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Donald Carr, the former Derbyshire and England batsman who went on to become one of the most prominent administrators of the post-war era, has died at the age of 89

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2016Donald Carr, the former Derbyshire and England batsman who went on to become one of the most prominent administrators of the post-war era, has died at the age of 89.In a first-class career that spanned from 1945 to 1968, Carr scored nearly 20,000 runs and claimed 328 wickets with his left-arm spin for Oxford University, Derbyshire and England, whom he captained at Madras in 1951-52 in his second and final appearance.He also played in the third “Victory Test” against Australia in 1945, alongside the likes of Len Hutton, Wally Hammond, Cyril Washbrook and Bill Edrich, and was a notable footballer too, winning his Blue at Oxford, and playing in front of 100,000 people at Wembley in two Amateur Cup final appearances for Pegasus in the 1950s.Carr captained Derbyshire between 1955 and 1962, and was named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1960.However, it was his subsequent career in administration for which Carr will be remembered. He was assistant secretary of MCC from 1962 to 1974, during which time he was privy to one of the most contentious moments in cricket history, the omission and subsequent selection of Basil D’Oliveira for the tour of South Africa in 1968. He went on to become secretary of the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) and the Cricket Council until 1986.”Cricket has lost one of its greatest friends,” said Colin Graves, the ECB chairman. “Someone who gave a lifetime of service to our game; as a cricketer, a captain, a club secretary, an England tour manager, and, of course, as a senior administrator – serving MCC and the TCCB with distinction in a leadership role as the game moved into the modern, professional era; and always meeting the many difficult challenges he faced during this period with his customary good humour and charm.”This is deeply sad news for all Donald’s many cricketing friends and former colleagues and team-mates across the domestic and international game. He will be hugely missed by those who worked and played with him and we send our condolences and sympathies to all in the Carr family.”The President of MCC, Roger Knight, said: “Donald’s career in cricket, especially at Lord’s, is unlikely ever to be surpassed. As a cricketer, he captained both his university and his county, and after turning to administration became Assistant Secretary (Cricket) of MCC, and Secretary of the Cricket Council and of TCCB from their formation in 1974.”His period of office included the supervision of the first three World Cups in England, the advent of one-day cricket and the introduction of sponsorship in the professional game.”Donald’s commitment to cricket, his skills – both on the field and in the committee room – spanned more than 40 years, from his first-class debut in 1945, for England against Australia in the Victory “Test” at Lord’s, to his retirement in 1986.”He also served on MCC committees, on the Middlesex committee and as captain of Cross Arrows Cricket Club. He will be deeply and sorely missed across the cricket world.”The MCC flag, over the Main Ground, and the Cross Arrows flag, over the Nursery Ground, have been lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect to a man who devoted so much of his life to the game.”

NatWest will become the major ECB sponsor from next year, taking over the branding of the various teams which are currently under the Waitrose deal that will finish early in 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2016NatWest will become the major ECB sponsor from next year, taking over the branding of the various teams which are currently under the Waitrose deal that will finish early in 2017, alongside its current sponsorships which include the T20 Blast and the CricketForce volunteering scheme.The bank has been heavily involved in English cricket since 1980 and the new four-year deal will take them beyond 40 years of association with the sport which began with the domestic 60-over NatWest Trophy.The shirt part of the deal – which includes all England teams – begins at the start of the busiest international summer which includes the Champions Trophy, Women’s World Cup, full tours by South Africa and West Indies and a visit by Ireland at the start of the season.David Wheldon, the chief marketing officer at NatWest, said: “Ever since we first established the NatWest Trophy in conjunction with the ECB in 1980, cricket has been ingrained in the DNA of NatWest and I am delighted that we will be re-invigorating this partnership by becoming the ECB’s first ever Principal Partner.”NatWest are also currently the title sponsors of the T20 Blast and that will continue for 2017 which was the final year of a four-year agreement that began in 2014.There is extensive debate about the future shape of England’s domestic T20 with a recent report saying that a new, franchise-based tournament could begin as early as 2018.One suggestion is that it could be played in conjunction with an 18-team county T20 that would retain its position mainly on Friday nights which has proved successful for some counties in boosting attendances.

