All posts by csb10.top

After conceding 89 runs in the first, wicketless session in Rawalpindi, Pakistan remarkably got back in the game in the second. They had bowled 48 balls on a full length in 26 overs in that opening session, conceding 47 runs off these deliveries and straying on leg stump as well. Wayward in line, ineffective in length, captain Azhar Ali’s statements the previous day on the important of discipline in Test format seemed lost on this attack. Speaking after the day’s play, 16-year-old Naseem Shah admitted that new plans had to be drawn up for the second session, and those centred around containing the Sri Lanka batsmen.It was the first time in 24 years that Pakistan were playing at home with an all-pace attack. The last time this happened was in 1995, against Sri Lanka in Sialkot. The hint of grass on the Rawalpindi pitch in combination with the earlier overcast conditions seemed to suggest it was the way to go but, at the toss, Sri Lanka opted to bat, baffling many. A lack of swing duly followed, and Pakistan conceded 3.4 runs to the over in that first session. In all, 120 balls were pitched on a length or fuller to concede 74 runs.When asked if his side misread the pitch, Shah said: “It’s cricket and it happens… yes there was moisture in the pitch but we couldn’t get wickets early. They also batted well and we didn’t bowl according to the plan in the first session.”So we had to re-plan and went out to contain in the second session. Overall the pitch was good, all you have to hit the good areas for success. We could have taken another wicket [in the day] but we will come back fresh tomorrow to get them as quickly as we can to restrict them under 250 to have a full control [of the game].”Shah finished the day with two wickets, as Sri Lanka slipped from 96 for 0 to 189 for 5. At stumps they were 202 for 5, and Shah, playing his second Test after a testing debut in Australia, was facing a crowed press conference for the first time. He came across as confident in answering whatever question was thrown at him. When asked about being rested in the second Test in Australia despite holding his own in the first, he kept it brief: “There wasn’t any issue. Our management understands better how they want to take care of me, so nothing to worry about.”Of course, the Rawalpindi Test is a homecoming for Test cricket in Pakistan, and Shah was happy to soak up the atmosphere. “In Australia I saw how the crowd there was behind their bowlers all the time and their support really gave them a push,” he said. “And today, playing at a home venue in front of my own crowd gave me the exact sense I got in Australia. The crowd was outstanding and they were cheering on every good ball I bowled, so playing at home wasn’t about me being under pressure but instead I was enjoying the atmosphere.”

If, as the curious saying goes, Test cricket has a habit of biting you on the backside if you disrespect it, then the timing of the Newlands cliffhanger could hardly have been more apposite. A mere days after it emerged that the ICC is considering the introduction of mandatory four-day Test cricket, England and South Africa served up a fifth-day finish to savour, to leave their series all square at 1-1 with two to play.And speaking in the aftermath of an emotional finish – in which England sealed victory with just 8.4 overs left in the final day’s play – both captains Joe Root and Faf du Plessis, as well as the Player of the Match, Ben Stokes, praised the format for its ability to produce such soaring contests, in spite of the numerous threats posed by player workloads, crowded scheduling and finances.”When you have series in which the first few games are results, it makes things very interesting,” said Stokes during the post-match presentations. “And that’s why five-day cricket should always be around.”It’s the best format of the game. And with games like these, it makes cricket just unforgettable. And we will remember this for a long time and I’m sure South Africa will remember it for a long time as well. It will go down as one of the greats.”On the final morning of the match, Cricket South Africa issued a strongly worded rebuttal to a report, in the Daily Mail, stating that the board was not in favour of the move to four-day cricket, and pointed out that they had, in fact, hosted the first official four-day Test match against Zimbabwe in 2017.However, du Plessis made it clear that he was not keen on any reduction in the status of the sport’s oldest format.”I am a fan of Test cricket going five days,” he said. “The great draws of the game go five days. I understand there is a lot of money being burnt on day-five cricket because a lot of Test matches are not going five days. But I am still a purist of the game because I have been part of some great draws and today is no different.ALSO READ: Stokes is a ‘golden nugget’ – Root“There would definitely not have been a result in four days on this pitch,” he added, after England had declared on the fourth afternoon on 391 for 8. “That’s what makes it special, to have Stokes, shattered and still running in and we are trying to survive. That’s what makes the extra day so special.Joe Root oversaw England’s first win in Cape Town since 1957•Getty Images

