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Former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister was arrested in Islamabad on Tuesday

Danyal Rasool11-May-2023The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered the immediate release of Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricketer and Prime Minister, from custody after declaring his arrest “unlawful” on Thursday. The Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Umar Ata Bandial, ordered Imran’s immediate release after the warrants through which he was arrested in Islamabad on Tuesday were also declared null and void.Imran will now be transferred to a guesthouse at police headquarters in Islamabad, and he has been ordered to present himself to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday, which had declared his arrest legal.Related

• Imran Khan arrested in Islamabad

It marks a swift turnaround two days after Imran was arrested by the Pakistan Rangers, a paramilitary federal law enforcement corps, after he presented himself at the IHC for an unrelated case. At the time, he was arrested in relation to the Al Qadir University case, an institution he founded as prime minister in 2019 and where he remains chairman. The manner of the arrest, which saw Imran led away by scores of paramilitary police, led to severe criticism in Pakistan and elsewhere. According to , Imran alleged in the Supreme Court that the arrest had been violent, and he had been beaten with sticks.Imran was being held by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and had been ordered by the IHC to be kept in physical remand for eight days. It was that decision that Imran appealed immediately, leading to the order of his release on Thursday. The decision does not represent an acquittal in this case – the release comes from the Supreme Court determining that the procedure of the arrest was improper.Moments after Imran’s release, his supporters gathered outside the court to celebrate and chant slogans. His arrest had led to violent and deadly protests all across Pakistan, most notably in Lahore, where the Corps Commander’s House was ransacked and set alight. Clashes between the Pakistan military and supporters of Imran’s party, the PTI, continued throughout the past two days.Mobile internet remains suspended throughout the country, and social-media sites have been blocked. Conservative estimates have the number of people killed at 12.The current federal government in Pakistan, which replaced Imran’s government in April 2022 after a vote of no confidence, has often called for his arrest, as have several courts over the past year. There were two separate concerted attempts to arrest him from his residence in March, where police were thwarted by huge numbers of supporters gathered outside his residence to help him resist arrest. Several polls have shown Imran holding a clear lead as the most popular politician in the country, and he has accused the government of thwarting Pakistani citizens’ democratic rights by refusing to hold elections.”They want to either arrest or disqualify me because they are scared [of the fact] that my party is one of the most popular in Pakistan’s history,” Imran Khan had told in March, as attempts to arrest him from his residence in Lahore were underway. Last November, Imran suffered bullet wounds to his leg after an assassination attempt while he was leading a protest march in Wazirabad in Punjab.

The left-armer produced a stunning first over but England quick Olly Stone limped off after three balls