Ian Bell’s accession to the Warwickshire captaincy was not meant to turn out like this. Instead of an anticipated title challenge, he is now haunted by vague fears of relegation, unthinkable in April

David Hopps at Edgbaston16-Aug-2016
ScorecardIan Bell battled for more than two hours but could not prevent defeat•Getty Images

Ian Bell’s accession to the Warwickshire captaincy was not meant to turn out like this. Instead of an anticipated title challenge, he is now haunted by vague fears of relegation, unthinkable in April. Instead of an inspired return to the England side, he has made no immediate comeback to a deeply unimpressive England middle order and is so consumed by the job he has taken on late in his career that the runs are not coming easily.The Warwickshire captaincy was a childhood dream for Bell ever since he sprinted onto the outfield at Lord’s to celebrate the county’s 1993 NatWest Trophy win under the individualistic captaincy of Dermot Reeve. For a proven England player to return to the county ranks with ambitions so sharp, and good years still ahead, was something for Warwickshire to relish, but the job is proving an onerous one.Bell challenged Warwickshire to bat out the final day against Surrey – to chase 396 for victory, from 2 for 1 overnight, felt out of the question – but the day he called the biggest of the season fell Surrey’s way by 227 runs with 20 overs to spare. Surrey have passed Warwickshire in the table and have the look of an improving side with much to commend them. If either of the bottom two stir it is now Warwickshire and Durham who have most to fear.

Boys put their bodies on the line – Batty

Gareth Batty, the Surrey captain, praised his team commitment over the four days and especially their final-day efforts.
“It was a magnificent performance. I’ve just said to the boys in the dressing-room I couldn’t ask for any more from any individual which, from a captaincy point of view, is just a wonderful place to be.
“The boys have been absolutely magnificent for the last six weeks, today they were out there diving on a hard square and putting their bodies on the line. We are nearing that time of year where traditionally we are pretty good and we are showing it again. On the flatter pitches we are putting in some wonderful performances.”
Meanwhile Dougie Brown, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, was critical of his team’s batting.
“There were a number of soft dismissals today which we couldn’t afford as we were already behind the game due to our first-innings indiscipline. If you analyse the first five dismissals of our specialist batsmen today I think you would say there was ill-discipline attached to all of them. We need to find a way to apply all the things we do in practice in match-situations.”

At least Bell conceded his own wicket in most honourable fashion during a compelling duel with Gareth Batty, finally unpicked at short leg after making 32 in two-and-a-quarter stubborn hours, survival his only undertaking. He managed a couple of peaceful off-side drives, but the overriding image was of Bell under attack from an angry seagull as Batty squawked, flapped and smiled his way through his overs, finding substantial bounce and turn from a wearing final-day surface. This was surely the best 2 for 27 of the season, earned by 21 antagonistic overs. This has also been another excellent Edgbaston pitch.Surrey’s spin pair, Batty and Zafar Ansari, are both being monitored as potential England tourists in India and Bangladesh and they make a contrasting pair, not just because of offspin and slow left arm but in personality. Ansari has a stately stroll and flick back of floppy hair that smacks of old-time pedigree whereas Batty is waspish and combative, every grin – and he grins often when he is on top – the possible precursor to something more quarrelsome.Suggestions that a spinner fast heading towards his 39th birthday should add to his seven Tests, the last of them 11 years ago, naturally invite suspicion, but contenders are conspicuous by their absence and, if England opt for a specialist finger spinner then on this evidence Batty is better than anybody. That he would relish the challenge could be taken for granted.For the first 40 minutes of the morning, Bell’s call to arms was answered, but the loss of three wickets in six overs then told of a laborious day ahead. The nightwatchman Chris Wright backed up too far and Batty threw him out from mid-on with a celebratory speech of triumph. Varun Chopra, Bell’s predecessor, whose move to Essex has already been confirmed, edged Mark Footitt’s sixth ball of the innings to wicketkeeper Steven Davies. To lose Jonathan Trott, alongside whom Bell stood firm so often for England, was the biggest jolt of all, Stuart Meaker producing a good one to have him caught at the wicket.Three more wickets fell in the afternoon session, not just Bell, but Laurie Evans, who was forced back by Ansari and had his off-stump knocked out by one that turned. Rikki Clarke fell in the final over before tea, bowled as he offered no shot to Sam Curran. The tail succumbed easily enough after tea, the victory suitably confirmed by Batty when he had Oliver Hannon-Dalby lbw for nought, six Surrey bowlers taking wickets in a strong team display.Gareth Batty celebrates the wicket of Ian Bell•Getty Images

