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England captain confident Tests can be played this season

Matt Roller07-May-2020England captain Joe Root has said that no cricket should be played this summer if “the game itself, how it’s played and the intensity it’s played at” is compromised in any way.The ECB have drawn up extensive contingency plans to play cricket behind closed doors in a ‘bio-secure’ environment, with the intention of fulfilling scheduled Test series against West Indies and Pakistan.Root said he was “confident” that it would be possible for England to play international cricket at some point this summer, but stressed that the health and wellbeing of players and staff was “paramount”.ALSO READ: England players face ‘long stint’ away from home as part of Test planning“It’ll all come down to what the government decide we’re allowed to do,” Root told Sky Sports. “We’re obviously tied by their decision-making and all we can do is to try and plan as much as possible, and make sure that guys are fit and ready to go if and when we’re given the chance.”I think if the game is compromised then it shouldn’t be going ahead. I don’t think the game itself, how it’s played, the intensity it’s played at… I personally feel that if you can’t play Test cricket at its absolute best, then we shouldn’t be playing it because it’s not a fair reflection on the sport.”There’s been talking about changing the ball, and it’ll be interesting to see things that you could potentially change… [but] from a personal point of view I’d like to think that the product itself and the standard of Test cricket would not be compromised to play those games.”Root’s own situation is complicated by the fact that his wife, Carrie, is expecting a baby at some point this summer, and raised questions as to whether he would be able to attend the birth and then return back to a bio-secure “bubble” in time to play soon after.”It will be a challenge from that side, and there will be other guys involved that have similar problems,” Root said. “I suppose we’ve got to be quite flexible in these times. You’ve got to move with what’s happening. Within seven to eight weeks, things could drastically change and we could be in a very different position.”We’ve got to look at safe ways of getting guys in and out of the bubble. If that was a possibility, would I be able to get to the birth? Would I then be in isolation for two weeks? Would I be able to be tested coming back into a bubble? Who knows exactly how that would look right now. Those are discussions that will have to happen in the coming weeks.”As for the environment itself, Root said that things would look “very different” to a typical Test match week for players and backroom staff, but that “it’s probably manageable”. Games would have to be played at the Ageas Bowl and Emirates Old Trafford – the two major grounds with on-site hotels with a significant number of rooms – with parts sectioned off to minimise outside interactions.”You’d all be together throughout – you wouldn’t be interacting with the opposition, with broadcasting crews, with media, officials. It would just be trying to keep that as tight as possible.”Within the grounds it would be very similar: going into separate lunch rooms, how the changing room would look still depends on a few things. It would be a very different look and feel to how a normal Test week would go and the environment we normally work in, but I do think it’s probably manageable.”

Reactions from former players and officials on the sentences after the spot-fixing trial

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2011
Michael Vaughan: “More can be done to try and catch more than just the three we’ve seen in court”•Getty Images

