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Bangladesh need a strong on-field performance to restore Test cricket to its level within the country’s cricket system

Mohammad Isam in Galle07-Mar-2013When there are calls to protect the primacy of Test cricket, its newest participant often slips somewhere between the eloquent paragraphs.Bangladesh have entered a phase where some cricketers are subtly, through their actions, sending out a message that Twenty20s are their choice of format. When they face Sri Lanka in Galle tomorrow, it will be their first Test this year, almost three months after their last, and it comes on the back of the Bangladesh Premier League.The initiation of the BPL, the emblematic domestic T20 competition, has brought on the advent of “choice” to the Bangladeshi cricketer. Harsh though it may be, playing for Bangladesh is no longer the only option for a cricketer with above-average skills. The BPL offers enough money to a player and, judging by the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) announcement of enhanced match fees for Tests, ODIs and T20s, sticking to the safety of the BPL has become an obvious option for many cricketers. It has happened in India, West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Given how the importance of the BPL has grown among players and the BCB, Bangladesh could be the next in line to accommodate T20s in every aspect of its cricket.At times like this, the buck stops with the captain. Bangladesh is led by Mushfiqur Rahim, a strong character with a penchant for an occasional emotional outburst. But he has come of age as a wicketkeeper and a batsman, working harder than anyone in the team and gaining respect as a leader. He is a sort of individual who needs to do well to be in the right frame of mind while leading the side. In the last 18 months, Mushfiqur has seldom failed with the bat or gloves, giving him the emotional stability to captain the team. And he can lead the team’s mindset, helping them define their individual Test cricket aspirations.Bangladesh, however, have not done well in Test cricket, not even under the matured Mushfiqur. They pushed West Indies for two-and-a-half days late last year but that form didn’t last very long. Glimpses of brilliance, guts and tenacity were all there but ultimately, the scoreline read 0-2, a sight that Bangladesh fans are now used to seeing at the end of most Test series. Bangladesh need a brilliant on-field performance to lift their image and, if they can push Sri Lanka like they did the West Indies and finish it off, it will only benefit the players.Against Sri Lanka, Mushfiqur will need performances from Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mohammad Ashraful to make this tour more successful than the four previous ones. Bangladesh have never drawn a Test match in Sri Lanka, losing all eight matches. This is, however, a country that they have enjoyed playing in over the years.The team is without its best cricketer, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur will yearn for his abilities with the bat and ball when the Sri Lankan batsmen get going. The bowling attack is specially thin; offspinner Sohag Gazi can be a threat with his control and flight, but none of the other bowlers have had enough bowling practice to stake a claim as automatic choices in the line-up.The selectors believe the pace bowling department is their blind spot. It is likely that Abul Hasan’s mid-match sickness is related to the sloppy training schedule of BPL teams, and Rubel Hossain’s lack of rhythm can be put down to the limited number of matches he has played between January and February.The BCB president pointed out on Wednesday that there is a trend among players to think twice before playing the longer version of the game, even as they adopt a different attitude towards T20. Just as the buck stops with the captain when it comes to on-field performance (and Mushfiqur will be liable regardless of the team’s result), Nazmul Hassan must himself and his associates within the BCB one very important question: what is more important to Bangladesh cricket?

Jamaica thumped Leeward Islands by an innings and 201 runs to complete their third win in as many games

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
ScorecardJamaica thumped Leeward Islands by an innings and 201 runs to complete their third win in as many games.Batting first, Jamaica’s ruthless accumulation was set up by Donovan Pagon’s 155. He was assisted by strong contributions from Brendan Nash (40), Tamar Lambert (51) and David Bernard (70). The sequence of solid partnerships meant Leeward were always playing catch-up, despite offspinner Justin Athanaze’s 3 for 102.Spin continued to hold sway when Leeward batted, with legspinner Odean Brown rolling them over for 104 in the first innings. At 80 for 3, with Montcin Hodge and Devon Thomas holding sway, Leeward looked set for a good reply, but Brown ran up figures of 9.1-6-6-5 to skittle out Leeward.Following on, Leeward fared even worse in their second innings, and that despite Kieran Powell’s half-century. This time, Nikita Miller took on the lead role, scything through the middle and lower order to finish with 5 for 16. Brown indulged himself once again, picking up 4 for 32 as Leeward crumbled for 99. The result put the two sides at opposite ends of the points table, with Jamaica getting the full complement of 36 points from three outings, while Leeward have lost all their games.

