The India Women head coach also wants the team to improve its middle-overs batting

Shashank Kishore15-Jul-2021Ramesh Powar, the India Women head coach, has underlined two key areas as the team builds into a busy seven-month stretch leading into the 50-overs World Cup in February 2022: widening India’s fast-bowling pool and improving their middle-overs batting.India fielded only four fast bowlers across formats in England. In her comeback series, Shikha Pandey picked up five wickets in the limited-overs leg after going wicketless in the drawn Test, while Jhulan Goswami finished with the second-highest wickets tally among the touring seamers (four wickets) despite not featuring in the T20Is.The two younger seamers, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy, proved ineffective. While Vastrakar didn’t feature in the 2-1 T20I series loss, Reddy bowled just seven overs across three games, picking up just the one wicket and conceding 9.57 runs per over.Related

• More misses than hits for India on white-ball tour of Bangladesh

• Will Mithali Raj bat at No. 3? Can Shafali Verma silence her inner demons?

• India Women to assemble for training camp ahead of Australia tour in September

• 'Mental make-up will make huge difference' – Powar on lack of practice

• Shikha: 'If the batters can't get us runs, we bowlers need to back them'

“Honestly, we have learnt a lot many things [from this tour],” Powar said after England clinched the multi-format series 10-6. “We have to have match time; we need to play some games before the World Cup. In the fast-bowling department, only Jhulan [Goswami] performed. There has to be some support for her, so we are looking to enhance the fast-bowlers department.”India next play Australia across formats in September, and Powar, who has had little time to acclimatise in his second stint as head coach, hoped to have a proper camp and a few warm-up games to identify a fast-bowling pool going forward.”We are looking to add some [fast] bowlers, if we are going to get a camp after this tour, we will start working on them,” he said. “In the seven months [leading into the World Cup], we want to create a pool of fast bowlers. We already have five in the team, we are looking at five more, so 10 bowlers to work on for the next few months and we will get the results.”Yes, time is short, but the way forward is including more fast bowlers from domestic teams and domestic performers. We are especially looking at tall fast bowlers. Those who have performed can be included in the next camp, so yes, we are looking at 10-15 fast bowlers going ahead.”Powar then touched upon the middle-overs batting. While Mithali Raj made half-centuries in each of the three ODIs, the others around her struggled. Punam Raut was left out after the first ODI, while her replacement Jemimah Rodrigues only managed two single-digit scores. Deepti Sharma, like Raut, struggled to score quickly.”Then middle-overs batting, after Powerplay in ODIs [is another important area],” Powar said. “That is where strike rotation and conversion rate of dot balls to runs after you get set is key. We played a Test after seven years, and we have lots to learn.”We still managed to draw due to some brilliant performances, but in T20s, we need 160-plus to put pressure on other teams. If we must play in New Zealand, we need good fast bowlers and try to up our conversion rate in the middle overs. Mithali is batting very well, but we need support where we can put pressure on opponents to get to 250-plus.”Ramesh Powar was content with Harmanpreet Kaur’s return to form after a lacklustre Test and ODI series•Getty Images

