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The increased prioritisation of T20 cricket might be a contributory factor in England’s top-order issues, according to their batting coach, Mark Ramprakash.England have failed to adequately replace Andrew Strauss, who retired in 2012, or Jonathan Trott, who retired in 2015, in their top three, leading to a fragility in their top-order which looks set to sentence them to a seventh defeat in 10 Tests sometime over the next couple of days in Nottingham.While Ramprakash defended England’s batting in the current Test against South Africa – arguing, quite rightly, that South Africa’s bowlers had harnessed helpful conditions expertly and several of England’s top-order had been dismissed playing defensive strokes – he pointed out the reduction in County Championship matches per county this year (from 16 to 14 per side) to make way for something approaching a window for T20 cricket, and accepted that some of the traditional skills were less prevalent in the modern game. In English conditions in particular, he warned that could be exploited.”With T20 being prevalent, a higher percentage of the batters we are seeing come through are gravitating to the white-ball game,” Ramprakash said. “There are not as many of your tried-and-tested county openers. Look at the number of four-day games coming down in division one this year.”The fact is that batting in the top order for England in home Test matches is not straightforward. It’s just not. And top-order players play half their games in England. A couple of years ago, we saw Australia bowled out for 60. The ball didn’t move all over the place. And in that same Ashes series, they chose to bat at Edgbaston and were bowled out for 130.Ben Stokes fell for a duck in England’s first innings at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

“When the ball does a little bit, you have to show due care and attention. But perhaps because there’s a mix of one-day cricket and four-day cricket and the players want to be a bit more proactive.”It is not easy to bed in players at this level when the ball nips around with overcast skies. It is not easy to get them settled and confident.”Ramprakash also pleaded for some patience with an England side he said were “learning as they go along” and suggested their level of natural talent had seen expectations rise to unrealistic levels.”I don’t think anyone is saying this England side is the finished article,” he said. “Clearly, we’re still trying to bed in players at two and three. We accept that. That’s been the case for a while.”The other thing is that expectations have risen because of the talent. The innings we’ve seen Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali play – we know they’ve played some sublime innings – and our expectations have probably gone up because of that. They’ve often played in that highly aggressive, attacking manner, which is the way they think is best.”But if you look at Ben Stokes’s fifty at Lord’s, I thought he played really well, in an orthodox fashion.”So they’re learning as they go along. You have to take the rough with the smooth. Sometimes you’ll see wonderful performances like we did in Cape Town and other times they might get it wrong.”We would have liked more runs in the first innings here, of course. But when you look at England’s innings, a number of players were out playing defensively. And there were a number of good deliveries. You have to give some credit to the opposition bowlers.”The ball seamed around all day and it’s always difficult to play when the ball’s seaming. The guys on the one hand are trying to adapt to conditions, and on the other they want to play their own game and the way they think best so they are going to marry those together.”

Left-hand batsman Kusal Perera has become the second Sri Lankan after Chamara Kapugedera, and the fourth player overall, to be ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to injury. The ICC’s Event Technical Committee has approved allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva as a replacement.Kusal had picked up a hamstring injury during Sri Lanka’s seven-wicket win against India at The Oval on Thursday, retiring hurt on 47 after putting on 75-run stand with captain Angelo Mathews.”We got bad news last night that his hamstring injury worse than everyone thought so Kusal is out of the tournament,” Asanka Gurusinha, Sri Lanka’s team manager, said. “The doctor’s comment was that it’s a pretty serious hamstring injury. He will most likely fly home in the next few days. With Upul Tharanga suspended that’s why we got Dhananjaya down pretty quickly because we needed a batsman.”Dhananjaya, a batsman and offspinner, last played an ODI for Sri Lanka in February this year, during Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa. He has made three fifties and averages 25.69 in 16 ODIs. He is best known, though, for his performances in his debut Test series against Australia last year, particularly for his century in the Colombo Test that sealed a historic whitewash for Sri Lanka.Unlike Danushka Gunathilaka, who had been Kapugedara’s replacement, de Silva has not been training with the squad in England, and had only arrived in London on Saturday. He could, however, come straight into the XI against Pakistan. Sri Lanka only have seven specialist batsmen in the squad, thanks to the over-rates suspension Tharanga picked up when standing in for Mathews as captain against South Africa.Dhananjaya has not played competitive cricket since March, and has been batted in various positions in the ODI XI in brief stints in the team. With Sri Lanka unlikely to want to tamper with their top three, Dhananjaya may assume a middle-order spot, if he plays.

