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Tier 1

Rain in Cox’s Bazzar meant that play was possible only on the second day in the match between Dhaka Division and Barisal Division. Play was eventually called off early on the fourth day with the game predictably ending in a draw.The second day, which allowed 90 overs, saw opener Rony Talukdar (121) and No.3 Saif Hassan (106*) hit centuries to guide Dhaka to 309 for 2. Talukdar struck eight fours and six sixes in his 195-ball knock, while Saif hit nine fours and five sixes off 193 balls. The pair added 141 runs for the second wicket after Abdul Mazid was dismissed in the 28th over by Tanvir Islam. Monir Hossain was the other wicket-taker for Barisal.Rain also affected the Khulna Division-Rangpur Division match at the Shiekh Abu Naser Stadium and ensured another draw. Play was called off on the fourth day at 2.40, about two hours before the scheduled time for stumps.Mashrafe Mortaza, who returned to first-class cricket after three years, claimed match figures of 4 for 73, including 3 for 12 in the second innings, but Anamul Haque made a bigger impact, scoring his maiden first-class double-hundred.In reply to Rangpur’s 471, Khulna enjoyed an excellent start with Anamul and Robiul Islam Robi putting on 251 for the first wicket. The stand ended when Robiul was pinned lbw by Nasir Hossain for 100, but Anamul went onto make a big one. He struck 18 fours and two sixes during his 512-minute knock. The marathon innings came 10 days after BCB president Nazmul Hassan had made a recommendation to the selectors by asking them to consider Anamul as an opening option for the South Africa Test series later this month.Nasir took 5 for 70 before Khulna declared their innings at 495 for 9 on the fourth day. Mashrafe and Al-Amin Hossain reduced Rangpur to 37 for 4 in eight overs before rain forced a premature end.File photo – Mohammad Ashraful struck his 19th first-class ton, and first in four years•BCB

Tier 2

Farhad Hossain’s 70 in the fourth innings – the only fifty of the match – proved the difference in a low-scoring clash as Rajshahi Division chased down 212 beat Sylhet Division in Rajshahi.Rajshahi lost their openers Mizanur Rahman and Jahurul Islam early in the chase, but Junaid Siddique, who made 46, and Farhad, who cracked 11 fours and a six in his 99-ball innings, lifted their side. Farhad fell when the hosts were nine away from the target, but Myshukur Rahaman and the other Farhad – Reza – wrapped up a six-wicket win on the final day.This after Rajshahi had been shot out for a mere 79 in reply to Sylhet’s 128. Offspinner Sayem Alam’s 6 for 32 proved vital in Sylhet securing a 49-run first-innings lead.Sylhet were then reduced to 22 for 4 in their second innings but a series of cameos from the middle order and the lower-middle order helped the side to 162, setting Rajshahi 212. Farhad and Junaid then gave the chase direction and set up the win.Rain thwarted Dhaka Metropolis‘ push for victory against Chittagong Divison at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. After opting to bat, Dhaka posted 344 on the back of Mohammad Ashraful’s 19th first-class hundred, and first since 2013. He struck 12 fours and two sixes and added 148 for the fifth wicket with Mehrab Hossain jnr, who made 66.Nihaduzzaman’s 5 for 45 built on their good work and skittled Chittagong for 130 in 50.5 overs. After securing a 214-run first-innings lead, Dhaka scored 169 for 6 before declaring their second innings. Captain Marshall Ayub and Asif Ahmed hit fifties, setting Chittagong a target of 384.Dhaka had Chittagong at 193 for 4 before rain stopped play on the fourth day at 2.30pm. The rain refused to relent, and the match was ultimately called off at 4.02pm.

