Four-day format 'encourages positive cricket' - de Villiers

Assessing whether four-day, day-night Tests have a future on the evidence of a match that lasted less than two days and only had one night session is a bit like deciding to move to India having only seen a picture of the Taj Mahal. Still, in the 907 balls of the Port Elizabeth Test, players from both teams saw enough to form a few opinions.

On four-day Tests:

The match didn't even get to its halfway point, but knowing there were only four days scheduled may have pushed South Africa to be more aggressive than usual. "The batters were a little bit more positive," their stand-in captain AB de Villiers said. "There were talks of declaring earlier than normal. It encourages more positive cricket. I still enjoy five-day [Tests] as well but there is an excitement in this format. We all enjoyed it and I think the spectators will enjoy it as well."

On day-night Tests and the pink ball:

As in previous day-night Tests, the pink ball moved around markedly more under lights. Zimbabwe took five of their nine wickets after the dinner break on day one, and the game's only centurion, Aiden Markram, felt it was the most difficult time to bat. "From that twilight phase that everyone speaks about, I do feel it moves around quite a bit," he said, after day one.

Because teams know the advantage of bowling in the third session, the side that wins the toss will most often look to bat first and have accumulated the bulk of their runs before the lights come on. They may even, as was the case with South Africa, declare earlier than usual in order to put the opposition in when it is most difficult to bat.

"Declarations will play a big part in day-night Tests with teams declaring a bit earlier or a bit later, because every seam attack will want to bowl at night," Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said. "Like anything, the more it happens the more experience you'll get in knowing when to declare and which bowlers to bowl.

"It's also, during the day, about not pushing your seamers too hard and keeping them for that night period. All the batsmen are going to want to bat during the day but not at night."

As a result of that, the team batting under lights may look to rejig their batting line-up slightly to ensure their best batsman only get to the crease when conditions are easier to bat in. Cremer confessed to having "four of our tailenders padded up in the change room to get them out the way and to give our batsmen a chance during the day. It was a tactic that got forced on us but it's something we're going to have a look at."

Both teams still had concerns about the pink ball. De Villiers, who made 53 on the first day, and Heath Streak, the Zimbabwe coach, said the batsmen struggled to pick the seam.

The ball has also been known to wear and become soft fairly easily which necessitates pitches to be prepared to make things a little easier for the bowlers, with more grass left on them. De Villiers admitted that could skew the game further.

"Zimbabwe had the worst of the conditions last night," he said. "They ran into a wicket that was really spicy and it was going to spice up again this evening."

Sri Lanka's worst defeat in T20Is

The 93-run victory over Sri lanka in Cuttack bettered their largest margin of victory of 90 runs against England in 2012 World T20. Two of India's three biggest victories in the format have come this year. They had won by 75 runs against England in Bengaluru in February.

The loss by 93 runs is also Sri Lanka's biggest defeat in T20Is eclipsing the 85-run loss to Australia in Pallekele in 2016.

Yuzvendra Chahal is now the most successful bowler in the shortest format this year. His figures of 4 for 23 in the first T20I pushed his tally to 19 wickets in 10 matches, helping him go past went past Rashid Khan and Kesrick Williams, both whom have 17 wickets. Chahal was also adjudged Man of the Match for his performance. This was the second such award of his 13-match career and both have come in 2017. His first resulted in India's third-largest victory in T20Is and set the record for the best figures by an Indian bowler in the shortest format - 6 for 25.

Shane Warne has returned to the Rajasthan Royals franchise as its mentor ahead of the 2018 IPL season. Warne, 48, will renew his association with the side he led to a title in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. The former Australian legspinner went on to lead the Royals for the next three editions, before retiring after the 2011 season. Warne, who has mentored the side in the past, remains the Royals' third-highest wicket-taker of all time, with 58 scalps from 56 matches.

"I am very happy and excited to be back with the Rajasthan Royals, who I believe hold a very special place in my cricketing journey," Warne was quoted as saying in the Royals website. "I am overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on me by the franchise and fans of Rajasthan Royals. We have a strong, young and energetic bunch of boys, and I am looking forward to work with them."

Rohit rewarded for sticking to 'set template'

It was for long the insurmountable peak for ODI batting, but one man might now have a template to score ODI double-centuries again and again. In Bengaluru, against Australia in 2013, Rohit Sharma reached 20 off 35th ball, 50 off the 71st, and the hundred in the 38th over of the innings. In Kolkata, against Sri Lanka in 2014, he was nearly caught for 4 off the 17th ball he faced, reached his 20th run off the 35th ball, but accelerated slightly earlier to bring up his century in the 32nd over of the innings. On a cold mid-week afternoon in Mohali this season, he was even slower to start, reaching 20 off 37 balls, 50 off 65 balls, and bringing up the hundred only in the 40th over.

All three were ODI doubles. One time can be a charm, but to accelerate so crazily three times after having set up the innings and to make it look predictable is a perfect combination of skill, fitness and the right mental approach to ODI batting. You can be all amazed at how he manages to do it, but Rohit's reaction to it is typically relaxed. "That's my template, no?" he tends to ask. He remembers the innings clearly: reaching "50 off 70 balls", bringing up the hundred "near the 40th over", and then knowing that the bowlers can't get him out unless he makes a mistake.

"That is my style of play," Rohit said. "You are set and seeing the ball nice and hard and you have understood what the bowlers are trying to do by then, and it's all about trying to play with the field once you get past 100. It's all about you not making a mistake and getting out. I am not saying it's impossible or difficult, but it's very unlikely the bowlers are going to get you out once you have scored a hundred.

"So it was all about me not making a mistake and batting as long as possible. That's what I did. There is no secret or formula to it. You just have to bat and not make any mistake. The ground is good, the pitch is nice and hard, so you can trust the bounce and play the shots."

Rohit was asked to expand on the mindset. "I started off very slow because I like analysing," Rohit said. "I like to analyse the situation, conditions more than that because the conditions initially were not so easy and we wanted to play out those initial overs, and then see what we can do. In all the three double hundreds, it is a very similar pattern that you will see... started off slow, then picked up the pace and then in the end I accelerated.

"That is only because unless you make a mistake, you are not going to get out because you are set and you are seeing the ball well. Bowlers are trying to get away with their plans because things are not going their way. So all those things, I count, I analyse and I talk to myself about it when I am batting. I feel after you get a hundred, batting will only get easier. You have been there, took out the toughest part of the game which is the initial phase with the two new balls. You have batted that, your team is in a good position and you also have wickets in hand, so all those put together, gives you freedom to play those shots. I exactly did that.

"I am not someone like AB de Villiers, or Chris Gayle, or MS Dhoni for sure. I don't have that much power. I have to use my brain to manipulate the field and I have to stick to my strength, which is to hitting through the line and playing with the field. Once you cross the three-figure mark, batting only gets easier. Unless you make a mistake, you will not get out. It can happen if you get a good ball, but eight out of 10 times you will not."

This might have sounded arrogant had it come from someone other than the affable Rohit. He does make it sound like the six-hitting in the last 10 overs is routine, easy even. "Nothing is easy in cricket," Rohit said. "May be when you watch it on TV it looks easier, but it is not. Trust me, when you are out in the middle, you have to use your brain and you have to time the ball. Otherwise, it is not easy. I was trying to play with the field, playing a scoop shot, trying to hit over point. Those are my strengths. It is not always that you can clear the rope easily. So that is the advantage of having five fielders inside. You can play with the field and shot selection becomes very important."

