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The three-Test series might also be reduced to two keeping the players’ requirements in mind

Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2020Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt has given Bangladesh hope that they will be touring the country in January 2021 with the “best available” West Indies team, also hinting that the three-Test series might be reduced to two keeping the players’ requirements in mind.According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, the tour was slotted for January 2021 featuring three Tests, three ODIs and two T20Is, with the Tests part of the World Test Championship. By the time this month ends, Bangladesh will be among the few Full Member teams to have not played international cricket since March.ALSO READ: ICC confirms altered points system for World Test Championship“There has been an option to reduce from three to two Tests but it is not finalised yet,” Skerritt told the Dhaka-based . “It will be finalised within the next few days. The problem is [that] we have to look at it from all perspectives, that of Covid-19, scheduling and cost. These days, the pressures that Covid has brought to world cricket are significant in terms of revenue. We want to come to Bangladesh because we respect the relationship and the bilateral agreements that we have.”I just want to assure you that we will always send the best available team to any tour that we undertake, including Bangladesh. We believe a tour to Bangladesh is always a challenging tour because it is an environment that’s very different to our own conditions. But we have always done well in Bangladesh. Our players enjoy playing against Bangladesh. At the moment we are fairly evenly matched and it is always a good series between West Indies and Bangladesh. We are doing everything we can to participate in tours abroad and at home. The Covid-19 pandemic is making it extremely difficult to implement our plans.”On Wednesday, the BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said in a press briefing that CWI had requested one fewer Test due to the length of the bio-bubble in Bangladesh.”It is not final yet. The West Indies cricket board has requested us, as staying inside bio-bubble for a long time is tough for players,” Chowdhury had said. “They requested to consider if it is possible to shorten the duration of the series. In that case, one of the options is to reduce one Test match. We are still discussing the issues, nothing is finalised yet.”Skerritt also said they want to ensure that the BCB followed the recognised worldwide health protocols – that the West Indies team had experienced in England – after they became the first international cricket team to tour during the pandemic.”We want to be sure that the protocols established in Bangladesh meet the requirement that we have established so far in the various tours we have been on,” Skerritt said. “There are case studies to benchmark from. This is not going to be the first overseas tour. As you know, we did the first overseas tour to England.”Certain standards were set, certain learnings were achieved, and I think once Bangladesh can meet those standards, I don’t think there’s going to be any major problem. We just have to verify in our own way that the situation will be safe for all concerned.”The BCB has so far held one domestic tournament, the President’s Cup, in which they managed to keep three teams in a bio-bubble, allowing them only to commute between the hotel and the Shere Bangla National Stadium. From Tuesday, they will be hosting the five-team Bangabandhu T20 Cup, which will also have a BCB-sponsored bio-bubble.

Shaw bowled again after Paine’s 73 cuts Australia’s first-innings deficit to 53

Andrew McGlashan18-Dec-2020
As day-night Tests can do, the action in Adelaide went into fast forward as 15 wickets fell on the second day with India responding to what looked like a below-par batting effort with a superb team performance from the bowlers in which R Ashwin benefited from the pressure created by the three quick bowlers.That Australia ended as close to India’s 244 as they did was down to a fine innings by captain Tim Paine who was left unbeaten on 73 while Marnus Labuschagne, with a somewhat skittish 47, was the only other player to pass 15 and the rest of the top six made 35 between them.Tim Paine counter-attacks•Getty Images

The match took on dimensions not entirely dissimilar to two years ago although on this occasion the margin on first innings was wider. But India could not get through six overs unscathed as Pat Cummins breached Prithvi Shaw’s defenses – Australia have exploited a technical failing that may end Shaw’s series after one match – but under lights the loss of one wicket was acceptable damage.All the India bowlers played their part – the wicketless Mohammed Shami was the first of the quicks to find a fuller length – with Jasprit Bumrah making the initial incisions and Ashwin producing a delightful piece of bowling to snare Steven Smith which left Australia firmly on the back foot, from where they did not really recover. Thanks to their bowlers, India largely got away with three dropped chances.Related

