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ESPNcricinfo has learned that the tournament is waiting to be greenlit by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi

Danyal Rasool19-Oct-2024There is no clarity on when the 2024-25 season of the Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) Trophy will start despite Pakistan’s bumper international Test season being well underway. A schedule tentatively put out by the PCB in August had Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament beginning on October 20, but the day before that date, the fate of the tournament remains uncertain.While the dates for all domestic competitions announced by the PCB in August were tentative and subject to change, a PCB official told ESPNcricinfo as recently as last month that the QeA was set to keep to its October 20 plan. ESPNcricinfo understands that no one, even those in charge of domestic affairs at the PCB, knows when the tournament schedule will eventually be announced.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the tournament is waiting to be greenlit by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.The PCB declined to comment on what holds the approval back at this stage, though budgetary approval operationally comes from the chairman, and is understood to be one of the factors in the delay. Even so, the lack of information about the QeA is in stark contrast to the fanfare with which the Champions One-Day Cup, which was held in September, was marked by the board.The decision to host that one-day tournament in September, in Pakistan’s only meaningfully free window until May, was significant because it meant players wouldn’t be able to get domestic red-ball cricket under their belts ahead of England’s ongoing three-Test tour in October. Members of the national Test set-up were understood to have privately expressed frustration with the situation, though there was an acceptance that the schedule was out of their control.The QeA has never quite managed to keep to a schedule or format, but no information about its start this late into a season is unprecedented of late. In each but two of the last 15 years has the tournament started later than October 26, with the schedule usually out well before October. Each of the last two seasons saw it begin in September; the tournament last year began on September 10, and was wrapped up by October 26.The situation is even more jarring in a season where Pakistan are scheduled to play more Test matches than any other this century. They are already more than halfway into the seven home Test matches they play between August 2024 and January 2025, with two Test matches in South Africa at the turn of the year.

Zafar Gohar in runs and wickets as Gloucestershire continue to put up stiff resistance

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2024Tom Alsop’s 84 and an unbeaten 75 from Cheteshwar Pujara formed the backbone of Sussex’s solid response to Gloucestershire’s 417 on an attritional day at Hove.Sussex reached stumps at the 1st Central County Ground on 267 for 5 – trailing by 150 – after Gloucestershire enjoyed some late success when left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar took two wickets in two balls four overs before the close.A slow pitch has neutered the seamers with very little movement on offer and only slow turn for the spinners, while batters on both teams found it difficult to increase the scoring rate even when they got themselves established.Alsop became the fifth player to pass fifty without going on to a century when he failed to keep down a short ball from 6ft 6in seamer Dom Goodman, who had earlier removed Tom Clark after the Sussex opener fought his way to 53 off 124 balls.Removing Pujara, who looked in ominously good touch, with the second new ball in the morning could be key to Gloucestershire’s hopes of a decent first-innings lead.The placid nature of the pitch had been highlighted by the ease with which Gloucestershire’s last two wickets added 109 in 22 overs at the start of the day, led by Gohar who made his 11th first-class half-century.He added 56 with Zaman Akhter for the ninth wicket and their only alarm came when a mix-up over a single into the leg side left both stranded in mid-pitch but Pujara’s wild throw enabled them to make their ground. Gohar mixed careful defence with some aggressive off-side strokes as he plundered the short boundary for the majority of his seven fours.After Ollie Robinson, who went wicketless, had been unable to break through it was left-arm spinner James Coles who broke the stand with his fifth ball when a quicker, full-length delivery bowled Gohar for 60. Offspinner Jack Carson took a smart return catch above his head to remove Ajeet Dale and claim his third wicket but not until Gloucestershire claimed a fourth batting point.Dale then bowled a terrific opening spell down the slope and got his reward when Tom Haines, who had scored centuries in his first two games of the season, was squared up and well caught in the gully by Miles Hammond.Dale had a feisty individual battle with Clark after lunch as the left-hander fought hard to find some form after scoring 12 in the season’s opener against Northants and then enduring a first-ball duck at Leicester last week.Clark still put away anything loose and appeared to have done the hard yards when he reached a 115-ball fifty, which also included a six off offspinner Ollie Price. But when Goodman returned in the 37th over Clark poked at a ball he could have ignored, having added 108 with Alsop.Alsop was more fluent to reach fifty off 100 balls and bat finally began to get on top after tea as he and Pujara added 85 in 22 overs. It was a surprise, then, when Alsop misjudged a pull and Tom Price ran in from long leg to take a diving catch and give the persevering Goodman his second wicket.Dale returned to hit James Coles on the right hand and the helmet during another wholehearted burst but Coles added 52 with Pujara and had just hit left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar out of the ground when he was caught looking to clear the short square-leg boundary. Gohar pinned Carson on the back leg with his next ball but John Simpson survived the hat-trick.

