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For the first time in an ICC men’s T20I tournament the Decision Review System (DRS) will be in use as the governing body has announced that the system will be available at the T20 World Cup starting later this month.As per the playing conditions released by the ICC this week for the forthcoming T20 World Cup, which begins on October 17 and will be played in the UAE and Oman, each team will get a maximum of two reviews per innings. The governing body had confirmed in June last year an additional unsuccessful DRS review for each team in each innings of a match across all formats, “keeping in mind that there may be less experienced umpires on duty at times” owing to Covid-19-related reasons. The number of unsuccessful appeals per innings for each team has since increased to two for the white-ball formats and three for Tests.Related

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The ICC has also decided to increase the minimum number of overs for delayed and rain-interrupted matches. During the group stages of the T20 World Cup, each team will need to bat for a minimum of five overs for the result to be decided by the DLS method. That’s the norm for any T20I currently. But for the semi-finals and the final, each team will need to bat for a minimum of 10 overs to effect a result, as was the norm in the women’s T20 World Cup last year, where it became a major talking point after the first semi-final, between England and India, was washed out in Sydney, and the absence of a reserve day saw England eliminated.A marquee tournament such as the men’s T20 World Cup did not utilise the DRS in the past because the last edition of the event took place in 2016 when the review system was not in place in T20Is. The first ICC T20I tournament to have the DRS was the 2018 women’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean where teams had one review available. The same was used again at the 2020 edition of women’s T20 World Cup in Australia, the last multi-team event organised by the ICC before the Covid-19 pandemic.Introduced to minimise the margin of error in decision-making by umpires, the DRS, a process under which the third umpire may be consulted in relation to a decision of the on-field umpires, either by way of an umpire review or a player review, has been used since 2017 in major ICC events such as the men’s Champions Trophy, the 50-over World Cup, and the World Test Championship as well as the women’s ODI and T20 World Cups.Under the ICC’s playing conditions, the use of DRS in both men’s and women’s internationals is at the discretion of the participating boards for bilateral series.

Russell Domingo, the Bangladesh head coach, expects his side to bank on their familiarity of the opponents as well as the conditions when they take on Sri Lanka in their first T20 World Cup Super 12s match in Sharjah.The two sides have already played a Test and an ODI series this year, and Bangladesh are aware of Sri Lanka’s white-ball capabilities despite having won the ODI series 2-1 at home. The game is in Sharjah, where the pitches might be similar to the ones Bangladesh played on in Dhaka in August and September.Related

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“I think we have played against Sri Lanka a bit over the last couple of months,” Domingo pointed out. “We have had some good contests against them in ODIs and Tests. We have a well-balanced side with skilful bowlers and some dangerous batters. We have a world-class allrounder in Shakib [Al Hasan].”These type of conditions can suit us. Sharjah is similar to the wickets in Dhaka. Hopefully that can assist us in tomorrow’s game. We are happy with the 2pm starts – it suits us big time. It takes dew out of the equation. I think our spinners will come very much into the competition. We know a lot of the other teams are focused on the dew.”Both teams have very little experience of playing in Sharjah, with Sri Lanka having played their first T20I at this venue against Netherlands on Friday. Shakib, though, did play three games in Sharjah for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL recently. Domingo agreed that “scores have come down considerably since the new wickets have been laid” in Sharjah, and expected a certain kind of bowler to make a mark.”Tall bowlers who hit the wicket have always been in the game,” he said. “I came here with South Africa [eight] years ago. I remember Morne Morkel was very effective [with] the sort of hard length that he bowled. The ball skids through. If you bowl wicket to wicket, spin has opportunity here. LBWs and bowleds come into the game. We are not known as a power-hitting side, so the [shorter boundary] could favour us.”Bangladesh have been reaping rewards of contributions from the relatively unknown trio of Mahedi Hasan, Afif Hossain and Nurul Hasan, who have recently produced crucial, if not massive, performances.Although Mahedi has bowled well with his variations in flight and speeds, he still hasn’t found enough room to have an impactful innings with the bat, failing at his only opportunity at No. 3. But, according to Domingo, he can expect another bump up the batting order at some stage.”I am a big fan of Mahedi. I think the most important thing is his character,” he said. “He is always up to fulfill any role in the team. It is not easy batting up the order, [and then] down the order. He never complains. He is focused on what the team needs. He is versatile with the ball – he can bowl in the middle, at the death and up front.”He is definitely a three-in-one cricketer for us. The big thing about his preparation is that he is happy to be doing any role. He sees them as a big challenge, and takes them on 100%. I am happy with how his campaign has gone so far.”Domingo on Nurul Hasan: “His keeping [has] been magnificent, he probably saved us 10-12 runs behind the stumps”•ICC/Getty Images

