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Australia’s former captain Ricky Ponting has put up his hand for a role with the national team, expressing interest in either a selection or coaching job in the wake of the side’s present slump

Daniel Brettig23-Nov-2016Australia’s former captain Ricky Ponting has put his hand up for a role with the national team, expressing interest in either a selection or coaching job in the wake of the side’s present slump. He recently concluded his coaching tenure with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, and there has been some speculation over whether he may be the right man to help drive the Australian team back to better health.”I’d consider it. I said from the moment I retired that Australian cricket is me. I love Australian cricket and some of the guys that are playing now, I played cricket with them,” Ponting told the . “I’m open to discuss any role with Cricket Australia and whatever they come to me with, I’ll talk to my family and if we can make it work then great, because I want the best for Australian cricket and I think I’ve got a lot to offer as far as that’s concerned.”Ponting reflected on the departure of the former selection chairman Rod Marsh and the unforgiving nature of the job. “It’s a tough job and it’s a thankless job as well,” Ponting said. “If you pick a team and it wins, you don’t get any credit, but if you pick a team and it loses all of a sudden you’re the worst in the world.”It’s a huge commitment; a massive time commitment. I’m still incredibly passionate about the game and about Australian cricket, but it’s hard to find a role that’s going to work both for me and for Cricket Australia.”Since his retirement from international cricket in 2012, Ponting has worked in a range of cricket and media roles, and kept in touch with the team. He was among the select circle of people the team performance manager Pat Howard spoke to around the appointment of Darren Lehmann as coach in place of Mickey Arthur in 2013.

The summer will include four Tests, three ODIs and 15 T20Is in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2021Cricket West Indies has announced a packed home schedule for the 2021 season, which includes visits from South Africa, Australia and Pakistan. In all, West Indies will play four Tests, three ODIs and 15 T20Is from June 10 to August 24.The T20I-centric nature of the summer will help the teams prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which is currently scheduled to be held in India in October-November 2021. The series against Pakistan was originally scheduled to include three Tests and three T20Is, but CWI and the PCB have mutually agreed to replace one Test with two additional T20Is.The first part of the home summer will see West Indies face South Africa in two Tests in St Lucia (June 10-22) followed by five T20Is in Grenada (June 26 to July 5). This will be South Africa’s first bilateral tour of the West Indies since 2010.West Indies will play 15 T20Is at home in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This will be followed by a white-ball-only visit from Australia, who are scheduled to play five T20Is in St Lucia (July 9-16) followed by three ODIs in Barbados (July 20-24).Pakistan will play their T20I series over two legs – the first two matches in Barbados on July 27 and 28 followed by the last three in Guyana from July 31 to August 3. They will then move to Jamaica where they will complete their tour with a two-match Test series (August 12-24).”Following the successful hosting of the all-format series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, we are delighted to announce that we are set to welcome South Africa, Australia and Pakistan to the West Indies,” CWI CEO Johnny Grave said. “To host three international teams back-to-back in five territories is unprecedented, and putting these fixtures together was an enormous Covid-related logistical challenge.”We must thank the visiting teams for agreeing to travel at this challenging period for world cricket and we are especially grateful to our regional Governments who are playing such a vital role in partnering with CWI to ensure that International cricket can be hosted safely, while providing entertainment for our loyal fans and income for our cricketers and cricket communities.”The entire summer will follow biosecure safety protocols, with players and team officials undergoing regular tests for Covid-19. A CWI release said it is yet to be decided whether fans will be allowed at the stadiums.

