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Hollioake too won’t join the depleted coaching staff as planned due to covid reasons

Andrew McGlashan02-Jan-2022Covid continued to stalk England’s preparations for the Sydney Test with Adam Hollioake unable to join the depleted coaching staff as planned, a scare involving the net bowlers at the ground on Sunday and a positive test for head coach Chris Silverwood.Hollioake, the former England ODI who now lives on the Gold Coast, had been due to join the squad which has seen Silverwood, pace bowling coach Jon Lewis, spin coach Jeetan Patel and strength and conditioning specialist Darren Veness all isolating in Melbourne. However he became a close contact and was forced into seven days isolation.It was confirmed later on Sunday that Silverwood had now tested positive. “He will remain in isolation until January 8. Silverwood is asymptomatic and is fully vaccinated,” the ECB said in a statement. “He is expected to return to the England party in Hobart ahead of the fifth Ashes Test.”During the team’s first training session at the SCG the net bowlers had to be withdrawn after one returned a positive test and the others were deemed close contacts.Both squads have been undergoing regular Covid-19 tests since the first case emerged in the England touring party on December 27. So far Travis Head is the only case among the Australia squad.England’s lack of coaches and net bowlers meant that captain Joe Root was among those who spent time giving throwdowns during today’s session. Assistant coach Graham Thorpe has taken charge for the Sydney Test supported by Ant Botha and James Foster.”We’ve had a lot of support staff missing,” Zak Crawley said. “But the lads have all worked together today, we’ve tried to all help out. We’ve all pulled together and have pulled through.”Crawley added that he would be comfortable if protocols were increased around the teams to ensure the series could be completed. Currently, the squads are under CA’s Level 4 restrictions which means they can still dine outdoors and have some level of freedom. New South Wales reported over 18,000 Covid-cases on Sunday.”We haven’t got long left,” he said. “I can’t speak for everyone on that but I want to play the two Tests.”Glenn McGrath has also tested positive meaning he will be unable to take part in events leading into the Test which raises money for the Jane McGrath cancer foundation.

The potential cost of reducing the tournament length will mean changes are made in-game

Daniel Brettig10-Jun-2020Next summer’s Big Bash League will be subject to a host of in-game tinkering that does not allow for a wider debate over the tournament’s overall value to broadcasters, and stops short of the macro changes desired by its independent reviewer, the respected television executive Dave Barham.At a time of major upheaval in the game, as Cricket Australia, its state association owners, and the Australian Cricketers Association haggle over cricket’s cost-base and general finances in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 10th edition of the BBL will not depart from the 56-game regular season and five-game finals series that formed the basis of the league’s major increase in rights value to be worth about half the A$1.18 billion total in 2018.Instead, the BBL’s managers, including the tournament head Alistair Dobson and CA’s executive in charge of events, Anthony Everard, are to propose a raft of tweaks to playing conditions to the joint CA-ACA and umpires playing conditions committee that is due to meet in July.These changes are expected to include:

• Bonus points available to teams for their progress at the 10-over point of an innings
• Substitutions also allowed within that same period
• Powerplay split between the first four overs of the innings and two overs floating elsewhere
• Free-hits for the bowling of wides
• The addition of extra breaks for advertisements and player strategy after every five overs.
• A draft for overseas players is also expected to be up for consideration

While Barham has publicly raised the question of the tournament’s size in addition to his findings in a confidential discussion report tabled to CA earlier this year, the governing body is understood to be extremely hesitant about opening up any form of content-level discussion with its broadcasters Fox Sports and Seven, due to the likelihood of any reduction in content meaning a discount in the fees owed. This has certainly been the case for the AFL and NRL, which have had to put on shorter seasons due to the impact of Covid-19 and paid for it in terms of rights fees.CA’s earlier announcement of a full schedule of international cricket for the summer was geared at the same outcome, to calm any fears among domestic and overseas broadcasters about the possibility of reduced amounts of matches – none more vitally than the 10 fixtures to be played between Australia and India in Tests, ODIs and T20Is.Debutant Nathan McSweeney made a spectacular attempt to catch Steven Smith•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

