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Stiaan van Zyl’s marathon hundred set Sussex on course for a maximum-points win over Middlesex on day two at Lord’s.The South African left-hander batted for just over seven and a half hours for his 173 and with wicketkeeper Ben Brown weighing in with 107, Sussex, who bowled out the hosts for 138 on the opening day, piled up 481 for 9.Middlesex, for whom James Harris returned figures of 4 for 98, survived four overs before stumps reaching 9 for 0, but they face the prospect of having to bat out almost all of the remaining two days to salvage a draw.Sussex were only 31 ahead at start of play, but van Zyl and Brown showed great application to bat throughout an absorbing morning session against tight bowling from the hosts.Van Zyl moved to his half-century before surviving a decent lbw shout from Toby Roland-Jones in what was a probing opening spell from the former England seamer.Brown at this stage was completely becalmed and he got the benefit of the doubt on another lbw appeal when he had made just 18, Ethan Bamber the unlucky bowler. Just 83 runs came in that first session, but even so it meant Sussex were already more than 100 in front.The new ball was available almost immediately on the resumption, but instead of bringing much-needed wickets for the hosts it was the signal for a furious assault from Brown, who unfurled a series of glorious shots.It set up a race between the two batsmen as to who could get to three figures first. In the event van Zyl just prevailed, reaching the landmark from 233 balls with 12 fours.Not long afterwards it was Brown’s turn, 16 boundaries getting him to the century almost 100 balls quicker than his team-mate. His second fifty came up in 41 balls in a passage of play which saw 81 runs in the 55 minutes after lunch.It was 2:35pm by the time Middlesex got their first success of the day, Brown slogging across a straight one from Roland-Jones and losing his off bail.Two more wickets fell before tea, David Weise pulling a short one from James Harris to Roland-Jones in the deep, before Chris Jordan played on to give Bamber his first scalp of the innings.Van Zyl remained and any hopes of running through the tail were hindered by staunch support from Will Beer, who ensured maximum batting points were secured before tea. The pair batted deep into the final session taking the eighth wicket stand to 89 before van Zyl’s epic vigil ended when he was trapped in front by Harris.There was still time for Beer to make 50 and so equal his career-best, before Harris struck for a fourth time to scatter Ollie Robinson’s stumps, provoking Jason Gillespie’s men to declare 343 to the good.

England won comfortably, of course they did. They were chasing, after all, and the last time they lost an ODI at home batting second, the word “Brexit” was almost as unfamiliar (and the event as unlikely) as the scale of transformation this England side has undergone since that dreadful World Cup campaign Down Under.What were they chasing? It doesn’t really matter, though for the record, it was 359. England scoffed, as though merely posing the question was an insult to their abilities, and then, like a group of players with better things to do than dismantle Pakistan’s bowling attack, cakewalked to the finish line more than five overs ahead of time, having barely broken a sweat.It looked like almost anyone in that top seven was capable of gunning down what was, after all, England’s second-highest successful chase ever, but they were grateful for a pair as marvellous as Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy. England had won 15 consecutive ODIs when chasing a total at home, and the two openers were a major reason for that record. By the second over, Roy’s twin boundaries had put Pakistan on the backfoot, and what followed was an hour and a half of such glorious hitting even the most churlish of Pakistan fans would have had to applaud.Shaheen Shah Afridi dropping Roy was unquestionably a sliding doors moment, not just because of the devastation he wreaked thereafter but how simple the catch was. It plopped straight out of his hands at cover, and that may as well have been the match gone for Pakistan.Every strike was pure, every stroke convincing. There were no half-measures; Imad Wasim, usually Pakistan’s economical option, was smashed for a straight six by Roy off his first ball and then again a couple of overs later, while Bairstow seemed to pick up any length thanks to a strong bottom hand and lift the ball over midwicket for regular boundaries. By the time the hundred was brought up in the 13th over with a swept Bairstow six off Imad, England still needed 260 runs to win, but the game had the sense of a foregone conclusion already.It didn’t help the pitch was flat as a pancake, with no assistance whatsoever for the bowlers; one of the more amusing moments occurred after Hasan Ali swung a couple back into Bairstow, and took the surprised reaction of the batsman as an affront to his integrity. Pakistan’s fielding was sorely lacking, and the three simple catches they dropped didn’t help against an England