All posts by csb10.top

ScorecardMatt Coles’ spirited fightback was to no avail•Getty Images

Essex’s captain Ravi Bopara batted himself back into form in white-ball cricket with a 78-ball 74 to take Essex to the top of the southern group in the Royal London Cup.Essex reached their 286-run target with five balls to spare to remain unbeaten in this season’s 50-over competition.That Essex had a sufficiently challenging total to chase was largely down to Matt Coles and an eighth-wicket partnership of 140 in 14.2 overs with James Tredwell.Coles savaged the Essex attack, bludgeoning 91 off 52 balls with 10 fours and five sixes after Kent, put in, had looked in serious trouble at 135 for 7, but his efforts proved to be to no avail.Bopara had struggled with the bat, scoring just 49 runs in seven previous one-day innings this season.It was not a swashbuckling knock by any means, with just one four to his account when he reached his half-century, but he kept the Essex reply on track with quickly-run singles and twos in fifty-plus partnerships with Dan Lawrence and Ryan ten Doeschate.”I’d got out to run-outs a couple of times, so that’s two innings where I might have got a lot of runs, who knows?,” Bopara said. “Then you put yourself under pressure if you’re not scoring, so it’s nice to get a few today. It was good as well ahead of the T20 tomorrow where we’ve got to be positive and hit the ball hard.”We consider ourselves as a chasing side – our batting is a lot stronger than our bowling. When you’re chasing you’re always going to be under pressure, you’re looking at the scoreboard and it jumps up from seven to nine and a half an over, but the idea is never to panic. As long as you keep your wickets in hand you’ve always got a very, very good chance.”Coles was disappointed that his efforts did not secure victory. “I think we should have been able to defend that total,” he said. “We knew it was going to be tight. Cowdrey bowled very well for us, and so did Tredwell, and I thought we started very well. But we ended up giving away 23 extras and that’s not brilliant.”Kent had passed 50 without alarms but Essex’s bowling breakthroughs began when Matt Quinn switched to the Hayes Close End.Joe Denly was beaten by movement off the pitch and was bowled for 28. Daniel Bell-Drummond had been becalmed after an early onslaught and departed in the 18th over for 28 when he played on to Quinn. And Quinn had his third wicket in his next over when he nipped one back to send Sam Northeast’s middle-stump cartwheeling.Ashar Zaidi’s first ball of his second spell accounted for Fabian Cowdrey, who chased a wide ball down legside and was stumped after managing just four runs from 22 balls.Sam Billings had obviously not paid attention as four balls later he fell in similar fashion. Zaidi’s delivery was so wide of off-stump it barely pitched on the cut strip, Billings fell and lost his bat in trying to reach back into the crease. James Foster dived to remove the bails.When Zaidi did bowl straight, Darren Stevens twice sent the ball soaring over the Pearce Stand towards the River Can for sixes.Alex Blake was sixth man out when he looked for a quick single as he pushed Zaidi to Jesse Ryder at square leg, only to slip as he tried to get back. Stevens went next as he tried for a third six off Zaidi, but was well held on the midwicket boundary by Nick Browne. At 135 for 7, Kent were in deep trouble.But Coles and Tredwell turned the visitors’ innings around and added fifty in 7.1 overs, with Coles hitting both Ryan ten Doeschate and Ravi Bopara straight for six.Bopara was particularly savaged, going for 35 off two overs before Coles reached his own half-century off 40 balls when he drove Quinn through the covers for two.Coles brought up the century partnership in exactly 12 overs with an uppish sweep off Bopara for four and then hoisted his third straight six next ball.Ten Doeschate was hit for successive sixes – over mid-off and midwicket – followed by a four before Coles was bowled going for another heave to depart for 91.Tredwell had been the silent partner in the partnership and finished 47 not out off 42 balls with six fours.In reply, Essex lost Tom Westley in the fifth over when he got a leading edge to steer Stevens to Denly at mid-off before Browne and Ryder settled into a largely serene period.Browne punished Stevens with a lob over the infield for four followed immediately by a six to long leg. The fifty partnership came up in 9.2 overs with Ryder slamming a full-toss from Ivan Thomas through midwicket for four followed by another uppishly through the covers.Ryder reached his individual fifty from 61 balls with a single off Tredwell, but popped the next delivery he faced into Stevens’s hands at backward point. He had helped put on 82 in 17.2 overs for the second wicket. Browne went in Tredwell’s next over, victim of a smart stumping by Billings for 49 from 60 balls.Tredwell, though, was punished by 18-year-old Dan Lawrence, who hoisted two successive straight sixes as he and Bopara clocked up a fifty-run partnership in 9.3 overs. Lawrence eventually went on 35, caught at deep extra cover by a tumbling Thomas off Cowdrey to end a 64-run partnership.Bopara reached a painstaking 50 off 64 balls with a solitary, straight-driven off Cowdrey early on. There were ironic cheers when he hit his second boundary, driving Coles through midwicket to move from 52 to 56.The fifth-wicket had just put on a century in 12 overs when ten Doeschate, attempting to win the game with one hit, holed out to Cowdrey on the extra cover boundary for 45.