“Obviously I’m sad that we are on the losing side, but all I’m asking for from a team-mate today is that we fought and fought really hard. And we did that, and over five days. Unfortunately, there has to be a winner and a loser, and credit for England for having just a little bit more in the tank than we had. It was a great Test match, and in big series like these, you want two teams to bash it out for five days, and the next Test will be very exciting.”Root, whose young side showed immense character to bounce back from a dispiriting loss in the series opener at Centurion, added his own support to the five-day formula.”Some people might think there’s a place for [four-day cricket] but you don’t want to miss out on days like today,” he said. “You don’t want to miss out on games like this. This is what makes Test cricket what it is. To go right down to the wire, nearly a full house at Newlands, half of it English support, and what a great finish to a brilliant game of cricket.”

India quicks dominated on the second day of the tour game in Hamilton as they ran through the New Zealand XI to bowl them out for 235. Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini shared nine wickets between them, while the final wicket went to offspinner R Ashwin. Following that, openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal got off to a steady start in the second innings to help India gain an 87-run lead.In reply to India’s 263, Rachin Ravindra began positively despite losing his partner Will Young to Bumrah for a cheap score. Shami was the chief tormentor on the day, picking up the first of his three wickets by having Tim Seifert caught behind for 9. Finn Allen then joined Ravindra as the hosts gained some momentum, but Yadav wouldn’t let it last, dismissing Ravindra for 34. Bumrah struck soon after to remove Allen as well.There were brief stages of recovery from the New Zealand XI thanks to the middle-order contributions from Henry Cooper (40), Tom Bruce (31) and Daryl Mitchell (32) but none of them could go on to make a big score. James Neesham, walking in at No. 8, became Shami’s third victim, bowled for just 1. The lower order then added 74 runs, taking the total past 200, to finish with a deficit of 28 runs. Shami finished with figures of 3 for 17, while Bumrah, Yadav and Saini picked up two apiece.After failures in the first innings, Shaw and Agarwal were off to a rapid start, hitting a boundary-laden 35 off 25 and 23 off 17 respectively. The duo was especially severe on Scott Kuggeleijn, who had dismissed them for those low scores in the first innings, taking him for 34 runs in three overs. India finished the second day with the score on 59 for 0 in only seven overs.

As Sri Lanka and the West Indies prepare to square off in the first of three ODIs on Saturday – which will be followed by two T20Is next month – the series offers the chance for both sides to benchmark themselves as they work towards the T20 World Cup later this year.For the West Indies, it’s an opportunity to see if they can build on their impressive showing in India in December, when they went toe to toe with arguably the top limited-overs team in the world. Eventually, they came away on the wrong end of narrow 2-1 series defeats in both the ODIs and T20Is.For Sri Lanka, after a chastening T20I series loss in India and an underwhelming Test series win over Zimbabwe to start the year, this series offers them a chance at testing themselves against a quality opposition but aided by familiar home comforts.”We’ve got some realistic goals that we want to achieve over the next couple of years, and this is the start for us,” Sri Lanka head coach Mickey Arthur said at a media briefing in Colombo on Wednesday, ahead of the start of the series.Arthur, who will be taking the reins of the ODI side for the first time since being hired as national coach, said he was particularly keen to see how his players adapted to the newly allocated roles given to them. But more than that, he was hopeful that good results over the coming weeks had the potential to give his players some much-needed belief in the process put in place.”We’re very realistic about where we’re at at the moment but we have some very good goals that we want to achieve over the next couple of years,” he said.”We just want to keep getting better and better. Everybody has certainly been given very clear role definitions, so to see how the guys embrace those role definitions is going to be very, very interesting.”Also we need to establish what’s going to be our best brand of cricket and how we’re going to go about that, and hope that we can get some results which will give the confidence in the brand of cricket we want to play over the next couple of years. Because ultimately that gives you sustainable success, and that’s what we’re all in the game for.”As for West Indies head coach Phil Simmons, the tour is more about looking to carry on the progress that was so evident against India.”For the last three months we’ve been trying to build both our white-ball teams,” Simmons said. “We’re looking at improving. And [at the end of this tour] if we’ve gotten better than we were in India then we could be walking away with the series.”One of the main areas for improvement the team has been eyeing since that India tour has been in their bowling. While the West Indies batsmen have never been short of confidence, Simmons felt it was in the bowling department that impactful gains could be made.”I think during the series we played well, but we just had to improve our bowling. We’ve been working hard on that, in terms of getting more wickets in the middle overs and things like that. I think we’ve improved and we’ll see what happens in this series.”The first ODI takes place in Colombo on February 22.