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2023Birmingham 172 for 8 (Yates 65, Shaheen 4-29, Ball 3-33) beat Nottinghamshire 168 (Moores 73, Hasan 3-25, Lintott 3-27) by two wickets Birmingham Bears booked themselves a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast with a two-wicket victory over North Group rivals Notts Outlaws at a damp Trent Bridge despite losing four wickets to Pakistan ace Shaheen Shah Afridi in the first over of their innings as they chased 169 to win.The Bears, already sure of a place in the knock-out stages after five straight wins before this, found themselves reeling at seven for four as Shaheen, at 23 already regarded as among the best bowlers in the world in this format, gave away five wides with his first ball but then took wickets with his first, second, fifth and sixth legal deliveries.But, after the Outlaws lost their England quick Olly Stone after bowling just three balls on his comeback from injury, opener Rob Yates put together a calm 65 from 46 balls with five sixes that ultimately proved to be the foundation for a victory completed with five balls to spare with vital runs from Jacob Bethell (27) and Jake Lintott (27 not out) in the middle and later stages of the innings.Despite Tom Moores hitting 73 from 42 balls, the Outlaws always looked to be under par with 168 from their 20 overs, Hasan Ali taking 3 for 25 and Lintott 3 for 27. Afridi’s 4 for 29 and Jake Ball’s 3 for 33 proved in vain and Outlaws need to beat Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge in their final game to join the Bears in the knock-out stages.Asked to bat first after struggling for runs in their last three matches, the Outlaws suffered an early blow as Alex Hales continued his own poor run by chopping on to Henry Brookes for four but Joe Clarke and Lyndon James found some late momentum in the powerplay, James clearing the Larwood and Voce Stand with an enormous six over midwicket off Brookes.Yet from 61 for 1 after six overs they were checked again by the Bears spinners, with both Clarke (26) and Matt Montgomery bowled by Lintott in consecutive overs as the Outlaws reached halfway at 86 for 3.Lintott, the left-arm wrist spinner, picked up his third wicket when James, in his most productive Blast innings to date, cut straight to backward point for 37, but gave Moores a life on 21 when he spilled what should have been an easy boundary catch off Olly Hannon-Dalby.It turned out to be an expensive miss in the context of the innings as the wicket-keeper made the most of that and another slice of luck on 28 when a steepler off Glenn Maxwell dropped safe by hammering sixes off Maxwell, Lintott and Hannon-Dalby twice as 45 were added in the last six overs.But that was against the loss of six wickets as Pakistan international Ali signed off his Bears stint by having Steven Mullaney caught on the fence, trapping Matt Carter leg before and bowling Moores with the last ball of the innings after Maxwell had removed Imad Wasim, leg before, and Afridi via a catch at long-on before Stone was run out as the last three balls of the innings all brought wickets.Any hopes of straightforward night for the Bears seemed to be obliterated in Afridi’s extraordinary first over, which began with five wides but then saw Alex Davies yorked and Chris Benjamin bowled attempting a scoop off the first two legal deliveries, followed by two singles and another two wickets off the final two balls, Dan Mousley falling victim to a stunning one-handed catch by Stone at short cover and Ed Barnard castled first ball by another stunning yorker.More drama followed as Stone, playing in his first Blast match of the season after a long absence with a hamstring injury, had to leave the field after bowling just three balls. Yates began to assert himself with sixes off Carter and Ball but Maxwell bottom-edged into his stumps off Ball and the Bears were 60 for 5.Thanks to Afridi’s heroics, the Bears were three runs behind where they needed to be on the DLS chart when rain brought an interruption with the visitors 76 for 5 after seven, but the break, which in the end cost no overs, game the Bears time to gather their senses and at 101 for 5 after 10, with Yates having completed a 27-ball fifty that included four sixes, they were beginning to look favourites.Bethell was needlessly run out in the 12th over, putting the outcome in the balance again with 51 needed from 50 balls, but as the requirement came down to 34 from the last five overs it was clear that the Outlaws needed to be rid of Yates if they were not to slip to defeat.In the event, they claimed his wicket with the next ball as the left-hander sent a delivery from Ball skywards and Clarke took a fine diving catch at cover as Yates departed for 65. Ball raised home hopes again when he dismissed Ali with two overs left but Henry Brookes hit the winning boundary off Imad in the final over.