Afif, meanwhile, has been coming into his own in an attacking role in the middle order, even though he hasn’t had a lot of time in the middle, while Nurul has been sharp behind the wickets, although he is yet to answer the call with the bat.”I think Afif and Sohan [Nurul] will be seriously good players for Bangladesh in this format,” Domingo said. “Sohan is our one big-hitter at the back-end of the innings. Afif got 20 off 13 balls the other day [21 off 14 against PNG]. He is playing well. I hope he can kick on in this phase. They are big players for us.”Sohan’s keeping [has] been magnificent. He probably saved us 10-12 runs behind the stumps. It is often the difference in these matches. I have been pleased with both their performances. Runs may not be massive at the moment, but what they provide to the team is of immense value.”But it all might come down to how well Bangladesh manage to control their emotions in the Super 12s phase. There has already been considerable backlash from many quarters, including BCB president Nazmul Hassan, who criticised the senior players and the side’s overall attitude following their defeat to Scotland early in the first round.”When you are playing for Bangladesh, there’s always going to be criticism when things don’t go well – it is part of international sport,” he said. “A big part of coaching is for the team to focus on what they can control. There’s nothing we can do about what people are writing and saying. We can focus on our performances – we can evaluate our performances.”As soon as we worry about those types of things, it takes your focus away from what we need to focus on. We have talked long and hard on what we need to focus on. And it’s cricket.”

India won the fourth Test by 157 runs at The Oval, taking a 2-1 series lead with one match to go. After the match, India captain Virat Kohli spoke to Michael Atherton, and saidOn this, and the second Test win at Lord’s, both being among India’s best-ever wins
The best thing about the both wins is the character that the side has shown. If you look at how the game panned: you mentioned the 100-run lead that England had in the first innings [England had a 99-run lead at The Oval] – to come back from there and the way we batted in the second innings showed that we are not down and out. And we are not looking to surivive in this game. If there’s an opportunity to put the opposition under pressure, we’ll go for it. And we put up a total on the board which was always going to be difficult to chase, especially heading latter half of Day 4 and 5.As I said at Lord’s as well, I’m really proud of the character the team has shown, specially this morning the way the team has bowled. It is definitely among top three bowling performances that I have witnessed as Indian captain.Related

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On being confident about getting 10 wickets on a seemingly flat pitch
It’s quite relative what you call flat. The last two days, conditions were really hot so the field wasn’t that wet like the first three days. And we knew we were in with an opportunity with [Ravindra] Jadeja bowling from one end into the rough – the ball got scuffed up quite nicely and we managed to make one side heavier. And our guys, when the ball is reversing enough, they become much more lethal, and we exploited reverse swing perfectly today.We were actually looking forward to bowling with the old ball. And we looked at that as a positive rather than thinking: ‘Nothing’s happening from the pitch, what are we going to do here?’ Rather than that, we believed as a team, yes, we could get all 10 wickets today.That’s exactly why it happened today, because the boys had belief.On Bumrah’s six-over spell post lunch
Absolutely unbelievable spell. If you give 27 runs off 22 overs on this kind of pitch, that’s a huge effort in the last innings of the Test match. As you said the pitch hadn’t offered enough, but as soon as the ball started reversing a bit, Jasprit just said: “Just give me the ball.” And he bowled that six-over spell and got us two breakthroughs which completely shifted the momentum to our side. From there on, we knew anymore mistakes from England and we will be all over this game.On Shardul Thakur’s influence
Rohit’s innings was outstanding – playing against a 100-run lead as an opener and the conditions were overcast, and his knock was the difference in the second innings. But the impact performance we were looking from a lower middle-order point of view, what Shardul has done in this game has to be remembered for a long time. Even in first innings he stood up: his 50 was the actually the difference between a 150-160 lead and a 100-run lead. And his 60 in the second innings as well, a counter-attacking one, I felt like it deflated the opposition. When I got out in the morning (on Day 4), they were looking at a few more breakthroughs and probably to try to restrict us to a reasonable total, but the way he batted again in the second innings was outstanding.On Shastri, Arun, Sridhar absent
It is unfortunate they are not here, but they did call the team just now – everyone is really happy with the win. Also we get ahead in the series with one Test match to play. It’s absolutely a great momentum booster because we’ve been here for a long time and now this gives us even more motivation to go out there and try and win the next one as well. We have everything that we need to win: we have the belief, we have the team. Eventhough we rested couple of our bowlers we still stood up and guys did the job with ball and bat in hand and in the field as well.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:27

