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The opener also felt the chase of 382 could have been possible had he or Shakib Al Hasan stuck around until at least the 30th over

Mohammad Isam at Trent Bridge20-Jun-2019Bangladesh are not giving up their semi-final hopes just yet. That’s what Tamim Iqbal has said, despite his team’s chances of getting there coming down significantly following a 48-run loss to Australia. Having lost to England and New Zealand too, Bangladesh not only have to win their three remaining games but also hope other results go in their favour.”I think we still have a chance,” Tamim said, when asked if Bangladesh were now aiming to finish at No. 5, as the best of the rest. “I don’t think any of my team-mates are thinking along those lines. We have a chance if we win three matches. If God forbid we don’t have anything to play for, then we will think about No. 5.”Tamim said one way of ensuring everything goes right would be for Bangladesh to minimise the kind of mistakes they made at Trent Bridge. He felt the batsmen did their job in going past 300 for the third time in the competition, and that they could even have got to their target of 382 had he or Shakib Al Hasan stuck around until at least the 30th over, which could have left them a T20-style chase in the last 20.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Mushfiqur Rahim’s unbeaten 102“A positive side is that we made 320-plus in our last two matches, and both were chases,” Tamim said. “The batsmen believe that we can chase around 320-330. I think we lost the game in a spell of three or four overs. We actually bowled well in the last three overs. I think we have to minimise mistakes.”I am not too experienced in chasing a big score, so I stopped looking at the scoreboard. I was trying to be 180-200 at the 30-over mark. It would give us a chance in the last 20 overs chasing the remaining runs. We wouldn’t have made 330-odd if we had gone hard early. I think Shakib and I got out at the wrong times.”After making 62, his highest score in the tournament, Tamim played on to Mitchell Starc in the 25th over, setting Bangladesh back at a crucial stage. “Maybe everything is not going according to plan. I have felt confident in the last two matches, but luck hasn’t been on my side. I normally play this shot through third man quite well but it wasn’t my day.”I think I am hitting it well, but it is a matter of time that I get a big one. But the problem is, we don’t have much time.”

The PCB has changed the domestic structure of Pakistan cricket once more, but this time really is different

Umar Farooq16-Jul-2019So the domestic structure is being revamped again? Imagine my surprise!Well, yes, but this one might be different? Historically, the PCB has been revamping its domestic circuit every other year. The format of the first-class tournament has been tweaked with regions and departments playing separately one season and together another, like an on-off soap opera relationship. The number of teams participating has been the focus of fierce discussions, with the final number so exotically varied over the years it might as well have been picked randomly; they have ranged from eight in one season to as high as 26 in another.

Domestic cricket structure

• Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class for six teams

• Non first-class tournament for six 2nd XI teams

• National T20 Cup for six teams playing first-class cricket

• T20 Cup for six 2nd XI teams playing non first-class cricket

• Pakistan One Day Cup for six teams playing first-class cricket

• One Day Cup for six teams playing non first-class cricket

• Three-day tournament for six provincial U-19 teams

• One-day tournament for six provincial U-19 teams

• National inter-city championship among six champions teams of each champion city of each provincial cricket association

• Intra-city cricket championship within each provincial cricket association

• Club cricket tournaments at each city falling under the domain of each provincial cricket association