• 'Felt like I was making my debut again' – Ashwin relishes return to Test cricket

• CA on alert after Sydney Covid-19 outbreak

• S Marsh: 'Probably wasn't expecting' a call for Adelaide

• As it happened: Australia vs India, day 2

• Australian batsmen, selectors get a strong dose of reality

The first part of the day could not have gone any better for the home side as they ran through India’s lower order for the addition of just 11 runs. From the moment of Virat Kohli’s run out on Thursday, India had lost their last seven wickets for 56.Initially with the ball, Bumrah and Umesh Yadav offered a little too much that Australia could leave but the new-look opening pair of Joe Burns and Matthew Wade did not make any impression on the scoreboard. The first runs came in the fifth over and when Wade, opening the batting for the first time in first-class cricket, was trapped lbw from round the wicket it was 16 for 1 in the 15th over.Labuschagne, who started his innings by yelling ‘no run’ as he left the ball alone, nearly fell to an early edge that just evaded Wriddhiman Saha but there was a more clear-cut chance when he had 12 and top-edged a pull towards long leg where Bumrah made a mess of it, unaware he had more room to the rope than he thought. After lunch, he was given a second life when Shaw dropped a simpler chance at square leg, but India mixed the poor with the very good to stay in charge.Smith had scored one run in 28 balls when Ashwin sent down a delivery that went straight on – whether by design or not – that was edged to slip to send Ashwin off in almost a lap of celebration. At 45 for 3 in the 27th, India had a grip on both the wickets and the run rate.Ashwin then worked over the left-handed Travis Head who chipped a soft return catch and that brought Cameron Green in for his first Test innings with Australia tottering. There were early signs of crisp footwork – a back-cut behind square was full of timing – but he became Ashwin’s third wicket when a pull went no further then Kohli at midwicket.Labuschagne and Paine started a recovery, but it only went as far as a stand of 32 when Umesh Yadav skidded one into Labuschagne’s pads to leave the bowlers exposed. Cummins could not see out the over as he fended a short delivery into the gully and at 111 for 7 a deficit in three figures was on the cards.Paine had shown urgency at the crease from the start – although he, too, had been given a life on 26 when a hook was spilled by Agarwal at deep square – and managed to conjure 80 runs from the last three wickets. Mitchell Starc, who earlier went into the top 10 of Australian Test wicket-takers, was run out coming back for a second but Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood hung around.Paine went to his fifty with a strong square cut and followed it with a slash over the slips as Kohli’s face grew a little more impatient to wrap things up, but perhaps also partly aware of the tricky period his top order would face under lights. Ashwin removed his opposite number, Lyon, for his fourth wicket but was thumped for two boundaries by Hazlewood to further chip away at India’s lead meaning a return to Yadav who claimed the No. 11 with his first ball back.If you’d offered India a lead of over fifty at the start of the day, they would have grabbed it. Australia are far from gone, but it feels like India’s game to lose.

Former great lends expertise to England batsmen in Sri Lanka, and is open to further work

George Dobell and Firdose Moonda13-Jan-2021Jacques Kallis has admitted he is “sad” to be unable to use his experience to help the next generation of South African cricketers, but is enjoying his time working with England instead.Kallis, arguably the greatest cricketer South Africa have produced, found himself surplus to requirements in their coaching set-up after Cricket South Africa (CSA) started to apply an affirmative action policy to the recruitment of consultants.While this policy is not set in stone, it does encourage more usage of non-white coaches. And with South Africa already having a white director of cricket (Graeme Smith), head coach (Mark Boucher) and high performance batting coach (Neil McKenzie), Kallis has not been utilised by them since the end of England’s tour of the country at the start of 2020.Despite “a few” South Africa players expressing a desire to work with him in recent weeks, Kallis says he “wasn’t allowed” to help them. As a result, he has accepted a short-term role as batting consultant with England. And while there are currently no plans to extend that role beyond the current tour of Sri Lanka, both sides are open to discussing it further in the coming weeks.”It’s sad in a way that I can’t help out in South Africa,” Kallis said from Galle, “but I’m thoroughly enjoying my time here and my time in the England set-up. I’m certainly going to give them as much of my knowledge and time as I can to move them forward.”I wasn’t allowed to be involved with that South African side because Cricket South Africa said there would be no more white consultants. So unfortunately that fell away and this opportunity of helping England out came about and I took it with both hands.”So no I haven’t been able to be involved with the SA guys over the last couple of months. There were a few [quite keen to do so], but unfortunately there was that rule so it was pretty much taken out of my hands.”I suppose it’s the way of our country: a lot of players have fallen away because of needing players of colour involved. It’s tough but we understand where it comes from. It is sad, but it’s the times we are living in at the moment.”It has appeared, in recent days, that CSA have softened their stance on the affirmative action to ensure they have more coaching talent available. But if that is the case, nobody appears to have told Kallis.Related