Bangar: Daredevils lost the match in the first half

Mumbai Indians made a mockery of their opposition on Saturday. First they smacked Delhi Daredevils’ bowlers around to put up a total of 212. Then they bullied the batsmen into folding for a paltry 66. And in the end, a team that had recorded the second-highest chase in IPL history two nights ago was defeated by a margin so huge – 146 runs – it became a tournament record.So how did this all come about? Well, a few things went to plan. Like Lendl Simmons coming off the bench and hitting a half-century, Kieron Pollard responding to his promotion to No. 3 with an innings that was both calculated and cruel and the Mumbai bowlers knocking over each of their bunnies.Daredevils were five down in the chase before the Powerplay was done, and bowled out for their lowest IPL total. Mumbai, on the other hand, stormed into the playoffs.Caribbean carnage, Part 1Simmons has some phenomenal IPL numbers – before tonight he had 10 scores of fifty or more in 22 innings – and yet he had to wait until tonight to get his first game of the season. He began tentatively – as is expected of a batsman whose most recent T20 innings were 1, 1, 4* and 1. But the shackles seemed to break with a pull for six off Kagiso Rabada in the fourth over.Daredevils peppered Simmons with a mix of back-of-a-length and short deliveries, but it did not bother him. He got, both, on top of the bounce, and under it in equal measure – only one of his nine boundaries came off a fullish delivery.Simmons’ 66 off 43 balls took apart Daredevils’ famed fast-bowling attack, counterbalanced Parthiv Patel’s sedate 25 and gave Mumbai the perfect start on a small ground.Caribbean carnage, Part 2For a brief time, Amit Mishra was able to put a stop to Mumbai’s momentum. His first two overs went for only seven runs and had yielded a wicket too. Daredevils’ decision to play a fourth seamer in place of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem came under question.Pollard, however, hit that hypothesis out of the park, along with four of Mishra’s deliveries. This included denting Zaheer Khan’s plan of bowling Mishra out at a stretch. His two sixes off Mishra’s third over forced Zaheer to give him a change of ends. The two overs needed to make that switch went for 25, and when Mishra returned, Pollard hit him for two more sixes. That was the start of Mumbai’s slog-overs push. Pollard saw it through with an unbeaten 63.Daredevils come a full circleA target of 213, mere days after achieving their highest successful chase, didn’t trouble the Daredevils – for as long as they were in the dugout. Once they came onto the field they realised that the Mumbai bowling attack was well-manned and well-marshalled.Mitchell McCleneghan had removed Sanju Samson three times in nine balls before today. After the first ball of the chase, the head-to-head was adjusted to four wickets in 10 balls.Bumrah had removed Pant twice in six balls. He was brought in for the fourth over and got the batsman out for a duck.Harbhajan had knocked Karun Nair over three times in 19 balls. So naturally he was brought on to bowl to his bunny and the battle ended with a catch to midwicket. These were all signs of a team being well-informed of their own strengths, the opposition’s weaknesses, and exploiting them all perfectly.Meanwhile, Daredevils had updated their lowest score twice in the space of six days, while also pulling off their best chase in the period.

