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Morne Morkel could consider playing only one format of international cricket, and it may well be Tests, as he reaches the twilight of his career. At 32, Morkel considers his career “nearly finished” and will meet with CSA at the end of the ongoing tour to England to discuss his future.Unlike some of his senior team-mates such as AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, Morkel does not appear to be eyeing the 2019 World Cup as a swansong, despite recent reappearances in the one-day team. Asked how long he could realistically see himself playing international cricket for, Morkel did not provide a time-frame but hinted it may not be too much longer.”I don’t know. After this tour we’ll see. I’ll speak with Cricket South Africa and see where they see me featuring,” he said. “I love playing for this team. But it’s not rocket science that they probably want to start looking, in white-ball cricket, at the 2019 World Cup. Am I going to part of those plans? If I can be around to help the younger guys find their feet, so be it. I’ll do that. For me the main focus is this tour and then we’ll go back and see how we go.”After playing just two of South Africa’s six matches in the Caribbean triangular series in mid-2016, Morkel was sidelined from one-day cricket for 11 months, initially with a back injury and then because other players were being looked at. He returned on this tour and played in the final ODI of the three-match series against England at Lord’s and in all three Champions Trophy games but seems to think the selectors are looking to the future.”My conditioning’s been good over the years and I really look after my body,” he said. “Mentally and physically I feel strong. But the World Cup is two or three years down the line and those are decisions they need to make.”South Africa’s current one-day attack includes Kagiso Rabada, who is the spearhead, allrounders Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell and death-bowling specialist Andile Phehlukwayo. It could also have room for Lungi Ngidi, the young quick who debuted in the T20 series against Sri Lanka in January and was being considered for the Champions Trophy squad before he was injured. Rabada, Phehlukwayo and Ngidi are all under 23 and are set to play key roles in South Africa’s future and even though South Africa have struggled to replace Kyle Abbott in the XI, Morkel may not see himself as the ideal candidate.Morne Morkel claimed the vital wicket of Joe Root in England’s first innings at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

His focus since the back problem, which he feared would end his career, has largely been on Test cricket. After making a successful comeback in the series against New Zealand in March, Morkel opted not to return to the IPL in order to get himself ready for the England series. He has also decided not to go to the CPL so he can prepare for a home summer that includes 10 Tests and South Africa’s own T20 event, the Global League. Morkel has not been named as one of the marquee players attached to a franchise for that tournament but may yet add his name to the draft. He is not ruling out T20 leagues entirely, but said international cricket is his first priority.”If there’s a T20 league I can go and play in and improve my skills and put my name into the hat for other tournaments, then I need to make that opportunity count. But the Proteas and this environment come first. So I need to focus on that.”Morkel has taken on more of a leadership role in the Test side over the last six months, something several squad members have mentioned as noticeable especially in the absence of Dale Steyn. In India in late 2015, when Steyn sat on the sidelines with a groin problem, Morkel bowled reverse swinging spells which, even though they did not help South Africa win, asked questions of the opposition. In New Zealand in March, Morkel was the bowler getting his speeds over 140kph. He has even developed a penchant for pitching it up when needed and has become South Africa’s go-to man to create pressure.The numbers don’t always reveal Morkel’s worth but his experience is invaluable to a Test side that relies heavily on the strength of its attack. Having always wanted to be part of the pack, Morkel admitted he is enjoying contributing while he still can.”In 2003, I was playing league cricket for a club called Endon, a first division club, and we got a day off and I came to Trent Bridge. I sat in the stands here watching the boys play. To play a Test match here, that’s what dreams are made of,” Morkel said. “For me, every time I get the ball, it’s about really enjoying the moment. In the past I put myself under a lot of pressure, but I think those sort of days are gone. I know how quickly a career can change. And I’m not starting my career. My career’s nearly finished. So I am just enjoying the moment.”