Josh Shaw and Ryan Higgins lead way with ball for hosts on green-tinged surface

ECB Reporters' Network08-Apr-2021The opening day of the new LV= Insurance County Championship season saw Bristol over 20 degrees cooler than Chennai, where Rory Burns last walked out in a competitive match, and Surrey felt a chill all day as they made 220 for 9 against Gloucestershire.Josh Shaw, with 4 for 48, and Ryan Higgins, 3 for 35, ensured the home side did not squander winning the toss on a green-tinged pitch. They were denied the chance to finish Surrey off inside the day by late rain.They may even feel a touch disappointed, having conceded 32 boundaries. Higgins, beginning the season averaging just 21 with the ball, was the chief exception, leaking only 35 runs from his 19 overs.”We’re really happy with that,” Shaw said. “We wanted to bowl on that wicket and we’re pleased with how we’ve gone. We probably weren’t at our best but when you’ve got Surrey 220 for 9 not quite firing it’s only a good thing.”Ryan Higgins mentioned changing the angle of the seam for a delivery and I tried it and managed to get a wicket so that was a nice one.”The challenge for Burns was the diametric opposite of that which he faced in India, as the players walked out in conditions that might have felt more like January. But he nonetheless failed, with an angle through the slips for four before he edged to second slip driving at one from David Payne that swung away. Ollie Pope also drove loosely, to backward-point, for 22 in Surrey’s struggle.With England’s batsmen having not contributed, 38-year-old former South Africa stalwart Hashim Amla, now an overseas player with Kolpak registrations ended, guided his side to 91 for 3 at lunch with a series of punchy cover drives and punishment of George Scott’s wide deliveries. He reached an 85-ball fifty, but soon after the break was driving flat-footedly at Shaw and palpably lbw for 56.Ben Foakes, lbw for 26, beaten by one from Higgins that nipped back, and Jordan Clarke, sharply held by wicketkeeper James Bracey standing up to Higgins for 8, quickly fell to leave Surrey in a hole at 144 for 6.From which point regret might linger for Gloucestershire as Jamie Overton made a streaky 40 – edging Payne just wide of second slip and Scott also narrowly past at catcher at takeable height. He went on to flick Shaw to fine leg to raise a batting point but eventually fell dragging Payne into his off stump trying to force off the back foot.Jamie Smith, one of Surrey’s brightest young things, also lost his off stump, for 20, to one that nipped back from Shaw and the same delivery accounted for Gus Atkinson in just his third first-class match.”It wasn’t easy. Being ultra-critical we could have got a few more but I think we’re still right in the game,” Overton said. “You got yourself in and felt a little settled but one just did something out of the blue.”But you can still score on this pitch and we let ourselves down with not taking a couple of partnerships on a little longer.”

Having been on the sidelines, he finally got some game-time after seven months, scoring a 50-ball 63

Saurabh Somani18-Nov-2021Mark Chapman has had such a long break between playing competitive games of cricket, that he isn’t quite sure when he was in the middle last. The cricket caravan might be hurtling along for viewers – and some players – from one bio-bubble to the next, but it’s thanks to that packed schedule that Chapman got to play for New Zealand after a gap of seven and a half months.For the record, Chapman last played a game on April 1 this year and didn’t face a ball, or bowl one, in that game. After that appropriately April Fool’s of a game from a personal point of view at least, Chapman was given the No.3 slot against India, in a T20I that began two days after New Zealand had suffered a draining defeat in the T20 World Cup final, and with several players sitting out.Related

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Chapman had been part of that stirring campaign, but from the sidelines, with the XI tough to break into. The long layoff was spent training with the team as part of the squad, but it was only when he had spent some time in the middle that Chapman’s fluency returned. From 20 off 24 balls at one point, he ended up with 63 off 50, setting New Zealand up for a good total.”To be honest, it was just nice to be out there,” Chapman said after the game. “Had a lot of training behind the scenes, but nothing beats the real thing of being out in the middle.”In World Cups, you play your best XI and if we’re going well, then more than likely you stick with your best team. So it just meant that I was on the sidelines for a bit. I did my best to support the guys in and around training.”You find ways to add context to your training. Obviously, being in and around this environment, you try and train the best you can given the situation and make the most of the opportunities to train. There was a lot of training in the background. I felt prepared, but I guess match-preparation wise it wasn’t ideal. But just happy to be out there.”New Zealand were taking the field against India on November 17, having lost the T20 World Cup final against Australia on November 14. While Chapman acknowledged there was some tiredness, he also pointed out how he and Todd Astle – who also didn’t get a game during the World Cup – relished the chance to get a game.”There was a natural feeling of a little bit of disappointment (at losing the final), but a lot of pride as well in the way we went about our business throughout the World Cup,” Chapman said. “We stayed authentic to the way we wanted to play and you know, the guys are true professionals. These games have come around pretty quick, it’s a three-match series in five days, and the guys are just doing what we do best and that’s playing our cricket and enjoying it.”The guys been a little bit tired, but we always play for New Zealand with pride. Particularly for myself and Todd, who have been on the sidelines, it was a really exciting moment to be playing.”Chapman put on 109 runs in 77 balls for the second wicket with top-scorer Martin Guptill, and said the senior pro helped him through his initial period.”We were probably a bit slow in the powerplay but we rotated the strike pretty well through the middle and managed to accelerate after that 10-over mark,” Chapman said. “Pretty happy to be batting with Gup and to put on, I think it was over 100 runs, so pretty happy with that partnership.”It just took a little bit to get my rhythm going. But once I faced a few balls and managed to get the pace of the wicket sort of, things tend to come back pretty quickly. Guppy was keeping me pretty good company out in the middle and giving me advice and telling me to take my time, watch the ball. So it was just a matter of us doing what we’ve been training for and what we’ve prepared for.”And while one T20 World Cup is done, there is another one just 11 months away given the squeezed pandemic schedules, and Chapman made his case stronger with his showing.”It’s been well reported that this BlackCaps team is pretty competitive to get into, so whenever you get your opportunity you’ve just got to do what you can to contribute to the team,” he said. “Thankfully I was able to contribute today.”If he continues to bat the way he did, Chapman may not need to struggle to remember when he last played.

