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Gareth Batty will miss the Friends Life t20 Finals Day after being handed a two-match suspension following the on-pitch spat with Peter Trego during Surrey’s quarter-final against Somerset at The Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2013Gareth Batty will miss Friends Life t20 Finals Day after being handed a two-match suspension for “appalling” behaviour following the on-pitch spat with Peter Trego during Surrey’s quarter-final against Somerset at The Oval.Batty, the Surrey captain, was found guilty of two level two breaches of the ECB’s code of conduction relating to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” and “using language or a gesture that is obscene or of a serious insulting nature”.It means Surrey will be without their captain and frontline one-day spinner for Finals Day on August 17 at Edgbaston, where they have been drawn to face the holders, Hampshire, in the semi-finals. Batty was already fulfilling the captaincy role on an interim basis following the injury that ruled Graeme Smith out for the season and Surrey will now have to scour the team for another leader. Steven Davies and Vikram Solanki are likely to be the leading candidates.The incident in the quarter-final occurred when Trego was bowled by Batty and began walking back to the pavilion, which took him towards Surrey’s celebrating players. Batty was then seen to shove Trego while also mouthing obscenities towards him.Gerard Elias QC, the chairman of the cricket discipline commission (CDC), described Batty’s behaviour as “appalling” and said he did consider whether further action should be taken along with the immediate suspension but decided not to refer the matter to a disciplinary panel.Elias said: “This was a high profile televised match with much at stake for both sides. In these circumstances, the Cricket Discipline Commission expects players to have regard to the image of the game and their place as role models, and to control their emotions accordingly.”Gareth Batty was not merely a player but was the Surrey captain. His conduct as such was appalling. Not only was he involved in deliberately and inappropriately physically confronting a batsman he had just dismissed, he subsequently engaged in a foul-mouthed tirade at the batsman.”Plainly, he acted contrary to the spirit of the game and in a way which brings cricket into disrepute and failed to set the leadership example expected.”The ECB statement continued: “The CDC takes this opportunity to remind players and captains of their duties and responsibilities as ambassadors for the game. So called ‘high pressure’ matches will not be regarded as any excuse for playing the game other than in accordance with the discipline regulations and in the proper spirit.”The penalty for a first level two offence is three points and the penalty for a second level two offence within 24 months is six points. Batty has therefore received a total of nine penalty points, triggering an automatic suspension for a period of two matches. This penalty will remain on his record for a period of two years.

England’s elite players would have more of a say in the management of their workloads under proposals that are being drawn up by PCA