At the same time, the inclusion of white-ball fixtures against New Zealand in the back half of January appear to crowd the period in which Barham and others have hoped the BBL will conclude in, free of competition from international matches so as to ensure the likes of David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins join their other Australian counterparts in taking up deals with local clubs. Declining standards of overseas players has been an issue, as the Bangladesh Premier League has been successful in attracting players to earn more money for fewer games.”I hope they’re brave,” Barham told this week. “I hope they actually make some serious change and be brave and be bold because I wouldn’t want the Big Bash continue on the path it’s on. It’ll always be an interesting deal, and I think sports have really got to look at quality over quantity and I always look at the NFL. They’ve got 16 rounds, it’s been 16 rounds for a long time and it’s so easy for sporting administrators to think we need more money, let’s play more, let’s do more.”It’s not necessarily the best answer; the NFL rights have been going through the roof and they haven’t changed the number of rounds ever as far as I can tell. It depends on your ratings. The AFL’s now gone to that format and that’s what it is and has been established, but cricket went from 35 games to 61 in two years. So 35 games to 61 is a massive increase that is way out of proportion.”That’s really tested everybody, and it was a school holidays sport that was doing a million people a night on Channel Ten, that’s a massive audience, averaging more than what AFL and NRL did on a per-game basis. So you go from a million people a night, and I think they’ve dropped 40% in ratings by expanding. You’ve got to look and think carefully before you think that the answer is just putting on more games.”There has been considerable debate between CA, broadcasters and the ACA about the shape of the BBL and its size. While the extra games attracted a greater fee, production costs to cover 61 games, a significant number of them in regional centres, have added to the balance sheet headaches for broadcasters while they have also seen audiences thinning out as a result of the increase in number of matches to watch.

Three wickets apiece restrict Phoenix to sub-par 119 for 8 in low-scoring encounter

Matthew Luddington16-Aug-2023Southern Brave 120 for 6 (Garton 28) beat Birmingham Phoenix 119 for 8 (Mills 3-20, Rehan 3-22) by four wickets
Rehan Ahmed celebrated his England T20I call-up with a spell of three for 22 as Southern Brave cruised to a four-wicket victory over Birmingham Phoenix.Teenage leg-spinner Rehan, who is the youngest male cricketer to play all three formats for England, bamboozled Phoenix through the middle sets, while the left-arm quick Tymal Mills starred at the death with three for 20 to restrict the visitors to an under-par 119 for eight.George Garton top-scored with 28 as Southern Brave got ahead of the rate early and reached their target with six balls to spare.Brave climb to second in the table to boost their chances of reaching the playoffs whilst Phoenix remain bottom with progression looking unlikely.Phoenix captain Moeen Ali elected to bat first and Will Smeed started fast, striking three boundaries off Garton and Craig Overton’s opening end. Moeen’s fellow Ashes star Ben Duckett soon joined the fun striking boundaries with a cut, flick and a ramp.Smeed crashed two glorious drives through the off side for four, and had a life when he was put down by Tim David in the deep, but his luck ran out when he was beaten by the extra pace of Mills and top-edged a pull to Leus du Plooy to leave the Phoenix 40 for one after the powerplay.Brave captain James Vince turned to spin and was vindicated as Rehan trapped Jamie Smith lbw before bowling Duckett around his legs with a disguised googly.Off-spinner Colin Ackermann picked up the prize scalp of Moeen with a jaffa as both spinners dominated, bowling back-to-back 10-ball sets.Rehan picked up his third wicket after Dan Mousley overbalanced to a leg-side delivery and was smartly stumped by Devon Conway.Livingstone was dropped in the deep and threatened to make Brave pay when he dispatched Rehan and Mills for sixes, however he soon edged behind off Mills.In the final end Benny Howell fell to a Jordan slower ball and Chris Woakes holed out to long-off as Mills picked up his third wicket and Phoenix could only muster 119 for eight.Finn Allen set about making light work of the target, striking Woakes over extra-cover, before launching fellow New Zealander Adam Milne for a six over long-on, and hitting Woakes for consecutive boundaries over his head.Allen fell soon after when he could only glove an attempted ramp off Kane Richardson to Smith.Vince worked a Richardson in-swinger behind square for four off his first delivery, before assertively pulling Woakes to the boundary. However, the Brave’s captain was bowled after advancing down the pitch to an Ali delivery that spun between bat and pad.Devon Conway was run out after a mix up, however a quickfire partnership of 44 between Garton and Du Plooy put the Brave firmly in control.Garton fell after looping a catch to point, David holed out to cow corner and Du Plooy was trapped lbw without addition across six dot-balls, before Brave stumbled over the line for a vital victory.