More than A$1 million (US$768,000 approx) in fortnightly payments originally intended for out-of-contract players will instead be diverted directly to grassroots funding until an MoU is reached between Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA).On the final day before the expiry of the MoU unleashes a whole host of potentially chaotic scenarios – including doubt over forthcoming tours of South Africa, Bangladesh and India, a mess of commercial and sponsorship conflicts, and the possibility of a host of Australian players heading off to play overseas Twenty20 tournaments – CA underlined its hard-line stance in opposition to the players.Players had been informed earlier this week by the CA team performance manager Pat Howard that they would not be eligible for any back pay in the event of an extended dispute, a warning that was issued at the same time as a reminder that any players playing “disapproved cricket” during the dispute would face suspensions of at least six months under ICC regulations – banning them from participation in the Ashes this summer.

Dispute leaves ‘bitter taste’ – Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood, the Australia fast bowler, has said the nation’s cricketers will have a “bitter taste” waking up unemployed on Saturday after the expiry of the current MoU, but were prepared to see out the dispute with Cricket Australia to reach their desired result.
“To be contracted for the best part of 10 years, nearly, for me, it’s going to be a different stage and we’ll see how it pans out,” he said. “It [pay negotiations] never got to this point before in the past. It’s going to leave a bit of a bitter taste come that date [July 1] but we are, obviously, willing to do what we need to.”
Hazlewood took issue with CA’s contention that Sheffield Shield players did not contribute to the game’s financial health. “They always seem to point out the no crowds at Sheffield Shield cricket but they always leave out the Big Bash that draws in massive crowds every game,” he said. “The Australian cricket team isn’t really a part of that to be honest. It’s solely domestic players with a couple of internationals in different teams. But they provide a great spectacle. That six weeks is just thriving with crowds… I think they would feel disrespected, definitely.”

CA announced the tactic on Friday, a matter of hours before the current MoU was due to expire at midnight, without any sign that either side of the dispute was softening in their hardened stances – namely CA’s desire to breakup the fixed revenue percentage model at the heart of all agreements since 1998, and the ACA’s to retain it.”CA has previously confirmed that players without contracts will not be eligible to receive back pay when a new MoU is eventually agreed,” a CA spokesman said. “CA will allocate on a fortnightly basis all of the money it would otherwise be paying to out of contract players to the National Community Facilities Funding Scheme (NCFFS). This is expected to be in the order of AUD 1.2 million per fortnight.”The NCFFS is an existing fund that supports the establishment of new and refurbished playing and training facilities at grassroots level across Australia… established in conjunction with State & Territory Cricket Associations in 2014 to support the establishment of new and refurbished playing and training facilities at grassroots level across Australia.”CA has utilised the NCFFS to partner with local councils, state and territory governments, and local cricket clubs to make a significant impact in the quality and provision of community cricket facilities. Since its establishment, Australian Cricket has invested AUD 4.5 million into 410 projects worth AUD 41.6 million, which have significantly enhanced cricket infrastructure across Australia and supported increased participation in cricket.”The announcement was accompanied by a lengthy argument against the ACA’s position. “A week ago CA offered significant concessions in an effort to reach an agreement by 30 June,” the spokesman said. “These were also rejected out of hand through the media – again without any discussion – by the ACA. Those concessions were a genuine attempt by CA to address key concerns raised by players, including the inclusion of all domestic players alongside internationals in the share of the game’s surplus.”Over the past months CA has repeatedly sought to engage with the ACA in a genuine dialogue and to commence a proper negotiation process. It is regrettable that these efforts have been rebuffed, resulting in the current situation which CA recognises is not in the interests of either the players or the game. CA is concerned that many players will be without a contract from midnight tonight and this may place significant financial and emotional strain on them and their families.”It is unfortunate that the ACA’s hard-line and inflexible position has not been conducive to delivering any positive outcomes or certainty for players. CA has also been dismayed that the ACA’s rhetoric, both publicly and directly to the players, has burdened the current generation of players with an unfair sense of responsibility for defending a decades old pay model that no longer suits the very different needs of the modern game. The existing revenue share model has achieved its purpose and was never intended to be an heirloom passed down over the decades, never to be changed.”The ACA’s executive and a range of players, both domestic and international, are set to meet in Sydney on Sunday to discuss further action. The Australian women’s team is currently in the middle of a World Cup campaign in England.The ACA’s president Greg Dyer said the expiry of the deadline was the result of CA’s obvious intent to avoid negotiations on any terms other than the board’s own. “Refusing offers of flexibility and to attend mediation says a lot,” Dyer said. “As does the refusal of the CA CEO to be involved. It says they weren’t fair dinkum. It has been a case of divide and rule from the start, and when that failed the threats started and haven’t stopped. All of which has failed.”It’s quite incredible. Reasonable young men and women have been set upon by their employer with tactics not seen before in Australian sport. So, given they will be unemployed, the players have to consider how best to respond.”The ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said the meeting with players on Sunday would address numerous issues, including the status of those players chosen for the forthcoming Australia A tour to South Africa. Players are meant to convene in Brisbane for a pre-tour camp on Monday.”Given CA’s negotiation strategy from day one of these negotiations, we have made plans for this possibility,” Nicholson said. “We are ready to roll-out support to the players who need it. We have set aside funds to help players who need to pay their bills. And The Cricketers’ Brand will now be sourcing sponsorships as well. The players also have some very important decisions to make. That’s why an emergency executive meeting has been called.”

