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Captain says the league will help players fine-tune their game and improve their fitness in the free window after the tournament

Vishal Dikshit05-Feb-2025India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes the upcoming WPL will “play a very big role” in the lead up to the home ODI World Cup later this year, as the T20 league will help the India players fine-tune their game and “raise” their fitness levels in the free window after the tournament. This year’s World Cup will be the first time Harmanpreet will lead India in the 50-over tournament.The five-team WPL will run from February 14 to March 15 across four cities in India for 20 league matches and two knockout games. The India players will then have a gap of over three months before they head to England for five T20Is and three ODIs. They will then have another gap for nearly two months. As per the FTP, their next assignment will be of three homes ODIs against world champions Australia in late September and then the 50-over World Cup at home in October.Related

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Some of the India players are nursing injuries and could also use the WPL to regain and prove their match fitness.”I think this WPL is going to play a very big role because this year we have ODI World Cup,” Harmanpreet said at a press conference in Mumbai. “After the WPL, we have a very good window where we can work on our fitness and raise our fitness level. I think that gap will really help us to work really hard on ourselves.”India had failed to make the semi-finals in the last ODI World Cup, in early 2022 in New Zealand, under the captaincy of Mithali Raj.Harmanpreet was asked about India’s busy schedule at the turn of the year when they played back-to-back series against Australia (away), West Indies (home), and Ireland (home) and if that might have played a role in players having to manage their workload.Harmanpreet herself sat out of two of the three T20Is against West Indies followed by the three ODIs against Ireland. India also played all those series, after the T20 World Cup, without the injured Pooja Vastrakar whose fitness is being monitored by Mumbai Indians for her participation in the WPL. Some other players such as Yastika Bhatia, Shreyanka Patil and Priya Punia had also missed the West Indies games in December because of injuries, and have not played since then. Like Harmanpreet, India had also rested their lead fast bowler Renuka Singh for the Ireland ODIs last month.”See, as a cricketer, we really want our schedule to be packed and injuries are something which is part of the game and sometimes these are not under your control,” Harmanpreet said. “But as a cricketer, we don’t want to miss any tournament. But really happy [with] the way we are getting our schedule really packed and playing back-to-back cricket and that is something as a player, as a captain I’m enjoying. And good to see the last series went really well.”A few young players got opportunity and they did really well, played very impressive cricket. This season and this year is going to be very exciting because [of the] home World Cup and then we have really exciting cricket in front of us after the WPL. Hopefully we gel well as a team and do what a team requires and play some good cricket.”

England wicketkeeper admits he is still learning to pace innings batting at No. 7

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Aug-2022Ben Foakes admits fitting into this new England men’s Test side can be a struggle but hopes Test century number two is a sign he is going about it the right way.Foakes finished unbeaten on 113 on day two against South Africa at Old Trafford, as the hosts declared on 415 for 9 to establish a first-innings lead of 264. While it was by no means the kind of aggressive innings we have become used to under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, the Surrey wicketkeeper reaching three figures from 206 deliveries, it was a vital contribution when England needed it most.It was an especially helpful knock alongside Stokes, who scored 103, as the pair put on 173 for the sixth wicket. Having come in on 147 for 5, still trailing the Proteas by four, the absorption of pressure and the subsequent accumulation of runs, which sped up when Foakes was batting with the tail, was a nod to a lot of introspection and hard work paying dividends for the 29-year-old.His first century came in his first innings in this format, back in November 2018 in Sri Lanka. Since then, he has established himself as a reliable No. 5 for Surrey: seven of his now 13 first-class hundreds have come for the county – he began his career at Essex, for whom he has three – at an average of 43. While he struggled at first to truly get to grips with batting lower for England, and adopting an altogether different mindset, this was a sizeable step in the right direction.”It’s a different role, at Surrey I just bat five and just play,” Foakes said. “When you get on quite challenging wickets batting at seven, obviously there’s a good chance you lose wickets quickly and you have to play a different way. I think for me it’s learning how to do that as well as I can. Just because it’s not my natural game. Finding a way to be able to, quite early on in my innings, put pressure back on the bowler rather than just batting.Related