Bell was omitted by England after averaging barely 20 in his last 23 Test innings, nine of them single figures. The Warwickshire captaincy seemed a perfect challenge and he has thrown himself into it with gusto. He could have taken quite a narrow role, concentrating on making runs, changing fields and preserving energy to keep his England ambitions alive. Instead, his authority is strikingly wide for a captain. For a player who has not skippered since age-group cricket – apart from a stand-in appearance or two – it must be particularly burdensome.He is taking a central role in recruitment and was influential in the signing of Olly Stone from Northants, a bowler who – if he stays fit – can bring new verve to their attack. Warwickshire’s academy, too, must surely be something that troubles him because he came that way himself, but it has not produced a player of substance for Warwickshire since Chris Woakes a decade or so ago. To lose Woakes regularly now to England – a consummate professional who would naturally buy into his ideas – has been a deserved career progression for Woakes, but ill-timed for Bell as he seeks to implant his beliefs on a squad that is arguably too unwieldy and too set in its ways to respond in the way he wishes.

West Indies T20I captain Carlos Brathwaite has urged newcomers Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran to continue doing what they have in domestic cricket ahead of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan in the UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2016West Indies T20I captain Carlos Brathwaite has urged newcomers Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran to play their natural game ahead of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.Both Powell and Pooran had promising performances in CPL 2016. Powell, the 23-year old batsman from Jamaica, scored 228 runs in 13 matches for Tallawahs. Pooran, the 20-year old wicketkeeper-batsman from Trinidad, played for the Barbados Tridents and belted 217 runs in 10 matches at 27.12 and a strike rate of 197.27. Pooran also effected eight dismissals behind the stumps.”Go there, express yourselves, continue to be exciting and eventually win games for the West Indies. It’s a big task to represent the West Indies, and away from home is probably a little easier because you don’t have family in the stands with that extra pressure,” Brathwaite advised. “You’re just surrounded by your team-mates and it’s a good team to be in at the moment, so it’s just about going there and continuing to do the things that they did to get themselves here and do it for longer periods – it’s a higher stage, more pressure, but I’m sure they can continue with it and do well.”Brathwaite also credited the selectors for ensuring that youngsters got the best exposure possible. “The selectors were very big in ensuring that some young players are blooded and rubbed shoulders with some of the best T20 players in the world so we can continue our legacy of being dominant in this format, and those were two of the guys who fit the bill at this point in time,” he said.West Indies were in Dubai earlier this year when they held a preparatory camp ahead of the 2016 World T20, which they went on to win, so while they might know a bit about what to expect from the surfaces, Brathwaite acknowledged that the weather at this time of the year was a lot harsher.”It wasn’t as hot early in the year, but, apparently, we’re smack dab in the middle of their summer, so it can get very, very hot,” he said. “It’s for the players to prepare well, manage themselves well off the field, rehydration-wise, get enough rest, and each and every one of us is a professional and we know what our body needs to be an optimal thing to perform, so it’s just about us doing things we do off the field, planning well, preparing well, and evidently performing well when the games come.”The first T20I will take place in Dubai on September 23. The T20Is will be followed by a three-match ODI series, before the tour concludes with three Tests. This is the first series for West Indies after the WICB sacked coach Phil Simmons earlier this week. The team will be under the supervision of former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner for this tour, along with assistant coaches Henderson Springer and Roddy Estwick.

Look out Division One, the Essex boys are coming. Ryan ten Doeschate afterwards played down the effect his captaincy has had on Essex winning promotion

Alan Gardner at Chelmsford13-Sep-2016
ScorecardJames Foster embraces Ryan ten Doeschate as the Division Two title is clinched•Getty Images