For me, there’s still a lot of questions to be answered because they weren’t exposed by any of the cricketing members; they were exposed by the . I still think the ICC could be doing a lot more than they are doing. Unfortunately, the anti-corruption unit is a pretty toothless tiger. They can’t get into the real depth of it all because they haven’t got the resources available to them. I don’t hold it against them; they’re doing the best job they possibly can. They can’t do sting operations like the , they can’t infiltrate these betting networks. They’ve tried their best.
After this case we can say that we are doing something about it and we don’t tolerate any sort of fixing, be it spot or match-fixing, or cheating. From now on, it is a very good deterrent to players, administrators and people who watch the game and try to manipulate it. I would hate to think that I’ve played in any game that we have won because it was fixed. I would rather hope that we won because we had played better.
This is a sad day for Pakistan cricket, a sad day for the cricketers and their families. I can just imagine what the families are going through. In a society where crime pays… Where this sort of thing goes on, an impressionable young man would have got swayed by it. A message has to go that crime does not pay. I feel sad for the cricketers but I feel that you have to punish crime, so that it becomes a punishment for aspirants of the corruption of cricket that crime does not play.
The real possibility of spending time in prison is a further compelling argument for players to distance themselves from those who seek to profit illegally from the game
I hope it sends a shockwave through the game and I’m delighted with the way it’s been handled. I still believe there are more out there and more can be done to try and catch more than just the three we’ve seen in court over the last few weeks.
The sentences could have been harsher. What saddens me is that the ICC didn’t take a stronger line when they had a chance. When they found these players guilty with their own investigation earlier in the year, they were only banned for five years. I don’t understand that kind of logic. If you get caught doing anything like this you should be banned for life and the ICC should get a wake-up call themselves and be more pro-active in rooting out the problem because it won’t go away without pro-active measures. Players are susceptible when they are young to being lured into this kind of thing so [the ICC] has to get the message through when young.
Absolutely the decision is a hard one for the families of the three cricketers. Justice has been done and you’ve got to get rid of the corrupt elements from the game. The verdict will act as a great deterrent for future aspirants. These big fishes need to be taken to task.
We’ve played quite a bit of cricket against them throughout the last two or three years as well, with Test series in Australia as well as over in England and some one-day series as well. I definitely didn’t suspect anything of what’s come out over the last year or so. Whether it’s jail, whether it’s a life sentence, there’s no doubt the punishments are very severe for doing the wrong thing.

Earlier, a disciplined bowling performance from Karachi strangled Lahore’s batsmen

The Report by Danyal Rasool12-Mar-2020Karachi Kings snuffed out Lahore Qalandars’ resurgence with a clinical performance to put themselves back in consideration for the playoffs of PSL 2020. Following a washed-out game against the Multan Sultans and a Ben Dunk-inspired defeat at Lahore’s hands last week, Karachi bounced back thanks to a disciplined bowling performance that strangled Lahore’s ability before cruising to the total without losing a single wicket – just the second ten-wicket win in PSL history.Openers Babar Azam and Sharjeel Khan barely appeared to get out of the third gear, but that didn’t stop them from overwhelming the Lahore bowlers completely. They scored 69 and 74 respectively and took the side to victory inside 17 overs.Put in to bat, Lahore did get off to a solid start thanks to their ever-improving captain Sohail Akhtar, whose 49-ball 68 held together an innings that appeared to be gearing up for a big finish.But the middle order let him down, while Karachi’s accuracy and intelligence following the halfway mark ensured Lahore never really attained the fluency they required to put up a challenging total. Umaid Asif took the key wickets of Fakhar Zaman and Dunk kneecapping Lahore’s big-hitting prowess, while Chirs Jordan’s accuracy at the death ensured Lahore managed only 150.Enter Azam and Sharjeel. It seemed Sharjeel might have been going too slow to start off, but seeing off the dangerous Shaheen Afridi proved a tactical masterstroke. The only way for Lahore to get into the match was to take wickets, depriving them that saw the pressure lift quickly, and the run-scoring increased exponentially. Azam was supremely untroubled, and before long, Sharjeel unleashed the big hits. It might have been billed as the contest of the season, but ended up being a cakewalk.Star of the dayArshad Iqbal had struggled during the early stages of the PSL, but thrust into the big game today, he repaid his franchise’s faith with his best performance of the season. When he was called upon for the ninth over, Lahore were going steadily at 65 for 1, with Chris Lynn having just arrived at the crease. Iqbal was greeted by a slice behind backward point for four by Akhtar but came back strongly in the over conceding just three more while also getting rid of Lynn, who was deceived in the air and holed out to deep midwicket. Iqbal was unlucky not to have sent Akhtar back off the first ball of his next over, with Alex Hales dropping a skier. He got his man in his next over, though, with Akhtar misjudging the bounce of a delivery that struck his pads, and the lbw call withstanding despite Lahore’s review. Iqbal didn’t complete his quota, but the two wickets he picked up in three overs came at the cost of just 15 runs.Miss of the dayWith Dunk having proved the tormentor-in-chief for Karachi just four days ago, Lahore had high hopes from the Australian who appeared to be in the form of his life. Instead, Dunk had perhaps his worst game of the season. When he came out to bat, he struggled for fluency. Both Usama Mir, who bowled well enough for his first game of the PSL, and Jordan kept him quiet before he lost his patience. The left-hander went for a half-hearted pull shot against Asif, only for Mir at short fine leg to complete a simple catch. It had taken fourteen balls for him to score 9 runs, and his day would get worse. He put down a simple chance Sharjeel offered during the powerplay, when the Karachi opener had just scored 18. He would go on to smash 74*.Where the teams standKarachi leapfrog Lahore to get to nine points and third place on the table, while Lahore stay on eight with four wins and five losses. Both teams should qualify with one more win, though Karachi have two games to get there, while Lahore’s final game is likely a must-win.

