With David Warner injured, Pucovski has firmed to open the batting for Australia in Adelaide

Andrew McGlashan04-Dec-2020A likely Test debut. Filling the shoes of David Warner. Forming a new opening partnership with Joe Burns. Tackling the pink ball. Facing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and the rest of the India attack. While that may read like a daunting list, Will Pucovski is keeping it all perspective ahead of a fortnight that, barring some unlikely events, will see him open the batting for Australia at Adelaide Oval.”It’s still just another ball coming down at you,” was a common refrain from Pucovski as he spoke two days out from the Australia A match against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval.Until Warner injured his groin in the second ODI at the SCG last week, it was looking unlikely that Pucovski would debut at the start of the Test series despite back-to-back double hundreds in the Sheffield Shield. A host of names including the national selection Trevor Hohns, coach Justin Langer, captain Tim Paine and Warner himself had vouched for the incumbent Burns despite his lean start to the season.ALSO READ: Joe Burns rediscovers the fundamentals of opening ahead of David Warner’s absenceNow, however, with Warner seemingly scrubbed from at least the opening Test of the series with what is expected to be a four-week recovery, Pucovski is set to walk out alongside Burns to open Australia’s innings.Pucovski had not been paying any attention to talk of a “bat-off” between him and Burns in the Australia A match – instead, he is training at Junction Oval in Melbourne and enjoying some trips down the coast after the Shield hub finished – and the fact a Test debut is now far more realistic is not changing much.”Selection, injury and stuff like that is out of my control,” he said. “Obviously, you never want anyone to be injured, especially such a good player and as a group, we would love to be available for the first Test. If I play in Adelaide, I play; if Dave gets up and I don’t play, it’s just one of those things. Hope he gets better as fast as possible.””If you are in the 17-man [Test] squad you know you are pretty close either way. It’s not a huge difference, to be honest.”One of the reasons Pucovski was appearing unlikely to debut before Warner’s injury was the successful opening stand formed between the latter and Burns in which they have an average partnership of 50.55 across 27 innings.”Joe and I get along really well, which is obviously a good start,” Pucovski said. “We haven’t batted together heaps, but that’s cricket, you end up batting with people you don’t bat with very often – so long as you know how to bounce off each other, get each other going or know what each other requires that’s all that matters. We’ve had a few conversations, just about little things, to help each other through.”Depending on how the opening Test plays out, there is a chance that Australia’s openers will have to combat the most challenging period of a day-night Test during dusk as the lights take hold into the final session. Pucovski has played two day-night first-class matches, against England in 2017-18 and Pakistan last season, with scores of 4, 5 and 1 but is currently a player riding a wave of form and confidence.”It can be a bit different, but it’s pretty cool and pretty fun especially once it gets into that dusk evening time,” Pucovski said. “It’s one of those things growing up you never really thought would happen but that’s part of Test cricket now and it’s an unbelievable atmosphere.”I haven’t been playing in a Test with a crowd and the pink ball, but just watching, when Australia played New Zealand at Adelaide two or three years ago, I just happened to be in Adelaide and we went down for an hour or two and it was an incredible atmosphere.”Neither is Pucovski overthinking the step up in class when he faces the Indian attack. “Obviously they are very good bowlers, but I’ve faced a lot of very good bowling in first-class cricket. At the end of the day, I look at it as it’s just a ball coming down and you and I just have to do my best to react in the best way possible.”Overall, there was excitement in Pucovski’s voice about what lies ahead. “It’s pretty cool, you watch these blokes on TV dominating around the world and never think that could be me facing them one day,” he said. “But it could become a reality.”