side that needed no leg-up anyway. By the time Roy found the point fielder on 76, England had added 159 in 17.2 overs.Bairstow continued to hammer away at some hapless bowling without fear of retaliation; nothing Pakistan did appeared to hamper him. When Sarfaraz Ahmed brought Haris Sohail into the attack, Bairstow launched him for successive sixes that led to the loss of at least one ball, bringing up the 200 with the same shot.Bairstow eventually dragged on having raced to a remarkable 128 off 93 – he looked good for a double-hundred at one point – and Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali then took advantage of perfect batting practice conditions for what remained of the chase. There was never any real pressure, and Stokes found some of the aggression that has been missing in his game of late, while Root and Moeen played themselves into decent form. By the 45th over the chase was officially done, but in effect, England had had this game wrapped up a good couple of hours earlier.Imam-ul-Haq leaves the field after his 151•AFP

Put in to bat, Pakistan’s 358 was a particular surprise given the architect of their big score in Southampton, Fakhar Zaman, was dismissed inside the first over, reverting to recent form and nicking the fourth ball he faced off Chris Woakes into the slips for a simple catch.The total owed itself to Fakhar’s more consistent (but less explosive) opening partner Imam-ul-Haq, whose splendid innings of 151 formed the backbone of the innings. Having lost Fakhar and, shortly after, Babar Azam to a brilliant spell of opening bowling from Woakes, Imam consolidated with the maturity of a seasoned professional with Haris at the other end, crucially ensuring Pakistan maintained a healthy run rate on a small ground and an excellent surface for batting.Haris found some touch that should hold him in good stead for World Cup consideration, but a moment of carelessness may yet cost him. With the partnership standing at 68 and Haris having raced to 41, he cantered through for a single that was best run hard. Tom Curran sprinted the length of the pitch and sidefooted the ball, which cannoned into the stumps, replays showing Haris making no effort to stretch his bat into the crease. It cost him his wicket at a crucial time, and allowed England back into the game.Asif Ali came in at six and immediately put the spotlight on the selectors’ decision to leave him out of the preliminary squad again. Moeen was lofted into the sightscreen to get him going, and from there onwards, Asif got stuck in. Pakistan’s run rate picked up in a partnership that amassed 125 runs in 90 balls, with Asif posting a career-best 52 off 43, his second half-century in as many games.Imam wasn’t taking a backseat by any means, though, his thoughts having squarely turned to his sixth ODI hundred. Plunkett was worked away for successive boundaries to move Imam through to the 90s, and a whip off the pads got him through to three figures. It was then that he properly cut loose, smashing the final 51 runs off 35 balls. The feisty cockiness that endears and enrages so many in Pakistan had found its way back into his game, a kiss blown in David Willey’s direction following a tonked six over long-on unlikely to have enamoured him to the Bristol crowd.They could make their peace, though, with the revenge England dished out thereafter, and Pakistan can walk away wondering what indeed might have been enough to keep England at bay. Next up? Trent Bridge, the land of 481 and 444. Pakistan’s bowlers have been forewarned, but what they can do to be forearmed is anybody’s guess.

Another shattering spell from James Pattinson delivered Victoria their fourth Sheffield Shield title in five summers with a day to spare at Junction Oval and presented a near undeniable case for the fast man to be a part of Australia’s Ashes squad later this year.Set 388 for victory in nearly two days following a swift end to the Victorian second innings on the fourth morning, New South Wales rolled along to a highly promising 1 for 132 with Kurtis Patterson and Daniel Hughes well entrenched at the crease.However, after Peter Siddle coaxed a return catch from Patterson to follow up his 5 for 28 in the first innings, Pattinson was recalled to the attack by his captain Travis Dean and responded by blasting out Hughes, Moises Henriques and Jack Edwards in quick succession to leave only mopping-up operations for the rest.Pattinson’s match figures of 7 for 71 gave him 26 wickets at 18.92 for the Shield competition at a remarkable strike rate of 34.2 – he is now set to go to play for Nottinghamshire in the English County Championship – Victorian team-mate Siddle will be at Essex – with Australia’s selectors’ eyes peeled to put him into the Ashes touring party of 17.On a Junction Oval surface that offered variable bounce and seam, under cloudy skies that afforded the bowlers assistance in getting the Dukes ball swinging, it always looked to be a day readymade for the Victorians to complete an outright win. They did, without too much fuss, and the Shield title complemented the limited-overs title won at the start of the season and the Big Bash League trophy scooped by Melbourne Renegades – all three teams coached by Andrew McDonald.Marcus Harris continued his remarkable record in Sheffield Shield finals•Getty Images

