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There were many interested observers of the scenes at The Grange on Sunday and a group of them were in London on a day off before their final preparations for the one-day series against England. Scotland’s victory is being seen by the Australians as a timely boost before their new-look team takes the field at The Oval on Wednesday.England remain considerable favourites for the five-match series against an Australia side missing six first-choice players – David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood – but the visitors are chipper after two warm-up wins. Even in this new era of toned-down sledging from Australia, it would be a surprise if England’s stumble in Edinburgh wasn’t given the occasional mention when the two sides meet.”It was a really interesting game yesterday, good for us that England lost that game, great for Scotland as a country, and as a cricketing nation it’s really exciting for them,” Ashton Agar said.”It’s about momentum and having had a couple of practice games and got a couple of wins, it’s great for us. For us it’s good that England didn’t win because you always want to start with a win.”Agar said that Australia’s squad had a “nice refreshed” feel to it and was particularly excited at the prospect of tall quick bowler Billy Stanlake taking on the powerful England batting line-up. Stanlake impressed against Middlesex in his one run-out before the series, troubling batsmen with his bounce and pace.”You have a couple of really good players who aren’t in the mix at the moment, having said that, we do have a really versatile squad, an injection of youth which is always helpful, so there’s a lot of energy and a lot of players who are really believing in themselves at the moment.”You could say maybe [the squad is weakened] slightly without that 150kph Mitchell Starc coming in, but you have another 150kph in Billy Stanlake … if you take out 100 one-day wickets or whatever Starcy has, it will change things a little bit, but it’s a great chance for Billy to show his stuff, bowl 150ks and hopefully rip through them.”On a personal level, Agar is set for a key position in the Australia line-up having established himself as the main spinner ahead of Nathan Lyon at the start of the tour and being entrusted with the No. 7 slot in both warm-up matches. Coach Justin Langer has given a strong indication that Australia will go with an extra bowling option which makes Agar’s batting ability crucial”I think the rise of Big Bash cricket has really helped my batting in white-ball cricket,” he said. “I come in at the end a lot in Big Bash games and try and finish the job. I work very hard on my batting and try and build on that, so to start off with a couple of 20s was pleasing.”The Oval will be just Agar’s fifth ODI since he made his debut against England at Old Trafford in 2015 – although English audiences are more likely to remember him for his 98 on Test debut batting at No. 11 in the 2013 Ashes – and he now feels a more rounded cricketer.”I’m really confident, feel like I’m bowling quite nicely especially with the white ball,” he said. “I have better understanding of the game and a better self belief.”

Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, has announced that the matches will be played on April 1, 2 and 3

Umar Farooq in Dubai11-Mar-2018

West Indies are set to become the latest international team to tour Pakistan. Najam Sethi, the PCB chairman, has announced that they will visit the country for a series of three T20Is, all of them to be played in Karachi. *These matches were originally scheduled for April 1, 2 and 4 but the final one has been pulled forward by a day so as not to clash with the death anniversary of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.These will be the first international matches in Karachi since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore brought international cricket in Pakistan to a virtual halt. Pakistan have played nearly all their “home” matches in the UAE since then. There has been a slow trickle of international teams returning to Pakistan since 2015, with Zimbabwe, a World XI, and most recently Sri Lanka making short visits for limited-overs games, but all of them were confined to the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore. Karachi is also set to host the final of the ongoing Pakistan Super League.”I have been working day and night to conclude an agreement with West Indies which I have just finalised an hour ago,” Sethi said. “Good news is that West Indies will play three games, on [April, 1, 2 and 3], but these matches will be played in Karachi. They will not play in Lahore but in Karachi. That is how we intend to put Karachi back on the cricket map once again. The PSL final, and now three more games for Karachi as per routine. Karachi people should welcome this.”Sethi said Reg Dickason, the ICC’s security consultant, would visit Karachi during the PSL final to look at the security arrangements for the series.”Reg DIckason and his men will be here during the PSL final and we have contracted them to oversee the West Indies games as well,” Sethi said. “Their expert will stay back for seven days and conduct the security for West Indies series. This is part of our agreement with the West Indies board. This will be a one-off series, since, as I told you before, it will be a loss-making enterprise. The idea wasn’t to make money; it was to bring cricket back, so this is a step in that direction.”We have a separate agreement with the West Indies in which we are exploring a tri-lateral series including Pakistan, West Indies and one other country, which will be played in the USA over next five years. The details about the venues, dates, financial model will be discussed later but in principle it has decided that three countries will play in the USA.”Sethi had last year announced a five-year plan that involved the West Indies touring Pakistan every year until 2022, but in January walked back on that claim due to the costs involved.*

