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Despite landing in New Zealand before some 50-over team-mates, Stokes won’t feature in the remaining T20s and is unlikely for the opening ODI too. The England coach wants to ensure the allrounder is back “up to speed” first

Adam Collins14-Feb-2018It is not quite Brisbane in November on the opening day of an Ashes series, but Ben Stokes’ antipodean tour is finally likely to kick off. He will, however, have to wait his turn with the second ODI against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui shaping as his earliest return.That’s the message from Trevor Bayliss, speaking after his allrounder received the green light to travel south after fronting court to plead not guilty on Tuesday. Despite landing in the country a couple of days before his 50-over colleagues, Stokes won’t return to the side for their remaining T20s and it is highly improbable he’ll be in the XI for the opening ODI.”He hasn’t played for a while so it is not as if we can bring him straight back for these T20s,” Bayliss said in Wellington, the morning after England’s latest short-form defeat.England’s opening ODI is in Hamilton on February 25, but Bayliss will be waiting until he has seen evidence with his own eyes that Stokes is ready. “I’d have to say it’s unlikely,” he said of Stokes’ participation in that particular ODI. “It’s just up and in the air. We’ll have to wait and see how he is travelling, with the practice. We have got to get him up to speed and hopefully during this one-day series we can get him back into the team.”Before Christmas, Stokes – who has not played for England since September – participated in six white-ball fixtures in the domestic New Zealand competition, but that is not going to make much difference on this visit. Bayliss instead will make a “judgement call” on the 26-year-old’s outdoor net form; he has been restricted to indoor training only over the last six weeks.”It’ll just be something we have to keep an eye on as the practice days go,” he said. “In the past, he’s been out with injuries and coming back sooner than we think. That’s the type of character he is and it doesn’t take him long at all to get back up to speed.”The reality is that Stokes is never surplus to requirements, even after the ODI side thrashed Australia in Australia 4-1 in January. “One of the biggest things we’ve missed over the summer has been the combinations we’ve been able to play,” Bayliss said. “Especially in the one-dayers and T20s. We’ve been able to have six bowlers [before], which gives the captain plenty of different options. We’ve been down to just the five bowlers.”Of course, the frustration remains that the incident has so dominated this tour. Bayliss freely admits he was “sick of it from the first day” nearly five months ago. But the latest legal development – especially that Stokes will be initially available for Test duty in March – means that plans could be getting back on track for the England management.”He’s looking forward to getting back doing what he does best and I’m looking forward to catching up with him,” Bayliss said. As far as the playing group is concerned, the coach says Stokes will be welcomed back warmly. “Don’t forget he wasn’t the only one who was out that night. There were a few others. They all can’t wait for him to come back. He’s a very popular member of the squad, one of the leaders of the squad and there won’t be any problems whatsoever.”As for Stokes’ state of mind in the lead up to his more substantial days in court, Bayliss believes this series is the best possible distraction. “There have been players in the past who’ve had off-field issues and been able to put that aside and concentrate on cricket,” he said of the “relief” Stokes will experience in playing again. “I’ve got a feeling he will be one of the guys who can put it aside and perform.”

Royals look to formidable home record in Jaipur, once their fortress, in their quest to turn things around after nine-wicket hiding in their opening game