How about selecting which of the doubles is closest to him then? They all are, and Rohit went on to talk of the circumstances that made it impossible to choose between them. "I cannot rate this because the others were as important as this one," Rohit said. "Because the first one against Australia was a series-decider. The second one against Sri Lanka I was making a comeback after three months. I was injured before that and didn't play any cricket. It was a world record so obviously that has to be right up there. This one also having had a loss in the first game, we wanted to come back as batting group. This is my first captaincy stint, and you know I as a batsman first and then as a captain I wanted to do well."

This one did have an extra icing on the top, coming as it did on his wedding anniversary and in the presence of his wife, whom he saluted with a little peck on his ring finger after reaching the double hundred. "You must have seen on visuals, she was more happy than me," Rohit said. "She got a little emotional because it was the first double-hundred that she witnessed. It is not that I score double-hundreds every day. The way she came and told me was quite funny. But it was good to have her there and let her witness what I did today. I am very happy about that part. But more than that, winning the game... my first [successful] game as a captain... very happy with that."

Australia 4-0 in day-night Tests

Having won in Adelaide, Australia now take a substantial lead in this Ashes series. England have to win a minimum of two more games and draw one to retain the Ashes. However on the last three occasions when England have lost the first two Tests of a series they have been whitewashed. England suffered whitewashes against Australia in 2006-07 and 2013-14 and Pakistan in the UAE in 2012. England will be hoping to change their fortunes this time around. With this win, Australia have now won all the four day-night Tests they have been part of. They have won three in a row in Adelaide and one in Brisbane. Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Starc played key roles in Australia's victory at Adelaide. Marsh scored an unbeaten 126 in the first innings and received his first Man of the Match award in Tests while Starc became the seventh left arm-pace bowler to take a five-wicket haul at home against England. In the last seven Ashes Tests in Australia, left-arm pace bowlers have taken five five-wicket hauls. Mitchell Johnson took one each in the first four Tests of the 2013-14 Ashes while Starc now has one. This is Starc's first five-wicket haul at home since 2012, when he took 5 for 63 against Sri Lanka in Hobart. It has taken Starc 25 innings since then to take five wickets in an innings. In the same period, Starc has taken two such hauls away from home, in Sri Lanka and England respectively.

Nathan Lyon has 11 wickets in the series so far and is the second highest wicket-taker after Mitchell Starc. Lyon has been constantly troubling the batsmen and has taken a wicket every ten overs. However, his wicket-taking ability is severely skewed towards left-handed batsmen and Lyon will hope to change that over the next three matches. Lyon averages 119 against right-handers and has taken just one wicket from 281 deliveries. In comparison, Lyon has 10 wickets at an average of 13.1 and strikes once every 37 deliveries against left-handed batsmen. In this series Lyon has dismissed Moeen Ali on all four occasions while conceding 67 runs from 149 balls.

'If you beat Australia, they quickly turn like the crowd in Rocky IV'

Graeme Swann has fond memories of the one moment in his career when he was able to kick back from the struggle of winning and losing a Test match, and simply soak in the acclaim of a job well done.

The scene was Sydney, on the final morning of the 2010-11 tour, with the Ashes already in the bag. England had resumed needing just three wickets to wrap up their third innings victory of the series, and the SCG - bereft of home fans who had long since accepted the inevitable - had instead been transformed into an Anglican Cathedral of acclaim.

"The Barmy Army were incredible on that trip, I've never heard noise like it on that day at Sydney," says Swann, England's Ashes-winning spinner turned BT Sport pundit. "Paul Collingwood was sent down to field in front of the Barmy Army, rather than third slip. You'd never have the luxury normally, but Straussy [England captain, Andrew Strauss] said, 'it's your last day of Test cricket, get down there and enjoy it'."

If such a finale sounds improbably idyllic, then it is only fair to point out that that 2010-11 tour was the exception that proved the rule of England's Ashes tours. That triumph sits sandwiched between 5-0 whitewashes on the 2006-07 and 2013-14 trips, while just three of England's current tourists (James Anderson, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad) had even been born at the time of their previous victorious campaign - Mike Gatting's 2-1 win in 1986-87.

"A lot of the time on my two tours of Australia, the Barmy Army were the only smiles we got in the day," says ESPN's Mark Butcher, who was twice defeated on tours Down Under in 1998-99 and 2002-03. "Come hell or high water, rain or shine, they were supporting a team that was invariably getting a hiding, so they played a huge part in keeping us going when we were out in the middle, and runs were being racked up left, right and centre."

Instead, the more familiar refrain on England's Ashes tours has been the sound of Aussie crowing - in the venues, around the cities, and even at the airports, where immigrations officials have rarely been backwards in coming forwards to "welcome" their Pommie guests. It all adds up to a pervasive sense of hostility that can only serve to unsettle the unwary tourist.

Friendship, understanding Mumbai's strength - Tendulkar

It was an evening to celebrate Mumbai cricket, more specifically the team's 500th Ranji Trophy game that will begin on Thursday against Baroda. At a function organised by the Mumbai Cricket Association at the Bandra-Kurla Complex ground, Sachin Tendulkar dipped into the mellow glow of nostalgia as he recalled some of his finest moments with the Mumbai team.

First outing with the team

We knew exactly what we wanted to be because when we were playing Under-15, Under-17, we used to watch national players practicing and Ranji Trophy cricketers practicing alongside them. I was selected at the age of 14 to go to Baroda. We travelled by train. My room partner was Suru Nayak, so he was appropriately selected for me to make sure I sleep on time and all that sort of things. As time went by, I grew up. All in all, the experience was overwhelming and as the time went by with all these greats of Indian cricket, I started feeling at home. I didn't play a single game that year, but I spent time in the dressing room. That made me feel I belonged in Mumbai cricket.

Maiden first-class season

The north stand was vocal as usual [with] my friends [sitting there]. I would like to thank Kiran Mokashi and Suru Nayak. Whenever the nets were over, they would take me out and ask me to pad up and set fields - silly point, slip, and all possible attacking fields. There were occasions that they would request that Raju Kulkarni and other fast bowlers to come and bowl at me. Without fail, Mokashi and Suru would come and work on my technique. That would give me so much confidence. They would tell me 'you would need to survive ten minutes', but the ten minutes would never get over. I would look up and see that the time was past 5, but they would continue bowling to me. That's why I was well prepared when I played my first game - I was only 15 then. There were guys at the non-striker's end. Alan [Sippy] was there, Lalu [Lalchand Rajput] was also there. All these guys gave me confidence.

Leading the side to a title in 1994-95 after a dry spell

Our practice methods, I thought, were good, but they could be bettered. I am of this belief that results invariably follow your preparation, so I focused more on preparations. I remember Arjun was there, the groundsman. There were a lot of groundsmen with whom I would regularly be in touch with me and I would tell them not to cover the wicket. The bowlers should make our life uncomfortable. Salil [Ankola] was there, Abey [Kuruvilla], Paras [Mhambrey], Manish Patel, so the fast-bowling attack was formidable, possibly the best in India. I would tell them 'make our lives as miserable as you want and fire away bouncers at will.' I was mentally strong, I felt, and growing up I was told by [Ramakant] Achrekar sir that catches would win you matches. We would take catches every day. We also had that unwritten rule that batsmen should bowl and vice-versa. I enjoyed bowling. Throughout the practice, there was great intensity and we were also great friends. The friendship reflected on the field. When there were difficult times, we had understanding. That was our strength.