But this time – and don’t we always say that? – it might be different. The entire structure – if you could call it a structure – has been effectively dismantled, on the insistence of the current prime minister Imran Khan. With him also being the patron in chief of the PCB, this newer model, which he had passionately championed, looks set to be given a trial run starting this winter.So you’re saying this time there’s an actual change? I’ve been fooled before – anything I should be remotely interested in?Well, at the risk of sounding drastic – and when have we ever been accused of that in Pakistan cricket? – the entire pathway for a player making his way to the national team has been overhauled. Departments like HBL and Sui Gas – mainstays of the domestic scene and dominant forces in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy – which have been operating since 1972 – have been snipped out of domestic cricket altogether, with regions set to take centre stage, much as they do in domestic cricket across several major Full Member nations. Put simply, there will be six provincial teams It’s more simplified than ever. There will be a model of 6 provincial teams playing every form of cricket on the domestic circuit.Six? Like just half a dozen?Yep, that’s about the size of it. Pakistan is divided into four provinces – Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, along with two autonomous territories (Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan) and one federal territory (Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan).The new cricket domestic structure splits the teams along provincial lines. Punjab is the largest province with over three-fifths of the population residing there. The sheer size of it (Punjab’s population alone is twice that of England’s) means the PCB has decided to split the province itself into two, Central Punjab and South Punjab. Sindh, Balochistan and KPK will have one team each while Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad will have one association.There is, in theory anyway, a structured pathway for the players in each region. Players will have to compete and perform at club cricket to get selected for respective city teams in the province. There will be intra-city cricket tournaments in six provincial cricket associations from which six respective provincial teams will be selected by the provincial selection committees based on the performance of players in these tournaments.The intention is to turn provinces into provincial cricket associations. The association will be run by a management committee, with each having its own Chief Executive Officer. All six associations will become legal entities responsible for running all cricket in that province right from the grassroots level, including Under 13, Under 16, Under 19 and club/school cricket.So no role for the departments at all? I can’t imagine they were too happy with that arrangement.Your scepticism is well-placed. There was much resistance to the idea, but after repeated back and forth and Imran Khan’s unwavering insistence that departments had to go, it appears the necessary legislation has finally been passed. All private departments have been disengaged while eleven government departments – SNGPL, WAPDA, PIA, SSGC, State Bank, National Bank, Pakistan Television, Pakistan Railways, Pakistan Customs, ZTBL, Civil Aviation Authority have been asked to support the provincial set up in the form of sponsorship and administrative support from grassroots level to national level. All players signed up by departments will be released back to their regions and eligible for selection in their provincial teams.But wait, wouldn’t this drastic reduction in teams means lots of players who made careers from cricket lose their jobs now?Correct, and this was by far the strongest objection to these changes. But the new model ensures that young, performing players remain in contention. Their livelihood will likely not be impacted as 32 players from each respective province will possess an annual contract. Mind you, these 32 will not include international players, which for the purposes of this article means anyone with a central contract. That adds up to just under 200 non-international cricketers till being retained by the system. Cricketers close to retirements will be afforded opportunities to return into the system as coaches, match referees and umpires.National centrally contracted players will be made available to represent the six provincial teams but will not be eligible for provincial contracts. They will be considered for selection under a set formula that provincial associations must abide by to ensure one side doesn’t become too disproportionately stronger than the other. There will be financial incentives for the players, who earn domestic provincial contracts by way of having monthly retainer-ships, match fees, enhanced prize money and individual prizes for each tournament. A domestic player playing all the matches can potentially earn up to PKR 2.5 (approx $15,600) million per season.And what about the Quaid-e-Azam trophy? How will that be affected by this?
Thirty-two domestically contracted players will be made available for selection in the first-class team and could participate as and when required for their respective provincial teams. But a squad of only 16 players out of 32 will be chosen for Quaid-e-Azam trophy, while the other 16 will form a second-string team playing non-first class (three-day) cricket. Both tournaments will be run simultaneously across the country. This will provide a bigger pool of players to the respective provincial teams to replace players according to their strategic demands and nature of playing conditions, allowing greater flexibility for teams and potentially improving the standards of competitiveness.There will be 31 first-class and 31 non-first-class matches. Each team gets to play ten matches before the final takes place. Matches will be played on a home and away basis and each team will play one home and one away game to allow them to get the experience of playing at different playing conditions and times. However, exceptions could be made depending on the availability and weather conditions at different venues.Presently, the new structure is being laid down in the constitution to give it legal cover. For the first three years, the PCB will provide support to implement the new structure and try to attract potential sponsors in the hope that long-term, domestic cricket can become financially self-reliant. The PCB will spend Rs 1.1 billion of its own in this time on domestic cricket, while from the fourth season onwards, all provincial associations will be expected to generate enough revenue to be self-sustaining.Will this work?Make no mistake, this is not a tweak but a radical overhaul. Whether you think it’ll work or not might depend on how jaded you’ve become by Pakistan’s attempts to have their domestic system catch up to the rest of the professional world.At least, for once, there might be a reason to tune into the domestic season this time, eh?

Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh have been added to the squad for Sunday’s four-day game at Canterbury

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2019Australia have wasted little time in turning their thoughts to next month’s Ashes series after yesterday’s semi-final defeat against England, adding three players from their World Cup party to the squad to play the Lions at Canterbury on Sunday.Peter Handscomb, who was bowled by Chris Woakes for 4 yesterday in his only appearance of the tournament, is joined by Matthew Wade and Mitchell Marsh – who had joined the squad as injury cover for Marcus Stoinis – in the 15-man squad that will now play as ‘Australia XI’ rather than ‘Australia A’.Handscomb struggled throughout his brief stay at the crease against England, and former Australia bowling coach Craig McDermott questioned his selection ahead of Wade on Twitter.ODI captain Aaron Finch played down the impact that Thursday’s defeat would have on the Ashes.”There’ll be a high turnover of players I imagine,” he said. “I don’t think the guys carry too much baggage when [they are] going between formats. If we rolled up and played a one-dayer tomorrow, there might be a few scars, but in terms of the Tests, I don’t think so.”Pat Cummins said that while Australia did not need much extra fuel, the defeat “gives us a little bit more”.”We’re back here in two or three weeks,” he said. “I feel like I’ve played here now, know what to expect from the crowd.”The tourists’ squad for the game includes 12 players with 196 Test caps between them. The only members without experience at that level – Michael Neser, Will Pucovski, and Chris Tremain – have all previously been named in Test squads.The squad includes Joe Burns and Marcus Harris, who are in direct competition to partner David Warner at the top of the order in the first Test at Edgbaston on August 1. Both men hit hundreds in a 10-wicket win against Sussex this week.Tim Paine, who will captain the side, said he expects the tourists to increase their focus in Sunday’s game. “It’s not that we weren’t at 100 percent intensity,” he told cricket.com.au, “but next week’s game is against an English team and we expect to be right in the contest.”Potentially, there’s going to be guys in [the Lions’] team that play in the first Test, so any opportunity we get to put some doubts in their mind we’ve got to take.”Following their game against the Lions, Australia play an intra-squad first-class game at the Ageas Bowl on July 23.James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood are both expected to be rested for the game at Canterbury, with both likely to be named in the Ashes squad.England Lions, meanwhile, go into the game with only three players with Test caps – Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, and Sam Curran, who received a late call-up to the squad after Saqib Mahmood withdrew due to injury.They will be captained by Lewis Gregory, the Somerset allrounder, and also include Dom Sibley, the leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship this summer.Australia XI squad: Tim Paine (captain), Jackson Bird, Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Kurtis Patterson, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Chris Tremain, Matthew WadeEngland Lions squad: Lewis Gregory (captain), James Bracey, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Sam Hain, Jack Leach, Sam Northeast, Jamie Porter, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley

Both sides initially refused to take the bus at the scheduled departure time from the team hotel to the CAA Centre in Brampton

