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Mumbai Indians (MI) legspinner Karn Sharma, who played a key role in his side’s 12-run win on Sunday, feels that while there was no one turning point in the game, Karun Nair’s wicket broke Delhi Capitals’ (DC) momentum.Batting first, MI set a stiff target of 206, but DC seemed to be cruising in their chase. They were 113 for 1 after ten overs, a returning Nair leading the charge with an explosive half-century.Karn had gone for nine in his first over. But he got rid of Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs and KL Rahul in his next three overs to finish with 3 for 36. In between, Mitchell Santner bowled Nair for 89 with a near-unplayable delivery.Related

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“At that time, the situation was like they were going 10-11 runs per over,” Karn said after the game. “So my role was just to take wickets in the middle overs, and the way they were batting, every wicket was important.”Obviously, KL Rahul is a big name and he had finished the game for them in the last match. But all the wickets were important for us at that time. After Karun got out, their momentum broke. And after that, we got two-three wickets quickly. That changed the game.”MI also benefitted from the new rule in the IPL. When dew set in during the second innings, they got the ball changed after the 13th over. It was with the changed ball that Karn dismissed Stubbs and Rahul.1:17

Chawla: A lot of credit goes to Karn

“I have played a lot in Delhi, so I know how the ball will behave on this wicket,” Karn said. “But we didn’t expect dew because there was no dew in the first innings.”When you get the ball replaced, the new ball has an upright seam, so it gives you purchase from the wicket. That helped us.”Karn, who was playing his first game of the season, had come in as Impact Player during the second innings. Left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar was another option for MI but Piyush Chawla, former India legspinner, felt MI went with Karn after seeing DC spinners getting help from the pitch.”They [MI] were waiting because they must be thinking whether to go with Ashwani or with Karn,” Chawla said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut. “But I am sure they must have made up their mind looking at the first innings, the way Kuldeep [Yadav] and Vipraj [Nigam] bowled.””You have to give a lot of credit to Karn because it’s not easy when you come to a team after six-seven [five] games and then all of a sudden you get a chance in this kind of situation where the other team is going berserk.”

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Orange Cap leaderboard

No change in the top three here, but guess who’s at No. 4? In a low-scoring game at Chepauk, Ajinkya Rahane scored 20 not out from 17 balls to finish off KKR’s chase, and that made him the fifth batter to cross the 200-run mark this season.Nicholas Pooran of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is still going strong at the top, followed by B Sai Sudharsan of Gujarat Titans, with Pooran’s LSG mate, Mitchell Marsh, who has four fifties in five innings, in this place.GT’s Jos Buttler, who has 203 runs, is the fifth 200-plus batter at the moment. Not far behind them, all with over 180 runs, are Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and KL Rahul.Noor Ahmad has picked up at least a wicket in each of his games so far•BCCI

Purple Cap leaderboardNoor Ahmad, after picking up nine wickets in his first three games of the season, has slowed down, picking up one wicket in each of his last three outings. Enough, still, to keep him two clear at the top.He is followed by four bowlers who all have ten wickets – MI captain Hardik Pandya, CSK’s Khaleel Ahmed, and the GT duo of R Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj.

Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli bagged his best first-class figures as Western Australia dominated Queensland on day one of their Sheffield Shield game.Rocchiccioli snared 7 for 52 as Queensland were bowled out for 147 at the Gabba in Brisbane. WA cruised to 112 for 1 in reply, with Sam Whiteman making 67.Related

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WA (24.91 points) are in last place, with Queensland (27.75) third on a table topped by South Australia (36.93). But with three games including this fixture remaining, Rocchiccioli’s feats have given WA a superb opportunity to jump up the ladder.The 27-year-old had never previously taken five wickets in a first-class innings but spun his way to a career-best day. He captured seven of the last nine wickets to fall as the Queensland batsmen struggled.Ben McDermott top-scored with 37 from 112 balls. Next best were No.10 Mitchell Swepson (20 not out) and No. 8 Xavier Bartlett (20).Matthew Renshaw, Jimmy Peirson and Michael Neser were among those to fall cheaply against Rocchiccioli and paceman Cameron Gannon.Neser fell to a superb one-handed catch from Rocchiccioli, diving to his right from his own bowling. He also took a smart, diving return catch to dismiss Renshaw.WA’s openers Whiteman and Sam Fanning then cashed in for the visitors with their unbroken partnership. Whiteman set an aggressive tone, smacking seven fours and three sixes in his 88-ball innings before being bowled by Tom Whitney about 25 minutes before stumps. Fanning was more circumspect, striking two fours from his 107 deliveries.