Trent Copeland swung the ball around in the morning air to defeat Siddle and Scott Boland either side of Pattinson’s hook shot to fine leg off Sean Abbott, meaning the Blues were soon commencing the fourth innings of the contest.Nick Larkin and Hughes were given plenty of uncomfortable moments, culminating in Larkin dragging Pattinson onto the leg stump the ball after he had nearly been run out when sent back by his partner in pursuit of a quick single to get off strike and away from the Victorians’ fearsome spearhead.Patterson, himself a likely Ashes tourist, seemed intent on playing with aggression, attacking anything outside the off stump and enjoying a helping of fortune, including a low chance spurned by Dean in the slips. However, Patterson also contributed plenty of cultured strokes, putting together a century stand with Hughes that seemed briefly to put the visitors in position from which they might have thought of chasing down the distant target.Hughes had been uncomfortable against Jon Holland’s left-arm spin, bowled into the rough outside the off stump, but it was Siddle’s decision to move over the wicket to Patterson that drew a brief lapse from the batsman and a caught and bowled gleefully accepted by the paceman.At the other end, Pattinson returned to coax an edge from Hughes that Cameron White held on the second attempt, and his celebration hinted at the rush of wickets to follow. Jason Sangha was highly unfortunate to be run-out backing up when a drive by the proactive Henriques deflected from Siddle’s hand onto the stumps, but Pattinson was entirely responsible for the two swift deliveries that found Henriques’ inside edge and then Edwards’ outside edge.The remaining wickets fell steadily to Chris Tremain and Scott Boland, the last of them coming when Abbott chipped to mid-on and Pattinson claimed the final catch. It was the cue for celebrations, and no little number of Ashes deliberations.

Heather Knight, England’s captain, had talked up their squad depth ahead of the ODI series against India, but the side faltered in the first bout on the face of some superb bowling by India’s pacers and Ekta Bisht. The left-arm spinner picked up four wickets in the middle of a collapse – England lost seven wickets for 25 runs – as India took a 1-0 lead with an emphatic 66-run win while defending 202 at Wankhede Stadium.Put in to bat, India started slowly and set themselves up with a 69-run opening stand between Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues, before they slid to 95 for 5. Mithali Raj, batting at No. 4, shored up the inexperienced middle order with a 74-ball 44. The final kick came courtesy Jhulan Goswami’s 37-ball 30 to give India’s bowlers something to defend.In reply, England couldn’t really get off the blocks and kept losing wickets. It started with Shikha Pandey trapping Amy Jones plumb with a nip-backer in her first over. Sarah Taylor, returning from an anxiety-related issue that forced her out of the World T20, scratched around to make a 31-ball 10 before falling to a superb inswinger from Pandey. With no DRS in place, England were a tad unlucky as replays indicated the swing may have taken it down leg.Deepti Sharma chipped in with Tammy Beaumont’s wicket before the repair work came about through a 73-run fourth-wicket stand between Knight and Natalie Sciver.The pair received a reprieve each along the way, denying Poonam Yadav a wicket in the first and the last ball of the 25th over. Knight, on 22, mistimed a pull off Poonam to midwicket, where Bisht stuck her left hand out but was unable to cling on. Sciver, meanwhile, flashed hard at a legbreak that flew past wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia.Sophie Ecclestone was the best of the England bowlers•Getty Images

Bisht, however, made up for the lapse with a superb effort off her own bowling in the 31st over. Knight’s leading edge went over to Bisht rather innocuously, but with Sciver having backed up too far down the pitch, Bisht had enough time to collect it and run the non-striker out with a back-hand flip. This proved to be a huge moment in the game. With England needing 90 off 18 overs with six wickets in hand, Bisht took centre stage by completing a triple-wicket over in the 41st to cap off a collapse.”The total was perfectly chaseable,” Knight said after the game. “We bowled well, but were unlucky not to take more wickets up front. But we were more than happy with 200 to chase. It was sticky, it turned, but once you got to play 15-20 balls it became easier to play shots. The first 10-15 balls were the key. I don’t think we played it particularly well today. The pitch started to turn and deteriorated too. There was inconsistent spin as well which makes it harder.”Earlier, India’s middle-order woes resurfaced, albeit not as telling in manner as in the T20Is in New Zealand. It’s perhaps with the knowledge that the middle order, especially with Harmanpreet