The BCCI will make its decision by December 2 after seeking opinion from the states

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2020The 2020-21 Indian domestic season could be limited to just white-ball cricket as several state associations have told the BCCI that they prefer to play the 20-over Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. A final decision is expected to be made by the BCCI soon after it seeks opinion from the states by December 2.With the Indian domestic season failing to start on time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BCCI sent out an email on Sunday, asking state associations to pick their preference from four options by Wednesday. The options included: only Ranji Trophy, only Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, both the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy, or only the limited-overs tournaments – along with tentative dates for each, in the timeframe between December 20 and March 18.ESPNcricnfo understands several states, including defending Ranij Trophy champions Saurashtra, domestic heavyweights Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, along with Baroda and Punjab, are all in favour of playing primarily the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare tournaments.The outliers among those contacted by ESPNcricinfo are the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) along with the Andhra Cricket Association and the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), who have chosen the option of playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy followed by the Ranji Trophy.The BCCI had listed December 20-January 10 as the window for the domestic T20s. The Ranji Trophy would span 67 days starting January 11 through March 18. The Vijay Hazare Trophy has been proposed between January 11 and February 7.The major concerns that the states have expressed are centered around preparation and team selection. While some states have gradually begun to restart operations, training camps, and local tournaments over the last few months, the majority of them will be forced into a hurried pre-season based on BCCI’s current proposed dates.According to Shah the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy should also be conducted “group-wise” and preferably in the same zones to avoid travel hurdles amid the pandemic. Most states associations also pointed out that based on the conduct of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and the state of the pandemic in the country at the time, the BCCI could look at staging the Ranji Trophy thereafter.Rohit Pandit, chief executive officer at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, said that the central Indian state was “more or less okay” with the BCCI’s proposed dates. Given that cricket in the state has been ongoing since July, he pointed out that logistical challenges aside, the team should be ready.In a press release, the KSCA said they were pushing for all kinds of cricket – men and women, across age groups – to resume to safeguard the welfare of those who are involved in the game. They are also understood to be willing to play hosts, with at least eight first-class standard grounds available in the state.”We, KSCA, have suggested to the BCCI to conduct T20 and Ranji Trophy, and later Vijay Hazare Trophy,” the release said. “We have further suggested to conduct all tournaments for both men and women, for all age groups for the season 2020-21. We have further said, if need be, skip the Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. We have said in case the activities are not held, then all the direct stakeholders including players, especially the age-group category cricketers, umpires, scorers, video analysts, coaches, support staff and others will stand to lose substantially on the cricketing front as well monetary front.”Bengal, who finished runner-up in the Ranji Trophy last season, are in favour of playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Ranji Trophy. The Cricket Association of Bengal, which is currently headed by Avishek Dalmiya, has also expressed keenness to be one of the six bio-secure venues for the forthcoming domestic season.A senior office bearer at Mumbai Cricket Association said that it was “it was a difficult ask which BCCI has to handle” and hence in its response the MCA had not put any conditions, including when the tournament should begin.Incidentally, the MCA is yet to resume cricketing activities and Mumbai are currently without a selection committee as well as a head coach. VCA has also asked the BCCI to facilitate resumption of cricketing activity in Maharashtra in order for players to get ample time for preparation.Some states like Tamil Nadu have already set the ball rolling and have called for a selection meeting later this week to pick a longlist of probables. Most states have asked the BCCI to make their decision soon and provide the tournament dates so that they can pick the teams accordingly. They have also sought details of the bio-secure hubs, where the teams would be based during a domestic tournament, and quarantine requirements.

Allrounder Kainat Imtiaz was recalled in the touring party of 17 for the three ODIs and T20Is each