‘We are going towards dominance; it will take time’One way of trying to change things around, Powar said, was to stress on the need to play aggressively and fearlessly, but he also explained why the current group needed a bit more time before being judged. He felt the methods they have adopted over the past two or three years can’t be undone at the click of a button.”We will play fearless cricket, that is what we will do. This time I wanted them to realise this,” Powar said. “You can’t force them as a coach in your first series. They have been playing with some ideology for the last two or three years, I have to assess what suits them. You can’t make drastic approach changes.”They’ve been playing differently. To get them out of it, I need to convince them. It took time this time around. In this game [third T20I], we were 28 for 2 after five overs but ended up with 153. We discussed that we would play fearless cricket no matter what. If you don’t, every team will dominate you.”It will take time. Because of Covid and lack of match practice, we couldn’t train as a larger group. But we are going towards dominance, it will take time, but the idea is right.”Powar was particularly happy with T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s return to form after lacklustre Test and ODI series. She finished the tour with back-to-back 30s, showing signs of returning to her big-hitting ways. Powar felt an extended summer in England, where she will represent Manchester Originals in The Hundred, would do her a world of good.”It is pleasing for everyone because her scoring runs matter to everyone in the team,” Powar said. “She is a player who can dominate the bowling and win us every game, in fact, in T20s. The way she batted, we can see the flair. Going forward, we will see a different Harman henceforth.”The discussion was to spend time in the crease. If you do that, obviously she has the natural talent to express herself, she is fearless. She is experienced and she knows how to go about it. There is nothing wrong with her technique. If you spend time [at the crease], at some point things will happen. She knew it. In the last two innings, she looked like the old Harman.”She will be playing in The Hundred. It will give her game time. That is what we like. That is where England is a little ahead of us, in terms of game time, because they have been playing domestic cricket. That is where we were lacking, we didn’t have practice games, just had nets. If she scores runs, she leads the side differently. She backs her decisions because of her batting confidence.”‘Never know what would’ve happened if there was a fifth day’Looking back at India’s first Test outing in seven years, Powar expressed satisfaction at the team’s fighting draw but felt situational awareness will only kick in with more game time.”I wasn’t surprised [at the adaptability], we had a week in Southampton where we practiced with the red ball,” he said. “They are good players, they know how to perform, but experience matters in red-ball cricket. We could only prepare them mentally. If you get into a Test straightaway without red-ball cricket, there will be a lack of situational awareness.”If you play red-ball cricket regularly, you know what is happening in all four days, like slowing things down, taking chances, bowling one side of the wicket etc. It comes with experience. As support staff, we tried to share that with them, that this might happen, this might not happen.”After the follow-on also, they didn’t know what would happen. We told them we can still win this game. If there was a fifth day, you never know what would have happened. I wasn’t surprised by the result. The way Sneh Rana and Deepti [Sharma] batted, Deepti is a classical Test player. We try to share everything that we have knowledge of, we couldn’t have done more. Side games make a lot of difference. Next time around, we will request some side games.”

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Varun Shetty16-Aug-2021.

India go 1-0 up

6.36pmGetty Images

Another overseas Test, another flourish from India’s lower order. Jasprit Bumrah’s day began as a batter in a hostile environment; by the end of the day, him and Mohammed Shami had turned the pressure around on England so swiftly and clinically that the hosts, who were in control of the game coming into the last day, folded inside in the final hour as India went 1-0 up in the series.India were 154 ahead when the day began, with Rishabh Pant and the bowlers left to contend with the second new ball. For the first half an hour, everything went to plan for England. Their relentless, disciplined attack at India on Sunday evening had set them up to go all guns blazing. Pant has foiled a plan or two this year, including on England’s tour of India in February, and he was priority number one. They got him early, nicking behind on the forward defensive. India led by 167 then, with three wickets in hand.It was a big gamble they had taken on the first day to play four fast bowlers, bringing a pure bowler in Ishant Sharma to replace the injured Shardul Thakur while they had allrounders in R Ashwin and Axar Patel on the bench. Given that reality, England couldn’t have imagined what came next – a dogged resistance that took victory out of the picture, and ended on India’s terms 104 runs later, ten minutes after lunch, when they declared after Shami and Bumrah had added a record 89 runs for the ninth wicket. England never recovered.

It never was

6.30pmLeaking chats from Slack•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Difficult to recall a more self-destructive passage of play from England”

5.52pmJoe Root reacts to India’s lower-order counterattack•Getty Images

There were bound to be great big rants on Englands tactics with the ball today, and Andrew Miller is the man doing it for us:”Up in the media centre during the fifth-day lunch break, the great and the good (as well as the significantly better than average) were all united in their astonishment at the malfunction they were witnessing. Phil Tufnell, for one, was struggling to recall a more self-destructive passage of play from an England team in his lifetime, and he had lived a fair few of them.But this… this was something extra special. Rarely has a match-winning position been squandered so wantonly, so pointedly, so brainlessly – as England laid down their arms in the five-day war of attrition, and chose instead to lose themselves in an irrelevant battle of wills. And, by the time Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami had backed up their extraordinary batting by picking off an opener apiece for ducks to leave England 1 for 2, it was shaping up as the most wholesale capitulation ever known.”Click here for full article

The final hour

5.52pmJasprit Bumrah reacts to Virat Kohli dropping Jos Buttler•Getty Images

15 overs to go. They dropped Jos Buttler early in his innings, and he has made it this far. He’s been the only unhurried English batter after Root today, pretty resolute in defence, and looks settled enough now that he’s playing with soft hands. The edges aren’t carrying off his bat, and anything at the stumps has been diligently patted into the turf. It’s been a commendable effort from him so far. Can he see this through?

