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The BCCI and the ECB are engaged in “positive discussions” to ensure the two-Test series goes ahead with Mohali and Chennai now believed to have been identified as the new venues. The BCCI said last week that Chennai would replace Mumbai as the host of the second Test, following terror attacks in the city which forced England to return home without completing the tour. But it now turns out that discussions are being held on whether Chennai can host the first Test and Mohali the second.The pre-Test practice match is also likely to be held at the venue of the first Test, scheduled to start from December 11, underscoring reports that the ECB had made this request.”The discussions are still going on and nothing has been finalised as yet,” MP Pandove, BCCI treasurer and secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), which runs the Mohali venue, told Cricinfo. Pandove, however, refused to confirm the venue change.What is certain is that Ahmedabad – the scene of serial bomb blasts three months ago – has been ruled out as the first Test venue considering its relative proximity to Mumbai.Under the BCCI schedule, revised following the terror strikes, the first Test was to be held as originally scheduled in Ahmedabad from December 11-15, and the second Test in Chennai from December 19-23. The pre-Test practice match between England and a Board President’s XI was to be held in Vadodara from December 5-7.Chennai is now being considered for the first Test, possibly because it is seen as a venue with the least threat perception from a security point of view, and will help ease the immediate fears expressed by some of the England players on touring India. The ECB has specifically asked for a southern Indian venue for the second Test instead of Mumbai.There were also reports that Kolkata could be an alternate venue instead of Ahmedabad, but Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) told Cricinfo that he was yet to receive any official information from the BCCI.Hugh Morris, the managing director of the ECB, indicated that if England failed to reach India in time for the match against Board President’s XI, they might opt for a neutral venue provided the tour was still on. “We have to keep our options open, and training in Abu Dhabi is definitely an option,” he said.

Murali Kartik, the Middlesex left-arm spinner, has said that the Stanford 20/20 Super Series, “for all its glitz and glamour”, was hit by technical glitches, and that his team and Trinidad and Tobago were treated differently “like step-cousins” compared to England and Stanford Superstars, the other two sides in the competition.Kartik finds himself in the unique position of being the only cricketer in the world to have played in both the IPL and the Stanford 20/20 Super Series, and is in line to complete a treble next month when he represents Middlesex in the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League. “It’s feels strange and a bit funny. Surely, it’s not something to be overtly proud of, but still it’s something up your sleeve,” Kartik told Cricinfo.However, Kartik said “nothing can beat” another comeback to the Indian team for which he is “keeping fingers crossed”.Kartik, who many feel has been treated unfairly by the Indian selectors, has had an on-off international career since 2004, and last played for India during the 2007 ODI home series against Pakistan. He was subsequently picked for the Test series against South Africa early this year, only to be ruled out due to a freak ankle injury. “This time, for once in my life, I have been at the right place at the right time,” Kartik said.Now representing Railways at a Ranji Trophy game in Bangalore, Kartik said there were a few things that struck him as odd during the Stanford tournament last week. “For me, the Stanford series, for all the glitz and glamour, could have been handled better,” he said. “There were a lot of technical glitches. The way the teams were treated was different. Trinidad and Middlesex were like step-cousins, compared to England and the Superstars. Besides, there was not even an inaugural function before an event of this magnitude, which struck me as strange.”Asked to pick a common strand from the IPL and the Stanford Super Series, the two most talked-about Twenty20 competitions this year, Kartik said, “The only thing in common, if I can joke about it, is the bowlers were getting hit.”But seriously, the IPL is a massive thing. It’s a world event that everyone wants to be part of. Even the guys who played for England in the Stanford series wanted to be part of it. It’s become like the World Cup. It’s got the cream of international cricket with the best young talent of India and abroad getting to play under one umbrella. The crowds have been overwhelming, too.”On the other hand, Kartik said, Stanford had more to do with the fact that the “ECB had to do something to keep their players happy”.”I wouldn’t say that the quality of cricket was fantastic,” he said. “Besides, in Antigua, it was only the US$20 million game that was of importance. Although England played us (Middlesex) and the Trinidad and Tobago once each, those games didn’t make any difference. Technically, they were just warm-up games. We played the Stanford Superstars too, but it didn’t make any difference whether we won or not.”The one big game in Antigua that Kartik was involved in was against Trinidad and Tobago for a winner-takes-all US$ 280,000. “But we dropped three crucial catches and we simply dropped the money,” he said. “It was very disappointing because that money meant a lot for Middlesex.”Kartik is now looking forward to the Champions League, though he admits that Middlesex will virtually be fielding a second-string team due to the non-availability of five key players.But according to him, playing for India is all that matters in the end. “You can play IPL, Stanford, Champions League and everything else under the sun. But there’s no better feeling than playing for your country. I am keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping as I have always done, that something will happen.”

