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Sachin Tendulkar’s 113 took India to their highest score in the NatWest Series so far. It was his 33rd one-day century which helped India to a 63-run win over Sri Lanka at Bristol. He reckons that the fact India had already qualified for the final helped him to relax and play as he did.”Since we have qualified for the final I just wanted to go out there and enjoy myself,” he said. “It was a fantastic batting wicket too.”Meanwhile, the Sri Lankans will be pleased their tour is at an end after a run of disappointing results. Their captain Sanath Jayasuriya admitted things have not always gone as he would have liked over the past three months. He would certainly liked to have had his main bowler, off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, available throughout.”If Murali had been there this would have been a different game,” he said. “In this one-day series we would have won one or two games more at least.”Looking back on tonight’s defeat, Jayasuriya felt Sri Lanka could have done muchbetter after Kumar Sangakkara had given them a good start with his rapid innings of 66. But the turning point proved to be the departure of Mahela Jayawardene.”We started very well, and Sangakkara played very well. But to win chasing 300 you need someone to go on to a hundred,” Jayasuriya said. “A few got started, but nobody went on very far past 50. You cannot afford to do that if you are going to have a chance of a successful chase when the opposition has got such a big total.”

Man of the Match Keith Parsons was once more the hero for Somerset as they beat Worcestershire on Wednesday to progress to a lucrative home tie with Kent in the semi finals of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy.In front of a crowd well in excess of 5500, Taunton born Parsons scored 121, his highest in one day cricket, took two wickets, held onto two catches and threw down the stumps to secure a run out.Already deprived of the services of Andrew Caddick and Richard Johnson, there was further injury misery for the Cidermen when Marcus Trescothick left the field in the 13th over of the morning with a broken left thumb, after fielding a fierce drive from Graeme Hick.The England man joins a long Somerset injury list and will be missing from the cricket scene for at least six weeks.At the start of the day Worcestershire had been put into bat, and after getting off to a flying start had been dismissed for 271.With the score on 118 for I after 18 overs and Graeme Hick scoring quickly 350 seemed to be possible. However Parsons had other ideas and in his third over he tempted the former England man to play inside a ball that went on to knock over his off stump.Hick and Vickram Solanki(53) had added 81 for the second wicket in 12 overs, but from that point on Worcestershire were reined back by some tight bowling and some excellent fielding.Despite an unbeaten 85 from number four batsman Ben Smith, with the exception of Steven Rhodes(15) the rest of the Worcestershire batsmen failed to make double figures and they were dismissed for 271 in 49 overs.The pick of the Somerset bowlers were Steffan Jones who ended with 3 for 47, Parsons who took 2 for 37 and Mike Burns 2 for 53.In reply Somerset had slipped to 36 for 2 before Parsons walked to the wicket. Sharing in fifty plus stands with Burns (24) Blackwell(30) and then the match winning fifth wicket partnership of 106 with Rob Turner (47) Parsons took the Cidermen to within sight of the victory that had seemed highly unlikely earlier in the day.In the end it was left to Keith Dutch to hit the winning runs to see Somerset home by 4 wickets with 15 balls to spare.After the match Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "This was the greatest performance that I’ve seen from the boys since I took over as coach. Everything seemed to have gone against us, but we still ended up winning."

Zafar Gohar, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, will return to Gloucestershire for the 2022 season, as the club prepare for their first Division One campaign since 2005.Gohar collected 20 wickets at a cost of 14.35 in four Championship games earlier this year – including a match haul of 11 for 101 against Durham – as Gloucestershire finished second in Division Two.He will be available on a pay-as-you-play basis from next April, before moving on to a full contract for August and September, with Will Brown, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, suggesting the club were “on the cusp of something really special” after bringing in Gohar alongside Australia opener Marcus Harris to fill their overseas spots.”The signing of Zafar is another great moment for the club,” Brown said. “We feel like we’re on the cusp of something really special with the squad we’re assembling and we’re confident of being able to challenge for silverware in 2022.”Zafar was a big hit with supporters at the back end of last season and we’re confident that he’ll be able to make important contributions for The Shire once again next season across all formats, including the County Championship, where we’ll be playing against the best cricketers in the country in Division One.”Related