The Wankhede Stadium is heaving, as it does at every Mumbai Indians home match. Kolkata’s Chris Woakes runs in and bowls to his team-mate in England colours, Jos Buttler. Buttler, aggressive as ever, comes down the track but doesn’t quite get to the pitch of the ball. He tries to hoist it over the long-off boundary but only succeeds in skying it.Chris Lynn, fielding at mid-off, turns and sets off at full speed on the chase. It’s touch and go as to whether he’ll get there. But he’s not the sort to die wondering. He’s the sort who dives, wondering. And so as the ball drops, still a little too far away, he hurls himself full stretch, intent only on taking the catch. He crashes into the ground and he’s just short. But far worse, he feels the tell-tale pop in his left shoulder joint. He’s felt this before and he knows what it means.

****

This was the moment Chris Lynn thought his Champions Trophy hopes were over.A third injury to the same shoulder in less than two years didn’t bode well for a player who has all too often suffered an injury setback at the worst possible time. After the match, of of Lynn’s frustration was distilled in a single tweet: “Dear Cricket Gods, did I do something wrong?”Now, fully fit on the eve of Australia’s Champions Trophy campaign, Lynn vividly remembers the fear that enveloped him when he thought his IPL season was finished and his chances of representing his country in England were gone.”Yeah I was shitting myself to be honest,” said a typically laconic Lynn. “I was in good nick as well. It was probably the first thing that crossed my mind that it would dampen my chances of playing here.”That’s why I stayed over in India because I knew, there’s not a great deal to do over in India, but rehab was the first priority.”So I smashed that every day and I knew that if I stayed over there and tried to get a bit of game time I’d give myself every chance to get myself fit for this.”It took three and a half weeks for Lynn to get himself back on the park and he scored 50 and 84 in his first two matches back for KKR, picking up from his blistering start to the IPL.”I was really determined to get back from that dislocation and I didn’t lose any form over that period,” Lynn said. “I think first game back in the IPL I struck the ball really well so I’m confident if I get a chance that I can contribute to the side and, not only just contribute, but hopefully put up a couple of big scores or match wining knocks here or there.”It’s a good feeling that I know my body a lot better now, know my restrictions, so we’ll see how we go.”Fortunately for Australia, those restrictions don’t affect his batting. But he has been forced to reevaluate his technique in the field.”I can’t dive with my arms outstretched,” said Lynn. “It’s got to be sort of nice and tight in. it’s taken me a couple of dislocations to get that but I’ve got a fair bit of strapping on there to remind me so I think, as much as you want to try and dive and save as many runs for your team, there’s a point where you’ve got to reel it in and be realistic with your body so I’m pretty comfortable with it at the moment.”Such restraint doesn’t come naturally to Lynn, a ferociously powerful batsman whose aggressive demolition of bowlers in T20 tournaments has spawned its own hashtag. But he knows that in a tournament that leaves little room for error and a format which, should he break into Australia’s starting line up, sometimes requires batsmen to craft an innings, he may at times have to curb his natural aggression. A little less #Lynnsanity and a little more #Lynngenuity, if you will.”I guess I’ve got to sum up each game as they come and each scenario,” said Lynn. “If I do get the license out there obviously it’s going to be good fun and hopefully I can get going but if we do, say, lose a couple of early ones then I’ve got to pull my head in and reel it in and play some smart cricket.”I think the way I played in India, obviously there were a lot of big hits over there, but I thought my game awareness was pretty good as well in certain situations so I’ve just got to find the right tempo and find it as early as possible.”Whether or not Lynn gets the opportunity to find his tempo remains to be seen. Australia’s powerful batting line up means there’s no guarantee Lynn will make the starting XI. He claims he hasn’t even thought about selection and is relaxed about slotting in to a 50-over team after an extended run in the T20 format.”Does my role change?” asked Lynn. “I’m not sure yet. At the end of the day it’s a white ball coming down at me and if I can smack the ball like I do in T20 I’ll be pretty happy but finding that right tempo is key and working out when to play smart cricket and when to have a go.”Whoever plays in the best XI is obviously there for a reason and whoever’s missing out is a bit, well, not stiff because who do you drop out of that line up? We’re all good players.”Whatever happens, mate, if we win the comp who cares?`’