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Undoubtedly the best match of the tournament so far. It had all the makings – both teams scoring big, a last-ball tie and a nervy bowl-out. In the end, it was Delhi who emerged victorious, winning the bowl-out 2-0. It was a gutsy performance after Chandigarh looked to have the match wrapped up after posting 200, the second-highest score of the tournament.Delhi, however, miss out on semi-final spot, as they could climb as far up as fifth in the points table with the win in this, their last match. Chandigarh would be gutted after this performance but may still make the semis with a win against Ahmedabad and other results going their way.The Chandigarh openers justified captain Andrew Hall’s decision to bat first. Sarabjit Singh and TP Singh were in unforgiving mood as they launched into Shane Bond and TP Sudhindra early on. Sudhindra in particular came in for some punishment from TP, being hit for two and four boundaries in his second and third overs respectively.TP looked to be a man possessed as he raced to his fifty off 22 balls, while Sarabjit ably assisted him at the other end. Chandigarh were looking at a mammoth total at the half-way stage with the score on 95. But Benkenstein had TP caught by Mishra in the eleventh over.Newest recruit Graeme Hick walked in and it was in Benkenstein’s next over that he smashed four fours. Sarabjit brought up his fifty with a six off Abid Nabi as Chandigarh stepped on the accelerator with the score on 157 and four overs to go.But Bond, introduced back into the attack removed Hick and new man Lou Vincent in successive balls as Delhi looked to claw back. Murtaza’s twin strikes the next over pegged back Chandigarh further. Chetan Sharma became the first man in the tournament to be given out obstructing the field as Chandigarh finished on 200.Undaunted by the huge target, Monish Mishra gave Delhi the perfect start hitting Hall for three consecutive fours in the first over. Similar treatment was dished out for Ishan Malhotra in his first over. The bowler was then plundered for 24 in his next as Delhi raced to 68 in five overs. Mishra brought up his fifty with a four off Hall, while Avishka Gunawardene held up the other end well as Delhi reached 109 after 10 overs.But in the 11th over, Mishra was stumped off Rajesh Sharma for 81. His 44-ball innings comprised 10 fours and three sixes. Abhinav Bali and Gunawardene looked to reduce the runs required-balls remaining margin. However, a cameo from Abbas Ali edged Delhi closer after TP had accounted for Bali in the 17th over with the score on 167.But it was the last over from Hall which provided the heart-stopping moment. He bowled a fuller length, castling Gunawardene off the second ball, as the equation finally reduced to five off the last ball. Nixon turned it to fine leg to bring the scores level and set up a bowl-out.Chandigarh were disappointing in the bowl-out with Bipul Sharma, Chetan Sharma, Daryl Tuffey and Andrew Hall failing to hit the stumps. But hits from Ali Murtaza and Dhruv Mahajan were enough to hand Delhi victory.