ScorecardRichard Levi thrashed 58 off 37 balls•Getty Images

Richard Levi’s 28-ball half-century helped Northamptonshire to a second consecutive win in the NatWest T20 Blast and the highest successful chase at Wantage Road. Levi’s 58 gave Northants a quick start and Steven Crook smacked 33 in 24 balls finished the job.Requiring close to ten an over, Northants kept pace with the chase throughout with Jobb Cobb making 35 in 23 balls and Ben Duckett 29 in 15 balls. Only legspinner Matt Critchley found any control for Derbyshire, with 2 for 19 from his three overs.Levi was in belligerent mood once again after an opening-round 61 against Leicestershire. His second scoring stroke was a six – the trademark clip off the legs – and he added three more maximums, including a sweet straight lofted drive off Shiv Thakor before the Powerplay was complete. The first six overs were worth a healthy 77 for 1.Cobb found form in two second XI T20s earlier in the week and here began with a classic straight-drive before clearing his front leg to smear Alex Hughes over midwicket and pulling another wide of long-on.Duckett got his “duck-scoop” away to begin the 15th over that yielded 18 runs to bring the equation back to 46 required in 30 balls. But after an outrageous reverse sweep that flew straight into the burger van for six, he tried the same stroke and top-edged to Thakor at backward point.Crook helped reduce the target to 16 from 12 balls and then smashed Jimmy Neesham over extra-cover for four. Just five were needed from the final over but Rory Kleinveldt was caught at long-on trying to finish the game in style, before Andy Carter yorked Rob Keogh to still leave a single needed from two balls. But a no-ball from a high full toss sealed Northamptonshire’s victory.It was a mighty chase – the highest for Northamptonshire in T20s – after Derbyshire posted 195 for 7. Buoyed by an opening-round victory at champions Lancashire, the visitors were sent in and raced off to a great start thanks to Wes Durston. He took Crook’s first over for 19 – two heaved pulls flew towards the short boundary and a slammed uppercut for six over point to the long side of the ground.He helped the visitors to 65 off the Powerplay – Hamish Rutherford falling to a catch at extra cover for 10 – but they lost Durston on the cusp of a half-century before skipping down to Seekkuge Prasanna and being stumped for 47.It ended a stand of 74 for the second wicket in just 36 balls. Chesney Hughes played his part with 46 in 29 balls, having begun with three boundaries, all of them off the edge of the bat: two flashing past slip and a top-edge that Adam Rossington couldn’t take behind the stumps.But having been 110 for 3 after 11 overs, Northants hauled back the Derbyshire innings with four wickets in 11 balls. Cobb, the stand-in captain, was taken for four, six, four in successive balls by Wayne Madsen before gaining his revenge by trapping Madsen lbw trying to sweep. Hughes then missed a straight delivery and was bowled middle stump to give Cobb a second wicket in the over.Ollie Stone returned to have Neesham caught at first slip and when Graeme White claimed a return catch from Thakor, 140 for 3 had become 151 for 7. But Tom Poynton found two boundaries in the closing overs, coupled with some good running in his 37 in 21 balls, to put up a testing target. It proved not enough.

