Men’s and women’s one-day competitions will start in late November

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2020The New Zealand domestic season will begin on October 19 with the first round of the Plunket Shield followed by men’s and women’s one-day competitions starting in late November.Four rounds of the Plunket Shield will be played until mid-November then the tournament resumes in mid-March with the last round taking place in the first week of April.Other than the New Zealand players involved at the IPL all centrally contracted names are set to be involved in the opening rounds of the Plunket Shield.The Ford Trophy, the men’s one-day competition, will involve six rounds before the T20 Super Smash starts in December and then resume in February with the final on March 5.The women’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield will also include six rounds before the Super Smash with the final slated for March 28.All the domestic tournaments will follow Covid-19 protocols which have been established around the world including a ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball and the umpires not holding players’ caps and sweaters.”The new rules also allow for the replacement of players displaying symptoms of Covid-19 during a match, with the option for the player to return to the game following a negative result,” NZC head of cricket operations Richard Brewer said.”These measures will be overseen by the match referee and match officials, and have already been successfully piloted in pre-season warm-up fixtures between domestic men’s sides.”After the impact of Covid-19 on the back end of last season, I think we all feel truly grateful to be able to play sport and offer New Zealanders the chance to see so many quality players and matches this summer.The New Zealand international season is due to begin on November 27 with the first of three T20Is against West Indies which will be followed by two Tests. So far, NZC has been granted government approval for tours by West Indies and Pakistan while they have also announced men’s fixtures against Bangladesh and Australia next year which they are confident will be given the green light.There is also set to be a visit by the England women’s team in February with the hope that Australia will be able to join to make a tri-series.

Malan had scores of 19, 55 and 99* in the three-match series, which took England past Australia to the No. 1 position in the T20I team rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2020Dawid Malan achieved the highest-ever points in the ICC T20I rankings for batsmen, getting to 915 at the end of the T20I series in South Africa. In the process, he also became the first batsman to cross the 900-point mark since Aaron Finch got there in July 2018, his 173 runs at a strike rate of 161.68 helping England to a 3-0 series sweep in South Africa. Malan finished the series 44 points ahead of second-placed Babar Azam.Malan had scores of 19, 55 and 99* in the three-match series, which took England past Australia to the No. 1 position in the T20I team rankings. India, Pakistan and South Africa make up the top five. New Zealand are in sixth place after their 2-0 win over West Indies, who have slipped to tenth.Among other players in action in South Africa, Buttler gained seven spots to get to No. 21 among batsmen, while Rassie van der Dussen’s 136 runs lifted him 17 places to No. 5, a career-best. Faf du Plessis’s 121 runs also helped him get into the top 20.Of the bowlers, Adil Rashid gained three spots to get to No. 4, while Chris Jordan gained one place to get to No. 12.Across in New Zealand, the home side won the first two games before the third was washed out, and Lockie Ferguson, the best bowler across the two sides with seven wickets, including 5 for 21 in the first game, moved up 42 spots to the 32nd position. Glenn Phillips, who smashed the quickest T20I century by a New Zealander in the second fixture, got into the top 100 for the first time, moving to No. 86.

“They set attacking fields which really helps me to score runs, so I take advantage of that”

Varun Shetty01-Dec-2020Shreyas Iyer sees Australia’s short-ball strategy against him as an opportunity to score runs. In the first two ODIs, Iyer has walked in against fast bowlers who have, on both occasions, bowled to him with a short leg and leg gully catching and a clear plan to bowl rising deliveries at his body. Both times, he has been dismissed – one off a steep bouncer and the second a slower one. But Iyer said this plan plays into his attack, even suggesting it was a bit of an honour that Australia were plotting against him.Shreyas Iyer is on his first consistent run with the Indian side after debuting in 2017•BCCI

