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ScorecardBen Cox bolstered Worcestershire’s total•Getty Images

Sussex seamer Steve Magoffin reached 50 wickets for the fifth successive season before Worcestershire fought back on an entertaining first day at Hove.Both sides are eyeing runners-up prize money in Division Two of the Specsavers County Championship and when Sussex took four wickets in 22 balls in the afternoon to leave Worcestershire on 178 for 7 they looked to have stolen a march on their rivals.But skipper Ben Cox led an excellent counter-attack by Worcestershire’s lower order which saw 128 runs scored in 24 overs for the last three wickets with Cox last man out for an excellent 69 in a total of 306.They then made inroads into a frail Sussex line-up which, in the absence of the injured Ed Joyce and Luke Wells, contained just four specialist batsmen, three of whom are uncapped.Miguel Cummins removed two of them – Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Craig Cachopa – for ducks and then had nightwatchman Ollie Robinson leg before in the final over of the day. Chris Nash was trapped on the crease by Joe Leach as Sussex stumbled to 50 for 4 at stumps to trail by 256.Magoffin’s enduring excellence was one of the highlights as the Australian finished with 5 for 38 in 19 overs to take his tally for the season to 54.His landmark 50th victim Tom Fell was claimed in only his third over when Fell was leg before for a duck playing across a straight one.Worcestershire had already lost Brett D’Oliveira to a catch at slip in Chris Jordan’s first over but from 11 for 2 skipper Daryl Mitchell and Joe Clarke fought back against Sussex’s five-man seam attack in a stand of 97 either side of lunch.Jordan made the breakthrough after lunch when Clarke flashed fatally outside off stump but Mitchell and George Rhodes added 57 for the fourth wicket before Worcestershire collapsed.Mitchell was caught behind trying to dab Magoffin through the off side and in the next over Tom Kohler-Cadmore endured his third successive Championship duck when he offered no shot to an arm ball from left-arm spinner Danny Briggs.Magoffin then struck twice in successive overs as Rhodes gloved a lifter and Leach was taken low down at slip before Cox led the recovery.With Ed Barnard giving him solid support, they plundered 48 in six overs after tea with Cox striking Briggs for three sixes down the ground. After adding 75 in 15 overs, Barnard was held on the mid-wicket boundary but Cummins muscled 25 off 20 balls including an outrageous flat-batted six back over the head of bowler Jofra Archer.Magoffin was belatedly brought back into the attack and completed his fifth five-for of the season with the second ball of his spell when he bowled Cummins. Cox was last out for 69 from 87 deliveries, which also included nine fours, when he was well caught by the diving Archer at mid-on two deliveries after David Wiese had taken the second new ball.