David Hopps at The Oval19-Jul-2012England’s elite players would have more of a say in the management of their workloads under proposals that are being drawn up by the Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) ahead of the redrafting of central contracts next year.If PCA proposals are accepted, England would shift slightly towards the sort of squad system that has become an accepted part of Premier League football, as the most senior and successful players such as Kevin Pietersen were given more licence to miss matches regarded as less important.Angus Porter, chief executive of the PCA, facilitated unsuccessful negotiations last week between Pietersen and his representatives and Hugh Morris, the managing director of England cricket, which failed to end the stand-off which has led to Pietersen’s premature retirement from all England limited-overs cricket.Pietersen wanted rest from more one-day matches and also proposed missing at least one of England’s May Tests to enable him to play a full IPL season.Porter remains adamant that a more formalised rotation system is essential if England’s top players are to maximise their time in the game. The current three-year agreement expires in autumn 2013 and the PCA and ECB are anxious to draw up a new deal before next summer’s Ashes series.”This is an issue we need to get to grips with and one that we will be discussing in the next central contracts negotiation,” Porter said. “We all recognise that with a really hectic schedule managing workloads is important particularly for senior players who have played the longest and who play in all formats of the game.”We need to find a way to provide a little bit more structure to what is already happening – to develop England cricket as a squad game where you not only try to win every game but you try to keep the talent fresh and at the top as long as possible.”Some kind of process that introduces some form of flexibility for those players who have been at the top for a good length of time is desirable and consistent with that.”Porter also pointed to the example of the ATP circuit where leading tennis players are exempt from less prestigious tournaments and so delay their retirement as a result. Roger Federer, who defeated Andy Murray in the Wimbledon men’s final earlier this month, may already have retired without the management of his playing demands.Reducing the amount of international cricket is virtually impossible under the self-perpetuating system where the Future Tours Programme is fixed until 2020 and TV rights have been sold well ahead – Sky TV in the UK have a deal until 2017 with a further two-year option – on the basis of these deals. That only leaves the options of rest and rotation and a more orderly fixture list.”The existing rules work well in some cases – Andrew Strauss is a good example of somebody who has benefited – and less well in others,” Porter said. “It is not inconceivable that they might allow players to retire from Test cricket and play in both forms of one-day cricket.”What central contracts could not resolve, said Porter, was the ECB’s uneasy relationship towards IPL.”I do think the ECB and the other boards have to grasp that nettle, accept the IPL exists and identify a window for it so we do not always have to manage the consequences of an event which without constraint will continue to grow and move around the schedule. It shouldn’t be the most difficult thing in the world.”IPL is this dirty great big thing that is not fixed in time and space in the FTP and until or unless the Boards and the ICC get to grips with it, accept that it is here to stay and identify a window of a sensible length for it, it is impossible for any of us to plan.”That will become increasingly evident between 2014 and 2016. ICC one-day tournaments are scheduled in March and April for each of those years, pushing IPL even later into the year – infiltrating England’s international season to an even greater extent.”Like most traditionalists, I believe that Test cricket is the priority,” Porter said, adding that it was an understandable ambition for England players to want to take part in “the most lucrative, high-profile and fantastic tournament. Being practical about it, IPL is different and is bigger. It is not impossible for us to do something about it if we can get the IPL placed in a window. “Unless accommodation between English cricket and IPL is found, Pietersen, depicted by many as a self-obsessed maverick, might turn out to be the harbinger of a battle-scarred future as future England players are frustrated in their desire to play in cricket’s most glamorous and rewarding T20 tournament.Porter, closer to the negotiations than most, said: “I can’t take issue with either side in the argument. Both have been very reasonable in their points of view and have tried to find some middle ground but you come back to the fact that at the moment there is an irreconcilable issue that IPL clashes with test cricket and the ECB regards Test cricket with absolute primacy. Much as they want to be reasonable they can’t and won’t budge.”

The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2011The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said. However, the board will oppose the proposal to end the rotational system for ICC presidents and the planned amendment to the ICC’s constitution which will allow the governing body to suspend a member in the event of governmental interference in the running of a national cricket board.Those two issues, along with the Associate participation in the 2015 World Cup, form the crux of the conference but they were not debated on the opening day. The meetings began on June 26 with discussions on playing conditions and the rankings system. The headline issues were kept for the upcoming days.One board that has vehemently opposed the DRS is the BCCI, but the PCB was satisfied with the system. “We really don’t know why India is opposing the DRS,” Butt had said prior to his departure for Hong Kong. “They must have their reasons but as far as we are concerned, we are satisfied with the impact it has had so far in Test and ODI cricket, and we felt the World Cup was a good example of this system working and getting better in future.”We support India where we agree with their viewpoint. But generally we have our own independent views on decisions. I think the fact that we are not in favor of ending the rotation system of electing the ICC chairman, or having amendments in the ICC constitution to prevent complete government interference in member board affairs, is testimony to this.”With regards to the proposed amendment to prevent government interference, the PCB issued a legal notice to the ICC. It is among the boards that could, in the event of any interference from the government, be directly affected by the amendment, since the patron-in-chief of the PCB is the president of Pakistan.Pakistan and Bangladesh are next in line to nominate the ICC president and vice-president as per the rotational system. The Bangladesh Cricket Board said it is not against the proposed change in the process for the nomination and election of the ICC president, but wants the amendment to come into effect only after the completion of a full cycle of the current rotational system.”The board, in principle, agrees on the proposed amendment of ICC Article of Association regarding abolishing the present rotation system for the post of president of the ICC,” the Bangladesh board said. “However, the BCB feels that an equal and fair opportunity should be given to all existing Full Member countries to avail the privileges of the current rotation system.”The ICC annual conference begins with a meeting of the chief executives committee on June 26 and 27, followed by the executive board meeting – June 28 and 29 – and the full council meeting on June 30.