Matthew Mott has won a three-year contract extension as coach of Australia’s women’s team, taking him through until after they are the host team for the World Twenty20 tournament in 2020.Cricket Australia’s decision to re-sign Mott, who had previously coached New South Wales and Glamorgan, arrived before the team led by Meg Lanning prepared to compete for the 50-over World Cup in England later this year, with an Ashes series against England to follow.”I’m really excited to have re-signed as coach of this incredibly talented group of cricketers and am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve,” Mott said. “This group has tasted sustained success over a period of time and that’s a real credit to each and every player and their dedication to maintaining their position as the best team in the world.Having replaced Cathryn Fitzpatrick in 2015, Mott oversaw an Australian Ashes win in England later that year, the first time this had been achieved since 2001. Last year, Australia women were beaten finalists in the World T20 in India and also claimed the inaugural ICC Women’s Championship, which also qualified them for the World Cup this year.”It’s a really exciting time in women’s cricket both in Australia and internationally, with a number of countries making strong strides forward and we know we need to work as hard as we can to continue to improve,” CA’s team performance manager Pat Howard said. “It’s terrific to have Matthew on board for another three years and we’re excited to see what he and the Australian team can achieve over that period.”Matthew has a strong relationship with all the members of the squad and his record shows that he knows how to get the best out of his players. The next 12 months are huge for this group, they have the chance to continue their success in Australian sporting history and we believe Matthew is the person to make that happen.”

Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has said he was satisfied with his recent ODI performances in Australia – although “it wasn’t outstanding” – because he felt under pressure on two fronts: he was making a comeback to the team and it was his first series with a remodelled action.Hafeez wasn’t selected in the original ODI squad for the Australia tour but was called up a few days later because Azhar Ali got injured. He scored a match winning half-century in Melbourne to lead Pakistan to their only win on the tour, but finished with 123 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 72.

Misbah for life ban on fixers

Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has called for life bans on anyone found guilty of match fixing and added the recent allegations of corruption in the PSL could undo the years of work done to rehabilitate the image of cricket in the country.
Misbah was appointed captain after the 2010 tour of England when three players – Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt – were banned for spot-fixing. Since then the PCB has been quite strict in educating its players about corruption and the team too had enjoyed an upswing, even topping the rankings in August 2016.
“Obviously, it’s disappointing,” Misbah said of the PSL incidents. “There should be a law that once you have done something wrong you should not return to this field again. We did our best to clean up the game up and the seven years of hard work and our image are now spoilt to a great extent. You cannot afford this again and again.”
Misbah was in Karachi, playing grade 2 cricket ahead of the West Indies Tests in April.

