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On Wednesday evening Hardik Pandya was his normal self. He was prancing and dancing around Wankhede stadium. And why not. It was Pandya’s thundering cameo at the death that put Mumbai Indians in a winning position, which he sealed with a three-wicket bowling spell that broke Chennai Super Kings’ back.Pandya’s eight-ball 25 was equal to 39 Smart runs, his Smart Strike rate was a whopping 487.50, while his Smart economy was 1.75. The performance allowed Pandya his first Man-of-the-Match award in T20s in 16 matches (including IPL and internationals). Importantly, it gave Pandya a reason to smile. A reason to believe in himself having endured a difficult past seven months.ALSO READ: Superstats – Hardik Pandya aces it with bat and ballPandya aborted the Asia Cup last September after suffering a back injury. That forced him to miss selection for the T20 and Test series in Australia. The selectors did pick him eventually for the fourth Test, but Pandya just carried the drinks. Then on the eve of ODI series in Australia, in January, Pandya, along with friend and team-mate KL Rahul were suspended by the BCCI for their offensive remarks on a television chat show, which were condemned in public as well as the India dressing room.Although the ban was provisionally lifted on January 24, both players are yet to be cleared. Pandya has been asked by the BCCI ombudsman to be present for an in-person hearing on April 9.Evidently, then, Pandya was thrilled at having been the catalyst in Mumbai’s victory. “It feels pretty good to having helped the team to win and contributed. It is a fantastic feeling,” Pandya told Sanjay Manjrekar in the post-match presentation.Even without the gentle prod from Manjrekar, Pandya was willing to pour out his emotions of the most difficult phase of his career so far. “It has been seven months that I have hardly played games. I’ve just batted and batted and batted, and touch wood the game is getting improved. I am someone who wants to improve day by day. That is something I was focusing all that time I was out. Touch wood it is helping me. It is a fantastic feeling when you hit the ball like that and make your team win.”During the suspension period Pandya had opted not to come out of his house. After his match-winning role he disclosed partially his feelings during that time. “I was out for an injury and then some other controversy happened. This Man-of-the-Match I really like to dedicate to my family and my friends who were there for me during my toughest time. Because these seven months have not been easy. I was out and then I didn’t know what to do.”It also allowed Pandya to carry out a “reality check”. And now he has one motive. “That kind of made me feel that I should have a reality check on my life [about] what I am doing and which is helping me. Now my only focus is to play IPL and make sure India wins the World Cup. That is my sole purpose. That’s why I am practising the way I am doing right now.”Kieron Pollard, whose late cameo in tandem with Pandya allowed Mumbai to plunder 45 off the final two overs, was modest enough to admit his team-mate had him “covered”. “He is phenomenal,” Pollard said immediately after the victory. “He is one that goes out and just plays his game. He doesn’t think about much because there is a lot of analysis goes around the way you bat and the striking zones and whatever. But he just has a clear mind and he is hitting the ball pretty far. And that’s what you get with youthful exuberance.”

Jhye Richardson has made peace with the bitter disappointment of being ruled out of the World Cup due to the dislocated shoulder he suffered against Pakistan in the UAE and now has his sights set on returning for the Ashes tour later in the year.Jhye picked up the injury diving on the boundary during the second ODI in Sharjah and though he avoided needing surgery, the time has run out on him to be ready for the World Cup. Since Australia went into camp in Brisbane, it has looked unlikely he would recover having not yet resumed bowling although right up the moment of being ruled out he remained positive about the prognosis.His next target is to be able available to join the Australia A tour of England which runs concurrent to the latter part of the World Cup and the build-up to the Ashes in a bid to make the Test squad for the series which starts on August 1. Kane Richardson has been called up to Australia’s 15-man World Cup squad in his place.”If I’m going to be brutally honest, it hasn’t been that easy to accept,” Jhye said before leaving Australia’s camp in Brisbane to return to Perth. “World Cups don’t come around every day, so it’s been tough. I’ve got the right people around me. The guys are fantastic, they’ve been really supportive every step of the way. I’ve done everything I can, it just wasn’t meant to be and I’m at peace with it.”It helps a lot to know there is something just as big around the corner and to have that to aim for it puts a lot of clarity in my mind. I’ll do everything I can to get up for firstly the Australia A tour and then the Ashes.His World Cup absence is a blow for Australia with him having made an impressive return to the Australia one-day side during the home summer. In his young