All posts by csb10.top

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.”

After controversially dropping Karun Nair from the Test squad, even though he didn’t get a chance to fail or succeed for six straight Tests, India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has given the batsman an advice: “keep on piling runs” in the domestic circuit and for India A.Prasad also clarified that he had personally spoken to Nair after leaving him out of the 15-man squad for the West Indies series at home. Nair’s omission created a stir because he was given no opportunity to prove himself on the preceding England tour and the lone Test against Afghanistan at home.”I personally spoke to Karun soon after the selection of the Test team against the West Indies and also told the ways to make a comeback. The selection committee is very, very clear with regard to the communication process,” Prasad told . “He will have to keep on piling runs in Ranji Trophy and whatever India A series is there. Karun is very much in the scheme of things for Test cricket. Right now, we have advised him to focus on performing in domestic and India A matches.”Prasad further stated that Nair had been spoken to in England too, where the batsman sat on the bench for the entirety of the tour, despite being named in the squad for all five Tests. That included the much talked-about inclusion of a debuting Hanuma Vihari, who edged out Nair to replace the injured Hardik Pandya for the fifth Test at The Oval.”Communication has always been the strong point of this committee,” Prasad said. “It’s really tough to inform any unpleasant news to any player. You need to have valid reasons to explain them about their exclusion though they may not agree with it.”Having said that, we are very clear and candid in our communication process. My colleague Devang Gandhi spoke to Karun Nair at length in England to keep him motivated and wait for his opportunities.”These statements are in direct contradiction to Nair’s. Shortly before the squad for West Indies series was announced, Nair had stated that he had received no communication about why he didn’t get a chance in England even though he was picked in the squad before Vihari.”We [Nair, the selectors and the team management] haven’t had any conversations. Nothing at all,” he had said. “It is difficult, but I haven’t gone forth and asked anything, but yeah, we haven’t had any conversation.”

The Bangladesh government is making last-ditch attempts through the United Nations (UN) to keep hosting rights for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. Asif Mahmud, the youth and sports adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, said that it will speak to the UN about the countries that have put out travel restrictions on their citizens travelling to Bangladesh.On Saturday, the ICC informed the participating boards that it is still monitoring the situation in Bangladesh, and that it will consider all options, including moving the tournament elsewhere. As it stands, the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom (England and Scotland), India and New Zealand have either asked their citizens not to travel to Bangladesh or discouraged them from doing so.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCB considers this as its biggest barrier to the hosting of the tournament. Travel bans or restriction announcements can only be lifted by the respective governments, and cricket boards have little influence over them.”There are travel restrictions for some countries and so we will speak with the United Nations,” Mahmud said. “There are some issues regarding security and infrastructure and we will talk in this regard with professor Yunus [chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government]. He is a sports lover and hope that he can resolve the matter.”Related

• Zimbabwe express interest in hosting Women's T20 World Cup 2024

• Anamul recalls 'sleepless nights' after losing close friend in student protests

• Bangladesh in turmoil: how will cricket be impacted?

• BCB set to meet new sports head as calls for reform grow louder

The uncertainty regarding the World Cup comes at a time when the BCB is also going through a major crisis. Their president, Nazmul Hassan, also the former sports minister, has gone missing since the fall of the Awami League government on August 5. Several directors, who have direct or indirect political connections, are also untraceable.Mahmud said that he had discussed the possibility of an interim body to run the BCB, but he was aware of the board’s need for autonomy in its decision-making.”The BCB president is missing. Of course, for a federation to function, all of its organs need to work. The president holds an important responsibility and he is absent. The BCB is an autonomous federation and we cannot give them any decision.”We have suggested to the BCB directors to look at how to resolve the issue within the ICC’s legal framework. They will report to us later on whether to appoint someone for an interim period. We will continue the process in this regard.”We want to make required changes but at the same time we need to follow a process. We don’t want to change the person; rather, we want to change the system so that whoever comes in by following that system, corruption cannot come in and we want to take steps so that we can make a permanent solution.”