The WTC 2023-25 games will be played after the two teams face-off in three T20Is and three ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2023South Africa will begin their 2023-2025 World Test Championship cycle with a two-Test series against India at home later this year. The Tests will take place over the traditional Boxing Day and New Year period, at SuperSport Park and Newlands respectively. The New Year’s Test returns to Cape Town after a four-year absence following the Covid-19 pandemic and South Africa playing in Australia over last year’s festive season.The Tests will be South Africa’s first since beating West Indies 2-0 at home in March this year, and the second of India’s WTC campaign, following their ongoing matches in the West Indies. The Tests will come at the end of a tour that will begin with three T20Is, and will also include three ODIs.The last time India travelled to South Africa to play Test cricket was in the previous WTC cycle, from late December 2021 to early January 2022. India won the first Test in Centurion by 113 runs, but lost the next two, in Johannesburg and in Cape Town, by identical margins of seven wickets. That, however, didn’t prevent India from making the WTC final, where they lost to Australia. South Africa, meanwhile, finished third on the table, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the final.South Africa’s big five venues – Kingsmead, St George’s Park, the Wanderers, SuperSport Park and Newlands – along with Paarl’s Boland Park will all get a taste of the action but there are no matches planned in the country’s central region, which includes Bloemfontein and Kimberley. Durban, where a significant proportion of the Indian diaspora in South Africa is based, will only host one match, the first T20I.”This is an important tour for both teams and I am really pleased that we will have a full tour comprising all three formats of the game,” Lawson Naidoo, CSA chair, said in a statement. “The tour also allows us to showcase the best of South Africa and we have spread out matches across the nation.””The Boxing Day Test and the New Year Test are amongst the most important fixtures on the international cricket calendar and the schedule has been planned particularly around these marquee dates,” Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, said.The India series will be the only men’s international cricket played in South Africa in the 2023-24 summer – South Africa host Australia for three T20Is and five ODIs in August-September – and will be followed immediately by the SA20. In mid-February, South Africa are due to travel to New Zealand for two Tests before a mid-year series in the Caribbean. South Africa will only play two-Test series for the duration of the 2023-2025 WTC cycle, with their next three Test series set for October 2026, when they host Australia.

He has so far only led Australia in two ODIs since his appointment last October

Andrew McGlashan26-Jul-2023Pat Cummins has indicated he may not captain Australia in every one-day international leading into the World Cup in India later this year.For the multi-format players involved in the Ashes there will be a three-week break after the final Test, but it won’t be long before attention shifts to white-ball cricket.A T20I and ODI tour of South Africa begins in late August, for which the squad is expected to be announced shortly after the final Test in England, with three one-dayers in India following off the back of that then straight into the World Cup.Related

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Cummins was appointed ODI captain last October following the retirement of Aaron Finch. Since then Australia have only had six matches in the format, but Cummins has played just two of them. Josh Hazlewood stood in as captain for one game against England then Steven Smith did so for the series in India when Cummins was absent following the death of his mother.With Cummins having a poor game at Old Trafford, as a bowler and a captain, questions have been raised about whether the workload is manageable, but he is comfortable about how the role will pan out over the next few months as the focus shifts formats.”I know the selectors have been really clear that I’m a bowler first in that team,” he said. “So if we need to manage some of those games leading into the World Cup that takes precedence over the continuity of being captain every single game.”We’ll manage that, but there’s a great team around us of players and staff so while I’m the captain and it’s a bigger workload it’s manageable.”It was an outlook flagged by national selector George Bailey when Cummins was named captain. “In our one-day team, we do feel like we’ve got some strong leaders, some really experienced members of the team, and some developing leaders,” Bailey said. “So regardless of Pat being there, I think we are moving away from this concept of a captain taking over and their leadership being all-encompassing.”It is expected that Cummins’ ODI captaincy stint will only continue until the end of the World Cup with a potential that the selectors will look to unify the white-ball leadership under one person.There has yet to be a successor named for Finch as T20 captain and it is possible that whoever leads the side for the three matches against South Africa is only an interim appointment before a permanent structure is put in place later in the year to lead into the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA.Meanwhile, in Test cricket Cummins is approaching the two-year point of his captaincy and when he was announced in late 2021 he indicated he may not keep the role for as long as some. However, if he continues for another couple of years at least, it will likely coincide with the start of the regeneration of the side as senior players begin to retire with the chance a significant number could depart in swift succession.David Warner has given his departure date early next year, but Cummins is in no rush to hasten others to the finishing line although is confident that replacements will be readily available when needed.”I certainly don’t want to rush anyone out the door,” he said. “I think this is about the fourth Ashes series where Jimmy Anderson says it’s going to be his last one. You never know. It’s just an age. Some of these guys might be around here in four years, and still at the top level. We’ll see.”It’s always a conversation. In cricket, we’re lucky you’ve got white-ball cricket where you can kind of have a soft entry for a lot of the guys, give them exposure to international cricket. It’s something the selectors talk about, but really you try and pick your best XI each week.”A replacement for Warner will be the first significant order of business for the series against West Indies in mid-January unless the selectors decide to draw a line ahead of the three Tests against Pakistan starting in December.Marcus Harris could be first in line having been the spare batter throughout the last Australia home summer and this Ashes tour, although Warner gave a strong endorsement to Matt Renshaw.”I’ve always said Matt Renshaw is a very good player,” Warner said. “He can play both formats quite easily. He’s tall. He’s exactly like Haydos [Matt Hayden]. We spoke about him in the early part of his career.”I’ve always felt and held him in high regard as a very good player. He’s worked on his technique. He’s been in and out of the squads, and I think he’ll be a great replacement.”