Under the guidance of director of cricket operations Mithun Manhas, they are eyeing their maiden semi-final appearance in the Ranji Trophy

Himanshu Agrawal07-Feb-2025Jammu & Kashmir are in the Ranji Trophy knockouts after five years. En route, they have beaten higher-rated teams like Mumbai and Baroda to finish with the second-highest points from the group stage. This is only the third time they have entered the quarter-finals in their 55 years of participation in the tournament.Their campaign has had shades of the 2019-20 season, where they made the knockouts on the back of six outright wins in nine matches. They were within touching distance of the semi-finals then, before nerves got the better of them against Karnataka.That season should have been the springboard for higher honours. Instead, the following four years have been about inconsistency, lack of proper build-ups to seasons, infrastructure issues and administrative apathy.Related

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Haryana vs Mumbai Ranji quarter-final shifted to Kolkata

Things have been slightly different this time. The Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) had emphasised on proper conditioning through match time in the build-up to the season, and that seems to have given the players a better footing. They had a proper pre-season camp, followed by a competitive pre-season tournament – Buchi Babu in Tamil Nadu – prior to the Ranji season. The players haven’t had to hit the ground running.With Srinagar unable to host matches because of the harsh winter conditions, J&K’s only other available ground, the Gandhi Science College ground in Jammu had to be renovated quickly, and that work started late last year. It’s possible even JKCA didn’t factor in the possibility of the team qualifying in the manner they have – they finished as group-toppers and earned the right to host the quarter-final against Kerala, starting February 8.They play in Pune instead. But if it is a red-soil surface, as it is likely to be, J&K won’t complain, having performed exceedingly well and beaten Mumbai and Baroda on such surfaces in their own backyards.

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J&K’s run hasn’t been because of their big-ticket players. Umran Malik hasn’t played a game owing to form and injury issues, Rasikh Salam has mostly been used in T20s, and Abdul Samad, a player with big-match capabilities, hasn’t quite been able to come on the way everyone anticipated him to when he broke through in 2019-20.Samad is still their second-highest run-getter this season with 393 runs, but he’s only been a support player to the likes of batter Shubham Khajuria, allrounder Abid Mushtaq, right-arm quicks Auqib Nabi, Yudhvir Singh and Umar Nazir, and offspinner Sahil Lotra.Nabi has enjoyed a breakthrough run five years after first playing for the state. Now 28, Nabi is this season’s second-highest wicket-taker with 38 wickets, including five five-wicket hauls. In fact, he is one of only two pacers in the top ten in the wicket-takers’ charts.

“Before he came on board, I feel we lacked in off-season camps and preparation. In these three years, we have had a different coach for batting, bowling and fielding. Every year when the season ends, Mithun summons all the players and asks what was lacking during that season. And with everyone’s feedback, that thing [which was lacking] is implemented next year”Shubham Khajuria on the impact of director of cricket operations Mithun Manhas

Nazir, meanwhile, was instrumental in running through Mumbai’s top order on the opening day two weeks ago, taking 4 for 41. This included the wicket of Rohit Sharma, which he didn’t celebrate because he’s a “big fan” of the India captain. Nazir has been the perfect back-up to Nabi in the pace department. And like Nabi, Nazir too has over the years built up solid experience.”For the past two years, we have been playing red-ball tournaments outside of our own state,” Nabi said. “We also played the Buchi Babu tournament in Tamil Nadu. So our practice was very good. The same team that plays Ranji also went there. So it helped us a lot.”One of the sounding boards for this team is Mithun Manhas, the former Delhi captain who now leads their cricket operations as director. Manhas took over after Irfan Pathan and Milap Mewada left as mentor and coach respectively following Covid. Success hasn’t come overnight; it has taken three years for Manhas and the others to get it right. Manhas’ challenge will now be to ensure, unlike earlier, this isn’t a case of taking two steps forward and then three back.This season, Manhas brought in Paras Dogra. At 40, he’s the oldest member of the side, but also the most experienced, having played 142 first-class games at the time of writing. Dogra took over the captaincy, a tough ask for anyone coming in. While he has been short of runs (216 runs in 12 innings), his experience has certainly lent a degree of calmness.Dogra has had the support of Ajay Sharma, the former India batter, who was brought on as head coach three years ago. While the start to his tenure wasn’t great, the JKCA hasn’t been swayed by short-term results.Prior to the season, former Rajasthan batter Dishant Yagnik was brought in as fielding coach. He conducted camps along with Ajay for the batters. Then there were other moves which helped, like the BCCI deciding to split the Ranji Trophy season in two to avoid games getting affected by fog during peak winter in north India, something that cost them last year.Shubham Khajuria is Jammu and Kashmir’s leading run-scorer this season•PTI “All our three home games in 2023-24 were badly hit,” Nabi said. Barely any action could take place over four days in the matches against Himachal Pradesh (65.3 overs), Delhi (42) and Uttarakhand (39) in Jammu. While the first two of those games took place in early January, even the one against Uttarakhand in early February was fogged out. It meant J&K could hardly challenge for a knockouts berth.However, the tweak to the calendar worked in their favour. After a high-scoring draw against Maharashtra and an innings victory against Services in Srinagar, they also beat Tripura in Jammu, before getting on a roll in their away games.