Peter Della Penna07-Aug-2019A player protest at the Global T20 Canada on Wednesday delayed a second round match between Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers by two hours. Both sides initially refused to take the bus at the scheduled departure time from the team hotel to the CAA Centre in Brampton and ESPNcricinfo understands it was a protest over unpaid wages.A press release from the organizers said, “The game between Montreal Tigers & Toronto Nationals on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019, was delayed due to procedural issues between the players, the GT20 league, and the franchise owners. All the stakeholders had a meeting and addressed the concerns.”TV coverage of the match made no mention of the protest. Global T20 Canada made a statement via their Twitter account at 12:40 pm local time, also making no mention of the protest. Instead, the account stated that the match had been “delayed due to technical reasons” and announced that it had been pushed back to a 2:30 pm local time start from the originally scheduled 12:30 pm and that it would remain a full 20-over contest. A source confirmed that team buses eventually left the hotel at 1 pm.The protest is also significant due to the involvement of Toronto Nationals, led by Yuvraj Singh. Toronto entered the day in fifth place on four points and needed a win in order to advance to the play-off stage so abandoning the match via protest would have ended their season. But they were apparently willing to take that risk in order to ensure their players were paid. League organizers had hosted a fundraiser on Monday night for his YouWeCan Foundation.ESPNcricinfo understands the protest is not limited to these two teams. Sources have said other squads have told team and league owners Bombay Sports Limited that they will refuse to take the field for the playoff stage beginning on Thursday if their unpaid wages have not been fulfilled.”We’re not gonna play until we get paid,” one player from another team, who asked not to be named, told ESPNcricinfo.According to the league’s contract structure provided by multiple sources, 10-15% of the players’ salaries was supposed to be paid before the start of the tournament while the next installment bringing the total to 75% was due by the end of the first round, which concluded on Sunday. However, sources state that the majority of players across all teams have not been paid any money.It is believed that a protest had been planned by Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks before Tuesday’s second round match before owners managed to facilitate a 45% payment to some, but not all, players. The match wound up being abandoned without a ball bowled due to a wet outfield.It’s the latest in a series of pay issues to have affected the tournament. A number of Canada players are reported to have been furious when their reserve prices were suddenly capped at US$7500 on the day of the draft without any explanation from organizers. Canada captain Davy Jacobs, who had set his initial reserve price at $25,000, was drafted by Edmonton Royals but withdrew on the eve of the tournament, posting a Facebook message to say he had decided to focus on his construction business instead.Sources have also told ESPNcricinfo that some player payments from the 2018 Global T20 Canada tournament are also outstanding. Specifically, some players who were named player of the match over the course of the season have not received their award payments.Bombay Sports Limited, the owners of the league, are also the organizers of the Euro T20 Slam, which is due to begin on August 30.

The 34-year old has made just four Test appearances since January 2017, his last one being the first Test in October 2018 against Australia in Dubai

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2019Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has decided to take an indefinite break from red-ball cricket in order to focus on limited-overs formats. He has also withdrawn from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, just two days before the start of the tournament, where he was set to represent his domestic side Southern Punjab.Wahab, who made his Test debut for Pakistan in 2010 and has played 27 Tests, also added he wanted to focus on regaining fitness levels required for the longer format. Since January 2018, the 34-year-old has played only five red-ball matches, one Test and four first-class games.Wahab was also absent from Southern Punjab’s camp in Lahore, where the side was preparing for their opening game against Central Punjab.”After reviewing my past couple of years’ performances in red-ball cricket and the upcoming limited-overs cricket, I have decided to take time off from first-class cricket,” Wahab said. “During this period, I will like to focus on 50-over and 20-over cricket, and continue to access my fitness for the longer version of the game. At a stage I feel I cannot only return but also perform with the red-ball, I would make myself available. “The PCB had been trying to convince me to pursue my career with red-ball, but today I met them to convey my decision. I am grateful for their understanding and support.”Wahab was the casualty of former coach Mickey Arthur’s drive towards a high-performance culture within the Pakistan squad, where he was criticised for his work ethic, with Arthur even saying he had not won them a game in two years. After being ignored for the tour of Ireland and England in 2018, Wahab played in the Dubai Test against Australia where he finished wicketless. But just a year after Arthur seemingly signalled the end of his career, Wahab was added to their World Cup squad, nearly two years after his last ODI. He finished 11 wickets in eight games in the tournament.But now, with this break and him missing the first-class season, his Test chances appear slim. Pakistan, in the next 12 months, are scheduled to host two Tests against Sri Lanka, two against Bangladesh, and play away series in Australia and England.Wahab was earlier handed out a category B central contract, but it is understood he is likely to be demoted in due course following this announcement.

The Australia coach said that Lynn would have to force out one of Warner, Smith, Finch or Maxwell