Despite Chase’s five-for, visitors are 273 runs behind Sri Lanka

Andrew Fidel Fernando22-Nov-2021Stumps West Indies worked themselves back into the game in the first two sessions, taking Sri Lanka’s last seven wickets for 105. But then they gave up all the ground they had gained in the evening, losing six wickets for 54 runs.Essentially, what this means, is that despite Roston Chase’s five-wicket haul, West Indies are 273 runs behind Sri Lanka, with only four wickets remaining. They bat deep, but the pitch is already taking substantial turn, particularly for Sri Lanka’s spinners. So dominant were the slow bowlers of both sides on day two, that no batter could make a half-century; Dinesh Chandimal and Kraigg Brathwaite came closest, hitting 45 and 41 respectively.Sri Lanka lost their overnight pair in the first hour, and lost the remainder of their batters either side of lunch, but still, it was the last session of the day that was most dramatic. West Indies had restricted Sri Lanka to 386 – a good score, but not the gargantuan one that the hosts had threatened at the end of day one. Brathwaite and makeshift opener Jermaine Blackwood (he was taking the place of the concussed Jeremy Solozano, with concussion substitute Shai Hope to come in at No. 4) made a half-decent start, too, putting on 46 for the first wicket. But as is often the case in Galle – though often not as early as the second day – once one partnership is broken, several wickets fall in quick succession.Blackwood was the first to be dismissed. He had been lbw on 2 against Dushmantha Chameera, but the umpire turned down the appeal and Sri Lanka did not review. He had seemed to have become comfortable at the crease, particularly against Lasith Embuldeniya, whom he launched for a straight six, but then missed a straightening delivery from the same bowler, and was correctly adjudged lbw (Blackwood burned a review).Four overs later, Praveen Jayawickrama – the other left-arm spinner in Sri Lanka’s XI – got a ball to erupt from the straight, and take Nkrumah Bonner’s glove on the way to slip, where Dhananjaya de Silva took a sharp catch to his left.Roston Chase had figures of 5 for 83•AFP/Getty Images

Offspinner Ramesh Mendis then took two wickets in two big-spinning balls, split across two overs. His first victim was Brathwaite, who was caught at leg slip. His second was Shai Hope, who was snaffled at short leg – both batters having been out off the inside edge. Mendis would also have Chase caught at short leg before the day was out, after Jayawickrama had nightwatchman Jomel Warrican caught behind. Although West Indies have Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers at the crease, and Joshua de Silva and Rahkeem Cornwall to come, it is not guaranteed, on what has suddenly become such a devious surface, that they will surpass the follow-on score.The first dismissal of the day, however, had been the strangest. Dhananjaya de Silva had added five runs to his overnight 56 and seemed to be batting nicely, when he was a touch late playing a defensive shot to a back-of-a-length Shannon Gabriel ball. He made a good connection, but the ball dropped by his feet and seemed to be bouncing into the stumps, so he turned around to swipe at it. He only nicked it the first time, and had to swipe again, but on that second occasion, dislodged the bails with his bat, and was out hit wicket.Dimuth Karunaratne, who was on 132, had started the day nervously, and was out to some excellent wicketkeeping having added only 15 to his score – Joshua da Silva whipping off the bails after Chase had drawn Karunaratne forward with a loopy offbreak.Jomel Warrican, who had gone wicketless on day one, took three wickets either side of lunch – the dismissal of Ramesh, whose glove Warrican collected with a delivery that leapt off the surface, being the most spectacular of the three. Chandimal, who had battled the spinners as well as anyone on day two, was out to Chase, after Rahkeem Cornwall anticipated and intercepted a reverse sweep. Chase dismissed Embuldeniya to complete his fourth five-for in Tests. At the time, it had seemed like West Indies had clawed themselves to near parity by keeping Sri Lanka’s total under 400.