A defiant century by Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale carried his side to safety against County Championship leaders Durham as the rain-shortened match was shortened at Chester-le-Street

21-Jun-2011
Scorecard
A defiant century by Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale carried his side to safety against County Championship leaders Durham as the rain-shortened match was shortened at Chester-le-Street.Gale’s second century of the season came off 192 balls and he was unbeaten on 101 at the close of play with Yorkshire 57 ahead on 280 for 4. But they took only two bonus points from the match, compared with Durham’s maximum of eight, and slipped to next to bottom courtesy of Worcestershire’s win against Hampshire.Adam Lyth made his season’s best score of 69 and the third left-hander, Gary Ballance, contributed 53 to an unbroken stand of 120. The only chance given by either of the fifth-wicket pair came with Ballance on 23, when Gordon Muchall was unable to hang on to a sharp head-high chance just to his left at first slip off Callum Thorp.Gale was very composed in an innings which spanned almost four hours, looking solid in defence while also hitting 15 fours. Durham were not helped by the absence of Paul Collingwood who was ruled out with a groin injury picked up while making a century yesterday.Steve Harmison also looked out of sorts in two wayward six-over spells on a pitch which had lost most of its early life. With a day and a half lost to rain, there was not enough wear in the surface for the spinners to play a big part, although Ian Blackwell did have Lyth stumped to end a stand of 95 with Gale.When Jonny Bairstow was run out two overs later Yorkshire were 160 for four in early afternoon, still 63 adrift. But Durham were flagging by tea, when the visitors were nine runs ahead. Only eight minutes play were lost to a light shower at 11.30 and shortly after the resumption Durham took two wickets.Lyth put on 50 for the first wicket with Joe Root, who made 28 before he fell lbw to a shooter from Graham Onions. Anthony McGrath’s struggles continued when he departed for a duck, following a leg-side ball from Harmison and providing Phil Mustard with a catch.But the only other wobble came with the loss of Lyth and Bairstow in quick succession. Lyth reached 50 off 100 balls, with six fours, by driving Blackwell through extra cover for three. But after adding five to his previous best this season of 64 he stretched forward and was smartly stumped by Mustard.Bairstow’s run out came when he played the ball to mid-wicket and set off before hesitating when Gale was committed. Dale Benkenstein whipped the ball in to beat Bairstow to the non-striker’s end.

Not a single ball was bowled in the match between Kent and Somerset due to a wet outfield

10-Jun-2011
Scorecard
Somerset’s Friends Life t20 game against Kent at Taunton was abandoned without a ball bowled.
Umpires Trevor Jesty and Richard Illingworth made the decision after a 6.45pm pitch inspection.
The heavy rain which had fallen during the afternoon had stopped, but the outfield was deemed too wet to play on.