ODI career, he has taken 24 wickets in 12 matches so far at an average of 26.33.”This is obviously very disappointing news for the team and for Jhye, who has been exceptional throughout his rehabilitation process,” David Beakley, Australia’s physiotherapist, said. “After his most recent assessment and attempting to bowl in the nets, it was clear that Jhye was not progressing as fast as required and therefore, in consultation with selectors, we made the decision to withdraw him from the squad.”Jhye added: “I honestly thought I could get up and I was determined to do everything I could. It was always going to be touch and go, we knew that from the day I did it. I was optimistic all the way through even though bowling wasn’t going the way I would have liked. I still thought I had a chance. Even though people around me were telling me it wasn’t going as well as they would have liked, I was trying to keep positive.”He also insisted he would have no doubts about throwing himself around the outfield again in the future even if it risked another injury. “That’s the way I want to play my cricket. I want to be able to put my body on the line, that’s what it means to me, and if I get injured doing so then so be it. I can accept that. If I’m trying to save runs for the team and do everything I can then that’s the way I want to go about it and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.”For his namesake, Kane, the World Cup call-up completes a notable one-day comeback having drifted out of the reckoning until a prolific BBL – where he was the leading wicket-taker – earned him another chance, firstly for the India tour, which he was then ruled out of with injury, and then the Pakistan series in the UAE where he played two matches.He was wicketless in the opening match against the New Zealand XI in Brisbane but was named for the second match.He has been called up ahead of Josh Hazlewood who was the other quick confirmed as a reserve when the squad was named last month. Hazlewood has been out of action since the final Test against India in early January but was bowling off a full run and at a good pace in the nets on Wednesday.Sean Abbott and Michael Neser, who are both part of the Australia A squad, were included in the Australian XII for the second practice match at Allan Border Field, while Mitchell Starc got his first outing since the final Test against Sri Lanka when he suffered a pectoral injury.

Shakib Al Hasan’s preparations for the World Cup kicked into high gear at this year’s IPL. Left out by Sunrisers Hyderabad for four weeks, Shakib used the time to get into shape through a strict fitness regime under trainer Jade Roberts. At one stage he flew in Mohammad Salahuddin, his mentor since childhood, to India to work on his batting and bowling.Shakib even changed his food habits and lost around six kilos. He looks slimmer, almost like the youngster he was during the 2007 World Cup. His work during the downtime which coincided with the run-up to the World Cup worked a treat. He played only three matches for Sunrisers before heading home for the World Cup camp in Dhaka. After creating a rumpus for not appearing in the team photo, Shakib did well in the Ireland tri-series, only to miss the final due to back spasm.After Bangladesh beat West Indies in their first game in Dublin, Shakib spoke about the extensive fitness work he had been putting in with his eyes on the World Cup.ALSO READ: How Soumya Sarkar shocked South Africa“With the World Cup coming up, like every other player I too have a goal,” he said in Ireland. “I can tell you that I have taken the best preparation for this tournament, something that I had not done for the past eight or nine years. I will keep my end of the bargain, while the rest is up to Allah and my effort.”I feel a lot fitter than before, and as a result I feel more confident. It is important to hold on to this fitness, because it is not always that you have this mentality. The body doesn’t respond in the same way all the time. I got a “kick” from somewhere, let’s not reveal it. It is not a big deal but it certainly woke me up.”Cut to the World Cup itself and Shakib begins the campaign in the best way possible with a composed 75 off 84 balls and 1 for 50 from his ten overs. It was his first Player-of-the-Match award in the World Cup, having now struck a fifty in each of the four editions he has been a part of. This innings – which formed part of a 142-run stand with Mushfiqur Rahim – ensured there was no slip after a terrific start provided by Soumya Sarkar’s bristling response to South Africa’s attempts to use the short ball.Shakib Al Hasan plays a shot as Quinton de Kock looks on•Getty Images