“I definitely know that they’ve planned against me,” he said, “so I’m really happy. At least they’re coming up with a plan against me to get me out. I feel very overwhelmed and take it as a challenge because, you see, I thrive under pressure. And also, it really motivates to go against them. They set attacking fields which really helps me to score runs, so I take advantage of that and I see to it that I make the best use of it.”Iyer made 38 at just over run-a-ball in the second ODI, having come in during the ninth over with a plan that seemed to be centred on getting inside the line of the short bowling and hitting through the off side. Without being too convincing, he did get deeper into the innings and take on spinners Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell in the middle overs. This hadn’t been the case during the first ODI, when Iyer was caught awkwardly between two or three options off the second ball of his innings.”I knew the short ball was going to come so I was in two minds,” Iyer said of that dismissal. “I was thinking of pulling and at the same time I have the upper cut. I got stuck in between two shots and I couldn’t play the shot. So maybe that’s the reason I got stuck in one place; and the ball came and hit the middle of the bat even that time.”In the second match, I was just like – look at the ball and react. It’s very easy to do that, rather than think what the bowler is bowling. You can actually predict, once you are set, what the bowler is going to bowl, so I usually give myself time at the start and that’s what I applied in the second match and it really worked out well.”Iyer is on his first consistent run with the Indian side after debuting in 2017, and has impressed in the No. 4 role that was given to him after last year’s World Cup. Including his scores this series, Iyer has got a 50-plus score every two innings in his 20 ODIs so far, only nine of which have been played at home. As such, he said, this test of his technique was not something that would compel him to make too many tweaks mid-tour.”I feel that it’s just the mindset which you need to adjust,” he said. “[I’ve] been playing for so many years… obviously it’s my first time playing in Australia and on these wickets. We all know that the wickets are bouncy and the bowlers are only going to bowl to you in the body area and the short balls are going to come to you.ALSO READ: India’s one-dimensional batsmen hurting their five-bowler strategy“Rather than bending down too much, it’s really important that you stand upright and play the ball, so that it’s easy to pick the short ones as well. I’ve set my patterns right from the start. Every time I play, I give myself a bit of time, get set, and then take on the bowlers. And if they come up with that field, it’s really important that I get aggressive as well because with that [field set], it’s really easy to manipulate the field.”A more immediate factor contributing to the rustiness, Iyer said, were the conditions. Acclimatising to Australia, having come from the UAE, and then practicing on pitches that he called “completely different” from the ones in the two games so far, have all contributed to the challenge for batsmen. And for the bowlers too.”If you see the amount of workload they’ve gone through in the IPL – playing 14 games – and after that they’ve come here and stayed in quarantine – definitely it plays on your mind. And it plays with every individual in the team, it’s not just the bowlers,” he said. “We’re working on some routines and processes which haven’t gone well for us in the last few games. And I’m sure it’s just the transition phase from T20 to one-dayers – it’s really difficult, especially for the bowlers coming in and bowling ten overs on the trot.”And also fielding for 50 overs. So it’s not at all easy from their point of view. There are many more matches coming ahead and I’m sure they’ll come back really strong and with a positive frame of mind.”

The pair came in close contact with the public and caught a taxi which breaks CA’s protocols for the BBL hub

