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Shai Hope’s last five Test innings have brought two centuries, a fifty, and now an unbeaten 90 against Zimbabwe in the first Test at Queens Sports Club. He is the rock of the West Indies batting line-up, but it was not so long ago that he was in a struggle to keep his place. After all, he had made only one half-century in his first 11 Tests.So what is the secret behind his recently-found success? “Simplicity,” Hope said. “Keep it as simple as possible. Try not to complicate your game and put too many things in your head. Rotate the strike.”I just try to simplify it as much as I can, playing the ball late. Pick the gaps and keep the score rotating as much as possible. You don’t really want them [spinners] to settle on one batsman, because that makes it much easier. They know where to bowl consistently. In the end they’ll get you out.”West Indies had done well, at least initially, to avoid such a predicament in Bulawayo. Hope and the opener Kieran Powell, who reached a half-century of his own, had shared in a 75-run stand for the third wicket to help lay the foundation for a big total.”I would say we were ahead of the game at that stage,” Hope said. “I can see his [Powell’s] confidence is good, he’s playing a lot better. He’s adapting to the conditions well as well.”But then came the collapse, from 175 for 3 to 219 all out. While Hope himself flourished, drawing from a familiarity with the conditions having played here during last year’s tri-series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, his team-mates were caught unaware by the amount of turn that was available.”It’s always an advantage to be playing at a ground you’ve played on before,” Hope said. “Last year it spun quite a bit, so it wasn’t as much of a surprise, despite it being a first-day pitch. We might not have expected it to spin quite as much though.”Hope was ultimately left stranded 10 runs short of what would have been his third Test century, but having been in the middle for 201 balls, he knows first hand how difficult it is to score runs on this pitch and that meant West Indies were not out of the contest yet.”Honestly, it was a very slow outfield,” Hope said. “So that 219 could easily have been closer to 300. When I was batting, I hit quite a few balls through the gap, but scoring was never easy. It’s under par, it’s under what we were expecting, but I still think we have a chance.”

Although there was only 25.3 overs’ play at Wantage Road on the third day of this game the cricket never wanted for intensity or purpose. Needing a further 281 runs to beat Northamptonshire and thereby settle the promotion issues in Division Two, Nottinghamshire had reduced that requirement to 207 when the umpires brought the players off for bad light just before lunch. Rain set in during the afternoon.Yet in making their modest progress the visitors had lost only their nightwatchman, Luke Wood, who for the second time in the match had fulfilled his primary duty on the evening of one day and then completed useful innings of 44 on the morning of the next. In addition Wood has taken four wickets in each innings, thus making this contest something of a numerophile’s delight in addition to its weightier fascinations.Wood is developing into a substantial cricketer. His left-arm swing bowling on the first morning was impressive and he is far more than a No9 batsman capable of facing the artillery in the last few overs of a day. And Nottinghamshire will need their top order to discharge their responsibilities as competently as Wood has done if they are going to face down a Northants attack strengthened by the availability of Richard Gleeson, who has recovered from the back spasm which prevented him bowling on the first two days.However, if Northants bowl as they did for the first 45 minutes of this morning’s cricket, Nottinghamshire’s batsmen should enjoy themselves. Rory Kleinveldt’s radar was awry in this period and runs came easily, 18 of them in the first three overs of play. On the other hand, if the Northants’ attack is as penetrative as it was in the next hour we are in for a splendid scrap. Some taste of the battle that might lie ahead was offered by Gleeson and Ben Sanderson, both of whom beat the groping bat regularly yet had only the wicket of Wood to show for their efforts. That fell when the nightwatchman attempted to pull Gleeson but only hoisted a skier which Alex Wakely ran back from mid-off to catch. The same fielder in the same position had dropped a low chance off the bowling off Kleinveldt when Wood had made 20.While Wood was scoring 31 runs on the third morning, Jake Libby set about anchoring the innings in a manner befitting someone who will bat on all four days of this match. Libby took his score from 6 to 30 in 100 minutes’ stout resistance and his defensive technique was admirable. Like Cheteshwar Pujara, he was tested to the uttermost by Gleeson, one or two of whose deliveries from the Pavilion End really did seem like fast leg-breaks, the sort that Len Hutton, on his best form, might have nicked. Sometimes, playing and missing is the best you can do, and if that is true for Pujara, it will probably satisfy the other Nottinghamshire batsmen as well. They might use Wood’s obstinacy as an example of what will be required.”It’s always nice to get out there and have a bat,” said the nightwatchman. “I pride myself on my batting so to get out there as a nightwatchman and do my job then get some runs in the mornings has been nice. We got a bit of momentum going today and they got a little bit more deflated than they had been previously in the game. We felt we were getting on top and if the weather’s good on the last day that can only help us really. We would have liked to have been chasing fewer runs but we feel this total is gettable. We have the players who can chase this total down.”

