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Fast bowler Sohail Khan, who last played a T20 international in September 2011, has been recalled to the Pakistan squad for the three-T20I series against World XI, which will be led by Faf du Plessis. Several experienced players who were part of Pakistan’s last T20 series in the Caribbean earlier this year – Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz – were dropped. Instead, allrounders Faheem Ashraf, who was part of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy-winning squad, and Aamer Yamin, and batsman Umar Amin were picked.

Pakistan squad

Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Ruman Raees, Usman Khan, Sohail Khan.
IN: Umar Amin, Faheem Ashraf, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan
OUT: Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz

Yamin, who last played for Pakistan in 2015, and Amin, whose last appearance for the country came in 2014, returned, thanks to strong domestic performances. Yamin was the leading wicket-taker in the 50-over Pakistan Cup with nine wickets to add to 163 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of 140.51. Amin, meanwhile, was the top-scorer for Punjab with 296 runs in three innings at an average of 98.66 and strike-rate of 106.47. Ashraf, who had been fast-tracked into the Pakistan squad for the Champions Trophy, finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the Pakistan Cup behind Yamin with eight wickets.”The team has been selected keeping in mind the conditions and the recent performances of some players in the domestic and international tours,” chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said. “The squad (sic) consists of a combination of the fine blend of youth and senior players. Faheem Ashraf, Ruman Raees, and Aamer Yamin make a place in the squad due to their splendid performance in the domestic tournaments.”Sohail, who was the joint-third highest wicket-taker in the Pakistan Cup, Ruman Raees, Hasan Ali and Usman Khan, who last played international cricket in 2013, are part of a bowling group led by Mohammad Amir, who had been rested for the T20 leg of the West Indies tour. Sohail Tanvir, who was not given a central contract in July, was not part of the squad. Legspinner Shadab Khan will be assisted by left-arm spinners Mohammad Nawaz, who has served out his two-month ban for failing to report an approach in the PSL 2017, and Imad Wasim.The three-T20 series, which has international status, begins on September 12, with the next two matches to be played on September 13 and 15. All three games will be held in Lahore. A one-off T20 against Sri Lanka in Lahore is in the works, followed by a three-T20 series against West Indies in November.

England, according to their slogan, are striving to ‘go boldly’ in this World Cup campaign. It isn’t hard to see that disposition reflected in their words as well as their play: expansive and forthright. Liberated of major host-nation expectations, a process that was actually helped along their opening-round loss to India, Heather Knight’s side are as healthy as they are happy.In turn, there couldn’t be a better time for them to cop Australia in the group stage of this tournament, and they know it. The world champions, of course, have done little wrong to date, reflected in a faultless win-loss ledger after four starts. But, as a result of captain Meg Lanning’s shoulder injury – it was still unclear on match eve whether she will take her place at No.3 in Bristol – they strike the more discombobulated figure of the two. Unavoidably so: all the depth in the world cannot replace the best player on the planet.”It’s still attached last time I looked,” Joe Dawes, Australia’s bowling coach, said. “That’s for the medical people to work out, I’m not sure. We’re preparing for her to play tomorrow, as far as I know, and see how she wakes up in the morning, I guess.”England are too, Knight confident that, no matter what, the utterly dominant batsman will be ready to roll when the team sheets are being inked. “We’re fully preparing for Meg,” she said.England have long been gearing up for this blockbuster. No moment was more significant to coach Mark Robinson’s wholesale reform of the side than their loss on the previous occasion the two teams met, in last year’s World T20 semi-final. It’s a constant point of reference any time he’s drawn on the post-Charlotte Edwards era.”We were different on the day when we played that semi-final,” he recalled. “We couldn’t do some of the basics – the non-skill things – in that semi-final. So, that’s just non-negotiable – an England coach should never have to talk about fitness.”In Robinson’s New England, his side also cannot allow themselves to be intimidated by the Australian machine. “We respect Australia but we have to respect ourselves and what have done as a coaching staff, and Heather as captain, is try and give the girls belief in themselves,” he said. “So for me, it is not about winning or losing, it’s about making sure we all turn up.”For Knight’s part, she sees the squad as being “in a really good place” – radically different to when they capitulated in that 2016 clash. “We function as a team a lot better,” she said. “We don’t rely on a few players; we have got a lot more leaders.”Meg Lanning’s shoulder injury has come at an inopportune moment for the world champions•Getty Images/ICC