Men’s cricket could return to the Commonwealth Games as early as 2022 if Birmingham is chosen as host city.ESPNcricinfo understands that the city has been invited to bid for the Games by the UK government after Durban, which was originally scheduled to be the host city, was obliged to withdraw due to financial and political issues.Women’s cricket was already included in the Durban schedule but Neil Snowball, the Warwickshire chief executive and a member of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games bid company, has confirmed the intention to include men’s cricket, too, subject to the agreement of the ECB and ICC. The format would be T20.The games would be held at Edgbaston and at Worcestershire’s New Road home.Birmingham will not be the only city vying to step-in as hosts. Cities in Canada, Malaysia and Australia are all expected to apply, while Liverpool have also confirmed their interest. Liverpool are not thought likely to include cricket among the sporting events.Birmingham does have a couple of considerable advantages, though. As part of their bid to host the Games in 2026, they hired an independent company (Origin Sports) to put together a feasibility study that is understood to confirm their readiness for the event while, unlike some rival candidates, the city already has the vast majority of the venues – including the Alexander Stadium, Edgbaston, Villa Park, and the National Indoor Arena – required to host such an event in working order. The city does currently lack a 50m swimming pool, though one is scheduled to be opened in 2021.Applications for the bid have to be received by the UK government by April 28 with a decision made by the end of July.While the ECB has previously given their support for the idea of cricket returning to the Games, the support of the ICC cannot yet be guaranteed. India are scheduled to be the tourists to England in 2022, which might render their involvement more likely, but it is far from impossible that individual Commonwealth members could opt out of the Games even if the ICC grant their approval. England did not send a team on the only previous time cricket was included in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia in 1998. On that occasion South Africa defeated Australia in the final.Cricket is not currently one of the mandatory events incorporated into the Commonwealth Games but is on the list of optional sports that host cities have the power to add to their staging of the event as they see fit and with the support of the relevant sport’s governing body.The Commonwealth Games might also be considered a stepping-stone towards cricket returning to the Olympics. Rugby 7s followed a similar route, appearing in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and progressing to the Olympics in 2016.”It’s an obvious stepping-stone,” Snowball told ESPNcricinfo, “and, subject to ICC and ECB approval, we hope we can progress this four years earlier than we originally anticipated.”We feel we have a very strong bid. Usually cities have seven years to prepare to host such an event, but we are certain we can deliver an outstanding Games in 2022 that includes men’s and women’s cricket.”