• CSA steps back from affirmative action policy for consultants

• Neil McKenzie appointed SA batting consultant

• Kallis named England batting consultant for SL tour

• Karunaratne believes SL have the edge on England

“I haven’t heard anything like that,” he says. “At the moment, I’m concentrating on this role and this tour.”Like I said, we’ve lost a few players – whatever the reasons – overseas. It’s the times we’re in. There are many other coaches who have gone on to coach other teams – Gary Kirsten, for example – so there’s lots of guys. It’s the modern way of the world.”The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are currently searching for an ‘elite batting coach’. While Kallis says he has not applied – and the closing date has now passed – he is clearly open-minded about extending his connection with England. But it doesn’t appear he will be involved when they move on to India, with family responsibilities taking priority.”We’ll go through this tour and then see what the future holds,” he says. “The appointment is just for the Sri Lanka leg. I’ve a 10-month old at home and my wife broke her foot just before I came over here. So the appointment was only for Sri Lanka.”But I must admit I am enjoying my time here. As I say, we’ll see where it goes and reassess where we are and make a call then.”It speaks volumes for the diaspora of southern African sporting talent, that it is a player of similar heritage who seems to be most exciting Kallis within the England set-up. Although Sam Curran was born in the UK, his father and grandfather represented Zimbabwe (or Rhodesia) and, given a different turn of political and economic events, it is not unreasonable to suggest Sam may have followed. Either way, Kallis clearly thinks he has a bright future.”He certainly has a lot of talent,” Kallis says. “And he’s willing to learn. He’s a hard worker and a great kid, as well. I see a lot of potential in him.”Is he the best young all-rounder in the world? Yes, from a young point of view, I do think so. He is certainly right up there.”All-rounders are so vital to the balance of a team. And being a left-arm seamer adds some variety. Here he’s excited to be taking over the Ben Stokes role. There’s no doubt he wants to get stuck in. He wants it; he’s hungry. There are exciting times for him ahead.”

“It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a Test series we are going to have to earn the right to win.”