Favourite Ranji game

It has to be the semi-finals against Tamil Nadu [in 1999-2000]. I think we were chasing 485 [chasing 486 for the first-innings lead] and Ashok Mankad was our coach. He kept everyone involved. He had a peculiar way of motivating everyone. He would call Vinod [Kambli]'sir'. That was his way of motivating them. A lot of things happened during that game. At one moment, the ball stopped swinging and Robin Singh kept giving it to the umpires and asked for it to be changed. Finally it got changed and the ball started reversing. I stood two feet outside the crease and I knew some message would go across. Hemang Badani told the bowler 'munnadi' [front, in Tamil] and next ball I stood two feet inside the crease. Whatever he kept telling the bowler something, I would change [my position]. Whenever he said munnadi, I would go back and vice-versa. Post-match, I told him, 'by the way, I understand Tamil'. The match was quite evenly poised at one stage, but not just saving wickets but also scoring runs was critical. I think I was batting with Ramesh Powar. Having practiced with him - this is the beauty of practising together - I knew he always liked hitting the ball. The last man was there, Santosh Saxena, and the first ball was a full toss that struck his pads. I said from the non-striker's end 'not out' and the umpire gave not out. It was a coincidence and nothing more lest the papers say something tomorrow (laughs). There were still about 165 overs to go in the game. As we know Wankhede's wicket, on the fourth and fifth day the games start moving fast. Ajit [Agarkar] and other bowlers bowled brilliantly and won us the game.

How India got the better of Latham

India's plan against Latham
Tom Latham's innings in Mumbai was one of the finest played by an overseas player in India. The way he swept the Indian spinners reminded one of Matthew Hayden and Andy Flower. The only place that he didn't target against spin was the long-off region (he had scored only one run towards long-off on Sunday) and it felt that the hosts fielded with only eight men. The Indian bowlers and captain Virat Kohli learnt from that experience, prepared a plan and executed it well. The spinners bowled only a couple of balls within the stumps and constantly had both fine-leg and square-leg inside the circle. The line and the field placement meant the option of padding a single from outside off was cut off, and the only way to find the fence was to go aerial. In addition to that, even after Latham was well set, India had six men inside the circle, which included a fielder at mid-off instead of long-off. The outside-off line forced Latham to walk across all the time and that's where the change of angle from Axar Patel worked. That was the only time Axar went around the wicket and instead of throwing it outside off, he pitched it towards leg and Latham played down the wrong line.

Bhuvneshwar's tight lines
It's a little difficult for a swing bowler to maintain tight lines but Bhuvneshwar Kumar has shown that he's capable of doing so without comprising on his ability to swing the ball bowl both ways. His beehive from today's match was a testament to his accuracy; most bowling coaches tell you to bowl the length that will make the ball hit the top off stump, and he did that consistently. He dismissed Martin Guptill with a ball that was too close to leave but still a little wide to play at and it moved away after pitching. Against Colin Munro he went around the stumps to bowl bouncers and came back over the stumps with a his knuckle ball that tends to float into the left-hand batsman, which accounted for an inside edge. Even for Henry Nicholls, he used the angle from around the stumps and hit the top of the wicket after going through the gate.

AB de Villiers joins Gayle, Dhoni in six-hitting club

3 - Scores higher bigger than AB de Villiers' 176, his highest, for South Africa in ODIs. Three of the top four scores have come since September 2016. Gary Kirsten's unbeaten 188 against UAE at the 1996 World Cup is still the highest individual ODI score by a South African.

25 - Number of centuries for de Villiers in ODIs. He is the seventh batsmen to score 25 or more ODI centuries and the second from South Africa after Hashim Amla to achieve this feat. Incidentally all his 25 hundreds have come at a strike rate in excess of 100. Six of his tons have come in less than 70 balls.

8 - Those who have ODI tons against all older Full Members (excludes Ireland and Afghanistan). Ricky Ponting, Herschelle Gibbs, Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Upul Tharanga and de Villiers make up the super eight.

201 - Sixes hit by de Villiers in ODIs - the sixth cricketer to get past the 200 mark. He is fifth on the list of most six-hitters in ODIs. Shahid Afridi, Sanath Jayasuriya , Chris Gayle, MS Dhoni and Brendon Mccullum are the other members of this elite list.

2 - Scores bigger than de Villiers' 176 against Bangladesh in ODIs. Charles Coventry's 194* in 2009 and Shane Watson's 185* in 2011 are top the list.

7 - Instances of Bangladesh conceding 350 plus in ODIs. Five of these have come away from home, two of which are against South Africa. This is the first time they have conceded 350 plus since April 2011.

3 - Scores in excess of 300 at Boland Park in Paarl. The average first innings score at this venue in nine previous games is 230. South Africa's 353 on Wednesday is tops the 351 for 3 India made against Kenya was the highest team score at this venue going past the 351 for 3 made by India in 2001.

12 - Century stands between Hashim Amla and de Villiers - the most by any South African pair in ODIs. They went past the 11 century stands put together by Hershcelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith.

India's seven-batsman army didn't work

The pitch at the Barsapara stadium
The surface in Guwahati had a deep-brown look that suggested a lot of moisture. There was also an even covering of grass, which allowed the ball to grip the pitch and move laterally. The toss was critical and Australia did the right thing by choosing to field, after which Jason Behrendorff proved the value of a left-arm seamer. His natural angle - moving away from the right-hand batsman - accounted for Manish Pandey, and deliveries that came in got Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Behrendorff reaped rewards for his fuller length.

India's shot selection
In the first ODI, Pandey had fallen for a duck, nicking a full ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile. In Guwahati, Pandey stayed deep in the crease and was fortunate that Coulter-Nile rarely pitched full. Behrendorff, however, did pitch full and Pandey's front foot went down the pitch instead of towards the ball. He reached out for it with his hands and edged behind. Shikhar Dhawan had spent all but one ball in the first three overs at the non-striker's end, giving him ample time to assess the conditions. So the shot he played to fall to Behrendorff - an attempted chip over the infield - was careless.

Dhoni's footwork
The moisture in the pitch ensured the ball gripped and turned for the legspinner Adam Zampa. MS Dhoni tried to counter this threat by stepping out: in the over that he was eventually dismissed, Dhoni stepped out to Zampa five times. The idea was to force the bowler to shorten the length, which would allow Dhoni the freedom to stay in the crease and score off the back foot. It was interesting that Dhoni chose to step out - sometimes only to defend - to five consecutive balls without waiting on the back foot even once.

Seven-batsmen army
India have been picking seven batsmen in recent limited-overs games, the idea being to have extra firepower to set above-par totals or chase huge targets. It is also insurance against a collapse. The strategy hasn't always worked in ODIs with scores of 300, and even in Guwahati having Hardik Pandya at No. 7 did not prevent India from being dismissed in 20 overs. Playing the extra batsman also leaves you a bowler short, leaving no insurance for a bowler having a bad day. With the kind of batsmen India have, playing five proper bowlers is a tactic worth trying.

The Warner-Finch dismissals & Henriques' promotion
Most of the runs scored on this pitch were off the back foot and that led to Australia's openers being a little too eager. David Warner and Aaron Finch went back to balls that weren't short enough and paid the price. Australia were smart to promote Moises Henriques to no. 3, ahead of Glenn Maxwell. The conditions demanded a more technically sound batsman.