His bowling was also effective against a South Africa side that looked to be too conservative against his left-arm spin. The wicket he claimed, defeating a well-set Aiden Markram in his fifth over, was his 250th in ODIs. His initial spell of seven overs went for just 25 runs and was key in leaving South Africa significantly behind the required rate.”From a personal point of view, it was a really good day,” he said. “I could contribute to the team, and there were some personal achievements. It was an important partnership with Mushfiq bhai after we got a good start from the openers.WATCH on Hotstar – Shakib’s key innings (Available to viewers in India only)”I think it was a special day for Bangladesh cricket, to start so well against tough opponents in the World Cup. We had the belief but we had to portray it in our performance. Everyone had been confident, which helped us to execute our plan.”Shakib, who will play his 200th ODI against New Zealand on June 5, said the 21-run win will have put opposition on notice when they face Bangladesh although cautioned against getting carried away by one victory.”We still have eight matches to go, so a lot of difficulties await us. Other teams will now be careful against us. It is good because they may be a tensed facing us. But at the other hand, they would also be quite focused and we have to do well against them. We have to prepare better, and execute our plans better.Shakib added that Bangladesh, who reached the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy, still have a lot to prove but the tag that they are a dangerous side is something he wants other teams to focus on.”We have always tried to say it but others don’t really have time for us. I think we have a lot to prove. We have started well. I think that we are in a good place, mentally. I think if we can continue in this manner we can go a long way in the tournament.”But it is Shakib’s drive to do well, despite having been around for more than 13 years, and having earned plaudits for being arguably the best allrounder in the world, that stands out. Him performing at the top of his ability is nothing new but he has sometimes been associated with the sort of player who doesn’t need a lot of day-to-day training to perform well. However, ahead of this World Cup his extra effort shows how much doing well at the biggest stage matters to him.

The BCCI’s Committee of Administrators has appointed the former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, N Gopalaswami, to take charge of the board’s upcoming elections. He has been named electoral officer for the process, which is set to conclude with the polling on October 22.Gopalaswami had worked as CEC between 2006 and 2009.The BCCI is set for elections after a prolonged tussle over the implementation of the Lodha Committee’s reforms, which was part of the fallout of the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. While the BCCI and its members – the state associations – wrangled over which Lodha recommendations to implement and in what form, the court had appointed a Committee of Administrators (CoA) to oversee the running of the Indian board in early 2017. The CoA supervised the BCCI for nearly 30 months before it announced in May that the board was ready to go ahead with elections.Gopalaswami will perform his role as electoral officer for the BCCI out of the board’s headquarters in Mumbai. He has till June 30 to prepare the electoral protocol for the elections, in consultation with the CoA, and communicate it to the state associations. Then, in the next step of the process, the states will need to appoint electoral officers of their own and hold their elections by September 14 at the latest. The states will then send the BCCI their list of representatives, and the list of candidates for the BCCI’s election will need to be finalised by September 30.It remains to be seen which of the current lot of office-bearers at the state and BCCI levels are eligible to contest the elections, given the cap on number of years in office and cooling-off period introduced by the Lodha Committee. As per the new rules, an office-bearer can work for 18 years as long as the cooling-off period of three years, which comes into play after two consecutive terms of three years each, is exercised.

Joe Denly scored his first century of the Specsavers County Championship campaign and moved Kent into a 319-run lead going into the final day of their Division One clash with Nottinghamshire in Tunbridge Wells.When bad light halted play Kent were sitting pretty on 273 for 3 after 67 overs, with Denly – who only last month missed out on selection for England’s World Cup 2019 squad – unbeaten with 111.The right-hander went out to bat in the home side’s second innings of this basement battle having mustered only 44 runs in his five Championship knocks of the summer at a paltry average of 8.8.Four hours later, however, Denly had hit 13 fours having featured in stands worth 75 with Zak Crawley, 152 in tandem with Daniel Bell-Drummond and then an unbroken 31 with Heino Kuhn that ensured a draw or a Kent victory.After securing a useful 42-run first-innings lead, Kent lost Sean Dickson just before lunch then first-innings century maker Crawley was caught on the drive in the mid-session.After a watchful start, Denly started to unfurl the trademark cover drives that won him England Test caps in the Caribbean during the winter.By mid-afternoon Bell-Drummond also started to blossom in the best batting conditions of the match. Denly reached his 50 from 82 balls while Bell-Drummond reached the landmark from only 70.The return of the skilful James Pattinson accounted for Bell-Drummond to a catch at the wicket for 79, but Denly ploughed on for the 28th first-class century if his career.”We’re in a really good position going into the last day,” said