For the past three months Canada’s squad has been hard at work preparing for their country’s fourth appearance at the World Cup

Umar Ali 11-Feb-2011For the past three months Canada’s squad has been hard at work preparing for their country’s fourth appearance at the World Cup.In squad are five players aged 20 or younger – Nitish Kumar, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Hamza Tariq, Hiral Patel and Parth Desai – all five of whom played in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup team, and are now looking ahead to their first outing on the main stage.”The Under-19 World Cup experience really helped me [become] knowledgeable of what level the other Under-19 players in the [ICC] member countries are at and how to fine tune my game to become a better cricketer,” said stand-out batsman Gunasekera.”A lot of players came through the Under-19 World Cup [team], so it was a good experience and I got to know what international cricket is going to be [like],” added fellow batsman Patel.With such a young group, it’s understandable to think the long road training for the World Cup would grow tiresome, but they see it as an experience they’ve been waiting for their entire lives. “My goal was to play in this World Cup in 2011 and I’ve been preparing for a much longer time than the three months,” said Gunasekera. “From the day I picked up a bat my dream was to play at a World Cup and I think all of the players here that’s what they dreamt of when they picked up a bat or a ball.”Since beginning their World Cup training process in India back in November, Canada have participated in a number of tours and the youngsters have been able to stay concerned with the task at hand to overcome the gruelling regime en route to the World Cup. “We don’t think that far ahead when we’re on other tours, so that’s how we stay focused every time we go on tour,” said Patel. “Yeah we’re away from families but it’s World Cup time.”Though it’s a privilege for the young group to play on the world stage, participating amongst the elite is not the ultimate goal. Rather, producing results that have never been seen for Canada is on the minds of the youthful core.”Make a name for Canada at the World Cup, since we’ve only won one game [at the World Cup]. The first thing that comes to my mind is Ireland reaching the Super 8 [at the] last World Cup, so I think we have to at least repeat that,” said Gunasekera.With such lofty goals the youngsters understand what it will take for the team to reach the quarter-finals. “We know what we have to do, what the team has to do to succeed, we all know our roles and goals, so it’s hard to lose focus as long as we stick with the team,” said backup wicketkeeper Tariq.There’s no shortage of experience on the Canadian roster and the younger members have used all the experience available to improve their own games, inheriting the enthusiastic work ethic the elder players demonstrate.”Looking at all the senior players and how you get [there] pushes you when you’re practising. You want to do what they’ve done to get to where they are right now,” said Tariq. “They share their experiences with me so that’s helped me a lot and they’ve gone through the system as well, so their experience I use as my guidelines to help me survive at this level,” added Patel.Though the older players are there to assist their younger counterparts, Gunasekera says it’s ultimately up to the players themselves to improve. “I think all their experience [will] help you transition to the national system and once you’re there I think it’s up to you how you handle the situation and how to improve from there.”

Waqar Younis, the new Pakistan coach, has hailed the appointment of allrounder Shahid Afridi as captain for the World Twenty20 starting next month