England’s players have discussed, for the first time, the “turbulent” circumstances that saw Charlotte Edwards retire after being removed from the captaincy in 2016.Mark Robinson, England women’s head coach, made the decision to shake things up after the team’s failure at the 2016 World T20, telling Edwards – still a world-class batsman and a pioneer of the game – she would not be part of his plans. Heather Knight was subsequently appointed as captain and went on to lead England to victory in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday.Speaking before the final against India, Robinson said he believed he had made the right decision and that the team “had to go in a different direction”, having come to the conclusion that his players didn’t have enough belief.”I just knew it was right,” Robinson said. “When it’s that simple in your mind – and it wasn’t against Charlotte because Charlotte was still a very good player, but the team had to go in a different direction and we had to put things differently in place and it was something like 18 months before the next competition, this one. It was too long to wait and get through to before you start making changes.”During interviews to chart the team’s progress from the defeat in the semi-finals of the World T20 last year to their success at Lord’s, Jenny Gunn, the experienced allrounder who had been Edwards’ team-mate for more than a decade, said the decision to move on had come as a “bit of a shock”.Fran Wilson, one of the younger players who has enjoyed increased opportunities over the last 12 months, expressed similar feelings but felt Robinson’s call had been vindicated.”It was quite a turbulent time because Charlotte’s always been a part of the England team, as long as I can remember,” Wilson said. “So when it first all happened it was quite a big shock and probably affected the girls a little bit. But, I think in the long-run, what Mark Robinson has done has been really good for the team. That’s just testament to Robbo and the kind of faith he’s shown in all of us.”The change of leadership had immediate benefits, as England’s new opening pair of Tammy Beaumont and Lauren Winfield flourished during a run-soaked series win over Pakistan last year. Beaumont, in particular, has thrived under the guidance of Robinson, and was named Player of the Tournament after finishing as the top scorer in the Women’s World Cup.Beaumont won her first cap under Edwards, in 2009, and they opened together on several occasions. She gave credit to Edwards for laying the foundations for England’s future success.”It was a tough month or so,” Beaumont said. “Charlotte has been probably quite a big influence on the first half of my career. She’s also a good friend. It was hard to see her go through that but she’s moved on into the commentary box with dignity. She can look back at her career knowing that she did a great job for England and left us in a good place.”