• County ins and outs 2021-22

• Gohar five-for puts Gloucestershire into ascendancy

• Gohar in eleventh heaven as he spins Gloucs to two-day win

Gohar, who has played one Test and one ODI for Pakistan, is Gloucestershire’s first signing since confirmation of Dale Benkenstein’s appointment as head coach earlier in the week.”Playing county cricket this year and making my debut for Gloucestershire was the realisation of an ambition I’ve had for some time,” Gohar said. “Getting the opportunity to pull on a Gloucestershire shirt and contribute to a winning team was a great start to my career in England, and I’m very pleased to be returning for a longer stint next year.”We have a team capable of challenging anyone, and some great momentum from 2021 to build on. I can’t wait to get back and hopefully pick up where I left off.”Steve Snell, performance director at Gloucestershire Cricket, added: “We’re thrilled to have Zafar back onboard for next season, he’s already proven just how much quality he has and we’re really excited to see him in action again next year.”It’s a real bonus that Zafar is available for selection right from day one, he provides the squad with depth and makes selection even more difficult for our new head coach Dale Benkenstein, which is a positive problem to have.”

New South Wales 140 & 3 for 61 (Patterson 24) trail Victoria 9 for 313 dec and 5 for 248 dec (Handscomb 90, Short 90) by 361 runsPeter Handscomb and Matthew Short both made 90 to put Victoria on the brink of a second successive victory over New South Wales as the visitors battled to 3 for 61 chasing 422 to win, at stumps on day three at the MCG.Handscomb continued his excellent start to the season, backing up his century at Drummoyne Oval with a classy 90 in challenging conditions at the MCG. Short cashed in on a weary Blues bowling attack, still missing Trent Copeland, who attempted to bowl in the nets on the morning of day three but wasn’t fit enough to take the field due to the lower leg injury he sustained early on day one.Victoria started the day with a first-innings lead of 173 after bowling the Blues out for 140. Having begun the day at 9 for 139, Blues wicketkeeper Peter Nevill was the last to fall in their first innings, holing out at deep long-on off the second ball of the morning.Victoria’s second innings started poorly with Marcus Harris falling for a duck, although he may have been unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to Sean Abbott, with major question marks over whether it pitched in line with leg stump and whether it would have clipped the bails given the pronounced bounce of this MCG pitch. Harris will head to Queensland to quarantine with the Australia squad ahead of the Ashes. He is coming off scores of 1 and 0, however, he did not do much wrong in either innings.James Seymour also fell cheaply, but Handscomb played with great control as the ball nipped around consistently in overcast conditions. He struck nine boundaries in his 90 from 177 deliveries. Handscomb looked assured in defence and drove and pulled with control. He also played Nathan Lyon with ease, showing some of the class that earned him two Test centuries in 2016-17.Nic Maddinson played nicely again, following on from his first innings century, although he did have a huge slice of luck gloving a pull shot to Nevill off a no-ball from Abbott. However, he didn’t make NSW pay as he was clean bowled for 33 while attempting a booming drive on the up. Handscomb was unfortunate to miss out on a century with Jack Edwards producing a sharp off-cutter to see him caught behind off the inside edge.Short then teed off, clubbing eight fours and two huge sixes down the ground as Victoria pursued a declaration. He fell unselfishly for 90 from 122 balls trying to launch Edwards again, with the allrounder claiming his career-best Sheffield Shield figures of 3 for 47.Set 422 to win with just under four sessions remaining, the Blues’ chase got off to a disastrous start with Matt Gilkes caught and bowled for a duck off a leading edge while trying to turn Scott Boland into the leg side. They slumped to 2 for 15 when James Pattinson had Jason Sangha caught behind with a ball that leapt from a length.The experience of Daniel Hughes and Kurtis Patterson steadied the ship under intense pressure and in fading light, although Hughes nearly ran himself out for the second time in the match. The pair survived some outstanding fast bowling but needed some luck with several plays and misses and some inside edges running safely to fine leg.But right on stumps, Patterson got himself in a tangle missing a full straight ball from Will Sutherland to be plumb lbw. Jack Edwards survived the last three balls of the day, leaving Victoria needing just seven wickets for victory on the final day.