Firdose Moonda20-Jan-2021South Africa are expecting “reverse swing to play a role” in their upcoming Test series against Pakistan, according to pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada. Like the rest of the squad, this is Rabada’s first trip to Pakistan and his first impressions of conditions are that there’s a lack of bounce and movement but the potential for the older ball to move, which bodes well for him.”The practice squares we have been playing on have been keeping low. There’s not much lateral movement, especially when the ball gets older. We’re suspecting that reverse swing is going to play a role,” Rabada said.Rabada is the most experienced member of the South African attack and the only one with a proven track record of making use of reverse swing. His hope that it will be a tool he can use in the upcoming Test series is based on what he has seen at the team’s training venue, the Bomi Khambatta Cricket Pavillion, and he will have to wait until the weekend before getting a glimpse of the surface at the Karachi National Stadium, where the Test will be played. Nonetheless, Rabada expects everyone in the South African squad will have to “adjust” to unfamiliar conditions.”The batters will have to adjust to the ball not bouncing as much as it does in South Africa. That’s always a challenge,” he said. “We are probably going to have bowl straighter lines. This is cricket 101. We’re not sure about how the venue is going to play but we have an idea.”Rabada may be among the players that have to make the biggest adjustment. He has not played Test cricket in a year, since he last turned out for South Africa in the third Test of a four-match series against England. He was banned for the final game after an accumulation of demerit points for aggressive and provocative celebrations, something he has become known for throughout his career.Despite several assurances that he will change, Rabada has yet to show that he can rein himself in and seems he will be giving it another try in this series. “It’s just impulsive. Seems like I never learn but I will have to learn,” he said.Perhaps the thrill of Test cricket will be enough to keep Rabada in check, especially as he reaffirmed his love for the longest format above all others.”It (Test cricket) challenges you in every way and it challenges you in very different conditions. These days in one-day cricket, pitches are the same and you have high scoring games quite often,” he said. “That’s not to say I don’t love one-day cricket and T20 cricket. They are great for the game.”But Test cricket challenges you – the weather, the conditions, it’s interesting to see how it all unfolds. Sometimes you are chasing the game, sometimes you are on top and sometimes it’s even and you have to work out ways to get on top and the other team is doing the same thing. builds up to such a climax. And at the end, after all the hard work you put in, especially when you’ve won, it’s extremely rewarding – more than any other format.”Rabada on Pakistan: “I am expecting them to come out fighting. They’ve got some good players. It’s not going to be easy.”•AFP via Getty Images

But Rabada has not tasted a Test victory since South Africa beat Pakistan at home in early 2019. That was two years ago. Since then, Rabada played in home series losses to Sri Lanka and England and an away series defeat in India. He missed South Africa’s most recent assignment, at home against Sri Lanka, as he recovered from a groin injury sustained during the T20 series against England. For that reason, there’s some extra motivation for Rabada to go searching for a series win in a place he has never played in before, against an opposition he rates highly.”I’m expecting Pakistan to come out fighting. They’ve got some good players. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a Test series we are going to have to earn the right to win. I’d love to go back home with a trophy in the bag,” he said. “It would mean the world. We’ve just won against Sri Lanka and guys have taken a lot of confidence from that. It’s our first time touring Pakistan and it would be nice to get a win and climb up the ladder in the Test championship and to restore even more confidence because we know the capabilities we have as a team. We need to start showing that again and building on that.”South Africa are all but out of the running for the World Test Championship final and lie fifth, more than 200 points behind their nearest rivals, England. But they are in a period of transition under Boucher and Rabada believes it won’t be long before they are back to their best.”We know we can beat any team in the world. At the moment we are in a rebuilding phase but I think our future looks extremely bright. We are a new team; a building team; a team full of young energy. It is really exciting and I can’t wait to play.”

India spinners wrap up victory shortly after lunch on day four

Alan Gardner16-Feb-2021India cruised to victory in a little over a session on the fourth day at Chepauk, Axar Patel collecting a five-wicket haul on debut as England went down by a crushing margin of 317 runs – emphatic retribution after the tourists had gone 1-0 up on this ground less than a week earlier.Having seen his side dominate the match from toss to finishing tape, Virat Kohli’s satisfaction was as palpable at his disgruntlement after the first Test. On a classically subcontinental surface, England twice could barely match the individual contribution of India’s first-innings centurion, Rohit Sharma, and were left with precious few scraps with which to slink off to Ahmedabad ahead of the day-night encounter, their six-match winning run in away Tests at a halt.Related

• Virat Kohli: 'It was the perfect game for us'

