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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has said that the differences between former coach Anil Kumble and captain Virat Kohli had not been handled properly. Ganguly is a member of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that is tasked by the BCCI with identifying India’s new coach, and had zeroed in on Kumble last year. The CAC, it is understood, was also entrusted with the responsibility of breaking the impasse between Kohli and Kumble, but after discussions with Kohli, it reported to the board that the relationship was beyond repair.”The matter between Kumble and Kohli should have been handled a lot better, by whoever in charge. It was not handled properly,” Ganguly told reporters in Kolkata on Tuesday.On Sunday, during the state associations’ meeting with the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators, Ganguly disagreed that the CAC was undermined by the Kumble-Kohli episode. He had then pithily spelt out what kind of coach the committee was looking for: “[The one] who can win cricket matches.”With the deadline for applications for the job of coach extended till July 9 following Kumble’s exit, Ganguly, along with his former team-mates Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, will now have to look into the applications of the five candidates that have already submitted their resumes – Virender Sehwag, Tom Moody, Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus and Dodda Ganesh – as well as those of anyone else who applies for the post. The latest contender is former India team director Ravi Shastri, whom Kumble replaced last year. Shastri told ESPNcricinfo that “he will apply for sure”.Incidentally, Ganguly and Shastri were involved in a spat during the interview process to appoint the coach last year. While Shastri was affronted by Ganguly’s absence during the interview, the latter took a dig at Shastri not turning up in person to make his presentation. Now, asked about Shastri’s application, Ganguly said: “Everybody has got the right to apply. We will find out. I can also apply, provided I am not an administrator.”Kumble’s resignation came four days before the limited-overs tour to the Caribbean began, with him deeming his partnership with Kohli to be “untenable”. The exit had come following media reports that Kohli had told the BCCI that some players weren’t comfortable with Kumble’s “intimidating” approach to managing players. Consequently, despite Kumble’s successful one-year tenure, the board invited fresh applications for the head coach’s position instead of extending his contract, which ran till the end of the Champions Trophy.Kumble, who was given a direct entry, reapplied for the job, and was learnt to have accepted the BCCI’s offer to extend his contract for the West Indies series. He subsequently said, however, that he couldn’t continue given the reservations that Kohli had with his methods.

Alastair Cook marked the first day of day-night Test cricket in England with an unbeaten innings of 153 from 276 balls, but conceded that the performance of the day had come from his sidekick and successor as captain, Joe Root, as West Indies were put to the sword in the first Investec Test at Edgbaston.After conceding two early wickets, Cook and Root added 248 for England’s third wicket in a stand that spanned the entirety of the afternoon session, before Root missed a drive in the twilight and was bowled for 136, his second century of the summer and an innings that means he has now reached at least fifty in 11 consecutive Tests, an England record.Cook, who had been 22 not out when Root joined him at the crease, could only watch in admiration – and a tinge of professional jealousy – as his team-mate cruised to his 13th Test century from 139 balls. Cook had 22 when Root came to the crease and was on 80 when he raised three figures.”It’s fairly frustrating when you have a 30-run start on him and he beats you to a hundred by 30,” Cook said. “He makes it look quite easy, frustratingly easy in fact.”It’s incredible how he managed to score like he does. If he’s not the best English player I’ve played with, he’s right up there. His game is phenomenal, he’s churning out runs, his 11th consecutive Test with a fifty, that’s phenomenal consistency against world-class bowlers, and around the world as well.”Is he a genius? I don’t know, but he’s an unbelievable player to watch from the other end, how he moves, his rhythm … it’s a lesson to us all, isn’t it?”Cook, however, handed out a fair few lessons of his own in the course of his 31st Test century, and first since his return to the ranks against South Africa in July. With his 150 on the board already and four days remaining in the match, he recognises he has the chance to press on to a huge personal score on the ground where he made his career-best 294 against India in 2011.”I can’t be looking too far ahead,” he said. “But I’ve got an opportunity to get a big score, there’s a lot of time left in the game, but you can always nick the first ball tomorrow. It’s up to me to take the opportunity.”One man who couldn’t take his opportunity was Cook’s latest opening partner, Mark Stoneman – the 12th to step up alongside him since the retirement of Andrew Strauss. Stoneman started impressively, with two early boundaries, before falling to the ball of the day from Kemar Roach for 8.”That is what opening the batting in international cricket is about,” said Cook. “There will be good balls flowing around. Either you want it to just miss the stumps, or stand at the other end like I did and say ‘poor Rocky’. As Mike Atherton said, you’re paid to score runs, he’s paid to get you out, so one day you’re going to win, and sometimes they’ll win. I saw him score 190 against us at Guildford, so I know he’s a good player.”That range of score, and more, is now very much in Cook’s sights. “I think if you get 150 and not out at end of the day, of course you’ll enjoy it,” he said. “The jury will always be out on the pink ball until we know more about it, two or three years down the line, how it reacts in all kinds of situations. But, if you were using a red ball, under a clear blue sky and on a good wicket like Edgbaston, it would have been the same.”

