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South Africa have yet to make a firm decision on who will partner Quinton de Kock or who their sixth bowling option will be for the T20 World Cup later this year. With approximately seven fixtures left (one vs West Indies, three vs Ireland, and three vs Sri Lanka) before the tournament, they have limited time and matches to settle on a strategy.That the team is still in the experimental stage of things is down in part to the disruption to the cricketing calendar and the continued postponement of a T20I series against India which was initially meant to happen last August and now won’t take place at all. While that series would have kicked off South Africa’s preparations for the World Cup, selection calls around the team for the ongoing tour of the West Indies have also raised some questions.Why, for example, have they included four opening batters in their squad? Or two seam-bowling allrounders, neither of whom have played in the West Indies series so far? And how can they ensure they have enough big-hitters in the middle-order as well as enough bowlers to cover for someone who may have an off day? At the moment, they don’t seem to know.”In terms of combinations, we are looking at who can partner Quinny at the top. Reeza (Hendricks) is the guy at the moment and we believe he has done it well. David (Miller) is our seasoned finisher. He has done it for many years but unfortunately at the moment he is battling with form, as are a number of batters,” Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s limited-overs captain, said after their defeat in the fourth T20I.”I’m sure a seaming allrounder will come back into the mix. Where we find ourselves at the moment is that we are looking for someone who can effectively play that sixth bowling role. If you look at a guy like Aiden (Markram), he gives you more than just the bowling option. He is someone we see as versatile in terms of his batting position. He can bat at the top as well as batting in the middle and he has been given that opportunity now, albeit in tough conditions. From a bowling front, that (the sixth-bowler) we haven’t nailed down.”Related

• Finals pressure for South Africa in T20Is decider

What’s clear so far is that South Africa want to play at least three of their five openers: Hendricks, Bavuma and Markram. That means Janneman Malan, who has played 20 fewer T20Is than Markram and whose average is similar, is unlikely to be able to force his way back in at the moment. It also means that Bavuma, who started off his T20 career as an opener, is being used at No.3, where he has not come off yet. With Markram in the middle order, there is no space for either Heinrich Klaasen, Kyle Verreynne or anyone else South Africa may want to be there, except maybe Faf du Plessis. But that would create the same problem of only five bowling options that South Africa had in the first two matches against West Indies, so it will be interesting to see if du Plessis, the former captain, fits back in.Although South Africa can’t say for sure if Markram is a long-term sixth-bowling option, they are intent on finding out and used him to open the bowling in the last match with less than ideal results. Markram conceded 20 runs, which Bavuma identified as putting South Africa under pressure immediately and though it’s an isolated incident, it remains a cause of concern.Reeza Hendricks made 2, 17, 42, 17 partnering Quinton de Kock in the combination in the T20Is against West Indies•AFP/Getty Images

Seemingly, a more secure choice would be to include a proven allrounder in Markram’s spot but South Africa have left both Wiaan Mulder and Andile Phehlukwayo on the bench. Whether they will opt for Dwaine Pretorius, who missed this tour after contracting Covid-19, remains to be seen.Then, there’s the consideration that they already have an allrounder in the team in George Linde, who has earned his place with the ball but has the ability to do it with the bat. It’s possible that South Africa don’t want to appear to have a softer middle order with two allrounders at Nos. 6 and 7, especially as they have no choice but to start the lower order at No. 8.Their three-pronged pace pack of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi were exceptional in the Tests but have not reproduced that form with the white ball. Bavuma put that down to conditions. “Our bowlers, in terms of aggression and pace, we have always thrived on bowling on quick, bouncy wickets. That’s a skill set that becomes null and void in these type (West Indian) of conditions,” he said. “Maybe we have been found wanting in that department.”While Nortje has bowled some back-of-the-hand slower balls, South Africa overall have not adjusted to the surfaces as well as West Indies and Ngidi, in particular, has been expensive. Apart from Phehlukwayo and Mulder, South Africa have Beuran Hendricks, Lizaad Willams and Sisanda Magala (though he is currently battling an ankle injury) in reserve and have not used any of them yet. Bavuma indicated Williams may come into contention for the series-deciding fifth and final T20I, after an impressive debut earlier in the year. He was their leading bowler against Pakistan in the series in April.The only position not under some scrutiny is Tabrazi Shamsi’s. The world’s leading T20I bowler has operated as both strike bowler and container, and his form means it’s unlikely Imran Tahir, who has not retired from the shortest format, will don a South African shirt again. That, unless Tahir is afforded the opportunity and South Africa opt to field a four-spin attack in the UAE. They have the personnel in Tahir, Shamsi, Linde and Bjorn Fortuin. Imagine that.