“He can put the innings together, play any kind of role in that middle order”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-20231:09

Shastri: ‘Virat must bat at No. 4 if the team needs him to’

Who should be India’s No. 4 at the World Cup? If AB de Villiers were to make that call, it’d be his former Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate Virat Kohli. De Villiers didn’t explain the rationale behind his suggestion, but did mention Kohli’s ability to “put the innings together and play any kind of role in the middle order” would make him the “perfect fit.””We’re still talking about who will be the No. 4 batter for India. I’ve heard some rumours about Virat possibly taking up that position. I would be a big supporter of that,” de Villiers said on his Youtube channel ‘AB de Villiers 360. “I think Virat is perfect for No. 4. He can put the innings together, play any kind of role in that middle order. I don’t know if he would like to do that. We know he loves his No. 3 position; he’s scored all his runs there, but at the end of the day, if the team needs you to do something, play a certain role, you have got to put your hand up and got for it.”Kohli’s record at No. 4 is pretty good. Seven of his 46 ODI hundreds have come there. In 39 innings, he has scored 1767 runs at an average of 55.21 and strike rate of 90.66. However, he last batted there over three years ago, in an ODI against Australia in Mumbai.The prospect of Kohli dropping down a spot had seemed necessary with Shreyas Iyer (back) and KL Rahul (thigh) injured. But both of them have recovered well enough to be part of the upcoming Asia Cup and that tournament may well provide further clues as to how India are thinking about their middle-order batting options.Rohit, when the India squad was announced for the tournament, highlighted how players should be flexible. “No one should say, ‘I’m good at this position or I’m good at that position’. You want guys to be able to bat anywhere, that’s the message conveyed to every individual. Not now, but over the last three-four years,” he said.For the moment though, all indictions are that Iyer will reclaim the No. 4 spot. He is believed to be pain-free following intensive rehabilitation for back surgery, and has cleared his mandatory fitness tests.On Friday, on the second day of India’s Asia Cup training camp in Alur, Iyer batted for over 90 minutes in a match simulation setting, facing off against both spin and pace, alongside Kohli as India chose to give their top five – Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Iyer and Rahul lengthy batting time.As confirmed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Rahul has picked up a “niggle” that hasn’t allowed him to fully resume his wicketkeeping drills. It’s likely he will sit out of at least the first two games at the Asia Cup, which starts on August 30.

Draw with Lancashire leads to almost unbearable 80-minute wait for news from Trent Bridge