Fidel Edwards produced a brutal evening spell of fast bowling to take two vital wickets on a rain affected third day between Hampshire and Essex in the Specsavers County Championship.West Indian speed demon Edwards bowled a six over stint of 2 for 15 after Dan Lawrence had calmly notched his third century of the season.The truncated day ended with Essex leading by 69 with five second innings wickets still in hand to set up an intriguing final day.Hampshire head coach Craig White said: “Those 12 overs were a nice bonus. It was a long day waiting and we sensed a perfect opportunity there it was the perfect time to bowl and we got two crucial wickets.”Fidel has had a stop start season with injuries and has never really got going. He has got a good rhythm at the moment and when he gets going he is still a class bowler.”Only eight unproductive overs, with only 18 runs added, were able to be completed before rain washed out the majority of the day. But following a quick clean up from the groundsmen, play resumed at 5.20pm for a 12 over burst.Fidel Edwards struck twice late in the day•Getty Images

Having taken the new ball in the last two overs before the rain, Edwards stuck with just the third delivery after the re-start. Ravi Bopara had battled hard alongside Lawrence to put on 147 and drag Essex into a lead. But the former England all-rounder edged to James Vince at second slip off a beautifully shaped away swinger.Lawrence rode his luck with plays and misses on day two, 45 of them according to Hampshire’s analysts, but took to thick edges through third man to close in on his three figures. He eventually completed his seventh first class ton from 207 balls with a firm push down the ground.But after facing just two more deliveries Edwards produced a ferocious bouncer to find the England Lions man’s glove to have him caught behind.Jamie Porter entered with six overs to go as a night watchman and he, along with captain Ryan ten Doeschate negotiated Essex to the close without a further dismissal.

Ben Stokes, the England allrounder who is currently under police investigation for his part in a late-night brawl in Bristol last month, has been dropped by his kit manufacturer, New Balance.The company issued a statement on Wednesday saying his behaviour “does not match our brand culture and values” and that his contract, worth an estimated £200,000 a year, had been terminated. The announcement came shortly after Stokes had tweeted an apology for a separate incident, in which he apparently mocked the disabled son of British celebrity Katie Price, and with his involvement in the Ashes increasingly uncertain.While the ECB has said Stokes will not travel to Australia until his legal issues are resolved – he was arrested but has not, at this stage, been charged – it remains unclear whether he will be part of the group gathering in Loughborough for a training camp from next Tuesday.The camp is likely it to involve some fielding practice – the potential loss of Stokes further weakens England’s close-catching – as well as discussion on what to expect in Australia and some bowling with the Kookaburra ball.New Balance provides Stokes with branded equipment, from bats to boots. In a statement, the company said: “New Balance does not condone behaviour by our global athletes that does not match our brand culture and values, and therefore we have ended our relationship with Ben Stokes, effective October 11, 2017. We will not provide further comment.”Shortly after the incident in September, which saw Stokes held overnight by Bristol police, a TV ad by brewer Greene King featuring the player drinking in a pub was pulled.Ben Stokes’ Twitter apology•Getty Images/Twitter