Spinner is stand-out name in 15-player squad for event in Malaysia in January-February

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2024Tilly Corteen-Coleman, the 17-year-old spinner who made a strong impression in this year’s Women’s Hundred, has been named in a 15-player squad for the Women’s Under-19 World Cup, which is due to take place in Malaysia early next year.Corteen-Coleman was still 16 when she made an instant impression on her Hundred debut for Southern Brave in July, catching Australia’s Meg Lanning off her own bowling for a notable maiden wicket. Domestically, she also impressed for South East Stars, claiming 5 for 19 against Northern Diamonds in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, including four wickets in five balls, before helping her team reach the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Davina Perrin is also included, having been a part of the England squad that lost to India in the inaugural Under-19 tournament in South Africa in January 2023. A captain is set to be named nearer the time.Sixteen teams will feature in the 41-match event, across 15 days of competition from January 18 to February 2, 2025, including the hosts Malaysia who will be making their maiden tournament appearance, as will Samoa.England have been drawn in Group B, alongside Ireland, Pakistan and USA, with all their group-stage matches set to take place in Johor.Chris Guest, who was last week appointed as Performance Lead for the women’s Under-19 set-up, oversaw that 2023 campaign as head coach, and looked forward to guiding another group of young players through their maiden global event.”What excites me most about working with the under-19 age group is the constant cycle of new talent and new groups coming through,” Guest said. “We’ve named a squad which features some players who have been involved at this age group before and some who haven’t.”This World Cup is a part of these players’ journey, not the end or the start and our message to them is to embrace the challenge, evolve ourselves and enjoy the ride. Naturally we want to do well but the programme is about developing these players in the future and for the long-term.”It was really exciting to see Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Hannah Baker, Seren Smale and Charis Pavely feature for the senior team in Ireland after representing the U19s in the first edition of this World Cup in 2023 and this acts as real inspiration for this group and demonstrates how important this tournament can be for a player’s development.”Guest will be joined by two assistant coaches, Dan Helesfay and Beth Morgan, the former batter who played a key role in England’s two World Cup wins in 2009, across the 50- and 20-over formats respectively. Morgan currently works as a Regional Talent Manager for Southern Vipers, while Helesfay is an assistant coach at South East Stars and Welsh FireRichard Bedbrook, Head of England Women Performance Pathways, said: “It is always an exciting time to be able to name an U19 World Cup squad and all those chosen, including the non-travelling reserve group, can be very proud of this achievement.”The quality in the group highlights the work of each of the regional teams across both their senior and Academy environments and I, plus colleagues, are indebted to them on the development work they continue to put in.”We hope each individual takes a huge amount from the experience they are about to have and uses it to continue developing themselves as a person and player.”This also goes for the staff group, a number of whom across various roles are also employees of the Regional teams and who will hopefully take huge amounts of experience and enjoyment from being a part of the programme.”Five non-travelling reserves have also been selected. The reserves won’t travel but will take a full part throughout the preparation phase and act as stand-by players should a replacement player be required:England Women U19 squad: Phoebe Brett (Central Sparks), Olivia Brinsden (Thunder), Tilly Corteen-Coleman (South East Stars), Trudy Johnson (Northern Diamonds), Katie Jones (Western Storm), Charlotte Lambert (South East Stars), Abi Norgrove (Southern Vipers), Eve O’Neill (Southern Vipers), Davina Perrin (Central Sparks), Jemima Spence (South East Stars), Charlotte Stubbs (South East Stars), Amuruthaa Surenkumar (Sunrisers), Prisha Thanawala (The Blaze), Erin Thomas (Northern Diamonds), Grace Thompson (Northern Diamonds)Non-travelling reserves: Maria Andrews (The Blaze), Sophie Beech (Central Sparks), Daisy Gibb (Southern Vipers), Poppy Tulloch (Southern Vipers), Annie Williams (The Blaze).

