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The first day of Test cricket in Sylhet will be remembered for Sean Williams’ fine 88, which frustrated the Bangladesh spinners. Zimbabwe ended the day on 236 for five, and possibly feeling happier than the home side. PJ Moor and Regis Chakabva, batting on 37 and 20 respectively, played out the last hour without further damage after Williams fell on the brink of the final drinks break.Williams, who struck nine fours in his 173-ball stay, was involved in two partnerships that promised much before ending in the 30s, with Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza. The loss of those two batsmen in the second session left Zimbabwe at an uncertain 129 for 4; their best period came after that.Zimbabwe only added 64 in the middle session, in 31 overs, as they slowed down after Raza’s dismissal for 19. At one stage, Williams and Moor played out six successive maidens from Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nazmul Islam. But they hung on, and their partnership grew in confidence, and grew to 72, after the tea break.Moor’s cover-driven boundary off Taijul Islam, in the second over after tea, injected life into the innings, and Williams struck the same bowler for successive fours through point and midwicket in his next over. More boundaries came after Moor successfully reviewed an lbw decision off Abu Jayed – the ball was easily missing leg stump. Moor slammed Jayed through point and lofted Mehidy over mid-off, while Williams swept Nazmul twice in one over, either side of the deep backward square leg fielder.Williams’ dismissal came against the run of play, when Mahmudullah brought himself on and found some turn to draw his edge, which Mehidy caught very well at slip, stretching fully to his left to complete the catch.Masakadza earlier had struck three fours and two sixes in scoring 52 in the first session. He was severe on anything too full, and hammered all his boundaries off Taijul, blasting him down the ground for both the sixes, and picking up his fours off either cuts or sweeps.But there was trouble at the other end. Brian Chari was bowled slogged Taijul across the line. Taijul then removed Brendan Taylor with a wonderfully flighted delivery that drew the batsman forward and went on with the angle to take his inside edge before the short-leg fielder, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, snapped up the tickle.Masakadza and Williams took Zimbabwe to 85 for 2 at lunch but in the first over of the middle session, Jayed trapped Masakadza with a delivery that moved sharply into his front pad.Williams and Sikandar Raza added 44 for the fourth wicket, with both batsmen picking up two fours each, before Nazmul picked up his maiden Test wicket, clean-bowling Raza through bat and pad for 19.Williams and Moor made a slow start thereafter but as their confidence grew, the Bangladesh spinners found it hard to beat their bat for 29 overs.Taijul finished with two wickets, having bowled 27 overs. Mehidy was tidy, not giving away too many runs, while Jayed and Nazmul took one wicket each without offering too much of a spark.

Ashley Giles has confirmed Jofra Archer’s “hat will be in the ring” for England selection ahead of the World Cup. But Giles, the new managing director of England men’s cricket and, as a result, a selector, said he would have to talk to the others on the panel, notably national selector Ed Smith, before a final decision was taken.He also sounded a note of caution over expectations of Archer, who has played only 14 List A games, suggesting it would be unfair to expect “some sort of messiah” if he is selected.Archer, Barbados born but the holder of a British passport courtesy of an English father, qualifies for England selection in March. That means he will have no chance to make his international debut before England have to name their provisional World Cup squad by April 23.But while Eoin Morgan, the England captain, has previously said that, unless injury intervenes, it may be too late for Archer to force his way into a relatively settled England one-day squad, Giles suggested Archer’s skills could prove hard to ignore. England play a one-off ODI against Ireland, on May 3, and have a five-match ODI series against Pakistan before the World Cup.”He is an exciting cricketer and his hat will be in the ring,” Giles said when asked if the World Cup came too soon for Archer. “It will be exciting when Jofra is available. Any guys who bowl 90mph-plus are going to create interest and get people out of their seats. His skills are good and it is a massive one-day year. He will be available from the end of March.”Giles is also keen not to unsettle a team that has taken England to the top of the ODI rankings and looks likely to go into the World Cup as favourites. And, for all Archer’s success in T20 cricket – he has played in leagues around the world and was the quickest bowler in last year’s IPL – his inexperience in List A cricket is a concern.”We’ve got a group of players who’ve done a lot to get us to this point and have performed very well for England,” Giles said. “So competition for those final places is going to be strong.”I’ll have to speak to Ed. I’ve not spent much time with him although we spoke through the summer as a director of cricket of a county [while Giles was at Warwickshire]. I’ll need to get some other opinions as well. I need to know what the coaches are thinking and the captains.”It is a big year and it would be a bit tough on the lad to think he is going to be some sort of messiah coming into the team. But he is an exciting cricketer.”Giles also confirmed that he hoped to travel to the Caribbean and India in the coming weeks to see the England side and the England Lions side in action.”I’ll be going out for second Test in Antigua and some of the one-dayers,” he said. “It is not about me just watching some cricket: I need to get to know some of these guys. Before we know it, we will be into the season so I need some time with them. I have a long list of people I need to catch-up with and a long list of stuff I need to read.”