Stokes has also issued an apology after appearing to mock Harvey Price. A video of him impersonating Harvey, who suffers from autism, ADHD, Prader-Willi Syndrome and blindness, circulated shortly after Stokes’ arrest.He has now publically expressed his regret and, having admitted he should never have acted in such a way, accepted that he behaved “foolishly”. In a statement on Twitter, Stokes said he had contacted both Harvey and Katie Price personally and offered to get involved in their attempts to reduce online bullying.”Earlier this year I was a shown a clip of Harvey being asked on Loose Women how he responds to internet trolls,” Stokes wrote. “I loved Harvey’s directness with his responses – he said what most of us think but perhaps aren’t brave enough to say, let alone on live TV.”I foolishly attempted to copy the clip after I saw it a few times. I should never have done this and I am so sorry. It was absolutely not my intention to offend Harvey, Katie or anybody else.”I have written to both Harvey and Katie to say sorry and prior to this offered to meet in person at the end of last month with a view to also getting behind their petition about online bullying. I do hope I can put this right.”

India’s ODI captain Mithali Raj superseded Meg Lanning to claim the top spot on the ICC rankings for batsmen in women’s ODIs. Lanning missed out on the ODI leg of the ongoing multi-format Women’s Ashes as part of her rehabilitation plan following her shoulder surgery and slipped from first to fourth position.After the conclusion of the World Cup, Raj trailed Lanning by 10 points and led Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry by 12. While India haven’t played international cricket since the final of the tournament on July 23, Lanning’s absence from the three-match ODI series, which is also Australia’s first ODI assignment in the second cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship, meant she dropped three places. Perry and New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite climbed one place each to claim the second and third spots respectively.England wicketkeeper-batsman Sarah Taylor, too, made the move up, climbing two places to the 10th rank on the back of the 129 runs she scored in the series.Among ODI bowlers, Australia medium-pacer Megan Schutt moved 13 places to a career-best fourth position courtesy the 10 wickets – including two four-wicket hauls – she bagged in the series. England seamer Anya Shrubsole, who was adjudged Player of the Match in the World Cup final in July, gained one slot to reach a career-best sixth position.Australia’s 2-1 victory over world champions England helped them regain the top ranking after England had climbed to No. 1 after the annual update earlier in October. New Zealand, who finished fifth in the World Cup, are set to play their first ODI series since the global event, starting October 31 against Pakistan in the UAE. They are currently ranked third with 118 points, leading India by two points.

Batting first, the Scorpions had a flying start, scoring 17 runs in 2 overs. The openers gave a start but couldn’t capitalize on the situation, by the end of 4th over, they were down to 36 runs for 3 wickets. Wickets kept falling in regular intervals due to aerial shots and run outs due to miscommunication between batsmen.Naik Cricketers controlled the runs from the 6th over, making the batsmen play defensive shots and hold their wickets. They ended their innings at 50 for the loss of 8 wickets.Chasing a gettable target of 51, Naik batsmen ensured to finish the match as early as possible, the opening batsmen played aggressive to reach 30 runs in 3 overs for the loss of 1 wicket.Dhanuka & Mandar ensured the runs kept ticking on the board. Usman who was the only bowler to take two wickets from Scorpions managed to take the partners out in the 5th over but by then the game was already over, a four hit by Imran ended the match and Naik winning comfortably.