Brendon McCullum smashed 63 off 28 balls•Getty Images

Brendon McCullum led from the front with an exhilarating 63 off 28 balls as Middlesex, who totalled 203 for 6, then dismissed Essex Eagles for 131 to win by 72 runs in front of a 27,000 sell-out crowd at a floodlit Lord’s.Middlesex captain McCullum smashed five sixes and six fours, was given fine support by a John Simpson half-century, and later – after Dan Lawrence had grabbed a T20-best 3 for 21 from his four overs – saw 26 runs plundered from the final over of the innings as Ryan Higgins, Tim Southee and James Franklin all hit the suffering Matt Dixon for sixes.The win was a vital one for Middlesex, who before the game were level with Essex and two other counties on five points at the bottom of the NatWest T20 Blast’s South Group but now move up into the middle of a tightly-packed table.Adam Wheater fell in the first over of Essex’s reply, spearing Southee to cover point, and soon Eoin Morgan had claimed four catches in that position as Varun Chopra, Lawrence and Ryan ten Doeschate all picked out England’s one-day captain with lifted or mishit cuts.Tom Helm, who ended with his and his county’s T20-best of 5 for 11, earlier removed Chopra with his second ball, while Steven Finn got his revenge for being swatted for two sixes by Lawrence and for conceding 31 runs from his first two overs and added ten Doeschate’s scalp for good measure.By then Ravi Bopara had run himself out for 10, calling ten Doeschate for a single that wasn’t there and failing to beat Simpson’s throw to the bowler’s end after being sent back, and when Ashar Zaidi skied George Scott’s medium pace to backward point to go for 2 the chase was all but over at 62 for 6.James Foster offered some defiance with 50 from 25 balls, but Helm returned to have him, Paul Walter and Mohammad Amir all caught slogging desperately in the 15th over and, in his following over, the 23-year-old fast bowler made it four wickets in six balls by bowling last man Dixon.Middlesex were 54 for 1 after five overs, and then 110 for 2 off ten, as a result of McCullum’s explosive innings, although wicketkeeper-batsman Simpson was not too far behind in terms of destructiveness as they added 73 in little more than six overs for the second wicket.The game’s opening over, bowled by Amir, contained just one run off the bat but, from then on, sixes and fours rained down on a capacity crowd as warm early evening sunshine also graced the occasion. To attract so many spectators to Lord’s for this fixture, when England’s third Test against South Africa had started across London at The Oval earlier in the day, said much both for Middlesex’s marketing strategy and for the enduring popularity of the competition itself.McCullum, put down on 0 by left-arm seamer Paul Walter when the New Zealander crunched his first ball back to him at the start of the second over – it was a difficult chance – immediately celebrated his let-off by driving through extra cover for four, slashing high to fine third man for another four and then swinging to long on for six as 16 came off the over.Nick Gubbins went for 1, well held diving forward by Chopra as he came in from the deep square leg ropes off Dixon, but McCullum uppercut and forced Dixon and Walter for fours before flat-batting the latter over cover for his second six.There were two more sixes pulled off successive balls from Amir in the fifth over, and McCullum’s fifty soon arrived off just 19 balls. McCullum’s fifth and final six was a slog-sweep off Bopara just before the same bowler had him held at long on later in that same ninth over.By now, the left-handed Simpson was also into his stride, going into the 30s by pulling and lofting Bopara for fours and then swinging Simon Harmer’s off spin for a beautifully-timed six over long on. His eventual 51 came off 39 balls, with two sixes and two fours.Morgan contributed a useful 30-ball 39, which included sixes pulled off Amir and swept off left-arm spinner Zaidi, but he was bowled by Lawrence in the 18th over after the occasional off spinner had already slowed up Middlesex’s advance by having Simpson stumped by Foster and then Scott caught behind for a duck in his previous over.The innings, though, finished with a cricketing show of fireworks as Higgins swung Dixon over the deep square leg ropes before being bowled attempting something similar, Southee heaved his first ball over midwicket for six and Franklin flicked a ball aimed down the legside for another six before inside-edging a fortuitous four past keeper Foster as Middlesex made it past the 200 mark.

Concussion substitutes will be trialled in the Sheffield Shield this year, after the ICC cleared the way for the change while allowing the competition to retain its first-class status. A successful trial over the next two seasons could even open a path for concussion substitutes to be introduced into Test cricket.Cricket Australia has pushed hard for cricket to allow concussion substitutes, having introduced the system – in which a team can enact a like-for-like replacement if a player is ruled out mid-match by medical staff due to a concussion – in both men’s and women’s one-day and T20 competitions last summer. In a Matador Cup game in October, New South Wales became the first team to use the system when Nick Larkin was subbed in as a full member of the side after Daniel Hughes was concussed.However, the ICC had rejected Cricket Australia’s proposal for the system to be allowed in first-class cricket last year. That has now changed, after the ICC’s cricket committee met in May this year, and recommended a two-year trial in first-class cricket, a decision that was then approved by the ICC’s Chief Executives Committee.And in July, the MCC’s World Cricket Committee added its support for the two-year trial option without jeopardising the first-class status, though at the same time it decided against altering the Laws of Cricket – which apply at all levels of the game – to allow concussion substitutes.Cricket Australia’s concussion policy was altered following the death of Phillip Hughes in 2014, and team medical staff now have the sole discretion as to whether a player may continue in a match or be ruled out after a blow to the head.”Cricket Australia has been a strong advocate for concussion substitutes and we have successfully introduced this into our other competitions,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said. “We look forward to formalising the introduction of this rule into the Sheffield Shield ahead of this season.”The introduction of concussion substitutes to Sheffield Shield cricket is expected to be formally confirmed after the ICC’s new regulations come into effect on October 1.

Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman has broken into the ICC’s top 10 rankings for T20I batsmen for the first time. He is currently tenth with 627 points, after the rankings were updated following the T20I series between England and South Africa.Sabbir, 25, rose in the rankings despite scoring only 117 runs in five innings this year.Sabbir is the only Bangladesh player after Shakib Al Hasan to break into the top ten rankings for T20I batsmen. Shakib, who is leading the allrounders rankings across all formats at present, achieved the feat in 2012. Mahmudullah, at No. 6, is the only other Bangladesh player among the top ten T20I allrounders.In the T20I bowling rankings, Mustafizur Rahman is at No. 6, while Shakib is ranked ninth.

Match facts

May 19, 2017
Start time 10.45am local (0945 GMT)Tamim Iqbal’s good recent form will leave the onus of building the innings with him•AFP

Big picture

A win percentage of 31.5 in completed ODIs since the start of last year pretty much encapsulates how far Ireland have slid in recent times. In two series preceding the ongoing tri-nation tournament, they lost 2-3 to Afghanistan in Greater Noida, before being swept 2-0 by England in England.Conditions played a part in their toils against Afghanistan as Ireland couldn’t quite cope with the slow surfaces in Greater Noida and succumbed to a team that clearly had superior spin stocks. The familiarity of the cold, harsh climes of Malahide, however, hasn’t bred success for them either: they came up short against a weakened New Zealand team, led by Tom Latham.An ageing team has also played a part – the average age of their XI against New Zealand was 29. Veterans like William Porterfield, Niall O’Brien, Kevin O’Brien and Gary Wilson – all of whom played significant roles in Ireland becoming the top Associate nation – are well into their 30s now.Bangladesh’s graph has moved in the opposite direction. Since making the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa have made them a force to be reckoned with in home conditions. They came into the tri-series fresh off levelling Test, ODI and T20I series on the tour of Sri Lanka. However, their recent record outside the subcontinent hasn’t been too encouraging. They returned from their tour of New Zealand without a single win in eight international games across formats and have also had mixed results in Ireland overall, with four wins from eight international matches.

Form guide

Ireland LLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLWLL

In the spotlight

Peter Chase, the 23-year old right-arm pacer, has had a mixed start to his ODI career. Chase has 23 wickets from 16 matches, but also averages 38.95 and has an economy rate of 6.83. His performances in this series have typified that. In the opener, he rocked Bangladesh with early strikes before rain intervened, and finished with 3 for 33 in six overs. In his next match, he was slapped for 74 runs in ten overs by New Zealand. Chase can generate pace and bounce and, in conditions amiable for pace-bowling, this series is an opportunity to bring some consistency in his game and step up in the absence of senior bowler Boyd Rankin.Tamim Iqbal has one fifty and a century from his last five outings with the bat. His good form augurs well given Bangladesh’s tendency to lose wickets in a cluster, often from good positions. Tamim’s experience is also welcome in what are likely to be tough batting conditions.

Team news

Ireland gave Simi Singh an ODI debut in place of Stuart Thompson against New Zealand, and Simi had a forgettable match scoring 9 off 14 balls in a chase of 290. Thompson himself had replaced Ed Joyce in the series opener against Bangladesh. If Joyce has recovered from his back injury, it is fairly certain neither Simi nor Thompson will find a place in the XI.Ireland (probable) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Niall O’Brien (wk), 4 Andy Balbirnie, 5 Kevin O’Brien, 6 Gary Wilson, 7 Stuart Thompson/Ed Joyce, 8 George Dockrell, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Peter ChaseIn Bangladesh’s previous match, against New Zealand, Taskin Ahmed made way for the returning Mashrafe Mortaza, who had missed the first match due to an over-rate suspension. Bangladesh failed to defend 257, but with Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain both taking wickets, Taskin will likely miss out again.Bangladesh (probable) 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehedi Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