Shane Watson, the Australian allrounder, has said his team has not given up hope despite being 301 runs behind India after the third day.Watson top scored with 78 in Australia’s first innings of 269, but the visitors were further away by stumps when India sped to 100 without loss. An Indian declaration is expected during the fourth day, probably in the second session, but Watson was not daunted by the potential for a huge chase.”I think we can win it,” he said. “If we’re set 430 or something in four or five sessions, I’ve got no doubt, if we bat well, we can chase down anything. The wicket is still playing well. There’s a bit of turn and the ball will go reverse. If we bat extremely well, I really believe we can chase down anything.”Watson said the bowlers were disappointed to let India’s openers, led by Virender Sehwag’s 53, to race away in the 23 overs before stumps. “We know we’re still in it, but we’ll have to play two really good days of cricket,” he said. “We’re never down and out until the game is over.”Australia will need to bat a lot better in its second attempt after faltering against the legspin of debutant Amit Mishra, who took five wickets, and the swing of Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.During Watson’s 73-run eighth-wicket partnership with Brett Lee, the batsmen were warned by the umpires about their verbal exchanges with the India bowlers. “They [the officials] were hoping it wouldn’t get out of control,” Watson said. “It was actually a lot of extremely friendly banter, I thought. Brett and me were having a great time out there, laughing. The quicks were having a good crack, as they do. It never was going to get out of hand.”It was a breakthrough innings for Watson, who is playing his fifth Test in an injury-plagued career, and he collected his first half-century. He remained calm in the mid-innings crisis when Australia were reduced to 167 for 7 and steered a useful recovery.

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The prospect of letting a second of the season’s major prizes slip through their grasp loomed large for Nottinghamshire as day two of the County Championship’s dramatic final round finished with their status as title favourites under severe pressure.Limited to just one batting bonus point after losing their last seven first-innings wickets for just 39 runs, the advantage Nottinghamshire took into the last week of the season has been severely eroded, to the extent that the possibility of taking the title with just a draw has gone.Anything less than a win in this match opens the way for Durham or Somerset. The only certainty is that Hampshire, who began the round with a mathematical chance, are out of the race.Moreover, Nottinghamshire’s failure to make significant inroads with the ball in the final session means that Hampshire have the upper hand in this contest. And given that Imran Tahir’s four first-innings wickets have already demonstrated what he can achieve on this slow, dry pitch, they will not relish a fourth-innings run chase of any substance.Tahir and James Tomlinson finished with four wickets each after Nottinghamshire’s implosion, although it was the leg-spinner who did the significant damage. The guessing game that Hampshire left their opponents to play over Tahir’s availability may leave a bitter taste now.His mix of googlies, flippers and conventional leg-breaks during a devastating afternoon spell baffled and bemused Nottinghamshire, to the extent that one wondered if his first spell, in the morning session, when Samit Patel was hitting him to all parts, had been bowled by a ringer.Going for 25 in his first three overs, Tahir’s looseness had helped Patel lead what had looked like a match-winning recovery, with little indication of what was to come.Prior to that, after needing only 10 balls to claim the last Hampshire wicket, the home side had lost Bilal Shafayat, lbw to Dimitri Mascarenhas without a run scored, and wobbled badly on 56 when Mark Wagh, trapped by a Tomlinson inswinger, and Will Jefferson, pinned playing across the line by Mascarenhas, were dismissed in consecutive overs.Yet Nottinghamshire’s equilibrium seemed to be fully restored as Patel and Ashwell Prince added 116 in the next 24 overs, the former, doubtless with a thought or two on next Monday’s England squad announcement, taking his first-class aggregate for the season to 900 runs, some 630 of which have been scored in the last 10 visits to the crease.However, it was Patel’s demise on 70, caught by Chris Tremlett at cover, attempting to hit over the top to the short Bridgford Road boundary, that set in train Nottinghamshire’s dramatic collapse.Tahir had Graeme Swann caught at the wicket with a leg-break, Tomlinson had Chris Read taken at first slip, then Mark Ealham, Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson all came and went without scoring – Ealham plumb in front as the flipper pinned him on the back foot, before Adams and Pattinson succumbed in quick order to big-turning googlies. His four wickets had come in the space of 24 balls.Nottinghamshire, 197 for 9 at that point, would have been 197 all out, denied even one batting point, had Tremlett not dropped Prince on the boundary, conceding four for good measure. Prince celebrated with a six and completed his first half-century for the county, but then skied another one, off Tremlett’s bowling, to leave his side finished off for 211 at tea.What was needed now, from the home crowd’s point of view, was for Pattinson and Charlie Shreck to hit their straps and put their team back in the ascendancy. Instead, Nottinghamshire’s only success came when Adams moved one away just enough for Michael Carberry to nick a catch to Read behind the stumps, and Hampshire closed at 102-1 – 94 in front – with Michael Brown having progressed in relative serenity to 51 not out.Having let the Pro40 title out of their grasp in dramatic fashion against Sussex a couple of weeks ago, Nottinghamshire may have some mental demons to overcome if they are to avoid the Championship turning into another sorry tale of what might have been.