The Preview by Shashank Kishore10-Apr-20184:17

Faulkner: Royals have no reason to panic

Big Picture

If you’ve received a pounding of the kind Rajasthan Royals did on Monday, you don’t want too much time to keep pondering over what could’ve been. Royals, in any case, don’t have time to reflect on the nine-wicket defeat because they’re back home to Jaipur, once their bastion, to face Delhi Daredevils, also smarting from a loss to Kings XI Punjab.Both sides have a similar make-up. Two batsmen who like to play anchor in Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane, and two destructive allrounders in Glenn Maxwell and Ben Stokes. They also have a plethora of spin options. Yet, the main concern will be the batting for one and bowling for the other.Royals endured a problem of plenty in their tournament opener. Having five openers in the top six didn’t help matters. While one game is too early to talk combinations, Royals will quickly need to identify who bats where.At the auction, much of their strategy seemed to suggest a replication of Rising Pune Supergiant’s formula. They will do well to implement some of it too, like slotting Rahul Tripathi back at the top of the order, where he struck 391 runs in 14 innings, including six successive 30 plus scores, at 146.44 during a breakout 2017 season.Royals aren’t the only ones with things on their plate though. Daredevils play five away games first up. Having gone down in their opener, they would have to find ways to lift themselves up soon and not get into a rut that could leave them with too much to do at home in the second half.For starters, they will need to decide how much is too much, before making changes. Colin Munro, as destructive as he can be, was all at sea against spin in Mohali. The Jaipur surface of old offered plenty of zip. Now, with the track slightly slower, there’s a case of Royals continuing to stifle him with spin. Munro, though should back himself. In the first game, he was up against R Ashwin and Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Here, he’ll possibly face K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal, who struggled in the opener.The Daredevils spinners were also found wanting. Amit Mishra was particularly expensive. With one frontline legspinner in Rahul Tewatia to do the job, they could possibly look at fielding Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, who has also proved himself with the new ball in the past.As such, it’s a battle between the two batting line-ups. Who will blink first?

In the news

Daredevils will welcome the return of Glenn Maxwell. A straight swap with Dan Christian is the most-likely possibility, given they have two other seam-bowling allrounders in Vijay Shankar and Chris Morris to bank on.Given how their batting struggled, they could look at beefing up their lower order by including Stuart Binny in place of K Gowtham, who was out for zero and bowled a lone over. Binny can also chip in with the ball if needed. Jofra Archer is still recovering from a side strain and hasn’t arrived until match-eve. There are issues with some other Royals overseas recruits as well: Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera has not arrived because of a fitness concern, and Afghanistan’s Zahir Khan was replaced late by New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi.

The likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 D’Arcy Short, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Butler, 7 Stuart Binny 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Dhawal Kulkarni 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Ben LaughlinDelhi Daredevils: 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia 9 Shahbaz Nadeem/Amit Mishra 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mohammed ShamiESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stats that matter

• Royals have a win-loss ratio of 2.428 is the best among all teams in the tournament’s history. They’ve won 34 out of their 49 home games.
• Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir will be playing his 150th IPL game on Wednesday. His 36 half-centuries are the joint-most in IPL history along with David Warner. His 4188 runs in 148 innings are the most by a batsman without a century.
• Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat are two of Royals’ best bowlers in the Powerplay with a Smart Strike Rate of 6.12 and 6.39 respectively. Stokes wasn’t bowled in the first six on Monday.

Strategic punt

• Maxwell presents a case to be promoted up the order. Far too often, teams have left him for a little too late. Given Daredevils already have Morris for death hitting, Maxwell can be considered a sound choice, perhaps even at No. 3, should Daredevils start well. His Smart Strike Rate of 190.22 between overs 7 and 15 makes him a bigger threat than Shreyas Iyer, who strikes at 154.80 in the same period.

Fantasy picks

D’Arcy Short likes pace on the ball and will be offered just that if Daredevils hand the new ball to Trent Boult and Mohammed Shami. His strong backfoot game having grown up on bouncy Australian decks could help him and Royals on a fresh Jaipur deck. If he’s already in your squad, there’s no reason to make a change just yet. Not all returns, after all, are instant.

USAC’s suspension will not impact USA’s participation in the T20 World Cup starting in February in India and Sri Lanka

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Sep-2025The ICC has finally decided to suspend USA Cricket (USAC), in the process hitting the reset button as it attempts to overhaul the leadership and governance structure of the sport in a key market. The decision was taken by the ICC Board after a virtual meeting on Tuesday. USAC’s suspension will not impact the national team’s participation in the T20 World Cup starting in February in India and Sri Lanka or the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.The suspension comes just over two months after the ICC, at its annual general meeting in July, had granted USAC three months to hold “free and fair elections” and carry out “comprehensive” governance reforms. At the time, the ICC reiterated that USAC would continue to remain “on notice”, as it has been since July 2024. The ICC Board also warned USAC that it reserved the right to take any action it deemed fit based on the progress of reforms.Eventually, on Tuesday evening, the ICC suspended USAC with “immediate effect” and temporarily took over “management and administration of USA national teams.”Related