Cameron, well done on the innings, but can you talk us through the incident from what you remember?Cameron Bancroft: I remember it very clearly. We’d just won a Shield game for WA. One of our values is celebrate success … at the same time that coincided with the English team arriving in Perth for the tour game. It was very friendly mingling the whole night. Obviously some of our players knew some of the English players. As the night progressed, it was great to be able to meet some of those guys. I got into a very amicable conversation with Jonny and, yeah, he just greeted me with a headbutt kind of thing. I was expecting a handshake, but it wasn’t the greeting of choice that I was expecting. That was the way that I took it, there was certainly no malice in his action. We continued on having a very good conversation for the rest of the evening.Did he apologise to you that night or subsequently?CB: Yeah, like obviously at the time he said sorry. For me personally it was just really weird. It was so random, and I certainly didn’t expect it coming. A handshake or a hug or something like that would have been something that I probably would have expected more than a headbutt. But as I said, there was certainly nothing malicious about his action and I just took it as, I don’t know Jonny Bairstow but he says hello to people very differently to most others. We got along for the rest of the night quite well and I let it go and moved on from it, it was fine.We would imagine a headbutt knocking someone over?CB: He didn’t knock me over. I’ve actually got the heaviest head in the West Australian squad. It’s been measured. There’s an actual measurement for it. I took the blow quite well and just moved on from it… it was a good hit, play on.Trevor Bayliss said it was a long way from being a headbutt. He said there’s a headbutt, and then there’s what happened to you, and that a head-butt is totally different. So could you perhaps define, maybe on a one to ten basis, what happened to you?CB: He connected with my head, with a force that would make me think, wow, that’s a bit weird. That was it.Was it the top of his head and it hit you in the nose, or what happened?CB: Headbutts clash with heads, and when he made the decision to do that, it meant our heads collided.Where did the top of his head hit your head?CB: It hit my head, yeah. My head, yeah.Steven Smith: Forehead.CB: Forehead. There you go.Cameron Bancroft gives his take on being at the receiving end of a headbutt from Jonny Bairstow•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Steve, Joe Root said it was convenient timing that this incident was brought up on the first day you had a good day in the field. What are your thoughts on that?SS: I think it was basically about trying to get Jonny off his game, to be honest with you. And I think it worked, with the way he got out. He got caught at third man playing a pretty ordinary stroke, to be fair. We were just trying to get in his head and it happened to work.Cameron, you’re making your Test debut for Australia. Is this how you envisaged your first press conference going?CB: Not really, no. But look, it’s all good humour, isn’t it. I’ll look back on this one day and it’ll be a dot in my life and we’ll live and learn and move on.How has the experience been the last five days?CB: It’s been absolutely fantastic. It’s an absolute dream to be able to play for Australia in Test cricket, and to be able to ride the waves of the week and then go through all the moments and experiences of the game, it’s been absolutely fantastic and great to get a win with the guys. I know everyone’s really excited and hopefully we can carry this momentum forward.Steve, there’s always a lot of posturing in Ashes cricket, but perhaps you guys get on well with your England counterparts – do you think this incident, even though Cam’s explained there was no malice and there’ll be no further action for Jonny, but the fact that England have had to explain themselves, bearing in mind the Ben Stokes situation in the background, do you think this will add genuine animosity out on the field?SS: It’s always played hard out on the field. We know there’s a line that you’re not to cross. I don’t think it makes any real difference. We’re going to continue to play the same way we have, nice and aggressively. This has been a really good week for us. I thought we played some really good cricket. We had to fight after the first couple of days and to get the result we were after is very pleasing. No doubt there’ll continue to be some good, hard, aggressive cricket played throughout this series.Steve, four years ago David Warner got rubbed out for two Ashes Tests for something that happened. Are you surprised that England would do nothing about this at all?SS: That’s not my decision. We deal with what happens with our team. ECB and Root and Bayliss can control what’s happening in the England change room. That’s really none of our business. We’ll just go about our business as usual and prepare really well for what’s going to be an exciting Test match in Adelaide.Cameron Bancroft ducks under a short delivery•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Steve, on the cricket for a moment, chases around 170 can sometimes be mentally tricky, how impressed were you particularly with Cam on debut, but also David Warner, having no problems at all?SS: They were magnificent. Cam was obviously disappointed in the first innings to miss out, but the way he came out in the second innings, he had really good plans, he left really well, played nice and straight, and put the loose ball away. Obviously Davey was playing his nice, free-flowing game at the other end. I thought they played particularly well, and to get a 10-wicket win is very satisfying.Steve, there was a lot of negativity around the selection of this side during the week. Does that make it more satisfying that you’ve won the game by 10 wickets? And what is the potential for this team now to grow and develop?SS: There was never any negativity from our side of things. We thought it was a very good selection. We were very happy with the team that we picked, and now it was just about performing. We’ve obviously performed really well in this game, after probably a bit of a shaky start. But I think this team has the potential to do some really good things. We’ll have to continue to play really good cricket. Adelaide wicket might bring some of their bowlers into the game a little bit, but having said that it’s probably one of the quickest wickets in the country at night. We saw how effective our bowlers could be when this wicket quickened up a little bit. That’s exciting.Steve, given it’s four years on from Michael Clarke’s ‘broken arm’ to Jimmy Anderson on the stump mic, and now we’ve got this situation with the headbutt comment. How concerned are the players with stump mic and what actually is going on on the field getting transferred into the media?SS: We certainly have no intention of anyone outside the field knowing what’s going on on the field, to be perfectly honest with you. I think in regards to the comments, that’s all I can say there. But I think we’ve made our intentions pretty clear with how we’re going to bowl to the tail. I think they know that as well. They can expect a bit more of a barrage I’d say.