The only slight regret for another enthusiastic crowd came in the absence of another R Ashwin landmark for them to acknowledge – he finished with 8 for 96, narrowly short of becoming only the fourth man to score a century and take ten-for in a Test.England’s task on their return to the ground was a near-futile one, but there was the potential to spend time in the middle against India’s spinners and salt away knowledge for the battles ahead. As it was, only Joe Root spent any significant amount of time at the crease – even 33 from 92 balls was modest by his recent standards – and barely a shot was played in anger until Moeen Ali decided to go down swinging with five towering sixes before being last man out, stumped off Kuldeep Yadav.Fittingly for a Test that saw some grumbling about the pitch but was more memorable for the displays of high-class wicketkeeping, the game ended with the ball in the hands of Rishabh Pant. This was only the sixth time in Tests that a match had featured five or more stumpings – and India’s march to victory on the fourth morning began with another, as Dan Lawrence charged at Ashwin only to be nutmegged, leaving Pant to seal his fate after collecting brilliantly down the leg side.That dismissal brought out Ben Stokes, searching for pointers in his ongoing duel with India’s offspinner. Despite digging in as the ball ripped and spun – one delivery from over the wicket nearly took him on the chin before Pant collected it above his head – Stokes was rendered near-strokeless, facing 38 balls from Ashwin of which 36 were dots, the last also bringing his wicket as an inside edge ricocheted off pad to slip.Patel picked up his third, following the dismissals of Dom Sibley and Jack Leach on the third evening, when Ollie Pope shovelled a slog-sweep straight to deep midwicket, and although Mohammed Siraj dropped Root with the lunch break approaching, Kuldeep Yadav was finally able to enjoy the feeling of taking a Test wicket, more than two years after his previous appearance, when Ben Foakes swept without conviction and was taken on the edge of the square.India rounded the rest up without much delay, as Root received a near-unplayable ball, which took the top glove as he pressed forward and flew to slip, and Olly Stone became another victim of the sweep to complete Patel’s five-for. Moeen had some fun with 43 off 18 balls as England at least managed to surpass their first-innings total – but nothing could take the shine off as India rewarded the returning Chepauk crowd with a thumping win, and the afternoon free.

Sides will play five T20Is from January, three Tests in March after West Indies travelled to England last year

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Mar-2021England will extend its tours of West Indies in 2022, adding an extra Test and two more T20Is to their schedule.The tour next January will now feature five T20Is – increased from three matches – to be followed by England returning to the Caribbean for three Test matches in March – increased from the original two games.The possibility of extending the tour, expected to be worth nearly US$100m to the region, was reported by ESPNcricinfo last week, with CWI President Ricky Skerritt saying it would be an acknowledgement of West Indies’ agreement to travel to England last year. That trip, consisting of three Tests behind closed doors in Southampton and Manchester, helped the ECB stage a complete international season in the middle of the pandemic and avoid an estimated £380 million budget black hole, but Skerritt said it had not earned the tourists anything financially.

Schedule

• January 28: 1st T20I

• January 30: 2nd T20I

• February 2: 3rd T20I

• February 4: 4th T20I

• February 5: 5th T20I

• March 1-4: warm-up game

• March 8: 1st Test

• March 16: 2nd Test

• March 24: 3rd Test

Each Test match of the West Indies tour is estimated to be worth US$20-$25 million to the hosts and each T20I US$4 million.”This expansion of next year’s England tour to the Caribbean is welcome news for West Indies Cricket and for the region’s tourism economy,” Skerritt said when the tour extension was confirmed on Wednesday. “It has come about because of the special relationship that has been developed between our respective boards.”We have already begun discussions on how the ECB can help us in our development programs and I am pleased that ECB has been showing so much appetite and goodwill to assist.”Ian Watmore, the ECB Chair, said: “We hugely appreciated the support of Cricket West Indies, and all its men’s and women’s players, in helping us host a full season of international cricket in the summer of 2020. Following the conclusion of those tours to England we have been in discussions with CWI to understand how we can best support them moving forward and one way was to extend our existing England men’s tours to the Caribbean in 2022.”The three Tests will form part of the next ICC World Test Championship, while the additional T20Is will make it the biggest series between the sides in the shortest format, providing extra preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia the following October.The Test series will be the first in which England and West Indies compete for the newly commissioned Richards-Botham Trophy, named in honour of West Indies’ batting icon Sir Vivian Richards and England’s great allrounder Lord Ian Botham.The venues for the matches are expected to be announced by the end of April.