Steven Smith projected a sense of calm sitting in front of a huge media throng as Australia’s captain on the eve of a home Ashes series.He’s been there and done this many times before. But this is a little different. That Smith was sitting there as the stand-in captain was not plan A for Australia.That they are playing without two of their big three fast bowlers, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, in a home Test for the first time since 2022 was definitely not plan B.That they have picked two players, Brendan Doggett and Jake Weatherald, to debut in the same Test for the first time since 2019, and a seventh different opening partner for Usman Khawaja in 16 Tests, was not even plan C.Australia are unsettled and vulnerable. But while there is a popular belief, at least externally, that England must win in Perth to have any chance in the series, there is no sense that Australia feel Perth is make or break. The lessons of last year’s loss to India in Perth before winning the series 3-1 are fresh in their minds.”I think you want to try and win the first Test match and get yourself ahead of the game, I suppose, or the series,” Smith said on Thursday. “But I think either way we look at last summer, we lost the first Test match and we were able to claw the series back.”We’ve got a lot of belief in that change room, if the result doesn’t go our way this week, that we can turn it around. We saw it last year. So ideally, we play well this week, and we’ve got potentially Patty on the table next game. Josh, I don’t know, but I think we’ll see how this week pans out.”Steven Smith: There’s always so many words said before the [Ashes] series•Getty Images

Australia have learnt some clear lessons from 12 months ago. Despite their public protestations after copping a shellacking from India in Perth that caused a firestorm of criticism from home fans, they knew internally they had been undercooked going into that series.Related

• England hold off on naming final XI for Perth Test

• Australia's injuries fuel English optimism but task ahead is huge

• Weatherald and Doggett handed debuts in first Ashes Test

• Bazball has made England believers, whether Australia buy into it or not

• Australia expects as Golden boy Green aims for Ashes peak

Every member of the squad bar Khawaja played the most recent Sheffield Shield round to prepare for the opening Test, something that didn’t happen last year. Every member of the chosen XI bar Travis Head and Mitchell Starc have played at least two first-class games in the last month, which again was not the case last summer. Perth golf courses have been frequented this week, but quantifiably less often than in the training period last year.The hype has been unprecedented. On another scale to last year, even with the inflation that India can bring. But for Smith, entering his ninth Ashes series as a player and his fifth on home soil, it has felt like par for the course.”It’s pretty standard,” Smith said. “I’ve been involved in a few now, and there’s always so many words said before the series. But for us, I think it’s about just ignoring the outside noise, concentrating on our processes, what we do well as a team and trusting and backing that throughout. It’s exciting that we’re starting tomorrow. Everyone’s been raring to go for the last few days of training and even before that.”Australia have maintained their own bubble. There were no leaks to the media of the initial Ashes squad. There was no leaks of the XI until Thursday morning, which was a pretty good achievement given the binary nature of the choices the selectors had.Even the public pontifications on how Bazball will fare in Australia have been left to ex-players, the media and the punters. Australia’s current players have consistently spoken kindly this week about the quality of England’s team and the brand of cricket they play.There were moments in the 2023 Ashes in England when Australia did look “rattled” in the field as England’s Bazballers swung momentum violently at times as only they can.The proof will be in the pudding, but Smith certainly portrayed a sense that Bazball is not “in their heads” as the Barmy Army’s song suggests.”I think it’s just playing the tempo of the game that needs to be played at each certain time,” Smith said. “I’ve no doubt throughout this series, there’s going to be periods of the game where a few of their batters get off and they score some runs quickly. And for us, it might be about being a little bit defensive in those moments. And then finding the moments where we can attack a bit more and just playing the game, really, that’s in front of us, and not letting it drift too far before we implement the plans that need to be played at that certain time. I guess that’s as simple as I can put it right now.”There are as many unknowns about Australia as there are about England ahead of this series. But it is clear Australia are not gripping the steering wheel tight in Perth. The result will be the result. Reinforcements are almost certain to come soon given how good Cummins looks in the nets.It might be the calm before the storm. But even if the storm comes, an understrength Australia appear prepared for it.