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2023Kent are staying in Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship, after a day of unmitigated, stomach-churning drama at Canterbury. They drew their game with Lancashire and then faced an almost unbearable 80-minute wait for news from Trent Bridge, where a Middlesex win would have been enough to relegate them.Lancashire’s Luke Wells made 117 and Keaton Jennings 74, but after collapsing from 194 for 0 to 258 for 7, Josh Bohannon and Tom Bailey batted them to safety, making 68 not out and 78 respectively.Jack Leaning and Aron Nijjar took three wickets apiece, but Kent’s failure to finish their opponents off left their supporters sweating on news from Nottingham. The visitors closed on 390 for 8, a lead of 223.Fans and staff, at least those who could stand to watch, duly crowded round laptops and iphones. Kent captain Leaning prowled the balcony, and Director of Cricket Paul Downton stood grinning with the sheer tension of it all.Every run was cheered, every wicket felt like a depth charge and when Nottinghamshire hit the winning runs a roar that may well have been audible at Trent Bridge was emitted.The consensus at the start of the day was the Kent would probably be ok, but the word “probably” ended up doing some very heavy lifting.
With seven bonus points in the bank Kent knew they’d be safe if they could match Middlesex’s result against Nottinghamshire, but for the first hour things looked grim, in more than one sense.Play began under leaden skies, but the seamers made no impact. Lancashire resumed on 126 without loss and had levelled the scores within 13 overs.Wells carved Jack Leaning through point for the four that racked up his 24th first-class hundred but eventually fell when he edged the same bowler to Daniel Bell-Drummond at slip.From 194 for 0, Lancashire lost five wickets for 32 runs. Jennings went in almost identical fashion in Leaning’s next over and Steven Croft should have been out to the next ball but he was dropped by Tawanda Muyeye at short leg.George Bell flashed at Aron Nijjar and was caught behind for 1. George Balderson drove Leaning to Compton at point and also went for 1 and a session that had started so demoralisingly ended on a high when Nijjar had Croft caught by Bell-Drummond, leaving Lancashire on 226 for 5 at lunch.Matthew Hurst was then out for a duck in the third over after the resumption, skying Yuzvendra Chahal to Nathan Gilchrist at mid-off.Just as news of Middlesex’s gutsy declaration filtered through, Chahal switched to the Pavilion End and duped Tom Hartley into a rash shot that was taken by Ben Compton at mid-off for 18.At that point the lead was under 100 and a Kent win at least looked possible but Bohannon and Bailey batted through till tea, by which time Lancashire were 344 for 7 and there were only 27 overs left. Both batters were dropped, the former by Harry Finch off Joey Evison, the latter when he offered Chahal a return catch.These lapses effectively finished off any lingering chance of a run chase and Kent’s fate was out of their hands. Bell-Drummond couldn’t cling on when Bohannon edged Leaning but by then almost everyone in ground was either watching the stream from Trent Bridge, nervously following the score on their phone or, in some cases, praying.Bailey was caught by Gilchrist off Nijjar just after he’d passed his highest first-class score of 77 and Muyeye came on to bowl for the first time this season and Ben Compton for the first time ever as both sides went through the motions before shaking hands and heading off to watch the nearest available stream.It wasn’t an easy watch, but after nearly 90 minutes of soaring blood-pressure and heart palpitations deliverance came and a wave of relief engulfed the St. Lawrence.

Australia’s selectors name a strong XI for the tour match on December 6 with Brisbane Heat losing four players for two BBL games

Alex Malcolm23-Nov-2023Cameron Green will get a chance to push for a Test return while a three-way audition for Australia’s soon-to-be-available Test opening spot is set to take place between Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw and Cameron Bancroft after they were named in an strong Prime Minister’s XI to take on Pakistan in a four-day tour match in Canberra ahead of next month’s Test series.The selectors have effectively named an Australia A XI with significant Test experience for the match which starts at Manuka Oval on December 6. Nathan Lyon’s understudy Todd Murphy and fringe Test seamer Michael Neser have also been named in a side to be captained by South Australia’s Nathan McSweeney, who has led Australia A twice already this year against New Zealand A.Jimmy Peirson has been named as the wicketkeeper having kept regularly for Australia A in the last two years. Josh Inglis, who usurped Alex Carey as the ODI keeper in the World Cup but remains the Test understudy, is being rested after staying in India for the five-match T20I series after the World Cup.Related