Big picture

Well, how do you top that then? How do you get back to the grind after an achievement that will almost certainly define this tournament for Pakistan, regardless of what happens hereon in? Beating India might not bring its own trophy, but for a significant chunk of Pakistan supporters, getting that monkey off their back was really what mattered this tournament. To shake off that euphoria and have to go again less than 48 hours later carries its own challenges, but perhaps its own opportunities too.This might both be the best and worst time to play for Pakistan. The high they’re on likely won’t be topped all tournament, but regathering the intensity necessary to see off their next opponents, New Zealand, cannot be easy. The celebrations might have carried on long into the Dubai night, but professionalism, and the necessity of the schedule, demands all those emotions be brushed aside for what will follow in Sharjah on Tuesday.Related

• Daryl Mitchell is ready to blast off

If the India game carried the emotions of an epic arch-rivalry, there’s a different kind of tense hostility to the clash against New Zealand. This, remember, is the side that pulled out of a tour of Pakistan minutes before the first game was due to be played citing security concerns; the spiraling chain reaction that followed saw England pull out, too, and the entire home season for Pakistan thrown into jeopardy. If a surging Pakistan can find a way to channel that righteous anger in Sharjah tomorrow, New Zealand have quite the task on their hands.But while New Zealand’s pullout hurt Pakistan’s World Cup preparations significantly, it’s worth remembering Kane Williamson’s side didn’t gain much from the decision, either. The five extra T20I games they had lined up in Asia ahead of this tournament never materialised. While some of the squad did end up linking up with their IPL franchises in the UAE, that was never going to perfectly replicate playing as a team in the subcontinent. The two warm-up games they did get last week – against Australia and England – saw New Zealand turn in somewhat flat performances, finding themselves on the wrong end of the result each time.But if Pakistan pride themselves on their unpredictability, New Zealand have turned consistency at ICC events into an art form. In a group where India suddenly look a shade vulnerable, they have their opportunity to state their credentials by getting one over a Pakistan side that might not have fully returned to earth after the stratospheric heights they hit on Sunday. They have among the most well-rounded bowling attacks of the tournament – high pace in Lockie Ferguson, bounce with Kyle Jamieson, swing with Trent Boult and variation with Tim Southee, in additions to both a legspinner – Ish Sodhi and a left arm orthodox bowler in Mitchell Santner. That adaptability means they can might be able to press any of a number of gameplans into service as the situation allows, and – to use that most tired of cliches – punch above their weight.Shaheen Shah Afridi is red hot after his India exploits•AFP/Getty Images

Form guide

Pakistan WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)New Zealand WLWLL

In the spotlight

It’s fairly obvious the most exciting aspect of the contest should be Shaheen Afridi against whichever New Zealand opener he finds himself bowling to, particularly if they’re right-handed. The Pakistan left-arm pacer’s first two overs burst through India’s top order on Sunday, and a match-up against someone like Martin Guptill should in theory favour the bowler. If Pakistan can get early wickets through their trump card once more, they might feel they can follow the template of the India game, restrict New Zealand to a below-par total, and allow Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to do their thing.The early evidence of the World Cup suggests these surfaces should suit Mitchell Santner‘s game rather well. Coming in from around the wicket, the left-arm offspin should be difficult to negotiate at any stage of the innings. If New Zealand feel aggressive enough, he might even open the bowling to mirror the role Imad Wasim will play for Pakistan, especially if he deploys the arm ball to good effect. He was arguably the pick of New Zealand’s bowlers in the warm-up games against Australia and England, and probably won’t get a better chance to lead the line in a global tournament.