Luke Fletcher feels “lucky to be here” after sustaining a ferocious blow to the head during Saturday’s T20 Blast match at Edgbaston.Fletcher, the Nottinghamshire seamer, sustained the injury when his first ball of the match was struck back at him by Birmingham batsman, Sam Hain and hit him on top of the head.While Fletcher didn’t lose consciousness, subsequent scans showed bruising and a small bleed on the brain with a decision taken to rest him for the remainder of the season. He will have a further MRI scan in the coming days to assess his recovery and currently sports a cut held together by eight stitches under the hairline.But while he is naturally disappointed to miss the rest of the season – Nottinghamshire are well-placed to push for promotion and are among the favourites in the Blast – and frustrated at being told he must not drive a car, he accepts his is a story that could have had a far more serious ending.Indeed, he has warned that something similar “will happen again” and said that, at Notts, the bowlers no longer take-part in net sessions with batsmen to avoid such injuries.”I’m really lucky to be here now and speaking to you today,” he said. “The doctors said I pretty much dodged a bullet. A few inches to the left or right and it could have been a completely different story. If it had hit the temple or straight in the face then…. I don’t really want to think about what may have happened.”In a weird way, I suppose I’ve been lucky. It’s hit me on a part of the brain or skull that the surgeon said you don’t use much.”He remembers every moment of the incident. And, having not seen the ball hit back at him – his head was down as he completed his delivery stride – or felt much pain, it was only when he saw the reaction of his teammates and then saw footage of the moment of impact that he started to realise how serious the episode was.”I remember letting go of the ball and I could see that Hain backed away,” he said. “The next thing I remember being hit on the head and thinking ‘I may be in a bit of bother here.’ I didn’t see the ball one bit. I just felt it.”When it hit me I went down and was waiting to go unconscious. When I realised I was all right, I had my hand on my head and the physio, James Pipe was asking ‘How are you?'”I said ‘I don’t feel too bad to be honest.’ And then I lifted my hand off my head. Steven Mullaney ran off – and a few other lads ran off – because of the bleeding. But I got to my feet pretty quickly and never really felt unstable at all and walked off. Which is absolutely amazing having watched it back. You’d probably expect a bit more, really. Having such a big ‘swede’ probably helped me out a bit.”In a weird way, I quite enjoyed watching it back. I quite like stuff like that. As long as I knew I was all right, it was quite good. It was just amazing how far the ball went. I couldn’t believe it. The first time I saw it, I was a bit like ‘off’ and that’s when I realised why everyone was so concerned.”The concern of Fletcher’s teammates was understandable. Not only is he a popular member of their squad, but it is only just over a year since the club was jolted by news of James Taylor’s illness.”Having spoken to a few of my mates – Mullaney and Jake Ball – that’s what was going through their minds,” he said. “And then there was Phil Hughes as well….”But once the lads came off the field and saw I was fine, they got on with the game. James Pipe has been unbelievable throughout; he stayed by my side for the next 48 hours, really. He’s been amazing.”Fletcher is guided from the field at Edgbaston•Getty Images

It doesn’t take long to understand Fletcher’s popularity. He has a good line in self-deprecating wit – “I don’t know how the ball is,” he says at one stage. “Someone had better check up on it; the lads said it was reversing a bit later” and, later “My mum and dad were a bit annoyed as they had paid £30 and they only saw me bowl one ball” – and knows many of his team-mates well having come through the club’s system from his teenage years.He didn’t have things easy, either. When he was initially offered a place on the staff as a 16-year-old, he was obliged to turn it down as it didn’t pay as much as the job he was currently in – he was a grill man at Hooters – so the club arranged for him to have a stint on the gates letting lorries come in and out as the Radcliffe Road Stand was redeveloped. “It was freezing,” he recalls with a smile. “It was much better in the kitchen.”But he has developed into a fine cricketer. While not an especially fast bowler – probably somewhere around 80 mph – he can move the ball in the air and off the pitch, is considered one of the best death bowlers in the county game and was recently run-out just eight short of a maiden first-class century. He is out of contract at the end of the season but the club will look after him: a new contract will be announced shortly.The worrying aspect of this incident is that it could easily have ended much worse. Indeed, Fletcher warns that in training, bowlers are already reluctant to bowl at batsmen practising their T20 skills.”I think it’ll happen again,” he said. “Most bowlers – certainly at Notts – in the nets tend to go away and do target practice on the side in one-day and T20, just because balls are coming back at a speed you can’t react to. You get hit all over your body. I certainly think the chances are it will happen again.”I’m sure after this people will come up with some sort of theories and some sort of technologies or protective equipment. You can’t be running in with a helmet, can you? But maybe something to protect your head?”I’ll certainly bowl again. I’d bowl now if I could.”There are huge questions here for the game. While some level of risk may be considered unavoidable, incidents such as this – coming on top of the incident that caused such devastating damage to club cricketer Alex Tait a few months ago – might be considered warnings. With bats better, batsmen seemingly more powerful and the aggression of the game having undergone a transformation since the introduction of T20, it seems inevitable that, sooner or later, we’re going to see a bowler killed by a return hit. The game, or at least the look of the game, might have to change radically to counteract such a threat.

