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The England & Wales Cricket Board has pledged a funding boost for women’s cricket of £20 million over two years, and plans to invest £50 million in the next five years, in a bid to make cricket into a gender-balanced sport.The challenge of transforming women’s and girls’ cricket was one of six priorities within the ECB’s ‘Inspiring Generations’ strategy for 2020-2024, and part of the new remit is a commitment to the funding of 40 full-time professional, domestic contracts, in addition to the existing central contracts for England Women’s elite players.A ten-point action plan was unveiled by Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director for women’s cricket, at an event in London, with a focus on five key objectives:Participation: To increase the number of women and girls playing cricket recreationally
Pathway: To develop aspiring female cricketers (U11-17) as players and people
Performance: To drive the performance of England women’s cricket through a new semi-professional, eight region structure
Profile: To elevate the profile of women’s cricket through The Hundred, the England Women’s team and the elite game
People: To increase the representation of women across the cricket workforce”Cricket has been an integral part of my life, as a player and in my role of Managing Director of Women’s Cricket. I have never been more excited by the opportunity in front of us right now,” said Connor.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Recent initiatives have given women and girls more opportunities to play, such as All Stars Cricket for 5-8-year-olds, the South Asian female activators programme, and the Kia Super League for our most talented domestic cricketers. But to truly transform women’s and girls’ cricket, we must now move from targeted standalone programmes to addressing the whole pathway as one.”We have an amazing opportunity to make cricket the sport we want it to be – a sport that is modern, innovative and inclusive. I have been so heartened by the level of enthusiasm, commitment and support for this plan from everyone involved in cricket.”Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, added: “During the development of Inspiring Generations, and extensive conversations and research across the game, the strong appetite to transform cricket’s relationship with women and girls was abundantly clear.”There is tremendous energy across the cricket network to pursue the game’s largest growth opportunity and to increase the number of women and girls playing, watching and volunteering at every level of the game.”This plan, formed in collaboration with the whole cricket network, and supported by our commercial and media partners, represents a crucial step in achieving our ambition of making cricket a gender-balanced sport.”The plan was produced following two years of consultation with all 38 Counties and Cricket Wales, and detailed analysis of thousands of survey responses from the recreational and elite game.To test some of the recommendations for the recreational game, ECB has run pilot programmes with over 600 cricket clubs to better understand the essential criteria in creating the most sustainable women’s and girls’ clubs.”This action plan is a really exciting next step in the continued growth of women’s cricket,” said Heather Knight, England Women’s captain. “We need more young girls to be inspired to play and those young girls need to be able to see a clear pathway above them that encourages them to continue pursuing the game.”As England players we’re fortunate enough to meet lots of young girls who love the game and it means so much to us to see how much they love cricket. Much of this plan is about normalising the game for women and girls and I’m excited to see how this increased opportunity takes the game forward.”

The major tournaments on the women’s calendar for 2022 now include the ODI World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and the Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2020The ICC announced on Thursday that the next women’s T20 World Cup, originally scheduled to be held in South Africa in November 2022, has been postponed to February 2023. Therefore only two multi-team major women’s events will be played in 2022 – the ODI World Cup in New Zealand followed by the Commonwealth Games in July, with the multi-format Ashes scheduled for the latter half of the year.According to an ICC release, the decision was made taking into consideration that there are “currently no major women’s events scheduled to take place in 2023, [so] the board confirmed the switch for the T20 World Cup to better support player preparation and to continue to build the momentum around the women’s game beyond 2022.ALSO READ: Six teams to qualify via ICC rankings for 2022 Commonwealth Games Speaking on the development, ICC CEO Manu Sawhney said: “Moving the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to 2023 makes perfect sense on a number of levels. Firstly, it will provide a better workload balance for players giving them the best possible opportunity to perform to the highest levels on a global stage. Secondly, we can continue to build the momentum around the women’s game through 2022 and into 2023. We are committed to fueling the growth of the women’s game and today’s decision enables us to do that over the longer term.”In August, the ICC had announced that the 2021 women’s ODI World Cup, originally scheduled for February-March 2021 in New Zealand, was deferred by a year, with an eye on maintaining the “integrity of the tournament” in the wake of the disparity in the level of preparedness of the teams caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.The governing body, however, is yet to make an announcement on the fate of the inaugural Under-19 women’s World Cup, which Bangladesh are due to host in January 2021.