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2020Pakistan have named Javeria Khan as the stand-in captain for the South Africa tour next month after regular captain Bismah Maroof pulled out for “family reasons”. A 17-women squad was announced for the three ODIs and as many T20Is, as Pakistan prepare for the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in July 2021 for the main event in early 2022 in New Zealand.Twenty-eight-year-old allrounder Kainat Imtiaz, who has been in an out of the team since 2010, was recalled after an impressive show in the domestic circuit. She averaged 111 from four games with a half-century and also picked up three wickets with her medium pace. Iram Javed, who was part of the squad for the T20 World Cup earlier this year, was dropped as the selectors recalled Ayesha Zafar, Kainat, Nahida Khan and Nashra Sandhu.As many as 27 players had been training for the tour in a biosecure bubble in Karachi in the lead up to the tour. The upcoming series will be Pakistan Women’s first after a gap of 10 months.The selections were broadly based on the performances in the recent National Triangular T20 Women’s Championship, played from November 22 to December 1 in Rawalpindi, and also took into account the form and fitness of the players in the recent camp. Nahida, 34, finished the Women’s Cricket Championship as the leading run-scorer with 154 runs at an average of 51, and Zafar was the fourth-best batter with a tally of 111. Muneeba Ali (with two hundreds and a fifty) and Omaima Sohail (one hundred) were retained in the squad because of their current form.”We have seen significant improvement over the last three months in the intent and mindset of the players and the team is shaping up well for the upcoming series,” chief selector Urooj Mumtaz said. “The squad is well balanced and possesses a good blend of youth and experience for what promises to be an exciting tour.”Javeria Khan is an experienced campaigner and has the desired understanding of the game which is necessary to lead the national women’s team. She has undertaken this responsibility in the past and I am certain she will rise to the occasion and inspire the players. Our last tour to South Africa in 2018 produced high-quality cricket and we are looking forward to yet another competitive tour, which will be instrumental for the new head coach David Hemp as well as in our preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifiers.”The selected squad will continue to stay in Karachi and depart for Durban on 11 January. They will start training and play intra-squad matches from January 13 before the ODIs begin on January 20, followed by the T20Is, with the tour finishing on February 3.Squad for ODIs and T20Is: Javeria Khan (capt), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Naseem, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Syeda Aroob Shah

Former India opener also finds support from Irfan Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Dodda Ganesh

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Feb-2021Former India captain Anil Kumble has led the support from the Indian players’ fraternity to former team-mate Wasim Jaffer after senior officials at Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) reportedly alleged Jaffer was creating a religious and communal divide in the dressing room. Along with Kumble, others who backed Jaffer included former Indian and Baroda allrounder Irfan Pathan, India and Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary and former India and Karnataka fast bowler Dodda Ganesh.”With you Wasim,” Kumble said in a tweet posted on Thursday. “Did the right thing. Unfortunately, it’s the players who’ll miss your mentorship.” Incidentally, both Kumble and Jaffer are part of the Kings XI Punjab coaching staff; the former is the director of cricket operations and the latter is the batting coach.The allegations, which were published by Hindi newspaper on Wednesday, quoted the CAU secretary Mahim Verma stating that Jaffer was trying to “break the team through religious activities”. Navneet Mishra, the Uttarakhand team manager, also alleged that Jaffer had also changed the team slogan from ” to ”.Meanwhile, the CAU has asked Mishra to submit a report on the matter. “After looking at the seriousness of the incident related to the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand and Wasim Jaffer, the association has asked men’s senior team’s manager Navneet Mishra to submit a report on the matter,” Verma said in CAU release. “The further course of action will be decided after Mishra submits his report.”We are already questioning the manager about the biosecure bubble breach and will take action against any person/support staff responsible for the same as players’ safety is paramount for us.”On Wednesday, Jaffer denied all the allegations, calling them “baseless” and “petty”. Pathan agreed, saying in a tweet today, that it was “unfortunate” Jaffer had to “explain this”.Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, Dodda Ganesh and Manoj Tiwary tweeted in Jaffer’s support•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Incidentally, the allegations emerged a day after Jaffer sent in his resignation as Uttarakhand head coach on February 8 citing “interference in selections”. In an e-mail to senior CAU office bearers and officials, Jaffer singled out Verma for interfering in the team selections and it was the CAU’s secretary’s “laidback and unprofessional approach” which had caused him to “move away”.Last June, the CAU had appointed Jaffer as the head coach for the 2020-21 season. With the pandemic delaying the start of the Indian domestic season, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was Jaffer’s first assignment as he arrived in Dehradun for the preparatory camp on December 22. Immediately, Jaffer said, he noticed Verma having a say in cricketing issues including selection for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.”Things had started to get sour between me and Mr. Mahim Verma when I was pressurised in the last team selections for Syed Mushtaq Ali, where Mr. Verma had been pushing the names of players for selection in the team, who were not at all deserving,” Jaffer wrote in the February 8 e-mail. “I had made it very clear then also that for the betterment of cricket in the state going forward, I am not going to entertain such interference in the team selection.”Related