Queensland quick Sam Geyer withstood an early barrage from Sam Harper to take four wickets on debut in the Sheffield Shield against Victoria.Geyer was the star of the show for Queensland on Saturday, as Victoria hit 318 for 9 declared before the home side were 15 without loss at stumps on day one of the pink-ball fixture.Crucially Matt Renshaw survived a tough final half hour under the Gabba lights to be unbeaten on two, in what could be an audition for the day-night second Ashes Test at the same venue.With questions over Usman Khawaja’s fitness and whether Travis Head will remain opener or go back to No. 5 after his Perth heroics, Renshaw has a big Sunday ahead of him in Brisbane.Saturday night’s 34-ball survival came with chief selector Tony Dodemaide in attendance, with the opener having already scored two centuries this summer.Regardless it will be Geyer who left the Gabba happiest after his 4 for 102 on debut, even if he went at more than six an over. Struck down by stress fractures in his teens, the 22-year-old paceman needed plenty of resilience after Harper took him down early at the Gabba.Harper cut the seamer’s first two balls for four on his way to 88, in a brutal welcome to first-class cricket for Geyer. But the seamer responded shortly after, having Marcus Harris well caught at slip for 18.Geyer also copped some treatment from Matt Short, but recovered to remove Mitchell Perry, Fergus O’Neill and Will Sutherland in the final session.He would have had a five-wicket haul had Tom Straker not put down a catch at fine leg to dismiss Todd Murphy.”He’s very high energy Sammy,” spinner Mitch Swepson said. “Looked like he would run through a brick wall every time I threw the ball to him. He was ready and raring to go.”Outstanding for him to get four wickets, he probably deserved five as well. He bowled brilliantly and was that spark for us.”Swepson also took two crucial wickets, getting Harper and Peter Handscomb in quick succession after the pair added 88 for the third wicket.Harper had been the chief aggressor for Victoria, bringing up his 50 in 55 balls after a series of cuts, late cuts and a big six over mid wicket off Straker.But he fell when he cut Swepson straight to backward point, before Handscomb picked out the midwicket fielder in Swepson’s next over.Veteran Gurinder Sandhu also took 2 for 55, and was arguably Queensland’s best bowler with the pressure he built with the ball.

Halfway through his press conference ahead of Pakistan’s Asia Cup opener against Oman on Friday, coach Mike Hesson was asked where he got the “courage” to openly comment about Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s shortcomings.Slightly taken aback by the question, Hesson asked for it to be repeated. This time, the question was toned down and Hesson’s response was measured.”Being honest about your assessment of players is pretty important,” Hesson said. “Coming from a place where you have no agenda is also very important. Looking at things objectively is important. I haven’t talked about anyone’s frailties.Related

• Hasan Nawaz brings the muscle to Pakistan's middle

• First-timers Oman face in-form Pakistan

• Ind vs Pak: Suryakumar, Agha okay with aggression 'as long as it stays on the field'

• India, Pakistan training overlap spikes Asia Cup interest in Dubai

“What I have alluded to is the way the modern game is played and the strike rates required, particularly in good conditions. All players ask for from coaches is to be honest with them. That is the responsibility you’ve got. Just because you like a player or have a relationship with a player, it doesn’t mean you can’t be honest.”Having tackled that topic, Hesson was asked whether he is confident about Pakistan’s batting. Was Mohammad Haris their best bet in the lower order? Why were Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan inconsistent, and Hasan Nawaz not doing well? Do Pakistan’s batters struggle to pick spinners from the hand? The context was the challenge of Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, when Pakistan play India in Dubai on Sunday.”I don’t know where that has come from,” Hesson said about the perceived struggle against spin. “We have played against Rashid [Khan] and Noor [Ahmed]. We have played against possibly the best wrist-spin attack in the world [in the tri-series final on Sunday] on a [Sharjah] surface that has spun square and managed to score 75 more runs than the opposition. I’m not sure where that has come from.”Hesson then addressed the question about Pakistan’s young batting line-up.”It is very much a developing batting line-up,” he said. “There are a number of batters who can win you the game on their day, but they don’t have as many good days as you’d like at the moment. That is very fair. The thing for us is the sum of the parts as a batting group.”Every game bar one in Sharjah, we were probably 20 runs above par. Even though there are a number of players who didn’t do well on particular occasions, I’m more interested in what we end up with and how we get there. In the tri-series final, we got 140 when 120 was plenty on the pitch.”Then he was inevitably asked about being part of the great spectacle – India v Pakistan – as a coach for the first time. “Look I’ve certainly watched many games from afar with other teams or while commentating,” Hesson said. “Being part of a highly-charged event is going to be exciting. From my perspective, just like anytime you enter the final of a world event or whatever, it is about keeping everybody focused on the job at hand. That will be no different.”We know India are obviously hugely confident and rightfully so. But we are very much focused on improving as a team day-by-day and not getting ahead of ourselves. We are well aware of the challenge of the task ahead and we are certainly looking forward to it.”Mike Hesson has thrown his weight behind Pakistan’s ‘developing’ batting order•Getty Images