Denly. “We started well this morning with the ball and the seamers all put in a fantastic display.”In previous years, teams have tended to get away from us when some tail-enders have wagged a little, but this morning we were ruthless. Matt Milnes showed what a good signing he has been and I’m delighted that he got his first five-for against his old club.”With the bat, it was about trying to go out and be as positive as I could. They were going to attack me, so I tried to capitalise on any width or anything short and the plans worked well. I enjoy playing at Tunbridge Wells and this is a massive game against a team down the bottom yet still close to us. We’re in a great position now and hopefully we can put them under some real pressure tomorrow.”Earlier, Kent’s bowlers made the most of overcast, humid conditions to pick up Nottinghamshire’s last six wickets for 59 runs with Milnes claiming career-best figures of 5 for 68.Matt Milnes of Kent appeals•Getty Images

Kent made their first breakthrough after 20 minutes when Milnes plucked out the off stump of his former captain Steven Mullaney, sparking exuberant celebrations by the bowler.Samit Patel batted on unphased to reach an uncharacteristically slow half-century in from 141 balls. But, down the other end Notts No. 7, Tom Moores underwent a testing examination at the hands of Milnes, who beat the left-hander’s outside edge three times and had a strong leg before shout turned down all in the same over.In his next over, Milnes finally ended Patel’s three-hour stay for 52 with a shooting off-cutter that thudded into his pads. Two balls later, Milnes was celebrating his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket when Pattinson edged to slip.Wiaan Mulder got in on the act by having Mullaney caught behind. After a short rain break, Mulder returned to have Matt Carter caught at slip to secure a precious 42-run lead for the hosts. Mulder finished with 3 for 35.Patel said: “Denly batted excellently, showed how good he is and took the game away from us. It’s always hard when you’re trying to force it and they got away from us a little bit.”The bad light at the end tonight makes sure they’ll have to bat on for a bit on the morning and it will take some overs out of the game. Then we’ll see. If we can get two people in maybe we can knock them off.”

Gary Kirsten will coach the Durban Heat in the second edition of the Mzansi Super League in South Africa.Kirsten will be back in a coaching capacity in South Africa – a country he both played for and coached – with a wealth of experience in having handled international and domestic sides, looking to reverse the fortunes of the franchise that finished at the very bottom of the log in the inaugural MSL last year.”I have got fond memories of playing cricket at Kingsmead and, with my wife being from these parts, she thinks it is a natural progression” Kirsten said. “It is also a great opportunity to be involved in South African cricket and when Heinrich (Strydom) gave me the call I thought it was a great chance to stay relevant in the T20 space.””We took a shot in the dark and I gave Gary a ring and he said yes,” explained Strydom, CEO of KwaZulu-Natal Cricket. “To have his knowledge and his skills on board is incredible and hopefully we will have a good, long relationship going forward.”As a respected, humble ex-Protea player there are so many positive things that you can say about him and to have him on board is exactly what the game in South Africa needs,” Strydom added. “We are extremely grateful that Gary has taken this opportunity to lead the Durban Heat.”After calling time on his playing career in 2004, Kirsten spent some time with the Warriors franchise in the Eastern Cape as a consultant batting coach and, in 2006, set up his own academy in Cape Town. In December 2007, he signed up as coach of India, winning hearts and minds with his quiet and low-profile approach to the job. After coaching India to No. 1 in Test cricket and World Cup success in 2011, Kirsten moved on to see if he could repeat the magic with his home country.While the global title didn’t come, he did firmly establish South Africa as the No. 1 team in Tests. He stood down as South Africa coach in July 2013 and, a couple of months later, was named coach of the IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils. Kirsten has been head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore for the past two seasons, and has also filled the same role for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League.Kirsten’s wife, Deborah, is from KwaZulu-Natal and he still holds the record for the highest Test score at Kingsmead, 275 against England in 1999, so his connection with Durban and Kingsmead is a strong one.”For us as a franchise we want to ignite as much interest in the game as possible,” Kirsten said. “The priority is obviously to win games but we want to get people behind the brand and get the spectators to feel that the Durban Heat is their team.”It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to add as much value as I can to the side that we select so that they can reach their potential,” Kirsten added. “I find that every league is different and it’s going to be important that we get into a rhythm early.”