Had the Champions Trophy gone ahead as scheduled, the A team triangular series, which starts in Hyderabad tomorrow, would have been pushed into relative obscurity. However, the postponement of the event could well be the best thing to happen to a bunch of hopefuls from three countries, India, Australia and New Zealand. The series serves as a warm-up for their respective domestic seasons as well as an opportunity to impress the selectors for the forthcoming international fixtures. For Australia, this series gives a couple of fast bowlers the luxury of more time to acclimatise to Indian conditions before the Test tour of India starting next month. India have players at the fringes of selection for both the Test and limited-overs squads and a handful will be playing for places in the home Tests. The New Zealand senior team is on a rebuilding phase, so this series assumes greater significance for future selections.Poor weather in Hyderabad washed out two whole days in the recent three-day match between the A teams of Australia and India. The normally sound drainage facilities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium weren’t enough to counter the showers, and only 23.1 overs were possible in the entire match. However, the good news is that the opening match tomorrow between Australia and New Zealand looks a certain starter, with the ground apparently in good condition. The pitch, according to the head groundsman, should have plenty of bounce. The city has been hit by overnight showers over the last few days, so it’s fingers crossed for the three one-dayers scheduled at this venue. The teams then head to Chennai for the four remaining games.

The New Zealand squad has three players from their victorious Emerging Players tournament campaign in Australia – Trent Boult, BJ Watling and Martin Guptill. The squad stopped over in Australia, playing three warm-up games against Queensland before setting foot in India. The opening three-day fixture was washed out, but the New Zealand top order enjoyed a good workout nevertheless. They ended the short tour on a high, winning the first one-dayer by 36 runs and the second by a much narrower margin of four runs.Players to watchPeter Fulton: Fulton made a comeback to the New Zealand senior team following an injury lay-off but he’s yet to firmly establish his place. He found his touch against Queensland earlier this month, scoring a run-a-ball hundred in the second one-dayer, as well as an 83 in the three-day game. Left out of the squads for the Bangladesh tour, Fulton’s target will be the tour of Australia in November.Martin Guptill: A right-hand opening batsman, Guptill was the top run-scorer in New Zealand’s State Shield with 596 runs at 59.60. His efforts took Auckland to the final, which they eventually lost to Otago. He carried his purple patch into the Emerging Players tournament, where he led the run charts for New Zealand with 280 runs. He may have missed out on selection for the one-day squad to Bangladesh, but age is certainly on his side – he’s pushing 22 – making him a prospect for the near future.Squad: Peter Fulton (capt), Brent Arnel, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Mark Gillespie, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Nathan McCullum, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Reece Young (wk), BJ Watling

Australia have had the luxury of acclimatising to the conditions, with their three-day games scheduled before the one-dayers. Unfortunately, the weather in Bangalore and Hyderabad hasn’t allowed for much match practice. The team, led by Cameron White, has six players with very limited international experience, with Shaun Tait being the only one to have played Tests for Australia.Players to watchShaun Tait: Tait’s making his first serious comeback into the international reckoning after taking a break from the game in January, citing physical and mental exhaustion, and not surprisingly, his inclusion instantly hit the headlines. He joined the squad just before the second game in Hyderabad and opted for light training. Finding a place in the Australian squad isn’t guaranteed, but a stint in the subcontinent will give him the opportunity to convince himself and everybody that he’s ready for national selection.Doug Bollinger: A left-arm seamer, Bollinger’s 45 wickets in the Pura Cup – the highest in the competition – helped New South Wales progress to the final. His efforts earned a selection for the tour of the West Indies and for the Test tour of India. The Indians would want to keep an eye on him in particular if he eventually plays next month.Squad Cameron White (capt), Phillip Hughes, Adam Voges, Marcus North, George Bailey, Peter Forrest, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ashley Noffke, Xavier Doherty, Ryan Harris, Brett Geeves, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Shaun Tait