Even though pole position was up for grabs in the fight to make the Sheffield Shield final, both Western Australia and New South Wales decided to play it relatively safe in an anti-climax of a finish that resulted in a draw at the WACA.It was a gamble with just one round left in the season. Both teams now have to rely on other results to qualify for the final against South Australia in Adelaide. Queensland have leapfrogged into second place on 36.8 points ahead of NSW (35.39) and WA (34.43), with Victoria still a mathematical possibility at 32.49.Related

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There were eyebrows raised when WA, known to be somewhat conservative in these situations, batted cautiously for much of the first session on the final day as they went about sedately setting a target. Hilton Cartwright, who finished with a first-class career best of 171 not out, and Sam Fanning finally put the foot down either side of lunch before WA declared and set NSW 281 runs from 57 overs.NSW then decided that the chase was too difficult on a tricky surface that had proven tough for batters against the new ball.”We wanted anywhere between 250 and 300,” Cartwright said. “We knew when the ball got soft it was easier to bat. We didn’t want to give them too many overs with not enough runs. If we gave them 70 overs to chase 250, that probably would have been quite easy for them.”We wanted to try and work out the balance… trying to give ourselves enough time to bowl them out, but also entice them to try and chase the score. We did think that they might have had more of a crack at the total because [a win] would go a long way towards being in the final.”After NSW lost opener Nic Maddison in the first over, Sam Konstas and Kurtis Patterson shut up shop with a 50-run partnership in 23 overs. There were some tense moments briefly but NSW were never in serious danger and finished on 130 for 4 after watchful half-centuries from Konstas and Matthew Gilkes.”Maybe [expecting a declaration] a bit earlier,” NSW captain Jack Edwards said. “They batted us out of the game and earned the right to drive the game. Losing [Maddinson], we decided to pack it up. [Konstas] played well. He showed how much of a good natural player he is when is applying himself.”The fates of both teams are out of their hands, but they will need to stay focused in what are now must-win games. NSW will next travel to Bellerive Oval and will be favoured against Tasmania who have little to play for with their season over.NSW might regain the services of seam bowling allrounder Sean Abbott and legspinner Tanveer Sangha, who have returned from the Champions Trophy.Cooper Connolly should be available for Western Australia•Getty Images

“I’m hoping so, having guys like that come back goes a long way for us to win that game,” Edwards said. “We’re looking to win the next match and just put our best foot forward and see what happens.”WA next play Victoria at the WACA with their dreams of keeping alive a historic four-peat on the line. They are set to be without the services of quick Lance Morris, who completed rare back-to-back Shield matches.Coming off a stress fracture last winter as well as a quad strain late in the pre-season, Morris has a restriction of around 30 overs a game. He claimed a first-class career best of 5 for 26 from 20.3 overs in NSW’s first innings and there was intrigue over how many overs he would bowl on the final day.Morris ended up bowling 12 overs, including a couple at the end where he unleashed several searing yorkers in a last gasp attempt at a miracle. But Morris was unable to rediscover his control and accuracy from earlier in the match to finish with 0 for 41.Quick Brody Couch is a like-for-like replacement and has had a strong Shield season since crossing over from Victoria with 21 wickets at 22.85. Allrounder Cooper Connolly will be available having returned from the Champions Trophy, but Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie will likely miss as they prepare for the IPL.”[Connolly] came in during the game and said g’day, it’s always good having him around. He’ll bolster the batting,” Cartwright said. “We’ve got to entirely focus on what happens in our camp. If things fall our way, obviously that will be nice if that happens. But we’ve got to tick our own boxes before we look at [the other] games over east.”