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“The decision, taken by the ICC Board during its meeting earlier, was based on USA Cricket’s repeated and continued breaches of its obligations as an ICC Member under the ICC’s Constitution,” an ICC press release said. “These include, but are not limited to, the failure to implement a functional governance structure, lack of progress toward achieving National Governing Body status with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), and significant actions that have caused reputational damage to cricket in the United States and around the world.”The suspension does not have an immediate impact on cricket being part of the LA 2028 Games. The ICC clarified that USA teams will still be able to participate in ICC events as well as make preparations for the Olympics. Calling it “unfortunate but necessary” the ICC said it was forced to take such extreme action to “protect the long-term interests of the game and the ICC’s top priority remains ensuring that the athletes and the sport itself are not impacted due to the suspension.”During the time USAC had been put on notice, the ICC had been working with it to draw a “roadmap” and facilitate its securing national governing body (NGB) status from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). This is mandatory for all sports that were added to LA28 Games. As hosts, USA are expected to be one of the six teams to contest for medals in both men’s and women’s categories.That roadmap, which comprises six steps, was drawn by the ICC’s Normalisation Committee, headed by chairman Jay Shah. Prior to that, the committee met USAC top brass Venu Pisike (chairman) and Johnathan Atkeison (CEO) twice – first in April virtually and then in person in June. The roadmap called for USAC to start an organisational revamp by bringing in three new independent directors to replace the incumbents on the Board. Following that the USAC Board would step down and prompt fresh elections. At this point USAC would apply for NGB status.Simultaneously, the ICC also said a comprehensive review and reform of the USA Cricket Constitution “shall be undertaken” in close consultation with the Independent Directors and relevant ICC stakeholders. With USAC unable to meet these terms, it was suspended.USAC was being considered for suspension at the ICC’s AGM in July and only managed its three-month reprieve by making “commitments” to the ICC Board to meet the criteria required for membership.”When USAC was notified of the AGM’s decision,” the ICC press release said, “it was specifically advised in writing that, along with fulfilling the commitments it made to the Board and taking immediate steps in that respect, it must (i) not do/omit to do anything that might jeopardise cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics, and (ii) not do anything (by act or omission) that brings cricket or the ICC into disrepute or is contrary to the best interests of cricket or the ICC.”For USAC to lift its suspension, it will need to follow procedure that the Normalisation Committee, in coordination with the ICC management, will outline and which “will include demonstrable and specific changes to USA Cricket’s governance structure, operations and overall status in the Cricket ecosystem. The normalisation committee will also monitor USA Cricket’s progress and provide consultatory support.”The ICC remains committed to supporting the growth of cricket in the United States, protect the sporting ecosystem and its constituents, namely the athletes and bolstering its march towards a more significant role on the global stage.”

Batsman content with unglamorous remit as Eoin Morgan steals the show at Old Trafford