Daniel Brettig23-Oct-2019Australia’s coach Justin Langer has said that Chris Lynn is “crystal clear” on the fact he must dislodge one of Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steven Smith or Glenn Maxwell through his own performances this summer in order to return to the national squad a year out from the first T20 World Cup to be hosted down under.Lynn was vocal expressing his disappointment at not receiving a phone call from the selection chairman Trevor Hohns to let him know he was not a part of the squad for the matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan that commence the international season. However Langer, who has held an elevated role in T20 selection since July last year, stated that on a performance basis Lynn was in a battle to surpass other established members of Australia’s T20 top four, now bolstered by the returns of Warner and Smith.ALSO READ: ‘A phone call wouldn’t hurt’ – Lynn takes on Australia selectors“Chris wasn’t in the last T20 squad, he and I are crystal clear and it’s not for public [consumption] and he knows that,” Langer told SEN Radio. “He and I are crystal clear why he wasn’t in the World Cup squad and therefore the T20s leading up to that and he’s got another really good opportunity [for the PM’s XI and in the Big Bash].”We know how dynamic he is, we know he has an unbelievable Big Bash record and I can’t wait to see how he goes this Big Bash. But we were specific, when you’ve got openers like Dave Warner and Aaron Finch, we’ve got Steve Smith come back in and you’ve got Glenn Maxwell, it’s really competitive and it should be in Australian cricket.”It’s so competitive and he’s going to have to force one of those guys out and to do that you’ve got to perform. Not just domestically but also internationally, performance is crucial and I’m looking forward to seeing if he and other guys can force their way into the side.”Numbers back up Langer’s argument. In 18 T20Is, Lynn averages just 19.40 at a strike rate of 131.67, while his performances since Langer became coach have been almost entirely underwhelming. In eight T20 innings for Australia against the UAE, Pakistan, South Africa and India, Lynn cobbled a mere 113 runs at 14.13, while also making just 59 runs at 19.66 in three ODI innings against South Africa at home.While Lynn performed better in last season’s BBL and IPL, it would be hard to justify his inclusion at the expense of one of Warner or Smith after their returns from bans, or the T20 captain Finch and the combustible Maxwell. All members of that quartet possess significantly better T20 batting averages than Lynn, while only Smith (122.44) has an inferior strike rate. Lynn’s well documented shoulder problems, reducing his capacity to throw or even dive in the field, have also lost him points in the eyes of the selectors.As for the fact that Lynn has, after missing World Cup selection this year, abandoned playing any matches for Queensland to play more overseas T20 tournaments, Langer said that though the world was changing it was still more difficult on balance to win selection from outside the Australian domestic system. Chris Green and Dan Christian are two other T20 specialists vying for inclusion in Australia’s T20 plans from outside the traditional avenues.”It makes it more difficult there’s no doubt about that,” Langer said. “Traditionally, Australian selectors have always picked from straight out of the Australian domestic system, but having said that we don’t live in a traditional world anymore. I’m seeing guys, whether it’s players or coaches, have opportunities whether it’s in the new Hundred league or T20 competitions around the world.”We’re very aware where a lot of our guys are playing. There’s a young guy, Chris Green, he’s doing terrific things around the world, offspin bowling, his numbers are outstanding. His name came up in the selection meeting, Dan Christian’s name keeps coming up, the way he finishes a game he’s a senior pro now.”We keep an eye on it, all the cricket going on around the place, traditionally you wouldn’t select outside our system but we don’t live in a traditional world anymore, do we.”

Players body alleges that board has not paid up for using players’ images, despite having agreed to do so previously