He has been an international cricketer for barely nine months, and has only played as many ODIs, but great expectations are already being thrust upon Kusal Mendis. Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has labeled Mendis “the future” of the national side.”He’s going to be a big player for us,” Mathews said of Mendis, who scored his second consecutive half-century in Wednesday’s 82-run win over Australia. “He’s going to be the future of our batting. If he keeps going like this he will do wonders for the Sri Lanka team and I wish him all the very best. It was a fantastic knock today.”Mendis’ half-century in the second ODI at Khettarama was the quickest of Sri Lanka’s three fifties, despite Sri Lanka having lost both openers cheaply. It was also his fifth fifty in his nine ODIs so far – one having come in Dublin, two in England, and now two at home against Australia.Mendis was particularly good at the end of the Powerplay, as Australia attempted to sneak in an over from one of their part-timers. Travis Head saw Mendis hit the first two balls of his spell for four, before the batsman struck two more boundaries and a three to complete 19 runs off the bat in that 10th over.Mendis’ early attack on Head created problems for Steven Smith, who resorted to bowling Aaron Finch, partly because Head was proving expensive in conceding 41 from four overs. Mathews said there had been no particular plan to score quickly off Head, and gave a glowing appraisal of Mendis’ approach.”He’s just very positive,” Mathews said. “Especially after losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, the way he went out there and the way he batted was brilliant. Not too many people do that – you take a bit of time and settle in and take a look at the wicket. But he’s just going out there and playing with a lot of freedom. He’s just a different kind of player.”Mendis is just one of several young players who have produced encouraging performances during the Australia tour. The latest to impress is 23-year-old left-arm spinner Amila Aponso, who took 1 for 27 in his first ODI on Sunday, and claimed the game’s best figures of 4 for 18 in Wednesday’s second ODI.”Not all the spinners bowled very well out there, apart from Amila Aponso – in the first game as well as this game,” Mathews said. “He’s bowled in these two matches like he’s played internationals for a long time. He’s just landing it on the spot and keeping it pretty simple – just bowling it there and letting the ball do the rest. He’s been turning a few and sliding a few. It’s been extremely difficult for the batters.”More experienced players also contributed to the 82-run victory as Mathews scored 57 and claimed two wickets while Thisara Perera took 3 for 33. Also in the runs again was Dinesh Chandimal, who narrowly missed out on the Sri Lankan record for most ODI fifties on the trot, when he was given out on review for 48 to end the streak at six half-centuries.”Chandimal’s been tremendous for us in the Test series and also in England,” Mathews said. “He’s matured. He’s also playing with a lot of responsibility – as a senior. He’s anchoring the innings and that’s what we want from him. Him batting at No. 4, we want him to bat until the 46th over, so that guys like Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka can go out there and play with a lot of freedom. In our batting line up myself and Chandimal have to take the responsibility to let the youngsters play with freedom.”With young players now winning matches for Sri Lanka, it is the oldest man in the ODI side that has now been placed under pressure. Tillakaratne Dilshan, 39, collected scores of 22 and 10 in the first two games, and the selectors now may consider dropping him in order to make way for players who could conceivably play in the 2019 World Cup. However, Mathews defended Dilshan’s recent performances.”No matter how experienced you are, it doesn’t mean you will play well all the time,” Mathews said. “You can get unlucky and get out. I got out cheaply in the last game as well. Though Dilshan failed in this match, others played well and won it. We trust that he will play well in the future.”

A five-wicket win for Surrey in a rain-affected game against Middlesex at Lord’s completed the quarter-final line-up of the Royal London Cup. Surrey, last year’s beaten finalists, sneaked above their London rivals into fourth place in the South Group, securing a last-eight trip to face North Group winners Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Royal London Cup QFs

• Somerset v Worcestershire, Taunton, August 17, 11am

• Warwickshire v Essex, Edgbaston, August 17, 11am

• Kent v Yorkshire, Canterbury, August 18, 2pm

• Northamptonshire v Surrey, Wantage Road, August 18, 1.30pm

Confirmation that Somerset would top the South Group, setting up a quarter-final with Worcestershire at Taunton, came with the abandonment of Essex’s game at Gloucestershire earlier in the day.Essex were then left waiting on results elsewhere to see if they would go through; Kent’s victory at Sussex moved them up to second but Hampshire narrowly failed to beat Somerset, sending Essex to play Warwickshire in the last eight and turning the match at Lord’s into a straight knockout.Kent will host Yorkshire in their quarter-final. Yorkshire had gone into the final round of North Group games on Monday hoping to secure a home fixture but a heavy defeat to Warwickshire at Headingley saw them slip to third.The first two quarter-finals, at Taunton and Edgbaston, will be day games played on August 17; the games at Wantage Road and Canterbury will start in the afternoon on August 18. The semi-final draw sees the winner of Warwickshire v Essex playing either Somerset or Worcestershire, while Kent or Yorkshire will go on to face one of Northants or Surrey, with the ties taking place on August 28-29.