Dinesh Chandimal has been left out of Sri Lanka’s squad for the first two ODIs against Zimbabwe. Uncapped 19-year-old spin allrounder Wanidu Hasaranga was named in the 13-member team, with recalls for spinner Akila Dananjaya and seamer Lahiru Madushanka, along with fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, who has not played international cricket since December 2016.Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s highest run-getter in ODIs in 2016, with 656 runs at an average of 59.63, has had a lean 2017, scoring 178 runs at 22.25. In the recent Champions Trophy, he scored only 12 runs in two innings.

SL squad for first two ODIs

Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Wanidu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dananjaya, Nuwan Pradeep, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Madushanka.

Sri Lanka’s cricket manager and selector Asanka Gurusinha stressed that Chandimal remained a part of the team management’s plans and had been left out of the squad in order to try a few youngsters in the matches in Galle. “We only selected the side for the first two games. We haven’t selected the side for the rest of the series,” Gurusinha said. “We are looking at different combinations and that’s one of the reasons why we have selected this team to play in Galle. The conditions in Galle will be a bit different to those in Hambantota. If we are bringing in any youngsters, we wanted to make sure we have some senior players in the team as well.”We didn’t want to bring 4-5 youngsters in the team. And that is the reason – with Danushka opening and batting well and Upul just coming back after suspension and scoring runs we went with that combination, so Upul to play and that’s the only reason Dinesh as left out of this squad. But he is in our plans.”Hasaranga’s induction, Gurusinha said, was to allow him to gain greater exposure with seniors like Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga and Lasith Malinga in the team. In the Under-19 World Cup last year, Hasaranga was among Sri Lanka’s highest wicket-takers, with seven dismissals, and also scored 93 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 101.08.”Wanidu has been playing well. He has been one of the best fielders in Sri Lanka right now, he’s batting well, in form and he has that option of legspin bowling.”Dananjaya has played only one ODI in his career so far – in 2012 – apart from five T20l appearances, the last of which came in 2013. Madhushanka, meanwhile, made his international debut on Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa earlier this year, playing three ODIs and taking four wickets.Chameera makes a comeback after recent struggles with injury. He had not played any international cricket after the Port Elizabeth Test against South Africa in December 2016, his only international appearance since he suffered a stress fracture to his lower back on the England tour earlier in the year.