An attempt will be made to persuade him to step down ahead of a board meeting on Wednesday

Firdose Moonda10-Feb-2020Chris Nenzani’s tenure as Cricket South Africa president could be nearing its end. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that an attempt will be made to persuade Nenzani to step down ahead of a board meeting in East London on Wednesday. This would present a more seamless way forward for CSA because, according to an insider, it could take between 45 to 60 days to vote a sitting president out.Jack Madiseng, the president of the Gauteng Cricket Board, who resigned from the CSA board in December, is understood to have lobbied enough support to succeed Nenzani.The process to vote a sitting president out of office requires support from two-thirds of the Members’ Council (the body made up of the 14 provincial presidents). That equates to 10 of the 14 presidents being in favour of the motion. Then, the CSA president has the opportunity to respond to the grievances leveled against him and if their explanation is accepted, they could continue in office. If not, they would be dismissed.Given the time such a procedure would take, and the fact that Nenzani’s term ends in September, a more immediate way for the presidency to change hands would be if he voluntarily walked away.A few months ago, such a thought would have been unlikely. Nenzani has one of the longest serving members in CSA. He has been in office since February 2013 – that’s two three-year terms and then he was able to amend the CSA constitution to secure a one-year extension as well. At the time, Nenzani claimed he was staying on to tide the board through an unsettling period, with major administrative changes in the works.”Since 2018, there has been a high turnover on the board; we failed at the World Cup and that has forced us to introduce a different structure for the team management and team coaching. We are appointing a key person, a Director of Cricket, and at the same time we have given a lot of responsibility to the management through the office of the CEO,” Nenzani said at CSA’s AGM last September. “These are not small changes, they require sensible leadership – which is not to say no one else can provide that – I’m part of a collective and that collective will provide that sensible leadership.”However, in the months that followed, CSA’s executive unraveled, four board members resigned, sponsors were lost and seven staff members including CEO Thabang Moroe were suspended. Key stakeholders, such as the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) called on the board, and specifically the president and vice-president, to be held accountable for the multiple crises affecting the organisation. Now, it appears the pressure has told and Nenzani is likely to take the fall. The position of vice-president Beresford Williams is unclear but the rest of the board are set to remain in their positions.

Lancashire Lightning extended their unbeaten run in the Friends Life t20 north group to three games

05-Jun-2011
ScorecardLancashire Lightning extended their unbeaten run in the Friends Life t20 north group to three games with an emphatic five-wicket win over Leicestershire Foxes at Grace Road. Opener Tom Smith hit a sparkling 75 as Lancashire made light work of chasing down a target of 174, cruising to victory with 11 balls to spare.Josh Cobb top-scored for the Foxes with a competition-best innings of 60 to help them post what looked a challenging total of 173 for 2 after being put in to bat. But it proved to be nowhere near enough as Smith and Stephen Moore shared a quick-fire half-century opening partnership for Lancashire in the first four overs.The Foxes’ attack was unable to contain them and the boundaries flowed until Moore, having made 25 off 13 balls, skied a catch to mid-on off Matthew Hoggard. But Steven Croft joined Smith in another brisk stand of 48 in five overs, hitting six fours in his impressive 33 before holing out to long-on as he mistimed a shot against left-arm spinner Claude Henderson.Although the Foxes managed to pick up two more wickets in the next five overs, they could not remove danger man Smith, and he struck two glorious sixes plus seven other boundaries in his 45-ball knock. When he was finally bowled by a yorker from Harry Gurney in the 17th over, Lightning needed only nine more runs to win, and an edged four by Luke Proctor off the same bowler saw them safely to victory.Cobb and Andrew McDonald gave the Foxes a solid start to their innings, putting on 79 in 10 overs. Cobb dominated the stand, showing his intentions with a six off the first ball of the match from Smith. The young opener cleared the ropes three more times and struck three fours before finally being bowled by Gary Keedy in the 10th over.McDonald reached his half-century off 45 balls, but struck only two boundaries while his innings included 34 singles. Will Jefferson stepped on the accelerator as they shared a third-wicket stand of 65 in five overs, hitting 42 off 19 balls with two sixes and four other boundaries.However, in the end it was still not enough to prevent Lancashire picking up their second win in three games, with their other result a tied match.

Shane Watson has questioned Tillakaratne Dilshan’s chances of forging a captaincy as successful as that of Kumar Sangakkara.

