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The spin-bowling consultant says the team is heading in the right direction and could start winning more away from home

Mohammad Isam15-Aug-2024Bangladesh’s spin-bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed says that Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim have lifted the team’s morale ahead of the Test series against Pakistan.”All the players are excited about the first Test match,” Mushtaq said. “Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim are the senior players. They are playing a positive role with the guys. I also give credit to the management who has been good with the players. The focus is on cricket now.”The Bangladesh players arrived in Pakistan on August 13 upon invitation from the PCB, after the BCB could not arrange a full team practice session with head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe due to political upheaval in Dhaka. Shakib reached Lahore on Wednesday and joined the team in their training sessions hours later.Related

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Before that, he was playing for Bangla Tigers Mississauga in the Global T20 Canada where he had an eventful week. He played a match on August 5, mere hours after the Awami League government fell in Bangladesh and the prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India. As a result, Shakib lost his seat in the parliament and was booed by fans during the game.He was then embroiled in controversy for not showing up for the toss in Bangla Tigers’ eliminator match against Toronto Nationals, which led to his team forfeiting the game.Mahmudul Hasan Joy was among several Bangladesh Test regulars to get some game time ahead of the Pakistan Tests•PCB

Mushfiqur is currently playing a four-day game against Pakistan A in Islamabad. This is a rare occasion when a Bangladesh A tour is connected closely to the senior team’s tour of the same country. Although the match has been affected by rain, it provided much needed game time for Mushfiqur, who last played a Test ten months ago. Other red-ball regulars – Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nayeem Hasan and Hasan Mahmud – are also playing in this match.Bangladesh have only won one Test series of two or more matches abroad, against West Indies in 2009. But Mushtaq believes they could start winning more Test matches away from home.”A cricketer has to have basics and belief to do well at this level, otherwise he loses the battle,” Mushtaq said. “Skill-level looks after itself. We will give them the belief that you can beat anyone. Bangladesh is a good side. You saw that they challenged good teams in the World Cup. They are getting good fast bowlers. They are going towards a good direction. If they keep learning and keep believing in themselves, hopefully, they can start winning games outside.”Mushtaq also praised the Bangladesh spinners, saying they were eager to learn and quite receptive to his suggestions Legspinner Rishad Hossain has really levelled up under Mushtaq’s guidance and was the joint fifth-highest wicket-taker at the recent T20 World Cup.”The spinners are very mature. They are keen to learn. My role is to talk about tactical and technical things. You have to wait for the technical things for after the match. Tactically, you have to tell the spinners which angle to use, how to read the pitch, what pace to use, field settings for particular batters. You need reminders despite your experience.”Taijul [Islam] and [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz are match-winners. They are a great bunch of guys. They are coachable people. They are good listeners. I am honoured to be working with them. Hopefully, I can make a difference for them.”

Water under covers forces hasty abandonment with England eyeing batting records in Bristol

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Sep-2023England 280 for 4 (Duckett 107*, Salt 61, Crawley 51) vs Ireland – Match abandonedEngland claimed a 1-0 ODI series win against Ireland in farcical circumstances after the third ODI at Bristol was abandoned 31 overs into the first innings due to rain, with water also getting onto the pitch.England had reached 280 for 4, with Ben Duckett striking a maiden ODI to build on a fast start by Phil Salt, who blitzed 61 off 28 at the top of the order, before the rain arrived during the drinks break at 2.48pm. After a brief pause to see if it would pass, the umpires decided to call on the groundstaff.There was a further issue when the covers were caught in the wind leaving the pitch exposed, before the three mobile covers came on from Ashley Down Road End. The tractor dragging the covers ended up driving down what would have been just outside off stump for a right-hander batting from the Pavilion End. There was also a delay in closing the gaps between the covers allowing the rain to get onto the playing surface.Members of the groundstaff then had to squeeze under the covers where they were passed mats to towel down the damaged areas at both ends. Standing umpire Paul Reiffel and third umpire Rod Tucker emerged with reserve umpire David Millns at around 3.15pm to survey the damage. After looking under the covers, and assessing the standing water on the square, the decision was made to call off the match at 3.21pm. The rain relented five minutes later.An overnight deluge had saturated the outfield, but although play did get underway on time at 12.30pm, fears the ground could not take any more rain were eventually realised.”It caught everyone by surprise,” Zak Crawley, England’s captain for this series, said. “The ground was already a bit wet this morning after the rain that happened last night, so it didn’t need a lot more rain to get abandoned like that. And obviously a lot of rain fell in not a long space of time.”I went on the outfield just now and it was soaking wet as well. I think it was all unfit.”Ireland skipper Paul Stirling echoed those sentiments, having initially hoped the delay would allow his side to turn their fortunes around after a chastening start in the field.”I think we were all pretty happy when the rain came, but we weren’t quite expecting it to end the game,” he said. “We thought we might get a bit of a break or a bit of a rest and try and regroup and come out there and change it up a little bit. But no, we weren’t expecting the game to be called off.Heavy rain forced an abrupt abandonment•Getty Images

