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Alex Hales will return to the Sydney Thunder for the Big Bash as he becomes the first overseas player to sign a new deal with the league ahead of what is expected to be the arrival of a significant number of England players.Tom Banton (Brisbane Heat) and Tom Curran (Sydney Sixers) are so far the only other confirmed overseas names for the tournament but they had existing deals with their clubs.Hales, who was dropped from the England side shortly before the 2019 World Cup after receiving a ban for using recreational drugs and has not played since, was the second-highest run scorer in last season’s BBL with 576 at 38.40 and a strike-rate of 146.93.”To get the chance to come back is exciting because we’re at the start of something,” Hales said. “I think the next two-to-three years is going to be very special for Sydney Thunder as a franchise. I really believe that, and to know I’m coming back to that means a lot.”It is expected that England names will feature strongly in this season’s BBL. ESPNcricinfo previously reported that Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy were lining up deals while Dawid Malan, the current No.1-ranked T20I batsman, is also in the mix and Liam Livingstone is tipped to head back to the Perth Scorchers.However, with England in talks about a limited-overs tour of South Africa in November it remains to be seen the availability of those who would be part of the squad. Overseas players arriving for the BBL will need to undergo two weeks of quarantine when they reach Australia amid the Covid-19 protocols.Shane Bond, the Sydney Thunder coach, said: “There’s a whole range of reasons to be excited about Alex extending his contract – and they’re exactly why we signed him in the first place. He is a great player who is available for the entire tournament.”He played brilliantly for us last year, but he was brilliant on-and-off the field. He was hugely popular with the players and support staff – and that’s how Alex is viewed wherever he plays.”We have some very talented players in our squad, and it is important to have those professionals, like Alex, around so they can learn off them as well. Everyone in the team is looking forward to having him back, he’s a brilliant bloke.”The revised fixture list for the BBL – which is currently due to start on December 3 – is yet to be confirmed by Cricket Australia but there is a chance it will be played in rolling hubs around the country to navigate the various Covid-19 border restrictions.

Pakistan may have had four Test captains in just over three years, but the PCB CEO Wasim Khan is convinced the chopping and changing is over for now. Babar Azam, who replaced Azhar Ali as the captain earlier this month will “remain captain until Ehsan Mani and myself are here,” according to Khan.Speaking to YouTube channel , Khan said Azam had been appointed captain ” because he is our best batsman, young and mentally very strong and he himself wanted to take on the responsibility for all three formats. He has a good future. That’s why when the time came we felt that Azhar Ali had done his best but now was the time to start grooming Babar and make him Test captain as well.”The declaration from Khan comes as something of a departure from the PCB’s policy on captaincy. Sarfaraz Ahmed was given the role on a series-by-series basis for much of his tenure, while Ali never received long-term guarantees in the manner Azam looks to have secured before he takes charge in his first Test match.Azam was appointed white-ball captain last year when Ahmed was removed as all-format skipper, while Ali took over Test match duties. But with Ali struggling to recover from a loss of personal form and Azam’s star continuing to rise, the temptation to settle the captaincy question for potentially a significant period of time became too tempting for the PCB to ignore.Khan’s commitment to keep Azam at the helm until this administration is in charge lends further credence to the idea Pakistan wished to put an end to questions about the man at the helm.The Pakistan team is currently observing quarantine in New Zealand before a three-match T20I series and a two-match Test series from December 18 to January 5th. Seven members of the squad tested positive upon arrival in New Zealand, with the team copping a rebuke from New Zealand’s director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield for not observing quarantine regulations. After that, New Zealand said the players’ compliance had improved significantly.

When he featured in the team sheet for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan in Mount Maunganui, Ross Taylor became the most-capped New Zealand player, with his 438th international appearance. A standing ovation from his team-mates made it “a special occasion”, and Taylor marked the occasion with a rescue act after his team was stuttering on 13 for 2.”Every time you represent your country, it’s a special moment,” Taylor said after the game. “To represent them 400-odd times and to get the record, it’s not what I play for, but it’s nice to have got it and a special occasion. Got some nice words from BJ (Watling) and the team this morning and it felt a little bit like my 100th Test [he now has 104], going out to bat today with a standing ovation. I didn’t hear what the ground announcer said, but he must have told the crowd, because I’m sure they wouldn’t have known.”Related