Kent were level with Essex at the top of Division Two for a few heady hours before a thumping innings win for Essex against Worcestershire reasserted the superiority of the long-time leaders

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Chelmsford02-Sep-2016
ScorecardTom Westley picked up a couple of wickets after scoring a career-best 254•Getty Images

“I’d be lying if I said I weren’t checking the scores,” admitted Essex’s head coach Chris Silverwood.Every interval – virtually every moment of peace – at Chelmsford over the last three days had been broken by an update of scores from around the country, both in the stands and the players’ balcony.News of Kent’s emphatic victory over Sussex, taking them level on points with Essex at the top of Division Two, filtered through as the players were walking off the field for tea. Just over an hour later, Essex had completed their demolition job of Worcestershire. This victory by an innings and 161 runs will have registered down the road in Kent, too.A three-day finish was on the cards when Worcestershire were reduced to 64 for 5 by lunch, in their first innings on day one. That Essex were able to fulfil expectations was ultimately down to Graham Napier, who picked up his fourth five-wicket haul of the season, after Ryan ten Doeschate had brought up his third century of the season before declaring 371 runs ahead.It was not the cleanest morning’s work from Essex. They lost Tom Westley run out for 254: his innings ended at 506 minutes after ten Doeschate dropped the ball into the off side and ran instantly. Westley gave up the run about halfway down, as Brett D’Oliveira swooped from point to throw down the stumps.Still, the Essex skipper remained calm and brought up his century from 114 balls. His innings also took his season’s tally past 1,000 first-class runs for the first time in his career.Essex should have struck in the first over of Worcestershire’s second innings. Jamie Porter got his fourth delivery to lift off a length and take Daryl Mitchell’s edge, only for Nick Browne to put down a simple catch at third slip. Browne would make amends later with a stunning one-handed catch at point, off the bowling of Will Rhodes, to remove Tom Fell.Mitchell’s reprieve allowed him and D’Oliveira to survive until the last over before lunch. It was then that David Masters, in his first over from the Hayes Close end, where he nabbed all seven of his first innings wickets, sent Mitchell on his way with a delivery that kept low as it moved in, knocking into middle and off stump.With the fourth ball after lunch, D’Oliveira was accounted for – becoming the first of Napier’s three afternoon-session wickets when he edged through to James Foster. The second came when Joe Clarke played on, looking to continue on an enterprising innings that was cut short at 22.At this point, George Rhodes, the only bright spot for Worcestershire at Chelmsford, seemed to be on his way to a second half-century in the match.It was at this point that ten Doeschate decided to throw the ball to Westley. Despite the change in regulation, spin has played little part at Chelmsford. In fact, Westley’s first over, the 39th of the second innings, was the first sight of spin from the hosts. It took just four balls to come good, as Ross Whiteley was trapped in front from around the wicket. In Westley’s next over, he drew Rhodes out of his crease to give James Foster his first Championship stumping of the season. The wicket of Leach, bowled by a full Napier delivery that moved late into the right-hander, took the teams to tea.There was a carnival feel to the evening session, as the floodlights were superseded by the sun, which found a gap in the clouds as Essex pushed for a day off. Ed Barnard, caught by Westley at second slip off Napier and then Ben Cox, flicking Masters tamely to Jamie Porter at mid on, gave Napier four in the innings and Masters nine in the match (he had never taken 10). And so the game within a game began – who would get the final wicket? In the end, it went Napier’s way, as Jack Shantry, having stroked a couple of boundaries, offered a high leading edge that ten Doeschate caught brilliantly, sprinting in from mid off.Essex now have a round off, while Kent host a revitalised Northamptonshire at Beckenham. In the meantime, the Essex players will be given some time off before they return to Chelmsford on September 12 to play Glamorgan, before a potential winner-takes-all clash with Kent at Canterbury in the final round of the season.Essex will play their remaining two matches without Alastair Cook, hence the acquisition of Adam Wheater on loan. With Hampshire happy for the wicketkeeper batsman to court opportunities elsewhere ahead of next season, Essex are thought to be interested in bringing him back to the club he left in 2013 on a more permanent basis. Silverwood, though, was keen not to comment on the matter just yet.