Deception and subterfuge are key parts of the armoury of a T20 death bowler, but for Tom Curran, Rajasthan Royals’ latest English recruit, those traits may have to be deployed in the nets at Jaipur too. That’s because, with the T20 World Cup looming large on the horizon, a number of his IPL colleagues – not least the team’s Australian head coach, Andrew McDonald – are likely to be grateful for an insight into his mindset come October.Curran’s growing reputation in the crunch moments came to the fore in England’s recent T20I win in South Africa, where he held his nerve with the series on the line to seal a two-run win in the second match at Durban.ALSO READ: Five series takeaways for England’s T20 World Cup preparationsHaving started the final over of that game with a healthy 15 runs to defend, Curran and England were pushed to the brink of a series defeat when Dwaine Pretorius connected with a six and a four from consecutive balls to take the requirement down to five from three.But from that point on, Curran found the resolve to seal the contest, producing a pair of fine yorkers followed by a perfectly executed back-of-the-hand slower ball, that the new man on strike, Bjorn Fortuin, could only flick over his shoulder to short fine leg.”That’s cricket, it can go the other way very quickly,” said Curran during a Rajasthan Royals event in London. “But that game was really big for me. At the start of the over I should have been defending it anyway but, with three balls to go, they were on top. So looking back on it, I was really proud of that. The fact that, in that moment, I had no choice but to execute and I managed to do so.”As Curran recalled, there had been a meeting of England’s brains trust before that final delivery, with the captain and vice-captain, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, in on the discussions, along with the experienced Chris Jordan. But ultimately, as soon as Curran was clear in his own mind what needed to be done, that was the end of the matter.”I was weighing up the options,” he said. “I’d just bowled two good yorkers, so if he tries to stand there and whack it, if it’s on the money then a yorker is still a good option. But I just thought a slower ball, he actually has to hit it for four, whereas a yorker you can still nick it for four.”I just went with my gut really, and when I said that to Morgs and Jos, everyone was like ‘cool, let’s go with it’. Luckily it came off.”Tom Curran poses in his Rajasthan Royals colours•Getty Images

No doubt his new employers were watching that performance closely. For, with Jofra Archer, Rajasthan Royals’ go-to at the death, set to miss at least the first half of the tournament as he recovers from an elbow fracture, Curran knows that the coming tournament offers him a massive opportunity to cement a role, and his reputation, ahead of the World Cup.”It’s an unbelievable standard at the IPL, so it’s a great experience for me,” he said. “These are sold-out games and it’s proper loud. So it’s mirroring as close to the biggest games on the international circuit, what they’ll be like. It will be a great experience. If guys go there and do well, they’ll take a lot of confidence from that. That’s what it’s all about.”Curran has had one previous taste of IPL action when, in April 2018, he was called up by Kolkata Knight Riders as a late replacement for Mitchell Starc, and performed creditably with six wickets at an economy rate of 11.60 in five matches. This time, however, he was picked up by Rajasthan for his base price of INR 1 crore (approx. £110,000), where his profile will doubtless be raised by the presence of two of the most influential members of England’s white-ball squads, Buttler and Ben Stokes.”I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve already played a lot of cricket now with the guys there, so it makes it that much easier. Especially being somewhere like India, where it’s a busy hectic schedule, to have those familiar faces there will be nice.”Not all the familiar faces will be on the Curran’s side come October, however. Rajasthan’s squad contains two overseas stars in particular – Australia’s Steve Smith and South Africa’s David Miller – who may find themselves at the other end of the pitch come the World Cup. And when it comes to sharing knowledge during the IPL, weaknesses as well as strengths, Curran conceded he’d have to be cautious about being too open.ALSO READ: ‘Test cricket is the best form of the game’ – Jos Buttler“I don’t think you chat weaknesses with loads of people anyway,” he said. “There’s a few people who you might trust, and you might ask, ‘what does Steve Smith do in this situation?’ but it’s more about developing and getting better, which we players focus more on.”If I’m bowling in the nets to some of the Indian guys, I’m not going to be showing them all the tricks. But that’s a huge benefit of having Jos, Stokesy and these guys. I think you actually learn a lot too. Speaking to Jos I’ll learn about batting. You just need to have some of the players on the international stage to talk to, and try things with.”However, Buttler, who was also present at the event, added that there was some merit in sharing a bit more of your repertoire with future rivals, because too much knowledge can be used against your opponent in the heat of battle.”It evolves, as well,” said Buttler. “TC will show someone his slower ball – you can use it both ways. It can be a bluff as well. He might say: ‘Yeah, I always bowl this slower ball.’ But there will be times when TC says at the end of his mark, ‘Yeah I said to Smith in the nets that I bowl this ball, so let’s bowl something else.’ That might become part of your [repertoire].”It definitely does happen,” Curran added. “You’ll be aware of it. If you have it in the back of your mind that I’ll throw in the odd curveball in there.”As for McDonald, Rajasthan’s highly-rated new head coach, Curran insisted that his dual status as Australia’s assistant coach would have little bearing on their relationship, even though the Aussies are set to go into their home World Cup as favourites after winning nine of their last ten completed T20Is.”It seems to be the way things are going now,” he said of McDonald’s roles. “I don’t think it will make too much of a difference. It will be great to work with him there and he’ll be fully involved once he gets to India.”I haven’t worked with him full-time but I have bumped into him,” he added. “Nowadays you tend to bump into people and have conversations, so it will be a really good experience.”You’re always going to have coaches, but it’s about filtering information. There are things that people say… some people you’re going to listen to, and you almost build up that relationship over time from working with someone.”If a [new] coach comes and gives you some information, you take it with a pinch of salt. You don’t want to be making massive technical changes mid-tournament, but it’s different for everyone.”