Soumya Sarkar, whose lapse in concentration at the start of the third day started Bangladesh’s slide, has lauded his captain Mushfiqur Rahim for helping the side avert the follow-on in Galle. Mushfiqur played the ball on merit and ultimately fell 15 short of his third century in three Tests.He took 89 balls to score his first boundary – a clean six over Rangana Herath’s head in the 72nd over – and then picked up the pace. He managed only 22 off his first 88 balls and then struck 63 off the next 73 to finish with 85 off 161 balls. Sarkar said that the rest of the batting line-up didn’t have a set plan to attack or even play cautiously. That the batsmen still got early boundaries was down to a supply of bad balls from Sri Lanka. Conversely, Mushfiqur assessed the conditions well and built a steady innings.”Mushfiqur played proper Test cricket today,” Sarkar said. “He took his time at the beginning. Although many of us hit a boundary at first, he survived for a long time and then hit a four [six]. Of course there is a lot to learn from him. He is an experienced player and he is our captain.”Maybe some of us got a bad ball at the start and we hit a boundary, and maybe they bowled better at Mushfiqur . In Tests you have to wait for the bad ball but maybe he got fewer bad balls. The ones who came later like Liton [Das] or [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz maybe got a bad ball early. But we didn’t plan to attack while Mushfiqur defended.”Sarkar’s error in judgment – attempting to pull a Suranga Lakmal ball though it was too close to his hip – added to the list of his soft dismissals in the recent past. “It was the first ball of pace I faced today, so I shouldn’t have played that shot,” Sarkar said. “If I had maybe taken some more time before playing that, then maybe I would have connected.”Since it was the first ball, maybe I did not connect. It was a mistake. If I didn’t play that, it would have been good for me and even better for the team.”Shakib Al Hasan too fell to a soft dismissal, tickling left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan down the leg side to wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella. Sarkar, however, put the dismissal down to misfortune.”Since there was no fielder at fine leg, Shakib was able to read the wrong’un and may have thought that since it’s away from the stumps he will get two runs from it,” Sarkar said. “There was little chance to get out to that delivery.”It was very unlucky. It’s not a matter of experience; he is obviously a very experienced player. He was unlucky not to have connected, if he had connected it would have been good for everyone.”Mahmudullah then missed the line of the ball and was bowled while Liton Das played too far away from his body and nicked behind. When asked why Bangladesh haven’t come to grips with building or re-building a Test innings, Sarkar said they were still working on it.”We are trying; how much we are succeeding is for others to judge. We will try to bat longer than we have been.”Having conceded a 182-run first-innings lead, Bangladesh now need a massive effort to turn the tables on the hosts. “We have to give even more than we did when we started,” Sarkar said. “If before we would have given 100 percent, then we have to give 120-150 percent to bring the match back in our favour or to win. So, of course, tomorrow there will be an effort to execute the plans we have so that we can bring the match back in our favour as soon as possible.”