Alex Malcolm15-Dec-2020Cricket Australia has handed down major fines to the Brisbane Heat, Chris Lynn, and Dan Lawrence for breaching Covid-19 protocols in Canberra on Saturday night.The breach relates to Lynn and Lawrence socialising together in public. Players are permitted to dine in public, provided they are sitting outside but they are not permitted to have contact with the public. However, the pair sat inside without masks, stopped for a selfie with a fan, and caught a taxi back to the hotel which contravened the rules. It is the first significant breach of CA hub protocols this season.Brisbane Heat have been fined A$50,000, with A$20,000 suspended for the remainder of the BBL season for breaching CA’s Covid-19 directive to BBL teams.Lynn and Lawrence have each been charged under section 2.23 of the Cricket Australia code of conduct, relating to conduct that “(c) is or could be harmful to the interests of cricket or (d) does or could bring the game of cricket into disrepute.”Both players have accepted a A$10,000 fine, with A$4,000 suspended for the remainder of the BBL season.CA’s head of integrity and security Sean Carroll said that while the breach was minor, the protocols could not be compromised.”Medically, this particular breach was lower risk, but actions of this kind have the potential to compromise the integrity of and confidence in our bio-security protocols,” he said.”Potential Covid-19 hotspots and related impacts on State borders remain a challenge for the league and it is imperative that all protocols are adhered to, giving us the best opportunity to move around the country and execute the full schedule.””While Australia’s current Covid-19 infection rate remains low, we must ensure that appropriate measures are taken to reduce the possibility of any player, staff member, or official being connected to a declared hot spot. State/Territory Governments enforced isolation and restrictions for crossing borders for declared hot spots may impact the individuals involved, the team and potentially jeopardise the BBL season.”Lynn issued an apology on behalf of him and Lawrence. “I would like to say sorry to my team-mates, the club, and the Heat fans for being careless and not observing the protocols that were put in place to ensure the continuity of the competition.”Having a photo with a fan at a licensed venue and travelling in a taxi seem pretty low risk but they were identified in our briefings as examples of things you couldn’t do.”I was probably lulled into a false sense of security that because everything has been improving around the country, we were getting closer to normal behaviour.”But the rules, including avoiding close contact, are there to protect the BBL competition and all the players and teams and I do apologise sincerely to everyone for jeopardising that. I can speak on behalf of Dan as well to say that we were are both very regretful at making such a mistake in judgment.”I appreciate all the efforts that went into enabling Dan and I to play last night and will ensure this doesn’t happen again.”Both Lynn and Lawrence have tested negative for Covid-19 since their breach was discovered and were permitted to play in Monday night’s game against the Sydney Thunder.They had to prepare separately from the rest of the two teams and not take part in any close huddles or celebrations over the course of the game, as they were for the time being considered to be outside the strict bio-secure hub all BBL players are meant to be cocooned within for the balance of the tournament. Both players did their best to follow those rules during the match although it was difficult to achieve at times.

T Natarajan and Washington Sundar both made their Test debuts, claiming their maiden wicket.

Varun Shetty14-Jan-2021Australia took command of the first day of the final Test through Marnus Labuschagne’s fifth Test century. India were forced to contend with perhaps the worst blow in a tour of many blows, the loss of their best bowlers in Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, and did a reasonable job of it through their newcomers at first.They could not, however, sustain that through the day as Labuschagne’s anchor innings of 108 played perfect foil for the positive, pace-setting innings’ from Steven Smith, Mathew Wade, Cameron Green, and Tim Paine. From 87 for 3, Australia stretched to 274 for 5 at stumps, and in the meantime, India’s medical staff got an addition to their responsibilities: a potential groin injury for Navdeep Saini, who went off to get scans after bowling 7.5 overs.Related

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True to the theme of the entire tour, the day could have gone differently if the fielding had gone differently. Ajinkya Rahane dropped Labuschagne on 37, shortly after India had dismissed Smith. The chance to build pressure on the lower-middle order seemed to have slipped with that, but a half-chance did come India’s way not long after. However, that chance, at first slip, was also put down. Labuschagne was two short of a fifty at that point, and went on to add 60 more.Marnus Labuschagne signals to the dressing room after reaching his half-century•Getty Images

In that time, he witnessed Wade bat in a more restrained manner than he has all series, as they added 113 for the fourth wicket. Wade didn’t compromise on the attacking spark he’s shown all series, and took a particular liking to driving past mid-off against pace bowling. But an 87-ball 45 ended, yet again, with a harmless lob into the leg side as he looked to pull T Natarajan, who claimed his first Test wicket.Labuschagne would be the next, out in the exact manner as Wade, a top-edge hanging up for Rishabh Pant behind the stumps as an ostensibly slow pitch showed signs of grip and lift off a length.None of those signs showed up in the last hour of the day, however, as Green and a counterattacking Paine put on an unbroken 61-run stand, including seven overs against a largely ineffective second new ball. The ball had swung all day, but India’s four-pronged pace attack weren’t incisive as much as Australia’s batsmen were sloppy.India had come into the Test with two debutants, Natarajan and Washington Sundar. With Bumrah, Ashwin, and Jadeja all missing this game through injury, they found spots in the team alongside Shardul Thakur, to make up a Test bowling attack with a combined experience of four matches.Mohammed Siraj, who debuted in the Melbourne Test, was the most experienced bowler in the line-up. And the de facto leader got the early wicket, that of Warner for the second time in two Tests with one that jagged away in the corridor to take the edge. Rohit Sharma dived low to his right for a sharp catch.T Natarajan sent back Matthew Wade and Marnus Labuschagne in quick succession•AFP via Getty Images