While the 32-year-old Brazilian is reminding everyone of his quality, his supposed successor is having to apologise for his poor form

Harvey Elliott wasn't the least bit surprised by Alisson Becker's history-making heroics at Parc des Princes last Wednesday night – but he was still blown away by them. "I've got no words, to be honest," the forward told while standing alongside Liverpool's No.1. "This guy, he's just unbelievable, the best in the world. Each and every game he shows it, [he] keeps us in so many games. Without him, I don't know where we'd be."

They certainly wouldn't be going into the second leg of their last-16 tie with a 1-0 lead over Paris Saint-Germain, who peppered the Reds goals with shots for 90 minutes. Alisson made nine saves in a shockingly one-sided first leg and, as a rueful Luis Enrique admitted afterwards, five of them were "amazing".

"Their best player was the goalie," the Spaniard said. "Alisson decided which way this game went." Peter Schmeichel wholeheartedly agreed, as the Manchester United legend said on that Liverpool would have lost 3-0 had it not been for "one of the best goalkeeping performances I've seen in my life."

Given Alisson is only 32 – relatively young for his particular position – it feels a little strange that there is a chance that he could be usurped as Liverpool's first-choice shot-stopper this summer – or even leave the club. After all, the Reds have already put a succession plan in place, with Giorgi Mamardashvili set to belatedly arrive at Anfield this summer from Valencia. However, while the presumption was that the Georgian would immediately take over in between the posts from Alisson, their contrasting form right now could well prompt a rethink…

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  Not a priority, but prudent

  Liverpool's recruitment team are rightly copping an awful lot of flak for allowing key trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold to enter the final year of their respective contracts. However, they were praised for moving so quickly to agree a deal with Valencia for Mamardashvili that will see him move to Merseyside at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

  A new goalkeeper didn't feel like it should have been a priority for the Reds at the time – particularly as they arguably have the world's best No.2 in Caoimhin Kelleher – but it was hard to argue with the level of prudence at play.

  If the decision had already been made that Kelleher wasn't quite good enough to be Alisson's heir, then the club was right to line up an alternative sooner rather than later, and Mamardashvili was unquestionably a strong candidate to become Liverpool's next No.1.

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  Injury issues

  At just 24, Mamardashvili had already made a name for himself at Mestalla and was also coming off the back of a string of sensational showings for Georgia at Euro 2024. For an initial £25 million ($32m), he undoubtedly had the makings of a bargain buy – and that's still the case, in fairness.

  Furthermore, while there were few doubts over Alisson's form, his fitness was an increasing cause for concern, with his injury-enforced absences becoming frustratingly frequent. By contrast, Mamardashvili had already racked up an impressive amount of appearances for Valencia. His best years were clearly ahead of him, while Alisson was showing signs of wear and tear.

  Consequently, much was made of the fact that whereas Mamardashvili finished seventh in the voting for last year's Yashin Trophy, Alisson didn't even make the shortlist. Out with the old, in with the new and all that…

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  Dramatic dip in form

  As it stands, though, Mamardashvili doesn't look like an upgrade on Kelleher – let alone Alisson.

  It obviously needs to be acknowledged that Mamardashvili is not playing for a strong side. In La Liga, Valencia are just two places and one point above the relegation zone. Only basement boys Real Valladolid (62) have conceded more goals than Los Che (45) so far this season, which goes a little way towards explaining why Mamardashvili (five) has fewer cleans sheets to his name than Kelleher (eight) in 2024-25 despite playing six more games than the Ireland international.