Pakistan have had a solid lead-in to the Asia Cup, having played five games over 12 days during the tri-series against Afghanistan and UAE in Sharjah. While the players had a day off on Thursday, Hesson had a close look at the pitch at the Dubai International Stadium.”This is very different to Sharjah in terms of the abrasiveness of the grass,” Hesson said. “We are playing on the same surface as the India vs UAE game. We have got the balance in the squad to deal with it. We have got plenty of multi-skilled players which gives us a bit of flexibility.”I don’t think this pitch is going to spin as much as Sharjah. And even yesterday [India v UAE match], when Kuldeep bowled, it didn’t spin a huge amount. But when you have wristspinners, the surface doesn’t matter as much.”The beauty of our side is we have got fine spinners. We have got Mohammad Nawaz, who has been ranked No. 1 since coming back into the side six months ago. And obviously we’ve got Abrar [Ahmed] and Sufiyan [Muqeem] do as well as they have. Saim Ayub is in the top 10 allrounders in the world and Salman Agha has hardly bowled.”We have got five seamers as well, which allow us to go for either air speed, change of pace or reverse swing depending on what the surface will provide.”

Mohammed Siraj, who endured a difficult home season, where he only played four of their five Tests for a total of six wickets, is in Australia after a little bit of an epiphany.”I could feel that I wasn’t enjoying my bowling,” he said at the end of the tour game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on Sunday. “As a person I am someone who gets a different feeling when I’m enjoying my bowling, even if I’m not getting wickets. And now when I wasn’t getting wickets, I went a bit deep into why I wasn’t getting them. In India you know that spinners bowl most of the overs, so there it’s a little tough to get wickets in [the] five-six overs [you get as a fast bowler]. So I just became a bit upset about why I wasn’t getting wickets. But now I am having a lot of fun.”Even though its only been one match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Siraj is already closing in on his wickets tally over the last three months, having picked up five in Perth. He checked in with former India bowling coach Bharat Arun to help find his centre.Related

• Gambhir flies back to rejoin India Test squad in Australia

• On top down under: Siraj doesn't take baggage of home season to Australia

• 'I'm in a really good spot' – Boland prepares to take over Hazlewood's pink-ball duties

• KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal open, Shubman Gill fifty at No. 3 in warm-up

“I spoke with Bharat Arun sir, that this is what’s happening with me,” Siraj said. “Because he has known me for a while and he has seen my bowling from long time back. So he just told me to enjoy and not run after wickets. Just enjoy and you’ll get wickets. And before travelling, I met [fielding coach] Dilip sir in Hyderabad and we practiced together as well. So it felt good and now I’m enjoying.”Morne [Morkel, India’s current bowling coach] keeps telling me that ‘you are a warrior’. ‘You’ll get us wickets, but you just keep enjoying your bowling’.”Siraj looked in good rhythm in the practice game against the Prime Minister’s XI. It was his first game with the pink ball. Enabled by a rain break in between, he got through a seven-over first spell where he picked up the first wicket to fall. He finished with figures of 7-1-18-1, though he was certain he had Jack Clayton caught behind down the leg side, indulging in a celebrappeal but the deflection was off the thigh pad. He was happy to get time with the pink ball.”This [pink] ball has a synthetic feeling,” Siraj said. “This is different to the red ball we play with. There can be a bit of confusion due to the ball, but it’s just one match so we just have to focus on that and practice for it and we’ll improve day-by-day. The seam is very hard. It’s bright, and quite big. The more you practice with it, the better you get.Mohammed Siraj with the pink ball•AFP via Getty Images