It seems appropriate that a Big Bash League venue is sponsored by the Marvel franchise.A place where the “League of Heroes” can show off their super-human hitting ability in an indoor stadium purpose-built for fan engagement.Yet this season, Marvel Stadium, otherwise known as Docklands in Melbourne, has been the BBL’s version of Magneto, completely disarming batsmen of their power-hitting ability, keeping scores to a minimum and creating matches of chaos.The average runs per wicket this season at Marvel Stadium has been 17.13, compared to 24.24 in all matches played there, and the runs per over is just 6.43 down from 7.74. The highest first innings total in five matches this season has been 145, but at the same time scores of 140 and 132 have been easily defended.It is no surprise that the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Kane Richardson, has no issue with the surface.”I love playing there,” Richardson said. “I know a few blokes have said the wicket hasn’t been up to scratch. I love bowling there obviously. It hasn’t been as high-scoring as other grounds but as a bowler that’s perfect.”This at a ground that just two years ago produced a game where two teams combined for 445 runs, and the Hobart Hurricanes successfully chased 223.The major issue is the state of the drop-in trays. Like the MCG down the road, the technology at Marvel Stadium is 20 years old, and they are the same trays that were used for the first internationals at the venue back in 2000.The inability to retain moisture in the trays is the same as the MCG. The trays can dry out very quickly, producing a mosaic-type effect on the surface, which becomes low and slow with no moisture. Alternatively, too much moisture, when the roof is closed due to inclement weather, can mean the ball seams and skids. In both scenarios, bowlers can take advantage by targeting the stumps.”I think traditionally you just try and bowl top of the stumps at Marvel, that’s the most effective length,” Richardson said. “Usually at grounds that are quite high scoring that’s the opposite, you’re trying not to bowl there. That’s the only difference.”Batsmen have talked about how difficult it is to score from balls on the stumps, with no ability to trust the length as balls skid on. Add that to the heavy sand-based outfield and generating enough pace to find the boundary even off bad balls, or simply stretch outfielders for twos in the middle overs particularly square of the wicket, becomes very difficult.The other issue this season has been that there was a distinct lack of preparation time between the pitches being dropped in and the first game. It is understood the surfaces, which are dropped into place in two halves and joined together, were laid slightly unevenly forcing the curators to do a lot of cross-rolling.The result has been a mixed bag of tracks. Perth Scorchers were bowled out for 103 in the first match of the season and had the Renegades 4 for 17 in the chase. In the second game, Sydney Sixers defended 132 with ease as the Renegades crumbled to 9 for 99.The Renegades captain Aaron Finch did not blame the surface entirely for his team’s low scoring this season. They have averaged just 19.74 runs per wicket for the season, the lowest of all eight teams. He also believes the semi-final track on Friday night will be fine.”I think it will be a pretty good wicket,” Finch said. “There has been a lot of talk about it here. But I think after the initial couple of games the curator has got it right. There’s been a couple of times where we’ve probably over-clubbed and looked for that 170-180 score when in reality it might be a 160 wicket, and left ourselves a few short. I’m confident it will be a pretty good wicket.”I just went out and had a look at it before. It looks like it has got a bit of moisture in it. It’s obviously fine today and fine tomorrow so I assume the roof will be off. I don’t know that for sure. We’ve seen when that happens the wicket can dry out during the day so not unexpected that it’s got a little bit of extra moisture in it at the moment.”This season has been second-lowest scoring tournament in BBL history, and the middle overs scoring has been the lowest of any season. It is also only the second time in competition history no team has scored 200 in an innings.A lot of blame has been placed on the surfaces, particularly the different drop-ins around the country. But Sixers spinner Steve O’Keefe believes the variety isn’t a bad thing.”I think it’s been good all-round the country,” O’Keefe said. “It’s been a different contest in different places that you go and you don’t mind that. You may as well set up bowling machines and concrete if you want it to be the same all around the parks. Each ground is subtly different.”Every superhero needs a villain. The struggle between bat and ball is T20’s . But when only one side can show off their superpowers, is it a battle worth watching?