• Jaffer steps down as Uttarakhand coach

• Wasim Jaffer denies reported 'communal' allegations after quitting as Uttarakhand coach

Apparently, Jaffer’s riposte did not deter Verma. According to Jaffer, he spoke to Verma on January 30, regarding the selection of the squad for the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament. Jaffer wanted to finalise the squad along with the Uttarakhand selection panel head Rizwan Shamshad, the former Uttar Pradesh fast bowler. Jaffer told Verma he “wanted our team to go and play at least 4-5 practice matches with other association so I can observe the performances of the players and temperament in conditions away from Dehradun”.On February 3, Verma told Jaffer in an e-mail that Shamshad’s panel had been asked to pick the squad by February 1. “I had e-mailed a team of 22 players to the secretary, selection committee and CEO on 7th Feb night as my recommendation and feedback but I did not receive even a reply or a call and the team was announced on 8th Feb which I being the Head Coach received on 8th Feb late evening. I had been continuously in touch with the CEO since my appointment was done and had been smoothly coordinating with Mr. [Aman] Singh in regards to all cricketing requirements but even on that front I was asked by Mr. Verma to directly coordinate with him as he is the secretary of the association and going forward this has also resulted in many delays and no plan of action was discussed ever.”According to Jaffer, Shamshad had “not even once” contacted him before finalising the Uttarakhand squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. “Being the Head Coach and being with the team continuously for the last 3-4 months I expect at least some feedbacks to be taken.”Jaffer, 42, retired from cricket having played for more than two decades during which he played 31 Tests for India, won eight Ranji Trophy titles with Bombay and two more with Vidarbha, for whom he played as a professional. Jaffer said he had turned down offers from overseas including the batting coach role at Bangladesh to focus on Uttarakhand. But the episode had left him “disheartened”.”I feel really sad for the players as I genuinely think that they have lot of potential and can learn so much from me but are denied with this opportunity because of so much interference & bias-ness of selectors and Secretary in the selection matters for non-deserving players. If the Honorary Secretary of CAU would want to inculcate such kind of work environment while not letting me take certain decisions pertaining to the team’s welfare and performance. Then I don’t think there’s any valid reason for me to continue as Head Coach of Men’s Senior team of CAU.”I had an offer of becoming batting coach of Bangladesh test team, Head Coach Sri Lanka premier league, Head Coach Dubai T10 and Head Coach offers from other reputed state associations but I refused them all because of my commitment to CAU that I had made. I had put in a lot of efforts into shaping up the Men’s team keeping in mind the future aspects of the state and its players but such a laid back & unprofessional approach from Mr. Verma has forced me to move away from CAU. It is really very disheartening to see that so much talent in the state is being wasted just because of such approach.”

He says giving some younger players chances hasn’t produced “consistent” results

Madushka Balasuriya03-Mar-2021Blooding young talent in the national side at the expense of consistent results has not proven to be a winning strategy, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said on the eve of the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Pollard further said it was about time the team started winning matches on a regular basis.Since their T20 World Cup triumph in 2016, West Indies have won just 16 of their subsequent 50 T20Is, losing 30 of them. According to Pollard, the team needs to “get back into the habit of winning,” and bringing senior players back into the fold is one way in which they hope to achieve that.”You look at some of the younger guys that have gotten the opportunities when we started off around 2019, and it hasn’t really produced the results on a consistent basis,” Pollard said.Related

• Can Sri Lanka defy Gayle and Co once more to end T20I series drought?