Mark Arthur has warned that Yorkshire could lose their ability to host major matches if they are unable to finance a partial redevelopment of their Headingley home “within weeks.”Arthur, Yorkshire’s chief executive, says the situation is so critical that not only could the club lose its right to host four World Cup matches in 2019, but they would be unable to apply to host any Test cricket after that date and might even risk their chances of hosting games in the new-team T20 competition which is anticipated to start in 2020.Yorkshire’s predicament comes months after the ECB announced that Durham would no longer be considered eligible to host Tests due to financial problems. That leaves the prospect that Lancashire’s Old Trafford ground, in Manchester, could be the only ground north of Nottingham Test eligible to stage Test cricket from the start of the 2020 season.It would also appear to raise the possibility, if less likely, of arch-rivals Lancashire hosting the closest team to Yorkshire in the new T20 competition.The problem centres on the stand at Headingley shared with the rugby club. Built in the 1930s, it was partially condemned in 2015 due to corrosion with the hope it would be rebuilt in time for the 2019 season. The club were hoping to increase capacity from around 17,000 to 20,000 with the addition of the new stand. As things stand, capacity at Headingley is reduced to around 14,000.But attempts to raise the £17m required for the latest stage in the redevelopment (it is expected to cost £38m in all) have so far been thwarted. The biggest jolt came when Leeds City Council suddenly announced that they were not prepared to provide a grant of £4m for the project as previously hoped.”Ever since the grant was withdrawn, we’ve been working with Leeds City Council and Leeds Rugby, and other entities, trying to find a way of funding the new stand,” Arthur said.”At this moment in time, we haven’t got a formula to put to our members. What we can’t go to them with is a half-baked proposal. If the board does come to a resolution at some stage in the near future, which means that we can recommend a financial proposal to the members, then we would call an extraordinary general meeting to go through the numbers.”Yorkshire are close to £25m in debt, with around £20m of that sum owed to trusts set-up by ECB chairman Colin Graves. They had hoped that the prospect of major matches from 2020 onwards would help them repay such debts, but without a new stand their future is fraught with uncertainty.”Gordon Hollins, the chief operating officer of the ECB, has confirmed to us in writing that Headingley does not comply with the International Facilities Policy,” Arthur said. “Therefore, once the current staging agreement ends in 2019, we will not be considered for Test Matches.”This has to be resolved in the very near future or we will have run out of time to complete the stand by the start of the 2019 season. While the Ashes Test is secure, the four World Cup matches in 2019 are not.”The need to have a new stand has recently taken on greater importance with the introduction of a new T20 city based competition from the year 2020. The host cities will be selected on the basis of facilities and catchment. It will be akin to hosting four additional one-day internationals per year and will bring further incremental income to those host grounds and cities.”Not only is the clock ticking from a financial point of view, the ECB will be allocating international matches from 2020 to 2023 later this year as well as the new city based T20 host contracts.””We need to reach an agreement with all parties in the next few weeks. We will be solvent, but we will not be able to solve our long-term debt so quickly.”The allocation of major matches from 2020 until 2023 is already long overdue. That has led to concerns around the counties over their ability to plan for a future which looks set to contain fewer Tests.

Islamabad United coach Dean Jones said his side has “been through hell” over the last few days after two of their players, Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif, were provisionally suspended by the PCB as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged attempts to corrupt the 2017 Pakistan Super League. Three other players – Mohammad Irfan, who also plays for Islamabad, Zulfiqar Babar and Shahzaib Hasan – were questioned by the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Unit as part of the investigation.Sharjeel and Latif were suspended a day after the defending champions won the opening match of the 2017 edition, beating Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets (D/L method). They lost their second match, however, on Saturday, going down by six wickets against Lahore Qalandars.”Emotionally and physically the team has been through hell,” Jones said after the match on Saturday. “All in all, we’re trying to prepare these guys coming into the match and it’s not been the best preparation, I’ll be honest with that. The boys came here, they wanted to get out here and have some fun and play. Unfortunately it hasn’t worked that way.”Irfan made way for Rumman Raees in the XI for the second match, while Asif Ali took Sharjeel’s place. Put in to bat, Islamabad made a solid start with a 73-run opening stand between Dwayne Smith and Sam Billings. They went on to score 158 for 7, with captain Misbah-ul-Haq hitting 61 not out off 36 balls.Islamabad United could not check Lahore Qalandars’ chase led by a confident Jason Roy half-century•PCB

Qalandars, however, chased down the target with 10 balls to spare. “When you lose, it’s always difficult,” Jones said. “It’s our first loss in seven games if you want to look back from last year to now. It was a big game for us in a lot of ways but it’s one and one [a victory and a loss in 2017], and we are in a position a lot of teams would want to be in.”The good thing is we’ve got a four-day spell now before our next game, when we go down to Sharjah. We’ll regroup, go out and enjoy each other’s company like we always do. It’s my job as a coach to remind them that we failed a bit today but we’re in a pretty good position.”Jones said that Misbah had been a calming influence on the side.”Misbah’s always calm, cool and collected,” he said. “He doesn’t give a lot of emotion away, that’s the good thing about him as not many people see the humorous side of him, but we’ve seen a bit of that over the past 24 hours to loosen things up. From our owners to Wasim and our senior players, it’s been a bit of a tough time but now we’ll regroup and we’ll get together and move on.”Can I just say well done to the PCB? I think they have handled everything over the past 48 hours really well. We’re here to keep this great game clean and we’ll do everything we can to do that.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:21