ScorecardJoe Denly’s century was the bedrock of Kent’s innings•Getty Images

Joe Denly may play finer innings for Kent but he will make no century more precious than that which he completed just before five o’clock on an afternoon borrowed from Elysium. Denly’s hundred was constructed in the style of former Kent openers: Wally Hardinge, Arthur Fagg, Brian Luckhurst. It anchored his side’s effort when choppy seas threatened and it was largely responsible for his team ending the day moored in the relatively safe harbour of 316 for 8.Yet Denly’s 119 was freighted with more than statistical significance and this day’s cricket embraced more than deep enjoyment. Tunbridge Wells, you see, is quite gloriously the same but England is different. We did not need the early announcement of evacuation procedures over the public address to remind us of a new reality. Those travelling to this match by train from the north on Thursday were privileged to take part in a perfectly observed minute’s silence when the only noise was the gentle hum of the Pendolino. Then there were the extra police at Euston and a capital city with its Union flags at half-mast. We are suddenly more alert and newly protective of our liberties.Those liberties include sport, of course, and so it was with a special pleasure that folk arrived to watch the cricket on a day when rugs were needed only to prevent the sun’s glare reflecting off windscreens. The game began with a succession of four faultless maidens, which sounds rather like a medieval ceremony of purification. A sun-hatted slip cordon remained in vigilant attendance throughout a first hour in which Kent scored 25 runs off 15 overs and lost Sean Dickson for nought, the opener being caught behind when failing to cover Jofra Archer’s movement and bounce. Archer, of whom fulsome panegyrics have already been written, bowled well throughout the day yet enjoyed no more success.The next wicket fell instead to David Wiese, who sent down a nondescript bouncer to Daniel Bell-Drummond and was no doubt gratified to see the Kent opener waste his 65 minutes’ watchfulness and slap the thing to Danny Briggs at backward point. The French Open begins at Roland Garros this weekend so maybe that was on Bell-Drummond’s mind. Twenty minutes later Sam Northeast followed Vernon Philander’s fine away-swinger – a shot more from Hamelin than Harrow – and gave Michael Burgess the second of his three catches.Denly, meanwhile, was batting with studied precision, driving the Sussex seamers through the off side when they overpitched but otherwise protecting his stumps and playing shots only when they appeared necessary or without risk. At least he obtained full value for his aggression; the ball ran away across the square like a marble on glass.Kent lunched on 69 for 3 and many spectators promenaded contentedly on the outfield. This was “keeping calm”, and few places in our land are more conducive to serenity than the Nevill Ground; and this is “carrying on”, though we did so in the painful knowledge that there are people for whom the mere idea of getting through any day has become almost inconceivable…Kent dominated the afternoon session, scoring 126 runs in a style which brought pleasure to many of the near-as-dammit three thousand spectators. The pitch eased a shade and the ball softened. Joe Weatherly hit six pleasant boundaries and promised more before he was caught behind off a good delivery from Wiese. Darren Stevens, who is having the time of his life this season, batted with much greater aggression, taking three successive boundaries off Wiese and whacking eight fours in all in a run-a-ball 44 which was ended when he went down on one knee but only miscued Briggs to Chris Nash at short midwicket. Denly, meanwhile, had reached his fifty with a straight drive off Archer and the ball was beating his bat infrequently. The temperature settled in the seventies and the crowd basked in their sport. It was the sort of day when the gods turn up and watch the cricket while enjoying a pint of Goacher’s mild in the CAMRA tent.The honours in the evening session were shared, Kent scoring 121 runs but losing three batsmen to leg before decisions. Briggs was cut without mercy by Will Gidman whenever he pitched short but gained his revenge when he trapped the allrounder for 42, the ball striking the pad just prior to the bat. Denly reached his century off 188 balls after 290 minutes of fierce concentration but he then played tiredly across the line to Philander. James Harris became Wiese’s third victim and the day ended with Adam Rouse unbeaten on 32 and batting for Saturday morning in partnership with James Tredwell.The spectators drifted away, though many will be here again on Saturday; the county match is prized in these parts. And the crowd who watch their cricket at Tunbridge Wells over the weekend will share a bond with the thousands attending concerts or the slightly fewer turning up to Tredwell’s hog-roast at Pembury tomorrow evening. The same association links them to those going to the Cup Final at Wembley or the athletics events in the scarred city of Manchester. So perhaps such a day at the end of such a week even gives one the licence to paraphrase very slightly the greatest cricket poem of all, “J M Parks at Tunbridge Wells” by Alan Ross: “Kent 316 for 8. Moss roses on the hill / A dry taste in the mouth, but the moment / Sufficient, being what we are, ourselves still.”