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“When I bat at five hundreds are definitely something I think about, but at seven I think more about just trying to contribute because obviously you’re not going to get as many opportunities to get a hundred. If I can get 40 with the tail and dominate that partnership, that’s my job. Getting a big partnership here and getting a century definitely gives me some confidence going forward.”There was palpable relief at getting another significant score on the board 14 Tests and four years later, not just with the celebration of fist pumps to himself before receiving a warm embrace from his partner at the time, Ollie Robinson, and the appreciation of a packed out Emirates Old Trafford.Since his debut, Foakes was either thrust in and out on a whim or missed out through injury, as happened at the start of 2021 when he tore his hamstring. Then, during the Headingley Test against New Zealand earlier this summer, a bout of Covid-19 ruled him out of the second-half of the match and the next Test against India. Twin failures at Lord’s (6 and 0) heaped more misery on him, but he has come out the other side in impressive fashion. An average of 26.91 coming into this match has already improved to 31.82 thanks to the red ink.”I just felt awful in that game [Headingley],” he said. “Getting the opportunity of being number one and then pretty soon after getting something like that is very frustrating, I’ve had a bit of stuff going on since I first played but I’m used to little setbacks like that”To be honest, in my first 10 games I was kind of looking and thinking ‘jeez how hard is Test cricket’. The West Indies tour [in 2019], the wickets out there – and then I came in for those three in India [last year] and it was obviously crazy to bat on and I guess this is a different role as well.”I think it’s just that I’ve been a little bit out of touch,” he said of his performance at Lord’s last week. “I haven’t been lining it up as well as I’d like in the last couple of Championship games and then in the first one at Lord’s. So for me it was just working out how to do that better. That’s what I worked on between these two games. And I felt like I did line it up better and play better.”Because it’s not my natural game, it’s just trying to work out how to play best. And I think sometimes I haven’t got the balance right because I’m not an explosive batter. If I’m trying to get the score up I can start pushing at the ball and things like that and playing at balls I shouldn’t be. It’s been really clear, obviously practising in a different way for that role, but also being really clear when I am just going to bat or when I have to push the button… how I’m going to do it. Don’t just throw my bat outside off stump. I’m happy to get out if I’m doing this or this, but not just giving it away.”

Mir Hamza and Faheem Ashraf have made comebacks to the squad, which will be led for the first time by Shan Masood

Danyal Rasool20-Nov-2023Opening batter Saim Ayub and fast bowler Khurram Shahzad are in line for Test debuts after being included in Pakistan’s squad for their upcoming tour of Australia.Pakistan, under newly-appointed red-ball captain Shan Masood, will play three Tests on the tour, in Perth (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7).The 21-year-old Ayub has already played eight T20Is for Pakistan, and comes into the Test team with 1069 first-class runs at an average of 46.47, including scores of 203 and 109 in his most recent game in October, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final. Shahzad has also been picked on form, having ended the 2023-24 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as its top wicket-taker with 36 at an average 20.30.Left-arm quick Mir Hamza was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament (32 at 20.87), and this has earned him a recall. The last of his three Tests was against New Zealand in January. Also back in the squad is the seam-bowling allrounder Faheem Ashraf, the last of whose 16 Tests was in December 2022.Pakistan Test squad for the tour of Australia•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Apart from Naseem Shah, who continues his recovery from the shoulder injury that kept him out of the recently concluded World Cup in India, Pakistan’s pace attack will also be without Haris Rauf, who has made himself unavailable for selection. Newly appointed chief selector Wahab Riaz made his disappointment clear while announcing the squad: “Haris pulled out at the last moment, and I feel this will hurt Pakistan cricket.”Both wicketkeepers Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan were part of the squad, with Sarfaraz understood to be first choice. He replaced Rizwan in the Test side last year, and has retained his place in the last four Tests across two series.Abrar Ahmed’s selection further cements his place as Pakistan’s premier red-ball spinner, with Noman Ali chosen as his back-up option. Spin options across formats have been a matter of intense scrutiny in Pakistan, with legspinners Shadab Khan and Usama Mir turning in disappointing performances through the World Cup. Abrar went to the World Cup as a reserve player, but was not called up to the main squad.Pakistan have an unenviable record in Australia, having lost their last 14 Test matches on the bounce there.Pakistan squad for Australia Test series: Shan Masood (capt), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi

This was India Women’s first Test win against Australia in 11 games since 1977

Srinidhi Ramanujam24-Dec-2023A drama-filled first 75 minutes on the fourth morning ended with Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad spinning Australia out of the only Test as India completed a historic win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It was India Women’s first triumph against Australia in Tests, in 11 attempts since 1977.Most of the hard work done by the likes of Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy on the third day to take Australia to 233 for 5 – with an overnight lead of 46 runs – was undone by India’s bowlers who picked up five wickets for just 28 runs in the first session on the final day. On a pitch offering turn and low bounce, Rana’s two wickets in two balls to dismiss well-set Annabel Sutherland and Alana King left Australia reeling. Gayakwad’s two unplayable deliveries then wrapped Australia up for 261, setting India a target of just 75, which they chased in under 19 overs.Rana ended the match with overall figures of 7 for 119, the best for an Indian spinner against Australia, which also earned her the Player-of-the-Match title.Related

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The day began with Pooja Vastrakar, fresh off her four-wicket haul in the first innings, providing the early breakthrough by trapping Ashleigh Gardner lbw with a little help from the DRS. The start of the collapse also saw India becoming desperate as they had two unsuccessful reviews after Gardner’s dismissal.Amidst that, India’s spinners exploited the pitch better to move ahead. Sutherland, who seemed set to grind, fell to Rana for 27 playing the sweep shot when she gloved one behind, and India used a review to get the decision changed. The next delivery saw King getting an inside edge onto the stumps. At 251 for 8, the game was all but over for Australia with Rana scalping 4 for 63 in the third innings.Sneh Rana finished the match with figures 7 for 119•BCCI

Gayakwad then completed the formalities, first flummoxing Kim Garth with an excellent delivery that spun sharply past the outside edge to hit top of off stump. In her next over, she tossed the ball up outside off stump and got it to deviate into the batter sharply. Jess Jonassen, this time trying to hold the fort for Australia with the bat, missed an expansive drive and got cleaned up. Having been a bit unlucky on the third day when she bowled wicket-taking deliveries across her 27 overs that didn’t fetch her one, Gayakwad came back well to bowl out Australia on the final day.Chasing a small target, India lost Shafali Varma caught behind to Garth on the fourth ball of the innings and went to lunch at 29 for 1. Debutant Richa Ghosh threw her wicket away with 20 runs needed when she went for a wild heave across the line to hand Gardner her fifth wicket of the match.However, a steady Smriti Mandhana negated the spin threat with her unbeaten 38 and sealed victory ten overs after lunch with a lofted straight hit after charging down the pitch.The hosts, thus, completed back-to-back Test victories at home against two quality opponents in England and Australia, with clinical all-round dominance.

England’s old stage-seizer sparks anarchic scenes on thrilling fourth day at Edgbaston

Vithushan Ehantharajah19-Jun-2023The devil on Joe Root’s shoulder just before 11am. The demon terrorising Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith just before 7pm. A day in the life of Stuart Broad is rich and varied.On Monday, Broad added a new entry to his roller-dex of Ashes moments. A vital top-order dual hit on Labuschagne and Smith in the space of 12 deliveries means we enter the final day of a compelling first Test with victory as likely for England as Australia.Removing the No.1 and No.2-ranked batters in the world is worthy of dedicating a thousand words to Broad, particularly at a time when England were desperate for something to take with them into Tuesday. Most of those words might as well be Broad’s own from back in April, when he claimed he’d invented a mystery outswinger in order to get Labuschagne and Smith uncertain outside off stump … which is exactly what they proved to be when they came into his sights this evening.But we know the 36-year-old Broad does not simply bowl ‘top-of off wobble-seam, top-of-off wobble-seam, surprise outswinger’. He is a rambunctious spirit possessing an inner light that is less soothing and more strobe – and evidently infectious, as Root found out before walking out to play a reverse-ramp to the first ball of the morning, delivered by Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins”I sit next to Rooty in the changing room, and he just went, ‘I fancy a reverse-scoop for six, first ball’,” Broad revealed. “I said, ‘If it’s in your gut, you’ve got to go for it – that’s what we’re about.’ And he goes, ‘I’ll decide when I’m walking out’. Obviously he didn’t change his mind.”Root missed with that initial gambit. But the statement had been made. The dressing-room and crowd were immediately dialled up to 11. For that agenda-setting first half-hour, he remained a batter possessed, going on to successfully scoop Scott Boland for six and four in successive deliveries, until – with the field now dancing to his beat – he reverted briefly to more typical accumulative nudges. But then, on 46, he skipped down the track to Nathan Lyon and was stumped for the first time in his career.Stuart Broad wheels away in delight after dismissing Steve Smith during an inspired spell•AFP/Getty Images