Colin de Grandhomme, the New Zealand allrounder, has signed for Birmingham Bears for this year’s NatWest T20 Blast.De Grandhomme, 30, made an impressive Test debut against Pakistan in November, claiming 6 for 41 in the first innings to pave the way for an eight-wicket victory. However, it is as a T20 batsman that he has built his reputation, in which format he boasts a strike-rate of 171.04 from exactly 100 matches.He recently forced his way back into New Zealand’s team in all three formats following an impressive domestic season with Auckland Aces, which included 139 runs in four Super Smash T20 games at a strike rate of 220.63.”Colin is a perfect addition to the team for our 2017 campaign, adding the batting firepower that we desire in our middle order, whilst adding depth to our bowling attack as an experienced seamer bowler,” said Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket.”His batting strike-rate is unparalleled in the professional game. He has been in the best form of his career this winter and his power and ability to clear the boundary makes him on of the most exciting batsmen in the game.”I have spoken previously about needing to recruit cricketers who are not only talented, but are hungry for success, can play the entire campaign and have the right character to become a Bear. We certainly get this with Colin and look forward to seeing him join up with the squad in July.”De Grandhomme will be joined in the Bears squad by his fellow New Zealander, Jeetan Patel, who is currently playing against South Africa at Dunedin.”As a New Zealand cricketer, I am really excited by the opportunity to play to become a Bear,” said de Grandhomme. “I look forward to meeting Ashley, the team, staff and its Members in July and working together to achieve our goal of a home Finals Day at Edgbaston.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:35

‘No foothold for New Zealand after Guptill wicket’

South Africa’s one-day side started in New Zealand as the No. 1 and they will end it there after an oscillating series went their way at a ground that now holds some good memories. There were a few jitters with the bat – there were bound to be, weren’t there? – but after a commanding performance in the field, which sucked the life out of New Zealand’s batting order, a target of 150 gave them breathing space.From the moment that the hero of Hamilton, Martin Guptill, was defeated by Kagiso Rabada there was never any let-up from South Africa with the ball. Rabada was high-class on a surface offering more carry than any other in the series. Imran Tahir, who New Zealand have played well this series, then reeled off the most economical 10-over figures by a South Africa spinner – and the best by any spinner in an ODI in his country – as the innings almost came to a standstill.Andile Phehlukwayo missed the Hamilton match with a minor groin injury and had a significant impact on his return with the wickets of Dean Brownlie and Ross Taylor. South Africa’s ground-fielding also conjured two wickets, including the major scalp of Kane Williamson, as New Zealand’s batting slumped for the second time in the series.But they did not let their unbeaten one-day home record, dating back to South Africa’s visit in 2014, go easily and for a moment mid-chase, another Eden Park classic was not complete fantasy. Jeetan Patel had snaffled two – and had an lbw against Faf du Plessis overturned by DRS – and when AB de Villiers was bounced out by James Neesham – not a dismissal you would have put your house on – South Africa were 88 for 4. But du Plessis, who reached fifty with the winning boundary, and David Miller, ensured against any further drama.It was a superb set-up from Rabada, a sharp bouncer which ensured Guptill had to be wary of planting forward, then a yorker which he tried to advance to but only got in a horrid position with his stumps exposed. As ugly as Hamilton was breathtaking.Williamson and Brownlie weathered the rest of the opening ten overs but a horror few minutes sent the innings into a spiral. It’s a period Brownlie will want to forget. Firstly he decided to chance de Villiers’ fielding at midwicket which left Williamson stranded when the South Africa captain dived and flicked in the blink of an eye. Williamson’s bat got caught in the turf short of the crease, but he would have been short regardless.Three balls later, Brownlie play round a full delivery from Phehlukwayo and almost walked before the finger was raised. Tahir’s first four overs cost just four; eventually overs 10-20 brought 31 for 4. As in Wellington, Phehlukwayo was key to that, bowling wicket-to-wicket at brisk pace, and was rewarded again when Taylor fell across a straight one.Luke Ronchi’s stay was never convincing and he gloved a short ball as he tried to sway out of the line. Neesham, yesterday recalled to the Test squad, had looked as comfortable as any of the top order but for the second time in the series was removed by a short ball from Rabada, although it needed the DRS to confirm the top-edge.The build-up to Mitchell Santner’s demise highlighted South Africa’s suffocating ground fielding. Three consecutive shots from Santner were intercepted sharply in the infield, then the fourth went to JP Duminy at backward point who slid and threw from the ground, hitting directly with Santner nowhere.Tahir, who did not concede anything other than singles, gained his reward against the lower order. In three of the five matches, New Zealand had played him as well as anyone of late – “respect” had been the word used by both sides – but they became almost strokeless this time. The pressure of the occasion, the pitch, or just a good day for him? Only they will know.Such was the swift end to New Zealand’s innings that South Africa batted before the interval. Patel again saw off Quinton de Kock – that change of tactic had worked a treat – and scoring wasn’t easy after the break. Hashim Amla completed a fifty-less series when he drove to cover as did Duminy – the latter far more of a concern – when he drove softly at Patel. Duminy had again been used ahead of de Villiers, but he has regressed during this series.De Villiers has been far and away South Africa’s best batsman and he was eager to finish things himself. He took a six apiece of Patel and Santner but was then surprised by the nip and angled of Neesham’s bouncer, which followed him and took the glove to the keeper. As a single moment it was a superb spectacle, but not enough to open the game for New Zealand.Du Plessis ticked over and for the first time in the series Miller played the type of forceful shots he has become known for. The target hurried into view. The sun had only just set. This time not on South Africa.