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Pakistan won the toss, chose to field, and Shaheen Afridi sent back Tom Latham and Tom Blundell with just 13 runs on the board. Taylor then shared a 120-run stand with Kane Williamson for the third wicket. He brought up his half-century off 127 balls and added another 20 off 24 before becoming Afridi’s third victim. New Zealand ended the day with 222 for 3 in 87 overs, not quite able to break free but denying the Pakistanis wickets, though dropped catches made it worse for them.”It was difficult early on and you expect that on the day-one wicket. It definitely flattened out but probably a little bit two paced at times,” Taylor said. “I am sure it going to be bit more uneven in the next couple of days with the wind and whatnot. The way I and Kane got through that it was nice and pleasing. But you’ve got to give it to Shaheen as he bowled outstandingly well and [Mohammad] Abbas really didn’t give us much. So I had to either try and take them on or just try and get through it, and that’s the plan we had.”Comparing the Pakistan bowlers to the West Indians, who had visited recently, Taylor said, “They [Pakistan] were a lot more disciplined and got the ball in good areas for a lot longer. West Indies, they did bowl well at times but weren’t as consistent as this lot (who are) probably a little bit more experienced.”When Yasir Shah was bowling, we were on our toes. Quite often the spinners in New Zealand don’t bowl much on day one or at all, so it shows what type of wicket it is. Obviously, we are happy with where we are at 222 for 3 and would have taken that at the start of the day. But it’s how we how we turn up tomorrow and get through that first hour or two that really dictates how good a day this really was.”Yasir Shah is a world-class bowler and even the way he bowled today, just trying to get through his overs, pick and choose his moments when he tried to attack… We’ve got a bit of luck and we’re fortunate to get through that stage. But he’s definitely going to play a big part tomorrow and whenever we bat again.”

James Anderson believes Sri Lanka may have a “slight advantage” going into their Test series against England later this month.With Sri Lanka playing a two-Test series in South Africa and England’s red-ball specialists having not played since August, Anderson accepts his side’s preparation for this series is “not ideal”.Instead of the period of acclimatisation which would normally precede such a series, England have had to content themselves with preparing in a large marquee at the national performance centre in Loughborough. They will also go into the first Test, which starts on January 14, without playing a competitive warm-up match.England’s touring party are currently serving a quarantine period in individual hotel rooms in Hambantota. Subject to further negative tests, scheduled to be carried out on Tuesday morning, they will resume training that afternoon.Related

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“The whole situation is not ideal for us,” Anderson said. “We have not got a long preparation [period] for this series and don’t have a lot of practice for the first Test, so it’s slightly unusual in that respect.”We just have to make the best of it, hit the ground running if and when we get out of quarantine. It’s not going to be ideal and we know Sri Lanka have been playing Test cricket which maybe gives them a slight advantage. It’s something we are going to have to cope with as best we can and be right on the money.”How much of an advantage Sri Lanka actually have is open to debate. They only played three Tests in 2020 and haven’t played one at home since August 2019. They lost the first Test in South Africa by an innings – their first international match in nine months – and have conceded a first-innings lead of 145 runs in the second.A more pertinent issue for England might be picking the shape of their side for this Test series. Two of the architects of victory in 2018 – Ben Stokes and Adil Rashid – are absent, while Jofra Archer has been rested. The pillars of England’s success at home, Anderson and Stuart Broad, didn’t play a Test together on the previous tour to Sri Lanka and claimed only one wicket between them, leading Anderson to admit that he had felt like “a bit of a spare part” on that tour.Joe Root has also confirmed that, at this stage, the plan is for Jos Buttler to keep wicket in the series. Ben Foakes was England’s keeper when they won in 2018 and was named player of the series after finishing as the leading run-scorer and impressing behind the stumps with eight catches and two stumps, but is set to be Buttler’s reserve.While Anderson’s long-term record in Sri Lanka is modest – he has taken 12 wickets in six Tests there at an average of 46.08 – he insists he is looking forward to the challenge on surfaces which may offer him little. He is buoyed, in particular, by the knowledge that he claimed a five-for in Galle – the venue for both Tests on this tour – in 2012. He also knows that, with a four-Test series in India following on the heels of the Sri Lanka series, he is unlikely to play in every match.Covid precautions on England’s arrival made the tourists feel “really safe”, Anderson said•AFP/Getty Images

“The fact we’ve not played any cricket as a Test side for quite a few months means we’re all hungry to get out there and start playing again,” he said. “They’re obviously difficult tours for seamers. But it doesn’t make it less exciting; it’s just a different challenge. There’s reverse swing; the new ball does swing. Our job might be about shorter spells and [fewer] overs in the day.”I have had success in Galle. There are opportunities to take wickets out here. It’s not all doom and gloom. We’ve just got to work really hard and find the right ways of getting those opportunities when they come.”I’ve got myself in really good shape. I’d say I’m in as good shape as I have been in my 30s, if not better. I feel absolutely fantastic. We’ve had quite a long time off, so I’ve been getting stronger in the gym and keeping fit.”The six Test matches are in such quick succession that it’d be silly to think that the bowlers will get through all six. There might be some rotation as we go forward.”While Anderson admitted England’s arrival in Sri Lanka was “unusual – the squad were met by dozens of officials in hazmat suits who ensure the tourists and their belongings were disinfected – there were no complaints. Instead, Anderson recognised the concern of authorities in Sri Lanka and any visitors from the UK, where Covid-19 is more prevalent, and said England welcomed the thorough approach. Indeed, with England having abandoned their two most recent tours, such measures might have been designed, in part, to reassure the tourists.”It made us feel really safe,” Anderson said. “With Sri Lanka having fairly low cases, they’re taking every precaution to make sure they stay safe over here, so it was understandable those measures were taken. Yes, it looked unusual, but it’s better to be safe in this situation and we totally understood and got on with it.”