Angus Robson’s first Durham half-century enabled the visitors to set Middlesex a tricky target of 196 for victory in their low-scoring County Championship clash at Lord’s.Robson – the younger brother of Middlesex opener Sam – is making only his second appearance for Durham after impressing in their second XI earlier this summer.The 27-year-old’s gritty knock of 64 from 156 deliveries anchored Durham’s second innings as they posted 191 all out to set up the prospect of a fascinating finish on the third day.The elder Robson, along with Nick Gubbins, shaved 21 off the target during the five overs they faced before bad light ended play – but, with cloud cover expected again on Thursday, the bowlers may yet have the final word.Middlesex began the day 60 runs in arrears at 87 for 7 and initially adopted a strategy of pure survival as James Harris and Miguel Cummins gradually reduced the deficit.However, that changed after Ben Raine captured the wicket of Harris (14), with Cummins starting to play his shots and taking three boundaries from a single Chris Rushworth over.Steven Finn added 11 before Raine (5-26) clipped the leg stump to complete his third five-for of the season, but Cummins (22no) and Tim Murtagh (14) took their side to within four of Durham’s first-innings 147.Rushworth (3-54) eventually ended the Middlesex resistance by having Murtagh caught at backward point and then it was the turn of Durham’s batsmen to toil against the swinging ball.Alex Lees and Cameron Steel did not seem overly troubled as they accelerated after lunch, with the latter unafraid to go for his shots in an opening partnership of 51.The end of their stand was self-inflicted, with Lees (13) run out by Murtagh’s throw from mid-wicket after a chaotic mix-up and – as they had done in the first innings – Durham’s batting line-up wilted.Cummins, who consistently beat the bat from the Pavilion End, got one to move away from Steel (39) and take a faint edge through to John Simpson.Harris accounted for Peter Handscomb, leg before for three, and Durham were suddenly in difficulties at 80-4 when Gareth Harte (0) drifted across to be pinned in front of the stumps by Finn.But Robson and Championship debutant Scott Steel – no relation to Cameron – regrouped with a partnership of 47, dominated by the latter as he raced to 39 before chipping Murtagh to mid-wicket.Harris (3-43) claimed two more lbw victims by nipping the ball back to remove Ned Eckersley (2) and Brydon Carse (0), but Robson inched towards his half-century after almost three and a half hours.It was Finn (3-49) who finally wrapped up Durham’s innings, with Robson’s the final wicket to fall after Max Holden’s juggling act on the boundary – leaving Middlesex an awkward spell to negotiate before the close.Gubbins began the chase by driving Rushworth’s first two deliveries to the boundary as he and Robson reached 21-0, with Middlesex requiring another 175 to win

Before Marnus Labuschagne came to wider attention in the Ashes series, he set an unlikely event in motion: a Glamorgan promotion challenge. Few would have predicted that a year ago after they finished bottom of the heap in Division Two.Those of fiercely patriotic bent were not exactly happy to see county cricket providing Labuschagne with a grounding in English cricket ahead of the Ashes. They would have moaned all the more if only they could have pronounced his name.But it certainly worked for Glamorgan. By the time Labuschagne-or-however-you-pronounce-it had left, he had 1114 Championship runs at 65.53. Life has been tougher since then: Glamorgan have lost three of their last four, only finding relief with a win against the bottom club, Leicestershire.But their 16-point deficit is not insurmountable, especially as the sides in second and third, Gloucestershire and Northants, are meeting at Bristol. The easiest route to promotion for Glamorgan is for Gloucestershire to lose against Northants while they pick up more bonus points than Gloucestershire in beating Durham at Riverside.And yes, thank you, everyone knows it might rain. A survey once suggested that on average the English waste 10 months of their lives complaining about the weather – presumably nobody dared to ask the Welsh. That’s 17 minutes a day which is obviously preposterous as the English don’t spend half that long making polite conversation, but it serves as a reminder that the forecast is best ignored.It’s going to lash down all day Tuesday apparently.Glamorgan restricted Durham to 197 for 6 in 71 overs on the opening day but they might have been hoping for better. They ran up against BJ Watling, the New Zealand batsman who was brought in for the last two games of the season because Durham envisaged a promotion challenge that immediately ran aground when they lost at Northampton last week.Finding himself 12,000 miles from home for no good reason, Watling occupied himself as best he could, which in his case meant an unbeaten 83 on a pitch that was shifted at the last minute because rain had got under the covers.It was repositioned well over to the Lumley Castle side of the ground, so much so that the ghosts said to haunt it might have complained to the council about the noise. Reputedly, the pitches on that side can do a bit, but considering it is September 23 in the north of England – the autumn equinox no less – this one behaved itself well enough. There was the occasional flame of rearing bounce but Glamorgan hoped for more.It is Watling’s first stint in county cricket and, although circumstance had dictated that Durham would have been better keeping the money in the bank, he looked a shrewd acquisition.He played strongly through the off side, particularly against Marchant de Lange, who