“I think that with the pink ball, it’s better to bowl back of length. Because pitching it up, there’s not a lot of swing, so the more you hit the deck and get it to seam, it will be better for us.”I have heard that the ball swings a lot under the lights but I haven’t yet bowled with it under lights. So when we go to Adelaide and practice, we will try that. And the more practice we get, we’ll know more about what we have to do.”Jasprit Bumrah took the honours in Perth but Siraj and Harshit Rana, who took four wickets in six balls at the Manuka Oval bowling short-pitched deliveries, helped keep the pressure up from the other end and they will be looking to do that again in Adelaide with the series resuming next Friday with a day-night Test.”I always keep talking to Jassi [Bumrah],” Siraj said. “Even before the first match, I spoke with him about what I was going through. And he just told me one thing – don’t run after wickets, just keep bowling consistently in one area and enjoy your bowling. If you still don’t get wickets, then you come ask me. So I enjoyed my bowling and I got wickets as well.”Australia is a place where a fast bowler enjoys because you get pace and bounce. As a fast bowler, you get everything you want. So you get a different kind of confidence to come and enjoy your bowling here.”

A whirlwind century from hometown hero Travis Head blew India’s attack away and thrilled the Adelaide crowd on day two of the pink-ball Test. Head’s 140 off 141 balls swelled Australia’s first-innings lead to 157, leaving India facing a challenging final two hours under the floodlights. The visitors fell further behind when they lost half their side during that period when the pink ball was at its most potent. At stumps, India were 128 for 5, still 29 runs behind.Head had walked out to generous applause from his home crowd and into a bit of trouble in the middle after Jasprit Bumrah had taken out both Nathan McSweeney and Steven Smith in a space of 13 balls. While McSweeney nicked a Bumrah special behind to Rishabh Pant, after managing to add just one to his overnight tally of 38, Steven Smith was caught down the leg side for 2.After the floodlights had blacked out twice on the opening day, Australia’s batting threatened to black out on the second afternoon. Head, however, had other ideas and torched the innings with his no-holds-barred approach. He played and missed four of his first nine balls, but that certainly didn’t stop him from playing his shots. He stayed true to his method of staying leg-side of the ball and cracking it away into the shorter pockets of the ground square on the off side.He also cleared the longer straight boundary when he crashed R Ashwin over mid-off and then over his head for sixes, including a 110-metre monster hit over the sightscreen.Head scored his first fifty off 63 balls and took only 48 more balls to convert it into a hundred. He celebrated the landmark by rocking his bat like a baby in tribute to his family’s new arrival, with his wife and newborn among a 51,642-strong home crowd. A hug from fellow South Australian Alex Carey was also part of the revelry.Indian fans would be sick of the sight of Head by now. Since 2023, he has hit 1052 runs in 19 innings against India across formats at an average of 61.9 with three centuries, including tons in the previous cycle of the WTC final and 2023 ODI World Cup final.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Head had set to work on Saturday by adding 65 with Marnus Labuschagne and then 74 with Carey. Labuschagne’s innings was as fluent as Head’s but it was one that he needed to work his way back into form after having managed just 123 runs in his last ten Test innings, of which 90 came in one knock against New Zealand, before the Adelaide Test. Having been afforded some fairly comfortable leaves on the first evening, India’s seamers made Labuschagne play a lot more on the second afternoon. Whenever they erred too straight or into his pads, Labuschagne picked them away with compact drives and flicks.Labuschagne got to his fifty off 114 balls and celebrated it by taking the erratic Harshit Rana for three fours in four balls. After having late-cut the taller, quicker Rana with ease, Labuschagne was caught at gully when he tried a similar shot off the shorter, slower pace of Nitish Kumar Reddy.Head was more brutal on Rana, hitting him for 41 off 29 balls. It didn’t really matter what came down at Head. Short. Full. On the stumps. Outside off stump. Everything was dispatched.Mohammed Siraj, though, gave India some control and backed Bumrah up. He picked up his first wicket in the game when he extracted extra bounce and coaxed an outside edge from Carey.R Ashwin’s only wicket was Mitchell Marsh but that was down to some good fortune. After shaping to defend a non-turning offbreak from Ashwin, Marsh walked off even before umpire Richard Illingworth raised his finger and didn’t even contemplate a review. There was nothing on Snicko, with replays also indicating that the ball had missed the outside edge.Head attacked the second new ball as well, whipping Bumrah for a brace of fours. He then picked Siraj up for an imperious six over square leg in the next over, but Siraj struck back the next ball to york Head. Siraj released his pent-up emotions and gave Head a send-off that didn’t go too well with him or his beloved Adelaide crowd.The boos rang out but Siraj proceeded to dismiss Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland soon after tea to wrap up Australia for 337. Bumrah, who had gone down with some discomfort, which prompted medical attention, four balls into his spell with the second new ball, recovered to knock Cummins over.Related