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For the first time, J&K brought on a bowling coach in an official capacity two years ago when Manhas called up former Rajasthan quick Pudiyangum Krishnakumar. Until then, Abdul Qayoom, the former J&K player, had been in an overseeing role. “We never had a bowling coach before him,” Nabi said. “So I’ve practiced a lot with him. I worked with him on my outswing, and I have been getting very good outswing since then.”Khajuria, J&K’s highest run-getter this season, credited Manhas for the resurgence, especially when it came to the planning part.”I feel we lacked in off-season camps and preparation,” Khajuria said. “In these three years, we have had a different coach for batting, bowling and fielding. Every year when the season ends, Mithun summons all the players and asks what was lacking during that season. And with everyone’s feedback, that thing [which was lacking] is even implemented next year.”He also underlined how the preparation was different.”After the [List A] Vijay Hazare Trophy got over, we reached Jammu on January 6. Thereafter, we had our camp from January 9 onwards; we hardly took a two-day break in between,” he said. “We practiced there till January 15, and realising the massive difference between the weather in Jammu and Mumbai, the association sent us to Mumbai on the same day itself. That was eight days before our match, during which we practiced there.”Both Nabi and Khajuria were part of the XI in the 2019-20 quarter-final heartbreak. As experienced players now, they have had a ringside view of the challenges the team has had to endure since.Auqib Nabi, with 38 scalps, finished the league stage as the highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers•PTI “The biggest problem is that we don’t have any infrastructure in J&K; it is coming up a bit, but it’s still not a lot,” Nabi said. “For instance, I come from Baramulla, where we don’t have enough nets to practice. We have to practice on our own.”There are not many turf cricket in Kashmir. Some [players] go out of state to practice. But over the last one or two years, JKCA has helped us play a lot of matches. So there has been a lot of improvement in our performance.”And people with expertise in the domestic circuit – Ajay Sharma is a Ranji Trophy legend – has only helped. Especially people like Khajuria.Over the course of the ongoing domestic season, Khajuria has cracked 255 in a Ranji game against Maharashtra, 159 against Chhattisgarh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and 85* against Uttar Pradesh in the [T20] Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – all of them the highest by a J&K batter in the respective tournaments’ history.”Ajay sir has been asking me to play the long innings,” Khajuria said. “Often, I used to get out in the 30s or 40s. That has stopped happening now. So the mindset has changed. Earlier, the environment of J&K’s dressing room was not like this either. [But] now, everyone talks about winning. We have had [three] different Man-of-the-Match winners across our five victories. Everyone has contributed. Now it is the case of trying to win every match.”The next week could take J&K to new frontiers. They have never made a Ranji semi-final previously and there’s nervous excitement bubbling. How they channel it could determine their road ahead.

Matthew Breetzke shows he can get past 30-40 as he scored 150 on ODI debut to break records and signal the start of something special

Danyal Rasool10-Feb-2025South Africa’s travel arrangements to Pakistan were a good reminder of why large groups are such a bother. The SA20 threw a spanner in the works in terms of the player availability pool. Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi weren’t initially part of the squad, and then tacked on as late additions; without them, they wouldn’t have been able to scrape 11 players together today. At one point against New Zealand, when Ngidi went off, they still needed fielding coach Wanele Gwavu to make up the numbers. On Sunday, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi and Kwena Maphaka were on a plane to Pakistan, but none of them were available today.Fewer than half the players in this squad will be part of South Africa’s Champions Trophy party. It is the selectorial equivalent of looking through a threadbare kitchen cupboard and throwing all available ingredients into the pot in the hope of achieving a serviceable stew. Except, if that metaphor is to be tormented further, no one likes experimental stew early on a Monday morning – this is the only day game of the series, the PCB ostensibly putting it on to put their operational robustness to the test at a different time of day.As if things couldn’t get more challenging, South Africa lost the toss at 9am, when the winter morning haze hadn’t cleared, and were put in to bat at the most challenging time of the day. So unfamiliar is much of the squad that 26-year-old Matthew Breetzke, opening with captain Temba Bavuma, appeared to be one of the senior players in the side, until you realised this was his ODI debut.Related