It was from that point on England began losing their grip on the game, having had a fist-full of it at 129 for three – a lead of 136 – with Root and Harry Brook at ease and scoring freely. Were it not for important late-order runs, this game might be skewed much further Australia’s way. Broad finished unbeaten on 10 but ensured that 44 more were added during his time at the crease, alongside Ollie Robinson and James Anderson.”Today’s just been one of those days that sums up Ashes cricket really,” Broad said. “You’re getting ahead of the game, then you lose a wicket, you think you’re getting ahead of the game, then you lose a wicket again.”As for those key dismissals, Broad was asked if he has a mental edge over both, particularly after handing Labuschagne a first golden duck of his career in the first innings, as part of a haul of three for 68 that included bagging David Warner for a 15th time. “Be nice, wouldn’t it?” he said with a smile. “I’ve had a lot great battles, and they’ve probably won most of them.” He’s certainly winning this one.Related

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“One thing we know as a bowling group, you’ve got to try and put them under pressure early,” he added. “They’re the sort of guys, if they get to 30, 40, they don’t give it away cheaply. We know as a group we want to try and make them play as much as we possibly can early. They’ve scored a lot of runs against us as a group, so to see the back of them twice in this Test match without too much damage is awesome.”For Broad to have had the match he has so far is a testament to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. As much for the rejuvenation in the quick’s career under their tenure as for the decision to select him in this fixture. Smith’s demise – the ball seaming away after angling in to catch an edge through to Jonny Bairstow – was Broad’s 50th wicket under the new regime, taking him to 587 overall.There is one more day for Broad to impose himself on this game, then plenty more beyond that, with four Tests to come. And as much as his own individual plans to the likes of Usman Khawaja and Travis Head will determine who ends up on top, there is a more collective approach to be adopted around striking a balance between attack and defence with unconventional fields, bordering on rascal.”When you’ve got a set target to defend, you’ve got to keep one eye on the boundaries as well,” Broad said. “And actually, on a pitch like this, where it’s quite slow and hard to create a mistake from a batter, you don’t want to leak too many runs easily waiting for that ball to break through. I think we’ll be smart with the fields we use. We need to protect the boundaries in certain players’ strengths. But ultimately our No.1 focus is to take wickets, and how do we do that? From creating pressure.”You’ll probably see more fielders scattered around, almost like in-out fields. You know how Warnie used to bowl?” he added. “He’d have four people around the bat and three people on the boundary. Three an over is not hurting you, then you get the wicket and you can apply some pressure.”Joe Root was egged on by Broad to deploy his ramp shot to the first ball of the day•Getty Images

Citing Shane Warne felt like a deliberate nod to the 2005 fixture here, which England secured by two runs on a pulsating final day. The similarity between the targets – 282 then, 281 now – and the fact Tuesday is also sold out adds to the sense that this Ashes series will recreate that great spectacle of 2005.”I’m quite conscious I don’t want to build up too much hype of that ’05 Edgbaston because I’m not sure we want that going to two runs tomorrow from our point of view, do we?” Broad said.But a veteran whose success has fundamentally come from his unrivalled feel of the game is all too aware of how the cards are lining up, on the field and off it. Four days in, it’s not hard to imagine that day five will be every bit as gripping as what’s gone before.”It does feel like the same energy as ’05,” Broad said. “And if we have a series like that we’re going to inspire a lot of kids to play the game, aren’t we?”

India had plenty of positives to take from their warm-up game; Bangladesh not so much

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Jun-2024Having endured a difficult IPL season on multiple fronts, Hardik Pandya served up a reminder of his elite all-round skills as India warmed up for the T20 World Cup with a 60-run win over Bangladesh in New York.Hardik scored an unbeaten 23-ball 40 and took 1 for 10 off his first two overs before conceding 20 in his third. But it was heartening for India to have their main allrounder influence the game as he did, in conditions – the pitch was two-paced and the outfield slow – that helped his bowling but not necessarily his batting. The other headline acts came from Rishabh Pant, who retired out after scoring a breezy 32-ball 53, and Arshdeep Singh, who took two wickets in a spell of incisive new-ball swing.

No Kohli, no Jaiswal either

Virat Kohli only landed in New York on the eve of this match, so it was expected that he wouldn’t play the warm-up fixture. It wasn’t expected, though, that Yashasvi Jaiswal – the other candidate to open alongside Rohit Sharma – didn’t play any part either. India opened, instead, with Rohit and Sanju Samson.It could have been an audition for first-choice wicketkeeper. On the day, Samson scored 1 off 6, and was lbw in the second over to a Shoriful Islam in-ducker. There seemed to be a chance that this ball may have gone on to miss leg stump, but DRS was not in use so Samson had to go.