Big Picture

If the whole series had gone the way the fourth ODI panned out, Pakistan wouldn’t quite have minded, even if the scoreline had been the 4-0 it currently is in favour of Australia. For the first time in the series, the purpose of Pakistan playing their bench strength finally bore fruit with Abid Ali scoring 112 on debut; no one has managed more for Pakistan in their first game. The reserve wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan scored his second hundred in three games, making a strong case for a ticket to England on the strength of his batting alone. Yes, somewhat impossibly, Pakistan ended up seven runs short of a win, but for the first time in the series, coach Mickey Arthur can claim with some credibility there is a bigger picture to be taken into account.

Imad, team fined for slow over-rate

Pakistan were docked ten percent of their match fees for a slow over-rate in the fourth ODI in Dubai. Imad Wasim, standing in as captain for the injured Shoaib Malik, was fined 20 percent as is customary. The ICC announced the match referee Jeff Crowe had imposed the punishment as Pakistan bowled the final over after the time set for the innings had lapsed.
“Imad pleaded guilty to the offence after the end of the match and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing,” the ICC said. Pakistan lost the game by six runs.

Abid Ali’s nerveless hundred sees him rocket up the pecking order, guaranteed to start more than just the final game of the series. A whitewash, however, is no great preparation for anything, and with Pakistan’s ODI record against the teams they face at the World Cup especially abject over the past 15 months, they will be desperate for a victory to close out this series. The chase, though ultimately botched, will give Pakistan confidence they can compete with Australia. But for that, they continue to search for consistency in the top order, with the performances in the fourth ODI very much the exception rather than the rule.Australia can’t put a foot wrong right now. The improbable win in Dubai was their seventh in a row, and, lest we get too caught up in the players Pakistan have benched, take some time to ponder how much further this Australian side can be strengthened. Pat Cummins played just one of four ODIs, with Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Steven Smith and David Warner all likely inclusions to the World Cup squad. Without all that glamour, they swept aside Pakistan in the first three games, before demonstrating their steel to grind out a hard win in the fourth. This is the highest level at which Australia have played ODI cricket since they won the 2015 World Cup, and they could not have chosen the timing of their purple patch better.

Form guide

Australia WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLL

In the spotlight

It is an undeniable fact Pakistan will leave out from the World Cup squad a number of bowlers other sides would cherish. Two of those most likely competing for one place are Usman Shinwari and Junaid Khan. Shinwari was Pakistan’s best bowler in the third ODI before tailing off in the fourth – somewhat the story of his blossoming career so far. Junaid was more probing in the fourth game than in the third, but the pair needs to show more evidence of consistent quality to earn a place in the most hotly competitive portion of the squad. World Cups define careers, particularly in Pakistan cricket, and should the pair take to the field in the final game, both left-arm pacers will have that extra bit of motivation to push their case. In the short term, that should boost Pakistan’s chances of coming away without a whitewash.Junaid Khan struck in his first over•AFP

The numbers look flashy for most Australians this series, but one whom they arguably short-change has been Nathan Lyon. The offspinner has managed one wicket in each of the four games while going at five an over, except in the second ODI. But those who watched him bowl will be surprised he hasn’t been more successful. The ball has spun for him more than his legspinning counterpart Adam Zampa, and Lyon has looked likely on a number of occasions without the results to show for it. The wickets he’s taken for his side have all been important batsman at crucial moments, but time is running out for him to impress the selectors enough for a World Cup berth.