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For the first half-hour, he looked a debutant, too. New Zealand, more seasoned at this level and with a crushing win under their belt, smelled blood, and like a shiver of sharks pressing a salmon cluster to the surface, began to suffocate Breetzke. Will O’Rourke, in particular, was testing him, pushing Breetzke back using the bounce, rapping him on the gloves as an early shot across the bows. The following over, he cut Breetzke in half, hitting the top of the inside edge of the bat with extra bounce. Had New Zealand been more proactive about bringing a short leg in, this story may have ended right here.In a classic telltale sign of his struggle against the bounce, Breetzke began to lean across to try and whip it behind square on the on side – the equivalent of sweeping against spin when it’s hard to determine which way it’s turning. Not that plenty were connecting; he scored just nine off the first 21 balls, and wasn’t in control of many. As the sun battled to burn off the morning haze, he was also in a battle of his own. He attacked hardly any of the first 30 balls he faced, and was in control of less than 75%.”I definitely think that first hour was the hardest batting conditions all day,” Breetzke said at the press conference afterwards – he was there because he scored 150 by the end of it, and we’ll talk about it in a bit. “The wicket was tacky and overhead conditions were tough with the new ball, with the bit of mist in the air. My mindset was just to get through those first ten with that new ball and kick on.”There’s a reason Breetzke is rated highly within his own team, a List A average of under 30 doesn’t quite do justice to his talent and mentality. At SA20 2024, when he was among the best batters in the early stages of the tournament, his team-mate Keshav Maharaj said Breetzke’s mindset was “similar to Virat Kohli’s” and earmarked him as “leadership material for South Africa”.

“If you wind him up, you will probably see the better side of him. It’s such a blessing to see someone of his age do that. I think he is set for a long career in international cricket”Keshav Maharaj on Matthew Breetzke

“There was a story of someone saying he is only good for 30 and 40, so it was a nice way of motivating him,” Maharaj had told ESPNcricinfo, presciently. “If you wind him up, you will probably see the better side of him. It’s such a blessing to see someone of his age do that. I think he is set for a long career in international cricket.”The sun was beginning to warm the surface up and the crowd, surprisingly strong for a day match on a Monday between two sides neither of which was Pakistan, began to duck for shade. Breetzke, though, was beginning to shine under the spotlight, and for a player often accused of throwing away good starts, only gaining in strength. A six off Mitchell Santner just after drinks signalled a shift in intent in an innings that developed like rungs on a stepladder, hitting various gears as his side’s requirements changed.It allowed him to show his full repertoire, but the onslaught at the very end was reminiscent of Glenn Phillips against Pakistan. O’Rourke, his torturer-in-chief in the morning, went short, but Breetzke’s innings – and perhaps Breetzke the man – had come of age by now. He rocked back and lashed him behind deep point for the boundary that got him to a debut ODI hundred. Like a boy who has bested his childhood bully, he lived like a man liberated.It started scratchily for Matthew Breetzke but he found a way to stay in and make it count•AFP/Getty ImagesIt was high-risk, but in this kind of devastating touch, Breetzke found a way of making it look safe. He attacked 40% of his final 30 deliveries, almost three times up on his first 30, and yet remained in control of a whopping 90%. Little in his List A career, with a strike rate a shade under 79, could have prepared New Zealand for the withering assault to follow.Breetzke, though, is defensive of his record, his late bloom indicative of the value of giving young cricketers time to understand their game before throwing them in the deep end. “I started off my one-day career quite slowly and we played on tough wickets, hence my List A numbers are not the best,” he said. “I take pride in my white-ball cricket, and in one-day cricket, it’s probably the best I’ve batted.”And he was batting like it. He went from 100 to 150 in just 20 deliveries – the hapless Ben Sears singled out for punishment – and made history of his own, becoming the first ODI debutant to score 150. It culminated in a 20-run 45th over that requires little editing to serve as a compilation reel of its own. Sears tried to target his body, but he manufactured room off consecutive balls to muscle it to either side of the wicket for boundaries.When Sears went short, Breetzke reminded him that it no longer worked, scything him over point for four, before, as if to rub it in, crunching the final delivery over deep third for the six that got him to 150. The man who scratched his way to his first few runs on what seemed an inauspicious batting morning may end up looking back on it as the dawn of a very long career.