Helping with the psychology of preparing for an Australian clash is familiarity, with so many of the frontliners facing off regularly on the semi-professional T20 circuit. So now is as good a time as any, she thinks, to break England’s 24-year World Cup hoodoo against them.”It is the big games that we have been preparing for, and a lot of the work we have done is towards these big games and standing up,” she said. “There is always going to be that added pressure with the old enemy but hopefully we can, as a group, rise to that.”The precondition for an upset is England’s record-breaking batting continuing apace. They now boast four World Cup century-makers: Knight and Nat Sciver clocking their maiden ODI tons against Pakistan, then Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor combining for an outrageous 275-run tryst against a full-strength South Africa on Wednesday.”It is as good as it gets,” Robinson said of the stand – the highest for England in ODIs. “Both of them got into that lovely place where they were just playing with absolute freedom, on auto-pilot, in the zone, that magical place. And the joy they had with each other. They hopefully express that as a team; they play best when they are playing with a smile.”It capped Taylor’s return to the game in emphatic style, her 147 from 104 balls a galaxy away from when she walked away from it all following the aforementioned World T20 nadir due to crippling anxiety. “She never really expected to be in this position,” Robinson said. “The thing we talk about with Sarah is the bonus of her being here. Everything she achieves is extra.”Her year-long omission, according to the coach, did have unexpected benefits as the side quickly found its way under Knight’s leadership. “We played a lot without her which was probably quite good for us as a team (with) other players coming to the fore,” he said. “The team now know that they don’t have to rely on anybody.”Australia are less interested in words. They just want to do what they’re good at. “Win,” Dawes said of their plan against England. “We don’t worry too much about the opposition.” Simple as that. “We’re pretty happy coming into the business end and peaking nicely.”The surface, a fresh pitch, is expected to be hard and fast – just the way Robinson likes it. “Gloucestershire have been outstanding with the wickets they have produced so far,” he said. “With the way (women) play nowadays, hitting and manipulating the ball the way they can, they need the surfaces to do their skills justice.”For how that effects selection, Knight said it is “unlikely” a trio of tweakers will be used. But that has been the status quo for Australia’s side so far in this tournament, three of Australia’s four spinners rotated through the XI in each fixture. Dawes hinted that it will be the same again, regardless of the pitch, due to the tap seamers have been taking across the board.Robinson’s relaxed final thoughts are that they have earned this chance to knock off the champions. “Australia are an outstanding team,” he said. “We have got a great opportunity to see how far we have come, win or lose. We’ll have a yard stick to see exactly where we are at the moment.” Not at all a bad place to be.

ScorecardImran Tahir claimed a five-wicket haul•Getty Images

Imran Tahir raised Derbyshire’s hopes of back-to-back victories by taking five wickets on his debut as Durham collapsed on the second day of the Division Two match at Chesterfield.The South African, who is playing for his sixth county, celebrated by sparking the decline that saw Durham lose 4 for 18 in 43 balls either side of tea before the visitors rallied to avoid the threat of following-on.Derbyshire controlled the game for much of the day with Billy Godleman falling two shot of a century as he and Gurjit Sandhu took their 10th wicket stand to 102 before the home side were bowled out for 368.Durham were going well at 119 for 1 but after Jack Burnham played on to Tahir and 16-year-old off-spinner Hamadullah Qadri bowled Michael Richardson for 64, the visitors crumbled before Paul Coughlin with an unbeaten 62 and Barry McCarthy guided them to 274 for 8, 94 behind.Derbyshire’s first objective at the start of the day was to get to a fourth batting point which was achieved after a 35-minute rain break with Godleman and Sandhu frustrating the bowlers for another 15 overs before Godleman was caught behind hooking at Coughlin.Sandhu followed his unbeaten career-best 48 by taking the new ball but Richardson and Cameron Steel added 52 before a mix-up saw Steel run out for 21 in Tahir’s first over.The legspinner’s second over gave no indication of what was to come as Richardson dispatched him for two fours before Burnham drove him over extra cover for six.But when Burnham tried to whip a ball from off stump and chopped on, Durham’s hopes of a decent reply faded as Qadri followed his record-breaking five-wicket haul at Cardiff last week by beating Richardson in the flight.Paul Collingwood was bowled pushing forward at Tahir in the first over after tea, Ryan Pringle was lbw playing back to one that sung in from Sandhu and Graham Clark was the sixth to go with Durham still 205 behind.The threat of the follow-on loomed when Stuart Poynter sliced a drive to point and Tahir bowled Matthew Potts with the next ball but Coughlin and McCarthy denied Tahir to keep Durham in the contest.