India's bowling plans
Travis Head and Henriques went after the left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and medium-pacer Hardik Pandya. Every time Kuldeep pitched full, which is his strength, both batsmen went really hard at it. He was forced to bowl shorter and, on a slow Guwahati pitch, the ball sat up to be hit. The experience should encourage Kuldeep to expand his repertoire. From time to time, the situation will arise where he needs to bowl quicker and with control.

It was interesting that Kohli did not bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah in the middle overs despite Kuldeep going for plenty. Yes, it would have meant not having their overs at the end, but the only way to fight back was to break the Henriques-Head stand and take more wickets. As it turned out, with Australia winning in the 16th over, neither Bumrah nor Bhuvneshwar bowled their full quota.

The quiet signs of change in Pakistan's bowling strategy by RSBL

How open are we really to change? The entire human endeavour seems accented to carefully curating each day so that it mirrors yesterday and tomorrow. Sleep at the same time, wake up at the same time, go to more or less the same places, eat more or less the same food, listen to more or less the same music, be more or less with the same people. Routine is the real opium of the masses, that which keeps humans from destroying each other and the planet (and one day, we must continue to believe, this great theorem will be proven true).

On Thursday, Pakistan will walk into the Sheikh Zayed stadium and it will feel much as it has the last nine times they have walked into this venue for a Test. It is now home, now fortress. The stands will be empty and the immediate surrounds barren, and that sense of solitude, of diligently beavering towards a goal away from the eyes of the world - a sense that has helped them no end, by the way - will remain. Even the last few days of practice have progressed, more or less, as they always did, as if it's no big deal that they are elite athletes preparing for elite battle - no team's humanness, that they are not all that different to you and I, is as visible as Pakistan's.

Except, way out there somewhere, there's this low rumble gathering, maybe ominous, maybe not. It's the sound of change. The two men, in whose opposing personalities a pure essence of Pakistan was accidentally distilled - the unmoved ice of Misbah-ul-Haq meeting the moving lava of Younis Khan - are no longer here. Expect that rumble to grow louder. Eventually for sure, not right now necessarily.

RSBL & Windies dot matrix struggles to keep up with the times

Much has been made of the return of Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels to West Indies' one-day side but, while they give the batting line-up a stronger appearance, there is one aspect in which they don't improve the team: running between the wickets.

Neither of them are keen to put their body on the line to scurry up and down the 22 yards to put pressure on opposition fielders. At Old Trafford, Gayle reached the point of barely walking singles. Initially there appeared to be an injury - he was heard on the stump microphone complaining about a hamstring strain - although he fielded during England's chase and the West Indies camp said there was no fitness issue.

Samuels struggled for his timing, as did most of West Indies' batsmen barring Gayle and his early boundary collection, but rather than trying to drop and run a little more, it was either attempt to hit the ball the hard or defend it. Samuels eventually fell for 17 off 46 deliveries, 31 of which were dot balls.
In T20, the block-or-bash method has not hindered West Indies, the immense power in the batting order - over a short duration - means they can overcome dot balls by clearing the boundary. But in the 50-over game, an innings such as Gayle's 37 off 27 balls from a top-order batsman has less chance of defining a game, a point that was explored in greater detail in this feature.

Overall, there were 142 dot balls in West Indies' 42 overs at Old Trafford - 56.34% of the innings - something pinpointed by captain Jason Holder and Toby Radford, the batting coach, after the match. That, in fact, is a slightly better mark than their figure since the 2015 World Cup, a period in which they have averaged 59.84% of dot balls in an ODI innings. Only Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and UAE are below them in one-day internationals during the period.

"It's the way Chris has always played, he's a destructive batter and if you have him in for a period of time you can have a matchwinning score," Radford said. "He'll always play the way he does and Marlon plays a bit like that as well.

"What you tend to find when you come to England is that you have big boundaries and they look to push twos into the outfield, then try to limit our boundary hitting. It's the same when we travel around the world. It's something we talk about all the time and as a team we have to adapt, make sure we are pushing the fielders. Those ones and twos add up by the end. We have to find a way to get those singles, but sometimes you have to give credit to how a side bowls against you."

Gayle and Samuels are not for changing at this stage of their careers but it isn't just about the runs they themselves are missing out on, but the impact it has on the other batsmen. Anyone batting with them has to be aware how much to push the running, and it hasn't escaped England's attention that the run out is a likely source of a wicket. Gayle went that way in the T20 and could have been found short at Old Trafford as well.

"He doesn't run that well between the wickets, so maybe we can stop the singles and make him hit boundaries," Liam Plunkett said after the T20.

There could hardly be a bigger contrast than with England's approach. They have the lowest dot-ball percentage since the 2015 World Cup (49.48) and the partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root in Manchester was a lesson in how to milk the bowling. Bairstow faced just one dot ball more than Samuels in an innings that was 51 deliveries longer.

"Jonny is very quick between the wickets, always putting fielders and bowlers under pressure and it makes it a lot easier batting with him when there's someone so quick to run the runs with you," Root said. "I thought that was one thing he did really well, he picked up every single and really challenged the guys on the rope, getting the twos and threes when we could.

"It's such an important part of one-day cricket to try and scrape every run. It's so frustrating as a bowler when you feel like you are bowling good deliveries but the batsmen scratch a single, then when you miss your mark it goes for four. Instead of going at four-an-over you end up going at seven, eight or nine an over."

"It's the genetics," Bairstow said, "it's me being me. It's something I've grown up with up. If there's two to be had I'll try to come back. It's an asset to be quick between the wickets, like someone who can scoop or hit you straight down the ground. It's the intensity we want to play at as a side…if you are chasing a higher score and able to get the ones and twos and score a boundary an over, all of a sudden you are scoring plenty without taking too many risks."

There are many reasons why West Indies have failed to automatically qualify for the 2019 World Cup. Some require longer-term solutions, but there are other things the players can do immediately to try and improve their one-day fortunes. Getting a shift on between the wickets is one of them.

Evolving Babar cherishes scoring runs in front of home crowd News by RSBL

Babar, subsequently, made his international debut in an ODI in May 2015 in Lahore against Zimbabwe - a rarity because Babar's rise was during Pakistan's isolation as an international venue due to security concerns. He then smashed a hat-trick of hundreds against West Indies in the UAE, and became the joint fastest to 1000 ODI runs, equalling Viv Richards, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Quinton De Kock.

Top-flight cricket returned to Pakistan on Tuesday night and Babar marked it with an exquisite 86 off 52 balls, in front of his home crowd. He missed a maiden T20 hundred, but provided great entertainment with 10 fours and two sixes - the highlight being a trademark pull through square leg off Morne Morkel. He followed it with attractive drives off Ben Cutting and a skillful jab through midwicket.

Babar's Test returns - he averages only 27.25 - haven't been as productive as his limited-overs returns, but the selectors have trust in him, largely because of his unflappable temperament, which came to the fore in Lahore. Babar cherished scoring runs in front of his home crowd and said it was "something special".

"It's obviously difficult to play your own home series away from home because playing at home is relatively easy for us," he said. "It's mainly because we grew up playing at our home venues, attuned with the conditions and with the crowd support it's more enjoyable. It helps a lot also playing in front of a crowd that loves cricket and loves you and performing make us more special. We unfortunately have been deprived of playing at home regularly [sic] while every team around the world enjoys the privilege of playing at their home. I did play one game earlier against Zimbabwe at home and it also gives you immense pleasure to play at your home ground."