Kenya gained some revenge for back-to-back Twenty20 defeats earlier in the week with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Uganda

Cricinfo staff18-Dec-2009Kenya 105 for 1 (Patel 57*) beat Uganda 104 (Obado 3-10, Oluoch 3-23) by nine wicketsKenya gained some revenge for back-to-back Twenty20 defeats earlier in the week with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Uganda in the first ODI at Nairobi Gymkhana. The result also buys a little relief for Kenya’s under-fire selectors after recent poor results.In the two Twenty20 matches it was Kenya’s batsmen who let them down – this time it was the Ugandans whose inexperience was plain to see. None of them was able to play an innings of any substance or to take the attack to the bowlers, so much so that there were only eight boundaries in their innings.There was the briefest worry when David Obuya fell to the fourth ball of Kenya’s reply, but then Rakep Patel (57*) and Maurice Ouma (44*) chased down the target in 17.2 overs with no further alarms. Patel played with increasing confidence, cracking five fours and two sixes in his 59-ball innings.

Pooran will be available for five matches after the World Cup

David Hopps27-Jun-2019Nicholas Pooran will seek to banish memories of West Indies’ unproductive World Cup by staying on in England to play five matches for Yorkshire in the Vitality T20 Blast.Pooran was one of several rookie players that West Indies’ captain Jason Holder had in mind when he called for them to become the heart and the soul of the team. That is what Yorkshire have in mind by calling up the Trinidadian with a view to improving a mediocre T20 record.One aspect of the World Cup that has at least worked in Pooran’s favour is that he has reached the requisite number of international appearances (15 over the preceding two years) during the West Indies’ campaign to qualify for a visa as an overseas player in the tournament.He has not had a bad World Cup, getting starts in four of his five innings, but his 63 against England at the Ageas Bowl is his only half-century for a West Indies side that is on the brink of elimination.”It is hard work playing for different teams and still trying to be as professional as you can be,” Pooran said. “You’ve just got to adapt and learn about different people’s cultures and just try to be the best I can be for the team. It will be a new and exciting experience for me.Pooran, who made his ODI debut in Bridgetown against England in February this year, will return to the West Indies setup in time for their home T20I series against India, which begins on August 3 in Florida. He has quickly established himself as one of the most explosive batsmen in limited-overs cricket with a strike rate of 140 in his 11 T20 internationals. He also top scored in the fledgling T10 competition in the UAE before Christmas, scoring 324 runs in nine matches for Champions Northern Warriors, including 33 sixes.Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “Nicholas is an excellent young talent, although he is only available for a short period, we hope it will give us early impetus in the competition.”Johnny Tattersall has been incredibly effective as a batter in limited-overs cricket, but he has played every game this season. He has now got three back-to-back Championship fixtures and only a couple of days between the end of the Somerset match and the start of the T20s.”We’re mindful of the workload of Tatts and we have been leaving things open to see how he was going. There are other areas we feel we need for the T20s, so Nicholas has been on the radar for some time. At some point we needed to make a decision on which path to take, so we decided to go for him, albeit for a short five-game spell.”