Look out Division One, the Essex boys are coming. Ryan ten Doeschate afterwards played down the effect his captaincy has had on Essex winning promotion but he led from the front to haul his side over the line in their penultimate match of the season, the Division Two title finally secured to raucous approval on a sweltering afternoon in Chelmsford. Ten Doeschate struck the single that took Essex to 250 and a second batting point – enough to move them clear of all challengers – and his fourth hundred of a most fulfilling first season in charge duly followed.The Championship has been a matter of delayed gratification for Essex fans, having seen their side finish third in each of the last three years, and they had to endure one or two trying moments against second-from-bottom Glamorgan before the job was completed. With only one promotion spot going this season, there was no margin for error but they will now return to Division One for the first time since 2010. A trip to Canterbury next week will serve only as a coronation.”We made it hard for ourselves today and it would have been a lot nicer to fly past the winning post but as much as we tried to avoid it, this game was really about getting those bonus points and making sure we didn’t have to go to Kent with any work to do,” ten Doeschate said. “Everyone’s delighted, it’s a bit weird winning it on day two…but I think it’s more a sense of relief up there and a great achievement to achieve what we set out to do at the start of the year.”Promotion was the stated goal and, in Chris Silverwood’s first campaign as head coach, Essex produced their most dominant Championship cricket in more than a decade. They have led practically from start to finish (Kent spent a week on top in July having played a game more), their six victories so far all by the imposing margins of either an innings or ten wickets.Three of those came as the season approached its climax as Essex, in ten Doeschate’s words, carefully “eliminated” their rivals one by one. After Kent were unexpectedly beaten by Northamptonshire last week, they came into this match knowing that bonus points could be enough; five were needed to extinguish Kent’s chances, six in the event that Sussex took maximum points from their game with Worcestershire. Essex were wobbling at 85 for 5 shortly after Sussex were dismissed for 229 in their first innings at Hove but ten Doeschate put on a century standard with Adam Wheater to settle the nerves.It was fitting that ten Doeschate was the man who made sure of things. Since July, his run of scores reads: 91, 52, 25, 83, 109, 60, 86, 109* and 109*; in the process he became the first Essex captain to pass 1000 runs for the season since Ronnie Irani in 2006. Irani, whose return as cricket committee chairman last year led to the winter shake-up in management, would doubtless approve of such talismanic displays.Ten Doeschate was also the man who scored the dramatic last-day hundred to fire Essex up the last time they were promoted, in 2009, but he has experienced enough near-misses over recent years to make this a moment to savour – even if he was keen to downplay his own role.”I think the really rewarding thing about this year was the fact there was only one promotion spot available and we really made a pact that we were going to go for it,” he said. “To achieve it – and it’s only Division Two and we’re only the tenth best team in the country at the moment – is so rewarding, and being captain as well, it is probably my proudest and biggest achievement at Essex.”Subconsciously we’ve tried to be more relaxed and place more faith in the players, and that’s shown in the belief guys have shown in themselves. A year ago, or two years ago there would have been stages, in the same position, where we would have folded and the belief in the camp this year has been a lot better. I personally think the captaincy thing is overrated, I believe it’s more the environment you can create. I don’t really have too much to say on it but things have clicked pretty much from the first game.”Essex have barely clicked so well in four-day cricket since they won Division Two way back in 2002. Only in the middle of the season, when they lost twice in three games, to Leicestershire and Gloucestershire, did they falter. “Since then, we’ve been really switched on, learned quickly from the mistakes we’ve made. Four-day cricket is never easy but we’ve pretty much been faultless over the last five or six weeks,” ten Doeschate said.It has, as the captain was keen to stress, been a collective effort. Essex have the leading wicket-taker in the division, in Graham Napier, as well as two batsman with more than 1000 Championship runs (Tom Westley and ten Doeschate) and a third, Nick Browne, just shy of the mark; the team have racked up more than 500 on five occasions (twice passing 600), something no other Division Two county has done more than twice. Oh, and Alastair Cook’s 643 runs at 91.85 have helped, too.The strategy that Essex set out at the end of last season has been followed with doctrinal zeal. Silverwood was appointed with the aim of getting Essex into Division One of the Championship and he has succeeded where Paul Grayson failed so often, at the first time of asking.Quarter-final defeats in the NatWest Blast and Royal London Cup were uncomfortably reminiscent of the Grayson era but, while limited-overs cricket is important to the club’s finances, Essex believe that being in the top-tier of the Championship is the best way to retain the talent they bring through. The XI for this match, which included the returning Wheater and Varun Chopra in anticipation of Division One challenges ahead, might be considered validation of such a strategy, with only ten Doeschate and Kent-born David Masters requiring honorary Essex boy status.The Championship side has come together as the perfect blend of youth and experience, at least as far as Division Two goes. How they will fare in Division One without Napier and Masters – whose retirement seems imminent – is one of the imponderables that Essex regulars will return to gnaw at periodically over the winter months.For now, Essex have their moment in the late-September sun. On an oppressively hot afternoon, a blissed-out crowd slowly swelled beyond four figures, applauding singles and cheering boundaries as ten Doeschate and his predecessor, James Foster, took them to the ECG equivalent of nirvana. “Come on you Essex boys!” was the cry, before ten Doeschate and Foster embraced. They are coming.