England captain says team won’t veer from aggressive style despite chastening defeat at Wankhede

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2025

Abhishek Sharma launches one down the ground•Getty Images

Jos Buttler, England’s captain, hailed Abhishek Sharma for producing some of the “cleanest ball-striking I’ve ever seen”, but insisted his team would not veer from the aggressive strategies they’ve brought to bear in their first series since Brendon McCullum took over as white-ball head coach.Abhishek’s stunning innings of 135 from 54 balls, the highest score ever made by an Indian batter in T20Is, proved to be 38 more runs than England’s entire line-up could muster in reply, as they were routed for 97 in 10.3 overs, to succumb to a 4-1 series loss.England’s eventual 150-run defeat was their biggest in the format, and a crushing end to an intermittently competitive series. Though Buttler acknowledged his team had had their chances to turn the campaign in their favour, he was happy to bow down to one of the mightiest batting displays imaginable.”We’re obviously disappointed,” Buttler said. “I’ve played quite a lot of cricket, and credit to Abhishek Sharma. That’s as clean a ball-striking as I’ve seen. He played fantastically well. We always sit down and think what more could we have done. But some days, you have to give a lot of credit to the opposition. I thought he played brilliantly well.”Buttler said that Abhishek’s display was a continuation of the full-blooded form he showed alongside Travis Head for Sunrisers Hyderabad in last year’s IPL. In such run-laden displays, he added, contests tend to go one of two ways.”I’ve played in a few games like this,” he said. “You either get somewhere near, or you fall in a heap, and today was that day. It can be difficult when a player gets on a roll, and plays as well as he did. Credit to us for sticking in there and fighting back, and keeping them down to 240, after the start they got.”England’s reply got off to a misleadingly flying start, with Phil Salt cracking 17 runs off Mohammad Shami’s first over, en route to a 21-ball fifty. But his was a lone hand as wickets continued to tumble at the other end, with the entire team being bowled out just after the halfway mark of their chase.”The way Phil Salt went out there and struck the ball, it was obviously a really good wicket,” Buttler said. “He needed someone to go with him, and for one or two guys to catch fire. That’s the way you’re going to chase that down. You either get quite close in games like this and surprise yourselves, or it doesn’t work.Related

• 'In the zone' Abhishek salutes seniors for guiding him to century

• Abhishek, rattle and roll at the Wankhede

• Compromise may be needed with concussion subs to ensure player safety

• Abhishek shatters records and England in Mumbai

• Gambhir on India's approach: 'We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly'