“We were having a bit of a joke up there [in the dressing room], I think we’re more used to it in Ireland because there is more rain probably. We haven’t really come across that in England where it was so sudden. We wanted to get out there.”This was the fourth consecutive men’s ODI abandoned at Bristol, following a 2021 no-result against Sri Lanka and two of their three 2019 World Cup matches (Pakistan versus Sri Lanka and Bangladesh versus Sri Lanka) washed out without a ball being bowled. Gloucestershire chief executive Will Brown lamented what he regarded as an unavoidable situation given the volume of rain in the last 24 hours.”We always had the sense that if we had something similar to last night, 20-30 minutes of rain could be what killed it off. You can see all along the bottom of the square the water is running off in big puddles.”It is just gutting. We’ve had our fair share of rain offs such as in World Cups and you wonder if we give it a bit longer maybe it can dry out, but it is what it is. The umpires and the match ref know what they are doing, the groundstaff are working their backsides off to get it right.”Brown defended the response from the groundstaff, who struggled to fully cover the pitch and surrounding areas in challenging conditions.”It was hard conditions for them. You could see by how the covers were moving that it was pretty tough for them. It is one thing getting the covers on speedily, but in those conditions it is a different ball game altogether. They were certainly heavy and wet from this morning.”No one wants to see a match end in that way and we are just collectively gutted for a season-ender for English cricket like that and a season-ender for Gloucestershire in Bristol.”The conditions last night were shocking. The covers were heavy and wet, and they were trying to move them in tough conditions. It was blowing a hooley, which makes it a lot harder to move. I think they did and admirable job in difficult circumstances.”In what play was possible, England had been given a bumper start by Salt on his way to his country’s fourth-fastest half-century in the format, from 22 deliveries. He crashed three fours and a six off Mark Adair in the first four balls of the match, with 19 off the first over and, thanks to his 87-run stand with Will Jacks, 100 up after eight overs – both England records in this format.Duckett had brought up three figures with a six over wide long-off from his 72nd delivery, the penultimate ball of the 30th over. And though Sam Hain fell to Craig Young – the most impressive Irish bowler on show with 3 for 31 – at the end of the next over, Duckett had a shot at becoming England’s first double-centurion and, in turn, the team an outside chance of beating their world-record ODI score of 498 for 8, made against Netherlands last year. Neither got the chance to play out.It was a tough debut for Ireland’s left-arm spinner Theo van Woerkom, who conceded 47 runs in his four overs. That included having his last four balls hit for 16 by Duckett to bring up England’s 250 after 27 overs. Van Woerkom did at least emerge from the wreckage with a maiden wicket when Crawley scythed a wide delivery to third after bringing up his maiden ODI fifty.However, for the second time in the series the rain curtailed any prospects of a result. With more than 30 overs of play achieved, spectators were not entitled to a refund.”It worries me greatly that this is a sign of things to come,” Brown said, looking ahead to next summer with Bristol due to host an ODI between England and Australia on September 29.”We’ve got a lot of cricket being played in September next year and with climate change we’ve seen heavy rain in June and July, and I think the game needs to be thinking innovatively about how we get games on or prepare pitches and surfaces using different things to get cricket away.”