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Nathan McAndrew has been rewarded for his outstanding form with the ball this season while Mark Steketee has been a regular in Australia A squads in recent years.Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster has been rewarded for his phenomenal start to the Sheffield Shield season with bat and ball earning his first call-up to a representative side since playing two games for Australia A in 2016. Webster has made scores of 62, 64, 32*, 59, 70, 97* and 103 in the first five Shield matches and has taken wickets in every game including 4 for 32 against South Australia.Webster has been called in after Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie, who had been set to be included, was called up to Australia’s T20I squad for the five-match series against India that starts on Thursday.Green had flagged his inclusion during the World Cup having not played any red-ball cricket since he lost his place in Australia’s side for the final Test of the Ashes series. He remains behind Mitchell Marsh as Australia’s first-choice Test allrounder but is eager to win back his place and is every chance to feature during the Test summer. Marsh experienced some soreness due to the increased bowling loads during the three Ashes Tests he played, having not bowled in first-class cricket in two years prior to the Ashes and having not played back-to-back first-class games full stop in four years.Both Green and Marsh have been rested from the T20I series against India but Green has also indicated he is aiming to play in WA’s Shield clash with Queensland starting on November 28 at the Gabba.Marcus Harris has found some form recently•Getty Images

There will be plenty of intrigue around the three openers that have been selected in Harris, Renshaw and Bancroft. It will be interesting to see who will bat at No. 3 as the trio have been opening for their states and are all vying for David Warner’s Test spot once Warner steps away after the Pakistan series. The Prime Minister’s XI match will be the last first-class game any of them will get to play before Australia’s first Test against the West Indies in mid-January when a new opener is set to be selected.Some BBL clubs will bear the brunt of such a strong squad being named. There had been discussions held over a number of months between various clubs and the selectors about how this fixture would impact BBL teams. Brisbane Heat are set to be the worst affected with Peirson, Neser, Renshaw and McSweeney all unavailable for their first two matches on December 7 and 9. But they will be hoping to have Test opener and skipper Usman Khawaja available to play prior to the first Test against Pakistan on December 14 in Perth although the Test squad is due to assemble on December 9.Melbourne Stars will be without Webster and Steketee for their clash with Heat on the opening night while Sydney Sixers will be missing Murphy for their meeting with Melbourne Renegades on December 8. Lyon has already declared he is keen to play for Renegades that night at the SCG while the Sixers are hopeful Steven Smith will be available.There have only been eleven players named to face Pakistan in order to avoid further withdrawals from the BBL to run the drinks. Local ACT premier cricketers will be involved with the squad during the four days to train and provide support to the team. Former Sri Lanka batter Thilan Samaraweera will coach the side having been part of the Australia A and Australia underage teams as an assistant coach over the past two years.Prime Minister’s XI: Nathan McSweeney (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Nathan McAndrew, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Beau Webster

“He has kept really well in one-day cricket. So just a question of transferring that into red-ball cricket,” says the head coach

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-20232:05

Can India conquer the final frontier?

KL Rahul has started only one first-class match as the designated wicketkeeper, but that doesn’t seem like it will hold India back from playing him as a wicketkeeper in the two-Test series in South Africa. Two days before the first Test in Centurion, coach Rahul Dravid spoke at length about the challenge for Rahul but also the opportunities it opens up for both Rahul, who will be making a Test comeback, and India.”I see it as an exciting challenge and an opportunity for him to certainly do something different,” Dravid said. “With Ishan [Kishan] not being available, the opportunity came up. We have a couple of keepers we can choose from. Rahul is certainly one. We have had this discussion with him, we’ve discussed this with him. You know, he is very confident, he is very keen on giving it a go. We do understand that it’s probably something he has not done as often. He has been doing it regularly in 50-overs cricket. So that’s certainly tough, you know, to play 50 overs and then bat as well in a full day. That can take a lot out of your body.”So he has prepared well, I must say, over the last five, six months. He has done a lot of keeping, even though it’s in the white-ball format. But this will be a new and exciting challenge for him as well. I guess one of the things here is that if anything there is not going to be that much of spin bowling. Probably more pace bowling here than there is spin, so it will ease him into that role a little bit if anything.Related