Misbah-ul-Haq has admitted it was a worrying moment to see his star spinner, Yasir Shah, poleaxed in the nets when he took a blow on the shoulder on Wednesday.Yasir was sent for a precautionary scan but Misbah said he would be “okay” for a match where he is expected to have another significant impact on a ground with a history of helping spinners.He is the fulcrum of Pakistan’s attack, allowing them to operate with four frontline bowlers. The one Test he has missed since his debut was against England in Abu Dhabi last year, after he suffered a back spasm. England were able to score 598 for 9 and almost stole a victory on the final day. Yasir may not have made a major difference on what was a dead pitch for four days and two sessions, but Pakistan’s attack was far less daunting without him.Since Yasir returned, Pakistan have won three consecutive Tests against England – at Dubai, Sharjah and Lord’s – during which he has taken 25 wickets.Seven of the last 12 five-wicket hauls in Tests at Old Trafford have been taken by spinners and although that period overlaps the rotation of the square the surface has retained his characteristics of offering bounce and turn.However, even buoyed by their success at Lord’s, Misbah was eager to stress how the players start with a blank sheet of paper in this match, despite Yasir riding on the crest of a wave following his 10-wicket haul which propelled him to No. 1 in the world.”It doesn’t matter which ground we play on,” Misbah said. “If a bowler is really good he can produce results anywhere. He bowled beautifully at Lord’s but everyone will need to bowl well again, not just Yasir. All four need to step up.”How England respond to the challenge posed by Yasir has been a recurring theme and their performance at Lord’s, especially in the first innings when they were well placed to compete with Pakistan’s 339, revived memories of collapses inspired by Shane Warne, which came more from within the mind of the batsmen than the actual threat posed by the surface.But saying that Misbah is outwardly calm is an understatement so it was hardly surprising that he was not shouting from the rooftops about a repeat performance in Manchester and instead was preparing for a better showing from England’s batsmen”It’s all about how you apply yourself, overcome mistakes of previous Test. Every game is new, wicket different, you have to adjust and that could sometimes be a challenge when you’re a little bit down and short on confidence, but international players can do that. We have to be ready for that. If they play Yasir well we should have other plans.”Yasir Shah did not look in discomfort when bowling in the middle at Old Trafford•Getty Images

While there are many reasons for Pakistan to be a content, confident side going into the second Test they may want to look with caution at the example of India in 2014 when they won at Lord’s only to fold in the following three Tests. The matchwinning skills in Pakistan’s first-choice attack – injuries would test their depth – mean that such a swing in fortunes is more unlikely. There is even an argument to say that in Mohammad Amir’s case, with the pressure of his comeback Test dealt with and overs under his belt, he may be better for the run out.Another key difference is that in the India series two lively surfaces at Old Trafford and The Oval played firmly into England’s hands. In this series, Pakistan’s attack is as likely to enjoy such conditions as England’s.Still, Pakistan are not without issues the main one being their opening combination of Mohammad Hafeez and Shan Masood. They made scores of 40, 7, 0 and 24 at Lord’s, meaning that Azhar Ali was exposed early at No. 3 and Younis Khan was at the crease inside 20 overs in both innings.Pakistan nailed their colours to the mast by playing the same batsmen in both their pre-series warm-ups and the only chance for the reserve players to have a hit will be in the two-game against Worcestershire following the second Test. Still, Masood could find himself under pressure if he does not deliver at Old Trafford with England’s seamers seemingly having his number outside off stump.”It can happen in these conditions against the new ball,” Misbah said. “Don’t be impatient, give them confidence and back them. You have got to believe they can deliver, that’s the only way.”Hafeez has now completed his 12-month suspension for a suspect action and is eligible for a re-test, which Pakistan are considering trying to fit in before the third Test at Edgbaston.”That could give us a big advantage,” Misbah said, “if we have him when the opposition have four or five left-handers.”A serious fifth-bowling option, and a spinner who turns the ball the opposite direction to Yasir. It would make an already compelling Pakistan attack look even more threatening. For now, they are managing superbly well with what they have available although they would probably appreciate Yasir not being peppered by his team-mates.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s contract has been extended until the 2019 World Cup. The decision was approved at a BCB board meeting on Sunday.Assistant coach Ruwan Kalpage, fielding coach Richard Halsall and fitness and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan were also retained for another three years.Hathurusingha, who was appointed head coach in July 2014, will also hold a place on the six-man selection committee, along with Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mahmud, who is also a BCB director, and the cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan.The proposal to expand the selection committee was put forward last month and ratified by the BCB on Sunday. This means Bangladesh’s national squads will be picked by a six-member panel, which would include three selectors, two board officials and the head coach.”We have only legalised the current process,” Hassan said of the change. “The cricket operations committee chairman will call the meeting with the selectors, coach and manager. The coach will give his strategic input, if he has any. The manager will give his and the captain’s input.”Former Bangladesh batsman and junior selector Sajjad Ahmed was promoted to the three-man panel under Faruque. He replaced former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who has been put in charge of picking Bangladesh’s women’s teams. Minhajul Abedin retained his place as senior selector on the panel.Former Bangladesh players Hannan Sarkar and Hasibul Hossain have also been made junior selectors.Another outcome of Sunday’s board meeting was the reinstatement of Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain’s central contract. He had been omitted from the National Player Contract list in February 2016 due to a disciplinary breach. Simon Helmot, who was named BCB’s High Performance coach a week ago, has been retained until 2019.The BCB are also in the midst of preparing a response to the two-tier Test proposal, although discussion on that matter was not entertained at Sunday’s meeting.”I stopped the CEO when he was giving a presentation on the two-tier system because the discussion itself is now at an early stage,” BCB president Hassan said. “It was only discussed at the CEC [Cricket Executives Commitee] level in the ICC.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKarun Nair’s third half-century in a winning cause this season kept Delhi Daredevils alive•BCCI