Mortaza delighted at pacers stepping up for the team, says BCB could use Mirpur as a venue to develop quicks

Mohammad Isam08-Jan-2022Senior players Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza have praised Bangladesh after their historic Test win against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui a few days ago. Shakib, who withdrew from the tour to spend time with his family, said that the victory proves the visitors don’t have to rely just on the senior players alone.”I don’t think my presence was necessarily important (in New Zealand),” Shakib said. “I am actually happy that they did it without me. Not just me… (but the others too). I think what really delighted me was that the notion, particularly in the media, that not many players apart from the four or five senior ones can win games for the team – that will be changed. If they are handed the responsibility, these youngsters will play better.”Related

• Mominul expects other teams will view Bangladesh differently after drawn series in NZ

• New Zealand look to bounce back against joyous Bangladesh

• Ebadot: 'If you are fit enough as a fast bowler, you can do anything'

• Bangladesh 'crossed all the barriers to bring a wonderful win'

• Mominul Haque 'didn't sleep at all' leading into final day

Shakib said that the victory was sweeter coming off a year of disappointing performances. The team endured two winless streaks of 10 matches each in 2021, from February to April and then from October to December.”We made an unbelievable start to 2022. I am very happy. Credit goes to all the players and coaching staff for playing well under so much pressure and in these conditions. Everyone tried hard. This was always going to be a challenging year after a difficult time in 2021 for us. I hope we can continue in this manner. Bangladesh do not play this well all the time”Not everything will change after a Test win. But it creates the opportunity for change. I think if we can hold onto this belief, particularly the BCB, we can do well in the World Test Championship,” Shakib saidMashrafe, who is preparing for this season’s BPL, said that fast bowlers winning a Test match for Bangladesh was their biggest takeaway. Bangladesh pacers picked up 13 wickets at Bay Oval, the most they have ever bagged in a Test match. Their previous highest was 11 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2013.”Taskin (Ahmed) and Ebadot (Hossain) proved that if they put in the hard work, they can improve. It is good to see the pacers winning a game for us, but this win doesn’t necessarily answer all the questions.”This is not a reply to all the criticism in recent times. Rather, we should learn from this, that we can win matches if we give players the opportunity. Cricket boards should invest and see what’s happening so that it could bring better results in the future,” Mashrafe said.He also heaped praise on Ebadot for being patient and spoke about how the fast bowler has reaped the rewards after being given a long rope in Tests in the last two years.”Ebadot’s improvement isn’t recent. He has been playing for a while and has been kept in consideration in Tests. He must have been given assurance that he will play. He knows this is his career, his future. He has to serve the team.”Ebadot’s wickets [in New Zealand’s second innings] won us the game. It could have been a drawn game. You have to give the player a bit of time. He got set slowly. Rahi has been giving service for a long time (unclear). Giving them a bit of time always brings a good result,” he said.Mashrafe said that the BCB could look at turning one of their major venues to develop fast bowlers. “I think they could look at Mirpur to help the fast bowlers since the ball here goes up and down. It, however, depends on how much you depend on the fast bowlers. So it is good that the pacers won us the game,” he said.