George Dobell at Old Trafford19-Jun-2019Of course the headlines were dominated by Eoin Morgan. His innings, variously described as “phenomenal”, “ridiculous” and “astounding” by his team-mates clearly stole the show in Manchester on Tuesday. This England ODI team have produced several remarkable performances over the last four years; this was up there with the best of them.But just because few people leave the Louvre talking about the foundations of the building does not mean these things are not important. And there were other performances in Manchester that will have encouraged England as they move into the final four matches of their qualifying campaign.The batting of Joe Root is one such example. He managed only one six, fell 12 short of a century and had to be content with a strike-rate of 107.31 – that’s more than 100 fewer than Morgan’s – against Afghanistan. On an extraordinary day, it was a performance that barely gained a mention in match reports.But it was a masterful innings. And it sustained a run of form that saw Root rise to second on the competition’s run-scoring table – only Shakib Al Hasan has more – with two centuries, two half-centuries and an innings of 21 from his five matches to date.More importantly, it provided the platform that allowed England to accelerate so dramatically in their final 15 overs. On a wicket that started just a little damp and therefore provided some help for the bowlers, Root (and the equally efficient Jonny Bairstow) ensured England negotiated that tricky period to ensure there were wickets in hand for a final attack that realised 198 from the final 15 overs and 125 from the final eight. Not only that, Root kept the scoreboard ticking over – he scored 43 in singles – ensuring Morgan was given as much strike as possible. Root’s innings enabled Morgan’s. Or at least assisted it. Just as his century in Nottingham helped Jos Buttler to make a quicker century at the other end.But it’s not the glamorous role. It’s the straight foil to Morgan’s comedy genius, or the friend who does the washing up after a party. It’s valuable and it’s appreciated, but it’s not what the spectators go home talking about. And, as he reflected on the game, Root admitted it can hard for him – a star used to top billing as he is – to accept his part in a supporting role.”It can be difficult for me,” Root said. “You look at the scoreboard and see someone is going like that and think I have to try and get involved.”But you have to weigh it up and see what’s best for the team. On that wicket it was quite hard starting; especially teeing off from ball one. Morgs made a very good point out there that it’s always easier for the two guys that are in, especially on a surface like that. So it was important that we took it deep. That was a reason we managed to get as many as we did.Watch on Hotstar (India only): England’s record 25 sixes in the innings“I think one of the reasons Morgs managed to score so quickly is I managed to give him so much strike. The reason I felt like I batted for the whole innings and only ended up on 88 is because I didn’t have that much strike. Towards the back end, if someone is going like that, it’s exactly what you want. It wasn’t that I was chewing up balls or wasting time.”If you’re batting with someone and you’re putting them under pressure because they feel like you should be playing in a certain manner and you’re not, then that’s not beneficial to the team. If you are all on the same page and are very clear about how you’re going to approach things, that’s when it makes life a lot easier. That’s one of the reasons why, over the last couple of years, we have managed that in 50-over cricket: there’s a really good understanding of how we operate as a group.”When Root did fall – caught at long-on trying to heave a six when some batsmen may have nudged their way to a century – it was noticeable that both Buttler and Stokes struggled. But Root knew, with such men to follow, that he could afford to play high-risk strokes. He accepts his role because he knows he doesn’t have the big shots of his colleagues and he knows it is best for the team.As it was, Moeen Ali was the man to finish the England innings with a bang. While we have become used to his miserly bowling, he has struggled to rediscover the batting form he showed in the IPL. So the nine-ball 31 he smashed towards the end of the England innings will have given him a little more confidence going into the second half of the tournament. Not so long ago, he might have been considered as an alternative opening batsman for Jason Roy – he has two ODI centuries in that position, after all – which would allow space for two spinners and five seamers. That is not on the cards at present, but if Moeen can find some form, it gives the battling line-up a daunting depth.There was good news, too, on Liam Plunkett. While the team management insist he could have played on Tuesday, he had been ill on Monday and was quarantined away from the other players until mid-way through the game. He is now said to be fully recovered and available for selection on Friday.England will go into that game – against a Sri Lanka side in transition – as heavy favourites. Increasingly, they are looking comfortable with that tag, though they know tougher foes lie ahead in the coming days. If they win on Friday, however, they will probably need to win only one of their final three group matches to ensure their place in the semi-finals. Despite the concerns over Roy’s on-going involvement, they are in a good position at this stage of the tournament.