The Malahide pitch is known for being green and pace-friendly but it also turned out to be a good batting track in the previous match between New Zealand and Ireland. Spinners from both sides also did well, with Mitchell Santner claiming a five-for. While it is expected to be partly sunny around start time, rain is forecast at noon and there is cloud cover expected right through the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

• Mahmudullah needs 28 more to complete 3000 runs in ODI cricket.
• The average scoring rate in the first innings in Malahide is 5.7, which translates into an average first-innings score of 285.

Leeward Islands ended their Regional 4-Day tournament campaign with a ten-wicket win over Guyana, a result that had no impact on the teams’ standings at either end of the points table. While Guyana had sealed the title in the last round, with a game to spare, Leeward ended the tournament in last place with three wins in ten games.Rahkeem Cornwall led his side from the front, with a match haul of 9 for 136. His 6 for 68 in the first innings had skittled Guyana out for 187, with wickets falling in clusters. Leeward then overcame a slump – they went from 115 for 1 to 140 for 6 in 13 overs – to take a 119-run first-innings lead. Opener Montcin Hodge’s 70 anchored the early part of the innings before Jacques Taylor shepherded the lower order with a 160-ball 72. Raymon Reifer had triggered Leeward’s batting slump with the wickets of Keacy Carty and Hodge, and he finished with returns of 6 for 74.Guyana’s batting struggled for the second time in the game, and they ended up being dismissed for 143. The top score in their innings came from Chandrapaul Hemraj (29), even as Cornwall added three wickets to his match tally and fast bowler Gavin Tonge had returns of 3 for 33. Leeward then needed only 55 balls to achieve the target of 25.

After Royal Challengers Bangalore ambled to their second sub-hundred total and lost by 61 runs, a visibly disconsolate captain Virat Kohli conceded that his team lost the game rather than Rising Pune Supergiant winning it.”I think it is everyone for see. We lost that game. It is hard for a captain to stand here and speak after performances like these,” Kohli said after the side’s third successive loss. “But, [I have] got to embrace it, got to take it in the journey, take it in my stride and move forward and learn from these kind of games, these kind of days.”We are just not getting good performances together. It is lack of intent, guys fearful of getting out and failing and that’s never a good feeling. So, that’s all it boils down to. We lost the game rather than them winning it.Royal Challengers barely escaped being bowled out for the third game in a row after totals of 49 and 134 in their last two completed games. With the exception of Kohli – he made 55 of the team’s total of 96 for 9 – the other batsmen finished with single digits. Royal Challengers were on 49 for 5 at one stage and didn’t strike a single six until the 17th over. Kohli couldn’t point to any specific reason as to how how a batting line-up consisting of himself, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle could fail continuously.”Could be a few reasons, could be expectations, could be even looking at our side,” Kohli said. “We made the playoffs last year, good batting line-up, so all kinds of things play in your head. You can’t really pinpoint something unless you know as an individual. It could be hesitation to get out, hesitation to get runs, all those sort of things as batsmen, you know, they can creep in very quickly.”Mathematically, Royal Challengers could still make the playoffs, but Kohli didn’t rate their chances too highly. “We are almost not in the race for the playoffs now, pretty much All we can do now is just enjoy the four games,” he said. “Not worry about failing, not worry about not getting runs and just go out there and express ourselves.”Coach Daniel Vettori reiterated Kohli’s statements on staying focused for the next four games. “There are still four more games to go and they are really important for the pride of the franchise,” Vettori said. “We travel to Mumbai tomorrow. We need to play well there.”Vettori was pleased that Royal Challengers’ bowlers had restricted Rising Pune to 157. He was particularly appreciative of Pawan Negi, who conceded only 18 runs in his four overs and picked up Rahul Tripathi’s wicket. “Our bowling performances throughout the season have been exceptional. A real improvement from where we were last year and some of that is down to the wickets we have played on,” Vettori said.When asked about the batting failures, Vettori admitted that they had a different batting line-up in mind at the start of the season, but injuries to KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan forced a rethink in strategy. “A number of guys I suppose, aren’t in the form expected of them,” Vettori said. “Virat has led us exceptionally well, not only with the captaincy but with his batting. The group knows where we haven’t performed, that’s what we need to rectify.”Rising Pune, on the other, had no problems with either fear of failure or expressing themselves, as they completed their fourth win in five games. While lauding his team’s “complete” performance, captain Steve Smith singled out pacer Lockie Ferguson for doing everything asked of him.Ferguson, playing only his second game, finished with figures of 2 for 7 in four overs, including the wicket of de Villiers. “That’s a magnificent effort, isn’t it?” Smith said. “Three overs of dot balls from Lockie, hit good lengths and bowled good bouncers as well. He is an exciting player for the future.”Smith, however, admitted Rising Pune didn’t get the runs they were looking for. “We didn’t know what was enough at the halfway point, to be fair. The wicket was a little bit slow and obviously Bangalore players have some quality plyers in their line-up. I thought we came out and bowled really well. We executed our plans really well tonight.”