Firdose Moonda23-Oct-2019Cricket South Africa is facing a third legal battle after the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) launched a formal dispute over unpaid fees relating to last year’s Mzansi Super League (MSL). This comes after SACA already has another case against CSA over the restructuring of the domestic setup and the Western Province Cricket Association has taken CSA to court for putting it under administration amid concerns over its financial affairs.The latest saga is over CSA’s alleged failure to pay an agreed amount for use of the players’ commercial rights. In a statement, SACA explained that the agreement was made between CSA and the Players Trust and granted CSA rights to the players images to be used for the tournament. In return CSA were obliged to pay money to the Trust so that the players could be paid.”Unfortunately CSA has persistently refused to pay an agreed amount relating to the use of the players commercial rights and consequently the players have yet to be paid for these. This has occurred despite CSA having benefited from the use of the rights in last year’s MSL,” SACA CEO Tony Irish said.”We have been trying to resolve this with CSA for many months but have now reached the point where formal steps have to be taken as players remain out of pocket.”The second edition of the MSL starts next month.SACA also confirmed there have been delays with the progression of its other matter against CSA, regarding the restructure. According to SACA, CSA have not struck to the timelines to enable the matter to be finalised swiftly.”In normal circumstances one would have expected the court application to be heard in or around October this year,” Irish said. “However, failures on the part of CSA to comply with the time periods provided for in the rules of court have led to unnecessary delays. CSA also failed to respond for a long period to attempts to establish a process aimed at resolving the issues around the domestic restructure. All of this has obviously been very frustrating for SACA and it creates uncertainty for the players.”SACA are opposing CSA’s plans to dismantle the current six team franchise structure and instead have a 12-team provincial structure which will effectively mean there is only one tier of domestic cricket. At the moment, there are two, with the players in provincial structure considered semi-professional and therefore paid less. In merging the two tiers, CSA hopes to have a uniform structure but SACA believes up to 70 players could then lose their jobs.”SACA remains committed to the court application as this is necessary to deal with CSA’s decision to unilaterally impose a new domestic structure on the players without consultation and in clear breach of signed agreements between SACA and CSA. This imposed structure, if allowed, would lead to a very significant number of provincial players losing their careers as professional cricketers and it would also give rise to the likelihood of substantial cuts in the earnings and benefits of franchises players. In addition we believe that it will weaken the standard of our top flight domestic cricket across playing formats, at a time when we can ill afford to do this.”SACA also continue to state communication with CSA remains rocky despite CSA’s assertions to the contrary. “None of our concerns on this front have been dealt with,” Irish said. “Instead we are now excluded from attending CSA’s finance and commercial committee meetings.”I wish to emphasise that despite all of this SACA remains willing to sit down with CSA in a genuine and good faith attempt to resolve these issues. We wish to play a responsible role in dealing with the financial picture and we know that many of the issues require mutually agreed solutions. This has to happen however in the context of good faith engagement between us, as the representative of the players, and CSA.”

The board said it intends to ensure the primacy of the QeA Trophy which clashes with the T10

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2019The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revoked conditional No Objection Certificates (NOCs) given to its players to feature in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, which is due to start from November 15.In a statement, the PCB said that the decision had been taken “to manage the players’ workload, continued work on their fitness levels [and] to ensure primacy and participation of its player in its premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy”.The tournament is set to clash with a fitness and medical assessment camp at the National Cricket Academy, as well as several round of the QeA Trophy.The PCB added: “The decision has been made in the best interest of the players as well as to continue to enhance the credibility and reputation of the new domestic structure, which has been widely covered and reported across all media outlets.”The news is a significant blow to the T10 tournament, which was set to feature several Pakistan players. The majority of the Qalandars squad is Pakistani – including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf and Imran Nazir – while other players who could be affected include Mohammad Irfan, Shoaib Malik and Sohail Tanvir. Afridi and Imran Nazir, however, will not be affected by the revokation of NOCs, given they have retired from Pakistan cricket.The PCB operate an informal “PSL plus one league” policy with regards to issuing NOCs to it players for leagues around the world. Beyond one other league, permission is viewed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the player’s fitness and Pakistan’s domestic and international commitments at the time. Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi, for example, were recently included in the draft for The Hundred – which would constitute a league above and beyond the “PSL plus one” policy, but as things stand, ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB are expected to issue NOCs to the trio.

Pakistan captain feels Mickey Arthur’s presence in the Sri Lanka camp could make a difference