• Phil Simmons: Sri Lanka series first step to finalise 'make-up of our team' for T20 World Cup

• Gayle, Fidel Edwards recalled to WI's T20I squad

“As a team we need to start winning cricket matches, win series. Because we can go down the line of saying ‘we need to blood this talent, blood this talent’, but some of you same guys will start talking about the results as well. So we have to strike that balance [between youth and experience], we have to start winning T20 matches, we’re the defending champions, and we have to get back into the habit of winning. And if that means getting a couple of senior guys in to start that process, so be it.”Recalls for Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards, 41 and 39 respectively, raised more than a few eyebrows, but head coach Phil Simmons had earlier stated both players had earned their spots in the side by virtue of their strong performances in franchise cricket. Pollard echoed this view, adding that he views a blend of youth and experience as very much the way forward ahead of the T20 World Cup in India later this year.”These guys continue to perform despite their age. And one that thing that has been said throughout is that once you show that you can perform at the highest level, such as franchise cricket from the T20 point of view, the opportunity is still there.”The way to go forward is having that sort of mixture in the team, youth and experience. The youthful guys can learn from the experienced guys, and these are some of the things that have been missing. From 2016 till now can we safely say we have put forward our best T20 team to go to any series or anything like that?”With a hectic T20 schedule ahead in the coming months, Pollard also urged players in the domestic system to “stick your neck above the rest” to be selected.”We have to start somewhere and this is a starting point for us. We have 18 games plus a whole CPL tournament before the World Cup, so guys can get opportunities and we can see where we need to be come October.”[Fringe players must] continue to work hard and continue to churn out the numbers, and stick your neck above the rest.”But you have to continue to do it. If you have to pick between guys scoring 150-200 runs all the time, and there’s no one sticking out their head – I’m just talking in general, that figure is not relevant – scoring above that, then it just boils down to who you think is the best person at that point in time. And if the guys keep doing that then the opportunity will present itself.”Look at young Kevin Sinclair, he’s been economical in the couple of games he played in the Super 50 in the last couple of years for the emerging team, even this year as well in CPL. He gets an opportunity now. The opportunities are there, opportunities are going to come, things are being seen. You just have to be as consistent as possible, and not just walking around doing and saying things with a sense of entitlement.”In terms of the players that have missed out on the Sri Lanka tour, particularly Shimron Hetmyer – widely considered to be among the most talented batsmen in the West Indies set-up – Pollard refused to be drawn into the conversation, though he did say Hetmyer’s absence left a “big void”.”He knows exactly what he needs to do, he knows the reasons why he’s not here. And again we need to sometimes be open and honest and straightforward with each from different points of view, rather than just try to pamper certain situations all the way through. You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t in certain aspects, but he has left a big, big void.”

“If the ball is clipping the stumps, it should be out – whether you like it or not you lose the review”

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Mar-20215:41

Kohli: Soft signal a grey area with not enough clarity

Virat Kohli stopped short of saying that the contentious umpire’s call rule should be scrapped from the game, but did call for a relook at the rule because it creates “a lot of confusion”. The final decision on the matter lies with the ICC’s cricket committee, which recently deliberated on the matter, and has submitted its recommendations to the global body.According to Kohli, there should not be any debates on what percentage of the stumps the ball is hitting when a decision is reviewed.”Look, I have played a long time when then there was no DRS, right? If the umpire made a decision, whether the batsman liked it or not, it stayed like that; vice-versa if the umpire gave him not out and it was out it stayed like that whether it was marginal or not,” Kohli said on Monday at a media briefing in Pune ahead of the fist ODI against England. “According to me, umpire’s call right now is creating a lot of confusion. When you get bowled, as a batsman you don’t expect the ball to hit more than 50% of the stumps to consider yourself bowled. So when the ball is shown as clipping the stumps, the bails are going to fall.Related

• Umpire's call offers vital shade of grey

• Non-neutral umpires, other Covid-19 regulations to remain in place until July

• Kohli: Rohit, Dhawan will definitely start as openers for England ODIs

• No umpire's call, permanent ban on saliva

• Kohli: Why can't we have an 'I don't know' soft signal?