“But we certainly won’t change the way we want to play. We need to keep backing that, and be even more committed.”The final match got underway just 48 hours after the controversy at Pune, where fast bowler Harshit Rana stepped in as a concussion sub after a blow to the helmet for Shivam Dube. Dube declared himself “good to go” before the toss in Mumbai, despite the ICC’s protocols stating that a seven-day lay-off should be mandatory in such situations, and Buttler hinted at his continued annoyance by describing his four non-selected players as “impact subs”.Speaking after the defeat, however, he struck a more conciliatory tone. “He’s pulled up pretty well from a nasty blow on the head, hopefully he’s okay,” Buttler said, after Dube had scored 30 from 13 balls and claimed 2 for 11 in his two overs. “I’m sure he must have been happy with the risk he took or their medical staff were. Maybe a question for them.”Legspinner Varun Chakravarthy also played a key role in derailing England’s chase with figures of 2 for 25, and was named player of the series for his 14 wickets at 9.85. England’s struggles against spin have been a feature of all five matches, but Buttler said his players would be stronger for the experience.”Playing against India, you know you’re going to be faced with a lot of spin, but I’m not worried,” Buttler said. “There’s some really good players there and some guys having their first experiences in these conditions. Every day, you’re learning, improving, working things out as you go along and gaining more experience and trying to accelerate that process.”We certainly won’t change the way we want to play, we need to keep backing that, be even more committed and be desperate to do well and execute that,” he added. “If we’re going to fall, I’d rather fall on the proactive side. Hopefully, over time you get more comfortable with that and play better.”

The Australia captain has batted in the middle order in the last three matches with Cameron Green at the top

AAP10-Oct-2022Aaron Finch has confirmed he will return to the top of the order for Wednesday’s clash with England as Australia’s T20 World Cup preparations ramp up.Finch has spent almost his entire T20I career as opener, but he raised eyebrows by batting either at first drop or at No. 4 over the past three matches.The move has given Cameron Green more opportunities at opener despite the 23-year-old not being in Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad.Finch made scores of 58 and 15 in the 2-0 series win over the West Indies, and was run out for 12 while batting at No. 4 in Sunday’s eight-run loss to England.Related

• Smith's T20 World Cup hopes hang by a thread as 'incredible' David shines again

• Buttler and Hales lay down opening mark before Wood stars in high-scorer

• Buttler on Wade obstruction incident: 'They asked if I wanted to appeal and I said no'

The 35-year-old will return to his customary opening spot for games two and three against England in Canberra.”I’ll go back to the top next game, which was always the plan,” Finch said. “It was just about giving Greeny more opportunity at the top and trying things…in case he had to be called into the [World Cup] squad.”Green enjoyed remarkable success as opener during the 2-1 series loss in India. But his return to Australia has been less fruitful, with Green posting scores of 14, 1, and 1 as opener in his past three innings.Despite that, Green appears set to be first cab off the rank if Australia need a late injury replacement for their World Cup title defence.England captain Jos Buttler said even he was surprised when Finch didn’t open at Optus Stadium.”It’s a good question for them,” Buttler said. “He’s opened a lot in T20 cricket and done that really well. But he’s obviously got a plan.”England posted 208 for 6 with Australia finishing at 200 for 9 despite the heroics of David Warner (73 off 44 balls) at the top of the order.Allrounder Marcus Stoinis made 35 off 15 deliveries despite being struck on the heel while running a quick single early in his innings. Stoinis looked proppy while running after that, but he said the blow wouldn’t affect his World Cup preparations.”It’s actually alright, it just stung for a little bit,” said Stoinis, who only just returned from a side strainAustralia rested Steve Smith, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell for the series opener against England.Ashton Agar (side strain) was also overlooked while he builds back to full fitness, but he could be available for the next game. It means Australia could welcome back up to seven players for game two, creating a huge selection squeeze.

Australia looks set to welcome back Travis Head from injury while the Netherlands need some runs from their top-order

Alex Malcolm24-Oct-20232:12

Would Netherlands rather beat India or Australia at the World Cup? We asked Scott Edwards