All of Australia’s away tours in the current WTC cycle are in the subcontinent

Andrew McGlashan02-Jan-2022Nathan Lyon is excited about the prospect of forming a spin partnership with Mitchell Swepson, but the weather forecast and recent history at the SCG may count against it happening this week against England in the fourth Ashes Test.With the Ashes secured and England providing weak opposition there is a school of thought that the upcoming Test is a prime opportunity to blood Swepson, the Queensland legspinner, ahead of Australia’s overseas campaigns in Pakistan and Sri Lanka later in the year.The emergence of Cameron Green as a viable option for a third quick, having had a major impact with the ball this series, would allow Australia to field a balanced attack. But showers are forecast throughout the contest while the SCG has not been a happy hunting ground for spinners of late.Lyon bagged a 10-wicket match haul against New Zealand in 2019-2020 but averages 40.94 on the ground while over the last decade spinners have averaged 48.17 – the third highest of all Australia’s men’s Test venues.However, Swepson is as ready as he’ll ever be for his chance at Test cricket. With all three of Australia’s World Test Championship away series in the current cycle on the subcontinent, he could have a big say in how the side builds on their Ashes success.”I think Swepo has been Queensland’s best player for a number of years,” Lyon said. “Obviously I’m a big fan of spin bowlers so probably watch him a lot closer than what I watch Marnus [Labuschagne] or Uzzie [Khawaja]. He’s been around our group for a long period of time now and when he gets his opportunity, no doubt he will take it and run.”I’m excited about our relationship, our friendship is fantastic already, but really excited about the opportunity to bowl in tandem with Swepo whenever that may come, whether that’s here in a couple of days or in Hobart or in Pakistan.””I love bowling in partnership with spinners for sure. I’ve done it a lot in subcontinent conditions so if the opportunity does come to play two spinners I know we’ll really enjoy building that partnership. We’ve been doing it in the nets but it’s a lot different.”Usman Khawaja is likely to replace Travis Head in Sydney•Getty Images

Lyon did not believe a dodgy forecast (not entirely unusual for a Sydney Test) had to spell the end of Swepson’s hopes although it strengthens the likelihood that Australia will retain their usual balance. Josh Hazlewood is expected to train fully on Monday as he continues his recovery from the side strain he picked up in Brisbane and it could yet be that Scott Boland does not retain his place despite the 6 for 7 he claimed in Melbourne.”It seems to be every time we put stumps in the ground here it brings the rain which is unfortunate,” Lyon said. “Does it become a bit challenging for spinners? Yeah, it can if the ball gets wet, but we are pretty lucky these days with the quality of the groundskeepers who make the surface pretty dry and the ground drains pretty quickly.”Swepson will only be selected if he is genuinely part of Australia’s best attack to win the match with World Test Championship points available and the hunger to take the series with a whitewash to extend England’s barren streak in Australia that dates back to 2010-11.”There’s no more dead rubbers – and I’ve never considered them when you wear a baggy green – firstly because there’s the World Test Championship and we want to go 5-0 up,” Lyon said. “If the conditions suit then we pick the best team to win that Test to make sure we keep moving forward. The Ashes for me is the pinnacle but I’d love to be part of a Test Championship final to state our case for the No. 1 team in the world.”Australia’s squad will be bolstered on Monday by Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis who were driving up from Melbourne on Sunday – to avoid the risk of a commercial flight – having been added to as cover following Travis Head’s positive Covid-19 result which has ruled him out. Usman Khawaja is expected to come into the XI.Marcus Harris is also driving himself to Sydney having not joined the team’s charter flight as an extra precaution after he dined with Head. Nic Maddinson will remain in Melbourne for now but continues to be a stand-by player. All Australian squad members, staff and families returned negative results in the latest round of testing.This will again be the traditional Pink Test at the SCG which has become a central part of the Australian cricket calendar to raise funds for the Jane McGrath foundation. But Glenn McGrath will be unable to take part in the lead-up activities and at least the first two days having tested positive for Covid-19. It is hoped he may be able to attend by day three on January 7 which is the official Jane McGrath Day.

Debutant Bishnoi’s 2 for 17 as well as Suryakumar and Venkatesh Iyer’s unbroken stand help construct India’s win