Umar Farooq in Rawalpindi10-Dec-20192:54

Misbah: Test cricket was dying in Pakistan, no-one was coming to watch

Along with ending the long break from playing Test cricket at home, Pakistan would be looking to end a winless – indeed, losing – streak in the format when the first Test against Sri Lanka begins in Rawalpindi tomorrow. It is a fresh start in so many ways – almost like making a debut, as Shan Masood put it – and captain Azhar Ali is very aware that Pakistan have lost all their five Tests in the past 12 months, in South Africa and Australia.”Test cricket’s return to Pakistan after ten years is an opportunity for us to get back on the winning track,” Ali said. “We had a tough series in Australia and it’s very unfortunate the way we lost there. It was disappointing. But moving forward, we see this home series as an opportunity and advantage to turn things around.ALSO READ: ‘Our pride has been hurt’ – Azhar Ali on Australia debacle“We are excited to be back at home and our grounds are alive again. Cricket is our pride and we will have to quickly return to our groove to give our nation and the team confidence. It’s a moment of joy for not only the players but the nation. We will try our best to rectify the mistakes we made recently, and will improve wherever we have been lacking. We have outstanding talent in our squad. They have potential, and if we implement it, our results will be stable.”Pakistan last ‘home’ series against Sri Lanka was in the UAE in 2017, which they lost 2-0 to bring an end to their blemishless record there. Since moving to the UAE, Pakistan were the only team to not lose a home Test series. They played nine series in the UAE between 2010 and 2017, won five of them and drew four.”You can never take Sri Lanka easy, they have always been a tough opponent regardless of whether they are playing at home or away,” Ali said. “Their bowling and batting is very disciplined and if you have to challenge them, you really have to come hard and be disciplined. We were lacking both with bat and ball in our previous series in Australia, but we have to come back quickly. Test cricket demands discipline, and you have be consistent as well. You can’t win in one session but lose in another session.”In Australia, Pakistan picked up just 13 wickets over two Test matches, losing both by an innings. Against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, they are likely to field three fast bowlers – Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah and Usman Shinwari – alongside Yasir Shah.”In Australia, we struggled to take 20 wickets, and it has been like this in our last few outings. But obviously we have a new attack, and we cannot write the new fast bowlers off straightaway. They are young, but experience is something they can get by playing more cricket, and we can’t buy it,” Ali said. “It is a home venue this time, and these boys have been bowling on these tracks in first-class cricket and this will prove the difference in lifting their performance.ALSO READ: Unbeaten streaks and unexpected triumphs – Pakistan’s high points in exile“We feel this is the best bowling attack we have, and they have to take wickets with the new ball. Yasir Shah, our ace spinner, has struggled in Australia. That is because we weren’t able to get wickets up front with the new ball.”Azhar Ali gets ready for a hit•Getty Images

Adding a dash of spice to the proceedings will be the fact that Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach till recently, is now in the opposition camp. Arthur’s intimate knowledge of Pakistani cricketers could make a difference, Ali acknowledged. “Definitely, if someone is with you for so long, he does have a lot of information about you. But in cricket these days, we all have a lot of knowledge about each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but yet players score runs. Like David Warner recently.”Good players cope because they also know that they will be attacked on their weaker points, so they work with counter-attack. Yes, Mickey does have a lot of insight about us, but we are also ready and believe that whatever the challenge he will throw at us, we will counter.”His own batting hasn’t been at its best in recent times. Ali’s career average is still a healthy 42.45, but in the last two years, he has gone at 24.08, tallying just 602 runs in 13 Tests.”Whoever is the captain obviously have a playing role as well, and it is really important for me to perform,” he said. “I realise that I am unfortunately not making runs, but I am trying to revive my form. My form is good, unfortunately I am not able to transform it into runs. Sometime all you need is runs to get all the things back to normal. I am in international cricket now for nearly ten years, and with such experience, the purpose is to think how I can contribute to win games for my team. It is also important for me as captain to score runs to give a message across the board and lead from the front.”

Faf du Plessis is absent from the 15-man squad to play England in three ODIs next month