Karun Nair showed there was place for finesse and street-smart cricket amid the big-hitting in T20s. His unbeaten 59-ball 83 single-handedly helped Delhi Daredevils beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in a last-ball thriller in Raipur to keep their playoff ambitions burning bright. The side must now win their final match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Raipur on Sunday.With Daredevils needing six off two deliveries, Nair, who had walked in to bat at No. 3, muscled successive boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar to pull off a win that may have not been possible had Sunrisers fielded better than they did. Nair was lucky to survive a caught-behind appeal on 23 in the ninth over, with Daredevils needing 105 off 69. David Warner then put down a sitter when the batsman was on 51. As it turned out, those two moments had a significant bearing on the outcome and Sunrisers, with 16 points, may yet have to win their final league game against Kolkata Knight Riders in Kolkata to control their fate.While Rishabh Pant was the aggressor in the 73-run second-wicket stand, Nair was happy to farm strike and play himself in before the stroke of luck with the caught-behind appeal brought about a change in mindset. By the time Pant was run out for 32, courtesy Bhuvneshwar’s direct hit from deep cover, Nair had switched gears. It meant Warner’s wonderfully crafted 56-ball 73 was consigned to being second-best.The game started off as a battle of wits. Sunrisers were watchful upfront against Zaheer Khan after being sent in to bat, but the pressure built up at one end was released by offspinner Jayant Yadav and Nathan Coulter-Nile, who leaked runs. Sunrisers motored to 42 without loss in five overs, before the brakes were applied through two run-outs.Shikhar Dhawan, far from his fluent best, was the first to go. Carlos Brathwaite, who replaced the injured Chris Morris, stopped a drive by diving to his left and then hurled a throw back at the striker’s end with Dhawan well short of the crease. Four balls later, Amit Mishra’s half-stop off his own bowling resulted in confusion between Warner and Deepak Hooda, and a direct hit at the bowler’s end found Hooda short. With the score at 48 for 2 in the seventh over, the need of the hour was consolidation.Yuvraj Singh hung around for 10 deliveries, one of which was sent screaming behind point off a fierce cut, before Brathwaite had him chop one onto the stumps, the two-paced nature of the pitch surfacing as the ball kept low to take the inside-edge. Even as wickets tumbled, Warner was a picture of supreme confidence, flaying pacers with flat-batted pulls and slaps through the off side.His technique against the spinners – Mishra and Yadav – was equally effective as he used the depth of the crease to make room and bring his bottom hand into play. Once the off side field opened up, he kept carving boundaries to make batting look ridiculously easy. Warner brought up his half-century off 40 balls and his 32nd IPL fifty helped notch up a record for most fifty-plus scores by a batsman in the tournament.He found able support from Moises Henriques, who milked the singles, and a 13-run over seemed to indicate that Sunrisers were ready to switch to attack. However, an attempt to hit with the spin towards deep midwicket off JP Duminy in the 14th over resulted in Henriques’ wicket, and ended a sprightly 39-run stand.Eoin Morgan’s wicket drained more momentum and it took an enterprising partnership between Naman Ojha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – the pair added 26 off 15 balls in the last three overs – to take them close to the 160-mark.Daredevils lost Quinton de Kock early, but Nair and Pant kept pace with the asking rate through tactful strike-rotation and the odd boundary. Apart from swatting away full tosses, Nair’s use of the sweep shot to negate Karn Sharma’s legspin was impressive.With Daredevils needing 52 off 30, Sunrisers had a ray of hope in the two potential overs from Mustafizur Rahman. When Duminy, put down on 17 by Bhuvneshwar, holed out to Warner off the first ball bowled by Barinder Sran in the 17th over, the game was wide open. But Nair muscled two sixes in the over to allay fears of a meltdown.Mustafizur’s tight last over – he gave away five runs – left Daredevils needing 11 off the last six balls, but Nair was not to be denied as his third half-century in a winning cause this season kept Daredevils alive.