Matthew Kuhnemann has been cleared to join the Australia Test squad in Sri Lanka after recovering sufficiently following surgery to repair a thumb fracture.Kuhnemann, the left-arm spinner, had broken his right thumb while playing in the BBL last week, but has been able to bowl in training this week. He will reach Sri Lanka over the weekend along with Oliver Peake, the young Victorian batter, who has been invited as a development player.On Thursday, around 24 hours before confirmation he would join the tour, Kuhnemann had said that his surgically repaired thumb was almost pain-free as he bowled, batted and fielded in Brisbane.Related

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Kuhnemann, 28, is a key member of the Australia side for the two Tests in Sri Lanka, with both Tests in Galle on what are expected to be turning pitches. But his tour looked in jeopardy when he was struck on the thumb during Brisbane Heat’s game against Hobart Hurricanes last Thursday.He was driven to the hospital that night by Heat team-mate Daniel Drew, and he had the dislocation put back into place before having surgery the following morning to put a pin in the fracture. His recovery since then has been quick.At Allan Border Field on Thursday, Kuhnemann bowled eight overs and also batted, facing throwdowns from Heat and Queensland bowling coach Andy Bichel. While fielding, he took a few catches, all overseen by Heat physio Adam Smith.Kuhnemann is one of three frontline spinners in the Australia squad, alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, though the squad does have a number of part-timers, Travis Head the best among them.Steven Smith will lead Australia in the Sri Lanka Test series•Getty Images

Steven Smith, the stand-in captain for the series with regular captain Pat Cummins on paternity leave, was the other injury concern for Australia after he picked up an elbow injury during the BBL. Smith, who has a history of elbow problems, sustained the injury to his right arm, the one he had surgery on in 2019, while throwing in the field for Sydney Sixers in their match against Sydney Thunder last week.He was also cleared to join the squad at their training camp in Dubai after seeing a specialist about the elbow issue.The two-match World Test Championship (WTC) series doesn’t have a bearing on the final after Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India 3-1 to book their place in the WTC final, where they will take on South Africa, but the visitors are aiming for a first series win there since 2011.The two Tests will be played from January 29 and February 6, and will be followed by two ODIs – on February 12 and 14 – that will help Australia prepare for the Champions Trophy, which starts on February 19. Sri Lanka haven’t qualified for the tournament.

Mandla Mashimbyi has been appointed as South Africa Women’s full-time head coach, ending the vacuum that had existed in the role since Hilton Moreeng brought his 11-year stint to an end in May.Dillon du Preez, who had been Moreeng’s assistant, had taken over in an interim capacity and been in charge during South Africa’s run to a runners-up finish in the T20 World Cup in the UAE last month. He had expressed uncertainty about continuing in the role, however, suggesting that “the team needs a little bit more”.Related

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Mashimbyi’s first assignment will be the three-match home ODI series against England, which begins in Kimberley on December 4. That will be followed by a one-off Test in Bloemfontein from December 15-18. England are currently leading 2-0 in the T20I leg of their tour, with the third and final match of that series to be played in Centurion on Saturday.”It is with a profound sense of honour and humility that I accept the appointment as the Proteas Women’s Coach,” Mashimbyi said. “I am fully cognizant of the significant responsibilities and expectations associated with this esteemed position.Mashimbyi, a fast bowler who played 48 first-class games, 49 List A games and one T20 in a South Africa domestic career that stretched from 2003-10, has extensive coaching experience, particularly with the highly successful Titans franchise. He has also enjoyed stints as bowling coach and assistant coach with South Africa Men, and was recently fast-bowling coach at Paarl Royals in the SA20.”I am profoundly grateful for the exceptional opportunity bestowed upon me by Titans Cricket throughout my tenure as a coach,” he said. “Their unwavering support and unwavering backing over the past eleven years have been instrumental in my professional growth and development.”At this juncture, I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to contribute my expertise and knowledge to the Proteas Women continued success and to elevate their standing as a formidable force in world cricket.”