Daniel Brettig05-May-2011Shane Watson has fired an early salvo ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka in August by questioning Tillakaratne Dilshan’s chances of forging a captaincy as successful as that of Kumar Sangakkara, his predecessor. The Australians will have a new captain themselves in the form of Michael Clarke, but his deputy Watson wondered aloud at Dilshan’s chances of emulating the results and the universal respect won by Sangakkara during his time as leader.”Kumar Sangakkara is as impressive a cricketer as there is in the world,” Watson told ESPNcricinfo. “He always handles himself so unbelievably well and he’s a brilliant cricketer also. So it’s going to be very hard for someone like Dilshan to live up to exactly what Kumar is as a person and also how he’s been in the captaincy, it’s going to be a big challenge for him.”Sangakkara gave up the job following the World Cup in order to prolong his playing career, leaving the captaincy in the hands of Dilshan, an undoubted talent but also a somewhat flighty performer at times during his Test career. He is also handicapped by being, at 34, a year older than the man he is replacing.Australia were fruitful in their efforts to unsettle Dilshan during the dual series away and at home in 2004, holding him to an average of 30.11, with one century, across five Tests. He was not selected in the Sri Lankan touring party that lost two matches in Australia in November 2007, instead leading the Sri Lanka A team to Zimbabwe. He has been appointed to lead the Sri Lankans on the tour of England that precedes the Australia series.The Sri Lanka series, Watson acknowledged, will be the first serious test of the new leadership axis after an undemanding first assignment in Bangladesh, where the modest hosts were swept aside 3-0 in as many limited-overs matches. “On our side of things we’ve got a big challenge as well with a new leadership group and us trying to rebuild and create a really exciting era of Australian cricket within our team.”Doubts will surround the composition of the squad as it is the first since the loss of the Ashes at home, and there are plenty of sound reasons for ushering the further regeneration of a squad that stagnated in Ricky Ponting’s final 18 months as captain. Watson, who had said the Ashes defeat would define the careers of several players “on the wrong side”, still felt there would be a selection reckoning for a series punctuated by three innings victories for England.”There’s no doubt the Ashes was there to be a defining moment for people’s careers in certain ways, and for some people it has been and others not so much,” Watson said. “Now there’s a new direction Australian cricket is heading in [and] it’s going to be interesting to see what happens over the next year or so. I really feel it’s going to be an interesting time to be able to start to generate a new era of Australian cricket, and I’m very thankful that I’m now part of the leadership group and want to be a part of creating something very special.”For so long a figure of sympathy and even occasional ridicule due to a seemingly endless string of injuries, Watson is now next in line for the captaincy behind Clarke, and is intent on sharing the hard lessons he learned while struggling over more than six years between his international debut and finally securing a Test spot of his own.”Looking back on things, I am very lucky to have been through the experiences I’ve had that turned me into the person and the cricketer I am now,” he said. “I suppose I’ve got a little bit to help younger guys coming through and improve them not only as people but also to help them make the most of playing the cricket they are as well.”

The combination of India’s ruthless attack and South Africa’s ordinary batting meant India cruised to a crushing win by an innings and 137 runs

The Report by Sidharth Monga13-Oct-20193:49

Agarkar: Glad Saha, Umesh getting applause for their hard work

The hallmark of Virat Kohli’s captaincy on the field in Test cricket has been the clinical execution. His field placements, his declarations, and his bowling changes have tended to err on the side of conservatism. On Sunday morning in Pune, he took a trip to the wild side by enforcing a follow-on on South Africa, and thus asking his bowlers to bowl a second day in a row.It turned out it wasn’t that wild a ride. The combination of India’s ruthless attack and South Africa’s ordinary batting meant India cruised to a crushing win by an innings and 137 runs, India’s biggest against this opposition. It also sealed their 11th consecutive series win at home. By agreeing to bowl for two days in a row, and doing it so well, the bowlers earned an extra day off between this and their third straight Test.ALSO READ: Stats – India break Australia’s record with 11th consecutive series win at homeModern cricket has shown that you enforce the follow-on only in extreme circumstances, unless you are certain the opposition is so far gone it is not capable of fighting back. There was no rain forecast so that took out one extreme circumstance. India probably felt the pitch was dying down, as was evident with the South Africa lower order’s ease with the old ball, so they needed to make use of it when it was still lively. What the follow-on had going for it was that India had five bowlers, and even if South Africa batted five sessions to save the Test, India couldn’t lose the Test.