Team news

Pakistan are extremely unlikely to change the side that brought them Sunday’s 10-wicket win.Pakistan: (probable): 1 Babar Azam (capt) 2 Mohammad Rizwan (wk) 3 Fakhar Zaman 4 Mohammad Hafeez 5 Shoaib Malik 6 Asif Ali 7 Shadab Khan 8 Imad Wasim 9 Hasan Ali 10 Haris Rauf 11 Shaheen Shah AfridiNew Zealand played around with their combination during the warm-ups so their line-up is a bit less predictable. Two spinners, though is pretty much a lock, so expect Santner and Sodhi to both line up. The batting line-up, according to Williamson, is flexible, depending on conditions. The captain himself should be fit to play, despite an ongoing elbow niggle he described as a “work in progress”.New Zealand (possible): 1 Martin Guptill 2 Devon Conway 3 Glenn Phillips 4 Kane Williamson (capt) 5 Tim Seifert (wk) 6 Daryl Mitchell/Todd Astle 7 Mitchell Santner 8 Tim Southee 9 Trent Boult 10 Lockie Ferguson/Kyle Jamieson 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

The surface in Sharjah might be conducive to bigger hitting than the ones in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are. The evidence of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh clash on Sunday would appear to bear that out. This fixture, though, will be played on a new strip, but the low bounce in Sharjah could still be something to watch out for. Dew, too, could be a problem later into the night, which in theory might make fielding first an attractive option.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan have won three of the five T20 World Cup clashes against New Zealand, though Kane Williamson’s men won the most recent encounter in Mohali in 2016
• Tim Southee is one wicket away from becoming the third bowler with 100 T20I wickets after Shakib al Hasan and Lasith Malinga

Quotes

“It was a really disappointing situation. I know the team that were there were very much looking forward to the occasion and playing cricket over in Pakistan, and it was a real shame that it wasn’t able to go ahead”Kane Williamson talks about New Zealand pulling out of last month’s tour of Pakistan

ScorecardAneurin Donald made a half-century to keep Glamorgan afloat•Getty Images

Glamorgan ended the second day of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at St. Helen’s in Swansea on 225 for 6, a first innings deficit of 117.Due to a combination of rain and bad light – in stark contrast to the first day – no play was possible before lunch. However, when play got underway just before 2.30pm, Glamorgan’s openers Jacques Rudolph and Nick Selman came out showing a real attacking intent, reaching 23 without loss inside the third over.Things quickly changed, however, when Selman played a loose shot to Cameron Steel at point off Chris Rushworth. The Australian-born youngster was unable to rediscover the form which led to his first first-class century at St. Helen’s last year, when he carried his bat on his way to 122 against Northamptonshire, the first Glamorgan batsman to do so since Matthew Elliott at Cardiff in 2004.A second wicket soon followed, Rudolph finding Paul Collingwood in the slips, Glamorgan finding themselves 39 for 2. Colin Ingram joined Will Bragg at the crease needing just 39 to reach 1,000 runs across all formats this season. The South African fell 21 runs short of the milestone, giving Collingwood a second catch at slip off Coughlin for 18.More composure was evident with Aneurin Donald and Bragg at the crease, before the latter needlessly skied one to Rushworth at mid-on off James Weighell’s bowling and Glamorgan were once again struggling at 92 for 4. New batsman David Lloyd could have gone third ball, but a simple chance went begging for Ryan Pringle at slip.Having restricted Glamorgan to 112 for 4 at tea, it took just 10 balls into the final session for Durham to pick up their fifth wicket, as David Lloyd was removed by ul Collingwood at slip off Paul Coughlin for 16.Donald had reached his half-century off 74 balls before a one-handed mid-wicket catch by Keaton Jennings off James Weighell brought an end to a 42-run partnership.Andrew Salter joined Chris Cooke at the crease and an unbeaten partnership of 58 saw Glamorgan through to the close of play after the latter had reached his half-century off 83 balls, having hit eight fours along the way.