ScorecardDean Elgar maintained his prolific start to the county season by leading Somerset’s recovery to 161 for 5 against Middlesex at Lord’s with a determined 77 not out.A burst of heavy rain in late afternoon, followed by bad light, meant only the first half of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match’s opening day was possible, but there was still time for Elgar to rally Somerset from a perilous 80 for 5 in the company of his sixth wicket partner, Lewis Gregory, who remains unbeaten on 27. Together, they have so far added 81 in 20 overs.South Africa Test batsman Elgar now has 390 championship runs at an average of 55.71. In the recent Royal London One-Day Cup group stage he scored 428 runs in just five innings at an average of 107 and, overall, he has now topped fifty in nine of his 14 innings to date in both competitions.The left-handed opener, indeed, has been an early-summer shining light for Somerset in an otherwise underperforming championship batting line-up and his 146-ball effort was vital as wickets tumbled with regularity at the other end after Somerset had opted to bat first in warm but muggy conditions.The ball swung for Middlesex’s four-pronged pace attack, with Tim Murtagh and James Franklin finding marked movement in the air, and there was also some bounce available for the taller and quicker bowlers Tom Helm and Toby Roland-Jones.When Murtagh had Peter Trego caught behind for 2 from the fifth ball after lunch, moreover, it looked as if Somerset would be regretting their decision to bat first. But Elgar, mixing stout defence with 12 fours, at last found in Gregory a partner who could stay with him.Four wickets had fallen in the morning session, with new ball strikes by Roland-Jones and Murtagh initially leaving bottom-of-the-table Somerset reeling at 20 for 2.Dean Elgar’s gritty resistance held up Middlesex•Getty Images

Marcus Trescothick was the first Somerset batsman to depart, caught at third slip for 8 off Roland-Jones after playing and missing several times at Murtagh, who then produced a perfect away-swinger from the Nursery End to have Tom Abell taken at the wicket for 6.Abell, the 23-year-old and under-pressure Somerset championship captain, has now scored only 96 runs from nine innings in the four-day game at an average of 12, but even that is riches compared to the out-of-form Steven Davies’ wretched return of 67 runs from eight innings at an average of just 8.37.Elgar and James Hildreth added 46 before Hildreth fell for 25 to a stunning slip catch by Ollie Rayner. Hildreth edged a drive at James Franklin’s left-arm seamers and Rayner, at second slip, took off to his right to hold a brilliant diving catch. Helm, switched to the Pavilion End for his second spell, then had Davies caught at the wicket for 6 – edging a sharply rising ball.

The BCCI’s special general meeting was adjourned on Sunday because the board decided to wait for a Supreme Court directive on whether disqualified office bearers could attend meetings of the Indian board or the ICC. The adjournment happened because some disqualified office bearers like N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah attended the meeting in Delhi. The court is expected to give its decision at a hearing on Monday.The Supreme-Court appointed Committee of Administrators, which runs the Indian board, had sought the urgent intervention of the Court in the matter two days before the meeting, following the likelihood that office bearers disqualified under the Lodha Committee’s recommendations would attend. The CoA had also warned state associations that only eligible officials could attend Sunday’s meeting.However, the special general meeting, chaired by acting BCCI president CK Khanna, was attended by former president Srinivasan, former Saurashtra Cricket Association secretary Niranjan Shah, and former Kerala Cricket Association president TC Mathew, who are in violation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. Both Shah and Mathew attended the meeting as representatives of their state associations. BCCI CEO Rahul Johri did not attend the meeting, neither did any member of CoA.One of the points on the agenda for Sunday’s meeting was to pick a BCCI representative for crucial ICC board meetings later this month, where resolutions concerning governance structures and revenue distribution could come up for voting. The Indian board’s office bearers reportedly want to nominate Srinivasan as the representative.Srinivasan, who represented the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association at the SGM, is in violation of the Lodha Committee recommendations on three fronts. He is past the age cap of 70 years and has also completed nine years as office-bearer of both the TNCA and the BCCI, which disqualifies him automatically. Srinivasan has not yet resigned as TNCA president, violating the Supreme Court’s order of July 2016, which had approved the Lodha Committee recommendations.Srinivasan, also a former chairman of the ICC, was one of the individuals responsible for a phase of governance and financial restructuring in cricket’s governing body that gave greater power to the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB. The ICC has recently sought to overturn those changes with the introduction, in principle, of a new constitution that attempts to correct the imbalance of power given to the three boards. The Big Three rollback was initiated during the tenure of Shashank Manohar, who replaced Srinivasan as ICC chairman in November 2015.