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Despite all those circumstances, it is highly likely it all came down to the huge difference in class between the two sides. It has taken some miraculous batting in both the first innings of this series for South Africa to bat over 100 overs. India just didn’t expect South Africa to bat over 100 overs here. They lasted 67.2 overs.Damage began with Aiden Markram falling for a silver pair. So short is his confidence that he didn’t go for the review even though it seemed he wanted to. As was seen in the replays, this inswinger from Ishant Sharma was swinging too much. Theunis de Bruyn, whose series has been only marginally better than Markram’s, soon became a victim of some Wriddhiman Saha magic with a flying catch down the leg side off Umesh Yadav.India’s players celebrate their innings victory•BCCI

Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis, promoting himself to No. 4 this time, provided some resistance but R Ashwin broke through that in the second hour of the day to go past Dennis Lillee’s tally of 355 Test wickets. It wasn’t without some help. Saha gladdened the hearts of those who facilitated his comeback after he sat out for 22 months, a hiatus that was not his own making. Ashwin drew an inside edge from du Plessis, on to his thigh pad, thus changing direction and heading towards Saha’s ribs. Saha’s gloves followed the ball, but didn’t quite keep up with it. He did get enough to keep the ball in the air, then in desperation he threw his left glove at the ball, lobbing it down the wicket. Now he was about to lunge for the ball, the lunge had started, and he realised there is time. So he took a mini step before lunging, getting enough distance on the dive to finish the catch where silly point would be.Just before lunch, Elgar made an argument for a long-off despite a big lead because batsmen these days can’t help hitting in the air. Because there was a long-off in place, Elgar tried to clear mid-on, and the ball turned to fly off the outside half of his bat for a catch to Yadav.Post lunch, it was the turn of Ravindra Jadeja to get among the wickets, beating a Quinton de Kock slog sweep and drawing an outside edge from Temba Bavuma. The latter was pretty significant because of the pressure Bavuma was under. He got a start, looked like their best player of spin in this innings, but after getting in and with the ball getting softer, he played a loose drive at Jadeja.Mohammed Shami produced an over from hell to almost blast the bat out of Vernon Philander’s hands and then get Senuran Muthusamy fending at a short ball. On day four on an Indian pitch. As has been the norm, there was resistance in the lower order against the softer ball with first-innings fighters Philander and Keshav Maharaj adding a half-century stand. However, once Philander tickled Yadav down the leg side, the end came swiftly.

“If you get good pace behind the ball and just put it in the right areas, you can create chances”