Delhi made it to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final with a slim three-wicket win they sealed in the final over of the match against Uttar Pradesh. Chasing 141, UP needed 13 runs from the last six balls with two wickets in hand and started the last over with a six but the run-outs of Saurabh Kumar, who kept UP in the match until then with an 18-ball 33, and Mohsin Khan meant they fell short.After being put in to bat, Delhi finished with 140 for 9 in 20 overs with Rishabh Pant’s 34-ball 58, his fifth 50-plus score in seven matches. Delhi were off to a wobbly start, with Gautam Gambhir caught behind for 1 off seamer Amit Mishra in the first over. However, Pant and Dhruv Shorey (12), who has been in good form lately, added 38 runs in 3.5 overs. But, Shorey and Unmukt Chand (0), playing his first match of the tournament, fell in successive overs. Delhi slumped to 67 for 4 when Nitish Rana, who had a good IPL season with Mumbai Indians last year and stands a good chance of being picked up at this year’s auction, fell for a duck too.By the time Pant was run out in the 12th over, he had struck three sixes on the leg side and five fours around the ground. It was then left to Milind Kumar, who struck 32 off 28 balls, and captain Pradeep Sangwan (14*) to steer Delhi to a respectable total. Ankit Rajpoot, Mohammad Israr and Mohsin finished with two wickets each.While UP’s top-order batsmen got starts, nobody went on to get a big score. After captain and in-form batsman Suresh Raina (16 off 12 balls) and Akshdeep Nath (1) fell cheaply, Rinku Singh (34 off 26) and Saurabh tried to take UP home. However, Saurabh’s run-out off the second ball of the last over resulted in Uttar Pradesh falling short, as they couldn’t score six off the last four deliveries. Milind effected three run-outs, including Saurabh’s, and also took two catches. Left-arm spinner Pawan Negi, who is likely to be snapped up in the auction, finished with 2 for 13 from his two overs.

The Kenya players enjoy a celebratory jig after their 42-run win•ICC/Donald MacLeod

Kenya

Some of the east African side’s results in the WCL Championship – wins over Hong Kong and tournament champion Netherlands – show they are more than capable of being a strong competitor should they advance to Zimbabwe. However, they are playing in Division Two because of their wild inconsistency.The biggest positive for Kenya is that they swept both matches in Namibia during the WCL Championship, giving them a leg up with their experience in local conditions. Captain Rakep Patel, Collins Obuya and Irfan Karim all scored more than 300 runs in the WCL Championship and are expected to have strong tournaments on the traditionally high-scoring pitches of Windhoek.

UAE

The only side with ODI status in this event, UAE are under heavy pressure to make it to Zimbabwe, failing which they lose their ODI status until 2022 at the earliest. UAE struggled early in the WCL Championship trying to recover from the retirement of Khurram Khan, but found their feet midway through the competition and finished by winning four of their final six matches, including a series split in Namibia, a win over Papua New Guinea and a sweep of Nepal in Abu Dhabi. Most recently, they knocked off a target of 300 against Scotland to pull off their highest successful ODI chase.Shaiman Anwar did the bulk of UAE’s scoring for much of the WCL Championship, finishing sixth overall with 431 runs. Adnan Mufti and Ghulam Shabber lightened the burden by coming through with big scores in the most-recent series against Nepal while Rameez Shahzad propelled the record chase against Scotland with his maiden ODI ton. A balanced bowling unit, featuring the opening pace pair of Mohammad Naveed and Zahoor Khan, makes up for the absence of Amjad Javed. The spin combo of legspinner Imran Haider, left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza and captain Rohan Mustafa completes the tournament’s most balanced attack.Sharad Vesawkar and Gyanendra Malla get together•Kaushal Adhikari