Quetta Gladiators and the winners of the third playoff, a virtual semi-final between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, will pick from a pool of approximately 12 foreign players to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in Lahore on Sunday.The pool was created from the nominations of each franchise – and subsequently whittled down – to cover for the absence of contracted foreign players, who are unwilling to travel to Lahore over security worries.How many are picked from the list – which includes players from Bangladesh, South Africa, Zimbabwe, England and West Indies – will depend on which team – Karachi or Peshawar – make it to the final.None of Quetta’s contracted foreign players will be traveling to Lahore, so they can pick up to five from the list. As many as four of Peshawar Zalmi’s foreign contingent may be willing to travel to Lahore, which will come as good news to organisers and fans. If that is the case, they may not even have to pick a name from the list.Though reports have suggested that all five of Peshawar’s foreign players are willing to go to Lahore, ESPNcricinfo understands that the best case scenario is four going: captain Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan. The fifth, Samit Patel, has not been given an NOC by his county Nottinghamshire, and will not travel to Lahore. None of the players have publicly committed to traveling; in an interview with last week Jordan chose not to comment when asked if he would travel.If Karachi win though, they will need to pick a number of players. As it stands, only Ravi Bopara from their foreign contingent is going to Lahore, having tweeted his indication to do so before the game. Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Ryan McLaren will not travel.Should Karachi win, organisers as well as franchises will have to face up to the prospect of playing the final with a vastly different side to the one that made it through the league and knockout stages. Names within the pool include Bangladesh’s Anamul Haque, South Africans Morne van Wyk and Richard Levi, as well as Sean Ervine and Graeme Cremer from Zimbabwe.The final names will only become apparent after the game between Peshawar and Karachi. There is one name on the list that both Quetta and Karachi had nominated. In case both sides want that player at the end of tonight’s game, a coin toss will determine who gets first pick. If Peshawar win, there are no conflicts with Quetta.Most of the players in the pool have already secured visas to travel, and those currently without one should be able to procure them by the time they travel to Lahore. It is expected that the foreign players who are traveling will not be staying in the city overnight, flying in and out on the same day.

West Indies will host Pakistan for a seven-week tour beginning at the end of March, comprising two T20Is, three ODIs and three Tests spread across five venues in the Caribbean. It is the first Pakistan tour of the West Indies since 2013 – when Pakistan won a five-match ODI series 3-1 and swept a pair of T20Is – and their first Test series in the Caribbean since a drawn two-match series in 2011.