May’s history of the rebel tours to South Africa does not make for easy reading, but that’s largely because apartheid itself was so appalling

Martin Williamson05-Dec-2009As England’s tour of South Africa continues without incident, it is easy to forget that, two decades ago, a side of English players led by Mike Gatting was trudging a similar route across the country. While Andrew Strauss’s team can concentrate on the cricket, that was almost incidental to Gatting’s collection of cricketing mercenaries. Vilified internationally, his team was in the wrong place at the wrong time during the dying days of the despised apartheid regime.It is too easy to forget how the spectre of South Africa haunted international sport through the 1970s and 1980s. Increasingly isolated as the stranglehold of sanctions tightened, the authorities in the republic used money to attract sportsmen who were willing to turn a blind eye to what was going on. The idea was to bring sport to an entertainment-starved (white) public and to give the impression to the world that things weren’t so bad after all. Cricket, a predominantly white sport in the country and one in which the South Africans probably had, for much of that time, a world-class XI, was at the forefront of the PR offensive.Peter May’s book looks at the seven rebel tours between 1982 and 1990, starting and ending with the two by England XIs, with a brace each by West Indies and Australia and a lamentable one by Sri Lanka in between. It does not make easy reading, but that’s largely because apartheid itself was so appalling.Even though at the time the tours were front-page news and briefly threatened to rip the game in two along racial lines, the rebel tours have had almost nothing written about them. They are cricket’s forgotten skeleton, hidden in the attic, which everyone would prefer to pretend didn’t exist. Given the sheer volume of books on cricket, the silence is even more bizarre. One of the reasons soon becomes clear. While some of the South Africans were willing to talk to the author, most of the tourists were much happier to forget.Put simply, those who went did so for the money. Some are honest, others less so. What is truly sad is the fate of those who were perhaps exploited more. While the English and Australian players escaped with fairly light punishments (John Emburey was twice banned for three years and both times returned to play for his country), the West Indians and Sri Lankans had a far more wretched time. Banned for life and socially ostracised, for some it destroyed their lives.There are also surprises. I had always assumed Sir Ian Botham had not gone because, as was often said, had he done so he could not “have looked Viv [Richards] in the eye”. May claims that Botham was all for taking part until his agent explained the financial realities. It also emerges that the South African government indirectly bankrolled the tours, exposing them for the political stunts everyone suspected them to be.The cricket itself is well-described. What is interesting is to read how the South African players and public quickly saw the tours for what they were: decent-standard exhibition cricket, but certainly not the “Tests” the South African board insisted they were. But it’s the machinations surrounding the tours that form the heart and soul of the book.The Rebel Tours: Cricket’s Crisis of Conscience
by Peter May
SportsBooks
£17.99

Arsenal have made a positive start to the Premier League campaign and could now move to bolster a key area in the January window, according to a report.

Arsenal lose out away to Aston Villa

Despite putting in a fairly respectable display away to Aston Villa, Arsenal ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline courtesy of a smart finish from John McGinn as Unai Emery got one over his old side on Saturday evening. The Gunners remain on 36 points from their opening 16 fixtures and have made a bright start to the Premier League campaign; however, they will be fully aware that losing cannot become a habit if they are serious about contending for the title.

In his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta looked to indicate his disagreement with the decision to rule out Kai Havertz's late strike that was disallowed due to a handball offence from the Germany international, simply stating to Sky Sports: "I prefer not to comment."

When pressed on the decision, he then went on to add: "Clear and obvious. Clear and obvious. That's what I mean. That's my opinion. That's all I can say."

Having already got into trouble with the football authorities this term after his criticism of Anthony Gordon's winner for Newcastle United against Arsenal last month, the Spaniard looks to have taken a more measured approach this time round despite his clear frustration at yet another controversial VAR outcome in the English top-flight.

Casting an eye towards the January window, the Gunners could now be set to add some firepower to compete with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah at the Emirates Stadium, according to a report.

Arsenal competing to sign Lois Openda

According to reports in Spain, Arsenal are competing to sign RB Leipzig forward Lois Openda, who is on the radar of a clutch of the world's elite clubs due to his exploits in Germany this campaign.

Lois Openda key statistics in the Bundesliga – (Sofascore)

Shots per game

3.9

Shots on target per game

1.8

Big chances created

5

Expected goals

9.31

Big chances missed

11

Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City are all monitoring the 23-year-old as his stock continues to rise, with representatives from Erik ten Hag's side alongside the Gunners recently sending scouts to watch the Belgium international in action.