The time’s ripe for budding Indian cricketers to impress the selection committee, with the home series against Australia and England coming up. S Badrinath leads arguably the strongest outfit in the competition, with as many as nine players having international experience. Irfan Pathan, fighting to reclaim his place in the national squad, leads a seam attack not very heavy on pace, with the likes of Praveen Kumar and Dhawal Kulkarni to partner him. The middle order has two explosive batsmen in Abhishek Nayar and Yusuf Pathan. Piyush Chawla is the lone specialist spinner.Players to watchRobin Uthappa: Indifferent form in the last few months led to Uthappa being dropped for the one-day series in Sri Lanka. Given another chance with the A squad, he will be scrutinised during these one-dayers and it can be gauged from his responses to the media that he’s very particular about letting his performances in the field do all the talking.Swapnil Asnodkar: Asnodkar was among several unknowns in the domestic circuit who grabbed everybody’s attention in the IPL. After a prolific season with Goa, a state not known for its cricketing talent, he aggregated 311 runs from nine matches for the Rajasthan Royals and his flamboyant starts as an opener won the praise of his captain Shane Warne. While his Twenty20 abilities aren’t in doubt, his suitability to the one-day format will be tested.Squad: S Badrinath(capt), Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Swapnil Asnodkar, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Abhishek Nayar, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Piyush Chawla, Ravi Teja, Yusuf Pathan, Jaydev Shah, Wriddhiman Saha (wk)

Brendan Nash, the Australian-born batsman, has capped off a remarkable year by being named in West Indies’ 14-man squad for next week’s ODI tri-series in Canada. As expected, the side will be led by Chris Gayle after he withdrew his resignation as captain.The squad also includes the uncapped Guyana middle-order batsman Leon Johnson, while the wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh is set for his first international action in nearly two years having replaced Denesh Ramdin. The most fascinating selection is that of Nash, 30, who relocated to the Caribbean a year ago.Nash was born in Western Australia and played first-class cricket for Queensland for seven seasons before losing his state contract last June. He decided to try his luck in Jamaica, which his father Paul had represented in swimming at the Olympic Games, and had a successful first campaign that ended with a century in Jamaica’s final victory.Johnson, 21, also had a productive Carib Beer Series and despite failing to make a century, he was consistent enough to average 42.70 from six games. Nash and Johnson could be competing for a middle-order place with Shawn Findlay, who was rewarded after making a strong start to his international career against Australia.Shivnarine Chanderpaul was rested and will rejoin the squad for the Champions Trophy, while Dwayne Bravo was unavailable due to an ankle injury. West Indies play Bermuda next Wednesday and Canada two days later, with the tri-series final to be held on August 24.West Indies squad Chris Gayle (capt), Xavier Marshall, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brendan Nash, Shawn Findlay, Leon Johnson, Carlton Baugh (wk), Dave Mohammed, Nikita Miller, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell, Kemar Roach, Fidel Edwards.