ECB welcomes funding although it falls well short of £35 million pledge from Rishi Sunak last year

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2025The UK government has pledged £1.5million for the construction of two new indoor, all-season cricket domes in Luton and Lancashire. But while the development has been welcomed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), it is significantly less than the £35million promised last summer by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak.That announcement, in April 2024, mooted the construction of 16 domes across England by 2029, as a tie-in to the women’s and men’s T20 World Cups in 2026 and 2030, respectively. The ECB has already funded a prototype dome in Bradford (open in 2023), and now seem resigned to not seeing anywhere near that figure going forward.Sunak’s promise looked set not to materialise after a change of government last summer. Speaking at the announcement of these amended plans last week at Leyland Cricket Club in Lancashire, culture secretary Lisa Nandy stated Sunak’s plans were not grounded in reality.”Unfortunately, the announcement made by the last government was a fantasy,” Nandy told the BBC. “There was not a single penny of actual funding attached to it.”So the announcement in itself equated to absolutely nothing at all. We are backing sport because we know how much it matters. It changes people’s lives. It opens up opportunities that people would never have had otherwise.”The ECB plan to push for further funding, in line with the governing body’s stated aims in their game-wide strategy, Inspiring Generations, which involve “working in partnership with the Government to maximise the legacy of the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup”. This £1.5million is in addition to the £400million for grassroots sport that was announced at the Spending Review, which will benefit a wide range of sports over the next four years.Speaking on Monday’s announcement, ECB chair Richard Thompson said: “These state-of-the-art all-weather cricket domes will be transformative for the communities they serve, opening up cricket to more people year-round and providing top-class facilities for elite players too. They are an important part of our plans to break down barriers and make cricket the most inclusive team sport.”We are pleased to secure Government support for these incredible community facilities, which we hope will provide a vital proof point of what can be achieved, and look forward to future collaboration. As we have seen in Bradford, centres like these can have a hugely positive impact–bringing people together, opening up opportunities, and inspiring the next generation.”As we look ahead to hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026, building on that success by rolling out more domes in communities across England and Wales will be key to creating a genuine and lasting legacy from the tournament.”The two state-of-the-art domes will be focused on opening cricket up to a broader, more diverse audience as part of the “Plan for Change” initiative to get more young people active and participating in sport. The announcement is the latest step in the govenment’s new National Youth Strategy, which will be published in the autumn.

In the “most important game” of his career Ben Stokes is hoping to continue his excellent form with bat and ball

George Dobell at Edgbaston09-Jul-2019Ben Stokes believes he is in good shape with bat and ball for the “most important game” of his career.Stokes is no stranger to the big occasion having memorably played in a World T20 final, a Champions Trophy semi-final and numerous other high-profile international and IPL matches. But he feels the chance of reaching a World Cup final and beating England’s oldest cricketing enemy on the way, add up to make Thursday’s semi-final against Australia more significant than any of them.”Is this the most important game I’ve played? Yes, to date. Definitely,” Stokes said. “Playing against Australia is a big occasion in any sport. The rivalry goes way back. Beating them is that touch better than any other team. Losing to them at Lord’s was massively disappointing, so I think there will be a bit of redemption in knowing we have the chance to beat them and get to that final.”While Stokes has, at first glance, enjoyed a much better tournament with the bat than the ball, averaging 54.42 with the bat at a strike rate of 95.01, it is his bowling that has given him most satisfaction. For although he has bowled only 43.5 overs in the nine games to date and claimed a relatively modest seven wickets, he is conceding only 4.65 runs per over, making him England’s most economical bowler. The secret of that success, he feels, is understanding his role with the ball.”The thing I have been most happy with has been my bowling,” Stokes said. “I’m in a very good place with my batting. I have just continued to work on the same things but also tried to test myself. I’m not letting up because this is the crucial moment: lose this and we’re out. I think just having the confidence of being in lots of situations over the past four years has made it easier. Batting at No. 5, I either rebuild or have to get on with the game.”But the most pleasing thing has been my bowling. I had a chat with Eoin Morgan to get my head around my role. Being fourth or fifth seamer, I sometimes put too much pressure on myself to influence the game. So I spoke to them about not trying to take a wicket every ball and instead aim at going for five or six an over. I might get a wicket doing that anyway and it’s helped offer the team more. In the last couple of years, it’s probably where I have let the team down.”Stokes has made between 79 and 89 four times in the tournament so far, but insists he is not bothered by falling short of individual milestones. Instead, he is only motivated by contributing to team victories.”I’m not too fussed,” he says. “I won’t walk away disappointed if I don’t get a hundred – that’s not what I’m about. I think going into a semi-final knowing all of our top four have hundreds is a great place to be. Both openers have hundreds, Joe Root and Morgs have hundreds. It’s very impressive.”I’m massively proud [to be part of this team]. When our careers end we’ll be able to look back and say we have played with the world’s best, got to No. 1 but more importantly, played with a good bunch of people. I believe this team is the best at what they do and we’re trying to build a path for many years to come: this is what England stand for and how we want to play.”I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to anyone except myself. [The Bristol incident] opened my eyes to a lot of things, but I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. It’s just showing I can deliver on the biggest stage. Winning is the most important thing and if you can help the team out with an individual performance, that’s all that counts. People can say good things, bad things, it just won’t bother me.”