The left hander will slip down the order for the day-night Test as she continues as wicketkeeper in place of Alyssa Healy

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2025Beth Mooney wants Australia to “show off our skills” during the day-night Ashes Test at the MCG as they aim to complete a miserable tour for England by claiming a 16-0 whitewash.Mooney, who was masterful in the third T20I with an unbeaten 94 off 63 balls, conceded there was an element of disappointment in the fact the Test wasn’t a live contest in terms of the Ashes, but on the flip side hoped that it would allow the team to play with freedom.Related

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“It’s going to be awesome,” Mooney said. “We obviously don’t get to pull on the baggy green too often. The pink ball behaves a little bit differently so that’ll create some challenges. I’m just really looking forward to the spectacle of the game to be honest.”We’re pumped that we’re 12-0 up. It certainly would have been nice if we played the test match while the series was still on the line, maybe earlier in the series, but that wasn’t to be. I think on an individual front and as a group it’s come at a great time for us to basically just show off our skills and really enjoy playing the four-day game.”Mooney confirmed she will bat in the middle order for the Test as she continues to take the wicketkeeping gloves from Alyssa Healy with Australia’s captain working around the clock to try and ensure she can overcome a foot injury to play as a batter. Mooney’s last three Tests have come as an opener but the workload would be too great for her to continue in that role and keep wicket.”I take pride in the fact that I can offer the coaching staff and selection panel different options,” Mooney said. “Whether it’s batting order or behind the stumps or in the field. It’ll be a nice challenge for me wicketkeeping and batting in that middle order role, so looking forward to what that’s going to present and hopefully I’m just warming Midge’s spot for a little while.”Should Healy be fit it leaves Australia with an interesting selection call to make given she has moved down the order in Test cricket in recent years. She would likely have to slot back in at the top alongside Phoebe Litchfield unless the selectors were also able to find room for Georgia Voll.There is one vacancy from when Australia last played a Test, against South Africa at the WACA, with Sophie Molineux out injured. Georgia Wareham could come into the side to partner fellow legspinner Alana King, although the pink-ball factor may bring Megan Schutt into contention as another seamer. Wareham has only played one previous Test, against India in 2021.Ash Gardner is expected to be fit after a calf injury kept her out of the T20I series.

Rain had the ultimate say in a match featuring four debutants

Danyal Rasool18-Apr-2024Rain ultimately had the final say in the first T20I between Pakistan and New Zealand. The weather forecast was tricky all day, with intermittent rain forcing a half-hour delay in the toss. No sooner than the toss, which New Zealand won and elected to bat first, was held that the heavens opened again, forcing another lengthy delay that brought the game to the verge of being called off without a ball being bowled.There was a glimmer of hope nearly three hours on, when a short pause in the rain allowed the ground to dry just about enough to ostensibly allow a 5-overs-a-side match, the shortest a T20 can be curtailed to. Shaheen Shah Afridi opened the bowling, and looked like his vintage best when he knocked back debutant Tim Robinson’s middle stump with a searing inswinger off the second ball.However, that was as much action as the weather would permit, with a drizzle resuming almost instantly after. This time, there was no time to play with, and the umpires immediately called the game off, with the players shaking hands. As per PCB policy, ticket refunds won’t be issued to spectators because the toss did take place.The unfortunate Robinson was one of four debutants in the match, with Pakistan handing T20I caps to Usman Khan, Irfan Khan and Abrar Ahmed.The second T20I will also be held in Rawalpindi, on Saturday.

Hosts double down on ultra-attacking style as Australia bowlers lack control

Matt Roller20-Jul-2023Zak Crawley’s 189 off 182 balls sent England roaring into the lead at Emirates Old Trafford, giving them hope of beating both a frazzled Australia side and the Manchester weather to square the series two-all.With rain expected to wipe out the fourth and fifth days, Ben Stokes hinted the day before this Test that England would adjust their strategy accordingly by doubling-down on their ultra-attacking style with the bat. True to their captain’s word, they overhauled Australia’s first-innings 317 inside 55 overs.And it was Crawley who led the way. He flicked the first ball of England’s innings past Alex Carey for four and, after a shaky start before lunch, he batted with utter disdain against the best seam attack in the world throughout the afternoon. His first Ashes hundred took only 93 balls, the fourth-fastest by an Englishman, and left Pat Cummins and his bowlers floundering.England scored at a run rate of 7.12 during a heady second session, adding 178 in 25 overs. Alongside Moeen Ali, then Joe Root – who both made half-centuries of their own – Crawley pulled, drove, flicked and slog-swept his way to three figures, then accelerated past 150 after tea.He fell 11 runs short of a second Test double-hundred, bottom-edging a swing across the line onto his own stumps, but by that stage he had become the leading run-scorer in the series. It served as vindication of England’s faith in an opening batter who had arrived at the ground on Thursday morning with an average below 30, yet has come to represent their progress under Stokes and Brendon McCullum.Related