Kaur missing, is a tad brittle that their openers started cautiously, with the first six overs producing just 11.Those weren’t without drama, though. There was some raucous lbw appeals from the experienced pace pair of Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole. Rodrigues cut loose in the eighth over, flicking Shrubsole for two wristy fours. She countered the early movement deftly, picking the gaps for quick singles and eight well-timed fours in total.Mandhana, however, didn’t look her fluent best, beaten at least thrice by Shrubsole, before chopping on while attempting to pull Georgia Elwiss in the 16th over. Coming in at No. 3, Deepti became the first of left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone’s two victims thanks to some top-notch glovework from Taylor.Ecclestone, the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series against India last year, denied Rodrigues a half-century as she popped up a return catch with a top edge. Harleen Deol, the batting allrounder who replaced the injured Harmanpreet, made an eight-ball two on her international debut.One ball later, Mona Meshram, who had sat out all six matches across formats during the tour of New Zealand, was adjudged lbw, although the inswinger appeared to have struck her slightly high on the knee-roll. Thanks to Sciver’s double-strike, India had lost half their side for 95 inside 22 overs. Meshram’s dismissal capped a 42-ball frame during which India lost five wickets for 26 runs.Raj, meanwhile, held up one end and forged a 54-run stand with Bhatia, whose 41-ball 25 helped India inch closer to 150. But after Raj fell in the 42nd over, it was largely down to handy knocks from Pandey and, especially, Goswami that India went past 200. Goswami followed a six and a four with a brace before holing out with two balls remaining. By then, she had done enough to give England a good run for their money.

Jack Leach admits that his experience of spin-friendly conditions on last year’s England Lions tour of the Caribbean had led him to believe he would play a bigger role in the Test series against West Indies.On a tour that has confounded pre-series expectations – with England proving ill-prepared to compete with a pumped-up West Indies pace attack on spicy pitches – Leach has gone from being the joint-leading wicket-taker in a series whitewash in Sri Lanka before Christmas, to drinks waiter in the Caribbean.Leach had claimed 18 wickets at 21.38 in Sri Lanka in November – including his maiden five-wicket haul in Pallekele, and the whitewash-sealing wicket of Suranga Lakmal in the final match in Colombo – as England arrested a run of 10 overseas defeats in their previous 13 Tests by claiming an impressive 3-0 victory.But his return to the sidelines has coincided with England’s reversion to type in Barbados and Antigua, where they were thrashed by 381 runs and ten wickets respectively to extend a record of just one series win in the Caribbean in 51 years.”I’m four Tests into my career and it’s been two extremes,” Leach said. “That’s been interesting to experience, the highs and lows, and how more experienced players go about dealing with that. It’s about dusting yourself down to go again. That would be the main thing I have experienced.”It’s been about helping the guys and learning as much as I can, working on my game to keep improving,” he added. “The results haven’t been good but I have been excited with what I have done with my own game. I don’t feel I have wasted time, I feel like I have made improvements, definitely. I have found I’ve been down after the defeats even though I’m not playing and that’s a real positive thing.”With one Test remaining in the series, the scoreline of this latest tour is panning out much the same as Leach’s last trip to the Caribbean, a 3-0 defeat against West Indies A with the Lions last winter.However, the method of England’s dismemberment has been markedly different. The Lions repeatedly succumbed to West Indian spinners 12 months ago, not least the slow left-armer Jomel Warrican, who claimed 11 wickets on a turning pitch in Antigua but – like Leach – has been an unused squad member throughout this year’s Test series.Jack Leach juggles during a training session•Associated Press

The experience of that Lions trip almost certainly informed England’s selection for the first Test in Barbados, where Leach was the unlucky spinner to miss out as both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were chosen instead. Rashid went on to bowl just nine overs in England’s second innings, as it became clear that they had badly misread the conditions, and he was dropped in favour of Stuart Broad for Antigua.All of which has left Leach on the outside looking in, especially after Moeen bounced back from a grim display in the first Test with a half-century and three economical wickets in the second. The chances of him earning a berth in St Lucia seem remote.”I’m ready to go but I was so impressed with Mo in Antigua,” Leach said. “We have a good relationship and his last game he bowled a serious spell and scored some runs – that showed great character after