Devendra Bishoo rattled Pakistan with a career-best 8 for 49 to skittle them for 123 and leave West Indies with an outside chance of victory

The Report by Sirish Raghavan16-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDevendra Bishoo collected career-best figures of 8 for 49•AFP

A 16-wicket day brought the Dubai day-night Test to life as Pakistan’s 400th Test swung one way and then the other. After Yasir Shah’s three wickets – which brought him a five-wicket haul and his 100th Test scalp – helped Pakistan secure a 222-run first-innings lead, Devendra Bishoo hit back with a career-best 8 for 49 to skittle Pakistan for 123 and leave West Indies with an outside chance of victory.West Indies lost Kraigg Brathwaite early in their chase of 346, before Leon Johnson and Darren Bravo shared a 60-run stand to lift the team. But Johnson’s late dismissal and Marlon Samuels’ early struggles against the legspin of Yasir served a reminder that West Indies still had an uphill task on the final day.Having declined to impose the follow-on, Pakistan chased quick runs and lost two early wickets before tea. Sami Aslam and Babar Azam added 57 off 70 balls after the interval to steady the innings and swiftly build the lead. But Bishoo then benefitted from some ambitious shots, and some good, spinning deliveries to rip through Pakistan, taking seven of the eight wickets that fell either side of the dinner break.With the score at 77 for 2 and the lead at 299, Azam played a loose cross-batted shot onto his stumps off Bishoo. Aslam played a late cut into the hands of Jermaine Blackwood at first slip and Misbah-ul-Haq was bowled after missing a slog sweep. The left-handed Mohammad Nawaz shouldered arms to his third ball, only to see a fizzing leg break cannon into his off stump. When Wahab Riaz miscued a slog sweep to Brathwaite at deep midwicket, Bishoo had his sixth of the innings. Jason Holder then had Yasir caught and bowled off the last ball before dinner.Bishoo wrapped up the innings within five balls of the resumption, getting Sarfraz Ahmed stumped, before hitting Mohammad Amir’s middle stump, his fourth bowled dismissal of the innings. That capped a collapse of eight wickets for 46 runs. Bishoo’s plunder and Pakistan’s slump still left West Indies with a daunting target, but they could hardly have dreamed of a better outcome at the start of the day.Day four had begun much as day three had done – with an early wicket for Yasir. A very full legbreak pitched just in line with the stumps and spun in before hitting the batsman’s pads. Dowrich had played across the line and missed.Bishoo and Holder then survived a stern short-ball examination from Amir and Wahab, putting on a 21-run stand that raised West Indies’ hopes of extending their resistance. That was not to be – Yasir got through Holder’s defences with a tossed-up googly and then bowled Miguel Cummins with a big-spinning leg break that evaded the batsman’s wild swipe. That was Yasir’s 100th Test wicket, in his 17th match, making him the joint-second fastest bowler to the mark. Nawaz finished the job in the next over. It had taken Pakistan just 14.5 overs to take the remaining four wickets, bowling West Indies out for 357.West Indies responded by making a couple of breakthroughs before tea. Shannon Gabriel trapped first-innings triple-centurion Azhar Ali in front for 2, a ball after Azhar had successfully reviewed a caught-behind decision. Then Asad Shafiq missed an attempted sweep off Bishoo and, while West Indies’ appeal for lbw was turned down, their review was successful.After tea, Gabriel and Cummins subjected Aslam and Azam to the type of short-ball barrage with which Pakistan had exposed the West Indies batsmen. While Aslam held his own, Azam struggled, showing a tendency to take his eyes off the ball. A Cummins bouncer hurried Azam into a top-edged hook that went high in the air between Gabriel at long leg and Brathwaite at deep-backward square. It was probably Brathwaite’s catch, but Gabriel went for it and could not hold on after a full-length dive.Cummins bounced Azam again in the next over and the batsman half-swayed and half-ducked while leaving his bat in the air. The ball brushed his glove on the way to the wicketkeeper, but Azam survived once again when replays revealed that the bowler had overstepped. Azam eventually got out to Bishoo, precipitating Pakistan’s collapse as the legspinner from Guyana went on the rampage. West Indies then moved to 95 for 2 by the close.While a wicket-filled day brought West Indies back into the match, they will require the balance to shift back in favour of the batsmen if they are to score the 251 more runs needed for victory on a fifth-day Dubai pitch.