“So, from basic cricket common sense, I don’t think that there should be any debates on that. If the ball is clipping the stumps, it should be out – whether you like it or not you lose the review. And that is how simple the game has to be: if it hits the stumps or it misses the stumps, it doesn’t matter how much it is hitting and those kind of things. Because it is creating a lot of confusion.”The umpire’s call is used in cases of the ball’s impact with pad and then the stumps, reliant on ball-tracking technology and as a concept is rooted, essentially, in the on-field umpire’s original decision retaining the benefit of doubt.According to the current ICC protocols, for “a Not Out decision to be overturned more than half the ball now has to be impacting the pad within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps), and the ball needs to be hitting the stumps within a zone bordered by the outside of off and leg stumps and the bottom of the bails (formerly the centre of off and leg stumps, and the bottom of the bails)”.Ever since the ICC introduced the umpire’s call, a DRS tool that has been updated gradually, it has remained a tetchy topic and divided the cricketing fraternity. Recently the MCC said some members on its World Cricket Committee, comprising former international captains and match officials, echoed the exact sentiment expressed by Kohli, saying the umpire’s call was “confusing to the watching public, particularly when the same ball could either be Out or Not out depending on the on-field umpire’s original decision”.6:14

Does cricket need to rethink the soft-signal rule?

‘Soft signal, another grey area’
Kohli remained unconvinced about another hotly debated decision-making tool, the soft signal, which he said along with the umpire’s call was a “serious” issue the game’s lawmakers needed to tackle.The debate over the validity of an on-field umpire making a soft signal for a low catch in the outfield was reignited last week after Suryakumar Yadav was caught by Dawid Malan in the deep in the fourth T20I of the India vs England series.KN Ananthapadmanabhan, the on-field umpire, gave the soft signal as out even as Virender Sharma, the TV umpire, remained unconvinced. Although the rulebook gives the TV umpire the authority to overrule the soft signal, Sharma upheld his on-field colleague’s decision.After the match Kohli reacted strongly, saying he failed to understand why there was no “I don’t know” option the on-field umpire could use for cases where the evidence was not conclusive.On Monday Kohli felt controversial dismissals like Yadav’s also had the potential to trigger the spirit of cricket argument. “One more factor that needs to be considered is how the fielding team responds to a dismissal that is claimed is also somewhere you know defining soft signal as well,” he said. “Again, you have to question what the spirit of the game is and what those guidelines are. Because if things like that happen with the Indian cricket team overseas, then you are talking about a totally different conversation about spirit of the game, and so on and so forth.”Look, it is a serious, serious thing that needs to be considered because there is a lot at stake in future, there are big tournaments. And you don’t want some grey areas factors of the game which leave you with no clarity to be the defining factors of those big tournaments and big games.”