Mark Pettini has resigned as Essex captain with James Foster taking over the leadership in all formats

Cricinfo staff02-Jul-2010Mark Pettini has resigned as Essex captain with James Foster taking over the leadership in all formats of the game having moved into the position for the Friends Provident t20 last month.Pettini handed over control of the team to Foster for the Twenty20 having suffered a slump in form and took time away from the first-team. With Alastair Cook on England Lions duty he was recalled against Sussex and responded with an aggressive half-century and now he has decided the best route for both him and the club is for him to concentrate on being a batsman.”I felt it was time for me to step down as Essex captain,” he told the club website. “We suffered a poor start to the Friends Provident t20 campaign and I wanted to be able to focus on my own game. I got to the point that I was exhausted and I was under pressure with my batting.””The team performances were, at that stage, not going to plan and personally I was struggling with the bat. On Tuesday I returned to the side to face Sussex in the T20, hopefully I showed the difference to my game without the pressures of being captain. The role is obviously very stressful and creates a lot of hard work, both on and off the pitch. Now I can focus on scoring runs across all formats of the game which will hopefully help us to have another successful season, with a chance of winning some major honours”.”It was an extremely tough decision to make; I have really enjoyed the last three years and the success we have enjoyed as a team. I particularly enjoyed working closely with Paul Grayson, if the circumstances are different in the future then the captaincy is certainly something that I would be honoured to take up once again”.Paul Grayson, the Essex coach, said he’d been involved in discussions with Pettini for a number of weeks about his position and hoped the move would free him up to fulfil his potential.”Obviously it is a disappointment that it has come to this,” Grayson said. “Myself and Mark have discussed the situation over the past few weeks. We want him to come back into the ranks and for him to be the player that he was. Anyone who was here for the game on Tuesday night would have seen he was really refreshed and focused, he did not appear to have any concerns and that is the way we want him to play for Essex”.Meanwhile Foster, who led Essex against the touring Pakistan team on Friday, said his priority was now leading the county to a trophy this season.”I was asked whether I would like to accept the role as captain and I am delighted and thrilled to be considered for such a pivotal position in the club, there have been some illustrious names that have done well in the role in the past and to be listed amongst them is an honour and a privilege,” he said.”I have thoroughly enjoyed the role as captain in this season’s Twenty20 tournament. The focus now is continuing our form across all three competitions. We have every chance of maintaining our place in the County Championship and hopefully gaining some silverwear in the one day competitions

One change for England as senior quick bowler is preferred over Pennington and Potts

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2024Mark Wood has been recalled to England’s attack in place of the retired James Anderson as the only change to their XI for the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge, which begins on Thursday.Wood, England’s fastest bowler, was not available for the Lord’s Test, having only just returned to the country after the completion of England’s T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean, in which he claimed three wickets in five appearances. He has not yet played a first-class match for Durham this season.However, Wood was added to the squad in the wake of England’s innings-and-114-run victory in the first Test at Lord’s, and will slot back into the XI, having featured in three of England’s five Tests in India earlier this year.This will be the first time that England have played a home Test without either Anderson or Stuart Broad in their XI since 2012, and only the second since 2007. Anderson spent Tuesday at Trent Bridge in his new role as England’s bowling coach, following his farewell appearance at Lord’s.Wood’s inclusion means that Matthew Potts and Dillon Pennington will have to wait for their opportunities, having been original inclusions in England’s squad for the first two Tests, as named by the selectors last month.James Anderson started his new role in England’s coaching staff•Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images

Potts, who impressed with 23 wickets in his first six Tests in 2022 and 2023, has not featured for England since the Ireland Test at Lord’s last June, while Pennington is yet to make his Test debut.The selection of Wood follows the success enjoyed by another 90mph seamer, Gus Atkinson, who claimed match figures of 12 for 106, the fourth-best by a debutant in Test history, in last week’s win at Lord’s.Shoaib Bashir, England’s offspinner, did not bowl in the Lord’s Test, his first home appearance for his country, but retains his place at Nottingham.England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Shoaib Bashir

The left-arm quick was hit for five successive final-over sixes as Rinku Singh led KKR to an improbable win

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-20233:02

Moody: Should’ve been just the single messenger talking to Dayal

One day after Gujarat Titans’ Yash Dayal conceded five sixes in the final over to Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh, the fast bowler’s father has revealed that he was consoled in the dressing room by his team-mates, led by the captain Hardik Pandya.Dayal spoke to his father late on Sunday night after the bowler conceded the highest number of runs (31) in the final over of a chase to lose an IPL game. He said that he he struggled to grip the ball due to wet conditions.”It was a nightmare yesterday,” Chandrapal Dayal told on Monday. “They made him [Yash] sit in the centre [in the dressing room] and consoled him. Later, there was [dance, music] and they spent some light moments with him.”He told me that somehow the ball was slipping out and he was not having a proper grip on the night as he missed his yorkers. Even he tried a slower one from the back of his hand, that too was smashed.”Nothing Yash Dayal tried worked for him in that last over•BCCI