Cricinfo staff27-Mar-2010Waqar Younis, the new Pakistan coach, has hailed the appointment of allrounder Shahid Afridi as captain for the World Twenty20 starting next month in the West Indies. The PCB installed Afridi at the helm earlier this week, after initially announcing the squad for the tournament without naming a captain.”Afridi is an allrounder with a positive frame of mind who had been bowling excellently in last two years,” Waqar told . “His mere presence in the field generates a fighting spirit among the players.”Waqar takes charge during a particularly tumultuous period for Pakistan cricket – several senior players were banned two weeks ago, and there have been persistent murmurs of match-fixing and dressing-room spats. However, he remained confident of a good show in the Caribbean. “Pakistan is capable of defending its title in the presence of Afridi, Razzaq and Akmal brothers.”Pakistan have had four coaches in three years, and with this being Waqar’s first official role as head coach at any level, he acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead for him. “The history of Pakistan cricket tells us that the coaching of the national team is no an easy task,” he said. “But someone had to do the job and I dared to accept it and I assured the nation and the Pakistan Cricket Board that I would not disappoint them.”He tried to temper the expectations of the country’s passionate fans, and said things couldn’t be changed overnight. “I understand that the people of Pakistan are mad for cricket and their sentiments are badly injured when the national team loses but I would ask them that they should curb their emotions and try to understand the circumstances before reacting.”The depth of Pakistan’s talent pool excited Waqar, who set his sights on next year’s World Cup in the subcontinent. “World Cup 2011 is the real target. I have seen immense talent in Pakistan A and Under-19 teams which needs to be groomed and I am sure that in next few months the things would start moving in the right direction.”

Visitors made light work of hefty Hampshire target to boost hopes of reaching knock-outs

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay09-Jul-2025 Lancashire 175 for 2 (Lamb 66*, Jones 42, Smale 42) beat Hampshire 173 for 5 (Kemp 63, Norgrove 54) by eight wicketsEmma Lamb made her highest Women’s Vitality Blast score to fire Lancashire Thunder to a third victory in a row and boost their chances of reaching the knockouts.England international Freya Kemp had whacked 63 and Abi Norgrove celebrated her maiden Hawks fifty as the hosts reached 174 for five, after a rocky start.But Lamb’s exemplary 66 not out, coming in partnerships of 65 with Eve Jones and 92 with Seren Smale, saw Lancashire home by eight wickets.Hawks and Thunder had gone into the match level on 21 points, with the visitors’ four points giving them a strong chance of leap-frogging Bears into third, and qualify for finals day.Thunder had the dream start at Falklands Cricket Club in Newbury.They won the toss and then had the Hawks 11 for three after the first four overs after Ellyse Perry had been unfortunately run out while backing up, Rhianna Southby had looped off her leading edge to mid-off and Georgia Adams pinged to midwicket.But as quickly as they gained advantage, Norgrove and Kemp quickly swung it in the other direction.In the following two overs, Kemp and Norgrove made the most of the fielding restrictions to pummel seven boundaries – which kicked off a flourishing partnership.Despite being just 20, Kemp has been an integral player for Utilita Bowl-based sides for a few years and earned 30 international caps, while England U19 captain Norgrove, 19, has an incredibly high ceiling but has mainly been used as an impact player at the death of innings this season.Both middled the ball and let the scorched Berkshire outfield do the hard work as the scoreboard rolled and rolled, despite Darcy Carter’s miserly four overs for 24.Kemp won the race to the half-century, but Norgrove was quicker – 38 vs 33 balls. The pair’s 116 was the highest fourth wicket stand in the Blast, as both also pinged a six.But they were both dismissed by Alana King, within three balls of each other but Naomi Dattani and Mary Taylor refused to let that stunt the hosts with 42 in the last 27 balls.Like Lancashire, Hampshire took the early impetus – with a Freya Davies maiden – before Lamb and Jones took control of the chase.The experienced openers used the conveyer belt nature of the outfield to whizz to 65 inside seven overs before Jones was caught at cover. 40 of Jones’ 42 had come in fours.Seren Smale simply continued where Jones had left off as Thunder bolted towards the winning target.Lamb reached her third fifty of the competition in 30 balls and even though Smale was caught and bowled for 42, Ailsa Lister joined in to win with six balls to spare.