Amid all the boxes they ticked in the Sylhet Test against Ireland, Najmul Hossain Shanto getting back in his groove would make the Bangladesh set up the happiest.Shanto struck his eighth Test century and his fourth as Test captain – 100 in 114 balls – on his return to the helm as Bangladesh won by an innings and 47 runs.He had resigned from the captaincy in June after Bangladesh’s series against Sri Lanka. It was a difficult time for Shanto, who was said to have felt slighted by the BCB, who didn’t contact him before naming a new ODI captain. Shanto had also said at the time that he didn’t believe three separate captains would serve the dressing room well. BCB president Aminul Islam convinced Shanto to return as the Test captain recently, and his first innings back was an aggressive, chanceless century.Related

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“I think this is just a good start, nothing more than that,” he said after the Test. “I have always enjoyed thinking as a batter even when I am a captain. I try to contribute as a batter, but then when I am in the field, I take my responsibility as the captain.”Shanto revealed that the first few days after leaving the Test captaincy were hard to deal with, but that he recovered well and ended up enjoying the “non-captaincy” period.”To be very honest, the early days were tough,” he said. “I did feel relaxed afterwards. I enjoyed the whole time. I spent a lot of time with my family. I also developed my skills both technically and mentally.”Mahmudul Hasan Joy scored a big century in his first innings back in the Test side•BCB

Bangladesh also had a big contribution from Mahmudul Hasan Joy, whose 171 in the first innings is the team’s second-highest score by an opener. Mahmudul returned to the side after being dropped when he went through a lean phase.Shanto was happy to see Mahmudul back and among the runs, and also said he was keen to see more of debutant left-arm spinner Hasan Murad, who took six wickets in the match, including four in the second innings.”Murad was outstanding,” Shanto said. “He has waited for this opportunity for a long time. He has performed in first-class cricket in every season. He has great numbers. His patience is exemplary. It was great to see. I wish he can continue to improve slowly.”Joy wasn’t in the team. He has improved himself to come back with a big century in his first innings back in the team. His comeback is a positive thing. I think Joy has improved with the mental side of things. I hope he continues to play with this mentality.”