Dayal plays domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh, the same team as Rinku – the batter’s familiarity with the bowler’s plans may have helped him chase down the improbable final-over target. Chandrapal said the episode would make his son come out stronger.”He [Rinku] just had to smash every ball and they know each other well. It may have come handy for Rinku and it was simply not his [Dayal’s] day. Many great cricketers have gone through this.”These are the moments sport is made up of. Even in life you come across failures, it’s important to stand up stronger.”Dayal missed his yorker lengths on three occasions and paid the price as Rinku hit his first three full-tosses for sixes. After that, his half-tracker was tonked over long-on while his final delivery was flat-batted down the ground for six more. While the broadcasters’ camera showed the Knight Riders celebrating deliriously after the match, they also showed Dayal on his knees, wiping his forehead and being patted on his back by his team-mates. His coach Amit Pal said that Sunday was simply not Dayal’s day.”He bowls the yorker so well but could not get one last night,” Pal told . “Maybe he was done in by pressure. Maybe it was because at the other end, there was Rinku who knows him well since their junior camp days.”Dayal was signed by the Titans before IPL 2022 and played his part in the side winning the title last season. This season, he has been expensive and wicketless, conceding 14 runs in one over in his first game, 12 runs in one over in his second game, and 69 in four overs on Sunday.

Charges against him bring into question his handling of the BLM campaign, his management of former assistant coach Nkwe, and his treatment of then team-mate Adams

Firdose Moonda21-Jan-2022Cricket South Africa will argue for Mark Boucher’s dismissal in a disciplinary hearing which will take place in the next few months. Boucher was served with a seven-page charge sheet on Monday, which accused him of gross misconduct and bringing CSA into disrepute through historical and current handling of racial issues.The most serious charges against Boucher relate to his role in singing the words “brown s***” to his then team-mate Paul Adams, which was revealed by Adams at the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings. Boucher admitted to singing the song, but said he did not compose the lyrics and in a written affidavit apologised for his conduct. He also said CSA did not appropriately educate players in the immediate post-Apartheid era. Boucher did not appear for oral testimony. CSA was not satisfied with Boucher’s response and the charge sheet claims he has conducted himself in “a racist or subliminally racist manner”.Related

• 'Not my job or desire to find Boucher guilty or not' – Adams to not testify against former team-mate

• Mark Boucher hearing – current South Africa players to testify on behalf of coach

• Bavuma outlines difficulties of leading South Africa amid off-field issues

• Twin series triumphs suggest South Africa turnaround despite off-field uncertainty

• CSA's SJN follow-up: Boucher charged with 'gross misconduct'

“Having had your racist and/or offensive and/or inappropriate utterances drawn to your attention,” points 21.2 and 21.3 of the charge sheet say, “you failed to adequately and/or sufficiently and/or appropriately apologise for these utterances and/or acknowledge the racist nature of these utterances and/or the hurt that they caused; and/or … you have conducted yourself in a racist or subliminally racist manner by failing to acknowledge the impact of your conduct towards Mr Adams thereby exacerbating the offence of racism, bearing in mind your current position as the coach of the national team, which places you in a position of leadership and responsibility.”Boucher has also been charged with improper conduct when dealing with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign in sport. According to the charge sheet, “when dealing with the BlackLivesMatter issue and the question of ‘taking the knee’, you allegedly dealt with the white players’ concerns and requested that the team manager (who is black) deal with the black players’ concerns. This allegedly created or exacerbated division and alienated players and the team.”South Africa initially opted not to take a knee when the anti-racism movement resurged in sport in mid-2020 but U-turned on that at the 3TC event in July 2020 when all players and support staff took a knee. Boucher was not part of the tournament because he had Covid-19 at the time. The national team then also chose not to take a knee when they played England in November 2020 but raised fists against Sri Lanka in December that year. By the time they travelled to West Indies in June 2021, the players were given the option of taking a knee, raising a fist or standing to attention. Then, at the T20 World Cup in October last year, CSA mandated that the team must collectively take a knee before every game. They have since done that. The team have consistently said they are in agreement over their gestures – though Quinton de Kock refused to take a knee at first – and understand and respect each other’s positions, but CSA believes there has been some division.Mark Boucher was appointed head coach of the men’s team in December 2019, and Enoch Nkwe, who was team director, and had a stellar coaching record, was moved to the position of assistant coach•AFP