This campaign, the former Club Brugge man has been in electric form in front of the target, netting 14 goals and laying on three assists in 22 appearances across all competitions for RB Leipzig (Openda statistics – Transfermarkt). Linking the play is also another prominent part of Openda's game, which is evidenced by the fact he has racked up 51 successful shot-creating actions in 2023/24, with nine leading directly to a goal (Openda statistics – FBRef).

Arsenal could do with adding another clinical figure in mid-season and acquiring Openda, who has been described as having "huge developmental potential" by former RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl and a "very good player" by current VfL Bochum boss Thomas Letsch, could give Arteta's side a major shot in the arm as they look to seal Premier League glory for the first time since 2004.

In the final group stage round of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, a diamond in the rough in unveiled

Danyal Rasool14-Oct-2018The delayed declarationKarachi Whites set a slew of batting records for this year’s Quaid-e-Azam trophy after batting first, amassing 600 for six in the first innings, this season’s highest team score. It included, predictably, mammoth contributions, none more so than Shehzar Mohammad. He scored 265, the highest individual score in the QeA this season. On either side of him, Saad Ali, the highest aggregate scorer in the QeA last season, smashed 129, while opener Omair Yousuf accumulated 163.After bowling out Multan for 273, with less than a full day remaining in the game, you might have expected captain Anwar Ali – an experienced international cricketer – to have put Multan back in immediately. Instead, Karachi decided to bat again. Even more bizarrely, that innings saw a scoring rate of 2.5, as Karachi crawled to 73 in 29 overs, before finally putting Multan back in. They showed far greater intent in the 49 overs they batted, putting up 235 for six, as Karachi found themselves four wickets short of victory.It won’t impact their progress into the Super Eight, with the Whites joint second on 34 points, but it was a unusual approach to a game they might have backed themselves to get sewn up.Yet another Pakistan fast bowling prodigy?Last year it was Shaheen Afridi emerging into the limelight with a nine-wicket haul in the first round of the QeA. This year, it is Nasim Shah.For all the complaints about the QeA, it is a spell like this one that makes everything worthwhile. Nasim, making waves on the domestic circuit as an up-and-coming fast bowler, had a dream of a debut first-class game. After bowling just four overs for ZTBL in the first innings, it was the second go that saw him showcase a glimpse of the exciting future he may have ahead of him.In 20 overs, he took six wickets for 59 as PTV were bowled out for 241, but it was the brimming potential of the debutant that most enticed. With a clean, front-on action, he showed the full repertoire of deliveries he was confident bowling. There were balls that swung either way, raw pace that had batsmen ducking for cover, sometimes unsuccessfully. The best part? Nasim is fifteen!So no pressure, kid. Actually, who are we fooling? In Pakistan, the concept of giving a budding young fast bowler space is as non-existent as it is essential.All or nothingIn the game between WAPDA and SSGC, moderation was in short supply. After the game was called off on the first day after 6.1 overs due to a dangerous pitch, play resumed on day two after the groundstaff had, presumably, made running repairs on it. WAPDA were bowled out for 182 (Mohammad Amir, dropping back into the first-class competition after his ouster from the national team, took three wickets), and we seemed to have a game on.But it appears the pitch flattened out completely, with SSGC piling up 581 for nine in what would have been a backbreaking 161 overs for WAPDA’s bowlers. You can tell because by the end, even Kamran Akmal had been called upon to bowl a couple.And that was the cue for the match to end. WAPDA might wonder why they resumed after the first day’s abandonment anyway.

Everton have been underwhelming so far in the Premier League, winning just two of their opening eight matches in the new campaign.

Sean Dyche's Toffees have conceded 12 goals along the way too, leaking four of those goals to Sheffield United and Luton who have just been promoted to the top-flight.

Transfer reinforcements at the back for the Blues could well be on the agenda at Goodison Park soon, with the likes of former Burnley duo James Tarkowski and Michael Keane now 30 years of age in defence.

On top of that, reserve centre-back Ben Godfrey has been limited to just making up the numbers on the bench for Everton so far this season – playing for just a staggering one minute this season versus Sheffield United in the Premier League.

Everton could well look for some fresh blood therefore defensively in the form of 24-year-old Chelsea man Trevoh Chalobah, linked with a transfer switch to Merseyside previously

Trevoh Chalobah transfer update

Reduced to a bystander role at Stamford Bridge so far this Premier League campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, it's now being reported that Chalobah has been given permission to move on from Chelsea this January.