A chase of 134 became severely dicey at 72 for 6 but the captain stood up big time

Tristan Lavalette26-Dec-2022Captain Ashton Turner held his nerve to steer Perth Scorchers past league-leaders Adelaide Strikers in a low-scoring thriller at Optus Stadium.Chasing a modest 134, Scorchers were in disarray at 72 for 6 before Turner and Jhye Richardson combined for a 43-run partnership.It came down to the decisive 19th over with Turner smashing 16 runs off three deliveries from quick Henry Thornton to effectively ice the match.Turner superbly rescues Scorchers
Scorchers’ new-look batting order has had a mixed bag this season. They smashed their highest ever total with 229 for 7 against Melbourne Stars last time but were brought back to earth against Strikers.Their batting largely revolves around Faf du Plessis and Josh Inglis, both of whom smashed rapid half-centuries against Stars, but fell amid a disastrous first 10 overs here.Scorchers’ chances appeared slim but Turner never lost his composure and received strong support from Richardson. Turner wisely kept the power surge up his sleeve and finally claimed it in the 19th over with Scorchers needing 19 runs for victory.Richardson fell first ball in the over before Turner flipped the match on its head with a trio of big blows to whip the home crowd into a frenzy. It was a return to form for Turner whose batting across formats has nosedived in recent years.Turner, who has played nine ODIs and 18 T20Is for Australia, is highly regarded for his tactical nous and is seen as arguably the best captain in the BBL.More performances like this could see him return to the national fold, especially with Australia looking for more leadership options in limited-overs cricket.Strikers gamble with spin until decisive over
Wes Agar was a shock omission having memorably claimed 4 for 6 in Strikers’ extraordinary rout of Sydney Thunder, while he also claimed a three-wicket haul last start against Brisbane Heat.Adelaide Strikers’ spinners put in a massive shift trying to defend 133•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

But Strikers’ brains trust had a plan. They believed Scorchers’ batters weren’t as proficient with the pace off so selected offspinner Ben Manenti for his Strikers debut after crossing over from Sydney Sixers.It looked like a masterstroke with Manenti snaring the key wicket of Inglis. It was one of four picked up by Strikers’ three spinners.A tense game went down to the wire and the captain Peter Siddle had a major decision to make ahead of the 19th over. He was deliberating between in-form quick Thornton, who had been expensive, and spinners Manenti and Matt Short, who had both performed well earlier in the innings.Siddle went with Thornton in a move that ultimately backfired.Spinner Hatzoglou justifies selection
Scorchers’ strong pace attack has been the backbone of their success since the BBL’s inception, particularly on bouncy home surfaces. But for this game, they decided to back legspinner Peter Hatzoglou over seamer Matt Kelly, who was expensive in their season opener against Sixers at Optus Stadium.Hatzoglou, a key part of Scorchers’ title-winning team last season, didn’t put a foot wrong in their games on the road against Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars. Against Strikers, he repaid the faith with a miserly performance to concede just 22 runs from his four overs.He bowled well after the powerplay in conjunction with frontline spinner Ashton Agar, which is a blueprint for their attack on the slower pitches on the east coast.Hatzoglou might just have to be an automatic selection at home too as Scorchers’ spinners superbly backed up a trademark clinical effort from their quicks.Lynn again fails to capitalise on start
There has obviously been a lot of attention on Chris Lynn, whose long career with Heat netted him the most runs in BBL history. With his new team, Lynn has shown glimpses of his muscular batting but hasn’t been able to play a signature innings yet.Lynn had a golden opportunity after coming to the crease when Henry Hunt fell in the opening over. Against trademark accuracy from Scorchers’ quicks, Lynn was tied down as Strikers endured their lowest ever four-over powerplay with just 18 runs.A determined Lynn shed the big shots as he played within himself. Working into his innings, Lynn looked ready to put the foot down with a thumping drive to the boundary off Agar but once again it proved a tease.Scampering for a quick single, Lynn was brilliantly run out by a direct underarm throw from Jason Behrendorff at cover. His 33-ball 35 top-scored for Strikers, but he would have hoped for so much more.