Mark Robinson, England’s head coach, has praised the professional manner in which his new-look squad has built towards this summer’s Women’s World Cup, and believes they are entering the right frame of mind to manage the expectation that will come with being the host nation at cricket’s oldest global event.England will not go into the World Cup as favourites – that is the top-to-bottom message from the squad as they begin the countdown to their opening fixture, against India at Derby on June 24. But, after a year of dramatic upheaval in 2016 that centred around the enforced retirement of Charlotte Edwards, Robinson feels that the squad’s ambitions have been recalibrated and their professionalism renewed ahead of what promises to be a defining year.”There’s nothing bigger than a World Cup in England, so I’m feeling that excitement and so are the girls,” Robinson told ESPNcricinfo during the launch event at Lord’s. “This is one of the reasons why I came to do this job, to take part in the big global events.

Taylor could yet return for World Cup

Mark Robinson says that Sarah Taylor has not yet given up hope playing a part in England’s World Cup campaign, despite missing much of the past year while battling anxiety issues.
Taylor, 27, is arguably England’s most talented female cricketer, and retained her ECB contract this winter while undergoing treatment, having not played since England’s World T20 exit last March.
“There is hope,” said Robinson. “It’s her dream to get back and playing. She’s done really well, I suppose the most important thing is that she gets fitter and feels well again as a person, but she’s working hard on both.
“She’s back in training, and everything we do is a graduated level of return. Sometimes she’s in and has to pull herself out slightly again as her progression continues towards that dream.
“Whether she makes the World Cup or it’s a bit too early, remains to be seen, but at the moment she’s back, she’s training and we are doing it step by step with her.”

“The goal is to get back to being the No.1 country in the world. We’re not there yet, but we’ve made some big strides and big improvements, and this will be a big test to see how far we’ve come this summer.”Twelve months ago, the challenge awaiting England’s women was made abundantly clear as Australia dumped them out of the World T20 with a five-run victory in their semi-final in Delhi. Though the margin may have been tight, the gulf between the teams was not, and in a remarkable post-match press conference that effectively marked the end of Edwards’ decade-long reign as captain, Robinson blamed their shortcomings on an inability to run sufficiently quickly between the wickets.”The fitness should be a non-negotiable,” Robinson said. “It shouldn’t be an issue that you have to talk about as an England coach, so hopefully we’ve addressed that. There’s still some room to go, and there always will be to a degree, but we’ve made such a big shift.”Now, with Heather Knight installed as Edwards’ replacement as captain, England are unbeaten in four series to date (three in ODIs and one T20) during which time many of the players who could help them challenge once again for major honours have been identified.At the top of the order, Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont have emerged as a dynamic and record-breaking opening partnership, Nat Sciver has blossomed to become one of the leading allrounders in the world, while Alex Hartley’s emerging left-arm spin was a critical factor in a hard-earned 3-2 series win in the Caribbean in October.”We went to the West Indies for a tough series in incredibly tough conditions and our fitness stood up, so that’s all you want as a coach,” said Robinson. “We’ve won, and won in a style that probably hasn’t been seen before. We’ve made some really good progress, all we can do is keeping having attention to detail on the little things and see where it goes. Embrace the expectation, but manage it at the same time. Don’t live with any challenges that you might regret down the line.”Lauren Winfield’s hunger to succeed has helped propel England’s regeneration•Getty Images