In the PSL that followed, Hafeez made only 153 runs at a strike rate of 99 in nine innings – 77 came in one game – during Peshawar Zalmi’s run to the title. However, he was retained in the ODI squad and recalled to the T20I side for the upcoming tour of the Caribbean.”My performance in Australia wasn’t outstanding, but I felt it was okay,” Hafeez said in Lahore, when asked if he had expected to be retained. “I was under pressure for two reasons – one because it was my comeback as a player, and secondly because it was my first series back as a bowler. Though I couldn’t get wickets, I felt I bowled according to the situation and my economy was quite good, which helped the team.”In the PSL, my role wasn’t defined properly and my position in the batting order changed, but that is not an excuse. I did struggle and my performances weren’t strong enough. But when selectors opt for a player, they look at the conditions and requirements in the team. I am happy they have given me the responsibility and trusted me.”If you look at my numbers, I think I deserve to be in the Pakistan team. In the last two years, I think I have played 28 to 29 matches and averaged 38 in ODIs. I have always believed that a few matches, or one or two series, don’t justify your talent. Good and bad days do come but when you are a proven player, you surely get more chances.”When asked about Pakistan players’ reluctance to retire, Hafeez said he would not hang around if he felt he wasn’t able to perform. “I will definitely think about [retirement] when my time comes. I am 36 right now. I believe that my performances and fitness are justifying my place for Pakistan. I will only play until I feel I can match the level of performances I expect of myself.”Hafeez reiterated his views about corruption, saying that guilty players should be banned for life. In 2015, he reportedly turned down an offer to play for Chittagong Vikings in the BPL because Mohammad Amir, who was returning from a five-year ban for spot-fixing, was on the team. Hafeez had also been reluctant to train with Amir but has played with the fast bowler since.Pakistan cricket recently suffered another blow when a corruption scandal hit the PSL. Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed were provisionally suspended by the PCB in relation to the case.”Everyone can have their opinion but mine is strong,” Hafeez said. “I have stood by it for all my life and it is a principled stance. It wasn’t for or against any individual. The stance was simple: whoever hurts the reputation of Pakistan and is proven guilty shouldn’t get that respect back. I am not a policy maker but what we are facing now is very painful.”Whoever plays for Pakistan is responsible for upholding the respect that he gets on an individual level. And if someone tells me that it was a mistake, I don’t consider it a mistake; it’s a crime. So this thing coming up again is painful for me and for the whole country, so it is high time that a stern decision is made about players who have been proven guilty to set an example for others.”

Worcestershire’s Daryl Mitchell has been elected as the new chairman of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA). He succeeds Mark Wallace, who steps down after four years having completed the maximum two terms.Mitchell has already flagged the ECB’s plans for a new city-based T20 competition to be introduced in 2020 as a major issue to be tackled by the PCA under his chairmanship.”There is going to be big change ahead, not just for English domestic cricket but also on the world stage. These are interesting times,” Mitchell said.”There is talk of a franchise Twenty20 competition and it would be good to be involved in the discussions surrounding that. It’s important that the questions of our 400-plus members about how it will all work are answered and that was the crux of my manifesto.”Mitchell won a ballot of current county players ahead of four other candidates: Graham Onions, Paul Horton, James Hildreth and Steven Crook. He will serve for the next two years, with the appointment due to be ratified at the PCA’s annual general meeting on Tuesday.”It was pretty competitive and there were some really good lads who went for it, so to be elected by your peers from other clubs is very pleasing,” Mitchell said.”It’s a prestigious role and it has been done very well in recent years by Vikram Solanki, who I know from his time at Worcestershire, and then Mark Wallace, who has done a fantastic job over the last four years. It’s a big role and a big honour and I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead.”I have been involved with the PCA as a county representative since 2009 so I know about the fantastic work that they do. I have enjoyed being involved as a representative so this is the next step really. I want to try to get involved at the coal face of the organisation.”Mitchell, 33, has been a Worcestershire player for over a decade and served as captain until the end of last season, when he was removed from the position in acrimonious circumstances.He is the third Worcestershire player to become PCA chairman after Tim Curtis (1989-96) and Solanki (2009-13) and he will link up with another former county team-mate, David Leatherdale, the PCA chief executive who previously held the same role at New Road.”Daryl has been a PCA county representative for more than seven years and has a wealth of knowledge of the county game at all levels,” Leatherdale said.”He is undoubtedly held in high regard by players across the whole country as today’s appointment shows and, combined with his experience as the players’ representative on the ECB cricket committee, he will bring a great deal to the role of PCA Chairman. I very much look forward to working with Daryl again over the coming years.”Mitchell takes charge in the PCA’s 50th anniversary season. Wallace, the former Glamorgan wicketkeeper, last week announced his retirement to become a PCA Personal Development Manager.