whether by accident or design he pretty much resisted single-handedly. De Lange can look a daunting sight, the 90 emblazoned on his broad back acting as a reminder of his potential speed, but Watling’s seventh Test century, against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Stadium last month, was a reminder that, at 34, nothing fazes him.What, one wonders, does Michael Hogan make off the possibility that he might be in Division One next season? He is 38 now – a strip of the lad compared to 43-year-old Darren Stevens who has finished the season so spectacularly with Kent – and retains a strong, high action and an accuracy that keeps batsmen honest.Hogan took four of the wickets to fall. Three came to lbw decisions: Cameron Steel falling to an inswinger in his second over, Alex Lees’ 45 coming to grief because of a mystifying leave-alone and Ned Eckersley beaten by one that seamed back. Solomon Bell, an 18-year-old on debut, also found him a bit hard to handle, contriving to play outside a back-of-a-length ball that struck his off stump.Durham have made progress in four-day cricket this season and they will anticipate more of the same next season after announcing that they have re-signed Australian international Cameron Bancroft in all three formats for the 2020 season.But as one Durham supporter had it outside the cafe bar at lunchtime, they will look at Glamorgan pressing for promotion to the end and ponder: “This could’ve been us.”

Who’s going wellMitchell Starc probably made the biggest statement this week. On a Drummoyne Oval surface that is typically batsmen-friendly he tore through Tasmania, taking 10 for 60 in 44.2 overs across the match. He bowled with serious pace after making some minor technical adjustments with New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams and looks to be coming together nicely for Brisbane. The other quick who has put himself back in the mix is Jhye Richardson. He has bowled superbly for Western Australia taking nine wickets in three innings at an economy rate of under two. He is bowling as quickly, if not quicker than prior to his shoulder injury. On a batting front no one is hammering the door down. Shaun Marsh‘s double hundred will inevitably spark the almost annual debate over his career while Tom Cooper and Nic Maddinson also cashed in with doubles on the flat Junction Oval pitch but are some way from the Test mix. Marnus Labuschagne has scores of 69, 52, 32 and 72 not out which on the surface doesn’t jump off the page, but given the difficulty of the batting conditions at the Gabba they have been impressive returns.Who’s doing enoughDavid Warner will be in Brisbane after an outstanding century on a difficult surface against Queensland at the Gabba. There will be dissenting voices claiming he has two other low scores but that is part and parcel of opening the batting in Shield cricket in October. Marcus Harris could claim to have done enough to retain his place with a hundred and a half century in three innings. The century will have an asterisk next to it, however, given it came at the Junction Oval where 12 wickets fell in four days. He was also dropped twice in the innings. Of the genuine contenders, Will Pucovski is doing enough to keep his name in the mix. Like Harris he has a century and a half century to his name on the same pitches. He has four Shield hundreds now in 13 matches at an average of 54.45. There will be a lot of public support for his inclusion. Tim Paine’s spot was never in jeopardy but he quietened any murmurs with his first Shield century in 13 years, on the same day Alex Carey produced a century in Melbourne. James Pattinson‘s figures don’t leap out but he bowled some outstanding spells against South Australia and Western Australia without much luck. He deserves to be in contention to play in Brisbane. Michael Neser was part of the Ashes squad and has done his chances to debut in Australia no harm with 10 wickets in four innings, including 5 for 56 against South Australia. He’s doing enough to stay in the frame although conditions in Brisbane have certainly favoured the bowlers.Who needs to do moreYou could mount an argument Matthew Wade has done enough to be picked for Brisbane. Scores of 40, 20, and 40 suggest he’s still playing well but he knows there are no guarantees, despite two Ashes centuries. Usman Khawaja is under pressure. Scores of 1, 24, 2, and 0 have done nothing to push his case for a recall, although his failures in the last match against South Australia need deeper scrutiny from the selectors as he appeared to be the victim of not one but two questionable umpiring decisions. He has also batted in the toughest conditions in Australia, although Labuschagne’s success makes those mitigating circumstances harder to argue for. Travis Head made a painstaking and unconvincing 51 against Victoria but butchered a golden chance to make a monstrous century as Cooper did on a road at the Junction Oval. He followed that with a 25-ball duck and 12 against Queensland, falling to two loose shots. Cameron Bancroft‘s form has dropped off quite significantly since his impressive performance in the Southampton practice match prior to the Ashes. He has scores of 30, 0, 10 and 6 not out so far this season and isn’t in the Test frame at this stage. Joe Burns was a man to watch but he probably hasn’t done enough to dispel whatever doubts that continue to surround him as a Test player, despite batting on some tough tracks. He has reached 20 in three of his four innings at the Gabba but his highest score is only 52. Peter Siddle, who played in Australia’s last Test, has been injured but did not set the world alight in his first game back against Western Australia.