Daniel Sams remains comfortable with the decision to make himself unavailable for the tour of West Indies and Bangladesh to prioritise his mental health after the challenges of the IPL, which included catching Covid-19 before the tournament.Sams ended up playing two matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore before being part of the cohort of Australians who had to spend time in the Maldives when the tournament was suspended before they could travel home due to border closures to those who had been in India. He was then one of eight players, including the injured Steven Smith, unavailable for the current tour.”It was quite challenging with getting Covid in India, but it’s been really good to be home. Don’t have any regrets, obviously I’ve had thoughts of ‘wish I was there’ but in the end I made the decision that’s best for me long term,” Sams said. “My relationship is the most important thing, one of the biggest reasons for me pulling out was so I can connect back with my wife Danii because we’d never been apart for that long. That was definitely a priority and then my mental health as well.”I made the decision to come home so I can be good long term where potentially if I went I’d be no good for the summer, the potential World Cup chances, the BBL, all that stuff. I’d love to be over there, but think it was the best decision for me and my family.”Related

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Sams, who plays domestically for New South Wales and Sydney Thunder, does yet know whether he will return for the resumption of the IPL in the UAE but national limited-overs captain Aaron Finch has made it clear he would find it difficult for players to go back to the league having not been available for Australia duty.It is yet to be confirmed whether Australia will have any fixtures directly before the World Cup – there had been plans for a tri-series involving Afghanistan and West Indies – although the domestic season is due to start in mid-September which could need to be traded-off against the value of using the IPL as preparation.”I 100% definitely understand where he’s coming from with that, choosing not to go on this international tour whatever the reasons were, and choosing to go back to the IPL which potentially sacrifices some of the state commitments and whatever commitments there are leading to the World Cup,” Sams said.Daniel Sams showed his batting power against New Zealand•AFP

“That’s something that needs to be considered. There’s two ways to think of it. If you go to the back end of the IPL that’s T20 cricket that you’ll be playing so you’ll be going into the World Cup on the back of playing all these games. There’s a couple of ways to look at it.”Sams, who has played four T20Is, retains hope of making the final cut for the T20 World Cup. He showed his batting power with 41 off 15 balls against New Zealand in Dunedin and has eyes on the finisher’s position.”I’d like to improve on my bowling a little internationally,” he said, “but I feel more than confident I can be a big part of the Australian T20 team. I’d like to bat as high as possible, but being realistic batting seven, there’s been a lot of talk about the finisher role, and that’s something I feel I could potentially do.”With Covid-19 currently causing lockdowns in Australia and the Delta strain proving very difficult to quell, there is the prospect of bubble life again being part of the cricket season. If that’s the case, Sams believes players may need to take time away as well as find ways to help deal with the strain of a hotel-to-cricket ground existence.”It’s definitely something we’ll figure out plans and ways to manage yourself,” he said. “So if that means you’ll have to take some time off then you’ll have to take some time off [or] if that means you need to work with someone constantly. For me it has definitely been something like ‘okay, we’re going to be in bubbles again, how am I going to get through it so I can perform the best that I can’.”That’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about and wanting to put some things in place – I’m not quite sure what it’s going to look like – to be able to manage myself while in those bubbles.”