Babar's match-winning knock against a diverse and robust World XI team highlighted his evolution as a limited-overs batsman. He is strong in defence, picks his shots smartly, and knows when to accelerate. With Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq retiring Pakistan cricket seemed to be in a crisis, but Babar has given hope. He is only 22 and seems set to carry the batting for a long time, like Younis and Misbah had done.

Why aren't there any Indians in the World XI? asked by Raju Kothari

Back when I edited slightly complicated news stories, journalistic habit would kick in and present me with a question: What if someone landed from Mars and read this story? Would it adequately explain the scene on the ground? That question helped ensure context, cut out superfluous details, and ensured the edited story went out with its important bits in appropriate places.

In this age of instant news and live-blogging, the question has become a little irrelevant, but suddenly it popped up again when the ICC announced the World XI to take part in the three-match Independence Cup in Lahore this week. If someone landed from Mars and looked at the list - five South Africans, three Australians, two West Indians, one each from Bangladesh, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and a Zimbabwean coach - that Martian would have no idea that the game's biggest elephant is missing from the room.

Today the picture on the ground is this: cricket's biggest, richest and most powerful country is not present at a we-are-the-world kind of gathering in Lahore this week. "The nations that play cricket," said Bangladeshi batsman Tamim Iqbal, excited to be part of the World XI team, "are one big family. We have to come forward to help restore international cricket in Pakistan." Everyone except the family's wealthiest son, who today is found suddenly far removed.

World XI coach Andy Flower was asked why there was no Indian in his XI, and his answer generally spoke about the tightness of the Indian team's calendar and how it would have taken too much time to sort out the issues around getting an Indian or two over. However, it is not as if there is a shortage of Indian players available to be part of global attention-grabbing cricket this week. In two words: Yuvraj Singh.

As an Indian cricket fan for nearly 40 years and a journalist for more than half of those, my first reaction when the World XI was announced was, "How can India not be a part of this?" However, despite the Indian-cricket-shaped hole in the World XI, the world is doing fine; Lahore is abuzz. The loss is Indian cricket's, its stature in the world game is now that of a cash machine: necessary, functional, but that's about it.

West Indies swing low, but finish their day on a high RSBL

Some days it doesn't matter what you do.

You can wake up after your best ever sleep, look in the mirror and realise you've lost five pounds, accidentally rub against a lucky rabbit's foot and find a fifty pound note in your pocket. The stars can be in alignment, the moon in your house and the sun shining on your back.

Sometimes you can prepare as best you can, mentally and physically, focus on your processes and kick the laurels from underneath you.

Some days you can do all of the right things and it counts for nothing.

At Edgbaston, West Indies were bowled out for 168 and 137. In their first innings at Lord's they were all out for 123. But while they managed fewer runs in their most recent outing, it didn't spark the same sense of calamity as did their batting capitulation in the first Test. Perhaps there was still a lingering and softening glow remaining from their Headingley victory. Or perhaps a realisation that, today, they simply came up against some outstanding swing bowling in the sort of conditions that would have seriously tested the most resolute batsman's defence.

The ball may have been red but there were similarities to Edgbaston. There, the Windies struggled against a moving ball under artificial lights and for much of the first day of this final Test the lights were required at a gloomy Lord's.

Kraigg Brathwaite and Kyle Hope were victims of the new ball leaving them under the expert guidance of James Anderson as he hunted down the last few wickets needed to reach his teasing milestone - he was so difficult to play, it probably cost him the elusive 500th wicket. Could they have left better? Opening batsmen nick off to good outswingers. Such is the nature of the game at this level.

Shai Hope did the early hard work, was patient and looked set; he could arguably have played Toby Roland-Jones better and perhaps have avoided the thin edge. But there will be far worse shots and poorer innings than this.

RSBL Saeed Ajmal to represent Faisalabad in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Saeed Ajmal, who last played first-class cricket in 2015, has been picked up by Faisalabad Region for the upcoming Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier domestic tournament. As many as eight regional teams selected their squads, with eight players out of 20 selected through the draft process for the very first time in the history of Pakistan cricket. A total of 12 players, including two emerging players, were selected through the traditional process of picking players from their own senior inter-districts.

A list of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy teams

Regional: Lahore Blues, Lahore Whites, Karachi Whites, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, FATA, Peshawar
Department: WAPDA, HBL, UBL, SSGC, SNGPL, NBP, KRL, PTV

Ajmal, 39, last played for Pakistan in Bangladesh in 2015 after remodelling his bowling action, which was declared illegal by the ICC in September 2014. He struggled to maintain his performances ever since, and is yet to play for Pakistan since that ill-fated Bangladesh tour, which saw Pakistan lose all three ODIs and the solitary T20I. His personal performances on that tour were also a sharp diversion from his high standards before being sanctioned. They included figures that read 10-0-74-0 in the first ODI, the worst of his career.
He earmarked the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2016 as a stepping stone from which he would make a national comeback, but was never able to establish himself as an automatic selection for his franchise, Islamabad United.
The method to pick players via a draft was a radical change this year, but then again, Pakistan's domestic cricket has been the subject of an overhaul almost every second year for the past decade. The format remains intact for the second year running, with 16 teams (eight regional and eight departments), but the selection process was tweaked in spite of strong objections raised by Karachi, the largest cricket association in the country.
The move initially came under heavy criticism, leading to the board to agree to a compromise of the balance of players picked through the draft. The PCB had initially intended for 12 players to be selected through a draft system, leaving regions to pick only eight players from their districts. Facing pressure from cricket quarters within the country, the PCB found a middle ground by allowing associations to pick 60% of players through more conventional routes from their respective regions.
Eight players were picked through a draft and 10 through the usual selection process, with two set to be emerging players from the region's Under-19 circuit. The model, according to the PCB, was introduced to counter the problem of selections not based on merit, making it more competitive when competing with departmental teams, who can field much stronger players. The PCB wished to enhance the competitiveness of regional sides who have struggled to compete against department sides in the QEA; historically, when regional and department sides have been grouped together in the tournament, the latter have fielded the better players, enabled by greater financial resources at their disposal.

Bangladesh bowlers off the mark while building pressure by Raju Kothari

It would be harsh to expect a bowling attack to replicate a strong performance - against a side ranked five places above them - from the previous game, so the Bangladesh side eking out seven wickets on the third day in Chittagong can still be rated as a decent performance. Mustafizur Rahman and Mehedy Hasan finished the day on three wickets each while Shakib Al Hasan turned up with a tidy performance.

Taijul Islam had his moment too, but all four frontline bowlers would still be expected to be more consistent with tighter lines, better lengths, better field plans and avoid the inclination towards finding the money shot from the batsmen too often, to pick wickets.

Shakib was neat in his 30 overs in the first innings this time, ensuring the right-handed batsmen played most of his deliveries. Ashton Agar got a really good one from Shakib that turned a long way and hit the stumps. When he tried a similar length for Warner, it didn't yield the same result as the more accomplished batsman seemed to pick the ball early.

Mehidy bowled 60 out of 67 balls around the wicket to Warner, keeping him quiet but there was probably too much hope on a delivery on the stumps keeping low and nailing him. That didn't happen as the batsman was far too aware and was seeing the ball till the last moment.