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Australia were a bowler down by the close after Mitchell Starc damaged his left shoulder while diving in the field. Despite the wicket of Root for 84, bowled by a ball which shot through low from Josh Hazlewood, they lacked any semblance of control; their decision not to field a frontline spinner for the first time in a decade was exposed as a blunder.There were few signs early in Crawley’s innings of what was to come. He played-and-missed several times against Starc and Hazlewood in their initial new-ball bursts, edging Hazlewood just short of Steven Smith at slip on 12. When Cummins came into attack in the 12th over, Crawley edged his first ball past his own stumps.He lost his opening partner Ben Duckett to the 13th ball of the England innings, edging Starc’s outswinger behind, and Moeen’s driving outside his off stump was fast and loose as he walked out in his temporary role as a makeshift No. 3. Crawley himself was given out lbw on 20, trapped on the front pad by Cameron Green, but reviewed successfully.But in the over before lunch, he creamed a trademark cover drive for four off Cummins and never looked back. Carey couldn’t get his hand to a half-chance via the inside edge as he cruised towards a 67-ball half-century, raised with a reverse-swept four off Travis Head’s first ball and celebrated with a swept six off his second.Moeen reached his first Test fifty since January 2019 when he flogged Head over mid-on, then miscued him in the same direction. Cummins put him down at short midwicket on 53, but he didn’t survive his next ball: Starc went short, Moeen took on the pull, and nailed it straight to the same position, when Usman Khawaja held a diving catch.Australia hoped that, after a second-wicket stand of 121 in 152 balls, this was where the carnage ended. When Root pulled his first ball behind square for four, then glided his fifth away past gully with an open face, it became clear that it had only just started.Cummins tried to slow the game down, tinkering with the field multiple times in the same over, but Crawley cared little for changes of plan. He swung back-to-back boundaries off first Hazlewood, then Starc, before mistiming Cummins through cover to reach three figures. He grinned with arms aloft, as Old Trafford rose to its feet.Zak Crawley gets a handshake from Pat Cummins•AFP/Getty Images

By the time Mitchell Marsh – who dismissed him in both innings at Headingley – was brought into the attack, Crawley had 112. England were treating a must-win Ashes Test like an exhibition match: Root reverse-scooped Marsh for six; Crawley slog-swept Head for six more, bringing up a century stand.Another Root reverse-scoop, this time for four off Cummins, brought him a 45-ball half-century and Crawley went back-to-back once more to raise 150. He swung Marsh over his head for six to put England into the lead, and his dismissal – chopping Green’s round-the-wicket short ball onto his stumps – came from nowhere.The scoring rate fell after Root’s dismissal, bowled by a grubber that scudded under the toe of his bat, as Stokes and Harry Brook saw out the final stages of the day. Starc’s injury, diving at mid-on, seemed to compound Australia’s problems, even if their management are optimistic about his prospects of bowling on Friday after icing his shoulder overnight.The portents were ominous for Australia from before the scheduled start of play: by the time the clock in the old pavilion at the James Anderson End had ticked past 11am, Cummins had chipped a tame half-volley from its eponymous bowler straight to Stokes at cover-point, falling to the very first ball of the day.Chris Woakes celebrated a first Ashes five-wicket haul when Hazlewood edged his fourth ball of the morning to second slip, but he was reprieved by a marginal front-foot no-ball. When Woakes did remove Hazlewood, well caught by Duckett at third slip, it seemed the 18 runs added for the last wicket might prove costly; seven hours later, those concerns were forgotten.