Covid disruption and points deduction conspire against eternal bridesmaids

Matt Roller02-Apr-2021When Somerset’s two captains and their brightest young talent flew to Pakistan in February, their ambitions for the PSL season were clear: to rub shoulders with some of the world’s top players, to experience high-pressure situations in a major competition, and to earn a few rupees while they were at it.Things did not go to plan. Lewis Gregory won the match award in his first game but then suffered a minor injury; Tom Banton was unceremoniously dropped by Quetta Gladiators after two single-digit scores; and Tom Abell couldn’t force his way into a strong Lahore Qalandars’ line-up. And then, as the tournament’s biosecure bubble burst, all three tested positive for Covid-19.”I guess we are all pretty fortunate,” Abell, the club’s red-ball captain, reflected at Somerset’s pre-season media day. “Lewis had a bit of a fever, but very mild, and I didn’t suffer any symptoms. We were all aware of the risks of going abroad and playing in these competitions but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.”We had 10 days [of self-isolation] in the hotel in Pakistan – which wasn’t ideal – then tested negative, and then had another 10 days back at home. It’s obviously a big relief to get back into pre-season here. There will certainly be no excuses – it’s just a question of getting the miles in our legs, but we’ll all have had plenty of preparation leading up to that first game.”It is just as well that they have recovered: if any side in the country can afford to start slowly in the County Championship, it is not Somerset. The pitch prepared for their title decider against Essex in 2019 earned them a points deduction, which has rolled over to the start of this season and been adjusted to fit the rejigged structure – heading into their game against Middlesex at Lord’s next week, their points tally stands at minus eight.Not that the deduction has dampened the enthusiasm around the club ahead of the new season. “We’re a very driven group of players,” Abell said. “We want to achieve, and we want to win. We feel like we’ve been very competitive over the last couple of years but we’re certainly not content with that. The energy around the club is as good as I’ve experienced and the competition within the squad is extreme.”In fact, that competition for places has been sufficiently fierce that three players have left the club in the last 12 months in search of more first-team opportunities: Dom Bess moved to Yorkshire, Jamie Overton to Surrey, and Nathan Gilchrist, a highly-rated young seamer, joined Kent. Marchant de Lange, signed as an overseas player for the full season, is a like-for-like Overton replacement, but the club will promote youngsters to plug any other gaps.”We want to ensure that we’re doing everything we possibly can to retain our players and keep them at the club,” Andy Hurry, the director of cricket, said. “I think we do become victims of our own success: it is a challenge for us because we’ve got significant competition for places. We’re competing for silverware and it’s important that we’re selecting sides that give us the best possible chance of winning games. As a consequence, we can’t always keep everybody happy.”Tom Banton endured a difficult time at the Pakistan Super League•AFP via Getty Images

As for other recruits, Babar Azam looks unlikely to return given the overlap between the T20 Blast and the window for the rescheduled PSL, but Hurry said that the club will “continue to explore” the possibility of bringing someone in for the competition.There has been a significant change off the field, too. Marcus Trescothick, the assistant coach last summer, has ended his long association with the club to take up a full-time role as England’s batting coach, with Jim Troughton – sacked by Warwickshire over the winter – filling the vacancy. Steve Kirby is also back as bowling coach after Stuart Barnes took up a role with Ireland.There are several young players hoping to make an impression. Tom Lammonby was the breakout star of last summer’s Bob Willis Trophy, making three hundreds as an opener, and is sure to be discussed as an England contender before long, while Lewis Goldsworthy and Will Smeed impressed in the Blast. In pre-season, 18-year-old Sonny Baker has caught the eye with some hooping inswingers, but will have to wait his turn given the number of seamers ahead of him in the queue.Banton’s early-season involvement is noteworthy. He made only two Somerset appearances last summer on account of his international commitments, but opted to play the early rounds of the Championship rather than entering the IPL auction and facing the prospect of more time on the bench. After his eye-catching 2019 season, Banton’s stock has fallen in the last 12 months as he has got to grips with life in bio-secure bubbles and failed to nail down an England place.Related

• Somerset's points deduction revisited in wake of County Championship rejig

• Jack Brooks as hungry as ever, Somerset starving for Championship success

• Jack Leach returns from India full of confidence in his bowling and his health

• Gloucestershire await true test of mettle after promotion that never was

“When you have a player of his quality coming back, that’s only going to give you a boost,” Abell said. “Bants is a big character in the dressing room and I know he’s excited to be back. He’s a phenomenal talent but he’s human as well and his attitude towards coming back to play red-ball cricket for us has been fantastic. I’m very confident we’ll see the best of him this year.”The biggest question still remains: how can a team that has finished second in the last three seasons go one better this time around? “We’re always looking to make small improvements but we have to trust what we’ve been doing as a group,” Abell said. “We’ve been there and thereabouts for a reason and we don’t want to change too much to chase that elusive Championship. The best thing we can do is start well and our full focus is on doing just that.”