The chairman of the PCB’s independent disciplinary panel pointed to Umar Akmal’s lack of remorse and a refusal to cooperate with investigating authorities as he detailed the reasoning behind the three-year ban on the Pakistan cricketer, which will keep him out of the game – as a player and otherwise – till February 19, 2023.Akmal was charged by the PCB on two counts of breaching its anti-corruption code ahead of this year’s PSL, and while each charge carries a three-year ban, they will run concurrently. Unlike a number of punishments in corruption investigations, there is no suspended sentence. Akmal has 14 days to appeal before the tribunal.”It appears that he [Akmal] is not prepared to show remorse and seek apology, make admission that he failed to fulfill his responsibility under Anti-Corruption Code, Article 2.4.4, rather he tried to take refuge under the pretext that in the past whenever any such approaches were made, the matter was reported by him,” Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, the panel chairman, wrote in his full judgment of the case, released today. “As far as Charge No.1 is concerned, I do not see any circumstances to mitigate the nature of offence, particularly, when the participant (Umar Akmal) has not cooperated with the PCB Vigilance and Security Department and the investigating team.”Akmal was initially suspended by the PCB on February 20 and subsequently charged, and then chose to forego the right to a hearing before the anti-corruption tribunal, where he could have pleaded innocence or contested the charges, saying he would wait for a sanction to be confirmed. As a result, his case went directly to the disciplinary panel.As reported by ESPNcricinfo, in his reply to the charges to the PCB, Akmal did admit the violation, saying that he was approached by two men on separate occasions, but chose not to inform the authorities, which was a breach of the code and led to his suspension. In front of the panel too, Akmal admitted the charges, but claimed there had been no “objectionable material” to report.Akmal explained that a first approach was at a dinner party in Lahore, when he was introduced to a stranger and after sensing the intentions of the individual, he distanced himself and left the venue. But Chauhan observed that Akmal was duty-bound to inform the anti-corruption officials immediately: “The reason given by the player is not acceptable and the explanation given in the reply are not sufficient.”Even today when offer was made to him to accept his offence and pray for lesser punishment, the player did not avail the chance and stuck to his explanations.”Speaking about the second approach, Akmal said that a person in Lahore had requested a favour in exchange for help in resolving an undisclosed dispute. Becoming uncomfortable, Akmal said he left the meeting but the judge, again, pointed out that he should have reported the approach. Akmal said in his reply that in the past, confidential information involving him had been “leaked to the media” without his consent.The judge observed that Akmal “had failed to give any plausible explanation for not reporting the matter to PCB vigilance and anti-corruption department and is in breach of the rule article 2.4.4 and he would be deemed to be engaged in corrupt conduct under the anti-corruption code of PCB”.The judgment concluded with: “The participant/player/Umar Akmal shall not play, coach or otherwise, participate or be involved in any capacity in any match or any kind of functions, event or activity (other than authorised anti-corruption education or rehablitaion program that is authorised sanctioned, recognised or supported in any way by the PCB, the ICC or other national cricket federations, or receive accreditation previously issued shall be deemed to be withdrawn.”