Team news

Pakistan may persist with the same side that gave Australia their sternest test of the series, depending on whether Shoaib Malik is fit again to take over the reins. In that case, Umar Akmal, who has struggled to make a persuasive case, would miss out.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq/Shan Masood, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt) 5 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 6 Saad Ali, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Usman Shinwari, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Mohammad Hasnain/Mohammad AmirAustralia have kept their tinkering to a minimum particularly when it comes to the batting order. It is unlikely that changes will happen in the final game, though the fast bowlers could see the usual shuffling.Australia (possible): 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Peter Handscomb, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

The Dubai pitch appeared to have something in it for the slow bowlers as well as the batsmen, though is still far too slow to be conducive to the most enjoyable one-day cricket. Weather will not be a factor, however, as the series takes its bow.

Stats and trivia

• Since the start of 2018, Pakistan’s record against teams that play the 2019 World Cup reads four wins, 16 losses. One of those wins came in the final over against Afghanistan at the Asia Cup last year.
• Australia’s win in the fourth ODI was just the fourth time in the format’s history a side had defended a total despite two opposition batsmen scoring centuries.

Big picture

Kings XI Punjab return to a venue where KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya brought the jersey swapping ritual to a cricket field. Before that game, Kings XI were in control of their own fate, but defeat that night meant they fell into the proverbial lottery of the IPL, having to depend on other teams to ensure progress into the playoffs.The Wankhede Stadium itself can be quite a lottery, exemplified by Mumbai Indians’ inconsistent record here. Since last year, they have won only four out of nine matches in Mumbai.

Question mark over Rohit’s fitness

Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma had an injury scare ahead of the match against Kings XI Punjab. While training on the match eve, at the Wankhede Stadium, Rohit fell on the ground near the square boundary because of what looked like a hamstring or thigh issue with his right leg. He was immediately tended to by the team physio Nitin Patel, before he got up and gingerly walked back to the pavilion with Patel. The injury did not look very serious though; Rohit walked up the stairs to the dressing room without any support.

Both teams beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous fixtures, but where Mumbai wrought a comeback out of thin air, Kings XI nearly did the opposite, before Rahul held his nerve to take his team home.After battling form for most of last year in India colours and losing his place in the Test and ODI set-ups, Rahul has emerged as King’s XI’s highest run-getter this season. Furthermore, he averages an incredible 94.5 against Mumbai playing for Kings XI.4:09

‘Alzarri Joseph bowling better than he did at U-19 WC’ – Ishan Kishan

But while the visitors can celebrate the form of their top order, a largely untested middle order will be a worry. Their other concern at a high scoring venue where the fingerspin of R Ashwin – their highest wicket-taker so far – might be nullified by the conditions, is the lack of a sixth bowling option. David Miller loyalists since 2012, will Kings XI leave him out for Moises Henriques to attain the desirable balance for the venue?Conversely, Mumbai are so well balanced that they are often accused of not utilising some of their players. So far, their middle order has come to the fore, as has their bowling. The openers are yet to fire, but perhaps it’s an ominous sign for oppositions that Mumbai are healthily placed in the table without a major contribution from Rohit Sharma or Quinton de Kock.

In the news

Lasith Malinga continues to live two lives. Having led his side Galle to a win in the Super Four Provincial Limited Over Tournament three days back, Malinga was back training at the Wankhede on the eve of the match. A little snag: his replacement Alzarri Joseph produced the best bowling figures in IPL history on debut in the last match. As a result, Malinga’s mere availability is unlikely to guarantee him a place in the XI.KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya have a chat after the game•BCCI

Previous meeting

Mumbai faltered with the bat towards the end in Mohali, managing just 56 runs in the last seven overs, despite wickets in hand. On a flat pitch, their eventual total of 176 was gunned down by a strong top-order performance which included forties from Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal – the player of the match – and an unbeaten 71 from KL Rahul.