‘We lack in planning’ – Former BCB secretary calls for change

There is a growing call for reform in the BCB within the cricket community in Bangladesh, with former BCB general secretary Syed Ashraful Huq also joining in.Huq, who is regarded as one of the main architects of Bangladesh cricket, especially for his involvement in bringing ICC Full Membership to the BCB in 2000, said that the BCB’s functioning has been disappointing.”The BCB needs reform,” Haq said. “We gained Full Membership in 2000 but apart from some infrastructural development, we haven’t seen much improvement in our performance in the last 24 years. BCB doesn’t own a cricket ground, for instance. We lack in planning, and even when we have a plan, nobody has delivered on it.”BCB officials don’t lack in experience. Many of the directors are involved for 20-30 years, so their failure is quite disappointing.”

Birmingham Phoenix put themselves back into the knockout positions in the Hundred with an important win at Edgbaston, knocking Trent Rockets out of this year’s competition in the process.Tim Southee claimed a five-wicket haul, to restrict the Rockets to 118, before Liam Livingstone and Jacob Bethell helped the Phoenix to overtake Northern Superchargers in third with a measured chase.”It was a pretty good performance,” Southee said. “I think the bowlers assessed the conditions well and then the way the batters went about it towards the end, Bethell and Livingstone knocked it around and chose great options. So, I think it was a pretty good all-round performance.”I think we have had really good consistency over the last few games and have got to know each other a bit better. Obviously, Adam Milne and I have played a lot of cricket together, but for everyone else it’s great to have that experience of playing a few games together.”We adapted to conditions as quickly as possible, which helped us tonight and the surface offered us a little bit which we tried to get as much out of as we could.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Phoenix won the toss and chose to bowl, which proved a great decision from Moeen Ali, as his pace attack put on an exhibition of swing and seam bowling at the start of the first innings. The dangerous quartet of Tom Banton, Alex Hales, Joe Root and Rovman Powell were dismissed in the first 30 deliveries, as the Rockets fell to 22 for 4.Tom Alsop – making his debut in The Hundred – and Pakistan international Imad Wasim rebuilt for the visitors with a fifty partnership, before Imad was retired out on a run-a-ball 29, to be replaced by Chris Green. The Australian allrounder returned for the Rockets, replacing the injured Rashid Khan, but he was to last just five balls before being removed by Adam Milne, who took a well-deserved wicket.Alsop reached his half-century, and was then dismissed by the excellent Southee, who finished with 5 for 12 and momentarily thought he’d taken a hat-trick before being denied by an overturned LBW decision.Trent Rockets set Phoenix 119 to win, and Ben Duckett got the chase off to a flying start with 30 from 16 before Rockets came firing back at them. Luke Wood dismissed Duckett and Jamie Smith in consecutive balls to put the breaks on Birmingham’s fast start.Moeen Ali and Livingstone steadied the ship for a while before the impressive John Turner (2 for 17) removed captain Moeen and Dan Mousley.Livingstone and Bethell celebrate after taking the Phoenix home•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

The away team sensed it was their chance to build the pressure with the ball in the chase and they began to restrict Phoenix’s scoring opportunities, before Luke Wood released the pressure with a no-ball free-hit that Bethell deposited into the stands to give the home side some breathing room.Bethell (38* off 29) and Livingstone (30* off 32) then took Phoenix home with a half-century partnership, as they chased it with seven balls to spare.With one game left each, the result leaves three teams with a chance of joining Oval Invincibles in the knockout rounds – Phoenix, Southern Brave and Northern Superchargers. Defeat for Trent Rockets means that, like London Spirit, Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire, their tournament is over.

It’s barely been three months since the end of Sri Lanka’s ill-fated World Cup campaign, but things are already looking up, according to head coach Chris Silverwood, who has been impressed by his side’s showings so far, particularly in the last two ODIs against Afghanistan.Sri Lanka won both games by 42 and 155 runs respectively, with the batters piling on the runs on pitches that have been flatter than the surfaces traditional seen in Sri Lanka. Silverwood, much like Charith Asalanka two days prior, was pleased that SLC had taken his suggestion to curate flatter wickets to heart.”If we just look at 50-over cricket for the moment, our game plan is better suited to good wickets,” Silverwood said on the eve of the third ODI against Afghanistan. “I asked for flat wickets and thankfully I got the support in that from the powers that be.””For how we want to play our cricket, the nature of how we want to play it, then we need good wickets to do that. And to also allow players the opportunity to galvanise that game plan through the fact that you can go out and do it time and time again. Slow, low wickets don’t suit us to do that.”For me the wickets have been excellent here [in Pallekele]. Yes, we’ve seen lots of runs, but that’s what we want. We need to be able to put up those big scores and then we need to be able to defend them.”Related