Zimbabwe have claimed their first outright ODI win in their last 15 matches dating back to April 2019, and have gained ten crucial points on the World Cup Super League. Half-centuries from Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza took them to a competitive total in the first ODI in Belfast, and required Ireland to pull off their highest successful chase against them before a strangling bowling effort sealed Zimbabwe’s win.Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza and Sean Williams took seven wickets for 41 runs in the last ten overs, as Ireland went from a challenging but doable position of needing 81 runs in the last 12 overs to eventually falling 38 short. Muzarabani, who used the short ball to good effect, was the pick of the bowlers with his third haul of four wickets or more in his 25-match ODI career.In the end, Ireland were left lamenting their slow start, which saw the required run rate pop above six as early as the 19th over. They were 79 for 1 at that stage, having lost Paul Stirling leg before against Masakadza after he was the major contributor to a 64-run opening stand with William Porterfield. Still, the pair gave Ireland a solid foundation to build their chase.Andy Balbirnie did not last too long either, and was bowled by Madhevere, whose offbreak snuck through the Irish captain’s bat-pad gap. Ireland were 109 for 2 at the halfway stage and needed to up the ante.They had the personnel – an anchor in Porterfield, who reached 50 off 78 balls, and an aggressor in Harry Tector – and seemed to have a plan. Porterfield took on short balls from Richard Ngarava, and used his feet and the sweep shot well against the spinners. The pair put on 71 for the third wicket before Porterfield pulled a short delivery from Luke Jongwe to fine leg, where Dion Myers juggled the ball, which dropped out of his hands and onto his shoulder on first attempt, before catching it.Sikandar Raza helped Zimbabwe post 83 runs in the last 8.4 overs•Sportsfile via Getty Images

In Tector and George Dockrell, Ireland had two energetic run-scorers at the crease, and they both showed some intent. But Ervine had kept plenty of overs in hand for Muzarabani and Masakadza, and they turned out to be his trump cards. Muzarabani took a wicket with the third ball of his second spell when Dockrell chased a wide delivery and edged behind, a dismissal that was confirmed on review. In his next over, Muzarabani had Simi Singh caught at cover off a leading edge, with Ireland starting to wobble.Their required run rate had reached eight, but Tector was still on hand. He brought up 50 off 53 balls but was out three balls later, edging an attempted slog sweep off Williams to Muzarabani at short third man. Williams also had Andy McBrine caught behind, before Muzarabani and Masakadza finished it off. Ireland were bowled out inside 49 overs to give Zimbabwe a comfortable win.Though Zimbabwe may have been relatively pleased with their batting effort, they could have been eyeing a total closer to 300, after reaching 85 for 1 in the first 14 overs. Brendan Taylor was well set on 49 off 44 balls after starting his innings slowly, and had put on 71 with Ervine, but the former captain played a reckless shot to the first ball of spin in the innings when he swept Simi to deep square leg to put the breaks on a strong start.After Taylor’s dismissal, Simi and McBrine bowled in tandem for 16 overs and gave away just 39 runs. In that time, Myers was dismissed when he top-edged McBrine to Lorcan Tucker, while Williams battled to get to 20 off 45 balls, with only 14 scoring shots. Zimbabwe immediately found reprieve when the spin duo had bowled out, and so Josh Little, who had had a hapless afternoon and finished with figures of 1 for 78 from nine overs, returned.While all of Ireland’s seamers were guilty of bowling too full, Little was the worst offender. He enjoyed some reward when he bowled Williams with a cutter, though that only brought Zimbabwe’s most aggressive batter, Raza, to the crease. By that point, Ervine had reached fifty and was ready to accelerate, as the pair put on 32 runs in 29 balls to get Zimbabwe back on track for 250-plus.Ervine played one big shot too many when he hit Dockrell straight to cover, but Raza first combined with Wessley Madhevere and then Jongwe to help Zimbabwe post 83 runs in the 8.4 overs after Ervine was dismissed. Raza finished unbeaten on 59 off 44 balls, his 18th ODI half-century.Despite the win, Zimbabwe remain in last position on the World Cup Super League points table, with the same number of points as Netherlands – on 20. However, they have the opportunity to gain ground in the rest of the series.