Having lost four matches on the trot, Rising Pune Supergiants face plenty of questions over their personnel as they take on in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Preview by Karthik Krishnaswamy25-Apr-2016

Match facts

Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)4:27

Agarkar: Supergiants need Smith to score desperately

Big picture

Rising Pune Supergiants have not exactly lived up to their name in their start to life in the IPL. They won their first match, and have lost four in a row since then. They are in a situation unlike anything their captain MS Dhoni has experienced in his IPL career so far. His worries go deeper than just results, since his squad, unlike those he led at Chennai Super Kings, seems full of weaknesses. Injury to Kevin Pietersen has created a hole in Supergiants’ batting, but they might not even seek a like-for-like replacement for him, since their bowling is an even bigger worry.It’s hardly the best time for Supergiants to play a Sunrisers Hyderabad side that has won its last three games. Sunrisers have done this without Kane Williamson, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra, who are recovering from various injuries. They have done it thanks largely to David Warner’s form at the top of the order, and a bowling attack that is quickly showing to be one of the strongest in the competition.If Supergiants can get Warner early, they could put pressure on a batting line-up that still has a few unconvincing nuts and bolts, but do they have the bowling to do so? Can Supergiants find a source of middle-order power-hitting to complement a top three of rather more classical rhythms? And perhaps most pivotally, how will they counter the Mustafizur Rahman threat?

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad WWWLL (most recent match first)
Rising Pune Supergiants LLLLW

In the spotlight

Seven wickets at an average of 16.42. An economy rate of 5.75. A deceptive, rubber-wristed mix of cutters and fast yorkers that continues to confound batsmen a year after he burst into international consciousness. A whole lot could hinge on how Supergiants tackle Mustafizur Rahman‘s four overs.On paper, Mitchell Marsh can provide the power that Supergiants’ batting craves and give them a seam option that can be relied on to bowl four overs more often than not. For some reason, he has not featured since the team’s second match, against Gujarat Lions on April 14. For how long can Supergiants keep him out of their side?

Team news

Ashish Nehra bowled during Sunrisers’ warm-up session ahead of their match against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. By the time they take on Supergiants, he will have had three more days to recover from his groin strain. If Nehra is fully fit, Sunrisers will have a difficult choice to make between him and Barinder Sran.Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Aditya Tare, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Moises Henriques, 7 Naman Ojha (wk), 8 Bipul Sharma/Karn Sharma, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Ashish Nehra/Barinder SranSupergiants went into their last match, against Kolkata Knight Riders, with a seam attack made up entirely of allrounders. The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has given fast bowlers a bit of assistance, and that could prompt Dhoni to recall Ishant Sharma, possibly in place of the left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma, or Saurabh Tiwary, who did not get to bat against Knight Riders. Marsh could come in for Albie Morkel, who was expensive in his first game of the season on Sunday.Rising Pune Supergiants: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Faf du Plessis, 3 Steven Smith, 4 MS Dhoni (cast & wk), 5 Mitchell Marsh/Albie Morkel, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 R Ashwin, 9 & 10 Saurabh Tiwary/Ankit Sharma/Ishant Sharma, 11 M Ashwin

Pitch and conditions

The three matches that Hyderabad has hosted so far have been relatively low-scoring, producing first-innings totals of 142, 142 and 143. The chasing team won all three times, comfortably, with 10, 15 and 13 balls remaining. There has been a bit of help for the new ball, generally, and grip for cutters and slower balls, magnifying Mustafizur’s threat. Tuesday is expected to be a hot day, with a maximum of 43 degrees Celsius and no chance of rain.