ScorecardOn the eve of the 20th anniversary of Darren Stevens’ first-class debut, the Kent allrounder put the finishing touches on a performance to confirm that age is just a number. With scores of 68 and 71 not out under his belt, he picked up his 14th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket to helped Kent to an emphatic 226-run win.Sam Northeast, unable to fathom just how a 40-year-old, who had to battle to secure a new contract at the end of last season, could carry on this way likened him to Benjamin Button. And as long as Stevens is enjoying his cricket – how could he not after days like this? – he will continue to stick two fingers up at Father Time.Northeast, who had a strong match himself with an unbeaten 173 and some sharp captaincy, left Hove on Sunday hoping for a bit of cloud in the morning. Someone upstairs was listening.At 9am the skies were blue but, by the time the players had walked down the stairs from the dressing rooms to the middle, clouds had taken over. Then, moments after Ajmal Shahzad guided Wayne Parnell to Joe Denly at point for the final wicket, the sun returned to illuminate Kent’s celebrations. Kent’s second victory in as many matches saw the visitors move to second, a point behind Nottinghamshire in the early Division Two standings.The damage was done by Stevens in the morning session, Sussex limping to lunch on 93 for 6. The hosts actually started pretty well in their pursuit of 427, following Kent’s overnight declaration: Harry Finch and Chris Nash put on 59 between them, hitting boundaries at will. Nash, in particular, looked in good touch, putting Mitchell Claydon into the Pavilion at square leg for six. Then Stevens happened.Replacing Matt Coles from the Sea End, Stevens, who turns 41 at the end of the month, took four wickets for seven runs in 25 balls to blow Sussex’s top order to bits. Claydon then interrupted the procession before Delray Rawlins gave Stevens his fifth wicket, edging behind when trying to leave. Not for the first time, Ben Brown was the only Sussex batsman to emerge unscathed from a humbling defeat. He registered his second fifty of the match – from 51 balls – and finished undefeated on 69.Kent got their tactics spot on. Northeast reckoned the pitch had only got better to bat on – a point he made after his unbeaten 173 – and knew he would have to box smart. It paid off.With Sean Dickson unable to field with a shoulder and hamstring complaint, Adam Ball, an excellent close catcher, was pulled out of a 2nd XI match and stationed at first slip. While he dropped the first chance that came his way, diving to his left after an edge from Stiaan van Zyl, he made amends soon after to remove the same batsman for a four-ball duck. He then caught Jofra Archer to give Coles his second wicket of the innings.Pressure was applied with close fielders: Will Gidman, often at third slip, donned a helmet so that he could step up a few paces into a position Joe Root has fielded in for England, termed “Suicide Gully”. When David Wiese was playing his shots, Daniel Bell-Drummond was stationed out on the hook and, soon enough, took the first chance that came his way. Marginal gains contributing to a major win.Northeast was bullish afterwards: “We’re an ambitious group of players who want to be playing Division One cricket – there’s absolutely no doubt about that. If we keep playing like this, we’ll be very close.”Meanwhile, Sussex have confirmed they are “in the process of registering” Angus Robson. The batsman, who was released by Leicestershire earlier this season, could come into the first-team squad for Sussex’s next match against Nottinghamshire, which starts on Friday. While there is no doubt Sussex possess game-changing batsmen, particularly in white-ball cricket, the introduction of a top-order player like Robson will add much-needed stability to their four-day line-up.

Following the drawn Test in Ranchi, Virat Kohli has hailed Cheteshwar Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha for overcoming a difficult situation and taking India to a position from where they could have won the match. When Saha joined Pujara in the post-tea session on day three, India were 328 for 6 in reply to Australia’s 451. They went on to add 199, and India eventually declared with a 152-run first-innings lead.Australia were four down and still trailing by 89 runs at one stage on the fifth day, with more than two sessions of play still left, but India couldn’t quite push on and win, with Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh batting out 62 overs while adding 124 for the fifth wicket. Kohli said he wasn’t surprised Australia, the world’s second-ranked Test side, fought the way they did.”Everyone has to take responsibility equally on the field and our players want to do that,” Kohli said in his post-match press conference. “Conditions were such in the first innings that it wasn’t easy for the bowlers, the pitch was very good. It played very well in the first two innings. In the second innings, [Australia] batted well so it ended in a draw.”But where we were in the first innings, 450 [451] was the [Australian] score and we were 320-odd for 6. From there to make 600 was a very difficult task. We put ourselves in a position to win, so we feel it was a very good effort from us to get into a winning situation.”But then again, if you are playing against the No. 2 side, you will expect that they will come out and fight, not just roll over. Everyone has his point of view. We will look at our positives and we are happy with where we brought the game to after just one innings. We didn’t need to bat in the second innings. But they had to play for a draw. Like I said, they will look at their positives, we will look at our positives and move forward. There is still one match to go, both [teams] will give it their best.”Kohli said the bowlers had struggled to extract help from the pitch when the ball grew older and softer, but did not want to stress the point and take credit away from Handscomb and Marsh.”They batted very well,” Kohli said. “Four down by lunch, and after that they didn’t lose a wicket in the entire session. So credit to them, when someone plays well, you have to give them credit, we understand that.”But we are also very happy with our efforts. [Ravindra] Jadeja’s bowling was outstanding in this match. All the bowlers bowled very well but Jadeja in my opinion was standout. If you look at his economy, on this pitch it was high-class bowling and showed why he is the joint No. 1 bowler [in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers] alongside Ashwin.”Kohli: ‘Saha is one guy who is always willing to do anything for the team’•Associated Press