West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against South Africa after being identified as a primary contact of a Covid-19 case in Jamaica, which requires her to serve a period of isolation. Offspinner Anisa Mohammed has been named interim captain in Taylor’s absence for the series which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday in Antigua.Left-arm seamer Qiana Joseph, who has represented West Indies in two ODIs in 2017, has earned a T20I call-up to the 13-member squad named for the first T20I. The 20-year-old was handed a central contract for the 2021-22 season and recently played for the West Indies A side against Pakistan A.Seamer Shabika Gajnabi, who was part of the ODI squad against Pakistan, has returned to the T20I side. The 21-year-old has represented West Indies in seven T20Is and last played against England in 2020.Meanwhile, offspinner Karishma Ramharack, who was part of the recent T20I squads against Pakistan and England, has been left out. Ramharack was not among the 17 contracted players and last played a T20I in September last year, against England.”It is unfortunate that Stafanie will not be available for this series but there are a number of experienced players who we would be looking to, to fill any void,” Ann Browne-John, lead selector, said. “The young player Qiana Joseph brings another left-hand batter option as well as left-arm orthodox bowling which has been lacking in the team. This will be a good test coming out of the recent Pakistan series, since South Africa is one of the higher-ranked teams.”West Indies won both the ODI and T20I series against Pakistan, which was also their first home internationals in 19 months. According to a press release, the side has been preparing in a high-performance camp in Antigua prior to the upcoming series.The three T20Is, scheduled to be played on August 31, September 2 and September 4, will take place at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground (SVRCG), following which both sides will play a five-match ODI series from September 7 to 19, with the first three matches being played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the last two at the SVRCG.West Indies squad (for first T20I against South Africa): Anisa Mohammed (capt), Deandra Dottin (vice-capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Shabika Gajnabi, Chinelle Henry, Qiana Joseph, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Shakera Selman

New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has echoed Alyssa Healy’s call for scheduling of more Tests in the women’s game, especially as part of multi-format series.Devine, who has 111 ODI caps and is only the third New Zealand woman to play 100 T20Is, said she yearns for “the opportunity to pull on the whites,” a reality that has eluded her in an international career spanning nearly 15 years. New Zealand women haven’t played a Test since 2004.”I think you ask any New Zealand player, whether they want to play a Test match or not, and I can guarantee you everyone would put their hand up and say that they would absolutely love the opportunity,” Devine said on the eve of the first ODI against England in Bristol, a venue that recently hosted the first non-Ashes women’s Test held in over half a decade.”I know certainly from my career, I have been pretty vocal about [the fact that] I would love to play Test cricket and certainly I would love to see the format used in the Ashes,” Devine said. “And, it’s going to be played in the Australia-India series, with, I guess, points carried across all formats. That’s a great way to play and keep the pressure on throughout the series.”New Zealand’s ongoing tour of England, which began with the hosts winning the T20Is 2-1, doesn’t feature a Test. However, in a deviation from what has become the norm in the women’s game, the calendar features more than one Test. England hosted India for a standalone Test in June. Later this month, India will play Australia in a one-off fixture in Gold Coast, as part of a multi-format series.For Devine, the No. 1 women’s T20I allrounder, the slight uptick in women’s Tests this year is “fantastic”.Related

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“Look, I’d absolutely love to play Test cricket, I’d absolutely love to take on the Aussies, I’d love to play India obviously, love to play England, anyone – just to have the opportunity to pull on the whites. It’s something I haven’t been able to do in my longish career.”I would love to see more Test cricket in the women’s arena. It’s fantastic that there are two Test matches this year, which is the most in quite a while. So, I will certainly be watching that game (Australia vs India, starting September 30) with interest.”Earlier in the day, Healy had spoken with measured optimism about more multi-format series taking place in the future among a wider pool of women’s teams.”I love that it’s been spoken about. I wouldn’t say it’s going to be the new norm [against all teams] but imagine the Kiwis (New Zealand) standing up and saying, ‘We’d be really interested in playing one of these multi-format series,” Healy said at Fox Cricket’s launch of Australia’s seven-match home series against India that begins on September 21.”These multi format series are really fun to be a part of and the point structure is just a whole other ball game,” she said. “I never thought we’d have two Tests in the one summer… to be able to play against India and then England in the Ashes is really exciting. My Baggy Green is tucked nicely in my backpack and hopefully I can pull it on my head twice [this summer].”

