket Australia so dearly needed. Instead the hosts forged into the lead while the visitors used up their two decision referrals with a pair of overly optimistic appeals.Pujara’s long-batting milestone was followed by Saha’s approach to within one run of his century at tea. The stand was worth an unbeaten 175 at the break, with two whole sessions elapsing without a single wicket. Another 24 runs were accrued after tea at an increasing rate, including Saha’s century, before Pujara popped a catch to midwicket to hand Lyon his first wicket since day one of the Bengaluru Test.Saha fell in a similar manner, but Jadeja was more successful in taking the attack to the visitors. O’Keefe’s 77 overs were the sixth most ever by an Australian bowler in a Test innings, a tally not surpassed since Jim Higgs against England in 1979. Australia were defeated in that match, and the loss of Warner and Lyon ensures their 2017 descendants now face an almighty struggle to avoid the same fate.

Angelo Mathews has said he will not “run away” from the Sri Lanka captaincy and insists he wants to help haul the team out of their current trough

Andrew McGlashan in Cardiff02-Jul-2016Angelo Mathews has said he will not “run away” from the Sri Lanka captaincy and insisted he wants to help haul the team out of their current trough.The 122-run defeat in Cardiff meant Sri Lanka lost the one-day series 3-0 to follow the 2-0 reversal in the Test matches. They now have the lone T20 in Southampton on Tuesday to try and take something tangible from the two-month tour before returning home to face Australia across all three formats.Mathews has been Test and ODI captain since 2013 and then also took the T20 role when he replaced Lasith Malinga shortly before the World T20 earlier this year.This tour has been a far cry from the 2014 visit to England where Mathews led Sri Lanka to victories in both the Test and ODI series.”There will be good times as well as bad. This is a tough time for me as a captain and for the whole unit but you can’t run away from it. You have to deal with the issues,” he said. “I have a good bunch of players who support me throughout and I’m pretty sure if we keep improving day-by-day we can come out of this hole.”In the one-day series, Mathews admitted England had outplayed his side in every department and bemoaned the same problems being repeated throughout the trip.”For the past two months we’ve been having the same problems, either batting, bowling or fielding has let us down in every single game,” he said. “In the one-dayers we needed a perfect day to win against England. We didn’t have that perfect game and we paid the price. Congratulations to the English boys, they put us under a lot of pressure and didn’t give us the slightest of chances. They outplayed us in all three departments.”Sri Lanka were one of England’s opponents when they were at a low point as a one-day side, thrashing them by nine wickets in Wellington during the World Cup having beaten them 5-2 in Sri Lanka before that tournament – the series which ended the one-day captaincy of Alastair Cook. The contrast has not been lost on Mathews.”A few years back they were in the same situation as us, a rebuilding phase and they have stuck to their plans, they’ve stuck to their players and now you can see the results,” he said. “They’ve been improving day-by-day and over the last six or eight months they’ve been playing some fantastic cricket.”

The ECB’s elbow surgeon has earned his fee after both Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann returned to England’s Test squad for the opening match of the season against New Zealand at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan11-May-2013The ECB’s elbow surgeon has earned his fee after both Tim Bresnan and Graeme Swann returned to England’s Test squad for the opening match of the season against New Zealand, at Lord’s, following their successful operations in the first part of the year.The pair both played their previous Tests in Nagpur during December. Bresnan then went for elbow surgery after the one-day series in India while Swann had his in March after being ruled out of the series in New Zealand.Bresnan is the fourth pace bowler in a 12-man squad alongside the incumbent trio of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn while Graham Onions, who is playing for England Lions this week and was on tour in New Zealand, misses out. Although unlikely that he will make the starting XI, Bresnan could yet force his way past Finn whose form for Middlesex has not been entirely convincing early in the season.As the impact of his elbow problem took full effect, Bresnan’s Test form tailed off badly last year and he has taken two wickets in his last four matches at 210 apiece. However, he has started the season promisingly for Yorkshire with 11 wickets at 27.63 and reports are that his pace is back to somewhere near 2011 levels.Geoff Miller, the national selectors, said: “Both Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan have worked hard to regain fitness following elbow surgery and have demonstrated through their performances for their counties that they are ready for the challenge of international cricket.”Tim Bresnan’s early-season form has been enough to convince the selectors he is ready to return•Getty Images

The other players who were on the most recent tour but not required for the opening Test are Chris Woakes, James Tredwell and Monty Panesar, while Kevin Pietersen was ruled out of this series and the Champions Trophy earlier in the month.As expected, Jonny Bairstow retains his place as Pietersen’s replacement in the middle order, having been drafted in under tough circumstances in Auckland after just one first-class innings, against India in Mumbai, since last September. His twin failures were predictable, and understandable, but he has impressed at the start of this season for Yorkshire and has done enough to ward off his nearest challengers.Bairstow will also have fond memories of Lord’s, the scene of his Test debut against West Indies last year and also his most convincing Test performance, when he made 95 and 54 against South Africa after, again, being an understudy for Pietersen. His technique has, at times, been picked apart at Test level but that is a rite of passage for young player.England needed a monumental final-day rearguard to escape New Zealand with a 0-0 draw – Matt Prior, Ian Bell and Broad being to the fore – and that indifferent performance in a series they were expected to dominate ensured there would be no resting or rotating of key players for this series despite it being at the start of a hectic season.”We will need to improve significantly on our performances in the recent Test series against them if we are to start the international summer on a positive note,” Miller said. “This series provides a good opportunity for the players to show that they have learnt from the experiences over the winter.”England squad Alastair Cook (capt), Nick Compton, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan

India’s sports ministry has included a provision in the new draft of the national sports bill that will exempt the cricketers from having to follow certain WADA rules

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2011India’s sports ministry has included a provision in the new draft of its national sports bill that will exempt Indian cricketers from following certain rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, including the that the board and the players have objected to in the past.The revised National Sports Development Bill, which was made public on Monday, includes a stipulation that the Indian board would follow ICC regulations where they clashed with WADA rules.”In view of the BCCI’s objections, we have decided to exempt cricketers from some anti-doping norms,” Ajay Maken, the sports minister, said. “The ICC does not follow some WADA norms and in these cases the rules of international federation, in this case the ICC, will prevail over the WADA Code. It is not that the WADA Code will not apply to cricketers but in those cases where there is conflict, the ICC rules will prevail. It is also not an exemption to BCCI, it is to the ICC.”The ICC had wanted to implement WADA rules in full last year but the BCCI raised an objection to the ‘whereabouts’ clause in particular, which requires athletes and sportspeople to provide information to WADA of their availability for testing up to three months in advance. The ICC eventually decided to modify the wheareabouts clause in its own doping policy.The original draft of the sports bill was sent back to the ministry because the cabinet of ministers, including current ICC president, and former BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, had objected to various clauses and asked for changes. Among them were the provisions on tenure limits and age limits for the Indian Olympic Association and all the National Sports Federations, but those have been retained according to the .The specific clause on WADA was added to Section 15(1) of the bill and excludes those provisions of the WADA/ National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) code to which an international federation, like the ICC, is not subject.”This has been done since NADA functions under the WADA code,” Maken said, “and if at the international level there are certain provisions of the WADA code to which the international federation is not subject, then the logical corollary is that those provisions should not be administered by NADA on the sport of that national sport federation.”Efforts have been made to streamline the Bill while retaining basic principles of transparency, good governance and de-control from government. Serious consideration has been given to remove the perception that the Ministry was seeking to directly interfere in sports. So, I am hopeful that the revised Bill will get cabinet’s approval.”