A bright August morning at Chester-le-Street; a morning of pitch inspections, warm-ups and applause for callow first-team hopefuls; a morning like any other; Well, not quite, of course. It is 310 days since Essex won the title at Taunton in 2019. This season is well-advanced yet it is just starting and no Yorkshire or Durham cricketer had a first-class run or wicket to his name this summer until Alex Lees pushed Ben Coad’s third ball of the match into the covers and scrambled a run with Sean Dickson.In normal times such an opening to a match might prompt courteous applause from the White Rose enclaves at Chester-le-Street. But these are nothing like normal times. The unpeopled stands at the Riverside, even the smaller one below the dressing rooms, seem as vast and austere as the Piazza San Marco. Scorecards were printed this morning albeit there was no one to buy them. Teams were revealed even though most of those in the ground knew what the sides were anyway. Cricketers announced things to themselves. And this will be our pattern for a while as cricket copes with an imperilled world. “And so each venture is a new beginning,” wrote T S Eliot in “East Coker”.Like others around the country on this curious day, the game featured debutants of various types. Lees was playing four-day cricket against Yorkshire for the first time since his departure in 2018 and his scuttled single foreshadowed over four hours in which Durham’s batsmen tried to chisel runs from the visiting quartet of pace bowlers but instead were bowled out for 103 in 58.4 overs. Gareth Harte, who made an unbeaten 33, was one of only three men to make double figures.Yet any thought that this Riverside pitch is shielding demons was quickly demolished. Yorkshire’s batsmen halved the deficit for the loss of Adam Lyth, caught at slip by Dickson off Chris Rushworth, whose first three overs had cost 27 runs. It even appeared that Steve Patterson’s batsmen would have a lead by the close but instead something of the lustre was removed from Yorkshire’s day by the loss of the three wickets in 11 balls just before the close. Two of these fell to Paul Coughlin who bowled Tom Kohler-Cadmore for a pleasant 41 and three balls later had Patterson leg before. Coughlin’s time at Trent Bridge was marred by so many serious injuries that no one could now wish him ill. He has already changed this matchAnd the game may even have been even been galloping towards a two-day finish had not a morning shower interrupted the cricket after half an hour and drenched the Riverside before the players had their boots off. That took care of play before lunch. The umpires made a couple of inspections but there was no irate member exhorting them to “bloody well get on with it”. Play resumed at 1.10, not that it brought Durham’s batsmen much comfort.Indeed, any encouragement they took from surviving the opening half hour proved illusory almost at once. Having survived a few leg before appeals from his former colleagues, Lees was pinned in front by an inswinger of very full length from Matthew Fisher. Nearly five overs later Coad nipped one away very late to Dickson, who edged to Jonny Tattersall. These successes would have been greeted with satisfied murmurs and even the odd cheer from travelling supporters but Yorkshire’s players had to make do with the rather quieter acclamation of two Headingley panjandrums.The Kirkstall Road folk missed an afternoon they would have enjoyed. Jordan Thompson replaced Coad at the Finchale End and enjoyed immediate success when he nipped one away from Cameron Steel, who edged a catch to Tattersall. Four overs later it was 41 for 4 when David Bedingham clipped Thompson dexterously off his ankles, only to see the ball skim straight to long leg where Fisher scooped up a fine low catch. Jack Burnham grafted away for 42 minutes in scoring seven runs but then lost both patience and his off stump when attempting a loose drive.Yorkshire’s bowlers allowed no reprieve. Patterson’s tactics followed the simplest of patterns: first Coad and Fisher bowled straight and full; then he and Thompson did the same. It brought Yorkshire three lbw decisions either side of tea as home batsmen took liberties which, while not diabolical, were certainly unwise. Mathew Potts helped Harte put on 17 for the ninth wicket but then clipped Coad to Fisher at square leg. Rushworth misdrove his third ball back to Coad and Harte was left unbeaten after battling away for over two hours, his innings marked mainly by grimy application but also by fours either worked through the slips or driven past the off-side field.When Yorkshire had hit as many boundaries in 11.2 overs as Durham had managed in their entire innings, the shape of the game looked clear. But now there is far more doubt about the matter, especially if Dawid Malan can be removed early on the second day. Like this truncated season itself, the match is in the hazard. “Every attempt is a wholly new start,” Eliot said, before adding gloomily, “and a different kind of failure.” Many batsmen around England would already nod in grim appreciation this August evening. Let us hope ECB officials are not also doing so before the leaves turn brittle and coppery.