• Asalanka pitches for batting-friendly tracks in Sri Lanka

• Binura Fernando comes in for injured Chameera for Afghanistan T20Is

• Mujeeb out of SL T20Is due to injury

In terms of defending those big totals, in the first game, despite Sri Lanka piling on a mammoth 381, Afghanistan ran them close only falling at the final hurdle following a spirited chase. In the second game however, with 308 defend, Sri Lanka’s bowlers made life much tougher for Afghanistan, ultimately resulting in a monumental collapse where the visitors lost their final eight wickets for just 25 runs.For Silverwood, this outcome was especially satisfying as it had been a result of the players actively taking on board and implementing the feedback from the coaching staff.”After the first game I thought there was plenty of room for improvement,” Silverwood said. “So we sat the lads down – all of them, not just the bowlers – and we showed them using the Hawk-Eye data what we were talking about. The areas that we bowled, the lengths that we bowled, what was and wasn’t successful, and talked about how we were going to tighten that up. And they did it beautifully in the last game.”Other things that we use is first and sixth ball – can you start your over well and finish your over well? Can you push the pressure back on to the batsman, and make them play the big shot? Rather than giving runs either side of the over. And it’s the job of the next bowler to pick up where they left off. So you’re constantly trying to build that pressure on to the batsman. And I think you saw us do that, particularly in the last game. We saw that with the boundary count coming down.”Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling coach Craig Howard and Wanindu Hasaranga at a training session•AFP/Getty Images

While Wanindu Hasaranga was the pick of the bowlers in the second ODI, grabbing four wickets, another who was particularly impressive was Asitha Fernando. Playing his first ODI in over a year, he returned figures of 2 for 23 in six overs, but those wickets were crucial as they broke the only two significant partnerships of the Afghanistan innings.Silverwood, who has been working closely with the Sri Lankan seamers, was full of praise for Fernando, who up until then had been primarily categorised as a Test bowler.”He certainly put his best foot forward in the last game,” Silverwood said. “The way he turned up on short notice, and the way he performed was fantastic. The skills that he’s got – what he showed us during the Test match – lend themselves very well to one-day cricket as well. The way that he can hit length hard time and time again, the lines that he bowls are very tight, and he’s got a very accurate bouncer.”For me, we need to keep pushing him on, keep working on that slower ball so he has that variation, but as for the basic skillset required to be successful in 50-over white-ball cricket he certainly showed he’s got that in the last game.”Going forward, the plan unsurprisingly is to build towards stability so that Sri Lanka can have a far better showing at the next ODI World Cup in 2027.”We are in that building phase again now, we’re building for that World Cup, and we have to make sure that we put all the building blocks in place,” Silverwood said. “So when we do arrive there we’re in a good place, everybody’s got experience under their belt, everybody knows their roles, and everybody has had success along the way as well so they carry that confidence with them.”

Bangladesh Under-19s, who had beaten India Under-19s in the Asia Cup in December last year, threatened to cause another stir when left-arm seamer Maruf Mridha took five wickets in the Under-19 World Cup in Bloemfontein. Maruf’s strikes kept India to 251 for 7, but Saumy Pandey trumped Maruf with 4 for 24 and bowled his team to victory.Musheer Khan, the younger brother of Sarfaraz Khan, pitched in with two wickets, including that of Mohammad Shihab James, who top-scored for Bangladesh with 54 off 77 balls. The rest of the batters collapsed around James as Bangladesh were bowled out for 167 in 45.5 overs. Musheer also effected a direct-hit to sink Bangladesh. Pandey was the most economical bowler on the day, conceding just 2.44 an over.Earlier in the day, India’s innings was built around half-centuries from opener Adarsh Singh (76 off 96) and captain Uday Saharan (64 off 94). Aravelly Avinash (23 off 17), who was picked by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2024 auction, and Sachin Dhas (26 off 20) then gave the innings some late impetus.Shahzaib Khan almost batted through the innings, scoring 106 from 126 balls•ICC via Getty Images