SACA’s fear is that if the MoU is not signed by the time the current deal expires, South African players may consider their options elsewhere rather than commit to cricket at home

Firdose Moonda19-Apr-2018The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has responded with “surprise and disappointment” to Cricket South Africa’s statement regarding its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which expires at the end of April and has yet to be re-agreed to.On Wednesday, CSA released a statement announcing its intention for an interim agreement and indicated the MoU may only be finalised by July, something SACA claims was not discussed with the players’ association. SACA also confirmed “negotiations on the key elements” of the MOU have yet to start despite CSA’s assertion that discussions had begun.”We are both surprised and disappointed that CSA has seen fit to make a public statement announcing plans relating to the MoU without giving us any proper opportunity to respond to, or to deal with these first,” SACA CEO Tony Irish said. “The suggested plans have caused consternation among players and they require a response from SACA. The indication of further possible delays and the unworkability of certain aspects of what is being suggested are particular matters of concern to us. The suggestion also that there have actually been negotiations conducted by SACA officials with CSA on the MoU to date is also not correct. Negotiations on the key elements have yet to start.”Among the most important aspects of the MoU is the financial model, which underpins players’ contracts and benefits, and which CSA initially indicated could change before backtracking. In December, CSA’s acting CEO Thabang Moroe and president Chris Nenzani told media that the revenue-share model which has formed part of the MoU since its inception 14 years ago may be relooked at. In March, Nenzani recommitted to the revenue share model though, which appeared to clear the path for agreement.However, SACA suggests there has been little to no engagement with CSA despite the player body’s best efforts.The Hampshire squad, including Kolpak signings Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw, pose on media day•Getty Images

“SACA has been doing everything possible from its side for approximately three months to engage with CSA on the MoU and to deal with the key elements to enable player contracts to be finalised well in advance of 30th April 2018, being the date on which the majority of player contracts end. In past MoUs the key elements have always been agreed by the end of February at the latest to ensure a proper player contracting process can take place well in advance of expiry dates,” Irish said. “Unfortunately our attempts to date have been met with very little response from CSA and much of our correspondence has gone unanswered.”We have now reached a point where many of our players could be out of contract in less than two weeks. The effect of this runs across the player group from senior players who play for the Proteas to young players seeking to make their way in franchise cricket.”While CSA promised yesterday to extend player contracts until a final MoU is decided on, SACA explained that would only add to the current climate of uncertainty, because too many players face uncertain futures.”This has caused confusion because it doesn’t cater for what is actually happening on the ground for many players,” Irish said. “Some players have already been told that they will no longer be contracted, some will be moving between national and franchise contracts, some will be moving between franchises and some will be first-time franchise players. Extensions of contract are simply unworkable for all of these players.”SACA’s fear is that if the MoU is not signed by the time the current deal expires, South African players may consider their options elsewhere rather than commit to cricket at home, something which could destabilise the system at large. “The delays have created an environment of uncertainty for players, and also for franchises who wish to secure their players,” Irish said. “This comes at a time when South African cricket needs to do whatever it can to retain its players in the face of competing opportunities afforded to players in the emerging T20 leagues market and also in the UK.”For that reason, SACA regards the finalisation of the MoU to be a “matter of urgency”, a term CSA also used in its release. SACA’s worry is that CSA’s timeline on an urgent matter may not correspond to its own and Irish has urged CSA to enter into talks at the soonest.”We do not understand why such a long further delay may be necessary,” Irish said. “We believe that the new MoU is likely to be substantially similar to the existing one in most respects. Whilst SACA does not have an issue with clarifying the relationship between it and CSA we urge CSA to prioritise finalising the key elements of the MoU so that there is a greater degree of certainty and security for players going forward. Our players deserve that.”