The first Test against Australia in Perth will be India’s first competitive match on tour after the BCCI scrapped a three-day intra-squad game at the WACA.Bidding for a third straight Test series victory in Australia, India’s tour was set to start against India A in a warm-up behind closed doors from November 15-17.But ESPNcricinfo understands India’s hierarchy have changed plans and instead opted for the squad to train during those three days, which will include net sessions and centre wicket match simulation scenarios at the WACA.Australia will likely train at the WACA after India’s stint at the ground in what will be important preparation for some players who have had limited matches under their belt.”Going to be some good centre wickets with our boys bowling in Perth, in similar conditions to what you’re going to get at Optus Stadium. [It’s] probably going to be enough,” Steven Smith recently said about preparing for the Test series with centre wicket practice at the WACA.India had initially decided on an intra-squad game as their sole warm-up before the first Test starting on November 22 rather than a practice match against an Australian domestic side.This is a departure from their last two tours of Australia having begun the red-ball leg of their 2020-21 tour with a three-day game against Australia A, while they played a four-day game against a Cricket Australia XI ahead of the 2018-19 series.The intra-squad match at the WACA was set to be played behind closed doors at the request of India’s hierarchy. There had been hope initially that the game would be open to the public much like India’s two matches against a WA XI side before the 2022 T20 World Cup.Near capacity crowds of around 2500 fans at the WACA, which is currently under redevelopment, attended those matches with a AU$5 entry fee going towards the WA Cricket Foundation.India’s squad is set to depart for Australia shortly after the third and final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai finishes on November 5.Led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, India A were supposed to play India’s Test squad after their four-day matches against Australia A in Mackay and the MCG.India A’s 15-player squad had staggered arrivals into Brisbane on October 25 and 26, with the first contingent of players faced with a delay disembarking off their flight due to an unwell passenger.

Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Akeal Hosein have all opted out of West Indies’ T20I squad for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka for personal reasons. Opening batter Evin Lewis, who had last played a T20I during the World Cup in 2022, returned to the side for the three T20Is in Dambulla. Lewis was also picked for the ODI leg of the Sri Lanka tour.Brandon King also returned to the T20I side after having recovered from the side injury that had forced him to miss chunks of the T20 World Cup earlier this year and CPL 2024. In the absence of Russell, West Indies called up his Trinbago Knight Riders team-mate Terrance Hinds and Antigua and Barbuda Falcons’ Shamar Springer. This was the first international call-up for both allrounders who were impressive in CPL 2024.While Hinds often fronted up to bowl at the death for TKR, Springer emerged as Falcons’ leading wicket-taker in a spin-dominated CPL with 12 strikes in nine games at an economy rate of 9.39. Springer has quite a few slower variations in his repertoire, which could suit the potentially sluggish pitches in Sri Lanka.Related

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Rovman Powell will continue to lead the T20I side with Roston Chase, who earned a West Indies central contract earlier this week, retained as his deputy. Lewis’ return comes after the selection system was revamped with coach Daren Sammy now leading the panel.”The tour of Sri Lanka gives us a chance to test our depth and assess players in different situations, especially with several senior players missing out for various reasons, including a need for rest and rehabilitation from injury,” Sammy said in a CWI statement. “We are confident in the squad’s ability to compete strongly against Sri Lanka.”Johnson Charles, who had reinvented himself as a 360-degree batter in St Lucia Kings’ run to the CPL 2024 final, missed the cut, with Andre Fletcher being picked as the reserve opener behind Lewis and King. Alick Athanaze is also another top-order option for West Indies. Finisher Sherfane Rutherford, though, is set to return to action after having withdrawn from CPL 2024 for personal reasons.Left-arm fingerspinner Gudakesh Motie is the only frontline spin bowler in the T20I squad. He will be assisted by offspin-bowling allrounder Chase and left-arm spin-bowling allrounder who had won the LPL earlier this year with Jaffna Kings.Alzarri Joseph, who had been rested for West Indies’ most recent T20I series, against South Africa at home, returned to the side but there was no place for left-arm seamer Obed McCoy, who often operates at the death.