One of the key moments of England’s regeneration came against Pakistan at Worcester in June, during Knight’s second match in charge. As if primed to produce a statement of intent, Winfield led the line with a career-best 123, adding a record 235 with Beaumont, before Sciver applied the coup de grace with a remarkable 80 from 33 balls. England finished on 378 for 5, their highest ODI total of all time, and set themselves a template for the season to come.”It’s about trying to let them go, and let them understand they are allowed to make mistakes,” Robinson said. “Heather is a young player at 26, her best years are ahead of her, and that is exciting. It’s about not thinking of the burden and worrying that ‘if I don’t get these runs, we’ve lost’. And that is the case for all of our batting line-up.”Winfield’s opportunities had been distinctly limited in the previous regime. In 29 appearances spread over three years, she had mustered a solitary half-century in a T20 at Edgbaston, and played no part in the World T20 after yo-yoing up and down the batting order in both forms of white-ball cricket.”In the previous era, there was probably talk of the team relying on one or two players and if those players failed then we generally failed,” she said. “I don’t think there was extra motivation in terms of wanting to perform, but we were hugely excited about the opportunity. Myself and Tammy had been in and out of the team in various different positions at the top and in the middle of the order, and we finally got an opportunity to do the role we’d always wanted to do.”As a team it was important not just to win, but to really heavily dominate, and we managed to do that. We were convincing and showed the world what we can do.”We’ve got the foundations and performances under our belts now that give us confidence and belief that we belong in the arena which, to be honest, when you’re in and out a lot, you don’t have that. You go in and tell yourself you’re confident, but it’s a little bit false. Once you’ve got a few performances under your belt, it’s more instilled and the belief is really there.”Winfield epitomises the more hardened professional edge that Robinson has brought to the England regime in the past few months. “Something we are striving towards as a team is being the best possible athletes that we can be,” she said. “And if we do that, we’ve got half a chance of being pretty good cricketers as well.”A talking point for a number of years has been our fielding,” she added. “The game has moved on, and the gaps are not as big between the teams now. If you have ten runs between a win or a loss, then that special catch or that boundary save, or that over where you are up and down for twos, is crucial.”

New Zealand cricket’s core has become so keenly introspective that neither the exclusion of AB de Villiers nor the inclusion of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander to South Africa’s Test XI will affect their approach to the upcoming series. Or so they say.”It doesn’t change the way we approach this match. We want to focus on how we play our best cricket,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said. “Any team that did have AB de Villiers and now doesn’t, it’s not a great thing for them. He’s the best player in the world so for them it’s a bit of a loss but at the same time they’ve got a lot of depth. There’s so much talent in this country. Whatever team they pick will be a good team.”In reality, the personnel New Zealand are up against will very much determine their strategy. They will know that the batting line-up – which includes two senior players in Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy who were both dropped last season – can be broken through more easily without de Villiers. They will also know that it will not give way like Zimbabwe’s did, when all it took was one short-ball barrage in the first Test and a fair amount of persistence in the second.In Zimbabwe, New Zealand had to rely on “more creative bowling to try to manufacture wickets on a surface that was very tough to take wickets on,” as Williamson put it. In South Africa, there will be some assistance but whether it will come in the form of swing through the humid air or turn from an early-season surface is yet to be seen. That means New Zealand will have to showcase more skill than they did in Zimbabwe but it also means South Africa will have to do the same. “We know South Africa have a very good seam attack and are well balanced in the bowling department,” Williamson said.Among South Africa’s six seam-bowling options are swing, seam, and left-arm bowlers who will be far more challenging than the more one-dimensional pack Zimbabwe fielded. New Zealand dealt with mostly medium-pace and part-time bowlers in Bulawayo with respect and only pushed on when they were looking for a second-innings declaration that would give them enough time to win the match. But in so doing, they showed how they plan an attack.South Africa should heed that. For all New Zealand’s downplaying of their higher ranking – Williamson insisted they “don’t pay too much attention,” to the Test charts – their steady improvement as a unit means they are confident enough not to simply follow the opposition’s lead but to set the tone in a Test match. “We know when we play our best cricket, we can beat anyone,” Williamson said.Now that anyone could be South Africa – a team New Zealand have never recorded a series win against – at a place where New Zealand have only won three Tests, one since readmission and none in Durban. If New Zealand are serious about showing how much they have improved as a Test side and how little the reputations of the opposition matter to their own game, this is their chance and Williamson has indicated the want to take it. “I don’t think we regard ourselves as favourites. We know that South Africa are always a strong opposition, regardless of the rankings. You are constantly playing in different conditions and different countries all the time so adapting is part of the international game. For us the focus is on playing our cricket”