Big picture: The shared history of Australia and Netherlands

There has long been a connection between Netherlands and Australian cricket. It is perhaps not quite as strong as South Africa’s connection to the current Dutch team. But their captain Scott Edwards is an Australian citizen, having grown up in Melbourne and played second XI cricket for Victoria. He has introduced a Netherlands team song that is a shameless rebrand of the song of his favourite Australian Football League club Richmond. From Edwards to former Dutch coach Ryan Campbell, to Tom Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Michael Swart and Dirk Nannes, among others, plenty of Australian domestic players have had an impact on Netherlands cricket.But there will be no love lost in Delhi on Wednesday. Netherlands are gunning for another big scalp, having already taken down South Africa and potentially missed an opportunity against Sri Lanka. Australia are looking to continue their momentum. They will not be taking the Netherlands lightly, but they would love a statement win having been tested at times against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.For all the links between to the two nations as far as players and coaches are concerned, Australia and Netherlands have only met twice in ODI cricket. Both matches were at World Cups, in 2003 and 2007, and Australia were ruthless, claiming big wins while tinkering with their line-up. In fact, nobody could beat them in either of those tournaments.These two sides did meet in a rain-affected warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram prior to this World Cup. Mitchell Starc claimed a hat-trick in a game Australia did not take seriously at all. Steven Smith and Josh Inglis opened the batting with Alex Carey at three and Mitchell Marsh did not bat but instead opened the bowling while Marnus Labuschagne also bowled four overs and picked up the wicket of Edwards.Australia won’t take this game as lightly with coach Andrew McDonald confirming on Monday that they would not be resting any of their players. They know the Dutch will be well planned and the dual spin threat of Aryan Dutt in the powerplay against possibly two left-handed openers in David Warner and Travis Head if he is passed fit, plus Roelof van der Merwe against Australia’s vulnerable middle-order could certainly cause problems. Netherlands’ biggest challenge will be getting top-order runs. But Australia’s new-ball bowlers have not taken a powerplay wicket in the last three games, and Delhi has been an excellent batting strip.

Form guide

Australia WWLLW (last five ODIs, most recent first)Netherlands LWLLL1:48

Does Smith have a weakness against the ball coming in?

In the spotlight: Smith and O’Dowd

Steven Smith was considered vital to Australia’s chances in this World Cup given his experience in India and his prowess against spin. But Australia’s long-time No. 3, who is set to play his 150th ODI against Netherlands, is battling for form in ODI cricket this year and now may well find himself pushed to No.4 with the return of Head. Smith is averaging just 23.22 in ODIs this year from nine innings, including three ducks, and striking at just 81.64. His move to No. 4 may not help his search to find some form. He has only batted there once since the 2019 World Cup and that was against Pakistan in the last match, having slid one spot due to the promotion of Glenn Maxwell because of the game situation. He has batted No. 3 in his previous 29 ODI innings. He averages just 34.31 across 24 career innings at No. 4 compared to 52.60 at No. 3. His strike-rate is slightly higher at No. 4, but nonetheless, it is not his favoured spot.In a World Cup where the openers have dominated across the board to this point, Netherlands’ top two have simply not got going. Max O’Dowd has really struggled, making just 55 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of just 57.89. He has battled to get off strike facing 72 dot balls out of 95 in total, with 38 of his 55 runs coming in boundaries and just 11 singles. He did not play any List A cricket between the World Cup qualifiers in July and the World Cup itself, with his only match practice coming in Netherlands club cricket, some of which was played on artificial pitches. It is a huge ask to jump from that to facing some of the incredible new ball pairings he has so far this tournament and the task only gets tougher against Starc and Josh Hazlewood on Wednesday. But the Netherlands need some runs from their openers if they are to put pressure on Australia.

Team news: Will Head play?

Head arrived in Delhi on Saturday having been at home in Adelaide for Australia’s first four matches of the tournament, nursing his broken hand. He was optimistic he could play on Wednesday after a net session on Saturday. He faced bowlers for the first time on Monday and got through the session. If he plays he is set to open alongside Warner which will break up the in-form Warner-Marsh pairing. Labuschagne would be the likely batter to make way.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaTravis Head is back with the Australia squad•Getty Images

The Netherlands look set to stick with the same combination that beat South Africa and tested Sri Lanka.Netherlands (probable): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Bas de Leede, 5 Teja Nidamanuru, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Logan van Beek, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Pitch and conditions: Another sweltering day

The three games in Delhi thus far in this World Cup have produced two very different results, although the common thread is that the side batting first has won easily. South Africa piled up 428 against Sri Lanka and won although Sri Lanka made 326 in reply. India galloped to their 273-run against Afghanistan, who then defended 286 easily against England on the back of a masterful bowling performance by their spinners. It will be warm in Delhi and the air quality will be poor.