ScorecardSam Northeast’s reputation seems consigned to Kent•Getty Images

“Northeast for England!” It’s one thing for Kent fans to chant for their captain (and, to be fair to them, they’ve been singing that for a while). But when those chants are coming from his own dressing room, it does strike a different note. As Sussex slinked off when bad light ended play, Kent’s players, with a 426-run-lead in their step, were in full voice. They, more so than the fans, are annoyed he has been overlooked for as long as he has.Sam Northeast, a decorated youth cricketer, an England Lion and a regular “well what about” selection in many an England XI thrashed out over beer-soaked tables, must be close to the real thing. And it’s innings like today – a barbaric, unbeaten 173, which saw him race to 37 from 23 balls to quell Sussex’s early attack, before bringing up three figures in 123 balls – that will push him close to the front of the queue. It was his 17th first-class hundred and, remarkably, it is hard to peg this as his most devastating.Naturally, Northeast was fairly chilled about England talk, happy to let his record do the talking – 1,474 Championship runs since the start of 2016 at an average of 77.6, if you’re wondering. “There are a lot of people in my position around the counties,” he said. Kent seamer Mitchell Claydon, within earshot, interjected: “Not with 18,000 effing runs in a year-and-a-half,”. Northeast laughed: “See what I have to put up with?”Considering Northeast’s hot streak started during his first full season as club captain and that his role at Kent is wide-ranging – he plays a prominent role in team meetings, player contracts and overseas recruitment – it says a lot about his character that the extra distractions seem to have focused his work out in the middle.During the North-South series in the UAE, in which he scored a century in the second match, he had chats with Andy Flower and England assistant coach Paul Farbrace. There was a chance for a catch-up with Flower today: the ECB technical director was at Hove and spent time talking to Kent’s coach Matt Walker. Northeast, of course, was otherwise occupied.His England claim is not just limited to one format. Recently, he has been one of the standout domestic Twenty20 batsmen in the world. Across the last two seasons in the T20 Blast, he has scored 1,103 runs at an average of 40.9. It is telling, too, that when analysts involved in recruitment for franchises across the world crunch the numbers in search of the most valued picks, Northeast’s name often makes an appearance.But, for now, the England Test side need a middle order batsman. And as well as Northeast’s free-scoring nature aligning with Trevor Bayliss’s blueprint for the Test side, he would also bring with him a knack for big runs. Including today, his last six Championship hundreds have all exceeded 160. He does not have a double hundred to his name – 191 against Derbyshire and 190 against Sussex, both last season, are as close as he has come – but looked like he was on the way to addressing in the final session on Sunday, hitting two sixes and a four in the last four balls of the day to take him to 173 off 181 balls.He shared a stand of 123 with opener Sean Dickson which put Sussex in their place and then one of 161 inside 27 overs with Darren Stevens (71) that whipped them into submission. Sussex, a bowler and ideas light, simply had to accept the punishment that was being dished out. Together, Stevens and Northeast put on 52 off the last five overs.But without Dickson’s patience, Kent would be a long way from the position they currently occupy. His grafting 68 gave Darren Stevens and Wayne Parnell a platform for their 123-run stand in the first innings. Disappointed he was not able to convert that to three figures on day one, it looked like he would get there in the second innings.He was in complete control, knocking the ball about diligently to get to 89 but, again, fell short after being trapped in front by Ajmal Shahzad. When you consider he suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening fixture against Gloucestershire, it was a remarkable effort from the 25-year-old. Just as every good band needs a reliable bassist, Dickson’s calm and diligence allowed the more flamboyant around him to flourish.It’s still a good pitch, as Northeast and Stevens showed by the way they were able to hit through the line so well. “It would be nice if it was a bit cloudy in the morning,” said Northeast. “We’ve got a good bowling line-up here, with good variations and we’ll try a few things out there tomorrow.”

Virat Kohli’s distress at his lbw dismissal was mirrored by “surprise” within an India dressing room still getting used to the concept of the DRS. Yet to make a score of note this series, Kohli was stunned to be sent on his way after unsuccessfully reviewing an lbw decision given by the umpire Nigel Llong.Llong had raised his finger quickly even as the bowler Josh Hazlewood pulled out of his own appeal in the apparent belief that Kohli had hit the ball. Other Australians behind and square of the wicket were, however, more vociferous. The TV umpire Richard Kettleborough told Llong he could find no definitive evidence that the ball had struck bat before pad, so as per current DRS protocols it left him no choice but to stay with the original on-field decision. Kohli made his unhappiness clear as he walked off the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Australia pacemen ‘too wide’

Josh Hazlewood has admitted he and Mitchell Starc have been outbowled by their Indian counterparts Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in the second Test, conceding the visiting duo did not land enough balls on the line of the stumps to make best use of the variable bounce on offer.
While Hazlewood claimed three wickets and at one stage had India effectively 33 for 4 in their second innings, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane guided India to safer ground. This was possible, Hazlewood said, because he and Starc had not challenged the stumps often enough.
“The quicks were still too wide, I think with the odd ball shooting through and that up and down bounce you need to be a bit straighter,” Hazlewood said. “I think the spinners bowled really well again and Garry (Nathan Lyon) was quite unlucky in terms of a few of those balls around the gloves.
“The plans are pretty simple but sometimes they’re hard to execute. You’ve got to bowl stump-to-stump, the Indian quicks bowled really well for the majority of yesterday and I think we can still improve on today.”