KL Rahul hopes England’s desire to go for win will play into India’s hands

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-20252:39

Manjrekar: A fascinating final day looms

Josh Tongue says that there has been no mention of the word “draw” in the home dressing-room at Headingley, a state of affairs that KL Rahul believes will play into India’s hands as England seek to hunt down a target of 371 on the final day of the first Test.England have drawn only once in their 36 Tests since Ben Stokes took over as captain, when rain washed away the prospect of a result at Old Trafford in the 2023 Ashes. There is a chance that the weather will play a role on the final day in Leeds, too, but the equation otherwise stands at 350 more runs – or ten wickets – required in 90 overs for a positive result.Tongue said that there was no situation in which England would consider a draw to be a good result, saying, “[We will] just go for the win. That’s the clear message in the changing room. It’s just [about] being as positive as we can. They’re going to bowl well at times tomorrow. It’s just crucial we soak up that bit of pressure and reapply it. I don’t see why we can’t chase that down.”Related

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• Pant, Rahul centuries set England 371 to win at Headingley

Rahul, who top-scored with 137 in the third innings, echoed Tongue’s sentiments, and said that England’s attacking approach would suit India’s bowlers. “There’s definitely going to be a result,” he said. “That’s what England have said very openly, and their style of cricket suggests that as well. It gives us a good opportunity to pick up ten wickets. We know how they’re going to come out and bat on day five.”The wicket today was a very tricky wicket: I spent a lot of time batting there and I didn’t feel set at all at any given stage. The wicket’s taken a beating, and tomorrow might break even more… We know their style of cricket, so [we’ll] try to keep that in the back of our heads and try to see what lines and lengths we can bowl and how we can get them out.”Rahul also revealed that India had fallen short of the target they were hoping to set, after collapsing from 333 for 4 to 364 all out. “There was a little bit of discussion about how many runs we need on the board or… maybe giving them a few overs to bat in the evening today and see if we can pick up a wicket or two,” Rahul said. “Ideally, from the position we were in, we would have wanted at least 40 or 50 runs more.”Tongue said England were “really confident” after seeing out the final six overs of the day. “If you look at our batting line-up, it’s very strong. We play a positive brand of cricket. Chasing 371 is going to be a good thing for us to do tomorrow. Getting through that first 30-45 minutes tomorrow is going to be crucial, and then hopefully [we will] get the winning runs.”

The quick was spotted with some protection on his knee but nearly hit full tilt towards the end of his training session

Rajan Raj19-Jan-20251:34

Shami will have to be ‘up and kicking from ball one’ – Manjrekar

Mohammed Shami’s bowling was the focus of India’s first training session in Kolkata ahead of their T20I series against England that gets underway on January 22.Shami, who has not played international cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup final, bowled for over an hour with his knee strapped, with bowling coach Morne Morkel keeping a close eye on his progress. Shami had not been considered for any part of the Border-Gavaskar Test series, despite having fully recovered from his ankle surgery, because of swelling on his knee.On Sunday, Shami began by marking a spot on a good-length area on the practice pitches, and then warmed up by bowling with a half run-up for more than 20 minutes. Later, he bowled with his full run-up to openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma in the nets. In between, he practiced short- and long-range catching with fielding coach T Dilip and head coach Gautam Gambhir. After the net sessions ended, Shami closed the evening out with a ten-minute spell of bowling on the practice pitches. By the time his session wound down, Shami was bowling at nearly full tilt.