Taijul was also underused in this innings, perhaps because Mushfiqur Rahim felt that he was leaking runs far too quickly while the other two spinners were doing the opposite. To the left-handers, he was also trying hard to bowl the one that skids through or breaks through their defences. Against right-handers, there were a few times he strayed down the leg side and was too full at times.

Mustafizur bowled at a fair clip on the third day and was finding his groove at times, but again, the focus seemed to waver. By his own admission, he bowled four good balls in an over and two went "here and there".

Perhaps, the bowling attack was also taken aback by Warner's reticence to bat at a much slower pace; he was comfortable picking a lot of singles. Peter Handscomb, meanwhile, was allowed to play far too many times towards mid-on and midwicket. It did not always happen with success but the pace of the pitch or the lack of responsiveness didn't help the bowlers. At the end of the second day, Nasir Hossain had mentioned that the ball wasn't turning when it pitched in line with the stumps, and was only deviating off the rough.

RSBL Bayliss has 'fingers crossed' at promising batting signs

Despite England's humbling defeat to West Indies at Headingley, head coach Trevor Bayliss has suggested they may be closer to settling a couple more names for this winter's Ashes party. Half-centuries from Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan were ultimately in a losing cause but the grit shown by both during England's second innings earned praise from Bayliss ahead of a final audition in the third Investec Test at Lord's.

England have deployed a revolving cast of characters worthy of a soap opera - old favourites, new faces - in their top order over recent years, although selection for the Test side is a much more sober business than during the 1980s and '90, as demonstrated by Tom Westley retaining his place in the squad for Lord's.

Since the end of the previous Ashes, 18 different batsmen - excluding the bottom six in this list - have been tried in the top seven, with only Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow secure in their positions (and Moeen Ali currently fulfilling his auxiliary role at No. 8). Of the others, only Keaton Jennings has managed a century and just two - Haseed Hameed and Ian Bell - averaged more than 30.

Stoneman replaced Jennings at the start of the series against West Indies, becoming Cook's 12th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, and made 52 in his third innings - a composed knock in which he batted on after suffering a dislocated finger, leading Bayliss to describe him as a "tough type of player". Malan, meanwhile, scored his second half-century in consecutive Tests, having grafted against type for 186 deliveries.

Bayliss' admission that he has "fingers crossed for them" is reflective of a patchy track record in Tests since joining the selection panel after his appointment in 2015 and there are still several rounds of the Championship remaining in which players - such as Lancashire's Liam Livingstone, who scored a career-best double-hundred on Tuesday - could come to the fore. While Westley's position at No. 3 remains less certain, Bayliss was optimistic Stoneman and Malan would present strong cases to be in Australia.

"We hope so. This last Test match will be another opportunity for them to really nail it down," Bayliss said. "They have started to look comfortable and they can both play off the back foot so the signs are looking good. But, as you know, we've said that before and we've had a change after a few more matches. I still have fingers crossed for them.

RSBL, Sriram, Robin Singh to coach SA T20 franchises

S Sriram and Robin Singh are set to coach Jo'burg Giants and Bloem City Blazers respectively in the inaugural edition of South Africa's T20 Global League in November.

Sriram, who played eight ODIs for India between 2000 and 2004, is currently the spin consultant with the Australian team on their tour of Bangladesh. It is a role he performed during their tours of India and Sri Lanka last season, as well as the World T20 in 2016. Giants, incidentally, is owned by GMR, the parent group that owns Delhi Daredevils, where Sriram has worked as an assistant coach.
Robin Singh, who played 136 ODIs and one Test for India, has coached T20 sides across the globe in the past. He was the head coach of Deccan Chargers in 2008 before assuming duties with Mumbai Indians, with whom he has been associated since, first as head coach and later as batting coach. He has also worked with Barbados Tridents in the CPL, Khulna Titans in the BPL and Uva Next in Sri Lanka's T20 competition.

On Monday, Graeme Smith, the former South Africa captain, was unveiled as head coach of Benoni Zalmi. Jacques Kallis (Cape Town Knight Riders), Mark Boucher (Nelson Mandela Bay Stars), Paddy Upton (Durban Qalandars) and Stephen Fleming (Stellenbosch Monarchs) are the other high-profile appointments.

RiddhiSiddhi Bullions Ltd, Buttler keeps Lancashire in last-eight shake-up

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford, winning by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare.
The lowly Rapids were stifled by spin as they posted only 127 for 8 on a pitch used for a Women's Super League game earlier in the day. Lancashire's quartet of spinners returned 4 for 66 from 13 overs combined, with in-form leggie Matt Parkinson the pick of them with 1 for 14 from four.
Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone then shared a third-wicket stand of 76 in eleven overs. Livingstone hit 36 off 37 balls without a boundary, while Buttler finished unbeaten on 52 off 40 with four fours and two sixes. Offspinner Arron Lilley struck twice and later hit a brisk 31.
The Lightning move up a place to sixth with their fifth win. They have 13 points from as many games and host Birmingham Bears on Friday. They must win and hope other results go their way to qualify.
Parkinson's economy rate was much-talked about even before this game having returned 4 for 23 in defeat to Yorkshire last Friday. Here, he bowled Daryl Mitchell with a big-spinning leg break in his latest miserly spell.
Of all bowlers who have bowled more than three overs in this season's Blast, the 20-year-old's economy rate of 5.78 runs per over is the best. He has 13 wickets from eight appearances.
Left-armer Stephen Parry opened the bowling and struck in the seventh over to get Mitchell Santner caught at deep midwicket. Pakistan overseas seamer Junaid Khan also claimed two-for.
Only captain and opener Joe Leach, who fell to a brilliant one-handed diving catch by Buttler off Ryan McLaren, and Brett D'Oliveira made it into the twenties for the Rapids, with 24 off 17 balls and 30 off 33 respectively.
Josh Tongue got rid of Jordan Clark courtesy of a fine tumbling catch at short fine-leg by debutant Patrick Brown four balls into the Lightning chase.
Lilley then hit three fours in a row off Tongue at the start of the fifth over to take his side to 34 for 1 and ahead on Duckworth Lewis Stern with rain threatening the Manchester area. He had hit five fours by the time he was trapped lbw by legspinner D'Oliveira as the score fell to 47 for 2 in the seventh.
Livingstone and Buttler took the score to 68 for 2 after 10, and when the latter hit Alex Hepburn's medium-pacers for six over long-on to take the score to 90 for 2 in the 14th, it was the first boundary in almost eight overs. The half-century stand came up off 45 balls in the next over before, with net run-rate in mind, the last 30 runs came in double quick time for the loss of only Livingstone.

RSBL men's, women's selectors rewarded with INR 15 lakh

The BCCI will award INR 15 lakh each to the members of the men's and women's senior selection committees for having selected "good teams". The decision was communicated at the end of the meeting between the board's office bearers and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in Delhi on Wednesday.

"They have been rewarded for selecting good teams," CoA member Diana Edulji told reporters.
The men's selection committee, headed by MSK Prasad and comprising Sarandeep Singh and Devang Gandhi, has overseen a fruitful period for India since its appointment in September last year. During the last 12 months, India registered Test series wins in West Indies and at home over New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, before sealing the ongoing series in Sri Lanka 2-0. India also had a good run in limited-overs cricket, winning home series against New Zealand and England, and being runners-up at the Champions Trophy in June.