Stats and trivia

• Warner (29) has the most 50-plus scores in IPL history. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma have 28 each, while Suresh Raina has 27.
• Among bowlers who have sent down 10 or more overs this season, Mustafizur Rahman (5.75) and Rajat Bhatia (5.78) are the only two with an economy rate under six

Mohammad Rizwan, the leading run-scorer, jumped 116 places to 42nd in the batting list

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2021South Africa’s left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi has risen to a career-best second position in the ICC T20I rankings for bowlers, following his four-wicket haul against Pakistan in Lahore. Shamsi was the joint leading wicket-taker in the three-match series, picking up six scalps at an average of 10.16 and an economy rate of 5.08. He went past Adam Zampa, Adil Rashid and Mujeeb ur Rahman on the list, and is now just three points behind Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who occupies the top spot.Related

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For Pakistan, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was the biggest mover, jumping up 116 slots to 42nd position in the T20I batting list. Rizwan was the leading run-scorer in the series, having hit 104*, 51 and 42 in the three matches. Rizwan had also been named the Player of the Series in the recently concluded Tests.The other Pakistan players to get a boost were Haider Ali (137th), Shaheen Afridi (11th), Hasan Ali (82nd), Mohammad Nawaz (64th) and Usman Qadir (92nd).Fast bowler Dwaine Pretorius, who shared the wicket-taking honours with Shamsi, also made a significant climb in the rankings, moving from 121st to 51st on the list; his previous best ranking was 107th. Reeza Hendricks’ 98 runs in the series lifted him to 17th in the rankings, while David Miller, who smashed an unbeaten 85 in the second match, gained seven places to take the 22nd position. England’s Dawid Malan is still the top-ranked batsman in the T20I list.Pakistan, despite winning the series 2-1, remained in fourth position in the T20I ranking list with 260 points, while South Africa stayed at fifth with 259.

All the matches will be hosted by Antigua after the Pakistan contingent arrives on June 23

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2021Pakistan Women will travel to the Caribbean for three T20Is and five ODIs, with their A team set to shadow the senior side for an additional six matches. All the matches will be hosted by Antigua after the Pakistan contingent arrives on June 23, exactly a week before the first T20I. The ODI series will be played from July 7 to 18.As for the A teams, they will play three T20s, which will be played on the same day and at the same venues as the T20Is as “double-headers”, followed by three one-dayers from June 30 to July 16. All matches will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and the Coolidge Cricket Ground.

Pakistan Women’s tour of West Indies schedule

• June 30: 1st T20I and A teams’ T20

• July 2: 2nd T20I and A teams’ T20

• July 4: 3rd T20I and A teams’ T20

• July 7: 1st ODI

• July 9: 2nd ODI

• July 10: 1st A teams’ one-dayer

• July 12: 3rd ODI

• July 13: 2nd A teams’ one-dayer

• July 15: 4th ODI

• July 16: 3rd A teams’ one-dayer

• July 18: 5th ODI

This is the latest step from Cricket West Indies (CWI) in their bid to expand women’s cricket in the Caribbean. It comes soon after rookies Qiana Joseph and Kaysia Schultz were offered their first West Indies central contracts, for the 2021-22 season.”This is a very significant home tour for our women and we are delighted that our counterparts at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have worked with us to arrange these two series despite all the challenges we face with Covid-19,”Jimmy Adams, CWI’s director of cricket, said in a media release. “CWI continues to invest in our international Women’ program by hosting extended High-Performance camps between tours, two of which have already been held this year. In addition, the opportunity to host our first-ever ‘A’ Team Series is brilliant, as it means that our developing players will get the chance to compete against high-quality international opponents and push for selection to the senior team.”This will be West Indies Women’s first international series at home since the pandemic hit. In September last year, they had toured England, where they were blanked 5-0. The upcoming series will also be West Indies Women’s first under Courtney Walsh after he had been appointed to the post in October 2020 following the UK tour. Walsh had also worked with the women’s team during the T20 World Cup held in Australia in February and March last year. The management will look to use the Pakistan ODIs as preparation for the ODI World Cup Qualifier in December in Sri Lanka.Related