His mood cooled as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane guided the team to stumps, but India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar said the hosts were united in their surprise at the lbw verdict being upheld on review. Their consternation formed another episode in their familiarisation with a system the BCCI had long barred from use in their bilateral series. “We all are a bit surprised by the call the umpire eventually did,” Bangar said.”In terms of was there conclusive evidence or not, that’s something that definitely the match referee will look into and they’ll have a chat about it. Obviously Virat was really pumped up, he’s a big match player, and he wanted to succeed very badly in this innings. It was a very normal reaction from a batsman in the dressing room when he gets out cheaply.”We are new to DRS and the rules have also been tweaked a bit, so it is very much the umpire’s call has become really crucial, and we haven’t really sat down and evaluated but that is the way it is, it’s new to us and we are learning from the number of games we are playing with DRS, we are in the learning curve.”Replays available to Kettleborough included super slow-motion and UltraEdge cameras – the version of Real-time Snicko developed by the HawkEye ball-tracking inventors – but not HotSpot, which uses infrared cameras to pick up heat signalling from balls striking bat or pad.Hazlewood said HotSpot, which is part of the full suite of technology available for use in Tests in Australia, would have been a welcome addition and can make a difference in similar circumstances. “Yeah I think so, it’s obviously a massive series and you want to have all the technology you can if it’s available,” Hazlewood said. “HotSpot works really well sometimes, we use it in Australia and it can be the difference between a not out and and out. If it’s there, it’s there.Virat Kohli wasn’t pleased after his review was struck down•AFP

“I think initially I just heard a bit of wood so I pulled out of the appeal but the guys behind the wicket and square of the wicket were pretty confident and obviously it got given out. I think after looking at the reviews you could see it just touching that pad before the bat so you had to stick with the on-field call.”Though the BCCI has shown interest, they has been unable to use HotSpot in a bilateral series so far. The board had contacted the operators of the technology about having it in place for the England series last year, only to be informed that the cameras would not be able to arrive until after the series had begun and perhaps even later.When HotSpot’s use for the Australia series was discussed, the board decided against it. Those talks took place during a complicated period, around the time the Supreme Court of India had removed senior board officials and frozen BCCI bank accounts.There remains hope, however, that the technology will be available when India next plays a home Test series later in 2017.