  However, there is no disguising the fact that the quality of Mamardashvili's performances have dipped dramatically since his move to Liverpool was announced just before the close of the last summer transfer window.

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  'Not in my best moment'

  Goalkeepers lining out for relegation-threatened teams are nearly always much busier than those representing title challengers, meaning they usually have the higher save stats. That's not the case with Mamardashvili, though.

  He's actually averaging fewer saves per game (2.4) than Alisson (2.6), while his save percentage is an incredibly worrying 57.61 percent – that's the third-worst ratio in Europe's 'Big Five' leagues among goalkeepers to have made 20 or more appearances so far this season. To put it further into context, Alisson's tally is 75.58%.

  Mamardashvili has also made three errors leading directly to goals, the most recent of which came on Saturday, with the Tbilisi native gifting Valladolid a 40th-minute equaliser by passing the ball directly to Juanmi Latasa. Valencia still went on to win the game thanks to Umar Sadiq's second-half goal, but Mamardashvili nonetheless felt compelled to issue a public apology afterwards.

  "I know I'm not in my best moment now, but I'm convinced that challenges make us stronger," he wrote on social media. "I'm putting in my best effort to be the best version of me as soon as possible."

England are supposed to arrive in South Africa on November 17 and will spend 10 days in quarantine

Firdose Moonda16-Oct-2020Cricket South Africa (CSA) are waiting on the home affairs ministry to give the England squad permission to enter the country for three ODIs and three T20Is in November-December. South Africa is still in a “state of disaster,” in response to the coronavirus pandemic and is currently at the most lenient stage of lockdown – stage 1 of 5 – which means most activity has been able to resume and borders are open in limited capacity. Anyone who wants to enter the country requires a rubber stamp from home affairs with particular focus on those from high-risk countries, which include the United Kingdom.”We have received the request from Cricket South Africa but it has not been processed yet,” Siya Qoya, a spokesperson from the ministry of home affairs told ESPNcricinfo. “We will communicate with CSA once a decision has been finalised.”Qoya confirmed that decisions “do not take too long” to be made and that some individuals from high-risk countries have been allowed into South Africa. Should approval be given, England will arrive in South Africa on November 17 and will spend 10 days quarantined at a hotel in Cape Town, while being able to train at Newlands. The South African squad will stay in the same hotel – creating a bio-bubble – with matches to be played at Newlands and Boland Park in Paarl, behind closed doors.The series will be the first for the South African men’s national team since they returned home from India in March, when the coronavirus pandemic hit. They have had series in Sri Lanka and West Indies postponed and have been unable to host India for three T20Is, which would have provided CSA with a much-needed financial shot in the arm. For now, the England tour will fill the gap, with CSA estimated to earn R70 million (US$4.2 milllion) from the series. CSA are expected to pay for all accommodation and transport fees for a touring party of about 50 members, the ECB have agreed to carry the costs of a charter flight.If the England series is given the go-ahead, it will take place under the cloud of sports minister Nathi Mthethwa’s intent to intervene in CSA’s affairs unless CSA can provide him with a reason not to by October 27. On Wednesday, Mthethwa issued a statement in which he said he had been left no choice but to act according to the National Sports and Recreation Act on allegations of mismanagement, because CSA had refused to comply with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s (SASCOC) request for the board and executive to stand down while an investigation is held. Mthethwa has the power to no longer recognise CSA as the governing body for cricket in South Africa. CSA have been in administrative crisis throughout 2020, and are currently operating under an acting CEO, an acting president and postponed their AGM from September to December.Apart from the England tour, no other international fixtures are confirmed for the season. Domestic cricket in South Africa is set to get underway on November 2, but the schedule has been reduced as a cost-cutting measure. The six franchises will only play seven first-class matches (instead of their usual 10) and a single-round T20 tournament (rather than matches home and away), with the Mzansi Super League cancelled for this summer.