Despite a gruelling day in the field, studded with five dropped catches, Joe Root remains adamant that England are still in touch with Australia in the second Test at the Gabba, but says that any prospect of a fightback will require their batters to “express themselves in the right way” for the remainder of a must-win match.Root himself did just that in England’s first innings, finishing unbeaten on 138 to record his maiden Test hundred in Australia, and his 40th overall. Too many of his team-mates failed to provide the requisite support, however, with Harry Brook’s carefree knock of 31 leading his former team-mate, Stuart Broad, to question his game awareness during a stint on Australian radio. In addition to four ducks, Zak Crawley’s 76 was England’s only other score of note, until Jofra Archer joined Root in a free-wheeling last-wicket stand of 70 in 9.4 overs.That shortcoming had been set in stark relief by the close of the second day, with Australia strongly placed on 378 for 6, a lead of 44, thanks to double-figure contributions from each of the eight batters so far used. No-one could go past Jake Weatherald’s 72, but after a brace of 60s from Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, and 45 from Cameron Green, Alex Carey remained unbeaten at the close on 46.England’s standards were challenged throughout a tough day, with Australia rattling along at more than five runs an over, while Will Jacks’ anonymity with the ball has already placed a huge burden on their four-man seam attack. They did manage to claim three wickets in the floodlit final session, including two in an over from a hard-toiling Brydon Carse. However, they also let slip four of those chances – including a particularly culpable drop from Carse at short cover off Michael Neser.Related

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“It’s clear we weren’t our best at that phase of the game,” Root told TNT Sports at the close. “But the way that we dragged things back, by managing to take those wickets in a cluster, it shows what the nature of this game can be like, especially with the pink ball.”In the wake of their first-Test defeat, England’s decision not to play in a three-day floodlit match in Canberra came in for some criticism. While the nature of the contest arguably vindicated that move from a batting and bowling point of view, the chance to replicate a fielding session under the floodlights was perhaps an opportunity lost for the visitors.Root, however, insisted England had worked hard on their fielding drills in their practice sessions at the Gabba.”It is different to a white ball,” he said. “We get a lot of exposure to [floodlit cricket] in ODI cricket and T20 cricket, but it is slightly different. But you still back yourself. We practice really hard for the five days leading into it. We made sure we got our work done. Unfortunately, it’s just one of those days where a few didn’t quite stick to hand. We’ve got to make sure we stay confident, we stay up and, when we get those chances later on in the fixture, we’re ready to take them.Marnus Labuschagne raised his second fifty of the series•Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“We’ve obviously got some more work to do tomorrow, but we’re certainly well and truly in this game. More than anything we’ve got to come out with a huge amount of energy and positivity. We know our best cricket can turn a game very quickly, so we’ll turn up tomorrow with that right attitude. We know that, if we’re anywhere near our best, then very quickly this game can turn in our favour.”First things first, Root acknowledged, England must claim Australia’s final four wickets in the daylight hours.”If we get things right in the morning, and go about things as a team in the correct fashion, then we can put ourselves in a really strong position on a wicket which looks like it’s plating,” Root said. “It looks like there might be a few cracks to work with later on in the game. But clearly, we’ve got to look at tomorrow morning first and foremost, and get things right there.”However, the focus is already turning to England’s crucial second innings – which will begin not only with memories of Root’s resilience on the first day, but of how Australia themselves have gone about hunting down England’s score with aggression allied to sensible shot selection. The contrast with England’s approach, particularly against Mitchell Starc who struck in the first over of a new spell on three occasions in his first-innings 6 for 75, was telling.”When we get out there with the bat, the quality that we have and the talent that’s in that dressing room can go out there and express themselves in the right way on that surface to go and get a big score, which could be very tricky batting last on that surface.””I’ve got quite a clear plan how I score my runs,” he added. “I’ve just got to back myself and understand that, if I do that for long periods of time and make good decisions, I’ll be successful.”Labuschagne, whose partnerships with Weatherald and Smith were key to Australia’s strong position, acknowledged that his dismissal for 65 – just as the floodlights were kicking in – was ill-timed, but his proactive 78-ball innings had still been an ideal template for the conditions.”I would like to be a bit more resilient … getting out on the stroke of the changeover between day and night was not ideal,” he said. “But you’ve just got to keep telling yourself as the batter, it’s just one ball at a time. If you’re thinking too far ahead, you start reading into a ball that might have bounced more off a crack or hit you. You’ve got to stay in the moment as much as you can.”If you’re bowling good balls in the channel at the Gabba, it’s tough to score with the extra bounce. But it was a nice wicket. Obviously, it’s a little bit cracky here and there, but the majority of the times the balls hit the wicket, it was really nice.”The two guys at the top just grabbed that momentum of the game early, and we were almost able to piggyback their momentum, and continue to put pressure on.”

