Brook came in for criticism during a relatively lean Test series against Sri Lanka but he has gas left in the tank after a long season

Matt Roller18-Sep-2024It tells you just how serenely Harry Brook’s international career has progressed that he came under scrutiny after averaging 30 in a series win. But by his own admission, Brook finds himself trying to avoid paralysis by overanalysis as he prepares to captain England for the first time at Trent Bridge on Thursday after his approach was questioned during Sri Lanka’s recent victory at The Oval.Brook made 19 and 3 in the final Test of the English season, having made between 32 and 56 in his first four innings of the series against Sri Lanka. If the scores were underwhelming, it was his manner at the crease that drew most attention: he grew visibly frustrated when Sri Lanka bowled wide outside his off stump, to the extent Michael Vaughan accused him of “taking the mick out of the game”.Related

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This has been a long season for Brook, who was England’s only ever-present across both June’s T20 World Cup and their six home Tests. He spent the three weeks between the West Indies and Sri Lanka series captaining Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, and will fly to Pakistan for October’s Test tour only three days after the fifth and final ODI of the Australia series.Brook seemed characteristically relaxed on the eve of his England captaincy debut at Trent Bridge, grinning through his pre-match press conference and laughing off the idea that he had ever craved leadership. He conceded that his Test summer had not quite gone to plan, but played down the suggestion that he was mentally drained after an intense season.”Because I wasn’t scoring the runs I wanted to, I probably was [feeling] a little bit [tired],” Brook said. “But if I’d have gone out and got two hundreds against Sri Lanka then I’d have been like, ‘I’ll just carry on’. But no, not really. I love playing cricket: I want to play as much as I possibly can. I do think breaks are important at certain times, but I was pretty chilled.”Obviously I didn’t do as well as I’d wanted. I want to get a hundred every innings, but it’s not going to happen, is it? Professional sport is not easy… I felt like I batted really well against West Indies and then didn’t play as well as I wanted to against Sri Lanka, but those things happen. You go away and think about it for a little bit, and hopefully come back stronger in Pakistan.”Harry Brook was in good spirits despite a long, busy season•Getty Images

Until the Hundred this year – where he oversaw five wins in six completed games – the majority of Brook’s captaincy experience came with England Under-19s, whom he led in 11 Youth ODIs, including five at the 2018 World Cup. Since then, he has played 50-over cricket only sporadically. Half of his 30 List A games have been full ODIs, and his record in them is underwhelming: 407 runs at 29.07, with three half-centuries.He will aim to keep things simple against Australia, batting at No. 4. “I’m just going to go out there and watch the ball as closely as possible,” he said. “If you have a few low scores here and there, you start thinking about different things and your technique and whatever. I’m just going to go out there, watch the ball as closely as I can and play on instinct.”Brook is only standing in as captain for Jos Buttler, who was with the squad on Wednesday as he continues his rehabilitation from a calf injury and will return for November’s Caribbean tour. “I might pick his brains here and there,” Brook said, “but he’s said I’ve got full rein to do whatever I want.”Buttler has challenged Brook to “identify those moments” in the field where he can change the game – something that Buttler himself has struggled with in ODIs. Brook showed signs of that instinct during the Hundred, and said that he would liberate his bowlers to make decisions: “Whatever you feel like doing, just do it. The only bad outcome is you could get hit for a boundary and the next ball could be a dot ball.”This ODI series is one of only three for England before February’s Champions Trophy, and the first since Rob Key announced that Brendon McCullum will take over as limited-overs coach as part of a “strategic restructure” of the senior set-up. The implication is that there will be greater convergence between formats, as evidenced by Ben Duckett’s promotion to open the batting on Thursday.Brook said that he has hardly spoken to McCullum, who has instead delegated responsibility to his Test assistant coach Marcus Trescothick. “It’s all going to merge into one at some point,” Brook predicted. “We want to go out there and entertain the crowd, take the game on, try to take wickets and put the pressure on their bowlers.”And after ending the Test summer on autopilot at The Oval, Brook hopes that this new challenge will prove reinvigorating. “I’ve only been here for two days, but the way the lads have gone about their business in training just seems so chilled at the minute. We’re all looking forward to going out there and having some fun.”