Australia wicketkeeper tests positive 24 hours out from the England clash but has mild symptoms and is expected to play as Australia do not have a back-up

Alex Malcolm27-Oct-2022Australia are negotiating a second Covid-positive case in three days with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade testing positive just 24 hours out from their vital clash with England at the MCG on Friday.Wade did not train at Australia’s optional indoor session at the Junction Oval on Thursday afternoon after testing positive. It follows hot on the heels of Adam Zampa missing Australia’s clash with Sri Lanka after testing positive.But under tournament rules, Wade is allowed to play and is likely to line up for Australia despite the positive test. His symptoms are minor. Wade will however need to travel to the ground separately to the rest of the squad and will not be able to use the team changeroom prior to or during the game.Zampa was also set to play in Perth but a decision was made by the medical staff to take a conservative route to rest him with the able backup of Ashton Agar ready and available. Zampa is set to return against England after testing negative on Thursday. He trained at the Junction Oval, doing some bowling with assistant coach Daniel Vettori.Australia’s selectors do not have the option to replace Wade though, as he is the only specialist wicketkeeper in Australia’s 15-man squad, after backup keeper Josh Inglis was withdrawn prior to the tournament due to a severe cut to his hand. Inglis was replaced by allrounder Cameron Green.Australia cannot fly in a backup keeper such as Alex Carey, Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott or Jimmy Peirson to play as Wade would need to be permanently replaced in the squad for the remainder of the tournament.This was the exact scenario Australia had hoped to avoid when replacing Inglis with Green, having gambled that there was a very slim chance that Wade would go down.Glenn Maxwell took the liberty of donning some fresh wicketkeeping gloves at the indoor session to do some catching with Australia assistant coach and former grade keeper Andre Borovec. But it was done as a lighthearted show for the TV news cameras at the session and brought about laughter from the chairman of selectors George Bailey. Captain Aaron Finch also suggested to Maxwell that he himself would keep before Maxwell would, especially given Maxwell’s bowling requirements.Finch and coach Andrew McDonald stated pre-tournament that David Warner would likely do it in case of an emergency given he has kept in a Test match for Australia as an in-game replacement for Brad Haddin. Finch has also done it in the BBL for Melbourne Renegades.But it is unlikely Australia will need a contingency for Wade, given he is set to play. Even if he doesn’t, the chances of the game against England going ahead at all are getting slimmer by the hour in Melbourne as more rain bucketed down on Thursday, with more expected on Friday.

Their captain, Azhar Ali, said he will consider changes to his batting line-up in addition to the likely recall of Mohammad Abbas for Adelaide

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane24-Nov-20191:46

Missed the chance to put up a good first innings total – Azhar Ali

Pakistan captain Azhar Ali will consider changes to his batting line-up in addition to the likely recall of Mohammad Abbas after his side’s defeat to Australia in the first Test, in which the visitors offered up numerous promising phases but still left the Gabba bruised and smarting from an innings defeat.Haris Sohail looked very much out of his depth at No. 3, allowing the Australians to follow up their first wicket with damaging follow-ups in each innings – a marked contrast to the superb 185 piled on by Marnus Labuschagne at first drop for the hosts. And though Azhar called for calm in assessments of the visiting team, noting how Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had shown the way with sparkling second-innings displays, he conceded that in Australia there was no room for the lapses seen at the Gabba.ALSO READ: Abbas still ‘main man’ for Pakistan – Waqar“When you play Test cricket in Australia, you cannot afford to go behind as it is very difficult to then catch up,” Azhar said. “The way we won the toss and we played in the first session without losing a wicket, that was an opportunity for us to go in front and take the initiative in the game. That chance we lost in the second session and that made sure we could’t reach the kind of total we needed to put pressure on them.”Similarly, we failed to create pressure early on with the ball. We couldn’t take wickets with the new ball and couldn’t control the run rate either. But the boys kept fighting in the second innings and also when we bowled on day three. Babar played a great innings and so did Rizwan. Shan [Masood] was batting well too. They were the positives. But the reason we don’t win in Australia is that way too often we get behind in the game early on rather than make the most of the opportunities that come our way.”The most difficult session was the opening session; it was not easy. But we lost the second session where we lost a lot of wickets in no time. That was a great setback for us. There were soft dismissals, that’s why [we] missed the opportunity to score a big total. After scoring 240, we weren’t able to get wickets with the new ball. The bowlers kept fighting even when their score read 300 for 2. Labuschagne played a brilliant knock. [David] Warner played a great knock.”Addressing the batting line-up, Azhar reckoned that the post-mortems would possibly result in change, keeping in mind the challenges to be offered up by the pink ball on an Adelaide pitch that will likely feature at least some grass to aid the seam bowlers on both sides.Josh Hazlewood celebrates the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed•Getty Images