Captain Kurtis Patterson
Coach Phil JaquesFixtures
October 27-30: Victoria (Sheffield Shield), Drummoyne Oval
November 5-8: Victoria (Sheffield Shield), MCG
November 12: Victoria (Marsh Cup), MCGWinter moves
With a further emphasis on the push for youth that was evident at the end of the last season, Baxter Holt, Tanveer Sangha, Oliver Davies and Lachlan Hearne were upgraded from rookie to full contracts. The changing of the guard has seen batters Nick Larkin and Daniel Solway dropped along with spinner Arjun Nair while Nathan McAndrew has moved to South Australia.Squad
R=Rookie, CA=Australia contract
Sean Abbott, Josh Baraba (R), Harry Conway, Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins (CA), Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Ryan Hadley (R), Ryan Hackney, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood (CA), Lachlan Hearne, Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon (CA), Peter Nevill, Jack Nisbet (R), Kurtis Patterson, Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Steven Smith (CA), Mitchell Starc (CA), Chris Tremain, Hunar Verma (R), David Warner (CA), Adam Zampa (CA)Related

• Kurtis Patterson hopes New South Wales captaincy aids batting revival

• Eye on the Ashes (hopefully): who could push their Test claims in the Sheffield Shield?

Last season
The Sheffield Shield, which saw them unable to defend the title when they were comprehensively beaten in the final by Queensland, was a campaign of extremes – particularly when facing Tasmania. In the first stage of the competition they were bowled out for 64 but, astonishingly, went on to secure victory by 145 runs. There was no repeat in the return fixture in Hobart when their batting fell apart for just 32 in the first innings. Another match, against Queensland, finished with them edging across the line by one wicket. The batting was led by Moises Henriques (633 runs at 70.33) and Sean Abbott (570 runs at 63.33) which was an indication they did not get enough from the top order. They made use of having Nathan Lyon for every match and he claimed 42 wickets at 25.97. In the Marsh Cup, captained by Pat Cummins through the group stage, they were unbeaten as they claimed the title with a thumping win over Western Australia.Player to watch
New captain Kurtis Patterson had a poor 2020-21 season barring a century against South Australia. Having been handed the leadership full time after filling in for Peter Nevill it will be interesting to watch whether the captaincy can help him lift his batting returns. It feels a long time since Patterson made his Test century against Sri Lanka but, at 28, he has time to come again. It will also be worth noting the development of legspinner Tanveer Sangha who has yet to make his first-class debut (or List A) debut but has been named in the first squad of the season.Australia radar
As so often, New South Wales will provide a large portion of the Australia squad. Outside of the main names (which includes the likely Test attack), Sean Abbott will be pushing hard for inclusion especially after the retirement of James Pattinson. Moises Henriques, who was in the squad for the aborted South Africa tour, could push for a batting slot although won’t be available until next month.