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“It’s something that we will see how it goes and how it pans out, but it’s really nice to have someone like him and the options that he provides us. Just having his ability with the bat would be something that would be really useful. And let’s see how he goes with the gloves. I mean, he has kept really well in one-day cricket. So just a question of now transferring that into red-ball cricket for longer.”The window has opened up for Rahul, who scored a century as an opener on India’s last tour of South Africa, in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant, who scored one in the middle order himself. India are conscious their keeper contribute with the bat.”For us, the big challenge is if we can really put some runs on the board and score those critical, extra 60-70 runs that gives you a great chance. If I go back to the last series that I was here, the one thing we did here [in the first Test] really well was we had a really good first innings. We had a really good first day and got to 327 in the first innings. If you can put up those kinds of scores on challenging wickets, you put yourself ahead in a Test match. But in the next two Test matches, I just felt in our third innings, we could not score those 50, 60 extra runs. You know, we just felt short and they bowled well.”Since the last trip, India have seen the introduction of more attacking batters. Dravid said they weren’t asking the young batters to alter the game but to be aware of match situations.”We encourage the players to play the way they feel most comfortable in,” Dravid said. “In the end, you are judged by the results you produce. The guys know that, they understand that. We want to encourage them to play in the way that they play, but also keeping in view the conditions and keeping certain sort of tactical things that you have to be aware of when you play in South Africa. The nature of the ball and how that behaves over the course of 80 overs and the kind of shots you can play may be in the early part of innings vis-a-vis what you might be able to do later on.”I think there’s a balance between finding that, just having the cricket smarts and to read a game and to understand the situation and play according to the situation. But of course, allowing yourself to express yourself. So certainly, we’ve got guys who do play their shots and we are not going to hold them back, and we are going to allow them to express themselves, and hopefully they’ll make some smart decisions when the situation arrives.”

Batting at the top is a specialist’s job in the longest format says Australia’s World Cup winning hero

Tristan Lavalette11-Dec-2023Travis Head believes that opening the batting in Test cricket is a “specialist job” as he ruled himself out of contention to replace David Warner.Having powered Australia to an ODI World Cup triumph with spectacular batting at the top of the order, Head presented a potentially intriguing option to succeed Warner who is set to retire after the upcoming Test series against Pakistan.Australia head coach Andrew McDonald recently hinted that replacing Warner may not come down to a straight like-for-like opening batter. Head had replaced an injured Warner in India earlier this year, where he counterattacked the new ball to average 55.75 across five innings.But Head said he was firmly entrenched in the middle-order where his swashbuckling batting has thrived over the past two years. He believed Warner’s replacement was likely to come from those on the fringes, which include former Test openers Cameron Bancroft, Matthew Renshaw and Marcus Harris who all played in the Prime Minister’s XI game against Pakistan last week.”[Selectors are] happy with me in the middle order,” he told reporters in Perth ahead of the first Test against Pakistan starting on Thursday. “I think [opening] it’s a specialist job. The guys that have been waiting to get into the team for a while deserve the first crack at it. But the conversations are ongoing with everyone…only one for me is [opening in] the subcontinent. I don’t see myself moving around too much in the future.”Related

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With his position entrenched, Head’s focus turned to quickly switching to Test cricket having been the only player from Australia’s title-winning World Cup team to stay until the end of the subsequent five-match T20I series against India.Ahead of that series, which was seemingly shoehorned into cricket’s congested calendar, there was some interest over whether Head would play having celebrated mightily with his revelry amusingly captured on social media. He played the final three games, but was unable to capitalise on strong starts in each of his innings. The series had its critics and many of Australia’s players returned home to either rest or play in the Sheffield Shield ahead of the Test summer. But Head was keen for opportunities at the top of the order to make his case to be part of Australia’s line-up at next year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA.”I’m not a lock for that T20 World Cup, so I wanted to present and try to perform and try and get myself in that team. We felt like that was the greater opportunity to play the three T20s [than Shield],” Head said. “We haven’t got many T20 opportunities coming up over the next little bit, so it was sort of that last chance to press my claims to make sure that I’m in the mix.”Travis Head at his first red-ball net session since winning the ODI World Cup•Getty Images