‘Abbott played an absolute blinder’

In a season where they have been brilliant or dire, Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Stars by three wickets with an over to spare to seal the third spot in the points table, setting up a semi-final against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. The Stars made the semi-finals too, at the expense of their cross-town rivals Melbourne Renegades. They will travel to Perth to face the Scorchers on Tuesday.Luke Wright lived up to his reputation as the man who comes to life on the MCG’s biggest nights with his second successive half-century, but the Stars – missing six first-choice players to injury and international call-ups – fell away after he was dismissed. Chasing 157 for a place in the semi-finals, the Sixers then pulled off an impressive come-from-behind win.Their top six struggled and it looked like their season was over, but Sean Abbott and Johan Botha picked their targets effectively to add 59 in 28 balls. With the scores level, Botha was caught and bowled by Scott Boland, but it was too little, too late for the Stars. Ben Dwarshius edged the next ball for four to complete the chase.Stars’ flying start and grand stall
Rob Quiney and Wright both stroked their first balls through the covers for four, and looked set to rack up a huge total. Quiney went after Johan Botha and smote Sean Abbott over long-on for six. After he fell to the final ball of the Powerplay – caught at short fine leg off Moises Henriques’ first over of the tournament – Wright kicked on while Kevin Pietersen accumulated. The England pair put on 71 and, on a belting pitch, 128 for 1, with five overs left in the innings, looked a very strong position.The Stars, however, ended up with a modest total. Wright was bowled by Lyon when he tried to accelerate further, then the promoted Evan Gulbis was stumped. Seb Gotch was caught behind in the next over, then David Hussey and Pietersen fell to leave the Stars at 6 for 150 in 19 overs. Sam Harper and Ben Hilfenhaus fell in the final over of the innings, which yielded only six runs.In the last 27 balls, the Stars had lost 7 for 26 and managed just eight runs in boundaries. In the absence of their Australian call-ups, the Stars looked thin on the batting front, and in the end they had a tail like a diplodocus – starting at No.4! Somehow, they had only five bowling options.Luke Wright struck his second successive fifty but it was not enough for Melbourne Stars to put it across Sydney Sixers•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Lyon and the power of spin
Nathan Lyon started with a wide, but barely put a foot wrong thereafter, and played a vital role in the Stars’ stall. He tossed the ball up and gave it a rip, and went for only 18 runs in four overs. In the Sixers’ chase, Liam Bowe, the left-arm wristspinner, produced three outstanding overs – and even dismissed Moises Henriques – but was picked apart in his fourth, which turned the game.Haddin’s strange night
Brad Haddin, miked up by Channel Ten, began his evening by making a joke about the Brad Hodge controversy and his funny old evening continued. He stumped Gulbis via a triple-fumble, then off his helmet (which is legal in the BBL) took a wonderful one-handed diving catch to get rid of Gotch. Haddin’s innings was skittish too, and it happened in the middle of the Sixers’ collapse. He fell for 10 in the 14th over when he holed out to long-on. Two balls later, Nic Maddinson was caught at backward point, extending his poor form, and the Sixers’ season looked over.Sean Abbott is congratulated on the wicket of Ben Hilfenhaus•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Abbott’s expanding skillset
Everyone knows Abbott can bat, but he had not shown it so far this season. When he ambled to the crease, he had three more wickets (16, the most in the competition) than runs this season, and six of his 13 had come in one shot to beat the Heat. Here, he played a blinder. He knew that the Stars have struggled to replace John Hastings at the death, and that Michael Beer and Liam Bowe had an over each. He went after both Bowe and Beer. By then, the game was up; Ben Hilfenhaus was flayed for 12 too. In finishing terms, this was a mini-masterpiece.Where are they now?
It was a bad day for Melbourne in the BBL. Had the Stars won by 33 runs – a distinct possibility when Maddinson fell – they would have finished top. Instead, they slid to fourth. The Renegades finished fifth, and Sixers – who were top before their derby drubbing by Thunder a week ago – moved to third. As a result, if they and the Stars win their semi-finals, the SCG will host the final.