Patterson completed a very successful return to the Sheffield Shield side with twin half-centuries

AAP04-Nov-2024Former Test batsman Kurtis Patterson underlined his successful return to the Sheffield Shield, helping New South Wales bat out a draw against Queensland.After NSW were asked to start their second innings with a 167-run deficit on Monday morning, Patterson’s 66 helped the Blues to 256 for 4 when both sides agreed to end play.Ollie Davies also thrived for NSW, caught in the deep hooking in the final session for 88 after being measured early and taking the game on more late.The result left both teams without wins from the opening three rounds, with two draws each.But this fixture was an undoubted personal victory for Patterson.NSW’s captain as recently as two seasons ago, the left-hander was only picked for three Shield matches last summer and again started 2024-25 out of the side. But with a raft of players unavailable through Australia and Australia A commitments, selectors were forced to bring him back in, at No.3.And the two-time Test representative delivered, after admitting he once feared his first-class career was over. The 31-year-old played a lone hand with 91 for the Blues in the first innings, before again shining bright on Monday.Patterson played one of the shots of the day with a flourishing square-drive off Mitchell Swepson, as one of six boundaries in his innings.And he barely looked troubled until rain briefly interrupted play in the second session, and Swepson ripped one back between bat and pad to bowl him on his first ball back.But by then, the game had been saved for NSW, with Patterson and Davies’ 117-run third-wicket stand counteracting Queensland’s rain-interrupted first-innings total of 406 for 5.Davies’ runs also marked his best outing so far this summer, before he enters Australia A’s camp later this week to face India A in Melbourne.

Australia sweat over captain Healy’s fitness ahead of the knockouts

Sruthi Ravindranath16-Oct-20242:46

Aus vs SA match-ups: Can Schutt trip up Brits?

Australia vs South Africa

Dubai, 6pm local timeAustralia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Heather Graham, Tayla Vlaeminck (ruled out)South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe TryonTournament form guide: Australia are unbeaten in this T20 World Cup, winning all four of their games so far. In their last group match, they beat India in a high-octane clash by nine runs. South Africa have a 3-1 record having lost their second match of the tournament to England.News brief: Australia were without captain Alyssa Healy for their match against India. She arrived at the game in Sharjah on crutches having sustained a foot injury while batting on 37 against Pakistan on Friday. Tahlia McGrath led the side in her absence, with Ellyse Perry deputising and Beth Mooney keeping wicket.”As it stands, it’s the same thing for Midgie [Healy],” Perry said on the eve of the semi-final. “The medical staff and the team are going to give her every opportunity and possibility of playing tomorrow night but I don’t think anything’s changed in that respect. We’ll just have to see in the next 24 hours.”Alyssa Healy watched Australia’s win against India from the sidelines•ICC/Getty Images

Fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck, who hurt her shoulder on her T20 World Cup return against Pakistan, was ruled out of the tournament with Heather Graham named her replacement. Grace Harris and Darcie Brown came into the playing XI as replacements for the India game.South Africa do not have injury concerns and are unlikely to make changes to their winning combination. Their record against Australia is not great, having won just one out of the 10 T20Is they’ve played each other. Their first-ever win came in Canberra in January this year in a bilateral series. South Africa have not won a single World Cup game against Australia in either format. Thursday will be a rematch of the 2023 T20 World Cup final, in which South Africa suffered a heartbreaking loss in front of their home crowd in Cape Town.South Africa have played three matches in Dubai this tournament while Australia have played just one match – against Pakistan – at the venue. The average first-innings score is 126, with India posting the highest total of 172 against Sri Lanka last Wednesday.Player to watch: Experienced pacer Megan Schutt’s miserly spells have been crucial to all four of Australia’s wins. She started the tournament with 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka on a spin-friendly track, finished with stunning figures of 3 for 3 against New Zealand and followed it up with 1 for 7 in her three overs against Pakistan in Dubai. Against India, she gave away 24 runs in her first three overs but returned to turn the game on its head in the 17th over by conceding just one run, leaving India with 40 to get off 18 balls.Tazmin Brits’ solid starts have been among the biggest positives for South Africa. After a 57 not out to start the competition, she crossed the 40-run mark in each of her last two matches. Against Bangladesh, on a slow track, she played a patient innings of 42 off 41 balls to help South Africa to a comfortable win. She also played an important hand in South Africa’s first and only T20I win against Australia earlier this year, scoring a fiery 41 off 28 with eight fours in a chase of 143.

It is yet to be decided whether such provisions are for the next three years or until the end of the current rights cycle in 2031

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin03-Dec-2024In a development that could potentially break the current deadlock over the upcoming Champions Trophy , the PCB has offered to consider a hybrid model but only if there is a concrete written agreement allowing Pakistan the same option when a global tournament is held in India.Although discussions are ongoing and the situation remains fluid, ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB put forward its proposal over the weekend in meetings with the ICC and BCCI in Dubai. In it, they called for an equitable and long-term agreement, stretching beyond the 2025 Champions Trophy, with reciprocal provisions for Pakistan to play outside of India during global events held there. It is yet to be decided whether such provisions are for the next three years or until the end of the current rights cycle in 2031.In this time, India are scheduled to host three global men’s tournaments – the 2026 T20 World Cup along with Sri Lanka (February), the 2029 Champions Trophy (October) and the 2031 World Cup along with Bangladesh (October-November) – as well as the women’s ODI World Cup in 2025. The co-hosted events provide a solution, though any India-Pakistan games will pose the same problem. And although it doesn’t come under ICC jurisdiction, the next Asia Cup – in October 2025 – is also scheduled to be played in India.Related