KL Rahul and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will play in the next round of Ranji Trophy matches, with an eye on selection in the India side for the last three Tests against England

Arun Venugopal10-Nov-2016India opener KL Rahul and seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar will play the next round of Ranji Trophy matches beginning on November 13, after missing the major part of the New Zealand series with injuries.Bhuvneshwar confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he would turn out for Uttar Pradesh against Mumbai in Mysore, and Karnataka coach J Arun Kumar said Rahul would join the team on November 10 ahead of their Group B clash against Rajasthan in Vizianagaram. With the tournament nearing its home stretch, both teams, especially Uttar Pradesh who are third from the bottom in Group A, will welcome the return of key players.Shikhar Dhawan is likely to play the round beginning on November 21, when Delhi play Rajasthan in Wayanad. He made 1 and 17 in the only Test he played against New Zealand, in Kolkata, before sustaining a fracture in his left thumb after being struck twice by Trent Boult on the third day. He was subsequently ruled out of the third Test in Indore and the limited-overs contests.Rahul and Bhuvneshwar haven’t played competitive cricket for over a month, and will therefore be keen to prove their match fitness in the Ranji Trophy, in line with India coach Anil Kumble’s policy. Good performances there could put them in line for selection in India’s side for the last three Tests against England.Rahul’s most recent game was the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, where he injured his hamstring while running between the wickets. He missed the remaining two Tests and the subsequent five-match ODI series. He has since undergone rehabilitation before being picked for the game against Mumbai.Rahul had been in fine form prior to his injury, scoring a 158 in Jamaica and a half-century in St Lucia, before smashing an unbeaten 51-ball 110 in the first T20I against West Indies in Florida. He also had a productive tour of Zimbabwe in June, when he made his ODI debut and scored 196 runs in three matches, including a century.Bhuvneshwar picked up a back strain in the second Test, in Kolkata, where his five-for in the first innings gave India a substantial lead and set up a 178-run win. It was his second five-wicket haul in three matches – the first one came against West Indies in St Lucia, which was his first Test in over 19 months.

The Australia opener copped a blow while fielding at short leg on day three of the Sydney Test

Brydon Coverdale at the SCG05-Jan-2017Australia have withdrawn their opening batsman Matt Renshaw from the remainder of the Sydney Test due to concussion.Renshaw suffered two blows to the helmet during the first three days of the Test. On day one, while batting on the score of 91, Renshaw was hit on the grille when he failed to evade a bouncer from Mohammad Amir, although he was cleared at the time by team doctor Peter Brukner and batted on to complete his maiden Test century.On the third day, Renshaw was fielding at short leg when Pakistan batsman Sarfraz Ahmed attacked a delivery from spinner Steve O’Keefe, and Renshaw was again hit on the helmet. Although he stayed on the field until the end of the next over, Renshaw then headed to Australia’s rooms for assessment and reported that he was suffering from a headache.”Matthew Renshaw was struck on the helmet fielding close-in on Thursday afternoon and came off complaining of a headache,” Brukner said on the fourth morning. “He rested in the dressing room and then, when we returned to the hotel, we performed concussion tests and his cognitive, balance, co-ordination and reaction times were all within normal limits.”However, on Friday morning he was still symptomatic and so we have taken the decision to withdraw him from the match as he is suffering from concussion. We will continue to monitor him over the coming days and work with him to produce a gradual return to play.”As a long-form specialist at this stage of his career, Renshaw is not currently signed to a BBL team and after this Test would have had a quiet period anyway ahead of the tour of India next month.