Pujara won the Player-of-the-Match award for his innings of 202 off 525 balls, which was the longest ever by an Indian batsman (in Tests with ball data available). That knock took Pujara’s tally for 2016-17 to 1259 runs at an average of 66.26.”You know, sometimes I really feel bad for him,” Kohli said, when asked about Pujara’s contributions through the season. “People don’t understand his importance so much in this team and what a valuable player he is for us. He is the most composed player we have in the team, he is willing to grind for his runs, he doesn’t mind batting under pressure, he likes to take a challenge of batting.”So someone like that is priceless to have in the team. When the pressure situation comes up, he is someone who will put his hand up and play long for the team and hold up one end, which I think is a great quality in him. This season he has been outstanding. I don’t know the number of runs he has scored but he has contributed throughout. He has not been spoken about much or has been in the focus too much but he deserves much more than that. People need to stand up and take notice of what he has done this season, he has been outstanding with the bat and hopefully he will continue that in the last Test.”Saha, Kohli said, was similarly underappreciated. “See, Saha’s knock again was brilliant for us. He’s always stood up when the team needs him and this game was no different. His partnership with Pujara was the reason we had a go at winning this Test. A lot of credit goes to him also.”Again, [he has] not been mentioned too much but he deserves a lot of credit. He’s one guy who is always willing to do anything for the team. Wherever we ask him to bat, he bats. He has no problems in batting after [R] Ashwin, before Ashwin, whenever we want him to do it. He plays any kind of role – positive, defensive, you know, whatever we ask him to do, he never says no.”So you really really feel glad for a guy like that. He’s willing to do anything for the team and put his best foot forward. As I said, I’m really happy he performed in a big pressure match, in a difficult situation and put us in a position to have a shot at winning the game.”Mohammed Shami, who has not played for India since suffering a leg injury during the Test series against England, is making a phased return to action. He bowled in the nets in the lead-up to both the Bengaluru and Ranchi Tests, but has not been named in India’s Test squad yet. He has also played 50-over games for Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and on Monday took four wickets in the tournament final against Tamil Nadu. Kohli said he hadn’t spoken to the selectors yet about Shami’s availability for the fourth Test in Dharamsala, but hinted that it could happen.”Yeah, Shami also we sent him to play [the Vijay Hazare Trophy] because we saw him bowling 10-12 overs in a go, and we wanted to give him some match practice.” Kohli said. “I don’t know [about his selection], I haven’t spoken to the selectors still. All kinds of possibilities approaching the next Test.”