Batsman Chirag Suri, who became the first UAE player to win an IPL contract last month, has not been named in the national squad for the first of two ODIs against Ireland, which will be held on March 2.Suri, who was picked up by Gujarat Lions for his base price of INR 10 lakh (approximately US $15,000) in last month’s auction, was a part of the UAE squad in the Tri-nation ODI series against Hong Kong and Scotland in January but did not play a game. His last appearance for UAE was a List A match against England Lions in December. He is yet to play an ODI or a T20I for UAE.Wicketkeeper Saqlain Haider and batsman Usman Mushtaq, who, like Suri, were part of the Tri-nation series squad but did not get a game, are also not part of the squad against Ireland. Batsmen Rameez Shahzad and Laxman Sreekumar have been recalled to the 14-member team. Both Shahzad and Sreekumar last played an ODI for UAE in August last year, although Shahzad featured in the Desert T20 Challenge earlier this year.The squad will be led by Rohan Mustafa, with Shaiman Anwar named as vice-captain. The second match of the series will be played on March 4.UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (capt), Adnan Mufti, Ahmed Raza, Amjad Javed, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Qasim, Muhammad Usman, Qadeer Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar (vice-capt), Zahoor Khan, Rameez Shahzad, Laxman Sreekumar

Travis Head, who hit his maiden ODI century against Pakistan in the fifth ODI in Adelaide after being pushed up to open, hopes to get more chances at the top of the order.”As a batter I would love to bat as high as I possibly can, if there’s that opportunity as there was in this series,” Head, who put on 284 with David Warner, said after Australia’s 57-run win. This was the second time Head has opened in his young ODI career of 20 games. The first of those chances to open came in the first ODI of the series, in Brisbane, where he was out for a run-a-ball 39.”I got the opportunity at the Gabba and felt like I was in good form, but I wasn’t able to get a massive score,” he said. “I was very disappointed after that, then going back down the order, that I wasn’t able to capitalise.”So it was nice to get out there today, get first crack at it and get runs. But I’m happy to do the job wherever is needed in the side. I’m happy to go game by game and just be in the side. The preparation for the Champions Trophy, I think we’re playing the right brand at the end of this series. So wherever I fit, it’s fantastic.”With David Warner guaranteed to open, barring injuries, the search is on for a second opener for Australia leading up to the Champions Trophy in England in June. Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch have been tried there. Khawaja opened in the middle three ODIs of the Pakistan series. Finch, who was dropped for the series against Pakistan, has been recalled for the Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand.Head too is part of the squad, and hopes to find himself among the runs to merit automatic selection. “I felt like I’ve been in good form in the series but I just haven’t been able to get a big score, and it’s probably been like that since I debuted,” he said. “It’s nice and satisfying to get runs, but the head moves quickly to New Zealand and try and back up the good form and keep the ball rolling.”Head said batting with Warner, who now has six tons in 11 ODIs and was battling a cold and later on fatigue in this game, made his job much easier. The pair set a new Australian ODI partnership record – beating the 260-run second-wicket stand between Warner and Steven Smith against Afghanistan in the 2015 World Cup. They missed the all-time ODI opening partnership record by two runs.”He [Warner] told me he was going for 200, so I don’t think his mind was set on coming off [due to health issues],” Head said. “He was pretty fatigued, we did a fair bit of running. But I don’t think that hindered him in any way, he just got on with the job. He was struggling a little bit but he was definitely focused on getting a few more runs. It’s easy at the other end – he makes it easy for me. He does it consistently, backing up massive scores and it’s another match-winning effort from him.”

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:32

#PE: Should Herath be SL’s batting coach?