David Gordon worked at Auckland Grammar School as a teacher and cricket coach for over 25 years

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2019

Jimmy Neesham has paid tribute to his former high-school cricket coach who passed away during the closing stages of the World Cup final on Sunday when Neesham carried New Zealand to the brink of the title.David Gordon worked at Auckland Grammar School as a teacher and cricket coach for over 25 years, with Lockie Ferguson one of his other pupils. Neesham acknowledged the influence he had on him.”Dave Gordon, my High School teacher, coach and friend. Your love of this game was infectious, especially for those of us lucky enough to play under you. How appropriate you held on until just after such a match. Hope you were proud. Thanks for everything. RIP,” Neesham posted on Twitter.Gordon’s daughter, Leonie, said her father passed away when Neesham was batting in the Super Over which ended up a tie with England taking the World Cup on boundary countback.”You know, I think Jimmy Neesham had just hit that six and he took his last breath,” she told . “He has a quirky sense of humour and he was a real character and he would have loved the fact that he did that.””It was lovely, you know, he’s kept in touch with Jimmy and he is friends with Jimmy’s father. He always had a soft spot for Jimmy Neesham, he was very proud of him. He would definitely be following his career.”

Mohammad Rizwan struck his maiden ODI hundred but a double-century opening stand for Australia made it a one-sided chase

The Report by Danyal Rasool24-Mar-2019It wasn’t just the same venue; the manner in which the second ODI transpired was strikingly similar to the one that panned out on Friday. Deciding to bat first after winning the toss, Pakistan anchored their innings around a hundred from a top order player – this time it was Mohammad Rizwan – and posted 284, four more than the palpably inadequate 280 they had managed in the first ODI. Once more, Australia demonstrated this to be woefully short of what might have challenged them, an unbeaten career-best 153 from Aaron Finch and an opening stand of 209 with Usman Khawaja allowing them to canter to their second consecutive eight-wicket win.The only deviation from the first game was the chase contained even less drama than in the first ODI. Whereas Khawaja had fallen relatively cheaply then, the opening partnership this time was colossal in the face of another uninspired bowling effort from Pakistan. Finch and Khawaja amassed 209 and rarely did Pakistan threaten to break through; the ball spun very little for Yasir Shah and Imad Wasim and swung even less for the quicker bowlers.While Khawaja was the more prolific partner during the Powerplay, Finch came to life from the moment he lofted Yasir for six off the first ball of the sixteenth over. Till then, he had 28 off 43 balls but, as if the effect of a sedative had been neutralised by one stroke, he sprang to life. He completed his half-century just 14 balls later, and bludgeoned Yasir for two sixes and a four in the over that followed, and a further six and four off Imad right after. That put any qualms about the run rate to bed, and the chase was every bit a canter as the first match after that.Khawaja continued to cash in on his fine form, reaching his fifth half-century in seven innings off 60 deliveries. After a strong start he was content playing the steady hand and appeared to be cruising to a hundred until he holed out to deep midwicket 12 runs short. It gave Glenn Maxwell the opportunity to free his arms in an entertaining little cameo, two sixes off Imad quelling any fears of a Pakistan comeback, but he missed the chance to finish the game when he was run out.Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja added a double-century opening stand•AFP