Stats and trivia: Starc on the prowl

• Starc (55) needs two wickets to go past Lasith Malinga (56) to third all-time on the ODI World Cup wicket-takers list. Glenn McGrath leads with 71 and Muttiah Muralidaran is second with 68.
• Australia are the only team to have gone wicketless three times in the first powerplay in this World Cup.
• Only Bangladesh (38.90%) have had a higher percentage of runs scored by Nos. 5,6 and 7 in this World Cup than the Netherlands (35.82%)

While Sri Lanka have played six of their last eight Tests in Galle, Pakistan’s form in the longest format will be their biggest concern

Danyal Rasool15-Jul-2023

Big picture: Sri Lanka start as favourites

On July 16, Sri Lanka played Pakistan in Galle in the first of two Test matches, with the second Test starting on the 24th. That statement is true for both 2022 and 2023.It’s not clear why this series has been set up to perfectly mirror Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka last year, but it provides the opportunity to evaluate each side’s progress in the interceding 12 months. Sri Lanka begin as obvious favourites despite mixed results in the past 12 months primarily because of their level of familiarity with conditions; six of the hosts’ last eight Test matches have come at this venue, and four of those games have resulted in wins for them. A relatively settled Test side who recognise their best red-ball squad, Sri Lanka went on to challenge New Zealand away in the only other Test series they played, going down by two wickets in the first before being overpowered in the second.They come off pitch-perfect recent form – albeit in another format. The ignominy of being forced to qualify for the World Cup in India was more than made up for by Sri Lanka vanquishing all before them in Zimbabwe, winning all eight games and the trophy to book their place at the tournament in style. They are bolstered by the likely return of Dimuth Karunaratne, who missed the final of that competition with a hamstring injury. With two centuries and four fifties in his last seven Test innings, the availability of arguably the world’s best opener of the past five years adds some welcome heft against an opening attack comprising Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.Related

• Returning Shaheen Shah Afridi is dreaming about his 100th Test wicket

• Madushanka eyes Test debut after being picked to play Pakistan

• Shaheen Afridi returns to Galle after year of misery and joy

Add to that the quality Sri Lanka have in their spinning ranks – a recent area of particular famine for Pakistan – and their impregnability is further cemented. Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis were Pakistan’s chief tormentors on a dramatic final day of the series last year, and should play key roles. Pakistan, meanwhile, have struggled to appropriately replace Yasir Shah, with Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali – the two they turned to most frequently – struggling to have a similar impact. This series will see Abrar Ahmed get another run after impressing against England, but Mohammad Nawaz and Salman Ali Agha are expected to have significant bowling duties should Galle’s surfaces live up to their gripping reputation.But Pakistan’s underdog status comes just as much from their own track record as anything Sri Lanka can throw at them. They haven’t won a single Test in the year since their win at Galle in the corresponding fixture 12 months ago, and that was their only win of 2022. Since the start of last year, Babar Azam’s side have triumphed just once in ten matches, losing five of the other nine. A shaky top order will be put to the test once more in Sri Lanka, and Sarfaraz Ahmed, who retains his place as wicketkeeper, will need to back up excellent recent batting performances with ability with the gloves on testing surfaces.