Three days after resigning as Australia’s Test captain, Tim Paine made his return to playing as he bids to be part of the upcoming Ashes series with a tidy display behind the stumps.The Tasmania 2nd XI match against South Australia, at Lindisfarne Memorial Park in Hobart, attracted significantly more interest than would normally be the case. This fixture had been part of Paine’s comeback plan from neck surgery before the drama of last week – his initial return in a club game at the weekend was washed out – and will be his first game since early April.He had the keeping gloves on initially with Tasmania bowling first and bagged six catches, some particularly agile, and now it’s a case of how he reacts to the workload. Away from the fallout of the text message scandal, there is a form and fitness debate for Paine to answer – especially now he is back in the ranks as a player. His turn with the bat, where he is listed at No. 5, will come on Tuesday.Paine spoke briefly with local TV as he arrived at the ground. “It’s been a long while, I haven’t played since last year, so I’m looking forward to it,” he told before adding about his injury, “Yeah fine, no complaints, so good to go.”Cricket Tasmania high performance manager Simon Insley said: “Whenever you go through challenging times you want to be around your mates and do what you do best. He’s an exceptional cricketer and he wants to play cricket and get ready for the Ashes. He wants to show signs of good form and show that he’s ready for selection. We all know Tim Paine, he is a very determined individual.”The Cricket Australia board said they were satisfied for Paine to remain available for selection and he has insisted he wants to be part of the England series. The Ashes had been viewed as a potential end-point for Paine’s Test career before the latest developments.Related

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“I see that as the ultimate high, to be able to finish your Test career after winning an Ashes series in Australia,” Paine said in an interview with the . “That’s the dream. That’s what I want to do.”Todd Greenberg, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, said that Paine’s availability for the Ashes was a key part of the negotiations that took place ahead of him standing down. In a statement on Friday, the ACA had expressed their disappointment that Paine had felt the need to stand down as captain.Tim Paine makes his playing comeback on Monday (file photo)•Getty Images

“We think he must be available for selection, then ultimately that’s an issue for the selectors,” Greenberg told SEN radio. “That was made clear to him and to us by Cricket Australia last week. I hope he is picked, and he plays an incredibly strong Ashes series.”If Paine was unable to get through the fitness side of his comeback following the disc surgery he had in September, Alex Carey would be the likely replacement in the Test side. Carey is part of the Australia A squad which will also be in Brisbane alongside Josh Inglis.When the Ashes squad was named on Wednesday morning, Paine was the only keeper named in the main 15-player squad even though the timelimes that emerged around his resignation suggested the situation was likely well advanced at that stage.Following the 2nd XI match, Paine is due to link up with the Australia squad in Queensland ahead of the intrasquad match which starts on December 1 and will provide the final preparation for the first Test at the Gabba.

Marcus Harris is grateful for the vote of confidence from national selector George Bailey early in the season which ensured he was locked in as David Warner’s opening partner for the start of the Ashes.When Will Pucovski’s latest concussion ruled him out of contention there was debate around who would go in alongside Warner at the Gabba – even though Harris was the incumbent from the India series in January – but he had been given the nod by Bailey a few weeks before the squad was confirmed.Related