Firdose Moonda21-Jan-2020Quinton de Kock has been named as stand-in captain of South Africa’s ODI squad to play England, which is without regular skipper Faf du Plessis and frontline seamer Kagiso Rabada, who are both being rested. The squad includes Lungi Ngidi, subject to a fitness test after he missed out on the Tests through injury, as well as Temba Bavuma, who is also back in Test contention after a first-class best of 180 last week, and five uncapped players.Fast-bowler Lutho Sipamla, death-bowling specialist Sisanda Magala, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin, opening batsmen Janneman Malan and wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne are all in line to earn their first ODI caps.The presence of so many new and returning faces, including that of a new captain, is part of South Africa’s efforts to plan for the impending retirement of all-format captain du Plessis, who will assess his future after the T20 World Cup in November. “We need to create leaders,” Linda Zondi, CSA’s independent selector told ESPNcricinfo. “Faf is still the captain and he is not out of the picture at all. This is part of our succession plan. Quinny is one of the guys we have identified for the future.”De Kock has leadership experience with the Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League (MSL) and was in charge of South Africa’s T20 side on their tour to India last September, which du Plessis sat out. He would appear to be the leading contender to take over when du Plessis steps down and is considered among the senior-most members of the squad, across all formats.De Kock made his international debut in December 2012 after an impressive showing at that year’s U19 World Cup in Australia and was called up into the ODI squad just a month later. He boasts 115 ODI caps with 4,907 runs at an average of 45.01, including 14 centuries and 24 fifties. De Kock is South Africa’s highest run-scorer so far after three of the four Tests against England with 265 runs at 44.16 but the manner of some of his dismissals, to rash shot-making, has drawn criticism. However, de Kock has CSA’s acting director of cricket, Graeme Smith’s stamp of approval.”We all know the quality of the player that Quinton de Kock has grown to become. Over the years, we have watched him grow in confidence and become one of the top ODI wicketkeeper-batsmen in the world,” Smith said.”He has a unique outlook and manner in which he goes about his business and is tactically very street-smart. We are confident that the new leadership role will bring out the best in him as a cricketer and that he can take the team forward into the future and produce results that South Africans the world over can be very proud of.”However, South Africa have (and doubtless, will) also consider other options. Aiden Markram, who could not be considered for this series as he continues his rehabilitation on a broken finger, was trialled for a series against India in 2018. South Africa lost the series 1-5 and Markram’s form dipped in the aftermath, across formats. Another candidate is Bavuma, the Test vice-captain who has been at the centre of a social media storm after du Plessis called for him to earn his recall with “weight of runs” after recovering from a hip injury that forced him out of the first Test.ALSO READ: Moonda: It’s time for de Kock to step upIn essence, Bavuma, South Africa’s only black African batsman, was dropped after averaging 19.84 in 2019. At the time, South Africa’s leadership core indicated Bavuma would be given opportunities in other formats, especially after finishing in the top 10 in the MSL. Bavuma has two ODI caps to his name, played 13 months apart. He scored a century on debut against Ireland and 48 against Bangladesh more than a year later. Now, Zondi has indicated Bavuma will be given a decent run in the squad. “With Temba, when we played him before in some ODIs it was because of injury or resting senior players but now we have said to him that this is a big opportunity for him. And we want to see him make use of the opportunity,” Zondi said.Similarly, there are other players who will see the chance to nail down regular spots in the 50-over side which will be completely rebuilt in the aftermath of a disastrous 2019 World Cup campaign. South Africa lost five of their nine group stage matches and were the first team to be eliminated, an embarrassment that saw the entire coaching staff sacked and the retirements of Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Imran Tahir.The survivors from that campaign are de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ngidi and Beuran Hendricks (who was a late replacement) with no room for Chris Morris or Dwaine Pretorius in this squad. Instead, Phehlukwayo is the lone seam-bowling allrounder with the focus on specialists.Reeza Hendricks, who narrowly missed out on a World Cup spot, will compete with Malan, who was second on the MSL run-charts, while Verreynne, Smuts and Bavuma will make up the top-order. Miller and Phehlukwayo will play the finishing roles but the exact composition of the attack will depend on fitness. Ngidi, Magala, Shamsi and Smuts are currently involved in a three-week-long strength-and-conditioning camp at CSA’s Centre of Excellence in Pretoria which ends on January 31 with a fitness test. All four are required to pass before they will be considered for the ODIs.For Ngidi, the challenge will be proving his match fitness, after being on the sidelines since the late stages of the MSL where he sustained a hamstring injury. “His workloads are on the rise and his progression is coming along nicely,” Zondi said.The other three have relatively long-running fitness concerns, with Smuts having been withdrawn from the T20 squad to play in India last September, Magala failing to pass fitness tests recently and Shamsi regarded as the first-choice spinner. Zondi is particularly hopeful Magala will improve quickly because “he has special skills in white-ball cricket.”Magala had an impressive domestic fifty-over cup in the 2019-20 season and a good MSL and could be a shoe-in for a more sustained role in future. The only other bowler who could not be considered is Junior Dala, who topped last summer’s 50-over wicket-charts, but picked up a knee problem in the MSL.South Africa squad: Quinton de Kock (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lutho Sipamla, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Sisanda Magala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Kyle Verreynne.