Boucher is also accused of poor man management of his former assistant coach Enoch Nkwe, who resigned in August. Nkwe cited concerns with team culture and insiders confirmed he had a difficult working relationship with Boucher. The charge sheet claims Boucher did not provide clear “roles and responsibilities” or “meaningful key-performance indicators” for Nkwe, did not define his role or any development plans for him and, thus, “allegedly treated Mr Nkwe in a manner unbecoming of a leader in your position”.In totality, this trio of accusations has brought CSA to the conclusion that Boucher’s “conduct has resulted in an irretrievable breakdown in the trust relationship between you and CSA”. “In the circumstances, the sanction of dismissal will be sought before the Chairperson of the disciplinary enquiry,” point 23 of the charge sheet reads.Boucher, appointed in December 2019, is contracted until the 2023 World Cup. During his tenure, South Africa have won three of the five Test series they’ve played, including their most recent triumph over India, one out of five completed ODI series, and three out of eight T20 series. They also narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot at the T20 World Cup.CSA and Boucher will meet next Wednesday to outline a timeframe for the disciplinary hearing. Several sources have told ESPNcricinfo that the hearing is unlikely to start before South Africa return from their two-Test tour of New Zealand at the end of February as Boucher’s legal team needs time with him to prepare their responses. As things stand, Boucher remains in his job and will continue working with the team, despite initial plans to suspend him.CSA’s first communication on Boucher’s disciplinary hearing was titled “CSA suspends Boucher and Smith” but that was quickly retracted and replaced with the same statement headlined “CSA appoints highly respected advocate Terry Motau (SC) chairperson of disciplinary hearing into allegations against Mark Boucher”. CSA also apologised for the error.ESPNcricinfo understands that CSA had done various scenario planning in the lead up to charging Boucher and was considering suspending both him and Smith and had designed a template to communicate this. After legal consultation, the organisation concluded there was no basis to suspend them and they will continue in their roles.No disciplinary action has been instituted against Smith, who was also tentatively found to have engaged in prejudicial conduct but CSA is in the process of conducting arbitration agreements with him. That means Smith is unlikely to face a hearing in the same way Boucher will, but will still have to answer to the questions raised from the SJN report.

England, Australia players to isolate themselves for a period between one and six days after landing in the UAE

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Sep-2020The 21 players travelling from the England-Australia limited-overs series into IPL will need to isolate themselves for a varying period ranging between one and six days once they land in the UAE on Thursday evening.For the group travelling to Dubai, comprising 18 players from six teams, the quarantine period would be one day while the remaining three – Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Tom Banton – who all are part of Kolkata Knight Riders, will need to the undergo six-day quarantine before they are available for selection.ALSO READ: IPL-bound England players counselled to be on guard against burnoutThe development means all the players are likely to be available for their franchises’ first match as the tournament gets underway on Saturday. This also means the pair of Josh Hazlewood and Sam Curran would be available for selection for Chennai Super Kings, who will play the tournament opener against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi, subject to them clearing the one mandatory test on Friday.ESPNcricinfo understands that the IPL has prepared set of exclusive standard operating procedures for the group which makes it mandatory that the players are dressed in a Personal protective equipment (PPE) kit once they disembark in the UAE late on Thursday. The group of players that will be based in Dubai would need to head to their room in the team hotel and get tested in their room on Friday. If the result comes out negative, the player can then start training.As for the three Knight Riders players, it is understood they would need to be in their rooms for the first six days and once they clear the required testing process, they can join rest of the squad on the seventh day. Cummins, Morgan and Banton would be available for selection for the Knight Riders’ first match, which is on September 23 against Mumbai in Abu Dhabi, where both teams are based.All the 21 players were part of the limited-overs series between England and Australia, which concluded on Wednesday in Manchester. This group is scheduled to land in the UAE on Thursday night after the respective franchises they are part of had arranged for a charter flight from Manchester.Considering they players would be commuting between the biosecure bubble in England to that in the UAE, franchises had asked the IPL to relax the quarantine norms in order for players to be available for selection and training immediately.However the IPL was constrained by the protocol imposed by the local government authorities which is different for the two emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While there is no mandatory quarantine period for anyone flying into Dubai (barring if a person tests positive), Abu Dhabi government has imposed 14-day quarantine for anyone entering the Emirate from outside the country. A special concession has been made in the case of the IPL to bring that down to six days quarantine, keeping in mind the teams are operating within a bubble.