Bavuma sustained the injury in the WTC final during his match-winning 66

Firdose Moonda20-Jun-20257:27

Bavuma: We’ve wiped all doubts with the way that we’ve played

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the two-Test series against Zimbabwe, which starts next Saturday. Keshav Maharaj will captain the team in Bavuma’s absence.Bavuma has not recovered from the hamstring strain he suffered during the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia last week and will undergo further scans to determine the extent of the injury.The squad features five uncapped players as South Africa rest several all-format players including Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi is only available for the second Test.Related

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Bavuma, who led South Africa to the WTC title, sustained the injury on the third day of the match. He was on six runs at the time and pulled up while completing a single. He received treatment on field and batted through to tea, where he was advised not to continue batting.After the game, Bavuma revealed that he went against medical advice because he did not want to give himself the option of not being in the middle at a crucial time in the game. In consultation with Markram, who agreed to downscale the tempo of his running between the wickets.
Bavuma resumed his innings and saw South Africa through to the close of play. He finished on 66 as South Africa won by five wickets.South Africa’s next assignments after Zimbabwe, which Bavuma could be part of, are ODIs against Australia in August and England in September. Their next WTC campaign begins against Pakistan in October before a series in India in November. South Africa will not play any home Tests until October 2026, when they will host Australia. Bavuma has indicated he would like to continue playing until the 2027 home ODI World Cup, fitness permitting.This is the third hamstring injury Bavuma has suffered in less than two years. He was injured during the 2023 ODI World Cup and played the semi-final and then again during the Boxing Day Test against India that year. He has also had a series of elbow injuries and plays with a heavily strapped left elbow.South Africa squad: David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj (capt), Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi (second Test only), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Codi Yusuf

Marcus Stoinis takes 2 for 0 to break crucial Superchargers stand between Harry Brook and Graham Clarke

ECB Media10-Aug-2025Trent Rockets beat Northern Superchargers by five wickets at Trent Bridge to continue their 100 percent start to The Hundred this season.In front of their home fans for the first time this campaign, Rockets – who beat Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston on Friday – restricted Andrew Flintoff’s Superchargers to 128 for 9 from their 100 balls and won with relative lack of alarm, though Superchargers did well to take the game deep.Runs were perhaps expected given the weather and the manner in which Superchargers women’s team batted in the day’s first game, but on a dry surface the ball gripped and few batters seemed able to bat with much freedom. That meant the Rockets never ran away with the chase but they had enough to see it home with four balls to spare.With the ball, spinners Akeal Hosein and Rehan Ahmed took two wickets apiece for the hosts and never allowed the Superchargers to get going, though it was Australian allrounder Marcus Stoinis who broke the most crucial partnership, that of top-scorer Harry Brook and Graham Clarke, who put on 56. Stoinis would go on to take two wickets in two balls, and conceded no runs from his five balls.It was a similar tale when it was time for Superchargers to defend, with Imad Wasim taking two wickets in two balls, and three overall, and Adil Rashid giving next to nothing away alongside two wickets, but Stoinis and Adam Hose scrambled Trent Rockets home with four balls remaining in front of 13,497 happy home fans.Meerkat Match Hero Akeal Hosein said: “I was grateful for that start [two early wickets] and thankful to be able to put my team in a winning position early on.”I think both ends of the wicket played differently. The top end here where I started off, it was a bit sticky, it gripped a bit, and then when I went on the other end it was a bit low and skiddy, so it’s about just working out what works well at each end and sticking to that plan for as long as possible.”It’s a happy bunch. It’s a talented bunch as well, and we have one goal in mind. Whenever the ball is thrown to us, it’s our opportunity to make it happen for the team. It’s very good to have a good group of bowlers. So even if it doesn’t go your way on that day, you know you’ve got your brothers to cover you.”On the close finish, he added: “I walked across from the dressing room with all confidence. I had no pads on, you know? So that’s the confidence I had in the boys to get over the line. But with that being said, it was closer than we would have liked, but we were glad to get over the line.”

A depleted home attack, led by Mitch Perry, struck back strongly with the second new ball