The top-order batter has been carrying a long-term foot injury and will now aim to be fit for the Australia Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-20242:15

Stead: Williamson unlikely for Australia T20Is, Boult is available

Daryl Mitchell has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and the T20I series against Australia in an attempt to recover from a long-standing foot injury.Mitchell, who averages 53.46 in Tests, has been carrying the problem for around six or seven months and was rested from the final T20I against Pakistan in January, but it has been decided he needs a longer period on the sidelines to give himself the best chance of being fit for the two-Test series against Australia.Related

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“We took the opportunity to rest him a little earlier but after seeking medical advice on this as well it’s likely that he needs a longer period of time,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “It’s really tough, because there’s not a lot breaks coming up in the next wee while so thought this gives us nearly three weeks to try and give him the chance of the best recuperation from it.”There’s no guarantees this will still work in that period of time but we are very hopeful that it will improve his chances of getting through a longer stint with us.”New Zealand have not called up a replacement for Mitchell with Will Young the spare batter in the squad and he could come in as a like-for-like swap. However, there remains a chance the side may be rebalanced with Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner moving up the order and another pace bowler brought in with Stead confirming the uncapped Will O’Rourke remained in contention for a debut.”[Will Young] is definitely one of the options,” Stead said. “Will’s there as back up [and] Glenn Phillips has shown he’s more than useful and it could be shaped differently. We are very happy with the squad we have. Daryl’s obviously a huge loss, though, he’s been instrumental in a number of outstanding batting performances but it’s important for him and us that we get this right long term.”Meanwhile, Kane Williamson is unlikely to be available for the T20Is against Australia – a format where he is captain – as his wife is expecting their third child. However, Trent Boult could come into consideration for those matches with the left-arm quick not having any franchise commitments at that time.”Trent’s available if we want to select him,” Stead said. “Him and I are still having conversations…hopefully in the next couple of days to nail down what that looks like.”

Shakib struck 70 off 44 balls in the tall chase but his was a lone effort

Mohammad Isam12-Oct-2022New Zealand joined Pakistan in the final of the tri-series by beating Bangladesh by 48 runs in Christchurch. After Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips made quickfire sixties, Adam Milne and Michael Bracewell made early inroads to bowl the hosts to a comprehensive victory. Though Bangladesh looked competitive with the bat, they could not sustain the momentum in pursuit of a target of more than 200.Milne’s three wickets broke the chase, with his pace making a difference. Bracewell and stand-in captain Tim Southee finished with two wickets apiece. Shakib Al Hasan struck 70 off 44 balls with eight fours and a six, but there was no support from the middle and lower order.New Zealand, on the other hand, had plenty of strong batting performances after getting sent in to bat.Conway builds on Allen’s start
Finn Allen started from where he left off against Pakistan in the previous game, going after Bangladesh’s bowlers from the first over. He struck Ebadot Hossain for two sixes in three balls in the third over and hit three boundaries to get New Zealand off to a strong start. But Shoriful Islam removed Allen in the fifth over, when Yasir Ali moved to his right at midwicket to catch the skier.Conway then converted his promising start into a big score. The left-hander dominated his 82-run stand with Martin Guptill for the second wicket, hitting five fours and three sixes in his 40-ball 64. Guptill also looked good towards the end of his 27-ball 34.Phillips shows off his big hits
New Zealand’s top three gave Phillips the perfect platform to take aim at Bangladesh in the last five overs. He struck Shakib for two sixes – both slog-swept – in the 16th over. Mohammad Saifuddin removed Conway and Mark Chapman in the space of four balls in the following over, but Phillips carried on, slamming Shoriful Islam and Saifuddin for consecutive sixes to reach a half-century off 19 balls. Phillips’ strike rate of 250 was the third highest by a New Zealand batter who has scored more than 60 runs in a T20I innings.Adam Milne took two wickets•Getty Images