• Siraj vs Head: The send-off that turned Adelaide Oval into the Colosseum

• Travis Head and India's bowlers – the one-sided love story continues

• As it happened – Cummins bags five to make it 1-1

Cummins then took centerstage with the ball and cramped KL Rahul with a lifter for 7 off 10 balls. Just before stumps, he hit the top of Rohit Sharma’s off stump with an absolute peach.Rohit had a shaky stay, having been struck on the helmet by his first ball from Starc. He was then bowled next ball, but a no-ball reprieved him. Cummins did Rohit in just before the close of play, with no error in the placing of his heel.It was Boland who had prised out Virat Kohli by pushing a length ball on a fourth-stump line and drawing an outside edge from him. Boland had earlier struck with his first ball to dislodge Yashasvi Jaiswal for 24 off 31 balls. He has seamlessly slotted into the bowling attack and could pose an interesting selection question for the Brisbane Test though Josh Hazlewood is hopeful of returning to action for that fixture.Starc not striking with the pink new ball in his first spell might be an aberration, but he came back with the older one to storm through the defences of Gill with a hooping inswinger that also seamed in late.Pant, however, continued to do Pant things. Despite the rush of wickets, he charged out of the crease and manufactured swinging room to smash his first ball over mid-off for four. He then unfurled the reverse pull and the falling scoop to counter Australia’s quicks briefly. He remained unbeaten on 28 off 25 balls.India will need more of this from Pant – and more support from Reddy – if they are to somehow pull off another heist in Australia.

The BCB has appointed Mohammad Salahuddin as the senior assistant coach of the Bangladesh men’s team. His contract will run until March 15 next year much like head coach Phil Simmons’. Salahuddin’s first assignment will likely be Bangladesh’s tour of the West Indies, which begins with a four-day warm-up match in Antigua.Salahuddin has previously served as Bangladesh’s assistant and fielding coach under Dav Whatmore and Jamie Siddons. He also worked as a specialist coach in the BCB’s national cricket academy from 2010 to 2011 before becoming Singapore’s head coach in 2014. He holds an ACC-Cricket Australia Level 3 accreditation.Regarded as one of the foremost cricketing voices in Bangladesh, Salahuddin has had a contentious relationship with the BCB in recent years. He was appointed as a batting consultant in 2017 only for them to change their decision at the last minute. He has often been critical of the board’s position with respect to pitches and selection.Salahuddin is also regarded highly by most players in Bangladesh, having started his coaching by developing the likes of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal when they were young. He is also influential in the growth of the current crop of cricketers like Jaker Ali and Mahidul Islam Ankon.BCB president Faruque Ahmed said Salahuddin ticked a number of boxes for the role. In his first press conference as the board chief, Faruque had said that he was in favour of promoting Bangladeshi coaches.”When I took over as BCB president, I made a commitment to provide opportunities for deserving candidates to contribute to the national team set-up,” he said. “Salahuddin brings with him a wealth of experience, pedigree, and knowledge, making him the ideal candidate for this role. I firmly believe it is time to integrate more capable Bangladeshi coaches into the system.”