“Facing the new ball is very important in Australia, and they made full use of it in the second innings. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opposition. They bowled in very good areas last evening,” Azhar said. “But in the first innings, the top order started well but then lost their way in the middle. I still think they are capable, but we have a few days now and we will rethink our strategy for the Adelaide Test.”We will sit and do a recap of this game and discuss everything and try to figure out the best playing XI for Adelaide. It’s not fair to raise too many questions over our batsmen this early on. At times, a player can have a tough Test but that doesn’t make him a bad player. I have full faith on all the batsmen that they can score runs here. You’ve seen the way Babar batted. Rizwan is a nice addition to the side but the confidence with which he came out and faced the Australian attack [is commendable]. Not scoring runs doesn’t mean you are not capable of doing so.”As for the visiting bowlers, Azhar said that a lack of experience had been costly when defending a mediocre first-innings total, and also intimated that the extra pressure of a Test match had affected various members of the touring XI. A recall for Abbas may help, but there will also need to be greater presence of mind shown whoever takes the ball – there was a yawning gap in the performances of the tourists against Australia A in Perth, and it was under the spotlight again in Brisbane.”The young attack has a lot of potential but you can’t buy experience. It’s never easy in a place like Australia,” he said. “They started off little shaky but they came back strongly the next day even though the Australian batsmen were really set. They came back strong and kept bowling in good areas after that. I believe if they manage to do that from the start of the innings, they’ll be a totally different attack after that.”I think that game [in Perth] was a first-class game and this is a Test. The pressure is different and the pitch condition is different. There we scored 400-plus runs and bowled really well with the new ball. Here we didn’t put up a very big total and we didn’t bowl in the areas that we did against Australia A. The execution was not there. But again, I still feel there is potential there and we have to obviously do those things well to create problems for the opposition.”

Middlesex blown away for 75 as Ollie Robinson follows Lions call-up with career-best 8 for 34