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“We will do whatever’s best for cricket,” Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chair, told reporters in Dubai on Sunday. “If we adopt any other formula [except hosting the tournament in Pakistan], it will be done on the basis of equality. The most important thing for Pakistan is its respect; everything else is secondary.”A one-sided arrangement is no longer acceptable. It cannot be the case that we continue to go to India, but they do not visit Pakistan. Whatever happens must be on the basis of equality.”While the BCCI remains tight-lipped, indications are it might not be willing to accept adopting a hybrid model for their tournaments. In either case, the ICC Board will reconvene and examine the PCB proposal before making a final decision on the Champions Trophy. And both PCB and BCCI will need to have that decision ratified by their individual governments. The ICC has tentatively penciled in December 5 as a date for that meeting.Options on the table for the tournament remain the same as they were when the board met briefly last week, otherwise – that the tournament will either be based on a hybrid model with India playing its games outside Pakistan; that the entire tournament is hosted in another country; or that the tournament goes ahead without India.In that meeting last week, it was decided to give the PCB time to hold separate negotiations with BCCI to find a resolution after the latter told ICC that the Indian government had denied permission for the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. Last Friday, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that “security concerns” meant India were unwilling to travel. “The BCCI has issued a statement so I would refer you to it,” said the spokesperson during a press briefing. “They have said there are security concerns there and therefore it is unlikely the team will be going there. Please do refer to the statement issued by the BCCI.”Where will the next India-Pakistan match be played?•CREIMAS

No such statement has been publicly issued by the BCCI. The PCB says it has still not received an official explanation citing the reasons for India’s inability to travel, though it has sought one from the moment the BCCI informed the ICC.

Jay Shah to chair ICC meet on December 5

Since the first ICC meeting, a significant change has taken place at the ICC. Jay Shah, who has been the BCCI secretary since 2019, took charge as ICC chair on December 1. Imran Khwaja, the ICC’s deputy chair, has been dealing with the Champions Trophy issue as an interim chair. But it could not be confirmed who the BCCI representative at the next ICC Board meeting will be.The meeting is widely thought to be on the Champions Trophy, although there was also a suggestion that it might be a courtesy call for Shah to ring in his tenure.With time running out – there are only 77 days to the start date of the event – the ICC finds itself in a spot of bother. It has not yet released the tournament schedule (normally put out 100 days from the event) nor announced the ticketing process which would facilitate fans to make travel arrangements for the eight-team event.

Fast bowler will travel with the squad on Friday having been forced to miss a UAE training camp

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2025Saqib Mahmood has finally received his visa for England’s upcoming limited-overs series in India, meaning he will be able to travel with the team to Kolkata on Friday ahead of Wednesday’s first T20I.Mahmood, who is of Pakistani heritage, had encountered a delay in obtaining the travel document, forcing him to miss an England training camp in the UAE. Two other members of the T20I squad of similar background – Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed – had received their visas earlier.The Lancashire seamer had encountered similar issues in the past when, in 2019, he was replaced for an England Lions tour of India following a drawn-out visa process. In 2024, he sat out Lancashire’s pre-season tour having anticipated the same problem, months after England offspinner Shoaib Bashir missed the first Test against India in Hyderabad due to the slow processing of his visa.Mahmood was supposed to attend a pace-bowling camp in Abu Dhabi ahead of the India tour, led by fast bowling consultant James Anderson, which featured the likes of Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood. Those plans were scuppered by the fact the Indian Embassy still had his possession of his passport, with Mahmood having originally intended to travel to the UAE with the group last Thursday.The 27-year-old has been on something of a comeback trail, overcoming consecutive lower-back stress fractures to return to the international fold last year, and was named player of the series during England’s T20I series in the Caribbean in November, taking nine wickets at 10.55. With 29 appearances in all formats, including two Test caps against West Indies in 2022, Mahmood will be keen to impress head coach Brendon McCullum who is now in charge of England’s red- and white-ball sides.

The seam-bowling allrounder is the only change from the squad that faced New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2025Sri Lanka have named a squad largely unchanged from the one that toured New Zealand in January this year for the two ODIs against Australia at home later this week. The one change is that seam-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe is out as the squad has been trimmed from 17 for that New Zealand series to 16.From Sri Lanka’s point of view, there is no real context to the series, since they failed to make the cut for the upcoming Champions Trophy. But the two games are important for Australia, who will go straight to Pakistan for the eight-team tournament after these games.Sri Lanka wear a solid look, keeping in mind the venue for the games, R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Sri Lanka ODI squad

Feb 12 – 1st ODI in Colombo</b
Feb 14 – 2nd ODI in Colombo