Pant fires at No. 3

Pant replaced Samson, and proceeded to play the most fluent innings of the day. India were 33 for 1 in five overs when he began their acceleration with three sixes off Shakib Al Hasan in the sixth. He hit four fours and four sixes in all, and targeted the area behind the wicket with aplomb, using the reverse-sweep and his trademark no-look scoop over short fine leg to telling effect.Pant kept wicket too, rather than Samson, and by the end of the day it seemed fairly certain that he would take the big gloves on Wednesday, when India begin their tournament proper against Ireland.Arshdeep Singh took two wickets with the new ball•ICC via Getty Images

Allrounder watch

Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik were the other major contributors to India’s total of 182 for 5, scoring a combined 71 off 41, while Shivam Dube, who batted between them at No. 5, struggled with the conditions. Dube swung at the spinners repeatedly, but only made one true connection, a massive six over wide long-off, while scoring 14 off 16.Then, having only bowled just the one over in 14 games during the IPL, he proceeded to bowl three here and pick up two wickets, though Bangladesh were already 42 for 5 when he came on.Ravindra Jadeja batted at No. 7, but Axar Patel, India’s other left-arm fingerspinner, bowled before him and picked up a wicket. It remains to be seen which of the two feature in India’s first XI, or if they go with both and leave out the wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.India play three of their four group-stage games in New York, and if conditions remain broadly similar, they may be able to get quite a bit of bowling out of their four allrounders – Hardik, Jadeja, Axar and Dube.

Arshdeep vs Siraj

Jasprit Bumrah is the first name on the bowling end of India’s team sheet, but who partners him with the new ball? On this day, Arshdeep made a serious case for himself, swinging the new ball prodigiously and getting Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das out in Test-match manner.Mohammed Siraj was excellent too, getting the ball to behave awkwardly from a hard length, and dismissing Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto with one such delivery that cramped him for room. On the evidence of their displays here, India will have a hard task picking just one of these two, assuming they go with two frontline quicks and Hardik as the third seamer.

Problems for Bangladesh

For Bangladesh, who came into this match on the back of a shock series defeat to USA, the result reinforced major worries going into the World Cup, chiefly their long-standing lack of power-hitting. India hit ten sixes in their 20 overs, and Bangladesh just one. Of the four batters who faced at least 10 balls in their chase of 183, only one – Mahmudullah, who top-scored with a 28-ball 40 – went at above a run a ball.Mahmudullah also bowled two tidy overs and dismissed Rohit, and took the catch of the day to send back Dube, sprinting to his right from long-on and juggling the ball expertly while stepping out of and then back into the field of play. All in all, it was a good day for the 38-year-old.Bangladesh suffered an injury scare when left-arm quick Shoriful left the field five balls into India’s final over when he attempted to stop a straight hit from Hardik and took a painful hit to his left hand. The extent of his injury wasn’t clear by the time the game ended.The margin of India’s victory, however, may have been inflated by the resources available to the two teams. India’s quicks did the bulk of their early damage, picking up four wickets between them to reduce Bangladesh to 41 for 5. Bangladesh, however, only bowled five overs of genuine pace – and one of gentle medium-pace from Soumya Sarkar. This was because they rested both Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, both of whom could have caused India problems on this pitch.

England come unstuck in stiff chase as opponents make up for lapses in series opener

Vithushan Ehantharajah28-Jul-2022South Africa unfurled a near-perfect short-form display to beat England by 58 runs in Cardiff, squaring the T20I series ahead of Sunday’s decider at the Ageas Bowl.Just 24 hours after defeat by 41 runs in Bristol on Wednesday evening, it was a redemptive performance from the Proteas to draw level at 1-1. Rilee Rossouw’s 96 not out spearheaded a total of 207 for three, before Tabraiz Shamsi (three for 27) and Andile Phehlukwayo (three for 39) successfully defended their score by skittling their opponents with 20 balls to spare.Jos Buttler said he wanted to see how his team went chasing after winning a first toss in eight and opting to bowl first, and the Proteas were more than happy to oblige. A brisk start – 32 for none after three overs, then 58 for the loss of Quinton de Kock at the end of the powerplay – was maintained throughout.Rossouw was the main event, but Reeza Hendricks provided the perfect warm-up act, backing up Bristol’s half-century with another here, before eventually falling for 53. That ended a stand of 73 between himself and Rossouw, who had 39 at this point, with 8.3 overs to go. With Tristan Stubbs struggling to replicate the hitting from his six-heavy 72 from 28 deliveries, 57 of the remaining 95 runs came from the senior man.England were poor in the field, with wayward lines and lengths, and a variety of fielding errors. Gleeson was able to make amends for dropping Hendricks around the corner at fine leg for 51 by taking the right-hander’s wicket in the next over. However, Buttler’s grounded catch down the leg side off Rossouw – who had just 37 – was far more costly.Tabraiz Shamsi produced a three-wicket spell•Getty Images