In his first hit-out against the red ball for months, Head was perhaps unsurprisingly sluggish against Australia’s quicks during a batting session on the WACA ground on Sunday. He made 99 against West Indies on a sedate Optus Stadium surface last summer, but expected a spicier pitch this time around.”Pretty average yesterday…wicket is trickier,” Head said of his training session. “Nothing really changes from my side of things, I want to be positive. I want to be aggressive, but take the right percentages.”Head said the broken hand that forced him to miss the early stages of the World Cup was still “not 100 percent”. “I think it’s getting close. Training’s a little bit restricted and a little bit sore, but in game time I haven’t felt it since the early games [after returning],” he said.Since his heroics at the World Cup, Head has become something of a cult hero in Australia with even some of his compatriots dressing up as him for Christmas parties. He is set to be a fan favourite at the Perth Test in a city where the locals have had an uneasy relationship with the national team.”It’s been crazy. I did myself sort of dirty with a couple photos, so did the boys a couple times,” Head said of his partying which turned into memes. “The support has been awesome.”It was nice yesterday when the boys came together. There was 10 of us here that played in that [World Cup] and you can still feel the buzz and positive energy.”

He carried his beat for 91 at the Gabba as West Indies pulled off a famous victory and will now captain the ODI side

AAP31-Jan-20241:34

Finch: They’re not great numbers for a middle order

Steven Smith had the perfect response to critics who declared he shouldn’t be opening for Australia in Tests.After a lean first three innings as David Warner’s replacement up top with Usman Khawaja, the 34-year-old almost hauled Australia over the line to avoid the monumental eight-run upset by West Indies at the Gabba.Smith, who has scored 27 of his 32 Test centuries at No.3 or No.4, insists he didn’t overthink his approach to opening.Related

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• Finch puts spotlight on Australia middle order: 'They're not great numbers'

After scores of 12, 11 not out and six, the star batter belted an unbeaten 91 in Australia’s second innings on Sunday and feels “comfortable” as an opener.”There was a lot of commentary around I’d failed in two or three innings – I had a not out and two low scores,” Smith said at the MCG on Wednesday. “Now I’m averaging 60 as an opener.”It was just another position; I’ve battled against the new ball numerous times, coming in early. I’ve enjoyed the first couple of weeks of it…if they see fit to move me back down, I’ll do whatever the team needs.”Smith, who became the first Australian to carry his bat since Warner in 2011, was the only player to handle West Indies’ newest pace sensation Shamar Joseph. The 24-year-old tore through Australia with 7 for 68 to spearhead the tourists to an extraordinary first Test victory down under since 1997.Shai Hope and Steven Smith are the captains for the ODI series•Getty Images

Adding to the legend, Joseph, in his second Test, bowled in the second innings with a painful toe injury that has forced him to head home to the Caribbean and miss the ILT20 with Warner’s Dubai Capitals.”I overheard a conversation, I think we were seven down just before lunch and I overheard him speaking to [West Indies captain] Kraigg [Brathwaite]… he’s [Joseph] like, ‘I’m bowling to the end, man’,” Smith said.”He’s a rare talent and I think it’s great for cricket what he was able to do and see the West Indies competing like they did. He just kept coming in, and actually probably bowled faster at the end rather than the start.”Smith also defended his decision to give No.11 Josh Hazlewood two balls to face Joseph in what ended up being the last over of the match.Hazlewood was Joseph’s final victim, sparking wild and joyful West Indies celebrations as they completed arguably the biggest upset in Test history.”I’ve thought about it, whether we could do different things,” Smith admitted. “Maybe I could have taken five balls against Shamar; he was on fire obviously. But then I run the risk of not getting a run off the last ball and ‘Hoff’ [Hazlewood] having to take all six from Alzarri.”Smith will lead Australia in the three-match ODI series which starts at the MCG on Friday.