Babar Azam’s graduation to the top rank of Test batsmen, via a superb century in Brisbane and an equally stirring 97 at Adelaide Oval, which earned him a standing ovation, was a rare ray of light for Pakistan through the murk of a 2-0 series thrashing at the hands of an opposition more battle-hardened than them.Pakistan’s captain Azhar Ali spoke happily of Babar’s displays, which began with a century against Australia A in the pink-ball warm-up match in Perth, as of the kind that would allow the 25-year-old to head home believing he was ready to be more consistently dominant at the Test level. Australia has, in the past, provided formative moments for the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis, the anvil on which their games have been shaped and perfected before later feats elsewhere.”He’s been tremendous in white-ball cricket and in the recent past, he’s been gradually building up his Test stats as well,” Azhar said of Babar. “But this series definitely will be the breakthrough he wanted. We were all hopeful that he’ll do it. He’s a good enough player. We all know that. But sometimes if you score in tough conditions against tough bowling attacks, it gives you the extra boost and the belief that you can make even better strides in Test cricket.”That’s been a big positive now for us that Babar has stamped himself a Test player. He’s been fantastic throughout the year and he’s been lovely to watch and hopefully he can continue this form in the Tests that are coming.”Similarly, Mohammad Rizwan vindicated the decision to move to him as first-choice wicketkeeper by offering plenty with the bat, gloves and with his voice in the field, even if Pakistan’s bowlers and fielders were unable to maintain the pressure they needed to.”He’s been performing in first-class cricket for a few years now. And then he had a fantastic couple of ‘A’ tours in Dubai. And then he played against Australia in one-day cricket and scored centuries there as well,” Azhar pointed out. “He’s been waiting and obviously Sarfaraz [Ahmed] is another one who’d been performing really well for Pakistan. We have a very healthy competition.”Rizwan waited for his chance and then grabbed it with both hands. The way he batted at Gabba and the way he kept wickets in both games has been fantastic. His energy is always good for the team, whenever we were down in the field, he kept us up. That’s fantastic for any team. He’s a team man.”Babar Azam shows his frustration after falling in the second innings•AFP

Those efforts were, of course, overshadowed by a yawning gap between the teams, reflected in the results, something Azhar said was because of the weaknesses in his bowling attack and also the need to play more ‘A’ series in these parts of the world.”It has been a disappointing series. We didn’t live up the expectations that were based around this young team,” he said. “This was the best possible team we could have picked, especially with regards to the bowling options. But you also have to see that in Australia you need a certain kind of pace attack. And in our domestic cricket, we don’t have those kind of pacers. The moment you have to bowl with a Kookaburra, you need an extra element of pace.”But we felt that these guys were in the best shape to deal with the conditions here, and that’ll be the case in the future. We shouldn’t get too disappointed about this and keep in mind that young bowlers like these will only play more cricket and get better. We need to show some patience.”I think, most importantly, ‘A’ team tours and Under-19 tours are very important. Players who come here more often and play in these conditons will benefit from that. Last time and this time, we came here a couple of weeks before the Tests. It gives you a better idea and preparation. You have to consider that always. There won’t be any condition like this in Pakistan. The surfaces are different. It’s the same when Pakistan go to Dubai or Pakistan. They’ve played on hard surfaces and need to adapt to the slower wickets there.”But Australia has the best batting conditions in the world. There’s even bounce, the cracks don’t open too early in the game. If you get used to bounce and pace, you can see players from Pakistan can score runs. Last time we scored big runs, Asad [Shafiq] and I scored a lot. But to win Test matches we need to take 20 wickets and we need to work out how to do that. And also to score big in the first innings. Get ahead of the game here is very important.”