Craig Overton toils on luckless day in the field for Somerset

ECB Reporters' Network29-Apr-2021
Nick Gubbins and Robbie White led a solid Middlesex batting display on the opening day of the LV= County Championship match with Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground.After losing the toss, the visitors progressed to 308 for 6 by the close, Gubbins contributing 75, White 70 not out and Max Holden 49.Craig Overton was the pick of the Somerset attack, bowling with little luck for figures of 2 for 54 from 23 overs.On a sunny morning, Lewis Gregory struck first blow for the hosts when Sam Robson, on 6, played across a full delivery and edged a sharp catch to wicketkeeper Steve Davies.From then on, the morning session belonged to Middlesex, but not without moments of good fortune, particularly for Holden.On 24, he was caught off a Gregory no-ball and on 28 edged the same bowler low to second slip, the ball flying through Overton’s legs for four.Holden survived narrowly again on 33 when he got a thin top edge to an attempted pull shot off Overton and the leaping Davies could only get the finger ends of his gloves to the ball.When Overton tried to bounce him out, Holden responded with two fine pulls for boundaries. But the bowler took revenge with the final delivery before the interval, which yielded an outside edge and another Davies catch.It was 82 for 2 at lunch and when the afternoon began with Gubbins and Peter Handscomb progressing confidently, it looked like taking a mistake from one of them to bring a wicket.That happened with the total on 129. Handscomb, on 17, steered a ball from Jack Leach to mid-on and set off for a single, only to be beaten by substitute fielder Roelof van der Merwe’s direct hit at the bowler’s end.Gubbins had been dropped on 41 by Overton at second slip off Josh Davey and it looked like proving a costly error as the left-hander moved to an otherwise assured half-century.He had faced 138 balls and struck 12 fours when Overton pouched him to give Gregory a second wicket.At 170 for 4, Middlesex had to rebuild. White and John Simpson did so sensibly to add 38 before the tea interval.Simpson announced more positive intentions in the first over of the evening session, lofting Leach over long-on for six.He had contributed 33 to a stand of 69 with White when edging a back-foot shot off the left-arm seam of Tom Lammonby to James Hildreth at first slip.White went to fifty with a flashing cut for four off Lammonby, his eighth boundary, having faced 114 balls.Martin Andersson weighed in with a brisk 38 from 35 balls and, with White still unbeaten, Middlesex could feel satisfied with their day’s work.

They will be tested regularly before departing for Colombo on June 28

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Jun-20218:17

Sanjay Manjrekar: Shikhar Dhawan rewarded with captaincy after longevity in white-ball cricket

The second-string India squad for the Sri Lanka tour will assemble in Mumbai from June 14 to undergo a two-week quarantine. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the members of the Indian contingent have been asked to take a Covid-19 test before they reach the team hotel in Mumbai, where they will undergo regular testing during the two-week period.Rahul Dravid, who will be the head coach for the tour, will also travel to Mumbai to be part of the quarantine.The Indian squad, which will be led by senior batter Shikhar Dhawan, will land in Colombo on June 28. The visitors will then undergo another three-day quarantine in their hotel rooms before starting training in a controlled fashion as per the guidelines laid out by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).On Friday, SLC issued a media release stating the Indian squad would train in smaller groups between July 2 and 4. Between July 6 and 12, the entire squad will be free to train before the ODI series, which begins from July 13. All six matches of the tour, comprising three ODIs followed by equal number of T20Is, will be played under lights at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.The last two ODIs will be on July 16 and 18 with the T20Is on July 21, 23, 25. The India squad will return home on July 26. This is India’s first tour in Sri Lanka since Rohit Sharma led them to the Nidahas Trophy title in 2018.