his game in Barbados. So for me he’s doing a great job and I’m learning a lot from him.”With my role I have to be patient and know when I am going to be involved or not,” he added. “I came here last year on the A tour and it ragged square, so I came here thinking I’d be more involved. It just shows they can prepare whatever wickets they want here, I guess, and these two games I wouldn’t have expected to play.”Leach admits that his situation on the England tour is not dissimilar to that of his Somerset team-mate, Dom Bess, in the County Championship. Bess showed great resolve in his maiden Test series against Pakistan last year – earning his selection after Leach broke his thumb early in the season – but, with English conditions rarely favouring one spinner in a side, let alone two, he has since admitted he may need to move counties to enhance his prospects of remaining in England contention.”It’s a difficult situation,” Leach said. “I felt for Dom last year, from playing Test cricket, we were suddenly both in the second team. Then I was first team in the Championship and he was 12th man a lot. It’s very difficult.”The thing with Dom is he’s young and spinners develop later. He can go away and play, and that could be good for his cricket, or he could stay and try to get past me as No.1 spinner, which could also push him further. There is that healthy competition, we help each other but know we’re both going for one spot at times.”With the Antigua wicket reportedly under scrutiny from the ICC following the three-day finish to the second Test, Leach recognised a similar refrain to the one he and his Somerset team-mates have been hearing for several seasons now, given the uniquely spin-friendly conditions that prevail at Taunton.”We look at spinning pitches negatively but, if it’s seaming around, we’re not too bothered,” he said. “That needs to be addressed, how they mark pitches. We need to challenge people to be better at cricket rather than complain about pitches.”I think the surface at Antigua, we’d have not come up against it in county cricket – that might not be possible. I don’t know if that comes from the top, but I think it’s a big thing.”There’s also very few times where you spend 150 overs in the field and it’s a batting paradise … then you’re looking to spin them out on the final day. So as much as I think spinning pitches are important, I think playing on flat ones is too.””You can’t do things you haven’t practised before. For me, we need players to experience different surfaces. It’s important to change attitudes. That would strengthen our international teams in years to come.”

192 for 6 (Du Plessis 78, Hendricks 74, Shinwari 3-31) bear Pakistan 186 for 9 (Malik 49, Shamsi 2-33)Where Pakistan play with a stand-in captain and the bizarre arrangement of the PCB announcing captains will be appointed on a “series-by-series” basis, their South African counterpart – captain of all formats and all foreseeable series to come – demonstrated the benefits of having a rock in that position. Faf du Plessis thwacked 78 off 45 in a partnership with Reeza Hendricks that added a colossal 131 at almost eleven per over through the middle overs, helping South Africa post a ground record 192 in the first innings at Newlands. Hendricks played his own part in full measure, adding 74 off 41. Job done, Du Plessis came out to the press conference and announced that he would rest for the remaining two games of the series.For a Pakistan side that had put South Africa in after winning the toss, this was just a few too many. There was no partnership to even remotely be considered a challenger to that Hendricks-du Plessis onslaught. All South Africa’s bowlers needed to do was keep it straightforward, and watch Pakistan crumble under the pressure of a ballooning asking rate. They were more than up for it, and rewarded with a six-run victory, pulling ahead in the three-match T20I series.This might just be the start of the year, but you could be sure the partnership between Hendricks and his captain will rank among the elite by the time 2019 is out. Du Plessis has come in enjoying steely runs in the Test series and solid ones in the ODIs, and here he showed he could do sizzling runs too. From the moment he spanked Shadab Khan – the unfortunate whipping boy among a number of contenders in the Pakistan line-up today – through the offside for four, the gloves were fully off. Eighty-nine runs were scored in the seven overs beginning with that one, Hendricks just as much a participant in the carnage.15,13,12,14,15. Those were the respective fates of the bowlers tasked with sending down overs 11-15, Shadab, Hussain Talat, Usman Shinwari and Faheem Ashraf all unable to stem the flow of runs. The quicker bowlers were a shade predictable in their approach, both in terms of the pace and length they delivered at, allowing two settled batsman to take full advantage with almost consummate ease. Reeza Hendricks eyed Shinwari for the most severe punishment, a six over midwicket from around the wicket to Pakistan’s fastest bowler indicative of the confidence flowing through his veins following a