Finally, a fast start
Bangladesh, despite using a third opening pair in as many games, had their best powerplay of the tri-series. After Milne cleaned up Najmul Hossain Shanto in the fourth over, Litton Das and Soumya Sarkar attacked the bowlers. But they couldn’t convert their starts, with Litton holing out in the sixth over and Soumya ramping one to third man in the 10th over. Bangladesh could not keep up with the required run-rate but for the first time on this tour they looked more comfortable as a batting unit.Shakib showed his fluency from the get-go, charging down the wicket on the first ball he faced to loft Bracewell over mid-on for a four. He got an extra life while he was batting on 11 and he made sure to take advantage of that, racing to a half-century off 33 balls. With wickets falling regularly at the other end and the asking rate climbing, there wasn’t much Shakib could do. He brought out the big shots against the quicks too, but he fell with Bangladesh needing 56 off 11 balls.Bracewell continues to impress
Milne bowled well on his comeback from a niggle, while Bracewell continued to impress after his frugal returns in the last two matches. After winning successive Player-of-the-Match awards in the previous matches, Bracewell took two wickets and also completed a difficult catch on the boundary. In the 12th of the Bangladesh innings, he bowled Afif Hossain and conceded just three runs. Later, he took a superb catch on the boundary line to dismiss Yasir Ali.

A fit-again Temba Bavuma will lead South Africa for the first time in T20Is, against a West Indies side stacked with superstars

Firdose Moonda25-Jun-2021

Big picture

Things should get more interesting from here. After two Tests of one-way traffic, expect a closer contest between West Indies and South Africa as the two teams step up preparations for T20 World Cup 2021.West Indies have stacked their squad with superstars as they prepare to rise from the tenth position on the T20I rankings to title contenders at the big event. South Africa cannot allow themselves to dream of the same label, given the heartbreak of the past and the mess they have found themselves in during the last 18 months, which may take the pressure off a team that often goes into major tournaments with expectation but return empty-handed.South Africa are still in the combination-finding phase, having played second-string T20I sides in their last two series while juggling between biosecure bubbles and Test series – one of which, against Australia, never happened. This is the first time since the England series in November last year that they have a first-choice group of players together and they would be keeping it that way for the next few tours. They head straight to Ireland from the Caribbean and then hope to play Sri Lanka before the T20 World Cup.West Indies also have a busy schedule ahead of the main event. Thet will host Australia, who albeit will not be at full strength, and Pakistan over the next two months. They would want to solidify their squad and develop some consistency as they have won only two out of their last seven T20I series, both against Sri Lanka.

Form guide

West Indies LLWLW (Last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
South Africa LLLWL

In the spotlight

Temba Bavuma is not the least experienced T20I player to captain South Africa. Apart from Graeme Smith who did on debut when the format was introduced, Hashim Amla did it in just his fourth match, and Faf du Plessis and Johan Botha in their fifth, but Bavuma might be the least expected one. He has largely been thought of as a long-form player, while his white-ball form and aggression have flown under the radar. This is his opportunity to change the narrative and establish himself as both opening batter and leader in the build-up to back-to-back T20 World Cups.For all his form in leagues around the world, Andre Russell is yet to score a T20I half-century. He is likely to earn his 50th T20I cap in this series, which is as good a time as any to make a statement with bat or ball. Russell hasn’t taken more than one wicket in a T20I since May 2018, though he has only played five games since that match. That said, this may just be his time to re-establish himself as a senior figure in the national side.Kyle Verreynne may find a spot in South Africa’s middle order against West Indies•AFP via Getty Images

Team news

West Indies have named a 13-man squad for the first two T20Is, welcoming back some of their big guns in Chris Gayle, Russell and Dwayne Bravo. Alongside Pollard, the quartet last played a T20I together six years ago. Evin Lewis was retained despite a poor series against Sri Lanka, but he could face competition from Andre Fletcher at the top of the order.West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Kieron Pollard (capt), 5 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 6 Jason Holder, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Fabian Allen, 10 Kevin Sinclair, 11 Fidel EdwardsBavuma has recovered from both a hip injury and a dislocated finger and will likely partner Quinton de Kock at the top, which could leave no room for Janneman Malan. du Plessis’ absence could create a spot for Kyle Verreynne, although Heinrich Klaasen is the incumbent. South Africa have a wealth of fast bowlers to choose from and may want to start with their strongest suit. That will include the Test attack of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje, and could have room for one other quick in Andile Phehlukwayo or Sisanda Magala, and two spinners in George Linde and Tabraiz Shamsi.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Temba Bavuma (capt), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 David Miller, 6 George Linde, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo/Sisanda Magala 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi

Pitch and conditions

The National Cricket Stadium in Grenada has only hosted one T20I, in January last year. Over 400 runs were scored in that game when West Indies hosted Ireland. That run-fest did not look like an accident as an ODI between West Indies and England a year earlier featured over 800 runs.So expect big runs but only if the weather allows. It has been raining in Grenada in the lead-up to the match and showers have been forecast for the next week. The chance of rain on Saturday sits at 70%.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies and South Africa have played against each other in ten T20Is, with West Indies winning four and South Africa six. The last time they played was at the T20 World Cup in March 2016.
• Lewis needs 11 runs to reach 1000 in T20Is, and would be the sixth West Indies batter to reach that milestone.
• The last time Gayle, Bravo, Pollard and Russell, all featured in a T20I was in 2015 against South Africa when West Indies had chased down a then-record target of 232.

Quotes

“The Test series obviously went exceptionally well and one of the outcomes of that series is momentum, even if it is a different format. It’s only natural that we will carry that confidence into this series.”

Both senior players feature in red as well as white-ball deals, but no contracts for Mashrafe and Shakib

Mohammad Isam09-Mar-2020Following their axing from the Bangladesh Test side, Mahmudullah and Mustafizur Rahman have been included only in the white-ball players’ list in the latest BCB central contracts (January to December 2020), which, for the first time, has players separated according to formats. Mashrafe Mortaza, who has stepped down as ODI captain – but hasn’t announced his retirement – and Shakib Al Hasan, who is serving a one-year ICC ban, have not been included in the contracts.

Bangladesh contracts for 2020

Red and white-ball contracts: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz
Only red-ball contracts: Mominul Haque, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed, Ebadot Hossain
Only white-ball contracts: Mahmudullah, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Afif Hossain, Mohammad Naim.

Apart from Mahmudullah and Rahman, three others were given white-ball-only contracts: Mohammad Saifuddin, and newcomers Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim.Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mohammad Mithun, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan earned themselves full contracts, for red and white-ball cricket, while Mominul Haque, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Jayed and Ebadot Hossain got red-ball-only contracts.As such, players will be further divided according to categories: A+ (US$ 5000 approx.), A (US$ 3750 approx.), B (US$ 2500 approx.), C (US$ 1875 approx.) and D (US$ 1250 approx.).While Iqbal will be earning BDT 630,000 (an extra 30,000 as ODI captain), the highest salary, Rahim stands to earn BDT 600,000 (US$ 7500 approx.), as they are in both the red and white-ball lists, and are listed in A+ category in both. A player will get full salary for one format and half of the other format.Mahmudullah, who is only in the white-ball contract and also an A+ category player, will get BDT 400,000 (US$ 5000 approx.) per month.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the BCB had raised match fees for all three formats earlier this year. A Test match appearance will now fetch a player BDT 600,000 (US$ 7500 approx.), a jump from BDT 350,000 (US$ 4375 approx.) from 2017 to 2019. For playing an ODI and T20I, they will now get BDT 300,000 (US$ 3750 approx.) and BDT 200,000 (US$ 2500 approx.), respectively.Apart from Mortaza, who had requested the BCB to leave him out of the contracts, and Shakib, five others don’t figure in the list: Imrul Kayes, Abu Hider Rony, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Shadman Islam.