Pakistan tour of WI 2017

1st T20I, March 31, Port of Spain
2nd T20I, April 2, Port of Spain
1st ODI, April 7, Providence
2nd ODI, April 9, Providence
3rd ODI, April 11, Providence
Tour game, April 15-17, Trelawny
1st Test, April 22-26, Kingston
2nd Test, April 30-May 4, Bridgetown
3rd Test, May 10-14, Roseau

However, there was no announcement regarding any agreement for West Indies to travel to Pakistan to play a pair of T20Is in mid-March, despite recent discussions being held between the WICB and PCB regarding a possible visit to Lahore. Such an agreement would need approval from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) as well as a security clearance, something that may be problematic after a report issued by FICA regarding player safety and security strongly discouraged players from going to Lahore for the Pakistan Super League final, confirmed for March 5.The Pakistan tour begins in Trinidad & Tobago, where the pair of T20Is will be played at Queen’s Park Oval from March 31. According to multiple sources, the WICB had explored the possibility of staging the T20Is at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, the same Florida venue where West Indies played a pair of T20Is against India in August. Central Broward Regional Park officials confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that they had been contacted by the WICB regarding availability for dates toward the end of March but in the end the WICB opted to keep all matches for Pakistan’s tour at Caribbean venues.Guyana will be the host country for all three ODIs beginning on April 7. The ODIs will be crucial heading into the September 2017 cutoff date for 2019 ICC World Cup qualification. Pakistan are currently ranked eighth on the ICC ODI rankings table, the last automatic-qualification spot, with 89 points while West Indies are three points behind them in ninth position with 86 points.If West Indies fail to get into the top eight spots by September, they must participate in the 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifier. That tournament is currently scheduled to be held in Bangladesh, although that may change if Bangladesh – currently ranked seventh with 91 points – gains an automatic qualification.Pakistan will have a three-day warm-up match at Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica starting on April 15 before the first of three Tests begins at Sabina Park on April 22. There is a three-day gap before the second Test begins at Kensington Oval in Barbados on April 30, while the final Test is scheduled to be played at Windsor Park in Dominica starting on May 10. As per the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP), four Tests had been originally slated for this series.Pakistan defeated West Indies in all three formats last year on West Indies’ tour of the UAE. West Indies were in turmoil from the start of the tour after coach Phil Simmons was sacked on the eve of the team’s departure to Dubai. Pakistan went on to sweep both the T20I and ODI series by identical 3-0 scorelines before taking the Test series 2-1. It was Kraigg Brathwaite’s 142 not out followed by a 60 not out that helped West Indies to a five-wicket win in the final Test in Sharjah.

Moeen Ali really isn’t the sort to roar for his inclusion in a team or storm into the coach’s room demanding explanations.When asked earlier in the tour whether it was an arm ball that had earned a wicket, he answered, “Nah, just one that didn’t spin”. When he found himself praising the number of maidens he had bowled, he added “I don’t do that very often”.When asked to describe his dismissals in Mohali he uses the word “crap” and when asked whether he and Adil Rashid can replicate the success of England’s spinners in 2012 (when Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar took 19 wickets between them) he responds by laughing out loud. Indeed, when asked whether Rashid’s improved performance with the ball could put his own position under pressure, he agreed: “It’s just a matter of time.”He is as modest and unassuming as international sportsmen come. He will never have a nickname like “The Big Show” (even if he does have more international centuries than Glenn Maxwell).So perhaps it is relevant that, very gently, very politely, even a little bit apologetically, he has suggested he might like to have a settled batting position.Moeen has batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 9 in the Test team. He has opened the batting and the bowling. He has been pushed down the order to accommodate others and then promoted to cover for their failures. He has been asked to thrash for quick runs, block for draws, see off the new ball and shepherd the tail. His versatility is, no doubt, his greatest asset, but it might also be a bit of a curse. It is hardly a surprise that he has looked confused at times.”Close in the future,” he said, reiterating the point that he is not demanding anything, just expressing an aspiration, “I’d like to have a position I can try to nail down.”Almost immediately, he corrects himself.”Obviously, I don’t mind. I just get on with it. Whatever they tell me.”But then the elaboration hints at his frustration a little more.”I was down to bat five from Bangladesh onwards,” he said. “But form or balance of the side meant I was pushed up to four and then three in the last innings. I don’t have a clue where I’m batting here yet. I’ll probably find out tomorrow.”Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the conversation occurs when he is asked if his modesty, his humility, his “niceness” counts against him at times. He smiles.”Probably, yes,” he said. “I’ve been told sometimes that’s not a good thing. Once my dad pulled me out of a club game when I was told I was batting seven. He said ‘No, you’re not, you’re not batting seven’.”I was about 13 and I made the first team, and they told me I was batting seven. He said, ‘No, you’re not playing … let’s go’. But since then I’ve just got on with it.”Moeen Ali made scores of 16 and 5 batting at No. 4 and No. 3 in Mohali•Associated Press