brilliant ODI series.South Africa were so far ahead of par by the 15 over mark – 157 for 1 – they could afford a poor last five and still post a challenging total. Pakistan came back brilliantly with a Shinwari over that removed both du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen, conceding just one run. Ashraf nailed his yorkers in the dying overs as the runs began to dry up, and where the top order had once eyed 220, the lower order could only manage 192.Pakistan began poorly, Fakhar Zaman edging to slip off just the third ball. The sort of innings they have come to take for granted from the ever-dependable Babar Azam did arrive, and for a period, he and 22-year old Hussain Talat built up a launchpad partnership. The trouble was Talat wasn’t nearly as capable of keeping up with the required rate as Babar, and with the asking rate rising, someone had to take responsibility. 81 was added in 57 balls by the two, meaning around the halfway mark, Pakistan were just three short of South Africa’s equivalent tally.It was there that South Africa’s innings had really taken off, but the same overs in the Pakistan innings saw their challenge fade. Talat went looking for successive big hits, but it was the run out of Babar that twisted the knife into Pakistan. David Miller, who found himself all over the field in the final ten overs, directed a brilliant hit at one stump to catch Babar out. It would be one of a staggering six dismissals he effected, with four catches to complement two run-outs. From there on, Pakistan’s chase took on a manic, even unsophisticated air.Make no mistake, they were in it till the final few balls, but with the class of Babar removed, it was Malik at one end and rudimentary slogs at the other. The hosts were far more effective with the ball in the middle overs; Andile Phehlukwayo was the pick. The pace was varied effectively and the batsmen were routinely out-thought as slogs and misses became the norm, mistimed hits carrying to the deep fielders the expected outcome. Ashraf struck a six and got out, ditto Hasan Ali, and with skipper Malik the anchor from the other end, a bizarre game Pakistan were supposedly out of went to the final over.Here, Chris Morris, coming back into the side after an extended lay-off, showed the utility of his skillset. The yorkers were immaculate off the first two deliveries, forcing Malik to feel the pressure and hole out with three deliveries to spare. Shadab took it deeper still to make it ten off two, but in a game where South Africa always appeared to be just one step ahead, Morris made sure they came away with a six-run win to reflect that fact.

Wasim Khan, the incoming managing director of the PCB, hopes that Australia can be persuaded to return to Pakistan for the first time in more than 20 years in the early months of 2019.Australia, who last played in Pakistan in late 1998, are currently scheduled to play five ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE in March. But Wasim is keen to ensure any perceived security gaps are closed so that Australia can be persuaded to play matches in Pakistan at the start of that series in an attempt to bring regular international cricket back to the country.”I will ask the question,” Wasim told ESPNcricinfo. “We will continue to offer them the highest level security and, if they have any concerns, we will act to meet them.”Pakistan have been obliged to play the vast majority of their international cricket in the UAE since a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team convoy in Lahore in March 2009. While Zimbabwe played some limited-overs games in Lahore in 2015, Sri Lanka returned for a one-off T20I in 2017 and there have also been appearances by a World XI (2017) and West Indies (2018), the return of Australia would mark a significant step in the nation’s rehabilitation as a cricketing venue.Wasim will also invite an MCC team to tour the country in the coming months – it is understood the subject has already been broached with the MCC chief executive Guy Lavender – and invite county teams to use the excellent academy facility in Lahore as part of their pre-season training plans.Leicestershire, where Wasim remains chief executive until the end of January, are the obvious candidates. They currently have no pre-season trips planned in 2019, with Wasim accepting that such a visit may have to be sponsored by the PCB.A few PSL matches have also returned to Pakistan over the last couple of years, with a number of foreign players involved. Eight fixtures are due to be staged there, split between Karachi and Lahore, in the 2018 season, which starts in February.”It will probably be a process of baby steps,” Wasim continued. “I need to sit down with other boards and ask them: where are the gaps in our plans that worry you? What can we do to assure you? What will it take to get you to come back? I want to hear what concerns they have and find a way of meeting them.”We have excellent facilities. We have a great passion for the game. If we can get more foreign players coming to Pakistan more often, hopefully we can normalise playing in the country again.”