Nepal

After scoring two wins at the 2014 World T20 against Afghanistan and Hong Kong, Nepal has struggled to stay afloat in the top tier of Associate cricket. Of their opponents in this event, they can take consolation from the fact that they swept Namibia for half of their four wins in the WCL Championship, though that series win was achieved in Kathmandu. They also have positive memories of the last time they were in Namibia at WCL Division Two in 2015, when they secured a spot in the WCL Championship despite a last-day stumble.While the captain and vice-captain duo of Paras Khadka and Gyanendra Malla often get most of the plaudits for their batting acumen, middle-order finisher Sharad Vesawkar actually led the team in runs during the WCL Championship, with 415 runs at an average of 51.87. On the bowling side, spin has been Nepal’s strength over the years with the left-arm tandem of Basant Regmi and Shakti Gauchan. However, most of the attention at Division Two will be on teenage legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who garnered global attention last month after being taken by Delhi Daredevils at the IPL auction.

Namibia

The tournament hosts only managed to win three out of 14 games in the WCL Championship, but two of those – over Hong Kong and Scotland – had a significant impact on the final standings at the top of the table. In particular, the win in Edinburgh showcased what Namibia are capable of when operating at full strength. A rare appearance from Otago allrounder Christi Viljoen severely dented Scotland’s hopes of chasing Netherlands down for the title.Viljoen is back again for this tournament in an effort boost Namibia’s seam bowling and middle-order batting. Stephan Baard offers an explosive weapon at the top of the order while Gerhard Erasmus’ coming-of-age against Netherlands in the final round of the WCL Championship – a fluent 52 and 81 in both innings against the champion Dutch side – shows Namibia’s batting nucleus may be hitting form at just the right time.Oman celebrate after being crowned tournament champions•Peter Della Penna

Oman

Oman is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Afghanistan’s rapid ascent up the Associate ladder that began in Jersey at the 2008 WCL Division Five, by taking an identical journey to the World Cup Qualifiers. Oman secured three consecutive promotions beginning in Jersey in 2015 with a myriad of contributors along the way.In Jersey, it was Zeeshan Maqsood’s explosive batting paired with the swing bowling duo of Rajeshkumar Ranpura and Munis Ansari that took them forward. In Los Angeles, legspinning allrounder Khawar Ali’s Player-of-the-Tournament performance, including 74 and a five-wicket haul in a do-or-die showdown with Denmark, secured another promotion. At Division Three in Uganda, Khawar continued his impact with the ball but it was a host of characters led by Aqib Ilyas with the bat and left-arm swing bowler Bilal Khan who rallied them to the title.Entering Division Two, Ranpura and Ansari have faded out of the squad, but the ICC’s revised eligibility guidelines – which allow players to represent a country after just three years of residency – have opened the doors to two key allrounders: former Sialkot player Ahmed Fayyaz and former Saurashtra player Jayesh Odedra. The lifting of the ICC’s other stipulation, a maximum of two four-year residents in a starting XI, has also allowed for the recall of tall medium pacer Kaleemullah, who troubled batsman with his height and bounce last year at the Desert T20 Challenge. The trio may provide Oman with yet more difference-makers in an attempt to vault into the World Cup qualifiers.