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan DDLLLShaheen Shah Afridi is set to play his first Test since the first game in Galle last year•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight: Prabath Jayasuriya and Shaheen Afridi

In five Test matches in Galle, Prabath Jayasuriya has taken 46 wickets, registering six five-fors and two match ten-wicket hauls. That included 17 wickets in two Test matches against Pakistan last year, famously skittling Pakistan out post-lunch on the final day of the series to level it up 1-1. Another world-class spinner of the Sri Lankan production line, the slow left armer was named the Player of the Series, and will be one of the key antagonists for the visitors this time around, too. Whether they’ve learned to cope with him any better might go a long way in determining the destination of the series trophy.You needn’t look past Shaheen Afridi for Pakistan, given all the baggage Galle at this time of year carries for him. Playing his first Test since a nasty injury in the corresponding Test last year, all eyes will be on his pace, rhythm and ability to withstand five days of a format he has had an extended break from. The surface is more likely to suit spin, and whether Afridi retains his bowling speed – something he has expressed recent scepticism about – could be a bellwether for his red-ball future. With Pakistan likely fielding just two fast bowlers, Babar’s workload management of Shaheen will also be under scrutiny, with in-game management an area the Pakistan captain has struggled with in the past.

Team news

If Karunaratne is available, he will lead the side as captain and opener, with Nishan Madushka likely to pip Pathum Nissanka to be his opening partner. Left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka is in line for a Test debut, while Sri Lanka are spoiled for spin choices.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Nishan Madhushka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabath Jayasuriya, 10 Dilshan Madushanka, 11 Vishwa Fernando/Praveen JayawickramaPakistan are likely to go with the extra spin allrounder and sacrifice a seamer in the process, which brings Nawaz into the frame.Pakistan (probable): 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Shan Masood, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Saud Shakeel, 7 Agha Salman, 8 Mohammad Nawaz, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Abrar Ahmed, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pitch and conditions

There are showers forecast for every day of the Test, though persistent wet weather is unlikely, and Sri Lanka’s world-beating groundstaff should ensure delays are kept to a minimum. The wickets are likely to be slow and conducive to spin.

Stats and trivia

• Shaheen Afridi is one wicket away from becoming the 19th Pakistan bowler to 100 Test wickets, and the first since Mohammad Amir in 2018.
• In the last five years, Dimuth Karunaratne has scored more runs as opener than anyone else in Test cricket. His 3256 runs have come at 50.87, with Tom Latham (2711) a distant second.

Quotes

“Injuries are part of an athlete’s life, but it is good to be back. I enjoy red-ball cricket a lot, and I am one wicket away from a century of Test wickets, which would be a big achievement for me ” Shaheen Afridi is raring to be back after a year out of red-ball cricket

Skipper survives bizarre no-ball reprieve to top-score with 61 in seven-run win

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2024Yorkshire 173 for 8 (Masood 61, Root 43) beat Lancashire 166 for 8 (Jennings 46) by seven runs Yorkshire Vikings won a home Roses match for the second season running, successfully defending a 174 target to beat Vitality Blast pacesetters Lancashire at Headingley by seven runs.A typically pulsating clash on a pitch suiting pace off saw the pendulum swing back and forth but decisively the Vikings’ way as Lightning slipped from 67 for two in the eighth over to 88 for five in the 11th and later finishing on 166 for eight.Home captain Shan Masood underpinned Yorkshire’s 173 for eight with 61 off 41 balls, while England’s Joe Root contributed 43 off 33 – they shared 104 for the fourth wicket. Later, off-spinner Dom Bess struck twice, including the scalp of Keaton Jennings for 46 to start that aforementioned mini collapse.Yorkshire won for the fourth time in seven, while the North Group leaders lost their third game in eight.Off-spinner Chris Green was the pick of Lancashire’s bowlers with two for 21, while pacer Saqib Mahmood struck three times.Yorkshire’s innings, having elected to bat, can be best summed up as Lancashire started and finished well but the hosts dominated the middle through Masood and Root.Vikings lost openers Adam Lyth lbw to Green’s first ball and Dawid Malan caught at midwicket off a top-edged pull against Mahmood – 23 for two in the third over.