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Alzarri Joseph, Jasprit Bumrah, Jason BehrendorffKings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller/Moises Henriques, Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb ur Rahaman, Ankit Rajpoot

Strategy punt

• R Ashwin has been flexible with his own introduction into the attack. During the last match at home, he came on once the field was spread. But he faces a curious dilemma in Mumbai, where dew could play a part. If it does, he may want to get some tight overs out of the way with the new ball, a move also merited by the presence of the left-handed de Kock. But if they stick with Mujeeb ur Rahman in the XI, then the Afghan can get the Powerplay out of the way, and Ashwin can target coming on during the middle overs, in particular to have a crack at Kieron Pollard, whom he has dismissed four times in 39 balls, going at a little more than seven an over.
• Contrary to conventional wisdom, Mumbai Indians have a far better record defending totals at home in the last two years, than chasing them. They have won five of the eight times they have batted first at the Wankhede in the last two years, as opposed to suffering five losses in the nine matches they have chased in this period. Will they stick to their strength or let the reputation of the venue for being a tough defending ground, dictate terms?

Stats that matter

• Of all the bowlers to have bowled 90 or more balls to Rohit Sharma in T20s, Ashwin (and Piyush Chawla) has dismissed him the least number of times: one. While he has taken Chawla for 146 in the 113 balls he has faced from the leggie, against Ashwin, Rohit has been watchful, explained by a strike-rate well under a hundred. In fact, among all bowlers to have bowled 50 or more balls to Rohit, Ashwin has the best economy rate of 5.12, having conceded just 82 from 96 balls.
• Even though both Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga have kept Chris Gayle tied down, they have collectively dismissed him only thrice in 147 balls. Curiously, Ben Cutting has dismissed Gayle four times, the most for any Mumbai bowler. Cutting, however, has been taken for 63 in 37 balls as well.
• Before losing by three runs to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede last year, Kings XI had won three on the trot at the venue, having batted first on each of those occasions. On two of those occasions, Kings XI posted scores in excess of 220 – 226 against Chennai Super Kings in the 2014 playoffs, and 230 against Mumbai Indians in 2017.

Warwickshire 346 (Sibley 132, Milnes 3-50) and 79 for 4 trail Kent 504-9 dec by 79 runs
Warwickshire face a fight to save their opening Championship game of the season despite Dominic Sibley continuing his fine form. Sibley made his fifth century in five successive first-class games to keep his side in the match but, with none of his colleagues able to reach 50 – only two other men in the top nine reached 20 – Warwickshire conceded a first-innings deficit of 159 and were forced to follow-on.By the close, they had lost four second-innings wickets, including Sibley for 5, and still required 79 more runs to make Kent back again. Without the lower-order allrounders who used to bolster them – the likes of Keith Barker, Rikki Clarke and Chris Wright, who were all allowed to leave – or the injured Ian Bell, their batting looks just a little brittle. You wonder whether Chris Woakes, who will play for Warwickshire’s 2nd XI in a limited-overs game in the next few days, might have played as a specialist batsman.That all means that Kent are closing in on their first victory in the top division of the County Championship since September 2010. As a coincidence, their coach at the time was Paul Farbrace, who is the new director of cricket at Edgbaston. Darren Stevens is the only member of this Kent team who played in that match.Given how newly promoted sides have struggled to stay in Division One in recent seasons – last season, Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire both finished in the bottom three – this could prove a crucial game. These two are fresh from Division Two, after all, with many people suggesting Kent may struggle.But their excellent first-innings batting has given them a strong foundation in this match. And with their bowlers reacting well to the challenge of staying in the field for five sessions in succession so far – they bowled 120 overs in Warwickshire’s first innings before enforcing the follow-on – they have an excellent chance to secure an important win. But for a memorable fightback from Somerset last week, it could easily have been two wins from two.If they do go on to win, they will owe a great deal to Zak Crawley. Having made a match-defining century in the first innings, he also held on to a succession of outstanding catches in the slip cordon – not least the brilliant, diving effort to end Sibley’s second innings – to ensure his bowlers’ work was not wasted. He really does look an outstanding prospect.Much the same could be said about Sibley. While his team-mates prodded and pushed at the moving ball, he played admirably straight, left well and was not seduced into any of the hard-handed strokes that were to prove their undoing. He is patient and he is disciplined, but he also had a wide array of strokes with the on-drive that brought up his century a particular highlight. The only time he looked troubled in this innings was as he approached his century and he may well have been a little unfortunate to be adjudged leg before for 132.Sibley’s partnership with Tim Ambrose, who passed 11,000 runs during the day, gave Warwickshire hope. The pair added 87 in 30 overs and, with Kent’s attack tiring – Daniel Bell-Drummond, with four first-class wickets from 100 matches, took the second new ball – it seemed Warwickshire would creep past the follow-on mark. But Ambrose’s dismissal, shuffling in front of one from Stevens, opened the floodgates to a collapse that saw five wickets fall for the addition of just 32 runs.The impressive Harry Podmore broke the back of their resistance with a spell three wickets for six runs in 11 balls including Sibley. By the time the last pair – Jeetan Patel and Ryan Sidebottom – came together, Warwickshire required 82 to avoid being sent back in.They almost did it, too. With Patel leading the way in typically aggressive fashion, the 10th-wicket pair took advantage of some fielding lapses – Patel should have been stumped, Sidebottom should have been caught – to add 73, before Patel was caught at mid-off as he attempted to thrash one back over Stevens’ head.Podmore soon made inroads in Warwickshire’s second innings, too. Will Rhodes was trapped in front by one that swung back to take advantage of him over-balancing to the off-side, before Liam Banks was well caught as he edged a somewhat unnecessary forcing stroke and Sibley, perhaps wearied by his exertions, was drawn into a drive at a wide ball that he admitted he would have left in his first innings. Adam Hose edged a good one that left him a little off the pitch, though he could have left it.”The start of last season was a disaster for me,” Sibley said afterwards. “I was really struggling and things couldn’t have got much worse. But I’ve worked hard and I’ve changed my trigger movement. It’s great to get hundreds rather than fifties or sixties. I know there are places [available] there [in the England side] but I’m just concentrating on scoring runs for Warwickshire.”It’s disappointing to lose four wickets in the last session today, but this game hasn’t gone. Hopefully we can go past them and put them under a bit of pressure.”