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Harris made a century in the first Sheffield Shield match of the season against New South Wales, and though he failed twice in the return game at the MCG he is also coming into the Ashes on the back of a strong overseas campaign with Leicestershire.”I probably spoke to Bails [George Bailey] about a week before we went away to Sydney for the first Shield game,” Harris said. “We just had a really good conversation. It was just good to have some clear communication with a selector about what I was doing and what was in their thinking for me.”It’s good for your confidence as a player to know where you stand and having the backing of people is really good. It puts your mind at ease a little bit, your mind can run obviously coming into a big series on the Ashes with the amount of attention that’s brought to it, so to not have to worry about that for probably a month leading into the first game has been pretty good.”Bailey also said that Harris, who averages 23.77 from 10 Tests, would be given a run in the role as Australia look to cement an opening pair – at least for the remainder of Warner’s career. The duo had a rocky start against England in the 2019 Ashes when the round-the-wicket line of Stuart Broad caused a mountain of problems, but they added 89 in the second innings against India in Brisbane earlier this year.”David brings a lot of energy to the crease and to the partnership,” Harris said. “Obviously for a long period of time, he’s dominated world cricket. So he takes a lot of pressure off, you don’t feel any pressure to score. I know we had a tough series over in England but in the second innings against India we put on 80 or 90.”Anytime you can play with another player that takes a lot of pressure off you it makes your job a bit easier. Hopefully we can forge something pretty good – we’ll get through this summer first – but over the next period of time.”Harris feels better equipped for his latest run in the Test side after the challenges of the series in England two years ago where he replaced Cameron Bancroft after two Tests. It remains to be seen if England’s quicks can pose the same challenge in Australian conditions as they did at home, but Harris is confident he can respond.”It’s been a ploy that a lot of teams have employed against me now to come around the wicket,” he said. “I feel like I’ve worked really hard on the technical side of my game and tactically to try and combat that. The proof will be in the pudding come December 8 but feels like I’ve worked really hard on it’s gone well.”Harris had shown significant promise in his debut series against India in 2018-19 with two half-centuries and his averaged peaked at 37.75 after five matches before tumbling to its current level. He has always had the ability to bat time at domestic level – his maiden first-class century of 157 in 2011 came from 411 balls and shortly before his debut in 2018 he made a career-best unbeaten 250 from 403 – but he now feels he has struck a better tempo.”My initial idea of trying to get through the 20s was to dash as quickly as I could, but as I’ve got a bit older and more experienced I just let the game come to me a little bit more and let the bowlers come to me a bit more.”That probably comes back to just having a hunger for making a lot of runs, making big runs and having patience. In the first Shield game I think I’ve faced 360 balls so it’s not being satisfied with making 50 or 100. Through the off-season I had some really good innings where I made some big hundreds and over the last couple of years have made a couple of 200s. It comes back to having a bit of a bit of self-motivation and drive to do really well and lead from the front of your team.”

Ajaz Patel, who became only the third bowler in the history of Test cricket to pick up all ten wickets in an innings, against India in Mumbai, has risen to No. 38 following a match haul of 14 for 225. New Zealand still lost the Test by a record 372 runs, and India opener Mayank Agarwal, the Player of the Match for innings of 150 and 62, has jumped 30 positions to No. 11, just one off a career-high tenth spot.For Ajaz, who emulated Jim Laker and Anil Kumble at the Wankhede, it meant a gain of 23 spots; his previous highest was No. 53, and he had started the two-Test series against India, which New Zealand lost 1-0, at 62nd place. He picked up a total of 17 wickets in the series.As for Agarwal, his previous best rankings of No. 10 came back in November 2019, after he had scored 243 against Bangladesh in Indore in what was his eighth Test.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

R Ashwin was named Player of the Series for his tally of 14 wickets in two Tests, to go with 70 runs across three innings. Ashwin, No. 2 on the bowlers’ chart behind Pat Cummins, has now moved within 25 points of the Australian quick, his 883 rating points well clear of third-placed Josh Hazlewood, who has 816 points.Cummins, however, has started the Ashes series with a bang, returning 5 for 38 on the opening day of the first Test in Brisbane as England rolled over for 147. Hazlewood hasn’t done badly either, picking up 2 for 42.4:11

Daniel Vettori: Ajaz Patel haul is greatest individual feat in NZ Test cricket

Ashwin has also moved up one place to No. 2 among allrounders. Jason Holder is top of the tally there, while Ravindra Jadeja has dropped from second to fourth, with Ben Stokes between him and Ashwin. Holder, meanwhile, has also moved up one spot to the 14th place among bowlers at the end of the second Galle Test against Sri Lanka, which the home side won by 164 runs to complete a 2-0 series win.Among the others to gain at the end of the India vs New Zealand series were Shubman Gill, up 21 places to 45th, and Daryl Mitchell, up 26 places to No. 78, on the batters’ table, and Mohammed Siraj, who moved up four spots to 41st in the bowlers’ list.Following the Sri Lanka vs West Indies series, three batters made significant gains: Dhananjaya de Silva, whose 155* was the highlight of Sri Lanka’s win in the first Test, moved up 12 places to No. 21, Kraigg Brathwaite went up ten places to 39th, and Nkrumah Bonner was up 17 places to 42nd.Of the bowlers in action, Sri Lanka spinners Lasith Embuldeniya (up five slots to No. 32) and Ramesh Mendis (up 18 places to 39th) made big gains.