West Indies T20I squad

Rovman Powell (capt), Roston Chase (vice-capt), Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Andre Fletcher, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shamar SpringerJewel Andrew could become the youngest West Indies player to make his debut in ODI cricket•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Jewel Andrew bolts into WI ODI squad

Seventeen-year-old Jewel Andrew has broken into West Indies’ ODI squad for the three-match series in Pallekele. He could become the youngest West Indian to make his debut in ODI cricket; only Derek Sealy and Garry Sobers have made their international debuts for West Indies at the age of 17.Andrew has played only three List A games and seven CPL matches so far, but has already done enough to attract the attention of some West Indies greats, including Viv Richards and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, his CPL coach at Falcons, and Ian Bishop.The youngest player to ever feature in the CPL, Andrew marked his debut with an unbeaten 50 against a St Kitts & Nevis Patriots attack that included internationals like Anrich Nortje and Tabraiz Shamsi. Andrew had been earmarked to become a future West Indies star right from his age-group days.”As we continue to build our ODI team, this tour offers a valuable opportunity to evaluate strategies and give opportunities to emerging talent,” Sammy said. “We are excited to see young players like Jewel Andrew, who has earned his place as an exciting prospect for the future.”Shai Hope, who won a two-year contract with CWI, will continue to captain the ODI team with Alzarri Joseph his deputy. Matthew Forde, who didn’t find a place in the T20I side, made it to the ODI side. He has had some success with Dambulla Aura in the LPL.The ODI squad has two specialist spinners, with wristspinner Hayden Walsh Jr retaining his place to complement left-arm fingerspinner Motie. Batters Athanaze and Keacy Carty, who were also part of West Indies’ most recent ODI squad, for the Australia tour earlier this year, retained their spots.Carty was also in good form for TKR in the CPL, where he scored 246 runs in ten innings at an average of 30.75 and strike rate of 125.51.West Indies’ white-ball tour of Sri Lanka will begin on October 13 and will run until October 26.

West Indies ODI squad

Shai Hope (capt), Alzarri Joseph (vice-capt), Jewel Andrew, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr

South Africa capped off their Women’s T20 World Cup preparations with an eight-wicket win in the series decider against Pakistan, which was also their joint fifth-highest successful chase in T20Is.Chasing 154, Anneke Bosch retired four runs short of a fifth half-century in the format in extreme heat but had done enough to set up victory. Laura Wolvaardt’s 45 and Annerie Dercksen’s unbeaten 44 took South Africa to the target with nine balls to spare.In the first day game played in the series, Pakistan were on the field at the hottest time of the day and lacked intensity with ball in hand despite a good start. Muneeba Ali pulled off an excellent piece of wicket-keeping to stump Tazmin Brits with her foot just in the air, off Sadia Iqbal’s fourth delivery. The wicket was Sadia’s sixth, and made her the leading bowler in the series, but she lacked support.Diana Baig and Fatima Sana were ineffective on a slow surface, Nida Dar was expensive and though Nashra Sandhu and Tuba Hassan were economical, South Africa could treat them with caution with runs coming off other bowlers.A highlight of South Africa’s chase was the batters’ use of their feet against spin, which has been a concern for them previously. Wolvaardt was characteristically strong down the ground while Bosch and Dercksen opened up scoring areas square of the wicket, leaving South Africa in a good place ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.Anneke Bosch set up South Africa’s chase with 46 before retiring hurt•PCB

Pakistan will feel in the opposite position after they squandered the opportunity to post a bigger total on the back of a strong start. Muneeba and Gull Feroza put on 49 in the powerplay, but they were separated in the next over. Gull chipped a return chance back to Sune Luus, who has been bowling offspin since the tour of India mid-year and took a sharp catch. Two overs later Muneeba was run out and Pakistan needed the middle-order to rebuild.Former captain Nida Dar became Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer in T20I cricket, and is now only behind Bismah Mahroof. She was given a lifeline when she was dropped on 10 by Nadine de Klerk at deep mid-wicket. But, Dar only added two runs to her score before making room to play for turn against Nonkululekho Mlaba and was bowled. Fatima Sana’s 17-ball 27 was the major contributor in a 46-run fourth-wicket stand with Sidra Amin and set Pakistan up for a strong finish but when she was dismissed, they struggled to add quick runs.Chloe Tryon’s left-arm spin proved particularly difficult to get away. She bowled the 16th and 19th over and gave away just 11 runs to finish with figures of 1 for 23 in four overs. Luus was South Africa’s most economical bowler and conceded just 18 runs in her four overs. Importantly for South Africa, their attack was able to keep Pakistan in check without Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka, who were rested from the second and third matches of the series.Fielding remains a concern for both sides, but cost Pakistan more in the final match. They put down Dercksen on 7, which gave her the opportunity to finish the game. In total, according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, nine catches were put down across the three matches and South Africa were guilty of six of those. Both teams will want to work on their judgement under the high ball ahead, especially with low lights, in Dubai.