One of the key points of fascination for Pakistan enthusiasts this game was the performance of teenage quick Mohammad Hasnain, drafted in for his first List A game following a stellar PSL. His introduction was one of the only times a sparse Sharjah crowd came to life, and the cheer after his first ball – a bouncer which forced Khawaja to hastily duck – was louder than perhaps at any point all day.That aside, however, it was a tough initiation for the 18-year old. His pace might have been up, but he lacked the control and consistency that will surely follow as he accumulates experience, and when Finch swatted him for six over cow corner in the 47th over, the game was for all intents and purposes done. For good measure, however, the Australian captain thwacked Faheem Ashraf for another one the following over, bringing up his 150 in 141 balls, and finishing off the game in the same over.Pakistan’s innings had been paced at the same leisurely rate as in the first game. Australia’s bright start put them on the back foot straightaway, thanks to a brilliant opening spell from Jhye Richardson who cleaned up Imam-ul-Haq for a duck in the first over. Maintaining a probing good line, he gave the batsmen little room for error as Pakistan started sluggishly. Even as the boundaries flowed from the other end, with Haris Sohail timing the ball exquisitely, Richardson gave away few runs, and also brought about Shan Masood’s downfall with one pitched slightly short of a length that was chipped to midwicket.His day turned sour, however, when he suffered a dislocated shoulder in the outfield. Diving to save a boundary at midwicket, he landed heavily on his elbow, and his reaction immediately indicated he was done for the game, and very possibly the series.The silver lining for Australia was Finch, who brought himself on to fill the gap Richardson’s overs left behind and was among the pick of Australia’s bowlers. He started off by removing last game’s centurion Haris Sohail for 34, a slight tickle to the keeper giving Finch just his third ODI wicket. So bothersome did he prove for Pakistan he ended up bowling his full quota, and, until his final over went for 12 to bring his overall tally to 41, Pakistan never looked to attack him.Pakistan found themselves in deeper trouble when Umar Akmal holed out when he lofted one slightly short by Nathan Lyon to the square-leg boundary fielder. He had gone for 16, his reaction of desperate disappointment fitting for a man given an unlikely opportunity with little room for error just ahead of a World Cup.But Rizwan and Shoaib Malik got together with Pakistan in strife and kept Australia at bay for nearly half the innings, putting on 127. Rizwan was excellent at working the gaps and using his feet to the spinners, while Malik has been in these situations with Pakistan often over a two-decade career, but his record against Australia isn’t the best. The half-century he brought up off 53 balls was just the second against Australia, and it was one of hard graft rather than cavalier flamboyance.Rizwan is in the side as Sarfaraz Ahmed rests, but looked determined to make the case for World Cup inclusion, even for his batting alone. Promoted to No. 4, he had performed the role many specialists in Pakistan had failed to perform in that position, and when he swept Adam Zampa to bring up a first ODI hundred, Pakistan were ready to launch once more.They never quite got around to doing that, with the pair falling in quick succession and they ended short of 300 again. That wasn’t just well short of 300, but also well short of anything that would have made Australia sweat. But then again, the way Finch batted, one wonders if anything would have proved out of the visitors’ grasp.

Chirag Gandhi fails to get bat on ball with two runs needed for Gujarat in a thrilling finish

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2019

Super League kicks off with a thriller
Jharkhand snatched victory from Gujarat in a last-ball finish in the opening game of the Super League phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Indore.Needing six off the final two deliveries bowled by Vikash Singh, Chirag Gandhi dispatched the first for four to leave Gujarat needing two off the last delivery. However, Gandhi failed to connect as Gujarat faltered in heart-breaking fashion.Put in to bat in a truncated 18-overs-a-side contest because of a damp pitch, Jharkhand overcame a middle-order collapse to post 148 for 7. Ishan Kishan, the captain and wicketkeeper, put together 82 in just 7.2 overs with Anand Singh, who made 45, for the opening stand before they lost five wickets for just 37 runs off the next 41 balls. It needed an unbeaten 20-ball 22 from Kumar Deobrat to provide a late lift.Gujarat slumped to 9 for 2 in the second over, but found an enforcer in Karan Patel, who made a 26-ball 35, and Axar Patel, with 28 courtesy three fours and a six, kept them on track before a breakdown that eventually proved costly. Anand also chipped in with the ball, taking 2 for 26 to walk away with the Man-of-the-Match award.Shreevats Goswami pulls one away•BCCI