Jack Taylor, the Gloucestershire allrounder, has been passed to resume bowling his offspin by the ECB. Taylor was suspended in June after being found to have an illegal action for the second time in his career.Taylor underwent remedial work after his bowling action was found to exceed 15 degrees. He was re-tested on July 28 and the ban has now been lifted with immediate effect.Even without his bowling, Taylor has continued to feature in Gloucestershire’s middle order. The 24-year-old has scored 602 runs at 43.00 in the Championship this season – behind only Chris Dent – and made his highest T20 score of 44 not out last week to help Gloucestershire top the NatWest Blast South Group table.He was previously called in 2013, missing the rest of the season to remodel his action with the help of Gloucestershire and the ECB’s national academy in Loughborough, before being cleared to resume bowling in February 2014.

In the absence of Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach, West Indies’ long-time new-ball pair, their fast bowlers are still “learning the art”, their bowling coach Roddy Estwick said after the second day’s play of the Antigua Test. With their captain Virat Kohli moving to his maiden double-hundred, India swelled their overnight score by 264 runs before declaring on 566 for 8. Having experienced another punishing day on the field, West Indies were 31 for 1 at stumps.”Yes, obviously it is a good wicket for batting but also we must bear in mind that as a bowling attack we have lost Jerome Taylor to retirement and we have lost Kemar Roach, who has not been selected, and when you look at our bowling attack, between them it is about 40-45 Tests,” Estwick said. “So the current bowlers are still learning the art of fast bowling and trying to get the combinations right. So it is going to be a long struggle.”And remember that India are a very good batting side as well. So it will be a tough series for us and we will continue to work hard and continue to stay disciplined and try and stay focussed as possible.”India went into the Test match with only five specialist batsmen, but that did not hurt them even after they had lost their first four wickets with only 236 on the board. R Ashwin, batting as high as No. 6 for the first time in his career, scored his third Test hundred, and Wriddhiman Saha, Amit Mishra and Mohammed Shami all made important contributions as well. Estwick said the success of the lower order came from the lack of scoreboard pressure rather than any failings on his bowling unit’s part.”It is a very good batting pitch and when you get to 400 for 4, the batsmen can come out and play freely, the tailenders can come and play freely, it is a big difference from if you are 50 for4, then the ball game changes. But when you get to that total and you have the license to go and play shots, obviously declaration is going to come. So there is no pressure on their batsmen at all. Hopefully we will see down the series what happens when they are under pressure.”West Indies chose a seemingly conservative bowling combination for the Test, picking only one frontline fast bowler in Shannon Gabriel, one specialist spinner, and two medium-paced allrounders in Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite in support. Apart from Gabriel, West Indies’ bowlers largely bowled defensive lines to defensive fields.Estwick refused to comment on the composition of the attack, saying he “had no say in selection”, and said West Indies had no option but to try and contain given how Kohli was batting.”Once Kohli was at the wicket, it was very difficult to attack,” Estwick said. “If you look at how he was playing, he was scoring at a run a ball and scoring freely. With containing you have a job to do and [offspinning allrounder Roston] Chase is in his first Test match, Carlos Brathwaite who has only played three Tests, Holder in his 15thTest.”We are still learning as young players. I heard a couple of weeks ago England lamenting the loss of Jimmy Anderson [to injury, against Pakistan], yet they have Stuart Broad with 99 Tests. So with a bowling unit it takes time and you have to be patient with a very young attack. And we are playing against a very good Indian batting line up on a pitch that is very good as well.”With West Indies facing a difficult task to save the follow-on before they can set their sights any higher, Estwick said someone in the top order had to emulate Kohli and play a big innings.”It is a simple thing,” he said. “We have to bat very well and bat deep into the fourth day and if we can do that, until just after tea on the fourth day, that will give us a chance of saving the game. But the first thing to do is avoid the follow-on and somebody in the top four will have to get a very big hundred like Kohli who got 200.”So it is important that one of the batsmen says, ‘Look, this is a good pitch, and I am going to capitalise here, and if they can come to our backyard and do it, we can do it as well.'”