Ubaid Shah, the younger brother of Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Zeeshan, who has been part of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, took seven wickets between them to skittle Afghanistan Under-19s for 103 in their chase of 285 in East London.Opener batting Shahzaib Khan had laid the platform for Pakistan Under-19s’ 181-run victory with 106 off 126 balls. His knock contained ten fours and three sixes. He added 92 for the third wicket with Saad Baig, who hit 55 off 52 balls, to set Pakistan up for a big total. Khalil Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan, returning 4 for 51 in his ten overs.Pakistan’s total looked even bigger when Ubaid and Zeeshan ripped through Afghanistan’s top and middle orders. Wicketkeeper-batter Numan Shah was the only Afghanistan batter to pass 25 in the chase. Amir Hassan and Ahmed Hussain picked up a wicket each as Pakistan bundled Afghanistan out in 26.2 overs.Luc Benkenstein picked up key wickets in the middle overs•ICC via Getty Images

England Under-19s enjoyed a winning start to the Under-19 World Cup, easing past Scotland Under-19s in Potchefstroom.Luc Benkenstein, the son of former South Africa international Dale, sealed the victory with an unbeaten cameo after setting it up for England with a three-wicket haul. Farhan Ahmed, who is the brother of England international Rehan, also bagged a three-wicket haul to help England dismiss Scotland for 174.Captain Ben McKinney then hit 88 off 68 balls to rush his side to victory, with seven wickets and 142 balls to spare. He forged a 106-run partnership for the first wicket with Jaydn Denly, who made 40 off 50 balls.After Scotland were asked to bat first, they never got going and lost wickets in clusters. They didn’t even have a single half-century stand in their entire innings. Owen Gould top-scored for them with 48 off 61 balls, including five fours and a six. The other nine batters scored a combined five boundaries. Harry Armstrong was absent hurt for Scotland.

New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi has backed the “experienced heads” in their side to bounce back from the defeat in the opening Test against Bangladesh. New Zealand went down by 150 runs in Sylhet, after which their captain Tim Southee felt they didn’t bowl consistently in the right areas for long enough.Sodhi, who was the last batter dismissed in Sylhet, said the home side’s impressive showing also gave New Zealand the “blueprint” to play in these conditions.”The great success this [New Zealand] team’s had over the past decade has been being able to park these sort of things pretty quickly, whether it’s success or loss,” Sodhi said. “That’s going to be tested though. It is never anything to take for granted. It is always hard to come back off the back of a loss. But with the experienced heads here, we’ve been there, we’ve done that. We know how to apply ourselves into the next games. Hopefully, that’s something that we can commit to really well and apply to this next game.”It is obviously tough to come out on the losing side in that first game in Sylhet, but I think as the Test progressed, we found a bit more rhythm. Obviously, I haven’t played Test cricket in a while, so it’s always going to be tough in these conditions. The way that Bangladesh played, they certainly outplayed us. But upon reflection, I think they gave us a blueprint on what’s successful in these conditions, and hopefully we can apply that to this next Test match.”Related

• Bangladesh pull off quiet triumph at a time of major upheaval

• Southee admits NZ bowlers 'did not apply pressure long enough'

• Captain Shanto moulds Bangladesh in his forthright image

Bangladesh scored 310 and 338 in the first Test, totals that Southee felt were more than what New Zealand should have conceded. Sodhi also called for accuracy from the bowlers in their bid to draw level in the two-Test series.”It is about just working in partnerships and being a little bit more accurate,” Sodhi said. “That’s something hopefully we can come together as a bowling group over the next couple of days – discuss as a spin bowling group, seam bowling group, whatever that looks like, and try to make improvements. It’s always going to be challenging, not playing a lot of Test cricket over a long period of time, but when you come together, [it is about] how quickly you can adapt.”Sometimes you wish you could have adapted sooner in the last game, but we can’t sort of look back now. We’ve got to try to find all the learnings that we had in that last game and apply them to this one, and hopefully we can come out on the winning side.”Sodhi, who picked up three wickets in Sylhet, will return to Mirpur, the setting of his best ODI haul of 6 for 39 after scoring 35 off 39 balls with the bat against Bangladesh in September, for the second Test that starts Wednesday.”Going into conditions where you have had a bit of success, you always have a bit more confidence going into games like that,” he said. “It’ll just be about exposing the conditions as best as we can, figuring out whether it’s going to turn, or if it’s not, what that looks like for us in terms of attacking and defence. So I am really looking forward to the prospect of the second Test, but a couple of good hard days of practice beforehand.”