David Hopps at Hove18-Aug-2019″One hundred percent a potential England cricketer.” That was the assessment of Chris Jordan when his fellow Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson was called up for England Lions last month. The best figures in the Championship this season, with Middlesex routed for 75, should only add to his reputation.Robinson’s 8 for 34 in 11 overs, based on unremitting accuracy and a modicum of seam movement both ways from an attacking length, ensured that Middlesex were accounted for in only 21.4 overs at Hove, one of the fastest capitulations in their history, and was followed by the presentation of his county cap in the tea interval.That cap is richly deserved. Since joining Sussex after Yorkshire released him for bad timekeeping, he has clocked in with 213 first-class wickets. This season, he now has 48 Division Two wickets at 15.48, a tally second only to Durham’s Chris Rushworth who has played three matches more.”The cap came out of the blue,” he said. “I just wanted to get upstairs and take my spikes off. I was overjoyed. Sussex gave me my chance and helped get me back on the map.”Initially regarded as a mercurial young cricketer capable of bursts of talent, at 25 he is now a day-in, day-out performer. Sussex, seeking to arrest a run of three successive defeats, the last of them an innings loss against Lancashire at Old Trafford when Robinson was on Lions duty, desperately needed his pick-me-up.This is a must-win match for both counties. Strongly fancied in April, they are off the pace, even in a season when three counties will be promoted to aid divisional restructuring. Sussex, 53 ahead with seven wickets standing at the close, put the wobbles of 15 for 3 behind them thanks to a settling third-wicket stand of 113 between Luke Wells and Alex Carey, but their bowling is understrength and are not in the clear yet.Robinson was on course to take all ten, having picking up the first eight wickets in nine overs, with no thoughts of taking a blow, after Middlesex had been put in following a delayed start at 2.30pm. Then, as Robinson was still chuntering to himself over a refused lbw decision against Toby Roland-Jones, the Middlesex batsman edged Tom Haines to second slip.He had to settle for Sussex’s best bowling figures at Hove since 1955 when Ted James took 9 for 60 and dented Yorkshire’s Championship chances in the process.England, of course, are rarely on the lookout for traditional county seamers, able to take advantage of a bit of sap in a superficially gleaming white deck. Most pressingly, it is top-order batsmen who are on their mind. On current trends, they will probably look at his batting average of 21 and offer him a go in the top four.Robinson’s career-best came on a bowlers’ day as potential England batsmen failed across the country. Dom Sibley’s duck for Warwickshire was the most notable in this litany of underachievement, but Middlesex managed a triple failure as Sam Robson, Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan, either recent England batsmen or, in the case of Gubbins, still highly regarded, managed six runs between them.He has shown a new ability to crank up his pace at times this season – perhaps around the mid-80s mph – but he had the intelligence to recognise that this was not one of those Hove days. On a pitch that did just enough, but did it often, he concentrated on a full and probing length, six of his wickets falling in the arc between wicketkeeper and gully, plus one bowled and one lbw. This was not a story about failing batting techniques in the middle of a T20 tournament, but a high-class bowling display.He conceded only four boundaries, three of them squirted behind the wicket and the only blow of note a step-away clout over mid-on by the No. 11 Tim Murtagh during a last-wicket stand of 25, the highest of the innings. Middlesex must be sick of the sight of him: he picked up 10 wickets at Lord’s earlier in the season and has 46 in five matches against them. “Everyone has their team,” he said.He was on a roll straight away when he took a wicket with his first ball as Robson’s sculpted defensive push resulted in an edge to wicketkeeper Ben Brown. Gubbins fell to a fine diving catch at gully, one-handed to his left, by Haines, and Malan’s defensive cover-up gave Brown a second catch.He then cut one back to have Paul Stirling lbw and when Stevie Eskinazi, whose 24 was comfortably Middlesex’s top score, edged to second slip, Robinson’s squawk of delight would have been looked on approvingly by the seagulls perched on top of the old carpet shed; they too understand a little bit of creating terror.He ran in down the hill, the sun on his back, as if he would never tire. James Harris delayed him for only two balls, John Simpson left with a nod of approval as one seamed to hit his off stump and Nathan Sowter, his final wicket, ensured him of a career-best.It was easy to forget how reliant Sussex can be these days on Robinson. Such luminaries as Jordan, Jofra Archer and George Garton – not forgetting Tymal Mills (now out for the season) and Reece Topley who play only T20 – were all missing from their pace attack. Mir Hamza, the Pakistan left-arm quick, has also now departed.That left Haines as a make-do third seamer for the first time in his career; Jared Warner, on loan from Yorkshire, and a debutant slow left-armer, Elliott Hooper, never got on to bowl. Had Robinson had an off-day, it might have been a very different story, but these days he carries the responsibility confidently.