Mitchell Starc will not play in the BBL final for the Sydney Sixers despite being available after he and the Sixers came to a mutual agreement that the club should stick with the squad that has secured them a home final.Starc has not played in the BBL since December 2014 but made a surprising decision to sign a contract with the Sixers ahead of the tournament, despite a heavy international schedule over the summer, with the possibility to play in the BBL finals.He played all four Tests against India and required scans on his hamstring in the aftermath of the fourth Test loss. He was subsequently cleared but after discussions with the Sixers it has been agreed that he won’t come into the side which qualified straight for the final with a convincing victory over Perth Scorchers.Related

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“The guys have done so well this year and I think it’s in everyone’s best interests to stick with the guys that have worked so hard to get to this point,” Starc said in a statement. “I’ve always felt part of the club and I am right behind them for another big win on Saturday night.”Sixers general manager Jodie Hawkins said Starc and Nathan Lyon will be involved in an off-field capacity at the SCG on Saturday night and the club is comfortable with the decision to leave Starc out.”Mitch is, and always will be, a big part of the Sixers family,” Hawkins said. “Circumstances meant he and Nathan Lyon were not able to join us this season but they are both very much part of our set up and will represent the club off the field on Saturday night.”Our current squad have done an incredible job all season to qualify for the final while playing every game on the road and Mitch and the club are really comfortable with this decision.”Starc will now focus on preparations for the upcoming Test tour of South Africa although that has yet to be confirmed.

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12.35pm: And that’s a wrap

India cruised to victory in a little over a session on the fourth day at Chepauk, Axar Patel collecting a five-wicket haul on debut as England went down by a crushing margin of 317 runs – emphatic retribution after the tourists had gone 1-0 up on this ground less than a week earlier.Having seen his side dominate the match from toss to finishing tape, Virat Kohli’s satisfaction was as palpable at his disgruntlement after the first Test. On a classically subcontinental surface, England twice could barely match the individual contribution of India’s first-innings centurion, Rohit Sharma, and were left with precious few scraps with which to slink off to Ahmedabad ahead of the day-night encounter.The only slight regret for another enthusiastic crowd came in the absence of a R Ashwin landmark for them to acknowledge – he finished with match figures of 8 for 96, narrowly short of becoming only the fourth man to score a century and take ten-for in a Test.

12.12pm: This is England

Not even Sheffield steel will do the job here, as Joe Root falls to Axar Patel for the second time in the match – a ripping delivery that prances to hit the top glove with Root propping forwards. England’s captain tarries a while, looking at the pitch and grinning, knowing he hasn’t done too much wrong there. But he has to depart for 33, top score in the innings so far (although it won’t stop his Test average slipping below 50 again). This is, or was, England under Root, oscillating wildly from success to failure, and their winning run on the road is about to come to a juddering halt in Chennai. India two wickets away.

11.30am: Lunch

R Ashwin struck in the first session on the fourth day•BCCI

India pocketed four wickets in the morning session as they look to round up England’s remaining batsman and move level in the series. R Ashwin claimed two of them, to move within sight of a ten-wicket match haul to go with his hundred, as only Joe Root managed an extended stay at the crease.To the delight of the Chepauk crowd, Ashwin struck with his first ball as Dan Lawrence gave him the charge and was nutmegged, Rishabh Pant pulling off a difficult leg-side stumping. Ashwin then tied down Ben Stokes for 38 balls of near-strokeless trench warfare, before finally having him caught at slip via an inside edge – the tenth time has dismissed England’s allrounder in Tests.Axar Patel returned to immediate success later in the session, as Ollie Pope sent a slog-sweep straight to deep midwicket, and although Mohammed Siraj dropped Root, the underused Kuldeep Yadav finally found a moment to enjoy as Ben Foakes miscued another sweep for Yadav’s first Test wicket since the SCG 2019.

11.25am: Can Kuldeep clean up?

Sidharth Monga writes: Amid the festival-like atmosphere in Chennai, one man will be slightly concerned. Hailed not long ago as India’s No. 1 overseas spinner, Kuldeep Yadav is playing his first Test in over two years. Over recent months, there have been several times when you would have thought he will get a game, but the team combinations have demanded either a better batsman or a spinner taking the ball the other way. And now that he has got a game, he has not yet taken a wicket out of the 16 that have fallen. He got just six overs in the first innings, and it took until the 43rd for him to be introduced in the second.On the sidelines, Washington Sundar has been practising with the pink ball. There might be cause to reinforce the lower-order batting come the day-night Test. Kuldeep will hate to go back to having to wait for his next chance. With the remaining four wickets, it will be great if he can show the team management evidence of his utility. And just then, Mohammed Siraj drops what could have been Kuldeep’s first Test wicket in two years. That’s how luck rolls at times.