Whirlwind knocks from Buttler, Woakes keep England alive till the end before they fall short

Ankur Dhawan25-May-2019Something about England seems to inspire Steven Smith into producing his absolute best. The warm-up at Southampton, where he was greeted with hostility from a sizable crowd, was no different.He brought up his fourth fifty-plus score since returning from his year-long ban, converting this one into a hundred, which formed the backbone of Australia’s 297 for nine. England may have fancied chasing it down, but on a two-paced surface, it proved just out of reach despite stand-in captain Jos Buttler’s brilliance.England were down to only 11 fit players at the start, instead of the permitted 15. In a space of three balls in the seventh over, injury scares took a pandemic turn with Mark Wood jogging off having halted in his run-up, and his substitute Jofra Archer went off two balls later as he lost his footing while sliding at the deep midwicket boundary.Later, left-arm spinner Liam Dawson split the skin on the finger of his right hand and was out of batting contention. Substitutes, including assistant coach Paul Collingwood who turns 43 in a day, came in and went off through the revolving door. Wood also went for a precautionary scan, which James Vince confirmed “wasn’t too serious.”Australia were unperturbed by the chaos as David Warner and Shaun Marsh batted steadily, adding 63 after the early loss of captain Aaron Finch. Then Warner holed out off a short one from Liam Plunkett to mark Smith’s arrival.Steven Smith acknowledges his century•Getty Images

Smith batted fluently without ever looking in a hurry, placing good balls into empty pockets and dealing with the bad ones more severely. He had support through the innings, without a major contribution from anyone. Marsh departed for 30 and Usman Khawaja made 31 before being stumped off a wide one from Dawson as he revealed his intention too early.Had this been an ODI, Australia may have been irked by the starts squandered but in a warm-up it worked just fine that everyone had a hit. Marcus Stoinis was another one who got in and couldn’t go on, run-out as Smith called him for what should have been an easy second had the allrounder not been ball-watching. That brought in Alex Carey and through him Australia found late impetus.He struck a 14-ball 30 before being brilliantly caught by a diving Tom Curran. At the other end Smith opened up with a six over extra cover and one over the keeper’s head, bringing up his hundred with a nudge to square leg in between.The Australia innings ended amid controversy and confusion as Smith was given out caught and bowled off what seemed like a bump ball. Curiously, he was willing to walk off till he saw the replay and felt differently. The third umpire, however, thought the evidence was conclusive to rule Smith out.England began their chase nervously but luck was on their side. Jason Roy was struck on the helmet, dropped at slip by Smith and nearly dragged one on. Those moments of uncertainty seemed to stir him into action as he suddenly discovered the middle of his bat, but the surface was already showing signs of variable bounce as some reared up from a length and some scooted through to the keeper from similar areas.Wickets came soon after as Jonny Bairstow spliced Jason Behrendorff to mid-on and Roy jabbed at one that held in the surface and bounced higher than he expected to be caught at short cover. Ben Stokes struggled for timing during the course of his stay, which was curtailed by Nathan Lyon, as he threw one wide seeing Stokes advance and had him stumped.That brought Buttler to the crease and with him out there, nothing seemed impossible. He looked in imperious form from the get-go, dismissing any theories about the need to get one’s eye in. But even at that stage he seemed to be batting within himself. That became apparent when he tore into Nathan Coulter-Nile, smoking three fours and two sixes off an over.A walloping like that would have forced Finch’s hand in an ODI but here he could afford to persist with the pacer and was rewarded next over as he induced an error from Buttler off a well disguised knuckle ball.The onslaught brought parity to the contest despite the fall of James Vince for 64 which left England needing 101 off 97 with five wickets in hand. Chris Woakes, playing purely as a batsman enhanced his reputation with a composed 44-ball 40 that kept England in the hunt, but his run-out in search of a quick single that would have brought him back on strike in the 48th over left England with too much to do.