Natarajan took the new ball at the other end and immediately showed his wares, curving it away from the two left-handers. But it was Thakur’s innocuous floater into Marcus Harris’ pads – his first ball in Tests since hobbling off after 10 balls on debut in 2018 – that provided the wicket of the man replacing Will Pucovski. His hard-handed flick wasn’t a menace for Sundar at square leg.India bowled largely outside off stump through the morning session, a move away from their preferred strategy of strangling Australia with straighter lines. It helped their incoming pacers, who are slower on average than the ones they’ve replaced, create a sustained containment plan. But once Smith tore into Thakur – his first five boundaries all came against Thakur, with commanding drives through the off side – the discipline was harder to keep. Labuschagne, who was watchful for his first 30-odd runs that took nearly 100 balls, also became expansive through the off side as he utilised India’s line of attack to establish himself.Smith and Labuschagne put up 70 for the third wicket and looked good money to settle into one of their trademark epics, but shortly after lunch, Smith became one of Australia’s batsmen who will rue the manner of their dismissals on day one. He became Sundar’s maiden Test victim when he flicked an overpitched leg-stump ball straight to short midwicket.

The Australia captain is going through a barren run in T20 with a World Cup later in the year

Andrew McGlashan26-Feb-2021Aaron Finch has been here before, not too long ago: struggling for runs and Australia trying to build for a World Cup.Two years ago, with eyes on the 50-over World Cup, the limited-overs squad was on tour in India and the trip started with a continuation of a barren spell for Finch both in international and BBL colours.This time, in early 2021, the T20I squad finds itself in New Zealand looking to fine-tune plans and tactics ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled for October with a captain short of runs.In 2019, things changed for Finch during an innings of 37 in an ODI in Nagpur which was followed by 93 in the next game as Australia came from 2-0 down to win the series 3-2 (something they need to repeat in New Zealand). From there he filled his boots against Pakistan in Sharjah before an impressive World Cup in England. Since that return to form he has averaged 59.60 in ODIs.The current malaise has a bit more of a single-format focus about it. While he churned out the runs in the ODIs against India late last year, his last 29 T20 innings across the IPL, BBL and now this tour have brought a top score of 52 with 495 runs at 17.06.Ahead of the 50-over World Cup, Australia were still rebuilding in the wake of Newlands and there was no appetite for further changes to the captaincy. Not that anyone to see a captain disposed, but this time there is not that element to the debate. However, the broader point is that Finch has been through this and came out the other side. Can he do it again?Related

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“What he’s done before, he’s come out of these things,” Kane Richardson, also a team-mate at the Melbourne Renegades, said. “Everyone goes through this at some point. He’ll work it out. He’s a gun. I’m sure his mental strength will get him through this. This kind of game, T20, it could be one shot he gets right that flows on.”He hasn’t changed at all in terms of how he is around the group or on the field as captain. That’s a massive tick for him, to not let his own form come into how he is away from cricket or on the field trying to marshal us. We just want to see him make some runs for himself, we all know how tough the game can be when the game can be when you aren’t getting the output you want.”Before the series against New Zealand he spoke about having worked closely with Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach on this tour, and a person he has gone to before when his batting has been a rut.The early stages of this series have continued the frustrations: a square drive hammered off the middle but straight to point and an innings of 12 off 14 balls in Dunedin when runs were being scored at more than 10 an over. The next three innings are important for Finch, if only to stop any murmurings from being a dominant theme during what could be a quiet winter for Australia before the T20 World Cup – quieter still for Finch after he went unsold at the IPL auction having been released after a disappointing 2020 tournament.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