Fabrizio Romano has been vocal on social media to confirm Chalobah's expected departure from Chelsea when the transfer window reopens in January, the 24-year-old wanting to play on a more "regular basis" away from west London.

This could well reignite Everton's interest in the want-away centre-back, the Toffees linked with the one-time Ipswich loanee in the summer. However, they might not be the only interested party in Chalobah.

TEAMtalk reported in August that both West Ham and Crystal Palace were also interested in the young defender, whilst interest from Europe came in the form of German giants Borussia Dortmund and Italian titans Roma and Napoli.

Dyche will hope he can lure Chalobah to Goodison Park, slotting the versatile player into his Toffees line-up alongside 21-year-old Jarrad Branthwaite.

Could Chalobah play with Branthwaite?

Branthwaite is highly regarded in Goodison Park quarters, the 6 foot 5 colossus has played every 90 minutes of football for Everton in his last six appearances in a Toffees strip.

A loan spell out in the Netherlands last season with PSV Eindhoven was the making of the Carlisle-born centre-back, praised by Dutch football legend and then PSV boss Ruud Van Nistelrooy for possessing all the qualities to be a "complete defender" in the future.

If Chalobah was to join the Merseysiders therefore, he could well form an electric defensive partnership with Branthwaite – Everton playing two raw defenders that would still have the capacity to improve even further.

Both players in question are versatile – with Chalobah adept at being pushed further forward in the starting side as a midfielder – whilst Branthwaite has featured at full-back from time to time.

Dyche's typically preferred defender is also a no-nonsense battler on the ball, Chalobah possessing those qualities as a "soldier" under former Blues manager Graham Potter.

Branthwaite must have Dyche's approval in this department too, to have featured so frequently for the former Burnley boss in the infancy of this Premier League season to date.

Valued at a whopping £50m by Chelsea a few months ago, it'll be interesting to see if Everton do break the bank for Chalobah and whether this theoretical partnership is ever brought to life in the Premier League.

England have added James Vince to a 14-man squad for the fourth Test against India, starting at the Ageas Bowl next Thursday. Vince will provide cover for Jonny Bairstow, who sustained a fractured finger during England’s defeat at Trent Bridge.Vince played the last of his 13 Tests in April on England’s tour of New Zealand, before being dropped at the start of the home summer. He averaged 30.54 over the winter – as opposed to a career mark of 24.90 – and scored all three of his Test fifties to date; he has also been in good form for Hampshire, with innings of 74 and 147 against Nottinghamshire this week.Vince is only likely to play if Bairstow is deemed unfit, however. England are hopeful that Bairstow will be able to feature as a specialist batsman, with Jos Buttler set to remain behind the stumps after taking over wicketkeeping duties during the third Test and subsequently scoring his maiden hundred.

England squad

Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes

The only other change to the squad is Jamie Porter missing out, primarily to be available for Essex in the Championship. Keaton Jennings and Alastair Cook have been retained as openers despite neither reaching fifty in the series so far.”The selection panel felt this was the right time to reintroduce James Vince to the Test squad,” Ed Smith, England’s national selector, said. “James will provide cover in case Jonny Bairstow’s fractured finger prevents him playing in the fourth Test match.James Vince plays one of his trademark drives•Getty Images

“James returns to the England set-up in confident form and scoring runs. He has been in excellent form for Hampshire in the Specsavers County Championship, with 847 runs at 56.46, including 74 and 147 this week – runs that shaped Hampshire’s win against Nottinghamshire. James’ match-winning runs also helped Hampshire to win the Royal London Cup earlier this summer.”Jamie Porter has been part of the last three Test squads. But the selection panel did not want him to miss the opportunity of playing for Essex in the next round of Championship matches. He will return to the squad in the event of an injury to a seam bowler.”Bairstow’s injury could help provide a partial solution to England’s recent batting woes. If he is passed fit as a batsman, he is likely to move up the order to No. 4, allowing Ollie Pope, who is two Tests into his international career, to move down. Moeen Ali, who scored a double-hundred for Worcestershire at Scarborough in the week, is also an option to come in.Ben Stokes, who suffered a minor knee injury in the Trent Bridge Test, is not expected to be a fitness doubt. After being reassessed by the England medical team, he will be available to play as a batsman in Durham’s Vitality Blast quarter-final on Friday night.