West Indies head coach Stuart Law has said Carlos Brathwaite was left out of the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan to allow him to work on his fitness and bowling. Law also confirmed that the selectors had allowed Brathwaite to play in the IPL, which he personally believed was “a good thing”.”From [those who played] the series against England, Carlos Brathwaite has been left out. I thought the opportunity was there for Carlos to go away and work on a few aspects of his game, namely his fitness and bowling, and getting back to bowling how he wants to bowl. That’s why he’s been left out, and it’s just coincided that the IPL is there and we have no cricket after this IPL series and he hasn’t been part of the last Test series. So the selectors gave him the option of going to the IPL as well, which I think is a good thing. [He’ll] get to talk to guys like [Delhi Daredevils coach] Rahul Dravid, learn how to play spin, get plenty of practice, and work on his fitness and bowling.”Despite Brathwaite’s reputation as a devastating power hitter in T20 cricket, his numbers in ODI cricket have been disappointing throughout his career, both with bat and ball. In 23 ODIs, he has scored 270 runs at an average of 13.50, only once crossing 25 in an innings. In the same period, he has taken 21 wickets, averaging 47.47. In the recently concluded ODI series against England, which the West Indies lost 3-0, Brathwaite scored 12, 23 and 7 while failing to take any wickets, conceding 148 runs in the 24 overs he bowled.Law put down the omission of the other Brathwaite in the West Indies set-up – Kraigg – to a desire to see a more positive approach in the first Powerplay during an ODI. He has been replaced by Chadwick Walton, who scored three hundreds in his last five domestic games before being called up for the four-match T20 series against Pakistan, where he accumulated 80 runs in four innings.”We spoke to Kraigg after the last series and we’ve spoken to him since. We’re just looking for a bit more impetus at the top of the order in the first ten-over Powerplay. We need to make a bit more use of those overs, and Kraigg’s aware of that. It’s not like he’s never going to play for the West Indies in ODI cricket again. He’s got the opportunity to return to first-class cricket and score runs which he has done, and also a good opportunity for him to get in good nick and feel comfortable about his game before the Test series starts.”Chadwick Walton, I saw him for the first time in the flesh in the ODI series, he had an outstanding 50-over [regional] tournament. He also scored a hundred in the warm-up against England in St Kitts. So he comes in with form under his belt so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can offer in the first ten overs.”Law also lamented what he considered a failure on his side’s part to play to their potential in the T20I series, stressing that they had to become more consistent.”We underachieved during the T20 series. The second game was the one that we threw away. We got in the driver’s seat, got the total down to under a run a ball and unfortunately messed that one up. The fightback began in the third game where Evin Lewis basically took the game on single-handedly. In the last one we made poor decisions in the middle order. Players have got to start performing consistently.”The three-match ODI series between West Indies and Pakistan begins on April 7, with all three games to be held in Guyana.

South African players are likely to leave IPL 2017 after May 7 while the England players are scheduled to depart the tournament in two batches – a few after May 1 and the rest after May 14. Making players available and ready for the bilateral series – South Africa’s tour of England begins in mid-May – and the Champions Trophy, which starts from June 1 in England, is the chief reason why both boards want to pull out their players early.ESPNcricinfo understands that the IPL had informed the franchises about this in an email this week along with the final updated player roster for the auction on February 20.The franchises were also told that the BCCI is trying to discuss the issue with the Cricket South Africa to see if the South African players’ stay can be extended. It is not known whether either board will release players in the event their franchise makes it to the final on May 21.AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Faf du Plessis (Rising Pune Supergiants), JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock and Chris Morris (Delhi Daredevils), David Miller and Hashim Amla (Kings XI Punjab) have been retained by their respective franchises, along with England’s Jos Buttler (Mumbai Indians) and Sam Billings (Daredevils).A total of 351 players, including 122 capped internationals, will feature in the auction, which will be held in Bangalore on February 20. Although franchise officials had earlier indicated that this season’s auction could be a short event, with teams trying to plug a few gaps, the likely early departure of South Africa and England players could impact the teams’ auction strategies.Of the 13 South African players who have entered the auction, CSA is interested specifically in the release of Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Farhaan Behardien, Wayne Parnell, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius. Except for Ngidi, who is recovering from a hip injury, the other six players are part of the limited-overs squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand.An official privy to the discussions between the BCCI and CSA said that it was a one-off situation which could not be avoided. South Africa’s tour of England will begin with two practice matches followed by the three-ODI series scheduled between May 24 and 29. The three T20Is and the four Tests will be played after the Champions Trophy. The official said that CSA is keen on getting the best possible preparation for the Champions Trophy, given the team’s record in ICC tournaments, and had thus sought an early release of its main players from the IPL.As for the England players, a few may leave for the two ODIs against Ireland on May 5 and 7. An official with one of the franchises said that prominent players like Buttler and some of the players who have entered the auction, like Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes, could leave after May 14 to prepare for the ODIs against South Africa.Morgan, Stokes and fast bowler Chris Woakes are part of the list of marquee players who have listed the maximum base price of INR 2 crore (approx US $298,000) for the auction. The other England players in the auction are wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow (INR 1.5 crore), opening batsmen Alex Hales and Jason Roy (INR 1 crore), and fast bowlers Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills (INR 50 lakh).