Sunil Gavaskar versus Dennis Lillee. Venkatesh Prasad versus Michael Slater. Andrew Symonds versus Harbhajan Singh. Ricky Ponting versus Zaheer Khan. Gautam Gambhir versus Shane Watson. David Warner versus Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli versus Steven Smith.Australia versus India has become synonymous with individual encounters, many of them ugly ones. The Harbhajan v Symonds narrative overshadowed an entire summer, while Kohli’s verbal and mental duels with Smith in 2017 included accusations of systematic cheating by India’s captain. Even the 2014-15 summer, played out in the shadow of Phillip Hughes’ death, contained more histrionics and confrontations than anyone expected.So what to expect this time around, when Australia are seeking to remake themselves in the wake of the Newlands scandal, while India under Kohli glimpse their best chance, perhaps ever, to win a series in this country? Kohli and Tim Paine’s teams will exchange handshakes at the outset of the encounter, in a custom the Australian captain has introduced post-Newlands, but the visiting captain was under no illusions that attempts to get under each other’s skin would take place.”I don’t see stuff happening, which has happened in the past, where both teams have crossed the line but still it’s a competitive sport, it’s international cricket,” Kohli said in Adelaide on Wednesday, the eve of the first Test. “We do not expect guys to just come in and bowl and just walk back. There are going to be times when you have to put the batsmen under pressure, not necessarily crossing the line but just get into their heads, which you expect from any side in the world, not just Australia.”It is going to be there, but it’s not going to be at the level that has happened in the past where both teams have lost control. But the competitiveness will be there because you eventually want to get guys out if the situation is going your way and you understand you’re up against an important guy in the opposition, you will go hard at that person.”Be it in your body language or just putting in a word or two. But I don’t see anything radical happening, because the skill-set is high, so we necessarily would not need to get into anything. But at times where the situations are difficult, you do find ways to upset the batsman’s rhythm and I think a bit of banter there is not harmful at all.”Last week, Paine told ESPNcricinfo that he would not be averse to allowing his players to pick fights should they decide they needed to for reasons of motivation, with the significant change that this should now never lurch into the sort of abuse seen when Warner and Quinton de Kock became embroiled in Durban earlier this year.”It depends on the individual. I know some guys enjoy it, some guys it doesn’t matter,” Paine said. “In Test cricket and with some of the guys in the Indian side, there’s going to be times where there’s a bit of heat out in the middle, and guys are going to be right into the contest. The focus for us has got to be on delivering our skill as well as we possibly can, so if guys want to get involved in a bit of that stuff to get themselves going, then that’s great.”But we now know the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong, and what’s expected. We’re not going to be going over the top, but certainly you’ve got to stand up for your team and your teammates, and I’m sure when the time comes for that we’ll be doing that. But the main focus for us will be to play the best cricket we can.”However on match eve, he offered a simple message about how much things have changed for Australia since Newlands. Where once winning was the only thing, it is now one of two. “We play Test cricket to win, there is no doubt about that,” Paine said. “Clearly we’ve realised we needed to do some work in some areas, of gaining the respect of our country is as high a priority as is winning.”The way that Australia will play, and the manner in which Paine will lead, will undoubtedly be influenced by home surrounds. As Kohli put it, there is no Australian team yet selected that is vulnerable at home, and that aura will remain evident even if Smith and Warner are absent. “There’s no doubt playing in Australia suits our team,” Paine said. “Having Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins back in as well is going to be different and the style of play in Australia compared to the UAE is completely different, but in terms of leadership style it’s going to be exactly the same we are going to go about it the same way we did over there, it’s just going to be tactically slightly different.”It’s a huge honour, a massive privilege [to captain at home]. I just had an interview with Ricky Ponting and we went through the names of Australian Test captains over the years, so it is a little bit daunting to be in a bracket with some of those guys. At the same time I’m trying to keep it as simple as I can, I’m trying to be myself and do my job which is first and foremost to wicket keep and bat. I’m hugely honoured to be captain of Australia but I am not letting it weigh me down too much.”For all those aforementioned duels, the distinct impression in Adelaide on series eve was that both Australia and India would prefer that this contest is boiled down to cricket’s most fundamental contest: that between bat and ball.