Former team director Ravi Shastri has issued heavy criticism of the recently revised payment structure for India’s cricketers.Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators that now runs the BCCI had doubled the Grade A contracts from INR 1 crore to INR 2 crore (USD 300,000 approx). However, it was later learnt that the hike did not meet the player’s demands. Shastri felt similarly underwhelmed. “Two crore is nothing, two crore is peanuts,” he told reporters in Mumbai.The major point of contention centred around the current method of revenue sharing. The board receives a lion’s share of its income through television rights and 70% of it goes to the state associations. Additionally, the players were not pleased that their salaries were lower than counterparts in Australia and England.Sources suggested that Joe Root and Steven Smith were paid INR 8 crore to INR 12 crore. In comparison, the Grade A contracted players in the Indian team – Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane, M Vijay and MS Dhoni – were on INR 2 crore retainers.”The grade contracts of a Test player should be the highest.” Shastri said. “Pujara should be the highest, on par with the top players. Your A grade contracts should be massive. I know it has been increased by double but there is room for [more].”An ‘A’ grade cricketer like Pujara should get a massive amount where he is not bothered whether he plays IPL or not. In fact, he will be happy, he can say ‘I will play two months of county cricket’.”There had been no changes to India’s retainer contracts since 2010. The first steps to the current revisions were taken earlier this month when head coach Anil Kumble met with the CoA on behalf of the players.

India offspinner R Ashwin believes stifling the attacking instincts of Australia’s captain and vice-captain, Steven Smith and David Warner, will be the key to India’s success in the four-Test series against Australia, which starts in Pune next week.”I had some duels with Warner and the world knows they are great batsmen,” Ashwin told the . “But as I said, the key to this series is how well we start off.”More often than not, it’s about wearing the opposition down and if you can start doing that from the beginning, it gets easier towards the end. I know that Smith and Warner will play in their free-spirited fashion and if we can curb their natural instinct, play to our strengths and make them play to the pace that we want them to play, we will do a fine job.”After the ICC had rated the Nagpur pitch for the India-South Africa Test poor [the game finished inside three days], India’s home Tests over the last year-and-a-half have featured few surfaces that offer excess turn from the start with variable bounce. Ashwin said the nature of pitches was “not a big deal” for him, but felt the well-rolled pitches would help Australia’s batsmen, many of whom have never played a Test in India.”I think they will come prepared for what is in store. I was having a talk with (umpire) Kumar Dharmasena the other day on how differently they prepare pitches in Sri Lanka than they do it in India,” Ashwin said. “He was saying that the Indian curators roll the pitches to an extent that they go completely dead, something that Sri Lankans don’t. I think Sri Lanka produces some of the best wickets around the world while ours are slower in nature. But then, the Aussies will have to come to terms with the slowness of the Indian pitches, something that they are not used to.”Over the last year and a half, Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have become captain Virat Kohli’s go-to strike force. Since the start of the West Indies tour in August 2016, they have accounted for 127 wickets out of a total of 222 wickets in 13 Tests. Ashwin felt Jadeja’s unrelenting accuracy helped him get a little more creative at the other end.R Ashwin has said that Ravindra Jadeja’s accuracy allows him the liberty to experiment when bowling from the other end•Hindustan Times