Deivarayan Muthu16-Feb-20221:59

Jaffer: A very positive approach by India to play two wristspinners

Ravi Bishnoi overcame a nervy start on debut and then let rip his wrong’uns to give India a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series. He bowled four overs full of wrong’uns, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, to help India restrict West Indies to 157 for 7, despite Nicholas Pooran’s half-century.What could’ve been a challenging chase was initially made to look like small fry by Rohit Sharma who hit 40 of the 63 runs India had scored in the powerplay. However, the target looked a whole lot bigger once Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant all fell in quick succession. India were 114 for 4 in the 15th over at that point; they were also sweating over the fitness of Deepak Chahar, who had suffered a blow on his bowling hand while fielding. He didn’t return to bowl his final over.As it turned out, India didn’t need his batting either in the slog overs, with Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer absorbing the pressure and sealing victory.Spotlight on Bishnoi
Bhuvneshwar Kumar found swing in the early exchanges and had Brandon King spooning a catch to backward point for 4. Kyle Mayers, the other opener, however, regularly jumped out of his crease or across his stumps to give West Indies some early impetus. He backed away and laced Bhuvneshwar through the covers before swatting Harshal Patel over backward square leg.Yuzvendra Chahal cut short Mayers’ innings at 31 when he trapped him lbw in the seventh over. Chahal could have struck first ball had Bishnoi not misjudged a skier at the long-off boundary. Bishnoi stepped back on the skirting and ended up conceding a six.Bishnoi was introduced into the attack in the very next over and missed his lines, darting three wides. He hit his rhythm soon after, dismissing both Roston Chase and Rovman Powell in the next over.Chase missed a fizzing wrong’un and was pinned lbw while Powell holed out to long-on. Bishnoi, too, troubled Pooran, keeping him to eight off nine balls against his legbreaks googlies.Ravi Bishnoi earned the Player-of-the-match award on international debut•BCCI

Pooran revives West Indies
Like Bishnoi, Pooran, too, had a scrappy start and was on 17 off 19 balls at one stage. He finally broke free when he clattered a pull over the square-leg boundary off Chahal. Pooran was particularly severe on the legspinner, taking him for 26 off a mere 12 balls, including three sixes. He reached his fifty off 38 balls when he carved Chahal through backward point for four.Kieron Pollard, who had recovered sufficiently from the knee niggle that had forced him out of the last two ODIs, also did his bit, scoring an unbeaten 24 off 19 balls. He had slid down the order to deny India’s wristspinners a favourable match-up. Instead, Akeal Hosein was bumped up to No.6, but he could manage just 10 off 12 balls. Nevertheless, Pooran and Pollard hauled West Indies closer to 160.The storm and the calm
Rohit went on a boundary-hitting spree in the powerplay, using the hardness of the new ball and quickness of the outfield to his advantage. After whipping Romario Shepherd for six and pulling Sheldon Cottrell for four, he cranked up the tempo against Odean Smith, going 4,6,4,6.It was Chase’s offspin that delivered West Indies the breakthrough and slowed down India. He first had Rohit caught at the midwicket boundary before getting Kishan too. Kishan had been the tortoise to Rohit’s hare, labouring to 35 off 42 balls.Kishan’s wicket triggered a mini-collapse as India lost 3 for 21. Chase bowled into the pitch and despite the onset of dew later in the evening, he extracted some turn and bounce to unsettle India. However, the left-arm spinners Hosein and Fabian Allen released all the pressure at the other end.Suryakumar and Venkatesh cashed in, putting on an unbroken 48 off 26 balls and leaving West Indies still searching for their first win on this tour.

On a Karachi pitch that is showing signs of deterioration, Australia have amassed 505 for 8

Tristan Lavalette13-Mar-2022Captain Pat Cummins resisted declaring late on day two of the second Test with Australia preferring grinding a weary Pakistan into the ground, as they passed 500 in their first innings on a Karachi pitch showing signs of deterioration.Australia reached the close in a commanding position at 505 for 8 with Mitchell Starc 28 not out and Cummins yet to score. Starc and Alex Carey batted almost through the entire final session in an attempt to break the back of Pakistan, who have spent two whole days in the field but in-form openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq were surely relieved not to have faced a tricky period before stumps.Cummins is set to face scrutiny for not sending Pakistan in late on the day although Australia gave a clear indication they want to bat just once in this pivotal match in a belief the pitch will deteriorate further. Australia batted their highest number of overs in an innings in Asia since 1956, but inconsistent bounce and sharp turn was evident later in the day.Carey fell for 93 just before stumps and agonisingly short of his maiden century after batting fluently to energise an otherwise dull final session, where everyone was seemingly waiting for Australia’s declaration but it never came.Australia’s indefatigable innings was dominated by Usman Khawaja’s brilliant 160 off 369 balls as he fell just short of his highest Test score of 174 against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2015. His 11th Test century – and first in the country of his birth – was marked by unwavering concentration, but he could only score 33 runs off 103 balls on day two underlining the changing nature of the pitch.Khawaja’s innings ended midway through the second session when he was bowled by a cracker of a delivery from offspinner Sajid Khan, who produced drift and sharp turn to hit the top of off stump.After a memorable first innings in the city his family hails from, the 35-year-old departed to a standing ovation from a boisterous crowd having become the first Australian Test centurion in Pakistan since Mark Waugh’s 117 in Peshawar in 1998.Alex Carey fell seven short of a maiden Test century•AFP/Getty Images