No play was possible on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match between Gloucestershire and Lancashire at Cheltenham.Players arrived at the College Ground to find that a fierce storm the previous night had caused some water to seep through the covers, leaving a wet area on a length at the Chapel End.Umpires Jeff Evans and Paul Pollard delayed the start and opted to make an initial inspection at 11.30am local time. Plans for a further look an hour later were abandoned because of a heavy shower and an early lunch was taken with the intention of another inspection at 1.30pm. By then more rain had fallen and play was abandoned for the day at 1.45pm amid continued concern that the nature of the pitch had changed.Lancashire were due to resume their first innings on 47 for 2 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 205.Saqib Mahmood claimed 4 for 48 on the opening day, including the first three wickets of Gloucestershire’s innings to stem a promising start by the hosts. There were two wickets each for James Anderson and Liam Livingstone, while Miles Hammond top scored with 82.By the time bad light brought a close three overs early, Lancashire had lost Haseeb Hameed to a run out and Jake Lehmann, bowled by David Payne during an eight-over opening spell by the left-armer, which saw him concede only four runs.Keaton Jennings remained not out 26 and Rob Jones was unbeaten on 14.

England’s Test cricketers will be feeding off the “buzz” of a historic World Cup win as they prepare to try and regain the Ashes, according to Sam Curran. The Surrey allrounder is set to return to international duty in next week’s maiden Test against Ireland and he said the dramatic scenes at Lord’s on Sunday had set England up perfectly for the second half of the summer.Curran missed out on World Cup selection, but did enjoy a productive first season at the IPL earlier this year. After a hamstring injury interrupted his return with Surrey, he has since played three Championship games as well as making an early impact on the touring Australians with England Lions – Curran claimed 6 for 95 in this week’s game at Canterbury, as well as making half-centuries in each innings.Although Curran was left out of England’s most-recent Test XI in St Lucia, he was Man of the Series against India last summer and looks likely to return to face Ireland. The match at Lord’s, starting on Wednesday, will be England’s first four-day Test since the ICC approved the optional reduction in 2017.”It’s obviously really exciting to be in the squad for the first Test of the summer,” Curran said. “It’s the first four-day Test for England and the first against Ireland which makes it a massive event for them and an awesome thing to be part of. It’s a slightly different England side to be in with a few of the big guns rested after the World Cup, but it’s a really exciting group and we are looking forward to linking up this weekend.”I don’t think I’m alone in saying that it’s probably the greatest cricket match ever, and for that to be the World Cup final was incredible. That will provide a buzz for everyone across English cricket going into the Ashes, which is the biggest series an England player can be involved in in Tests, and this match against Ireland. Days like Sunday get everyone, whether they were involved or not, more excited and desperate to do well so I’m sure it will rub off as we head into the Test part of the summer.”I watched the final with the Lions boys in Canterbury and the excitement was amazing. It was an incredible win and the boys have so worked hard. Having spoken to my brother and a few of the others I think they celebrated pretty hard as well.”As well as his success against India, Curran played an important role with the bat in Sri Lanka last winter, helping to set England up for a 3-0 whitewash. Although his bowling was less successful in the Caribbean, he could play a pivotal role in the Ashes – his haul for the