England are a formidable batting side, and India need all their bowling nous for what is expected to be a high-scoring, series-deciding clash in Bangalore

The Preview by Akshay Gopalakrishnan31-Jan-2017

Match facts

Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)3:27

‘Time for DRS in T20s’ – Root

Big picture

It is not often that India have to contend with their batting being a weakness but ahead of the deciding T20I in Bangalore – which only gained that status courtesy Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling – that seems to be the case. The line-up is not quite as deep as it tends to be in Test cricket and their losing wickets a little too frequently hasn’t helped, leading to totals such as 147 and 144. A good partnership at the top of the order could do nicely with the trophy on the line.England have coped well despite injuries. David Willey was ruled out after damaging his left shoulder in the final ODI and Alex Hales had to board an early flight out with a broken hand. It is testament to their limited-overs bench strength that they go into the final match on an even keel. Chris Jordan’s death bowling has stood out while Moeen Ali has improved on his most economical four-over performance in consecutive matches.India haven’t yet won a bilateral T20 series against England, with their two-match series in 2012-13 ending in a stalemate, and England coming out on top in three previous one-off clashes. There was a distinct chance of this record staying intact but an umpiring error “shifted momentum” away from the visitors. Eoin Morgan has raised the issue with the match referee, but might well prefer to do most of his talking on the field so that England can return home with at least one piece of silverware after a long and difficult tour.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)India WLLWW
England LWLWLJasprit Bumrah’s slog-overs bowling could be key to India’s chances•AFP

In the spotlight

Jasprit Bumrah‘s intelligent variations of pace resulted in several swing-and-miss moments, leaving England frustrated in Nagpur. In two overs at the slog, he conceded just four runs, and took out Root and Buttler in the 20th to win the game. India would love a spell like that in Bangalore, a place notorious for producing run gluts.Sam Billings has not shown his full potential in this series. He could very well find himself back on the bench again when Hales regains his fitness. But with one more chance to impress the selectors – with the series up for grabs – his future could yet be in his control.

Team news

India don’t have reason to change much. Yuzvendra Chahal should keep his place in the XI, considering he will be on home turf having played for Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2014 in the IPL. Amit Mishra did well in Nagpur and would be hopeful of another start as well. Considering the must-win nature of this game, it is likely Rishabh Pant will spend his first series with Indian team on the sidelines.India (probable) 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Manish Pandey, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalEngland’s batsmen struggled on a sluggish pitch in Nagpur, but should relish the one at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, famous for its true-paced nature. Liam Dawson, though, might have reason to complain, for he may find himself replaced by a fast bowler, possibly Liam Plunkett, in light of the ground’s short boundaries.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Liam Dawson/Liam Plunkett, 10 Tymal Mills, 11 Adil Rashid

Pitch and conditions

With a new outfield, the Chinnaswamy stadium is all set to host its first match since the IPL final in May last year. That match had over 400 runs scored. A flat deck and small boundaries could produce the highest totals in this series yet. The weather is expected to stay clear through the match.

Stats and trivia

• India have played three bilateral series involving three T20Is before this and have won each of them.
• Ashish Nehra has taken the most wickets among India bowlers in the Powerplay. He surpassed R Ashwin with his dismissals of the England openers in Nagpur.
• Out of England’s current squad, only Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Chris Jordan have played at the Chinnaswamy stadium in the past.

Pakistan’s current ODI captain will miss the side’s next fixture in the format, against West Indies in April-May 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2017Pakistan’s ODI captain Azhar Ali has been given a one-match suspension by the ICC for his side’s slow over rate during the fifth ODI against Australia in Adelaide on Sunday. Azhar will miss Pakistan’s next ODI, on the tour of West Indies in April.Azhar was also docked 40% of his match fee, while the players were fined 20%, after Pakistan were found to be two overs short of their target once time allowances were taken into consideration. Thursday’s match was Azhar’s second minor over-rate offence in ODIs over the last 12 months: on January 31, he was fined 20% of his match fee after a game against New Zealand in Auckland. Azhar was also fined 100% of his match fee during a Test against New Zealand in Hamilton in November, when he was stand-in captain in Misbah-ul-Haq’s absence.The charge was laid by on-field umpires Simon Fry and C Shamshuddin, third umpire Chris Gaffaney, and fourth official Sam Nogajski, and came at the end of a disappointing series for Azhar. Pakistan were beaten 4-1, after Australia’s 57-run win in the fifth match, even as Azhar struggled with the bat and his fitness. He scored 24 runs in the first ODI before missing two matches due to a hamstring niggle. On his return, he scored 7 and 6 in the last two ODIs.The result in Australia, and a shaky tenure as captain during which Pakistan dropped to ninth on the ODI rankings, may result in Azhar being axed from the role. It is learned that PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed, the head coach at the National Cricket Academy are united in their belief that Sarfraz Ahmed, who leads Pakistan’s T20 side, should take over the ODI captaincy.