The tournament will be played in Abu Dhabi, despite speculation in recent days that it was going to to be moved to Sharjah

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2021The sixth season of the PSL will resume from June 9, with a final set for June 24. The tournament will after all be played in Abu Dhabi, despite speculation in recent days that it was going to be moved to Sharjah. The compressed schedule means there will be as many as six double-headers, with the early games starting at 5pm Abu Dhabi time, and the evening matches at 10pm local time. Single matches will start at 8pm.The remaining league games will be played from June 9 to 19, the Qualifier and first Eliminator on June 21, the second Eliminator on June 22 and the final on June 24.*The fate of the tournament had been hanging in the balance for the last two weeks with several challenges around logistical arrangements and more crucially pending approvals from Abu Dhabi government. One of the main roadblocks was getting the necessary exemptions for the production crew from India and South Africa to land in the UAE. The delay in their visas and then clearances for chartered flights caused a delay as they are meant to undergo 10 days in quarantine on arrival.The seven-day isolation period for players and staff who arrived in the UAE via chartered flights from Pakistan ended on June 2 but a delay in the arrival of the production crew forced the PCB to rejig the schedule. The tournament was earlier meant to start not later than June 5 and they had considered Sharjah as an alternative where the quarantine rules are not as strict as in Abu Dhabi.Related

• Win the toss and opt to chase – the only certainty in PSL

• Start of Pakistan's tour to England delayed for PSL

• Group of PSL players and staff to leave for Abu Dhabi via Bahrain

• Naseem Shah to rejoin PSL bubble despite Covid-19 protocol violation

• How the PSL plans to beat the Abu Dhabi heat

“Since its inception in 2016, the HBL PSL has embraced and overcome numerous challenges, only to emerge as a stronger and competitive league year-on-year,” Wasim Khan, the PCB chief executive, said in a statement.”The enhancement and credibility of the brand remains critical to the PCB and I am pleased that we have continued to take decisive actions in the face of ongoing pressures and major challenges outside of our control over the last 10 days. Everyone has worked tirelessly to find solutions and way forward, and I am delighted that we are now in a position to announce the complete schedule.The schedule for the PSL’s resumption in 2021•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“There was a consensus between the PCB and the franchises that it was imperative to complete the remaining matches in 2021 so that we have a clean 2022 [for the next season]. Now, after overcoming all obstacles through due diligence and careful planning, I believe we have collectively achieved the desired objective that was set in March following the postponement.The PCB has had lengthy negotiations with the Abu Dhabi government to stage the tournament in the emirate, and got clearances too recently, but the resumption has not been as smooth as it was expected. Over the last 15 days, the PCB even came close to postponing the event further, but the board has now managed to put most of the pieces together and finalise on June 9 as the resumption date.One of the biggest challenges was to wrap up the league before June 22 as the Pakistan squad was set to fly to England on June 23 which was later changed to June 25 after the ECB agreed to delay the start of the bilateral tour to accommodate the PSL. But there will be no change in the dates of the matches with the first game of the tour, an ODI in Cardiff, set to be played on July 8.The squad will land in Manchester from where they will be transported to Derby for the mandatory 10-day isolation period and training session. They will then move to Cardiff on two days before the first ODI.”We are grateful and thankful for the support and backing we have received from the UAE and Pakistan governments. I would like to thank the England & Wales Cricket Board for their flexibility, the Emirates Cricket Board, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, as well as all the franchise owners for backing our approach and supporting our decision-making.”Overall, over 300 personnel – both from Pakistan and overseas – are in Abu Dhabi and a majority of them (other than the ones from India and South Africa) have already completed their quarantine. Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars completed their quarantine and started training on Wednesday, while the other four sides will start training from today. Players and player support personnel, who have completed the mandatory seven-day room isolation and returned three negative tests, are allowed to integrate with their sides and participate in training sessions.The PCB had arranged chartered flights for arriving in the UAE but those who were left behind due to visa glitches were made to fly through commercial flights, including Quetta Gladiators’ Sarfaraz Ahmed, who, along with a few other individuals, was not allowed to board a commercial flight from Lahore and Karachi to Abu Dhabi via Doha on last Sunday. They flew a day later to take a different route via Bahrain. There are still over seven personnel, including players and support staff, waiting fo their visas.*1230 GMT: The story was updated after the PCB announced the fixtures on Thursday

Indications are both teams aren’t tweaking plans yet, given they still have five days available to them, but India will take a call on their XI ‘if needed’ at toss time