The camaraderie – and needle – in the lead-up to the women’s exhibition T20 match in Mumbai is at a high; so is the desire to grow the game and share cricketing knowledge

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai22-May-20182:55

Exhibition T20 a precursor to women’s IPL

Ten months on from that scintillating World Cup semi-final performance, Harmanpreet Kaur has satisfied one of her long-held desires: to bat alongside one of her “favourite players” – Australia captain Meg Lanning.Ten months on from India fluffing their lines in a thrilling World Cup final, Smriti Mandhana’s self-proclaimed “boring” teetotal habits has found her an admirer in England batsman Danielle Wyatt.Ten months on from helping make either match-up possible for India at the World Cup, Veda Krishnamurthy has won over New Zealand allrounders Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine with “awesome chats”.

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Not for the first time has Harmanpreet, Mandhana or Krishnamurthy rubbed shoulders with non-India internationals; at the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia it’s been the norm since 2016. But for them – or any of their 17 India team-mates – to train at the Wankhede Stadium alongside ten top overseas players, to move to Bhangra numbers on team-bus rides, to discuss “life and cricket” during a welcome dinner at the iconic Taj hotel in Mumbai… Their journey these past few days has already become as momentous as their destination: the first ever Women’s T20 Challenge, set up as a double-header with the men’s IPL Qualifier 1.”When I went to Big Bash, all of them used to ask, ‘When is IPL starting?’ and I had no answer for them,” Mandhana, one of the captains in the one-off exhibition match, recalls on the eve of game.Annesha Ghosh

But now, as she prepares to lead Bates and her New Zealand team-mate Lea Tahuhu, Australian duo Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney, and England offspinner Danielle Hazell, Mandhana could possibly venture a tentative answer: not too long from now.

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Ten years ago, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy had been watching Brendon McCullum “start the IPL with a bang”, live at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Then part of an age-group New South Wales cricket tour, the now best friends will be facing off at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.”Looking at world figures for major sporting tournaments, the IPL’s right up there in terms of crowd numbers along with NFL and Superbowl,” Perry said after training with her team, the IPL Supernovas, at the Brabourne Stadium. “From a female perspective that’s what we want to do: bring in more fans to the game, people who like watching the women’s game, appreciate the skill and nuances of the game, and also get to have their own heroes in different teams.”That, Perry believes, is the “real goal” for women’s cricket, and the match showcasing the best in women’s T20 at the IPL is a “huge landmark” in planning for the same.For Healy, who jokes about having “a bit too much of a personality” for her Trailblazers captain Mandhana to handle, the camaraderie that has blossomed in the two days’ of interaction between players is as important.”Obviously, going to the IPL and seeing all the boys learning off one another is really important for the game of cricket in general, and I don’t think women’s cricket has had that for very long,” Healy says. “There’s the Big Bash and [England’s] Kia Super League, but for us to be able to come over here and mingle with the Indian players especially and learn how to play better in their conditions, it’s only going to improve women’s cricket all around the world.”

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Suzie Bates is aware of the threats that await her in the future, both near and not so near. “I have played a lot of cricket against Jhulan Goswami, but over the past two days, I’ve had a few battles with [legspinner] Poonam Yadav in the nets. So [India T20I vice-captain] Smriti has already warned me the next time India play New Zealand, I’ll have to deal with a lot of overs from Poonam.’Annesha Ghosh

While chuckling at the prospect, Bates takes a moment to emphasise how alive she is to the immediate challenges at hand, especially from her New Zealand team-mate allrounder Sophie Devine.”They [Trailblazers] have really solid batting line-up. Meg Lanning, the way Danni Wyatt’s been batting, and Mithali Raj is a great ambassador for the game. I do enjoy having Sophie Devine in my team, but having her in the opposition is not going to be too much fun.”

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In the closing moments of the nets session at the Brabourne Stadium, Devine walks up to the India quick-bowling allrounder and her Supernovas team-mate Pooja Vastrakar. A brief, animated chat later, Vastrakar ends her session with a string of lofted strokes over an imaginary infield and a few flamboyant strokes down the ground.Putting aside these obvious benefits of such young India internationals meeting and mixing with the best in the women’s game, there are more advantages to be had by the next tier of players too. One of the four back-up players for India’s forthcoming Asia Cup, young quick bowler Sukanya Parida, isn’t part of either squads for Tuesday’s match. That, however, she refuses to count as a missed opportunity. “Why should it when you can bowl in the nets with someone like Devine?”And pick up tips on swinging the ball both ways, while you’re at it, of course.”That’s the cool thing,” Devine says of her interactions with the Indian players. “You can learn things from people who may not belong to your own team. It’s two-way traffic and I think to be able to share the knowledge this way… that’s what grows the game.”