One of factors that is heightening the debate is that there is a clamour for spots at the top of Australia’s T20I batting order. David Warner and Steven Smith aren’t on this tour, Josh Philippe is and tipped for a long international career, Matthew Wade appears the frontrunner to be the World Cup wicketkeeper and needs to bat in the top three as well. Having an out-of-form captain in one of those slots could be awkward.Then there’s the ‘Australian way’ of generations past whereby the adage was to pick the team first and then the captain. In other words, an captain should be judged as a batsman. It was a point brought up by Mark Waugh, while commentating for Fox Sports, during the second T20 which undersold the importance of the captaincy but highlighted that it will be becoming more of a talking point if runs don’t come.”His job is to score runs. It doesn’t matter, there’s a lot of players who can captain. There’s Matthew Wade, there’s Mitch Marsh, there’s Moises Henriques,” Waugh said. “His primary job is to score runs, particularly when you’re opening. That’s a key position in T20 cricket and we’ve got a lot of good players on the periphery to open.”He’ll know it. No batsman is immune from being dropped when you’re not scoring runs. Doesn’t matter if you’re captain or not. I’m not saying it will happen but no one’s irreplaceable. There’s no way the selectors will want to drop him but his destiny is in his own hands.”Unsurprisingly, the tone from the team is one of complete support. McDonald, who is standing in for Justin Langer, saw no reason why Finch would not be in position for the World Cup in India when asked before the Dunedin match.”I’ve got a bloody great job,” Finch said in a Cricket Monthly interview before the season while acknowledging the bad days that can come with it. There’s been a few of those of late. Two years ago it was in early March that the runs started flowing again for the captain. A repeat in New Zealand would be timely.

Azam confirmed that there had been disagreements with Mohammad Wasim over the squads for Africa

Umar Farooq19-Mar-2021Babar Azam has backed returning opening batsman Sharjeel Khan to deliver despite concerns over his fitness, which the Pakistan captain agreed is “not great”. He insisted, however, that Khan remains a match-winner, which is why he is a part of the side.”He can’t be Shadab [Khan] at once but still you need to carry him,” Azam said. “I agree his fitness isn’t great but we will bring him up to the mark. His form right now can help us and he is one of the best openers. I have played with him in Karachi Kings and he can take away the pressure and totally change the game.”We are working on his fitness and you will see a difference. I never asked for him in ODIs but for T20 cricket, which is a short format, you can adjust.”Khan returned to the domestic circuit last year after serving a 24-month ban for his role in the PSL spot-fixing scandal of 2017. His selection to the T20I side for the tour of Africa – South Africa and Zimbabwe – was largely based on his form in the PSL, though, which included a century against Islamabad United. He was the third-highest scorer in this year’s unfinished PSL, behind Mohammad Rizwan and Azam, but at a booming strike rate of 170.94, which was well ahead of the other two.While Khan’s bulk has come for scrutiny, chief selector Mohammad Wasim has said on record that Pakistan was altering the benchmarks for fitness, making it less stringent to make room for skillful players.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Khan was a promising talent for Pakistan before his ban. He played 25 ODIs, 15 T20Is, and one Test and in that time built a reputation for being a hard-hitting batsman. But Pakistan did well without him when he was absent too, soaring to the top spot in T20I cricket, though they have slipped from there since.The change of heart on fitness marked something of a U-turn from the PCB, as earlier head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and chief executive Wasim Khan were less open to selecting players whose fitness was wanting. Azam, the Pakistan captain in all three formats, is less ideologically inflexible on fitness, and is open to bringing in players who provide value in other ways.”I don’t know why there is an impression that his fitness isn’t good enough,” Azam said when asked specifically about Khan, and his fielding. “He played four-day cricket, a one-day tournament, and the PSL as well so I don’t think there is an issue. He is a match-winner and we are focusing on his fitness as well. In fielding he is great and there isn’t an issue so he is very much part of the squad and we have to back him for the good.”ESPNcricinfo understands Azam wasn’t happy with certain aspects of selection and he confirmed there were differences with the chief selector. “I think if these things remain in the meeting room that should be good,” he said. “When there are debates, they are good for the team. Agreement and disagreement are natural processes it happens when we talk.”But we have to keep it in the room. This isn’t my team, it’s our team. I understand the selection protocols and my role is to play the best possible XI and utilise the players we have.”Pakistan play three ODIs and four T20Is against South Africa before moving to Zimbabwe, where they are scheduled to play two Test matches and three T20Is.