Pakistan have picked Saim Ayub as an opener for the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi for continuity, according to Shan Masood. The Pakistan captain also said that Pakistan were considering Muhammad Hurraira for selection but he will have to wait for his international debut.Hurraira, 22, has been a heavy scorer in domestic cricket and last month he scored 218 against a Bangladesh High Performance XI in a four-day game in Darwin. Earlier in his debut season in 2021-22, he racked up 986 runs at an average of 58, including a triple-hundred. As for Ayub, he scored 0 and 33 in his only Test so far, against Australia in January in Sydney.”We have plenty of riches in our opening batting,” Masood said. “Imam-ul-Haq isn’t in this series. We don’t limit ourselves to 17 players. We have 20-25 players who are part of our squad. We initially felt that it was our ideal chance to check Muhammad Hurraira – what he could offer the Pakistan team after doing so well in domestic cricket in the last three or four years. We rested Imam in this series. Saim, who is in good touch now, showed potential in the second innings against Australia. As a team, you have to send a message of continuity. So we will try to back the players. We want to give him a fair chance.”Related

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Pakistan will also go into the series opener against Bangladesh with an all-pace attack, a rarity in their selection policy. Masood explained that the conditions in Rawalpindi influenced the combination of their side. He said they wanted Mohammad Ali in the line-up to do a similar job to Aamer Jamal who had excelled in Australia earlier this year. Ali’s 19 wickets in PSL 2024 propelled him into the limelight but he has also been a consistent performer in domestic cricket. He has 150 wickets in 41 first-class games at an average of 25.72.”Firstly, you have to look at a few factors,” Masood said. “You have to take into account Pakistan’s position in the WTC. We at least have to win the home matches. Secondly, you have to look at the ground conditions. Thirdly, we have to look at our team combination.”We considered Aamer Jamal as a weapon in Australia. When the other three fast bowlers showed discipline, Aamer Jamal used to attack. He got crucial wickets in the middle overs. He used to eliminate Australia’s tail, which usually makes the difference by scoring 80-90 runs. As Shaheen [Shah Afridi] and Naseem [Shah] will take the new ball, we wanted someone to bowl like Aamer Jamal. I think Mohammad Ali gave us the surprise element in the PSL but we have been seeing it for a long time. He hits the deck hard. He has the quality to move the ball with the seam and in the air. He has extra pace too.”Having not made the finals of the last two WTC cycles, Pakistan are hoping to buck the trend and bring cheer to their fans.”I think you want your fans and media to write good things about the team,” Masood said. “We want to play cricket that everyone enjoys watching. Obviously, it is a result-oriented business so you need to have results in mind. We were sixth and seventh before [in the WTC], but we would like to play in the final this time. We want to play finals. We have to win our home Tests. Our challenge is to play consistently and play an exciting brand of cricket.”The first Test against Bangladesh will also be Pakistan’s first under coach Jason Gillespie. Masood wanted the new staff’s approach to align with Pakistan’s strengths. “We have a different coaching staff,” he said. “They bring a different mindset and culture but we also have to look at where we have to go as a side. I think fast bowling has been Pakistan’s strength. We have six quality fast bowlers. You need 20 wickets to win a Test. That’s a non-negotiable. Our goal is to get those 20 wickets and then batters can back up the bowlers. That’s how we went into the Australia series, and that’s how we will go into this series.”