Canada

Much like Netherlands and Kenya, Canada is an Associate that may have once taken a place in the World Cup for granted, having qualified four times including thrice from 2003 to 2011. But Canada not only failed to qualify for the 2015 event but lost ODI status through a poor performance at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand. However, unlike Kenya and the Dutch, who rebounded at 2015 WCL Division Two to earn a place in the WCL Championship, Canada’s bottom-two finish three years ago dropped them back to Division Three.It took Canada more than two years for the opportunity to climb back up, but they’ve produced a triumphant display in Uganda, propelled by the electric batting and canny medium pace of Rizwan Cheema, who was also named the Player of the Tournament. Teenage opening batsman Bhavindu Adhihetty played a strong support role, finishing as the tournament’s leading scorer with 222 runs. Adhihetty’s value to the senior side is such that he stayed away from the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand – having previously captained Canada Under-19 to victory in the Americas Regional Qualifier – so that he could be with the seniors on their Division Three warm-up tour in South Africa.Like Oman, Canada have – for the moment – moved on from someone who helped get them to this point with Cheema not included in the Namibian touring squad. Yet like Oman, they are bolstered by reinforcements that give them an excellent chance of advancing. The recalled top-order duo of Ruvindu Gunasekera, who has spent most of the last two Canadian winters playing first-class cricket in Sri Lanka, and Srimantha Wijeratne provide a fire-and-ice combo that bridges the gap up to captain Nitish Kumar’s class in the middle order.

After nine years with no cricket of comparable magnitude, Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, is gearing up to host the Pakistan Super League final. This is the second major venue after Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium to host a high-profile game in recent years, and it is considered a crucial step on the long road to reviving international cricket in the country.The final between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi will be played at the National Stadium and the entire route from the hotel to the stadium will be lined with guards from Pakistan’s paramilitary force, the Rangers, and the Sindh police. A full house (around 33,000) is expected, with tickets sold out hours after they were released. There is a three-tier security layer, heavily guarded by security forces. Deputy Inspector General Traffic Imran Yaqoob Minhas, while addressing a press conference, said a total of 8500 police personnel will be deployed around the stadium for the match.The landscape of the city has changed drastically over the last nine years and the law and order situation has improved significantly. Karachi still remains the venue of the last completed Test match in Pakistan, a few days before the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore.Karachi is generally viewed as a more challenging city in terms of its law-and-order situation, and providing a complete security plan, what with the nearest hotel being at least 12 km from the National Stadium, is harder than it is in Lahore.The stadium is situated in the centre of the city, and all major routes from all four directions that connect with the stadium will be closed for the general public. The two biggest hospitals of the city, Agha Khan and Liaquat National, are located close to the stadium, but the roads leading to them will be open. A shuttle service will be in place to take fans from the parking area to the stadium gates. The flow of traffic is likely to be reduced, but a strict directive has been issued to follow the day’s plan to avoid congestion. The fact that the game will be held on Sunday will help.”It’s a big occasion for Karachi and the whole country,” said Rashid Latif, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper who is now team director at Karachi Kings. “I am very much thankful to the PCB for making this possible. This was a much-needed step because you cannot revive cricket by playing at one venue. It’s important to involve at least three or four cities to get this going. Otherwise, you cannot have a positive impact. Karachi is a huge city and I cannot explain in words how big this would be for us and for this country.”We have played a month in Dubai and Sharjah but we actually felt the intensity when cricket came to Lahore for the playoffs. We realised how people are hungry for cricket and how desperate they are to have cricket back in their stadiums. This is huge for fans; they are really passionate about the game and during isolation we have suffered a lot in world of cricket.”I think the security is somewhat overdone. I don’t want to be critical but I feel security should be given to the foreigners only, not to us. When we were in Lahore for playoffs, even local players and officials were restricted from going out freely. So this shouldn’t be the case because this will give off a bad impression among the overseas players.”The security protocols are being overseen by international security consultant Reg Dickason who has praised the “remarkably thorough” security arrangements for the final, saying they were “as good as I have seen in all my years”.The PCB plans to bring a major chunk of the next edition of the PSL to Pakistan, with at least three venues hosting more than 15 games in total. “We plan to have half of the PSL next year in Pakistan,” Najam Sethi, the PSL chairman, said on Friday. “But for that, we need four stadiums. As of now, we have Lahore, Karachi and Multan ready to host big matches, so now our focus is on preparing the stadiums of Rawalpindi and Peshawar. We’ve been working day and night to bring international cricket back to the country.”