What a difference a session makes to the outlook of a tour. It was one Day 4 session in the first Test at Old Trafford that sketched the wafer-thin border between triumph and disaster for England and Pakistan; a passage of play that – in the wake of a washed-out second Test – denied the visitors a shot at a first series win in England in 24 years, and set up the hosts for their first against Pakistan anywhere in a decade.And who knows how much the sting of that failure will linger for Pakistan as they enter the T20 leg of their tour. In ordinary times, a preceding Test series might be rendered irrelevant, but on a tour of close-knit bubbles, isolation protocols and empty stadiums, it might actually be Pakistan’s only true frame of reference.For England, it’s a strikingly different scenario. A wholly different squad, even down to the management staff, will rock up to Manchester for this leg of their bio-secure summer, and while it might appear that a touch of insouciance has crept into England’s white-ball cricket since they lifted the ODI World Cup last year, with two T20 World Cups in the next two years, there’s no reason for that to extend to the shortest format.Babar Azam and Eoin Morgan pose with the series trophy•Getty Images

Currently ranked behind only Australia in T20s, Eoin Morgan’s side have an opportunity to work up handy white-ball momentum before Australia rock up for three T20Is and three ODIs next month, although they will once again be lacking a host of shoo-in names with the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer all out of contention after their time in the Test bubble – not to mention Joe Root, who is set to feature for Yorkshire in the Blast in a bid to restate his credentials in the shortest format.England’s most recent form reference is a slightly bonkers T20I series against South Africa in February, where all three T20Is went down to the final over and they just about held their nerve to eke out a 2-1 series win. It kept alive an unbeaten T20I series run that extends to more than two years now, and if they can keep that going over the next month or so, England could truly think of this as, given the circumstances, just about the ideal home season.If their memories stretch that far, Pakistan would do well to look upon a tour of England four years ago. Well beaten in the ODI series, they approached the one-off T20 with a certain elan that would set the gold standard for T20I cricket in the three years to follow, as they stormed to the World No.1 ranking and put distance between themselves and the rest. England were thrashed by nine wickets, commencing a run from Pakistan which would see them win 29 of 33 T20Is, including 11 consecutive series triumphs.They’ve come back down to earth with an unseemly splat in the 18 months since – that No.1 ranking is certainly long gone – but a younger side that still retains several characters from those heady days may wonder if they can hit the restart button and go again once more. Babar Azam, now leading the side, and the world T20 batsman rankings, has another opportunity to put his stamp on a team one imagines he’ll feature in for much of the next decade. A series win here would certainly be the most gratifying way to have the last laugh.Mohammad Rizwan gets a piggyback from Shaheen Shah Afridi•Getty Images

England WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWLLL

Tom Banton’s breathtaking form for Somerset in the 2019 Blast catapulted him into the national team, but in his (admittedly very brief) stint at the top, it hasn’t quite clicked for him. Fifty-six runs in three T20Is against New Zealand were followed by an underwhelming ODI start, and while eight international innings is no kind of sample size, his most recent T20 numbers don’t make the best reading either. The PSL was an immense struggle for him, managing just 74 runs at the top of the innings – 34 of them in one rain-curtailed 12-over match – even as his opener partner Kamran Akmal finished as the seventh-highest runscorer in the league. He ended up being benched, and while the Old Trafford surface won’t quite be the same as any in Pakistan, he will face some of the bowlers who troubled him there. It’s one to watch out for.ALSO READ: Eoin Morgan challenges young players to seize World Cup rolesBanton’s Peshawar Zalmi teammate Haider Ali was one of Pakistan’s few PSL success stories with the bat, with 239 runs at a strike rate a shade under 160. It followed on from a decent World Cup but it’s not just the numbers when it comes to the 19-year old. The obviously freakish talent, both as striker and stroker of the ball, has led him to reap rewards in T20 cricket as well as first-class. He said recently his batting idol was Rohit Sharma, and while any comparisons would be ludicrous, you can see why the Indian opener is the ideal cricketer for Haider to seek to emulate. The T20 World Cup’s postponement might prove ideal both for him and Pakistan, for if he is to emulate his domestic success on the international stage, he’d be among the first names on the team sheet.