As far as days go, it was something of a doozy for Matt Renshaw, with lots of firsts.Playing your first Test in India? Check.Facing the world’s two highest-ranked bowlers for the first time? Check.First occasion dealing with a spinner in the opening overs? Check.Making your first Test half-century outside Australia? Check.Suddenly feeling your tummy lurching like a lopsided rickshaw, realising you’re not going to make it to lunch without suffering an embarrassing accident on live television, having your bowel movements (figuratively) dissected by viewers all over the world after you’ve left the field and copping a barrage of criticism – most notably by a former Australia captain – suggesting you were a bit soft?Check. Mate. Maaaaaaate.Matt Renshaw has taken most tasks in his stride since he was elevated to the Australia Test team in November, but facing R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on a raging Pune turner with a dodgy gut was a significant challenge.Renshaw’s inexperience wasn’t evident in the way he patiently saw off the new ball in the first session, but his callowness did mean he was unsure of his options within the Laws of the game when he realised he was unlikely to last until lunch.”It came pretty suddenly, probably about five or ten minutes before Davey [David Warner] got out,” Renshaw said. “I asked Richard [Kettleborough] how long there was till lunch and he gave me the answer of half an hour. I was struggling a bit then. It wasn’t an ideal situation to be in.”It was tough. I wasn’t sure of the ruling. I didn’t know you could retire ill, so thought I’ll just get out there and make sure I batted till lunch. It wasn’t an ideal situation, so I just had to make do. And then coming back, it was probably a bit strange for me, waiting to bat, because as an opener you just go straight out there to bat, so probably that was the most challenging bit, waiting to bat.”Steven Smith, who had just come to the crease at the fall of Warner’s wicket “wasn’t too thrilled” when Renshaw ran off, but, according to the opener, once Smith realised the predicament, he understood. “He didn’t really understand what was going on at the start, I sort of just ran past him, he didn’t really comprehend what was going on. I told him I needed the toilet. Obviously, we’d just lost a wicket, so there would be two new batsmen out there, but as I said, it’s a hard scenario to be in and he understood. We’ve had a chat now and we’re all good.”I felt quite bad knowing that I could be letting the team down, so that’s why I went back out there. I wanted to do my bit for the team and wanted to make sure we had a pretty good day.”If Smith was sympathetic, Allan Border was not. The former Australia captain was scathing in his assessment of Renshaw’s decision to leave the field. “I hope he’s lying on the table in there half dead,” Border said on . “Otherwise, as captain, I would not be happy.”Renshaw brushed off the criticism, turning it aside as deftly as he had India’s bowlers throughout the morning. “I guess that’s just something he grew up with and that was his sort of mentality,” Renshaw said of Border. “Steve was good and he understands that ‘when you need to go to the toilet, you’ve got to go to the toilet’.”After squirting an edge through the slips to the boundary in the first over of the match, Renshaw did the bulk of his scoring through the on-side, remaining watchful when facing Ashwin and going on the offensive to Jadeja when he came into the attack and turned the ball into the left-hander. On a pitch that unsettled older and more experienced team-mates, it was a solid tactic, admirably executed.”I’ve never seen a pitch like that,” Renshaw said. “So I went with a pretty open mind and I tried to do just what I normally do in Australia, which is bat as long as possible and weigh the bowlers down. It’s probably a bit harder to weigh them down if they’re spinners, but I think I just tried to keep my plan simple against each different bowler.”Despite losing nine wickets on the opening day, Renshaw was upbeat about Australia’s batting performance. “Yeah, I think we had a really good day. The fact that we had the 50-run partnership at the end of the innings. We’ve talked about how the top-order needs to score runs, but especially the tail needs to hang on and get some bonus runs (so to speak). I think we’ve had a great day and it’s a good confidence builder.”

The majority of Quetta Gladiators’ overseas contingent have opted not to travel to Lahore for the PSL final.Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Tymal Mills all tweeted about leaving the tournament, while former New Zealand offspinner Nathan McCullum will also not travel. Rilee Rossouw, the South African batsman, had been considering playing in the final on March 5, *but he too wrote on Twitter that he was leaving the tournament. “Its with a sad heart that I must announce that i will not be taking part in the final.”Wright, the England allrounder, tweeted: “It’s with a heavy heart I will not be coming to Lahore. I have a young family and for me a game of cricket is just not worth the risk. I’m sorry as I know how much it means to you all and hopefully in the future the safety will not be in doubt to come play there.”Pietersen signed off from the tournament with 40 from 22 balls, as Quetta stole a one-run victory over Peshawar Zalmi, taking his tally to 241 runs. Rossouw is currently their top scorer with 255 runs at 42.50 and a strike-rate 123.18.Mills took seven wickets from five matches, while Wright played just one match and McCullum did not feature.One-off payments, ranging from USD 10,000 to 50,000, are being offered to foreign players should they agree to play in Lahore. That, as one foreign player considering taking part in the final pointed out, brings its own complications. “What is the difference in me playing in Lahore under a security threat and a Pakistani player doing so?” he said. “In any attack both are at risk. And physios and masseuses? A life is a life, mine or a Pakistani player’s.”Teams who end up severely shorthanded can rope in a pool of nominated foreign players. The list, initially of 54 names, has now grown to above 60, and is said to be composed of those who were not picked in the draft last October, as well as additional names from outside the draft, who are willing to travel to Pakistan.Each franchise will nominate five to six players from the long list and hand it to the PSL, who hope that ultimately, accounting for common names that appear in multiple lists, they have a shortlist of 12 to 15 waiting on standby to participate in the final.