Former India captain Anil Kumble has been appointed coach of the national side for one year, the BCCI announced on Thursday. His first assignment will be India’s four-Test tour of the West Indies.The question of who would take over as India coach has been a talking point since Ravi Shastri’s tenure as team director ended after the World T20. Some of the uncertainty was addressed when Anurag Thakur, after his appointment as BCCI president, said the vacancy would be filled before the Tests in the Caribbean.The BCCI put out an advertisement for a new coach in the first week of June and received 57 applications, including Kumble’s. However, it appears he was not among the 21 names shortlisted by the BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke’s office. The Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, assigned to pick India’s next coach asked for Kumble’s name to be included, at which point he became an instant favourite.The committee interviewed Kumble and a handful of other candidates in Kolkata on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, they made their recommendations to the BCCI. Thakur, along with Shirke, made the final call.”The CAC recommended a few names to the BCCI. After discussions with various stakeholders, we have taken the final call that for next one year Anil Kumble will be the head coach.” Thakur said at a media briefing in Dharamsala. He added the support staff would be appointed after consulting with Kumble.Kumble applying for the job was a surprise to many in the BCCI, considering he has not coached a cricket team before. The BCCI had preferred their candidates to have had that experience, but his pedigree as a player and two stints as mentor in the IPL worked in Kumble’s favour.The BCCI offered Kumble a one-year term to help him acclimatise to the job better and to give themselves the cushion to reassess if needed.”As for the one-year period, Kumble is now transforming himself from being a great on the cricketing field to probably becoming a great coach that we expect him to be. That transition has to be smooth. This is professional appointment. All professional appointments try to cover all bases. Therefore that is the reason we want to be able to be in a position to review our options should there be any need. I am confident that we will not have that need to address that need. That is the exact reason behind the one-year appointment.”A senior official privy to the selection process said a long-term contract was not a viable option considering the lengthy interval between now and the next World Cup in 2019. But he felt Kumble was in “the driver’s seat” to prove his credentials.”We have 13 Tests at home and then there is the Champions Trophy next year,” the insider said. “He is now in the driver’s seat. We have given him the keys and he has to now prove himself.”Kumble’s lack of experience is made up for by his standing as a player and captain in an 18-year-long international career. He finished as India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests, and the third-highest overall, with 619 wickets, including a best of 10 for 74 against Pakistan in Delhi in 1999.After being appointed Test captain in November 2007, he led India in 14 matches, winning three, losing five and drawing six, until his retirement a year later. Among his notable victories as captain was the Perth Test in January 2008, which was played after the controversial Sydney Test where, among other issues, India faced allegations of racism from the Australia side.Kumble is the first Indian to be appointed full-time India coach since Kapil Dev resigned in September 2000.According to Shirke, there were four overseas candidates who had made the shortlist of 21, including Tom Moody and Andy Moles, who, it is understood, were among those interviewed by the in Kolkata.”It’s not about Indian or foreign coach,” Thakur said. “There was no such limitation that we have to look for only Indian coach. We wanted the best for Indian team. We deserve the best. We have Anil Kumble with us. He has been a match-winner for India.”There has been speculation that the delay in choosing India’s head coach – the appointment was expected on Wednesday, but a subsequent BCCI press release said some “finer points” needed to be discussed – was the result of the Cricket Advisory Committee being unable to contact India’s Test captain Virat Kohli for his inputs.Without confirming as much, Thakur said that various “stakeholders” had been consulted.”The CAC looked into all applications. They have shortlisted few names which were suggested to the BCCI. When the names came to us we discussed with other stakeholders in the board, in the team and then you finally take a call on the various experiences [of the candidates]. All of the shortlisted names worked with various teams, in IPL, in various cricket boards, as well as the state units. So you take feedback not only from one sector, you take feedback from all stakeholders. We have taken little more time, but we wanted to be more transparent and wanted to pick the best.”Kumble has also served in administrative roles since his retirement. He was elected president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association in November 2010, served as chairman of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and also headed the BCCI’s technical committee from 2012 to 2015.