Big picture

On Tuesday, two significant weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s XI were exposed. On flat tracks, even with Dushmantha Chameera in the side, the bowling attack lacked for penetration through the early and middle overs, with only legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay claiming wickets in the first 35. Then, while chasing 303, the top order’s fragilities were laid bare. Against testing but hardly unplayable bowling, Sri Lanka were 31 for 3 inside eight overs, and 63 for 4 inside 15. Although captain Dasun Shanaka’s maiden international hundred kept Sri Lanka in the hunt, you don’t come out on top of many chases with the kind of start they had.Their strategy has come under serious review with that loss; perhaps they are a batter short. With Kamindu Mendis and Charith Asalanka capable of contributing overs, could they perhaps push Chamika Karunaratne down to No. 8? And it is possible they did not use their better bowlers enough. Vandersay had one over unbowled; Karunaratne, who had taken a wicket and gone at only four an over, delivered only six of his possible ten.Zimbabwe, meanwhile, will be thrilled at their own bowlers’ performances. Blessing Muzarabani was the standout on Tuesday, as he, Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngarava produced arguably the defining period of the game – the early overs of Sri Lanka’s innings. In fact, such was the dominance of those three quicks, and the control of left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza, that Zimbabwe didn’t even need Sikandar Raza to bowl his offspin at any stage. The attack also held its nerve when the match seemed headed for a tight finish.A victory in the final match would give Zimbabwe their first series win of this inaugural Super League cycle after also tying a series against Ireland. And it would be the second successive ODI series they would have won in Sri Lanka, having done the same back in 2017, which amounts to serious bragging rights.

Big picture

Sri Lanka LWWLW (Last five completed matches; most recent first)
Zimbabwe WLLWLDasun Shanaka’s maiden ODI hundred was his first excellent innings since taking over as white-ball captain•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

In the four years that Blessing Muzarabani has played ODIs for Zimbabwe, he has had a substantial impact. Away from home, his numbers are excellent: 25 wickets from 16 matches at an average of 27.32. And what is more, since late 2020, he is on a pretty serious run of form despite the infrequency with which Zimbabwe play. In his last nine ODIs, he has gone wicketless only once. Tall, sharp and accurate, he will likely be a menace again come Friday.While Dasun Shanaka did not have the best night as captain, perhaps mismanaging his bowling resources, he will at least be pleased that he produced his first excellent innings since taking over as Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain last year. His form had been a concern right through the last few months, and was perhaps the greatest sticking point in his captaincy so far. Another good innings will help shore up his leadership.

Pitch and conditions

Another flat surface is expected in Pallekele. The weather is not forecast to interrupt.

Team news

Offspinning allrounder Ramesh Mendis is likely to come into Sri Lanka’s XI in order to target Craig Ervine and Sean Williams, the two left-handers in Zimbabwe’s middle order, as well as to bolster the hosts’ batting. Maheesh Theekshana, who has been economical without being a major wicket-taking threat, is likeliest to make way.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamindu Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Chamika Karunaratne, 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Jeffrey Vandersay, 11 Nuwan PradeepZimbabwe were unchanged in the second ODI, and will probably see no need to switch things up for this game too.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Regis Chakabva (wk), 2 Takudzwanashe Kaitano, 3 Craig Ervine (capt), 4 Wesley Madhevere, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Ryan Burl, 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Richard Ngarava

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have now won four of their last seven ODIs in Sri Lanka. Before 2017, they had never won a match on the island.
• In 12 innings in 2020, Shanaka averaged 22.45 with a strike rate of 71. But thanks to Tuesday’s knock, he averages 112 and strikes at 106 across two innings so far this year.
• Despite their modest overall ODI record, Sri Lanka have won three of their last four bilateral ODI series at home, defeating Bangladesh, West Indies and South Africa since 2019.