Eyebrows were raised after tea as Carey and Starc resisted the temptation of throwing the bat to ensure the match went through the motions. That’s been a familiar sensation during this historic series.Australia just kept batting as Carey, who had been somewhat under pressure due to patchy glove work and batting, effectively reverse-swept his way to his second Test half-century of his career.An increasingly confident Carey powered to his highest score in what should be a tonic ahead of an important stint behind the stumps. While he capitalised on Australia’s strong platform, middle-order batters Travis Head and Cameron Green missed out after being dismissed during a lively second session where the match appeared to be moving only for that to prove fool’s gold after a laborious final session.Pakistan toiled amid oppressive conditions in their Karachi fortress. They did attempt a fightback in the second session with spinners Sajid and Nauman Ali conjuring sharp turn on a pitch showing the first signs of encouragement for bowlers seven days into the series, the first between the teams in Pakistan since 1998.Sajid bounced back with variations in pace and flight after notably struggling on day one where he pursued a defensive line of bowling before and after tea. The 28-year-old did a lot of heavy lifting and finished with 2 for 151 from 54 overs.Shaheen Shah Afridi couldn’t rouse the same energy he memorably produced during the tame draw in Rawalpindi apart from a lethal spell of reverse swing in the second session that was repeatedly thwarted by Khawaja’s stout bat.Pakistan’s flagging bowlers were understandably weary by the time they took the third new ball, which only made scoring easier for Carey and Starc who finally started upping the ante.In what felt like an eternity ago, Australia resumed day two at 251 for 3 and nightwatchman Nathan Lyon stole the show in the first hour with a breezy 38 to frustrate Pakistan’s bowlers hoping for early inroads. But he fell short of a maiden Test half-century after being comprehensively bowled by Faheem Ashraf in Pakistan’s only success in the morning session.Lyon’s unexpected cameo provided a rare source of entertainment in another hard grind of a day during this slow-moving series.

Steven Mullaney digs in for unbeaten 78 after visitors slide precariously to 52 for 4

Paul Edwards08-Apr-2022Steven Mullaney is far too respectful a professional to say so publicly but his chief thought in asking Sussex to bat first on the opening morning of this match was that his fine attack could use an April-fresh pitch to trample on a weakened batting line-up, thus creating an immediate victory opportunity. 148 plays 110-1 at the end of the day might have been something like the line-score he envisaged. Well, Burns – both Rabbie and Rory after the latest Ashes series – could have advised one of Warrington’s more famous sons that such schemes “gang aft agley”, an observation that might not have enlightened Mullaney greatly, unversed as he surely is in late 18th century Scots. “Tits up” probably carries greater resonance in the Trent Bridge dressing room.Such a brusque verdict is too harsh an assessment of the first day’s play at Hove but by this second afternoon with the floodlights on and the ball seaming around, some variety of utter balls-up was suddenly more likely. For at that point Nottinghamshire’s skipper had seen Sussex make 375 in their first innings before his own team shambled to a miserable 53 for 4 in reply with their marquee players in the pavilion, two of them removed by the 33-year-old debutant, Steven Finn. Mullaney, though, has always been a scrapper as well as a leader and he was joined in a rescue operation by the highly regarded Lyndon James, who, as a Nottinghamshire-born Nottinghamshire batsman would probably earn you 500pts or so in The Observer’s Book of Cricketers