South Africa made inevitable progress towards the victory in Cape Town that would bring them a Test series win against a Sri Lanka side whose batting naivety has become more apparent as the series progresses. Four down at stumps, with their victory target merely a dot on the horizon, Sri Lanka can be expected to lose heavily on the fourth day and go to Johannesburg 2-0 down with one to play.As Sri Lanka’s batsmen floundered for a second time, there was reason to conclude that South Africa’s first-innings lead of 282 would have been ample for an innings win. As it was, they had eschewed the follow-on on the previous day and instead the declaration came at 224 for 7, 75 minutes into the afternoon session.A lead of 506 was impregnable. Well, not quite impregnable. There was always the slight possibility that a Russian cyberattack could send cricket scoring systems across the world haywire and Sri Lanka could emerge, somewhat sheepishly, with a win with two sessions to spare. The reality was somewhat more prosaic: 130 for 4 by the close of the third day, with the captain Angelo Mathews and his deputy Dinesh Chandimal hoping to save face on the morrow.While South Africa’s bowlers picked off Sri Lanka a second time, Board representatives were arranging a meeting with Kyle Abbott’s agent, hoping to arrest his planned international retirement to join Hampshire, thereby making it one of the few occasions when it could be fairly observed that the administrators had a tougher job than the players. As for Abbott, the fates have playfully decreed (so far at least) that he remains wicketless.

Consistent SA openers and SL pace success

• 3 Consecutive Tests at home in which South Africa’s openers have scored two 50-plus scores. There have been only ten such instances since readmission from 121 home Tests.

• 23 Number of wickets taken by the fast bowlers of Sri Lanka in this Test series – the most in any series for Sri Lanka against South Africa.

• 410 The highest score by Sri Lanka in the fourth innings of a Test, made against Australia in Hobart in 2007.