They haven’t won a Test against India in the last 21 years but the Queen’s Park Oval pitch could help them change that

Hemant Brar19-Jul-2023

Big picture

It’s a historic occasion. The second Test between West Indies and India, in Port-of-Spain, will be the 100th Test between the two teams. Of the 99 played so far, West Indies have won 30 and India 23, while 46 have been draws.In the last 21 years, however, West Indies have not managed a single win against India. Their previous victory came in 2002, when Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Player of the Match in the first Test of the current series, was not even five months old.Since then, the two sides have met 24 times, with India winning on 15 occasions and drawing on the other nine. Given how the first Test went – India winning by an innings and 141 runs – West Indies will have to put in a serious effort to end that streak.Related

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Having said that, this could be one of their better chances to do so. The pitch at the Queen’s Park Oval has been, traditionally, conducive to fast bowling, and West Indies have a far more experienced seam-bowling attack in this series.Neither West Indies nor India play another Test for the next five months at least. So both teams will be looking to make the most of this opportunity, apart from pocketing some World Test Championship points. West Indies will be looking to achieve some stability with the bat, and India will hope that Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan spend a considerable time in the middle.

Form guide

West Indies LLLWD (last five Tests, most recent first)
India WLDLW

In the spotlight

The world first took notice of Alick Athanaze when he topped the runs chart at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. Last month, against UAE, he smashed the joint-fastest fifty by a batter on ODI debut. Then on his Test debut last week, against R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and a turning track, he showed he had the temperament for the long format as well. With wickets tumbling at the other end, he top-scored for West Indies in each innings with knocks of 47 and 28. Ian Bishop said he could be “a leading light in the years to come”, and West Indies will hope he proves Bishop right.In Dominica, Athanaze was impressive on a pitch that offered turn and bounce to spinners•Associated Press

At the same U-19 World Cup where Athanaze was the leading run-scorer, Shubman Gill was second on the list, and was named the Player of the Tournament. While it took Athanaze five years to make his international debut, Gill is already seen as the heir apparent to Virat Kohli. In the first Test, by asking to be moved down to No. 3, he took another step in that direction – experts believe the middle order is his natural home. But a failure in India’s only innings in Dominica meant he now averages 31.96 after 17 Tests. The good thing is he has all the time in the world and the backing of the team management.

Team news

With Raymon Reifer out of the squad, left-hand batter Kirk McKenzie could be in line for a debut. West Indies may also be tempted to bring in Shannon Gabriel for either Jomel Warrican or Rahkeem Cornwall. Meanwhile, uncapped offspin-bowling allrounder Kevin Sinclair will be on standby as a like-for-like replacement for Cornwall in case the latter is yet to fully recover from his chest infection.West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 3 Alick Athanaze, 4 Jermaine Blackwood, 5 Kirk McKenzie, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua Da Silva (wk), 8 Rahkeem Cornwall/Kevin Sinclair, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel/Jomel WarricanTwo days out from the Test, India captain Rohit Sharma said he was not looking to make “any drastic changes”. He also backed Ishan Kishan, saying he was “very impressed” with the wicketkeeper’s glovework. So it will not be a surprise if India field an unchanged XI.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Ishan Kishan (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and conditions

While the Queen’s Park Oval has not hosted a Test since 2018, fast bowlers have always enjoyed the conditions here, registering a much better average (27.39) and strike rate (61.0) as compared to spinners (36.57 and 88.7). Rain is forecast on all five days of the Test, though.

Stats and trivia

• Kohli (8555) needs 32 runs to go past Virender Sehwag’s Test tally of 8586. Among Indians, only Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman have more Test runs.
• Ashwin is 14 short of 500 Test wickets.
• In Dominica, Athanaze became only the second West Indies batter to top-score in each innings of his Test debut. The first was Lawrence Rowe, who scored 214 and 100 not out against New Zealand at Sabina Park in 1972.
• India have won three of their 13 Tests at Queen’s Park Oval. Another win here will make it their joint-most-successful overseas Test venue alongside the MCG.
• England and Australia are the other two teams West Indies and India have met India 100 times in Tests.