Offspinner is set to play competitive cricket for the first time since May 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2021Harbhajan Singh has not played competitive cricket in nearly two years and is entering his first bio-bubble environment since the Covid-19 pandemic began, but feels sure of “what needs to be done” as he prepares to represent his third IPL franchise – the Kolkata Knight Riders – in what will be his 13th IPL season.”These questions [about playing after a gap] are asked because I haven’t played a lot of cricket of late so teams are a bit defensive at auction and they don’t want to bid for me,” Singh, who was bought by the Knight Riders for INR 2 crore (US$ 273,000 approx.) in the 2021 auction, told PTI. “But let me remind all that when I did well for CSK in 2019 IPL, I hadn’t played any domestic cricket. I came to the camp, prepared and went into the match. At my level and experience, I know what needs to be done.”I don’t need to play domestic cricket for Punjab and stop a young talent from flourishing. That boy needs that chance more than me.”Singh, 40, had pulled out of last year’s IPL, when he was part of the Chennai Super Kings, because of “personal reasons” and had said “family takes precedence over sport”. He said he felt more confident now about being in a bubble because the IPL as back in India and people “have now got used to new normal”.”Last year, when IPL happened, Covid-19 in India was at its peak,” he said. “I was concerned about my family and also about hard quarantine in India after coming back. But this year, it’s happening in India and also we have now got used to new normal. Vaccines have come. Also it’s my family which pushed. My wife told me that I should go and play.”Singh had played 11 matches in the 2019 IPL for the Super Kings and picked up 16 wickets while conceding only 7.09 runs per over. Singh played eight of those 11 matches in Chennai and Delhi, where pitches are known to favour spinners more than fast bowlers. This time, he joins the Knight Riders’ spin attack of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, and the franchise has its 14 league games spread across four cities: Chennai (three), Mumbai (two), Ahmedabad (four) and Bengaluru (five).”We have a good team,” Singh said. “T20 is all about three players in a team, could be any three, clicking on that particular day. You see Mumbai Indians are a side which has all its bases covered but they are still beatable. It could be a Rahul Tripathi or a Nitish Rana can win it for us.”Singh has primarily been a T20 player for over three years now, having last played first-class cricket in November 2017, for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. Since then, he has featured in domestic T20s [Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy] twice and has mainly been playing the IPL since 2018, barring three games in the domestic circuit.”I have got nothing to prove to anyone. My intention is to play well, enjoy my stint out there in the middle and playing cricket still gives me that satisfaction. I have set a standard for myself and if I don’t meet that, I don’t need anyone else but I will blame myself. I need to ask myself, ‘did I put in the optimum effort that was required’,” he said. “Yes, I am not a 20-year-old anymore and won’t be training like I did then. But yes, as a 40-year-old, I know I am fit and will certainly do what is required to succeed at this level. The expectation is still going to be there and responsibilities that were there when I was playing for India remains.”Every season, I introspect if I have it in me to play or not. If I feel I am done, I will say, ‘thank you, very much’. If I feel I am doing alright, you will see me next year.”