Uttar Pradesh batter Rinku Singh will join the India B squad while all of the Test players picked for the series against Bangladesh, except for Sarfaraz Khan, have been withdrawn from the next round of Duleep Trophy matches beginning on September 12 in Anantpur.Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav and Akash Deep are leaving the India A team and will be replaced by Pratham Singh, Akshay Wadkar, Shaik Rasheed, Shams Mulani and Aaqib Khan. Mayank Agarwal will take over the India A captaincy from Gill, while fast bowler Vidhwath Kaverappa will move from India A to India D for the second round.India B will be without Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Yash Dayal, and their spots will be taken by Suyash Prabhudessai, Himanshu Mantri and Rinku, whose omission from all squads for the first round of the tournament had been viewed as a surprise. Sarfaraz, who is part of India’s squad for the first Test against Bangladesh, will stay with India B for the second round of Duleep Trophy matches that are scheduled to end on September 15, three days before the start of the Chennai Test.India C are unaffected by the changes, but India D will be without Axar Patel and Tushar Deshpande, who is injured. Kaverappa and Nishant Sindhu will join their squad.Related

• Suthar's seven-wicket haul sets up India C's win

• India B fight past Rahul's defiance to register comfortable win

• Pant, Rahul return to Test cricket with Bangladesh series; maiden call-up for Dayal

India’s Test squad is set to assemble in Chennai on September 12 for a preparatory camp ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh starting on September 19.In the first round of Duleep Trophy matches, India B beat India A with Musheer Khan playing a starring role by scoring 181, and India C beat India D with 22-year-old left-arm spinner Manav Suthar taking a a match-winning seven for in the third innings.

Squads for 2nd round of Duleep Trophy matches

India A: Mayank Agarwal (capt), Riyan Parag, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kushagra, Shaswat Rawat, Pratham Singh, Akshay Wadkar, Shaik Rasheed, Shams Mulani, Aaqib KhanIndia B: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mukesh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, R Sai Kishore, Mohit Awasthi, N Jagadeesan (wk), Rinku Singh, Suyash Prabhudessai, Himanshu MantriIndia C: Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wk), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (wk), Sandeep WarrierIndia D: Shreyas Iyer (capt), Atharva Taide, Yash Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (wk), Ricky Bhui, Saransh Jain, Arshdeep Singh, Aditya Thakare, Harshit Rana, Akash Sengupta, KS Bharat (wk), Saurabh Kumar, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Nishant Sindhu

Hampshire 40 for 1 trail Essex 438 for 8 dec (Cox 141, Elgar 136, Westley 64) by 398 runs Toby Albert and the rain frustrated Vitality County Championship title-chasing Essex against Hampshire at Utilita Bowl.Only 34 overs were bowled after a rain-soaked morning and afternoon, but after Sam Cook and Shane Snater had taken their partnership to 49 and Essex to 438 for 8, Tom Westley declared.Hampshire lost Fletcha Middleton, but Albert dropped anchor with 18 from 69 balls, with Nick Gubbins even more defensive in his 8 off 58. They ended the day on 40 for 1, 398 runs in arrears, with the likelihood this will turn into a final-day bonus-point match, unless the hosts fail to avoid the follow-on.But Storm Lilian deposited a significant amount of rain on Saturday morning, but the hard work of Simon Lee and his groundstaff made sure action got under way after tea. The first part of the session was a battle for bonus points before a declaration. Hampshire needed one wicket for another point, Essex needed 46 runs.Neither of which came to pass, but Snater and Cook had a good go at the runs part of the equation in putting on an unbroken 49. Hampshire had one massive chance to claim maximum bowling points, but Cook was put down by Tom Prest at first slip with what became the penultimate delivery before Westley called his side in.The blue skies suggested batting might be relatively simple, but Cook and Jamie Porter initially put Hampshire’s young opening batters Middleton and Albert under the microscope.There wasn’t significant movement but the odd late ball tailed in and super-disciplined bowling made scoring runs almost impossible early on. It took 23 balls before Albert scored the first run of the innings, and when Snater entered the attack in the ninth over, only five runs had been scored.The Dutchman may have offered up a half-volley for Albert to strike the first boundary of the innings, but he made the breakthrough.He found movement into Middleton, and helped by some low bounce, caught the outside edge, before Michael Pepper brilliantly caught on the forward dive.From then on, Albert and Gubbins battened down the hatches and simply refused to get out – which never looked like happening as the ball aged.In the 28 overs Hampshire batted, there were 150 dot balls.