Daniel Brettig in Brisbane19-Nov-20191:31

‘Totally different, in-form bowlers’ for Tests – Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq knows the secret to getting Steven Smith out, and calls it the batsman’s “blind spot”. It isn’t much of a secret at all: simply hit the same spot, hitting at or near the top of the off stump, that troubles every batsman in international cricket.The first trick, of course, is to get the ball to move off the seam from that spot to force errors. As Smith put it in England this year: “There is no doubt in my mind that the seaming ball is the hardest thing to play in the game. You don’t have time to react, so you have to play the line and if it goes in, you are a chance of hitting the stumps and getting lbw, and if it goes away you are a chance of nicking it.”The other trick, even less of a trick than extracting seam movement, is simply to keep hitting that precise spot, ball after ball, over after over, hour after hour, session after session. Misbah, a past master at the pendulum-like rhythm that brings success whether batting or bowling in Test matches, has done his best to ensure that when Smith walks out to bat in the first Test, starting Thursday, Pakistan’s bowlers will find a way to hit the blind spot near enough to every ball.ALSO READ: Waqar Younis warns against getting ‘carried away’ by bounce“As far as Steve Smith goes, there’s a blind spot for every top batsman in the world; as a bowler you’re always interested in pitching the ball there,” Misbah said. “It’s important that we bowl with consistency there. Our bowlers are executing the plans very well right now, and hopefully we’ll be able to build that kind of a pressure, and stay disciplined especially early in the innings. No matter how good a batsman is batting, it’s about consistency and bowling the maximum balls in those areas that build pressure and the batsman respects you, and you force him to make a mistake.”All the batsmen you talk to, any batsman in the world, that’s the area where you have to defend a ball, and that is a six-to-eight-metre spot where you have to play the top of off stump. That’s the area from where if it’s happening then that creates a great chance. Even if it’s not happening, you have less chances to do anything with the ball.”So it’s about consistency, and top players in the world, if you miss those areas, that special length and line, then they are good enough to just cash in on that. So you have to be very, very disciplined, just keep the ball there, and if it’s happening you are already in the game.”Pakistan’s selection choices seem to be geared to finding not only consistency but also movement, with bounce, off the pitch. Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Musa and the 16-year-old Naseem Shah have the makings of one of the tougher pace-bowling attacks Australia have faced at home.”At the moment, they are doing it, but obviously we’ll see how it goes in these conditions,” Misbah said, “because these pitches are hard.”But I still believe if you get good pace behind the ball and just put it in the right areas, you can create chances. That’s what we are looking for, and I think they can, the way Naseem is bowling at the moment, Shaheen is very important with the new ball especially, he gets some movement in the air and off the seam also. We hope that they can do it, but you need to be very, very disciplined.”Then it comes to plan B and plan C, if it’s not happening then where you’re going to attack him. Let’s see, there are good signs for us that a young bowling attack like this, they start understanding what they need to do here. It’s big pressure when they just go in a Test match, that’s a big learning for them. If they can replicate that in the game scenario then these fast bowlers will be a great asset for Pakistan. The kind of form he is in, there’s no doubt Steve Smith is a batting genius. We will try our best to execute our plans and dismiss him.”Misbah-ul-Haq catches up with Brad Hogg at the Optus Stadium•Getty Images

Among Pakistan’s batsmen, the way Babar Azam has begun this tour gives the strong impression that he may be on the verge of a major breakthrough into the very front rank, currently occupied by Smith and Virat Kohli, among others. Misbah is hopeful that he has been able to add the requisite ice to Babar’s shotmaking fire, as evidenced by the maturity he showed in compiling a masterful century against Australia A in Perth.”It was a very difficult pitch for our three-day game and they bowled very well. We were playing pretty much the top four bowlers from Australia A,” Misbah said. “Babar Azam did both the things there – he punished the poor deliveries and respected the bowlers when it was required. He batted with a lot of maturity there. It’s not just aggression, aggression and aggression, he has a very balanced approach. He puts the short balls away and even respects the good deliveries whenever he had to. He is ready to play that sort of a long innings in Tests.”He is very important. I think the way he is playing these days, the most important thing for a batsman is how confident you are, especially after South Africa and those were difficult pitches when Pakistan played last series. The way he played good and attacking cricket there, he has changed totally as a batsman. He understands conditions and here the conditions for batting are a lot better.”The way he has been batting these days in the warm-up games, in the T20s, and even in the nets, you can see his confidence and he has improved a lot technically, you can see the surety in him. He will be a key [batsman], especially with his confidence. Hopefully he will do well, it will be very important for Pakistan.”As for the World Test Championship, Pakistan will finally make their entry to the contest with India already having streeted away to a 300-point lead. Misbah mentioned the psychological value of winning in Australia or England, before assuming a typically serene attitude to the title race.”These two Test matches are here, whenever you come to Australia and England, if you perform well in these conditions as a team, especially a young team, that gives you huge confidence,” he said. “Then four Test matches at home, if we can do well here and then go there and perform well, then these things will take care of themselves.”