Karnataka quicks rattle Mumbai’s line-upMumbai’s batting line-up collapsed against the Karnataka quicks, who combined to take six wickets and restrict Mumbai to 97 for 9 in 20 overs. Led by Rohan Kadam’s unbeaten 62 off 45, Karnataka chased the total down easily in only 13.2 overs for the loss of one wicket.Mumbai’s innings was given an early jolt when Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for a duck by Vinay Kumar on the second ball of the match. Only one batsman – Akash Parkar – crossed 20 for them as Siddhesh Lad (13), Suryakumar Yadav (14) and Shreyas Iyer (10) fell cheaply to leave Mumbai on 39 for 5 after eight overs. Parkar’s boundary-less 22 off 32 later carried them towards 100 as Mumbai kept losing wickets regularly. Vinay Kumar finished with 2 for 15 from three overs.Karnataka saw a solid opening stand of 79 in under 12 overs between Kadam and BR Sharath, who was dismissed for 25 by Lad. Kadam and Mayank Agarwal then finished the chase with 40 balls to spare.Vidarbha hand Delhi a thrashing
A batting implosion led not just to a massive loss, but also a huge dent to Delhi’s net run rate, as Vidarbha bowled them out for 83 and then romped home by nine wickets in just 8.3 overs. Opener Jitesh Sharma scored nearly half the runs for Vidarbha, with a 24-ball 41.Having elected to bowl, Vidarbha picked up wickets in a rush. The fast-bowling trio of Umesh Yadav, Yash Thakur and Shrikant Wagh got two wickets apiece. Barring opener Hiten Dalal, who made 42 to lift Delhi from 20 for 5 with Pawan Negi, all the other top-six batsmen were dismissed for single-digit scores, captain Unmukt Chand and Himmat Singh getting out for ducks.Goswami slams 80, Saha falls for a duck
Bengal needed Shreevats Goswami to slam a 55-ball 80 with nine fours and two sixes to take them over the line in a middling chase against Railways, while Wriddhiman Saha, who had hit a century against Arunachal Pradesh and 52 against Odisha, fell for a three-ball duck.Batting first, Railways put up 142 for 6, with Ashish Yadav leading the innings with a 44-ball 51.Though Saha fell in the first over, Bengal got to a strong position through Goswami and Abhimanyu Easwaran, who took them past 100 before the latter fell for 46 in the 13th over with the team on 104. Though Manoj Tiwary, the captain, was dismissed soon after for 4, Goswami carried on to take Bengal to within a shot of victory before being caught behind, and they went past the target with 11 balls left. Ashish completed his all-round effort by picking up the first two Bengal wickets as well to finish with 2 for 20 from his four overs.

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.

Michael Neser and Mark Steketee’s brisk 64-run stand left the game evenly poised at the end of day two in Canberra after Nathan Lyon took four wickets

The Report by Alex Malcolm17-Nov-2018Mark Steketee celebrates a wicket with his teammates•Getty ImagesA four-wicket haul from New South Wales spinner Nathan Lyon was overshadowed by a stunning rear-guard from Queensland duo Michael Neser and Mark Steketee to leave the game evenly poised at the end of day two in Canberra.Queensland looked in danger of giving up a significant first innings lead when Lyon had Jimmy Pierson stumped to leave the Bulls 7 for 146.But Neser and Steketee unleashed a vicious counter-attack. The pair put on 64 in just 11 overs to tick the total past 200. Neser struck 10 fours in his 62 before falling caught and bowled to Lyon. He has now scored three consecutive Shield half-centuries. Steketee hammered four sixes and two fours in his 41 before holing out at deep midwicket off Pat Cummins.Earlier, Marnus Labuschagne made a compact half-century as he continued to push to retain his spot in the Test side. He cruised to 52, with six fours, before chopping on off Cummins. Matt Renshaw was one of Lyon’s four wickets, edging behind trying to force square off the back foot for just 21.Blues openers Nick Larkin and Daniel Hughes made it to stumps to give New South Wales a lead of 52 with 10 wickets in hand heading into day three.

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.”