England pair add unbroken 160-run stand after visitors limited to 375

Matt Roller16-Apr-2021It is cherry blossom season in South London. The pubs in Vauxhall have started to open their doors again, and 30-somethings sat outside cafés as the sun burst through the clouds on Friday morning. A stroll through Kennington Park confirmed that this was the first day of the county season in this part of the world on which a thick coat was not required, and there was a sense of wistful optimism for the summer ahead among the handful of staff inside The Oval before the start of play.Jamie Overton finished an over to Leicestershire’s homegrown centurion Sam Evans that was interrupted by bad light on Thursday evening, and Amar Virdi twirled in from the Vauxhall End for two balls. And then, a deafening noise: . That sound, from the building site neighbouring the pavilion, was the incongruous soundtrack of a low-key day which saw Surrey edge their way into a position of dominance, thanks primarily to an unbroken 160-run stand between Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes.The new development that caused such a racket, One Oval Square, will provide an extra 2000 seats, additional events and hospitality spaces, and new facilities for members including a restaurant and bar. Surrey hope that it will be completed by the end of May, in time for their T20 Blast campaign and England’s ODI against Sri Lanka, by which point fans will be back in the ground and the summer will be in full flow. It is a tantalising prospect which has loomed over the Championship, where the absence of a gentle murmur from the members has been keenly felt in the opening two rounds of the season.The loud backdrop added to the sense often present during County Championship fixtures at The Oval: that while the game itself has a certain importance, it is a prelude or a postscript to something altogether more significant. The Surrey side this week features six internationals and three other players – Overton, Virdi and Jamie Smith – who expect to graduate to that level at some stage in their careers; the contrast with a Leicestershire side with 13 international caps between them (for Germany and the Netherlands) is stark.It has been epitomised by those who have played the lead roles in the first two days of this fixture. Evans, an academy graduate whose determined hundred was his first in a Leicestershire shirt, was the protagonist on the first day, but it was Pope and Foakes who dominated Friday’s play. After Surrey fought back to bowl Leicestershire out for 375 – a useful first-innings total, but not the one they had eyed at 298 for 3 – they needed a significant partnership after slipping to 93 for 3 on the stroke of tea, but a wicketless final session means they can press on towards a lead in the morning.But again, the game at hand is only one part of the equation, especially for the pair whose runs were particularly important. Pope has averaged 23.00 for England since the start of last summer, and came into this match after scores of 22 and 0 against Gloucestershire last week. While Leicestershire’s bowlers were generous, straying on to his hip too regularly, a pair of straight drives back past Ben Mike’s right hand betrayed portrayed a man in form; England’s selectors will be hopeful, on this evidence, that his lean run in Tests has been nothing more than a blip.For Foakes, too, these were useful runs, backing up his 133 in the opening round of games. Foakes’ brilliance behind the stumps means that he is unlikely to play international cricket as a specialist batter, but the prospect of Jos Buttler – and even Jonny Bairstow – being away on IPL duty during the first Test against New Zealand in June opens the door for him to play a fourth consecutive Test as England’s keeper. He rode his luck, dropped twice on 33 – by Hassan Azad, at short leg, and by Harry Swindells behind the stumps – but grew in fluency, cracking a pull through midwicket to reach fifty as the floodlights took over from the haze.When the sun was still high, Leicestershire had been well-placed to press towards 500, which would have been their first such total in the Championship since May 2017. Instead, Lewis Hill and Evans fell in quick succession, and it took some bottom-handed clubbing over midwicket from Mike to ensure that they secured a fourth batting point, which was achieved with two balls to spare. Kemar Roach took his first Surrey wickets in a fiery burst, knocking Swindells’ middle stump out of the ground and having Callum Parkinson caught at slip while fending at a short ball, and Virdi cleaned up the tail.As was the case against Hampshire in their opening fixture, Leicestershire leaked runs too freely, straying onto the pads and dropping short and wide all too often. Gavin Griffiths was the pick of their attack, strangling Mark Stoneman down the leg side and pinning Hashim Amla lbw with a quick yorker, and Parkinson won a tight lbw shout against Rory Burns on the stroke of tea. They will reflect tonight that the game has started to slip away from them, but on a flat pitch, they still have every chance of forcing a draw.

Quetta quick had initially arrived at the tournament hotel in Lahore with a non-compliant PCR test

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2021After releasing Naseem Shah from the PSL only three days ago, the PCB has made a U-turn by allowing him to enter the team hotel in Lahore. The Quetta Gladiators fast bowler will be in isolation before flying to Abu Dhabi along with the contingent left behind by the first flights that carried 202 personnel on Thursday.Shah had initially arrived at the tournament hotel in Lahore with a negative Covid-19 test, but there was a problem. As per the Covid-19 protocols for the remaining PSL matches, all those traveling through chartered flights from Karachi and Lahore were directed to assemble at the team hotels on May 24 with negative reports from PCR tests taken not more than 48 hours prior.Related

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However, Shah presented a PCR report from a test that was conducted on May 18. So, upon the recommendation of the independent medical advisory panel for the PSL, the PCB released him from the competition.At the time, Babar Hamid, the director and commercial head of PSL 6, said “the PCB will not compromise on any violations and will expel the player or player support personnel irrespective of his stature and standing in the game if they are found to be flouting the prescribed protocols or regulations.” Things have changed a bit since then.After a meeting between the PCB and the PSL franchises, there has indeed been a compromise with Shah offered a way back to the PSL. All he has to do is clear a pre-isolation Covid-19 test, which will allow him to re-enter the team hotel, and then return back-to-back negative tests, which will give him the green light to board the flight to Abu Dhabi.