Andrew Miller18-Jun-20210:58

Dale Steyn: I’d bowl shorter to Williamson than I would to Kohli

India’s XI for the World Test Championship final has been chosen to “take the pitch and conditions out of the equation”, according to their fielding coach, R Sridhar, who said he did not anticipate any changes to the team announced by the BCCI on the eve of the match, despite the first day of the contest being washed out.The frustration on the opening day of the final, between India and New Zealand in Southampton, was mitigated to a degree by the provision for a reserve sixth day, which will now be triggered in the event that the title cannot be decided in the next four days of play. And for that reason, both Sridhar and Tom Latham, New Zealand’s vice-captain, agreed there was little need yet for either side to start formulating alternative plans.”I was expecting this to be the first question,” Sridhar said. “I think the XI which has been announced is the XI which takes the pitch and conditions out of the equation,” he added, referring to the team India had named containing two front-line spinners in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, alongside a trio of quicks in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma. “I think it’s an XI which can play and perform on any given surface in any given weather conditions. So that is what I believe this XI is all about, which we will put in the park.””But having that said, the toss is not yet over, so we will … if it needs to be taken, there will be a decision taken at the time of the toss.”

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New Zealand, at this stage, are still keeping their intentions under wraps. Kane Williamson’s hopes of recovering from his elbow problem will have been improved by an extra day of rest, after he underwent a cortisone injection earlier in the week, but their main dilemma revolves around the balance of their attack.The prospect of further damp conditions for the rest of the week may yet persuade New Zealand to omit their spinner, Ajaz Patel, in favour of a five-man seam and swing attack. However, Latham said that all such decisions would have to wait until the covers are removed and the team has a chance to assess the nature of the pitch.”It probably doesn’t change a huge amount,” he said of the first-day washout. “For us it’s about adapting to whatever conditions we’re faced with, whether it’s tomorrow or whenever it may be.”With the extra day that we’ve got up our sleeve, the game can still go the full five days … so it’s important that we aren’t caught on the hop. We’ve been in this situation many times before as cricketers, and I guess it’s about trying to stay ready when we’re called upon.””We haven’t confirmed the final XI yet,” he added. “I’m sure Kane and Steady [coach Gary Stead] have a few contingencies in place but, as I say, we’ll have to wait until the canvas comes off and we get the chance to play.”Day one was washed out without a ball bowled, bringing the reserve day into play•PA Photos/Getty Images

In the meantime, the challenge for both teams has been to keep their focus on the long-term aim of winning this one-off Test, while at the same time switching off for the short term. Latham admitted that New Zealand’s dressing-room had achieved this mainly through the medium of table tennis and darts, but the concurrent Women’s Test against England in Bristol had given India’s men a separate contest to get stuck into.”We have not missed a bit of the girls’ game right from day one,” Sridhar said. “All of us have seen the game. It’s been live going on in our rooms, in our team room, in our breakfast area, and even today while we are waiting for the rain to stop. All of us were sitting together and watching the girls’ game and encouraging our girls.”We know they are fighting to get back into the game,” he added, after India’s 17-year-old opening batter, Shafali Verma, posted her second half-century of the match in response to the team being made to follow on. “We’re seeing they put up a strong performance there. We are enjoying the innings from Shafali … her mindset is so clear.”Related

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“Looking at the wicket, we thought maybe we could play the finals there,” he joked. “The ball is turning a bit so we’re just wondering if we shift the finals from here to Bristol. What do you reckon?”Sridhar had no doubt, however, that India would have their game faces on when the time comes to get the WTC final underway.”As motivation goes, I don’t think you need to motivate anyone who’s representing their country. And in a World Test Championship final, I think there is no further and better motivation than that,” he said.”They are a very, very experienced bunch of players. They have played a few finals, they have won a few tournaments and they’ve played a few Test matches, each one of them in that XI.”We’ve all been very close because most of our time we have always been in the bubble, so there’s a great camaraderie in this team,” he added. “So passing time amongst us is the easiest thing. The chat and the games that they play is always on.”