The ECB has privately indicated that it has retreated from proposals to downgrade the 18 county academies in favour of creating “regional training hubs as opposed to county programmes” as part of a plan to “define a new pathway for English cricket”.ESPNcricinfo revealed last month that independent consultants had concluded in a confidential report, commissioned by the ECB, that the much-vaunted eight-team T20 tournament could “impact on the future structure” of the professional game in England and urged the ECB to take the chance to “reorganise the geographical structure of county cricket”.The revelations caused immediate disquiet within several counties as they prepared for a meeting at Lord’s on March 27 which will further examine plans for the new T20 tournament. If given the go ahead, the tournament will have major ramifications for the professional game in England and Wales.When the potential implications of the independent report became clear, Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, was forced to undertake a ring round of the counties to assure them that the ECB had no intention of adopting it in its most radical form.Strauss gave private assurances that the 18 county academies will remain the chief pathway for professional cricket in England – and that there would be no attempt to drain county academies of revenue to concentrate coaching resources upon the regional hubs that will stage the envisaged new T20 tournament.There is appetite for some change, however. The ECB will advocate a limited centralisation of services, with counties encouraged to share support that, for financial reasons, might not otherwise be available to them, such as specialist coaches, psychologists or expensive technology.One recommendation of the report has been implemented already, with the appointment of Alun Powell to the new position of national talent development manager. Powell will join from the RFU and work alongside Andy Flower and Andy Hurry – the Lions and U-19 coaches – to identify and develop players below international level.It remains to be seen whether the counties will be appeased by Strauss’ intervention. Throughout the process towards an eight-team T20 tournament, many have sought to suppress the underlying fear that in the medium term they might be signing their own death warrant.The details of how such an arrangement might work – and which grounds might host such facilities – remain in their infancy. The ECB has yet to comment openly upon the plans.

South Africa face a dilemma over the workload on Kagiso Rabada early in a year crammed with commitments for the young fast bowler.Rabada, who took 2 for 31 in Hamilton, missed the match in Christchurch due to a slight problem with his left knee, but had an extensive bowl at the Basin Reserve on Friday with the knee taped. He has been carefully managed in the early days of this tour, also sitting out the T20 at Eden Park, having played all five matches the preceding one-day series against Sri Lanka.There will be a significant number of overs for Rabada in the months ahead. After this one-day series there are three Tests against New Zealand, followed a by the IPL for which Rabada landed a INR 5 crore (USD 750,000 approx) deal with Delhi Daredevils. Then comes the Champions Trophy and a marquee four-Test series against England. Throwing further ahead, South Africa’s 2017-18 home season will their busiest ever.If South Africa had managed to haul themselves over the line at Hagley Oval there is a decent chance Rabada would have been wrapped in cotton wool for the remainder of the one-day series. That could still be the case, with South Africa keen to assess their other bowling options before the Champions Trophy, but his cutting edge would be missed.”He has been stalwart for us for a while now,” JP Duminy said. “He has been our main strike bowler in most formats and it’s always a great strength for us to have him in our attack. It will be good to see him back.”In 2016, Rabada sent down almost two hundred overs more than any other South Africa bowler across all formats – 431.3 overs, with Kyle Abbott next on 239.1 – and made the joint-most appearances with 32 alongside Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis.South Africa also have to meet quota targets over a season which includes an average of two Black African players in an XI. Rabada and Andile Phehlukwayo are part of the one-day squad, while Temba Bavuma will be alongside Rabada in the Test side.Although Rabada’s return would strengthen South Africa’s attack, they have pinpointed the batting – and a failure of anyone to play a major innings – as the reason they could not chase down 290 in Christchurch. The top six all reached double figures, but de Kock’s 57 was the top score and he fell to an ill-judged leg-side heave.Dwaine Pretorius, at No. 7, almost turned the game with his 27-ball 50 and with Phehlukwayo down at No. 10 there was enviable depth to the order, but Duminy said that does not always translate into success.”It can sometimes be a bad thing. Even though we bat deep it doesn’t mean the top order shouldn’t take responsibility. It’s a great thing to have but there’s still a lot of responsibility from the top six or seven to make sure we put in those performances for the team.”However, he was not overly concerned about South Africa’s first reversal in 13 ODIs and suggested it was a timely reminder of the level of performance they need to achieve.”It was kind of inevitable at some point we’d lose a game. It’s something we have spoken about, that it doesn’t put us in any different situation in terms of where we’re trying to go as a team, our preparation and our goals. We’re trying to work towards the Champions Trophy and it’s probably a good thing to go through a few losses along the way to bring us back down to earth and understand there are certain things we still have to improve on.”