Virat Kohli, the India captain, hopes match officials will take into account external factors such as heat while taking calls on unscheduled drinks intervals in Tests. As per the new ICC regulations from September 30, water breaks are permitted only at the fall of a wicket or in-between overs, with unscheduled breaks at the umpires’ discretion.With temperatures touching nearly 40 degrees Celsius on each of the three days of the Rajkot Test between India and West Indies, players from both sides were constantly under the supervision of umpires while asking for drinks breaks. This extra scrutiny facilitated improved over-rates – India even managed 17 per hour across days two and three.”That was a bit to do with the umpires pushing us as well, with these new rules coming in of not drinking too much water,” Kohli said after the game, when asked of improved over-rates. “These things should be considered according to the conditions we play in.”While batting, Cheteshwar Pujara worked around the water-break restrictions by sipping from small bottles in his pocket. “The guys really struggled in this game because of those few changes,” Kohli said. “It was quite difficult for the guys not to drink water for close to 40-45 minutes while batting and on the field as well. I’m sure they’ll look into this.”The heat also played a part in India sacrificing an extra batsman to play a fifth bowler. “We wanted to have the extra guy because of the heat factor,” Kohli said. “Four bowlers would have struggled in these conditions and we just wanted to give them bit more breaks in between and still have quality bowling coming at the opposition.”Looking back at the Test, Kohli was particularly happy with Ravindra Jadeja’s contribution lower down the order. “We wanted him to cross the three-figure mark because we believe in his batting ability,” he said. “We believe he can change many games for us and have match-winning contributions with bat and ball. On the field, he’s electrifying anyway.”Kohli also had praise for the debutant Prithvi Shaw, whose 134 earned him the Player-of-the-Match award. “Easy conditions or not, you still have to back yourself to dominate at the Test level and the guy showed that he’s different quality and that’s why he’s been pushed upon into the Indian team and he just grabbed his opportunity with both hands.”Ranji Trophy debut hundred, Duleep Trophy debut hundred and Test match, first man to do it, really happy for him. Excited because he takes the challenge head on, which is very good to see from a captain’s point of view.”

Matt Prior, the former England wicketkeeper, has urged Jonny Bairstow not to attempt to return too early from his ankle injury.Bairstow sustained the injury during the limited-overs section of England’s tour and had to watch on as Ben Foakes was called into the side and made a brilliant start to his Test career. Not only did Foakes become only the second England wicketkeeper to make a century on Test debut – Prior was the first – but he equalled a Test record by claiming a dismissal with just his second delivery in the field. He was also the first England wicketkeeper to score a Test century in Asia.All that has left Bairstow facing the possibility that he may struggle to regain his preferred place behind the stumps. But while Prior understands Bairstow’s enthusiasm to return, he has cautioned him against trying to do so too early.”You don’t want to rush back from the injury he has,” Prior said. “I’ve mentioned this to Jonny. It can just create a lot more hassle.”It’s not so much the forward and back and linear movement that will be an issue for him, it’s going to be the sideways movement that’s going to be an issue.”If you try and keep wicket over here, in these conditions that are very, very physically demanding, half-injured or with a slight injury, you’re going to under-perform. You’re not just going to let yourself down; you’re going to let the team down as well.”Prior knows all too well the dangers of trying to play while injured. In the final matches of his Test career, he attempted to play through an Achilles problem that not only compromised his performance, but worsened the injury and hastened his retirement.”I’ve learned from experience and unfortunately I couldn’t come back from it,” Prior said. “There is the bravado of ‘Oh, I’m playing for my country, they’re going to have to wheel me off’.”But it doesn’t get you very far, quite frankly. You’d rather go away, give yourself that extra week to come back fully fit so that you can perform at 100%. Not only for yourself, but for your team.”Jonny Bairstow was back in training after an ankle injury•Getty Images

But Prior, who witnessed Foakes equal his record as he is in Galle as part of the Talksport 2 commentary team, did suggest that “it would be harsh” to leave out Bairstow if he is fully fit.”We’re very quick to forget Jonny has been one of England’s standout performers over the last couple of years,” Prior said. “He’s a phenomenal talent and I don’t think we want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Jonny, fully fit, would have played this Test match, probably would have performed well, done well with the gloves and scored runs and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I think it would be harsh not to pick him.”You want to remember what a good player Jonny Bairstow is. If he is fully fit, then he should come back in to the team. Whether he keeps wicket, that’s a whole other conversation. Who knows? That will be based on the balance of the team.”The selectors have given themselves a nightmare by bringing Foakes over here in the first place. How are we going to play, potentially, Bairstow, [Jos] Buttler and Foakes in the next Test? I haven’t worked it out yet. The only thing I can come up with is if Ben Stokes then moves up to three, you have Joe Root at four and Bairstow, Buttler, Foakes, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran. That’s quite a batting line-up.”You’ve got to pick the team that’s going to win you a Test match on any given day. That’s how you have to go about your selection, otherwise you can get too emotional about it. If it’s deemed that actually Ben Foakes isn’t in that XI that’s going to win in Kandy then you have to make that tough call. It is going to be a selectors’ nightmare.”