There was a recognisable quality to Sri Lanka’s dismissals, their limitations skilfully exposed, which emphasised South Africa’s authority all the more. An inexperienced top order must learn the hard way while seasoned batsmen such as Chandimal and Upul Tharanga plug gaps lower down. The demands are high, perhaps unfairly so for some.Dimuth Karunaratne had departed by tea, shrewdly set up by Vernon Philander before an inswinger drew an airy drive and rattled into his stumps through bat and pad.Kusal Mendis is just as likely to end up as Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper-batsman as a Test No. 3 (although Kumar Sangakkara managed both). He replaced Kusal Perera at first-wicket down here, but he has batted skittishly and failed twice. After a top-edged sweep against the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj in the first innings, he succumbed to a catch at third slip as he drove on the up in Philander’s fifth over. On this pitch, so early in the innings, it was a liberty.Kaushal Silva has a stubborn streak, but the short ball looks capable of unsettling him and when Kagiso Rabada upped his pace in his second spell, a venomous rising delivery was fended to short leg. Dhananjaya de Silva is only in his seventh Test, so could be forgiven perhaps for walking off for a debatable lbw decision in Rabada’s next over, but had his captain, Mathews, at the non-striker’s end, thought to suggest a review, the ball would have been shown to be sailing past leg stump.It was not all delight for South Africa. Hashim Amla would have liked to have walked out to bat for his 100th Test at the Wanderers next week with his reputation reasserted. Instead he will take guard with continued chatter about his form after a duck before lunch.Amla’s sequence without a half-century now stretches to 10 innings, his latest failure coming with a fifth-ball nought in an otherwise dreary phase of the Test of little consequence in which South Africa, resuming with a lead of 317 and all wickets remaining, engaged in some cricketing arithmetic for more than three hours as they totted enough runs for a fail-safe declaration. And then some.Presumably Amla might now join those malcontents who thought, with good reason, that South Africa should have enforced the follow-on and sought to wrap the game up in three days. After all, only three sides have ever lost a Test after putting the opposition back in and, having dismissed Sri Lanka in 43 overs, South Africa’s bowlers were hardly in need of recuperation.At least it would have spared Amla that sinking feeling when he pushed routinely forward to an excellent delivery, seaming away around off stump, from Suranga Lakmal and felt the nick that was heading inexorably to the wicketkeeperAs ducks go, it was a highly respectable one. But it was still a duck. It will not quieten the discussions about how Amla tends to get caught on the crease, his graceful footwork no longer quite decisive enough. Only big runs will do that, and everybody presumes they will come. The only time he has had a sequence of failures as long as this was a year ago – and then he shot back with a double hundred against England in Cape Town. Jo’burg, on a historic personal achievement, might relight his fire.Lakmal has had a good series and he matched the admirable standards that had brought him five wickets in Port Elizabeth, finishing with 4 for 69. He brightened Sri Lanka’s morning with a double-wicket maiden. Five balls before he dismissed Amla, he accounted for Stephen Cook, a regulation slip catch for Karunaratne. JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis followed. Nuwan Pradeep reappeared after his thigh strain but was out of luck.Dean Elgar, in trim after his first-innings hundred, seemed suited to such a morning. A measured tread with little pressure to talk of was right up his alley and another half-century was bagged. But the appearance of Rangana Herath’s left-arm slows drew from Elgar an unexpected friskiness. He advanced down the pitch to a guileful third delivery which beat him in the flight. If he had not been caught at slip, he would have been stumped. Even on the most inconsequential mornings, satisfaction can be found and Herath, who looks capable of coping contentedly with mornings when nothing much happens, had drawn as much pleasure from it as anyone.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMeg Lanning brought up her century off 94 balls•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Meg Lanning equalled Charlotte Edwards’ record of nine ODI hundreds, the most by a woman, with a quickfire 134 to script Australia’s win against South Africa in the second ODI by 66 runs by the Duckworth-Lewis Method in a rain-hit encounter in Canberra. Lanning and Ellyse Perry, who scored a career-best 95*, put on 224 for the third wicket as Australia put on a competitive 278. A rain break in the chase revised South Africa’s target to 241 from 38 overs and they eventually fell short when rain ended the match with their score on 5 for 119, when they should have been 186.Lanning found herself out in the middle early after electing to bat. Opener Elyse Villani fell in the sixth over, and her partner Nicole Bolton followed in the next over as Mignon du Preez took a stunning one-handed catch while leaping to her right at backward point. Australia were reduced to 2 for 27 and it brought Lanning and Perry together.Lanning dominated the partnership, bringing up her century off 94 balls, while Perry ambled to her fifty off 90 balls. The duo pushed the score past 250 during their 236-ball partnership before medium-pacer Ayabonga Khaka (3-55) took a return catch to dismiss Lanning for a 122-ball 134 that included 20 fours. Perry scored her last 45 runs off 39 balls to overtake her previous best of 93* that she had scored in the previous game on Friday. Her 95* off 129 with seven fours helped Australia to 4 for 278 in their 50 overs.Australia kept things tight at the start of South Africa’s chase, opening with left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen in combination with Perry, and then throwing legspinner Kristen Beams into the mix after 11 overs. Perry broke the opening stand in the second over, Jonassen struck in the fifth over and Beams trapped du Preez lbw for 9 to reduce them to 3 for 45. Opener Suné Luus was still at the crease, but the slow start and the interference of rain in the 19th over meant that South Africa were well behind the revised target when play resumed.Luus scored an unbeaten 60, her personal best and second straight fifty, but two more wickets fell and a second spell of rain in the 32nd over ended the game with South Africa well short of the par score.

ScorecardMichael Neser returned career-best List A figures of 4 for 41 to extend Queensland’s unbeaten run•Getty Images

Queensland maintained an unbeaten run towards the knockout stages of the Matador Cup with a dominant victory over South Australia at the WACA Ground.The Bulls’ win was founded on a disciplined display on the field, restricting the Redbacks to a mere 9 for 199 from 50 overs, with no SA batsman able to pass 50.Michael Neser was central to Queensland’s ascendancy, claiming four wickets, including those of Callum Ferguson, the SA captain, and Tom Cooper in the same over.Others also played their role, not least Jason Floros, the Queensland captain, and Mitchell Swepson, the 23-year old legspinner, who were parsimonious, and had combined figures of 2 for 65 in 19 overs.Queensland’s chase had plenty of momentum throughout, meaning the Redbacks could never apply much pressure even though Kane Richardson and Cameron Valente were able to share five wickets between them.Marnus Labuschagne made the only half-century of the match, his well-struck 73 taking the Bulls home in the company of Floros, who has excelled thus far as a new captain.