While the floating role is a frustration, Moeen enjoys the approach of this England side. He appreciates the encouragement to attack and the lack of consequences when it backfires. He enjoyed the opportunity for a few days away from the tour, too – something that would have been unthinkable a few years ago – and admits he “never thought about cricket once over three days chilling out in Dubai”.He certainly hasn’t been beating himself up for the way he was dismissed in Mohali (caught at fine leg and mid-on). He doesn’t feel he has to be less attacking, he just has to attack better.”I naturally play in quite a positive way anyway,” he said. “I just need to try to go back to how I batted in the first Test and try to replicate that. Sometimes it can go a bit too positive. We want to be positive, but in the right manner.”I felt all right in Mohali. I know it was a crap way to get out, but it was just the execution in both innings. I’m not too down about it. In the second innings, I was going to go over the top. I just wanted to send one of the guys back on to the boundary, but I didn’t execute it well.”His praise for Rashid is as warm as it genuine. Recognising both the contribution of England’s spin consultant, Saqlain Mushtaq, and the benefits of playing more regularly, Moeen even started to make a case for Rashid’s inclusion ahead of his own.”He’s a quality spinner,” Moeen said. “He’s obviously bowling really well, and I’m really happy for him. He deserves it and I think his confidence is going to grow, the more he plays.”Saqlain has been brilliant for both of us – the confidence he gives us both – and Adil’s confidence has definitely grown as a bowler.”The three back-to-back games were good for him, because he’s got into a rhythm, and now he just comes out, doesn’t think about it too much and lands it on a spot pretty much straightaway.”They’ve played him quite well, but he’s picking up wickets. He’s bowling really, really well. Is he snapping at my heels? Yes. It’s just a matter of time, really.”For most cricketers such a situation might create some unease. But Moeen, speaking after meeting a group of young female athletes from under-privileged families in his role as an ambassador for the British Asian Trust, has a refreshing sense of perspective over such matters.”Pressure to me is people who can’t afford food or who are struggling to live,” he says. “This is just a game of cricket. I’ll give it my best shot. But if I don’t play well, I don’t play well. There’s no point not sleeping at night over it.”These under-privileged people… it puts everything in perspective, doesn’t it? This is just a game of cricket. You give your best, but that’s all you can do. Pressure is to survive in certain areas. There’s more to life than bat and ball.”

ScorecardJames Faulkner had previously struck only one first-class hundred, in county cricket (file photo)•PA Photos

James Faulkner scored his maiden Sheffield Shield century and his second in first-class cricket to help Tasmania bat out a draw on the fourth day against New South Wales in Hobart. Set an unlikely target of 415 for victory, Tasmania’s hopes faded even further when they fell to 4 for 81 on the final day, as Trent Copeland and his bowling colleagues ran through the top order.But Faulkner and Beau Webster settled in for 72.1 overs for an unbeaten 185-run partnership, and if their stand didn’t look like delivering Tasmania to their target, it at least prevented New South Wales from romping to victory. After the Blues declared on 5 for 495 in their first innings and rolled the Tigers for 209, a draw would have seemed an excellent result for Tasmania.Faulkner struck 12 fours during his 222-ball innings, which was his longest in first-class cricket, and he arrived at triple figures late in the day. His only previous first-class hundred had come for Lancashire in county cricket last year, and in this match he bettered his previous best Sheffield Shield score of 89.Webster ran out of time to push for what could have been a third first-class century, finishing unbeaten on 80 from 214 deliveries. Copeland finished the match with eight wickets but Man of the Match was Peter Nevill for his unbeaten 179 and five catches.