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2023A century from Tom Bruce and a late new-ball surge from an illness-hit Australia A set up a potentially fascinating final day of the pink-ball match in Mackay.Bruce, the New Zealand A captain, reached a 148-ball century deep in the final session during which he passed 5000 first-class runs. By the close, the visitors held a lead of 299 and were seemingly set for a declaration in the morning.For much of the day the tempo was sedate with New Zealand A, who were a batter down in the absence of injured wicketkeeper Mitch Hay due to a fractured wrist, rarely looking to the increase the scoring rate.But things came to life when Australia A took the second ball during the final session. Mitch Perry, who was among those under the weather, produced a superb swinging yorker to trap Nick Kelly lbw, breaking a stand of 69 in 22 overs, then removed Scott Kuggeleijn first ball with what looked a more borderline decision.Liam Hatcher joined in when he pinned Adithya Ashok for a pair, at which point Bruce was still short of his century. He opened his shoulders, whipping Hatcher over the leg side for a four and six, then reached his hundred in the next over.Australia A had a depleted attack for much of the day with Ben Dwarshuis (back) and Nathan McAndrew (illness) becoming unavailable. It meant an increased workload for Perry and Hatcher who shouldered it impressively, taking their combined match tally to 14 wickets.”Ben came off with some back soreness and we certainly hope it’s nothing too serious,” Australia A coach Adam Voges said. “[It] puts a big load into the rest of the bowlers and thought they all did a great job. We had guys who really stepped up and did a great job. Mitch Perry got some late rewards.”The game had resumed with New Zealand A holding a narrow lead and they built cautiously. Sean Solia continued his excellent series with another half-century before being lbw in Nathan McSweeney’s first over.Dean Foxcroft also reached fifty before edging a wide one from Perry and Muhammad Abbas fell to Hatcher’s short ball the delivery after surviving what appeared a very adjacent lbw appeal.

1st Youth Test with Sri Lanka headed for rain-affected draw at Wormsley

ECB Reporters Network10-Jul-2024Young Lions opener Freddie McCann fell just short of a second century of the summer against Sri Lanka U19s in the rain-affected first Men’s Youth Test at Wormsley.McCann was stumped on 92 after sharing a 160-run second-wicket partnership with Keshana Fonseka that ensured a strong response with the bat after Sri Lanka were all out for 324.Sri Lanka U19s captain Dinuru Kalupahana had earlier reached his maiden international century with Surrey Academy quick Alex French the pick of the England U19s bowlers with 81 for four.The hosts lost three late wickets, with captain Hamza Shaikh and Noah Thain quickly following McCann back to the pavilion, but Fonseka stood firm as they closed on 193 for four and with a bit of work to do with one day remaining.McCann hit a record-breaking 174, from just 139 balls, to help secure victory in the second Youth ODI at Hove last week and again dominated the tourists bowling scoring a near run-a-ball half-century.England had lost Jaydn Denly early, pulling Nathan Caldera straight at Praveen Maneesha, but McCann and Fonseka then took centre stage as they scored at better than four runs an over.McCann, who signed his first professional deal at Nottinghamshire last November, appeared set for three figures but was undone when a Vihas Thewmika delivery kept low as he advanced down the wicket.Shaikh followed soon after when he picked out Sheshan Marasinghe off Thewmika before Thain played back to a Maneesha ball that also kept slightly low and skidded into his stumps.Fonseka remained unbeaten on 72, alongside new man and Lancashire team-mate Rocky Flintoff, to leave England U19s 131 runs behind at the close.Sri Lanka captain Kalupahana was the star of the first half of the day to post his milestone century. The 19-year-old looked comfortable in the conditions, typified by the stroke that brought up his century as he eased French backward of point and to the rope.Kalupahana celebrated the milestone by racing towards his team-mates and leaping into the air.The skipper had shared a 99-run stand with Diniru Abeywickramasingha, who became the first of five batsmen caught in the ring during the day when he mis-timed a drive to Flintoff in front of point.Leicestershire’s Alex Green then claimed the prize wicket of Kalupahana with the first ball of his new spell – the second time he has done that in the game – trapped lbw on the crease.Thain enticed Thewmika to drive to Flintoff at wide mid-on after a 45-run eighth-wicket stand with Caldera, who was last man out when he too mis-hit a drive that Shaikh held to hand French his fourth wicket.

Called up are the uncapped Kamran Ghulam, Haseebullah and spinner Mehran Mumtaz, as well as seasoned spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali

Danyal Rasool13-Oct-2024Pakistan have made big changes to the squad for the second and third Tests against England. In addition to Babar Azam – whose omission ESPNcricinfo reported on Sunday – Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are also out. A PCB statement said it had “taken into account the current form and fitness of key players” before leaving out the three players for the remaining two Tests.The decision to leave out arguably Pakistan’s three highest-profile players is little short of stunning. Pakistan’s chastening innings defeat after the first Test – following which captain Shan Masood criticised the bowling performance – was expected to result in several changes, though Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie called for continuity and asked players to be backed. However, the newly formed selection committee, announced on Friday, has gone the other way.