Rashid Khan couldn’t defend seven in the Super Over

Alagappan Muthu25-Apr-20213:42

Deep Dasgupta: ‘It’s a shame Williamson didn’t have enough support’

Delhi Capitals win the one-over eliminatorKane Williamson once again masked the Sunrisers’ lack of middle-order firepower and took them as far as the Super Over. But that final hurdle just proved too much.The Delhi Capitals’ Axar Patel, only recently recovered from Covid-19, was chosen ahead of Kagiso Rabada, the Super Over expert, to bowl in the most intense conditions, and through artful changes of pace and vicious use of angles to cramp the batters, he restricted Sunrisers to seven. It could have been eight but the third umpire spotted a very tight short run by David Warner.People will debate the choice not to send Jonny Bairstow, who struck at 211 on the night, for the Super Over. But that will end up in the footnote of this engrossing game as Rishabh Pant persevered against Rashid Khan, reverse swatting him for a boundary to bring his team and his pandemic-hobbled city a tiny bit of joy deep into extra time.Shaw goes berserk

The pitches in Chennai are best to bat on right at the start of the game. Then it starts to wear, with every single ball. Eventually run-scoring becomes a serious hassle.So Prithvi Shaw decided to take advantage of his position as opener. He took strike and promptly hit the first three balls to the boundary. His best shot though was an imperious cover drive for six off Siddarth Kaul in the third over.The camera panned to Pant just then. He was sitting in the dugout, his chin resting on his hand, very quiet, almost contemplative. He was the next batter in, so perhaps he was focused on getting into his zone. Even so, that shot was so good it broke through the captain’s zen and made him nod in appreciation.Sunrisers vs Pant

The Capitals marched to 51 for 0 in the first six overs. Now with the field spreading and the spinners coming on, hitting through the line became almost impossible. Even the half-centurion Shaw, who cruised to 39 off 23 in the powerplay, could make only 14 off his next 16 balls before getting run-out.The Sunrisers placed all their faith in taking pace off the ball. But as well as they did that, they weren’t making too many inroads. Chances came in the 16th and 17th overs when Pant and Steven Smith offered catches to short fine leg (Khaleel Ahmed) and short third man (Siddarth Kaul) but neither were accepted.Rishabh Pant’s boundary in the Super Over all but sealed the game for the Delhi Capitals•BCCI/IPL

Warner was hunched over by this point. His bowlers were doing everything right. His fielders were doing everything wrong. And because of that a power-hitting genius was still at the crease.Pant made 37 off 27 balls. He hit slower deliveries for six. He reverse-scooped fast bowlers for four. He toyed with Rashid, whacking the legspinner for 15 off eight balls. His 58-run partnership with Smith helped take Capitals to a very reasonable 159 for 4.Bairstow and Williamson step up

Put the ball in a spinner’s hand – spinners of the quality of R Ashwin and Amit Mishra – and it was spitting and bouncing and ripping and dipping.Bairstow somehow put all that to the back of his mind – and better yet, he made the spinners put them in the back of theirs too. Worried by his power against tossed up deliveries, they all went fast and flat at him and he still punished them. The Sunrisers opener made 38 off 18 balls. He could have been gone for 1 had Shimron Hetmyer not misjudged a tough catch on the midwicket boundary.Williamson has a subtler approach. He knows he can’t blast an opposition out but he can bring them to submission, slowly and methodically. And he did that here. Williamson swept and reverse-swept the Capitals spinners, always mindful that his wrists came down on top of the ball to prevent the top edge. He made the most of the little flaws in the field; when Kagiso Rabada ran in with mid-off up, Williamson charged out and lofted the ball over that fielder. He knew the value of taking this chase deep and so he used the crease, worked the angles and ran like a demon between the wickets.The surprise cameo

Despite all of this, Sunrisers still needed 50 off the last 30 balls. How does a T20 team with no recognised finisher manage ten an over for that long?Well, with some help from a very unlikely source. J Suchith came into the side because Bhuvneshwar Kumar pulled up sore. With the game going the other way, he struck Avesh Khan for two cracking fours in the 19th over and Kagiso Rabada for one towering six in the 20th to force a Super Over showdown.