As Karachi gears up for its first international match in nine years, the mood around the game is not so much about the revival of big cricket in Pakistan as much as its normalisation

The Preview by Umar Farooq in Karachi31-Mar-2018

Big Picture

The series between the top-ranked team playing at home and a West Indian team without its key players doesn’t have much by way of intrigue in it. Since the PSL final, the hype, the excitement, clamour for tickets, mayhem on the streets, overwhelming security and crazy marketing campaigns have all been toned down. It’s not about the revival of international cricket so much as its normalisation now.Pakistan have the upper hand, what with the West Indies featuring an inexperienced, depleted side. The series may end up being a one-sided affair after Cricket West Indies had to scramble to assemble a squad of 13 players ready to visit Pakistan. Many automatic selections including Chris Gayle, Jason Holder and Evin Lewis along with the T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite pulled out. The series will see West Indies vice-captain Jason Mohammed step up to lead the side in the absence of regular captain Brathwaite in the three-match series.Although Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur somewhat patronisingly termed West Indies a “dangerous” side that had “nothing to lose”, the biggest challenge for the visitors is to keep the series competitive. They have to recover from the jetlag, having to turn up to play just hours after landing in Karachi from the Caribbean. Pakistan, on the other hand, have been in the city for several days, and been training well ahead of the three back-to-back-to-back games.Pakistan’s 15-man squad has plenty of young, in-form players raring to go in the international games. The batting is centred around Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam, while the bowling is led by Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali, with a new sensation in the 17-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi likely to make his debut.Pakistan are presently atop the world T20I rankings and the three-match series will give them the opportunity to widen the gap between themselves and Australia at No. 2. A 3-0 victory will see Pakistan consolidate their position, while in the unlikely event of them suffering a 3-0 reverse, they will slip to fourth.

Form guide

Pakistan WWLWWWest Indies LLWWW

In the spotlight

Given his indifferent form in the PSL, Ahmed Shehzad‘s selection for the home series raised a lot of eyebrows. The opening batsman had a poor PSL season with the bat, scoring 173 runs at 19.22 with a strike rate of 85.22, but selectors have decided to stick with him given his decent T20I form. A propensity to play out far too many dot balls for the modern game often sees him come under fierce criticism, but he is the second-highest run-getter for Pakistan in T20Is since the start of 2017, behind only Babar Azam, with 367 at 33.36. He will look to improve his numbers further against West Indies’ short-of-big-names side.There is no denying West Indies’ inexperience, but it is the one side you wouldn’t bet against in this format. One man Pakistan wouldn’t want to write off in particular is Marlon Samuels. Twice a World T20 winner – not to mention Man of the Match in both finals he’s played, Samuels will be the major driving force for the Caribbean side, and is expected to provide much-needed support for captain Jason Mohammed. When West Indies visited Pakistan last 12 years ago, a memorable unbeaten 100 from Samuels in Multan saw West Indies rout Pakistan. Shoaib Malik – the only Pakistan survivor from that game – will be sure not to let his side underestimate him.

Team news

Pakistan will open with Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, and not play Ahmed Shehzad most likely. Hussain Talat is set to make his debut at No. 3 and Asif Ali will likely get his international cap too, but Shaheen Afridi will have to wait.Pakistan (likely XI): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Hussain Talat, 4 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Faheem Ashraf, 7 Asif Ali, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Mohammad NawazIt’s difficult to predict West Indies’ combination, but there is no news of injury. With two uncapped players of their own, the first game could see several players from each side taking their first steps in international cricket.West Indies (likely XI): 1 Andre Fletcher, 2 Chadwick Walton, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Jason Mohammed (capt), 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Rayad Emrit, 9 Veerasammy Permaul, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick Williams

Pitch and conditions

The temperature in Karachi has risen drastically since the PSL final last week, touching 40 degrees Celsius, but the sea breeze in the evening should make the weather more pleasant. The pitch is expected to be hard with the sun baking it all day, and a run-fest could be on the cards.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have a 6-1 win-loss record at home in seven T20Is. Their only defeat was to World XI last year.
• Since the start of 2017, Pakistan have been the best T20I side in terms of results, with a 10-3 win-loss record.
• In the last 15 months, Babar Azam has been Pakistan’s highest run-getter (461 at 41.90) and Shadab Khan their highest wicket-taker (19 at 16.15).

Quotes

“This series provides opportunities for new players to stake their claim for a regular place in the team, plus gain vital experience in different conditions. We expect the series to be highly competitive.”