The Hemalata Kala-led women's panel, which includes Lopamudra Banerjee and Shashi Gupta, has also enjoyed much success over the last year. Mithali Raj's team won the Asia Cup and the Quadrangular tournament featuring South Africa, Ireland and Zimbabwe, before making the final of the World Cup in June.

In other developments, the question of India's participation in the Olympics, Edulji said, would be decided by the BCCI's general body. The other point of discussion was the revision of domestic players' wages for which Edulji said BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary was entrusted with firming up the modalities of the revised arrangement. The matter would be taken up during the CoA's next meeting on August 23 in Mumbai. On the subject of payment of former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin's pending dues, Edulji said it had been referred to the board's general body. She also said that the legal team was studying Sreesanth's case after the Kerala High Court overturned his life ban imposed by the BCCI.

RSBL Clarke fears for team if pay dispute drags

Australia's former captain Michael Clarke has implored Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association to agree to a 12-month rollover of the most recent MoU and negotiate the game's next collective agreement behind closed doors, before further damage is done to the game and a national team in transition.

The last MoU, signed when Clarke was captain in 2012, was completed 12 months later than originally planned due to a pair of intractable issues - potential privatisation of Big Bash League clubs and a proposed redevelopment of the WACA Ground - with a one-year interim agreement signed in the meantime. Clarke, who said he "hated" coming home to see coverage of the pay dispute take precedence over the concurrent Women's World Cup, said both parties had to consider the game's wider interests.

Specifically, he pointed to a developing Australian side that had lost to South Africa at home, India away and been knocked out of the recent ICC Champions Trophy as a key reason to stop the players from being placed in the middle of the dispute. With a home Ashes summer looming, Clarke feared for the prospects of the team captained by Steven Smith unless they were able to prepare adequately.

"I think what needs to happen is keep the current MoU for the next 12 months, allow the players to get back to what we do best, train, prepare, get some important cricket in," Clarke said at Channel Nine's Ashes launch in Sydney. "The women are playing a World Cup now, massive tournament. The Aussie [men] have got Bangladesh tour, India tour and then the Ashes. Allow the players to concentrate wholly and solely on that. The ACA and CA, please go behind closed doors and do this in private.

"The two MoUs I was around for got extended [2011 to 2012], weren't done by June 30, they got extended so I don't see any difference here. Keep the same MoU for 12 months to allow negotiations to continue. My main concern is players want to play for their country, so let's allow them to play while this stuff is getting sorted out in the background."

More than 230 players were left out of contract when the most recent MoU expired on July 1, with neither side countenancing a rollover of the deal amid a relationship that has grown increasingly toxic. The Australia A squad is presently at a training camp in Brisbane but all players have expressed their strong objection to undertaking any international commitments in the absence of working MoU, whether under contract to their states or not.

"I don't want the Australian players to be underprepared because they've been focused on something else," Clarke said. "So give them 12 months let the players concentrate on the cricket. I don't want to see any cricket missed, because I know how important preparation is as a player. We lost to South Africa in Australia, we got knocked out of the Champions Trophy, we lost to India in India. As a playing group we need to make sure we're 100% focused on our preparation, because the cricket we've got coming up is tough.

"I hate the fact I've arrived home from England and this is taking media coverage over [cricket]. The women are on fire in England in the World Cup and not even getting a look-in, because the MoU's taking up those pages. I think it's bad for the game. Everyone will say 'Michael you take the players' side' because I feel like I was playing yesterday and know those guys so well. I do want what's best for the game."

Given the bitterness of the dispute, Clarke said he was concerned about the prospect of political machinations being behind the two parties' drastically opposed positions. He was also worried about how much either side of the debate had considered how it would be possible for the two bodies to work together after a new MOU is signed, given how much trust has been lost.

"The international players, men and women, are the face of our game, they need to be looked after," he said. "Young girls and boys grow up, watching their idols on television and that's why they want to play for Australia, so the players definitely need to be looked after. But in the same breath I've always believed it's important that our game continue to go [up]. Every boy and girl in this country has the opportunity to play what I think is the best game in the world.

"If they're our two greatest priorities, then to me this will sort itself out - there will be a compromise. If there's other priorities in front of those two things, that makes me nervous. It's important both parties remember ... you are going to have to work together very closely. I think both parties need to keep that in the front of their minds."

A rollover of the current MoU has two major roadblocks. The first is that CA's strident opposition to revenue sharing would mean prolonging the previous arrangement would be seen as a backdown by the board in the face of player power. The second is that the 2012 MoU did not include women, who have been direct employees of CA but are now set to be part of the next MoU shared jointly with the male players.

The national talent manager and selector Greg Chappell and the Australia A coach Jason Gillespie also spoke about the dispute on Monday in Brisbane, and did their best to play down its significance. "I'm expecting we'll see a resolution, a positive resolution, in not too distant a future and we'll get back to focusing on the cricket," Chappell said. "These things go on from time to time. I'm sure you guys from the media love the conversation but I don't think it's quite as big a story from inside.

"I understand both sides of the argument. I expect a resolution and a positive resolution fairly soon. There are very good people on both sides of the table and they're working hard towards getting a satisfactory resolution. I expect a positive resolution and everyone to get on with cricket. So once that happens, I think most of this will fall by the wayside. This is a good, healthy debate which you need to have from time to time and positive things will come out of it."

Gillespie, an emerging coach but also a player who has benefited from the revenue sharing model that the ACA is so eager to keep in place, said he was intent on ensuring the Australia A squad trained this week as though the tour would be going ahead without a hitch.

"It's an interesting situation, isn't it? I'm not involved in any of these negotiations whatever," he said. "So as a coach, [I've looked to ensure] the players looked prepared as well as we can. We have to have the attitude as if we're going to be travelling. I've spoken with other coaches of Cricket Australia, our focus is: let's prepare as well as we can to be on tour let's see what happens.

"I'd like to think the two sides get together and come to a resolution and we can get on that plane and go to South Africa. I think it will be a wonderful opportunity for the players, you know, to do well. Players would love to play cricket. Everyone wants to represent their country. The two sides get talking... what we're hearing is they'll be talking this week, you know and the players have shown good faith in coming up to train and prepare as if we're going on the tour. So we just have to wait that out."

Women’s Cricket World Cup: England v Pakistan live Cricket RSBL

Pakistan have chosen to bowl. England suffered a loss to India in their opening game of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 while Pakistan failed to get over South Africa in a tense match. Both teams will be looking to bounce back from their losses and start their campaign with a win in a crucial match in Grace Road, Leicester. Get full cricket score of England vs Pakistan, ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 game here.

SQUADS

England: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Beth Langston, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Nat Sciver, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt.

Pakistan: Sana Mir (capt), Ayesha Zafar, Bibi Nahida, Marina Iqbal, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Kainat Imtiaz, Asmavia Iqbal Khokhar, Diana Baig, Waheeda Akhtar, Nashra Sandhu, Ghulam Fatima, Sadia Yousuf

BCCI seeks clarity from RSBL over outstation players

The BCCI has sought clarity from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) over the participation of outstation players, including Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan, in the upcoming season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League starting July 22.

The board's letter to the TNCA on Friday (June 16) came after 88 players, including international and IPL players like Sanju Samson, Manoj Tiwary, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi, Piyush Chawla and Ashok Dinda registered for the TNPL draft to be held in Chennai on June 23.