With Jason Roy ruled out by a side strain, Dawid Malan appears set to get another opportunity, having scored 103 not out from 51 balls in his last-but-one outing in New Zealand. Old Trafford has historically favoured spin bowling, so Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are set to resume their fruitful alliance. England have a wealth of all-round options to bulk out their middle order, but Jonny Bairstow, Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings, who enjoyed a productive run against Ireland, may need to provide the batting ballast.England (possible): 1 Tom Banton 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk) 3 Dawid Malan 4 Eoin Morgan (capt) 5 Sam Billings 6 Moeen Ali 7 Tom Curran 8 Dawid Willey 9 Chris Jordan 10 Adil Rashid 11 Saqib MahmoodA dearth of spinners isn’t exactly a problem for Pakistan, with Shadab Khan one of as many as five potential options Pakistan could line up with. Rizwan’s brilliant Test series may be enough for him to retain his T20 slot even with Sarfaraz Ahmed poised to make a first appearance for Pakistan in nearly a year.Pakistan (possible): 1 Babar Azam (capt), 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Shadab Khan, 4 Haider Ali, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Mohammad Rizwan/Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 7 Iftikhar Ahmed, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Shaheen Afridi

In T20s at Old Trafford since 2017, the overall run rate has been 7.98 runs per over, suggesting 160 might be a par score. Rain is expected through much of the day, but should clear in good time for the game to get underway at 6pm. Persistent rain over the week will mean conditions are damp, which could result in a slow outfield. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see Pakistan open with a spinner, as they did to great success while on that jolly T20 streak.

Stats and trivia

• Shoaib Malik is 108 runs away from becoming the first non-West Indian to score 10,000 T20 runs. He needs 31 more to surpass Brendon McCullum, who sits on 9,922.
• In all T20s at Old Trafford since 2017, spinners have conceded 1.3 fewer runs per over than seamers. Their economy rate is 7.27, while seamers have seen their overs go for 8.57.

“This is another opportunity for guys who potentially sit outside that 15 to present their best case, moving forward, for winter tours and the World Cup next year. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often when we have our squad at full strength”
England skipper Eoin Morgan challenges his side to make the most of their chances

Leicestershire 177 for 6 (Delany 68, Lilley 50) beat Durham 147 for 8 by 30 runsLeicestershire chalked up their first win in this year’s Vitality Blast, half-centuries from Gareth Delany and Arron Lilley helping them on their way to a comfortable 30-run victory over a Durham side which has now lost all three matches played.With this year’s Vitality Blast being a ten-game competition – Leicestershire’s first two games, against Derbyshire and Lancashire, were rained off, while Durham lost to Lancashire and Nottinghamshire – there was already something of a ‘must-win’ feel about the match.Batting first after winning the toss, Leicestershire quickly lost Harry Dearden, caught at cover after skying an attempted drive at Paul Coughlin, but Ireland international Delany, regularly clearing his front leg and targeting the off-side, hit the ball cleanly from the start.He was fortunate not to be stumped when he advanced down the wicket to left-arm spinner Liam Trevaskis, wicket-keeper Stuart Poynter failing to gather the ball cleanly, but otherwise gave no chances in going to his half-century off 35 balls, including six fours and two sixes. He had made 68, from 45 deliveries, before Trevaskis finally got his man, top-edging a straightforward catch to Scott Steel short fine leg in the 13th over.The momentum was maintained by Lilley, and in some style. The Lancastrian also had a moment of fortune, on 17, when Rimmington at mid-off was unable to hold a hard-hit drive off the bowling off Brydon Carse, but hit two sixes and five fours in going to his 50 off 33 balls as the Foxes posted a challenging 177 for 6.Needing nine runs an over, Durham struggled from the start. Leicestershire’s seamers judged the wicket well, taking the pace off the ball, and the spinners, led by left-armer Callum Parkinson, maintained the pressure. The key wicket was that of Alex Lees, and while the big left-hander could consider himself unlucky when having made 36 he pulled a delivery from Will Davis straight into the hands of George Rhodes at deep square leg, the pressure was already beginning to tell.Parkinson, Leicestershire’s top wicket-taker in last season’s T20 Blast, picked up three wickets, the last a brilliant caught and bowled to dismiss Carse, and having impressed with the bat, Delany also demonstrated his all-round abilities with some useful leg-spin.