Lions, sparking an Australia collapse of 6 for 17, possibly a sign of things to come.Curran is expected to play in the Vitality Blast for Surrey on Friday night before linking up with the Test squad, and said the “body felt good” after his recent injury.”I feel really good going into the Ireland game,” he said. “It’s been quite a frustrating season really, I came back from the IPL, played my first Champo game and got injured, had a couple of weeks out. I’ve come back and felt good, putting in some decent performances with bat and ball. Confidence is really good, it’s just trying to contribute as much as I can. Hopefully I’m in the XI on Wednesday and I can put in a performance.”Performing against India last summer has given me quite a lot of confidence. It’s a new challenge, a new summer. I can’t rely on that, I need to look ahead and find performances that will beat the Australians in the Ashes. The team is pretty exciting, there will be some great cricket played. I’m really excited to see what this summer holds.”The first aim for the World Cup guys was to win that, and they’ve achieved that. But there’s another big test coming up, and the Ashes are the biggest thing you can play in as an England cricketer, that’s what I’ve always felt. Hopefully we can be lifting the Urn at the Oval in September. We have to take one game at a time and try to contribute as much as you can.”

Leicestershire put themselves firmly in the chase for the Vitality Blast quarter finals when they thrashed Derbyshire by 55 runs at Derby.The unpredictable North Group sprung another surprise when the Falcons collapsed dramatically chasing what looked a modest target of 150.The Foxes had been held to 149 for 7 with Mark Cosgrove’s 38 the top score as Matt Critchley claimed 2 for 25 in four overs of legspin.But the Falcons pressed the self-destruct button, slumping to 28 for 6, and were bowled out for 94 with Colin Ackermann taking 3 for 9 and Gavin Griffiths 3 for 14.There were signs of what was to come when, after starting steadily, the Foxes began to unravel once they tried to accelerate on a used pitch with three wickets falling in five overs.Harry Swindells failed to clear mid-off when he tried to hit Ravi Rampaul over the top and although Arron Lilley swung Logan van Beek for six over long-on, only 43 runs came from the powerplay.Cosgrove drove Alex Hughes for consecutive fours but Lilley sliced a cut at Luis Reece to point and Cosgrove’s attempt to disrupt Critchley’s line only ended in the hands of deep mid-wicket.Harry Dearden lifted Hughes over deep square for six but then drove to long off and when Ackermann was well caught by Reece diving forward at backward square in the 15th over, the Foxes had slipped to 106 for 5.The Falcons bowled with discipline on a pitch where the ball was not coming on and, backed up by smart fielding, did not allow the Foxes to break free and only 72 came from the last 10 overs.Aadil Ali drove Hughes for six and Callum Parkinson hit the last two balls of the innings from Rampaul for four but the Foxes total seemed below par until the Falcons top order disintegrated in the powerplay.Luis Reece sliced to point after pulling a ball into his helmet and although Wayne Madsen swung a free hit from Dieter Klein for six, he top-edged a reverse sweep at Ackermann and was caught at short third man.It got even worse for the home side in the third over as Billy Godleman sliced Griffiths to third man and Leus du Plooy pulled the next ball into the hands of deep square leg.Former Fox Darren Stevens was run out by Ackermann’s direct hit from cover when he failed to ground his bat and when Hughes swung another short ball to deep mid-wicket, the Falcons were in free-fall.Fynn Hudson-Prentice drove Parkinson for six but the former Derbyshire spinner responded by yorking Matt Critchley and the only consolation for the Falcons was they passed their previous lowest T20 score of 72, against the Foxes six years ago.