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“Our goal post this Pakistan series, is to have our squad play against more international opposition and take part in our Regional Tournament before heading to the Qualifiers in Sri Lanka at the end of the year,” Adams said.Pakistan, meanwhile, have been prepping for the 50-over Women’s World Cup Qualifier by participating in a 25-day camp in the 40-degree heat of Multan from May 29, before moving to Karachi on June 9 when the temperatures soared in Multan. Much like West Indies Women, Pakistan Women haven’t played much cricket since the pandemic struck. Since the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, Pakistan Women have had just one tour so far – of South Africa, where they lost the ODI series 3-0 and T20Is 2-1. They then visited Zimbabwe, but that tour ended abruptly because of flight restrictions.

“There is a long time between now and the tour of the Caribbean in March and I have never been one to make emotional decisions.”

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2022Stuart Broad has said he will not take “any spur-of-the-moment calls” on his future as an England player after a “very disappointing” tour to Australia which has seen him selected in only one of the first three Tests.Broad was the world’s leading wicket-taker in Tests in 2020 but took 12 wickets at 39.50 in 2021. He played in only seven out of England’s 15 Tests last year due to a combination of rest and rotation, a calf injury and selection decisions, and was left out for the first and third Ashes Tests on seamer-friendly pitches.Related

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David Warner, whom Broad dismissed seven times in the 2019 Ashes series, said after the MCG Test that it was “a great result that he’s not playing” and the decision to leave Broad out of the first Test at the Gabba came in for criticism from Alastair Cook, who said selecting him should have been a “no-brainer”.Broad turns 36 in June and has already lined up a second career as a broadcaster and commentator with Sky Sports, and with Ollie Robinson – a similar style of bowler – impressing since his debut earlier this year, his future in the Test team has been called into question.”As a wobble-seam bowler, I feel as though I missed out on two of the best wobble-seam pitches in Australia,” Broad wrote in his column. “Only playing once has made this a very disappointing trip, one that has not met my personal expectations.”The biggest frustration is losing the Ashes, being 3-0 down and feeling like I’ve not really done anything. Not being able, as an experienced player, to influence a series while it’s live is tough.”Has it affected my hunger to play Test cricket? No. Looking at things pragmatically, I would argue that I won’t get a better chance to take wickets than at Brisbane and Melbourne. But I must be ready for my next opportunity, whether that be in Sydney, Hobart or beyond.”There is a long time between now and the tour of the Caribbean in March and I have never been one to make emotional decisions. So I’m not going to make any spur-of-the-moment calls on my future. I feel fit, I’ve come back from the calf injury feeling strong and I’m taking wickets in the nets. That’s all I can do given the lack of tour games and the tight schedule.”Broad also admitted that “the energy and the mood in the camp is low” heading into the final two Tests after Australia retained the urn within 12 days’ play, and said that England were approaching “the end of our mental tether with Covid”.”There are no excuses for England’s performances on this Ashes tour, he wrote, “but there are reasons why things have turned out as they have.”Unfortunately our displays have reflected our preparation. Imagine Tiger Woods rocking up at the Masters having not played for four months, spending time in a biosecure bubble and then seeing his entire practice rained off. He hasn’t played a single round of golf, yet he’s still expecting to win. Would you bet on him in those circumstances? No, you wouldn’t.”The reality is we turned up undercooked while Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland and Jhye Richardson were playing state cricket. Yes, like us, Australia had players at the T20 World Cup until mid-November. But was it a level playing field? Not really.”This tour has taken its toll on all of us. Without sounding like [I’m] making excuses, we may be at the end of our mental tether with Covid. We are the only team that has played solid international cricket throughout the pandemic and our multi-format guys had already done 50 days in a bubble before they turned up here.”We spent day two of the Boxing Day Test match testing for Covid and having guys moving out of their hotel rooms, away from their families, so they were no longer classed as close contacts. When you are faffing about with external stuff like that, it drags your focus away from where it needs to be.”