There wasn’t much to speak of following the first Test in Rawalpindi, apart from the playing surface around which a dull draw began to take shape as early as the second day. Just 14 wickets fell across five days with the pitch never quite breaking up as Pakistan might have hoped. The match referee Ranjan Madugalle rated the pitch “below average” and one demerit point was handed out to the venue. PCB chairman Ramiz Raja, somewhat unusually, released a video statement, all but admitting the pitch had been neutralised because of the unavailability of Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali.So it was perhaps natural that Babar Azam would be peppered with questions about the surface, and whether Pakistan were a touch too wary of Australia. And as expected, the Pakistan captain pushed back hard against the notion.Related

• Rawalpindi pitch gets 'below average' rating from ICC match referee

• Imam: 'When we go to Australia, they don't make pitches consulting us'

• Ramiz: Rawalpindi draw 'wasn't a good advertisement for Test cricket'

• Swepson in line for Karachi debut as Aus ponder two-pronged spin attack

• Why did Pakistan sedate Rawalpindi, their liveliest Test pitch?

“We’re not frightened of Australia,” he insisted. “The conditions are the same for both teams, and the World Test Championship points are very crucial. As a captain, I wanted us to win. The way our side dominated, we had batters score 150-plus and [bowlers] get wickets. So there’s nothing to panic about. We dominated. We didn’t get a result, unfortunately, but that’s not in our hands. If all the overs that were lost due to rain were played, maybe we’d have a different result.”But while mystery shrouded the nature of the strip in use in Rawalpindi, there appears to be much more congruity about the characteristics of the wicket in Karachi. Australian captain Pat Cummins said the wicket looked drier, and Karachi’s historical friendliness towards spinners has seen the visitors drop Josh Hazlewood and hand legspinner Mitchell Swepson his debut. Babar admitted Pakistan didn’t know much about the Queenslander yet.”I haven’t seen much of him,” he said. “We’ll watch videos of him and plan accordingly. We’ve started practice here; it’s quite hot and the conditions are different. We have momentum with us; we dominated the first Test and had great individual and team performances. The batters batted well, the bowlers took ten wickets, and Nauman six. The overall team performance was good and we’re trying to take that momentum into this game.”Just like Imam-ul-Haq on Thursday, Babar too defended the Rawalpindi pitch. “The conditions here are not as they are in Australia,” he said. “Every venue has different conditions that we utilise. You can’t just produce bouncy wickets or ‘Australia-style’ wickets; that’s not possible. We’ll go by our strength and try and win the match that way. Test match situations and pitches are different to ODIs; matches have to last five days. Later on, the spinners will get help.”The pitch looks like a sporting wicket. There’s lots of talk about how the pitch should have been. Whatever the kind of wicket, you must put in the effort to score runs and take wickets. In Australia, we have the world’s best team here, and performing against them is very difficult; they give you a tough time. The way the team performed and worked hard has been heartening. You need patience, and I think our side showed a lot of patience.”For Australia, four batters got to half-centuries in the first Test, but all of them fell short of the three-figure mark; Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne were dismissed three and ten runs shy. Cummins said Australia had spoken about the need to capitalise once the batters were set, but defended his bowlers’ performance, despite the visitors managing only four wickets in 239 overs.”We spoke about that [batters’ performances] after the game. There are some really good positives from the batting group to get high 400s but over here, if you get yourself in, you’ve to capitalise. Even last week if we are being really critical, we might have missed a chance where we could have got a good lead ahead and had a chance to bowl on day five with a bit of a lead. They’ve been working hard the last couple of days of training. We think this wicket will provide a couple more questions and they are up for it.”We didn’t get as many wickets as we would have liked but never let the run rate slip, on past tours of the subcontinent we have. We never lost control of the game. As a Test match, it was an absolute outlier, so [we will] put it behind us and come here where we’ll probably get closer to the conditions we would expect in a subcontinent Test. I expect this wicket to break up a little bit more.”