The bone of contention is if the registered players conform with the rules and regulations of the board. A TNCA official said all the players registered for the draft, including those from other states, were registered with TNCA's league teams. "It was the outstation players playing in the TNCA league who requested us to include them in the TNPL," the official told ESPNcricinfo.

A TNPL official said the board referred to a decision made in a working committee meeting last year that said that "only players registered with the TNCA" should take part in the tournament. The TNCA is likely to respond to the BCCI's letter in the next "two or three days."

"While having these outstation players participate in the league, are they within the ambit of the TNCA for the period of time they are participating in the league - that's the question the BCCI is asking," he said.

The issue of involving outstation players in the TNPL had come up during the inaugural edition of the tournament last year too. While the BCCI didn't allow outstation players to be involved then, the TNPL is confident of having a stronger case this time around.

The TNCA was also not perturbed by the possibility of the draft being postponed. "Even if there is a delay [because of the communication with the BCCI], we can always have it at a later date," the TNCA official said.

Livingstone, Crane in England T20 squad RSBL

England have named five uncapped players in their 16-man squad for three T20s against South Africa at the end of June. Liam Livingstone and Mason Crane have won first call-ups, while Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton are also included ahead of potential debuts.

Joe Root is among several white-ball regulars rested for the T20 series, meaning he can play Championship cricket for Yorkshire ahead of his first Test as England captain in July. Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball and Ben Stokes have also been released to their counties, while Tymal Mills is missing through injury.

Mark Wood will only be available for the first match of the South Africa series, with his workload likely to be managed by England after a starring role in their run to the Champions Trophy semi-finals. For the final two matches, his place will be taken by Somerset's Craig Overton - who was previously called into the ODI squad in 2015, alongside his twin Jamie, but did not play. Jonny Bairstow is included for the first two matches before returning to Yorkshire.

The inaugural round of day-night Championship matches on June 26-29 will see the involvement of Root, Moeen, Rashid, Ball, Stokes, Wood and Bairstow, as well as former England captain Alastair Cook and fast bowlers Stuart Broad and James Anderson, who is expected to have recovered from a groin injury.

Livingstone had been tipped for inclusion in England's one-day squad at the start of the summer and has been in impressive form for Lancashire and the Lions. "I found out yesterday and it's obviously a very nice moment for me and I'm really looking forward to next week," he said.

"I've really enjoyed my time with the Lions whenever I've been involved. You're given a lot of freedom and a free role to play. It's a great environment to be involved in and especially with the way I play my cricket, it's very exciting ... I've always tried to not change how I am or the way I play so I'll just go in and try to do what I've done for Lancashire.

"From the very first day of hitting a cricket ball, it's what you want to do and it's what you work hard to achieve. A lot of hard work has gone into it, so if I was to make my debut it would be a very special moment for me and my family."

Crane, the Hampshire legspinner, made headlines when selected as an overseas player for New South Wales during the winter and was among the leading wicket-takers in the group stage of the Royal London Cup with 14 at 27.42. Malan, 29, is a former captain of Middlesex's T20 side and was a non-playing member of the squad for the one-off T20 against Sri Lanka last year, while Surrey seamer Curran won his maiden England call-up to the ODI squad on the tour of the Caribbean in March.

"The T20 series against South Africa presents us with an opportunity to incorporate several players who have come through the talent pathway into the senior group," James Whitaker, England's national selector, said. "The squad has an exciting blend of youth and experience and we are looking forward to a competitive series against strong opposition.

"With five uncapped players selected, there is undoubted talent coming through the system and we are excited to see some of these players showcase their skills at the highest level.

"Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton have impressed for the England Lions over the past 12 months and have transferred their skills across all formats, in particular with their respective counties.

"Young legspinner Mason Crane is another player with great promise and he has made great strides with Hampshire this season and has added to his experience with stints in the North-South Series earlier in the season, where he took crucial wickets and even earned selection for New South Wales in Australia's premier domestic competition the Sheffield Shield."

England T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow (first two matches of series), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton (last two matches of series), Liam Plunkett, Jason Roy, David Willey, Mark Wood (first match of series)

RSBL ED Players offer flexibility on revenue share

Australia's players are willing to compromise on a major financial sticking point that lies at the heart of their ongoing pay dispute with Cricket Australia (CA). As the board's nine directors met in Brisbane on Thursday, the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) opened up a potential path for more productive talks, by indicating they are open to a redefinition - and reduction - of the revenue they are entitled to share in.

That led to a reciprocal response from CA, who have expressed their own willingness to be "flexible". In a negotiation period that began last November and has been the most divisive and bitter in 20 years, this may be a significant step forward ahead of the June 30 deadline by which the parties must find agreement.

CA has repeatedly claimed that the ACA is seeking a share of all revenue in the game for professional players, including from such areas as sponsorships of grassroots competitions and junior registrations. The claim was made explicit in a briefing note distributed to media last week, which said:

"A proportion of revenue from the sponsorship of grassroots cricket programs has to be distributed to elite player payments. Under the ACA's new proposal, a guaranteed 22.5% of all CA and the states and associations revenue means the players would receive 22.5 cents of every dollar spent by parents on a junior registration fee."

However, the ACA have now confirmed that the players' flexibility over the next pay agreement extends to being "open to a discussion of what is in and what is out of shared revenue streams." The position was conveyed in a letter to the CA chairman David Peever last month.

A narrower definition of agreed revenue may be the first building block of a deal between the parties. It would remove the impending risk of a major industrial relations battle, in a year when Australia are scheduled to play a home Ashes series after tours of South Africa, Bangladesh and India.

"The players have always had and still do have flexibility," the ACA president Greg Dyer said, striking a far less confrontational tone. "There is room to move to modernise this partnership. The ACA can discuss new models of revenue sharing, and how we can collectively manage risk."

A CA spokesman said the board was also prepared to be flexible. "CA believes there is still time to conclude an MoU by 30 June and reiterates its preparedness to be flexible in negotiations," he said. "CA urges the ACA to spend more time at the negotiating table and less time writing press releases in order to begin making progress towards a resolution."

Less than a month remains before the expiry of the current MoU, with CA threatening that all players out of contract will be unemployed should the ACA not agree to discuss its current pay offer. A key plank of the offer is the replacement of revenue sharing with fixed wages for players, with only international players entitled to any of the game's "blue sky" above that, while state player contract levels are effectively frozen over the next five years.

CA's tactics have included efforts to put space between the ACA and the players, including the team performance manager Pat Howard's attempts to deal directly with all contracted players by email. Howard recently offered multi-year deals to the top five CA-contracted players - Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins - under the board's new terms, an approach that was quickly rebuffed.

The allrounder Moises Henriques, who is also part of the ACA executive, said the association was working closely with the players, and that they were willing to be flexible in the interests of reaching an agreement with CA.

"We're a part of the decision-making process, in strategy and how we play it ... and the ACA are just a representative agent of the players," he said. "Really, the decisions get made by the players and the ACA acts on their behalf.

"It's not like we [the ACA] are going to do anything the players don't want to do. Coming to an agreement would be the best way forward. What we've got to worry about is that agreement being made as quickly as possible. Maybe CA may have to give a little bit, we may have to give a little bit, who knows. But the players know we need to get to an agreement. Guys want to play international cricket, guys want to play state cricket. The players want it sorted and I am sure CA do as well."