That being said, Chris Jordan’s concession of just four runs in the 20th over gave the hosts a spring in their step going into he break. And when Buttler became the first batter of the night to find the stands beyond the longest boundary, and then struck six-six-four off Phehlukwayo, England were in the mix. But Phehlukwayo held his fourth delivery back, resulting in a skier from Buttler taken well by Hendricks running to mid-on, and as four England wickets fell for 51 runs in 6.4 overs, the required rate began to spiral above 12.With 100 needed off the remaining 42 balls, the only reason to sniff an England victory was the presence of Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone at the crease. The ability to smash boundaries at will – as per Bairstow’s eight sixes in his 53-ball 90 on Wednesday – was the only way out of this hole. Unfortunately for England, within 14 balls, the pair had been dismissed – caught at backward point off Rabada and behind off Phehlukwayo, respectively – with 67 left for the tail.The final three wickets fell for just eight, the last of them, Richard Gleeson, off the back of a DRS call seemingly taken on a whim by the fielding side. As with everything else in the match, it went South Africa’s way.Reaping RossouwIt might not have been a century, but Rossouw’s score was a reminder of both his talents and what South Africa have missed out on over the last six years. That he became a Kolpak in his prime, smashing 122 in an ODI against Australia in October 2016, his last appearance for the Proteas before Wednesday’s T20I, was a particularly sore point as he remained visible elsewhere, notable in England for Hampshire and now Somerset.But the prodigal son is now a man, and his innings here typified an underlying sense of maturity to his game. It was particularly evident against those he didn’t target: Reece Topley started well to him and the off spin of Moeen Ali was always going to be tricky for the left-hander to go after. But he struck well against Gleeson, Jordan and particularly Adil Rashid, taking 18 runs off the nine deliveries he faced from the legspinner. But for Stubbs chewing up half of the final over, Rossouw probably would have reached a maiden international T20I hundred. Nevertheless, off the back of a stunning Vitality Blast season for Somerset (623 runs at a strike rate of 192.28), it’s abundantly clear the 32-year-old is making up for lost time.Right-hand, left-hand – overthinking?No sooner had Eoin Morgan posited that it would take a brave man to shunt Bairstow down the order, Buttler did just that. By no means the more ruthless of the two, it was an example of how both teams were persisting with right-hand-left-hand combinations.Related

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It’s nothing new, and in this instance was down to the disparity between the two square boundaries. With the leftie Rossouw batting through the innings from the fourth over, David Miller waved a procession of right-handers through, including Stubbs who came in ahead of the stand-in captain. Similarly, Bairstow was held back for Moeen to enter at No.4 in England’s innings after Dawid Malan had fallen. Then, when Moeen himself was dismissed for an enterprising 28, Sam Curran came in at six ahead of Liam Livingstone.None of them really came off, though the reasons for the promotions were totally justified given the form of Stubbs (72 off 28) and Moeen (52 off 18) from the night before. Not to mention the fact that Bairstow was in by the ninth over anyway, and Rossouw was always going to come in at No.3 to accompany Hendricks. On this occasion, it was a tactic that made a lot of sense but did not produce any tangible reward.Roy …The good news for Jason Roy is, barring injury, he will get the series-decider on Sunday to see if he can improve on the 59 runs off 80 he’s managed across the international T20 summer.The bad news is it looks like it may just be another opportunity to fail. Since a century in the final ODI against Netherlands in Amsterdam, Roy has struggled to get going on home soil. Barring a 41 in the third ODI against India, he has struggled to get the measure of the white Kookaburra ball, occasionally showing flashes of timing amid plenty of mishits and lapses in judgement.The issue that affects Roy more than others is aesthetics: his very nature is to go after attacks, and it is counted as an upside of his character that, even when struggling, he never shies away from a battle. That, however, means in the midst of this kind of run, he looks like a man pushed into the corner swinging haymakers with his eyes closed.