After the rare taste of defeat against Birmingham Bears, normal service resumed as Lancashire Lightning eased home with nine balls to spare on a night on which one sensed they would not have broken into a sweat even had the temperature been 10 degrees warmer.With Alex Davies dominating with a masterful 75 at the top, finding the boundary 10 times but impressing also with some skilful shot placement backed up with superb running between the wickets, the absence of their leading scorer, Glenn Maxwell, through a minor hamstring injury was barely noticed.Supported with vigour by Liam Livingstone at the start, with measured calm by Steven Croft through the middle overs and improvisation by Dane Vilas at the end, Davies underlined the depth of resources in the current Lightning squad that sees them with a five-point cushion at the top of the North Group, albeit from a match more than everyone else.

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Adam Rossington (40) and Dwaine Pretorius (38) top scored as the Steelbacks posted 157 for 7 but even on a used pitch that gave the slow bowlers something to work with there was a never even a hint of a wobble from their opponents, who surely have one foot in the quarter-finals, not least with Maxwell set to return for Friday’s game against Birmingham.Northamptonshire are not completely out of the picture, even in eighth place, but they will have to go some to qualify from here.What had been shaping up as a pretty decent powerplay for the home side stalled rather dramatically after a bemused Richard Levi, aiming to chip into the legside field, was caught at third man off a leading edge in the fourth over. Adam Rossington worked a four off his hips in the same over to take the total to 37 for 1 after four but Richard Gleeson conceded only three in the fifth over and Saqib Mahmood just a single in the sixth, in which the Steelbacks lost another big wicket when Josh Cobb holed out to deep square leg without scoring.Lancashire, who had won the toss and fancied there would be something in the conditions for their bowlers after a miserably wet day, then took the pace off and put the squeeze on some more before Rossington and Alex Wakely eased the pressure with a boundary each as Northamptonshire reached the halfway stage at 69 for 2.On a slow pitch against disciplined bowling, the Steelbacks struggled to build any momentum, picking up only a couple of boundaries in the next five overs. A full swing of the bat from Wakely sent the ball over the rope at deep midwicket, but in the same over of an impressive spell of legspin by Livingstone came another setback as Rossington failed to clear the fielder at long-on.Livingstone cleverly bowled Wakely in his next over to finish with a tidy two for 24 before Rob Keogh and Pretorius gave the innings some belated substance with a flurry of big blows, the latter walloping Matt Parkinson for consecutive legside sixes on his way to 38 off 22 balls before the legspinner thudded the next delivery into his pads.The two had added 52 in five overs, most of them in a furious assault against Mahmood and Parkinson that accrued 37 in 12 deliveries. But James Faulkner tightened things up again with a superb final over that conceded only four and claimed two more wickets as he finished with 3 for 36.Needing just under eight an over to overhaul the Steelbacks and claim their sixth win after three no-results in their first 10 matches, Lancashire could not have asked for a more emphatic statement of intent from their openers than Davies provided by smashing the first three balls of Ben Sanderson’s opening over to the rope.Livingstone took up the gauntlet, needing little time to loosen up as lofted three of his first nine deliveries for six and though he was out looking for a fourth, well caught at deep mid-wicket, Lancashire were ahead of the game at 55 for 1 after the powerplay, even though the Steelbacks dragged the rate back a little in overs five and six.The torrent of boundaries had dwindled to a trickle as Lightning reach the halfway point at 83 for 1 after some largely tidy work by Graeme White and Keogh but Davies and Croft were content with ones and twos with wickets in hand and the scoring ahead of the required rate.Davies took advantage of a couple of loose deliveries from White to raise his boundary count to eight as he passed 50 in 38 balls before Faheem Ashraf checked Lancashire’s progress a little by yorking Croft in an excellent over that went for just two singles.But Davies continued to play splendidly, rarely passing up the opportunity for an easy boundary that came his way all too often and never keen to settle for singles if a two was available as the target came down to 34 off the last five.By now, the Steelbacks’ heads had dropped as Vilas warmed to the task and chopped Sanderson away twice through the offside before the game ended in a manner that aptly reflected the crumbling nature of the home side’s cricket as Vilas swatted away a Nathan Buck full toss which Wakely’s misfield at deep backward square turned into the winning boundary.