Rohit Sharma has said the “door is very much open” for Mohammed Shami to join India’s Test squad in Australia, but reiterated caution over his fitness.Speaking after India’s ten-wicket loss in the second Test in Adelaide, Rohit said: “We are just monitoring him because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali, he got some swelling in his knee, which hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match. We want to be very careful, we don’t want to bring him here, he pulls up sore or something happens.”We want to be more than 100% sure with him because it has been a long time. We don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime.”Shami has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final in November last year, after which he had surgery in February for an ankle injury. After suffering a few setbacks during his recovery process, Shami finally returned to action in November this year, taking seven wickets for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh.Since then Shami has played seven games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking eight wickets in 27.3 overs. While there has been no official confirmation that he has been given the go-ahead to fly to Australia, it is expected that he will join the squad at some stage if there are no further setbacks.

Victoria’s seamers steamrolled a strong New South Wales line-up to claim a 141-run victory at the MCG but both sides were left in no doubt that Mitchell Starc is primed for a big Test summer after he claimed seven wickets in the match.Victoria cruised to victory before lunch on the fourth day with Sam Elliott claiming the final four wickets they required including Josh Philippe for an excellent 88. Elliott finished with 4 for 44 while Fergus O’Neill was named player of the match for his figures of 4 for 29, 1 for 28 and two vital lower order contributions of 28 and 33.Related

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Elliott broke a stubborn 63-run stand between Philippe and Starc when the wicketkeeper got a thin edge trying to thrash a cut behind point to fall 12 short of a deserved century. Philippe finished with scores of 45 not and 88 for the match. Starc fell for 18 top edging an attempted pull shot. Nathan Lyon also fell to the pull shot, miscuing to a catching man who was placed not far behind the square leg umpire. Elliott cleaned bowled Jackson Bird shortly after to finish the game.While all eyes had been on the performances of two Test hopefuls in Marcus Harris and Sam Konstas, the buzz from both rooms post-match was how well Starc had bowled after taking 1 for 35 and 6 for 81 in 36.5 overs across the match, including Harris in both innings. NSW coach Greg Shipperd believes India will face a stiff challenge from Starc if conditions are similar to the pitch that was offered at the MCG.”His pace, his rhythm, all of those things that go to engineering the sort of pace he was dealing with,” Shipperd said. “He did change the game once he decided to go short and really change the dynamic of the match. And second innings again, we thought perhaps he’d done enough, but he kept coming. And so that’s a good sign for Australia and troubles ahead, perhaps, on the right wicket for India.”Victoria coach Chris Rogers was thrilled with the contributions of his batting group in tough conditions, singling out the first innings partnership between Campbell Kellaway and Peter Handscomb and the second innings stand between Sam Harper and Tom Rogers as match-winning in the face of Starc’s barrage.”Against a very good bowling attack for a 21-year-old kid [Kellaway] to get 50, along with Pete, I said to Pete, that’s right up there with some of the best batting I’ve seen him do,” Rogers said. “To put on that 100, if you look back now, you probably say that that was pretty critical in us winning the game and having a first innings lead.”And in the second innings, when they had us four for not many and Mitch Starc’s got his tail up, we needed a couple of people to stand up, and two guys who were making names for themselves in Sammy Harper and Tommy Rogers played absolutely out of their skins, and that 130-run partnership, that was as good as I’ve seen from a partnership for a long time. Just absolutely fantastic.”