England’s Test captain misses chance to prove point in shortest format, as thoughts turn back to seismic 2019 summer

Andrew McGlashan in Sydney08-Jan-2019It was perhaps fitting that Joe Root’s Big Bash stint ended with an inconclusive 0 not out off zero balls as the rain came down at Spotless Stadium in Sydney. The tournament never really got going for England’s Test captain, who now heads back to London before hopping on another flight to the Caribbean.He finished with 93 runs at 15.50, a strike-rate of 114.81 and a top score of 26. Some of the pitches made free-scoring tricky and he was dismissed by spin in four of his six innings. He batted No. 4 throughout, Callum Ferguson preferred at three after the powerful opening pairing of Jos Buttler and Shane Watson, when it has often been felt during his T20 career that his ideal spot is in the top three.”As an overseas player you come over and your main focus is to try and make big runs for your team but it hasn’t quite materialised the way I would have liked,” Root told the ahead of his final match. “I’ve made some good starts and feel my game has really come on in this format but, by my own standards, I don’t feel like I’ve produced scores I would have liked, which is disappointing.”Root had come to Australia with the hope of re-establishing his credentials in the T20 game. Nearly three years have passed since his starring role in England’s World T20 campaign, which was derailed at the last moment by Carlos Brathwaite. His 83 from 44 balls in the record chase against South Africa was a masterclass and his 56 in the final, coupled with two first-over wickets, was six balls away from being tournament-winning.Now, however, it feels as though his T20 career is in an uncertain place. Not because of an underwhelming Big Bash, but because of the bigger picture that made him seek out the opportunity in the first place, which came during a rare gap in England’s crowded schedule.Last year Root was rested for the T20 tri-series against Australia and New Zealand, although it took some persuading from Trevor Bayliss who could see the strain the 4-0 Ashes defeat and the associated dramas of that tour had had on his Test captain. He played just three T20Is last year, making a sprightly 34 against Australia before scores of 0 and 9 against India led to him being dropped for the series decider at Bristol. There are three T20Is in West Indies in March and it will be interesting to see if Root is selected. He didn’t play in the one-off match against Sri Lanka in October.The decision to allow him to come to Australia after the Sri Lanka tour split opinion. One view was that, given England’s hectic schedule for the next 18 months – and especially given the importance of the 2019 summer with a home World Cup and an Ashes series in quick succession – he should have taken the time off.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The other view is that careers are short and this trip came with minimal risks, as put forward by Nasser Hussain. “You have to think about the bigger picture,” Hussain wrote in the shortly before Root’s BBL stint. “The old fogey in you might question him playing Big Bash and then being rested from a one-dayer or the Ireland Test match next July, say. But look at the bigger picture: is it making Joe Root a better cricketer?”Well it should do and knowing Joe he will throw his heart and soul into it. He won’t go to sit on Coogee beach. This will all be about him improving. Down the line he might well feel a bit jaded. He might look back and wonder whether he needed to go but, given the choice of a few weeks there or freezing cold in Sheffield, it is a no-brainer.”When Root’s 50-over place was starting to be queried during a lull in scoring last year, any doubts about his importance were quickly shut down by back-to-back tons against India – the latter marked with an out-of-character “bat drop” celebration at Headingley. Even in England’s ultra-aggressive era there is room for Root. But, largely through no great fault of his own, the same may not hold true in the T20 game.It isn’t that Root’s game has regressed massively, it’s that he has had limited chances to evolve it since the World T20, and keep up with the best in the world (his Thunder team-mate Buttler, for example, who has led the scoring charts). Since that final in Kolkata in April 2016, Root has played four matches for Yorkshire in the T20 Blast across two seasons. His one outing in 2018 brought 51 off 22 balls against Lancashire at Old Trafford, a reminder that he still has the game when it all clicks.Besides, the T20 format will take a back seat for much of this year – there are bigger fish to fry with the World Cup and Ashes double that could define this generation of England cricketers. But it will come back into focus ahead of the World T20 in Australia in 2020. Root may at least have picked up some intel for that tournament, although it has to be hoped that the pitches for that tournament are better than for the BBL, and it would still be a surprise if he wasn’t back in Australia for that campaign.Root has every right to want to be the best he can be in all formats, and reaffirm his status among the world’s elite batsmen who stand atop the batting ranks in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. But at the moment it looks a challenging ask.