Anderson, Archer, Crawley and Bairstow all likely to be fit and competing for selection

Andrew Miller22-Feb-2021Graham Thorpe, England’s batting coach, believes that the team that adapts quickest to the changed circumstances of day-night Test cricket is the likeliest to come out on top, as England and India prepare for an unfamiliar challenge in a brand-new stadium at Ahmedadad.Despite being comprehensively beaten in last week’s second Test in Chennai, Thorpe was confident that England can reassert themselves in the series, and expecting a full complement of players to choose from, including James Anderson and Jofra Archer in the bowling stakes – the latter after receiving a cortisone injection in his right elbow after being omitted from the second Test – and Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow as candidates to fill the No. 3 berth.Crawley was ruled out of the first two matches when he skidded on a marble floor at the Chepauk Stadium and damaged his wrist, but Thorpe believes his form in the nets shows he’s back “in the mix”, while Bairstow – who impressed at No. 3 in the 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka last month – is back with the squad after flying home to the UK for a ten-day break during the Chennai leg of the tour.Related

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“All the players are fit so we have a choice to make going into this match,” Thorpe said. “We know what Jonny’s credentials are. He’s a good player of spin. He has got a decent record, he played well in Sri Lanka. He is certainly going to be in with a shout. But we are still a day out from the Test match and we still want to have a proper look at the pitch as it comes closer to the match as well.”The ECB’s focus on rest and rotation has come in for some criticism in recent days, particularly in the wake of Moeen Ali’s departure from the squad after an eight-wicket haul in the second Test. However, Thorpe believes that the benefits of giving England’s players a break from the bubble outweigh the drawbacks.”They do come in a little bit more mentally fresh, possibly,” Thorpe said. “They do seem to be more rejuvenated when they have been out, and then come back in after that break. Jonny has practised very well over the last few days. Maybe a few weeks ago he was playing but he’s looked fine in the nets. Maybe that mental freshness can be a real positive as well.”Either way, the challenge that both sets of players can expect to face in this next Test is far removed from the events at Chennai. India have played just a solitary pink-ball Test, a one-sided encounter with Bangladesh in 2019, while England’s most recent experience came in Auckland in March 2018, when they were routed by an innings after being rolled aside for 58 on the first day of the match.”The nature of it, it’s half-day, half-night,” Thorpe said. “The challenge of facing the pink ball in the changing conditions – we’ll have to react and adapt well. It’s a slight unknown quantity but often the pink ball does a little more in the evenings than it does in the afternoons for the seamers. But we’ll also have to take a look at the pitch with regard to the spinners during the day time.”England are quietly optimistic that the prevailing conditions at Ahmedabad play more to their seam-bowling strengths, with Anderson and Archer both impressing in the first Test of the series.Joe Root talks to Graham Thorpe ahead of a training session•Getty Images

“It’s possible, without looking into a crystal ball,” Thorpe said. “The ball generally does swing more under the lights. They don’t have a huge database of pink-ball cricket in India, this is the second one. We’re looking forward to it, it is a fantastic stadium. We’ve prepared as well as we can and we have one more night of practice tomorrow.”So far, England have had one practice session by day and one by night, and from a batting perspective Thorpe said the focus had been on picking up length at different phases of the day. “Purely from that factor, it’s really about how well the players adjust to those conditions, whether they are batting or bowling,” he said. “The team who reacts the best will probably have a good chance of coming out on top in it.”After England were dismissed for twin scores of 134 and 164 in the second Test – their lowest aggregate for a completed Test since 1995 – a lot of the focus was on their execution of the sweep shot, and the need for more robust support for the captain, Joe Root, whose double-century in the first Test had been the bedrock of England’s 227-run win in that contest.Thorpe, however, has called on his players to learn from their mistakes in that second match, and reassert themselves in the series.”I certainly wouldn’t say to any of our players ‘you can’t do this, you can’t do that’,” he said. “But I’d ask them to look at all their options and the key thing for all of them is being able to execute the shot to the right ball, that’s from a defensive point of view just as much of an attacking point of view.”That’s the challenge which is really presented to us, playing against good spinners on turning pitches in India. But I’ve encouraged the players to view it as a challenge and one which they should embrace and excite them as well, because if they do well and score runs against this Indian attack in their own country, then they know they’ve worked very hard and earned their runs.”