“Jadeja is one who will not give anything away. That gives me the luxury to extend my imagination a lot more,” he said. “There are pockets of the game when we don’t get wickets and that is the time when I try to make things happen. During the Kanpur Test against New Zealand, Mitchell Santer and Luke Ronchi were going very well. Jadeja was bowling a tight line and I bowled a ball outside the leg-stump of Santner and got him to nick to gully on a slow pitch.”Those are exactly my strengths and when I don’t offer the same things over and over again, they try to do things to get the runs away and makes mistakes. So Jadeja and me, bowling the way we do, create opportunities for each other.”While Australia’s pace attack, led by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, has been talked up as the biggest threat confronting India, Ashwin felt Nathan Lyon and the rest of Australia’s spinners could not be taken lightly.”Nathan Lyon is a fine bowler. He got a seven-for in New Delhi in the last Test Australia played against India,” he said. “He puts a lot of revs on the ball and we can’t take anything for granted. Then they have Ashton Agar, Steven O’ Keefe and they are no spring chickens and are pretty good bowlers and we have to play out of our skins. And don’t forget, we are always playing that one batsman short all the time.”When Ashwin was asked if he was surprised at not being the vice-captain despite being a direct selection across formats, he said he led without a title by playing key roles in India’s wins. “I have really crossed that stage, where I think I deserved this or being faced with decisions that is not in my hands,” he told . “I lead without a title. I end up playing a crucial part in most matches which India wins.”If there are some parameters cricket adapts, a lot of things will be different around cricket. But unfortunately cricket is not as professional as it should be. I have got to the stage where I have realised, I am not here to change the whole thing, but if it is possible for me to change things, I will. As of now, I am at peace with myself.”To be honest, I am not even sure if I want to be a vice-captain. I do a lot of hard work. So to try and think at what is not coming my way is way too demanding on my mind.”

Morne Morkel has been included in South Africa’s Test squad to tour New Zealand in March after recovering from a career-threatening back injury, which kept him out of the national team since June. Morkel forms part of a six-member-strong pace pack, which also includes Vernon Philander, who has recovered from an ankle impingement sustained after the Sri Lanka Tests, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, and allrounders Wayne Parnell and Chris Morris.In the absence of AB de Villiers, who opted out of Test cricket for most of 2017, South Africa are taking reserve batsman Theunis de Bruyn and uncapped Titans wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, who finished seventh on the batting charts in the Sunfoil Series first-class competition.

South Africa’s Test squad to NZ

Faf du Plessis (capt), Stephen Cook, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Theunis de Bruyn, Heinrich Klaasen, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris
In Heinrich Klaasen, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris

Klaasen was preferred over Knights’ keeper Rudi Second, who was a spot a above him on the run-scorers’ list and was considered the favourite to deputise for Quinton de Kock now that Dane Vilas has signed a Kolpak deal. However, the selectors decided to give Klaasen a go, although they have assured Second he still remains in their plans. “Heinrich is a guy that struck us as someone who has the capability of coping at international level. He is a good striker of the ball and tight behind the stumps,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors told ESPNcricinfo. “But it was touch and go between him and Rudi, and they are both on our radar.”South Africa’s batting line-up is unchanged from the seven specialists who did duty in Australia and against Sri Lanka with Dean Elgar and Stephen Cook at the top, followed by Hashim Amla, captain Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma and JP Duminy, but there will be a conundrum in the bowling department, where South Africa have given themselves plenty of choice. “We are still looking to see who will assist Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander,” Zondi said. “But our plan is to use our senior guys.”That suggests Morkel will edge ahead of the rest, despite a lengthy period of time out of the game and limited game-time in the lead-up to the series. Since being diagnosed with a bulging back disc after the CPL last year, Morkel has played one first-class game for the Titans, three warm-up matches during South Africa’s Test tour of Australia and one List A game for his franchise. At the time of writing, Morkel had been named in the Titans XI for a second one-day cup game before heading off at the weekend. Zondi admitted Morkel’s inaction is a concern but insisted his experience is a necessity. “Time away is always a concern but we need experience in the bowling so we’ll see how he goes,” Zondi said.Morkel is not the only one who has had a long lay-off recently. Morris spent three months recovering from a knee injury before making a comeback in the ODIs against Sri Lanka and he has since impressed enough to also earn a Test recall. Morris played two Tests in January 2016 against England, when South Africa had a glut of injuries, and was thought to have fallen down the pecking order but has now forced his way back in. “What has been so impressive is how he has understood his job. His primary role is to bowl and the batting is a bonus and that is exactly how he is tackling things,” Zondi said. “We have always wanted a seam-bowling allrounder and now we are finding we have a few.”Morris and Parnell are the two in the Test squad but both could end up confined to the bench with Duanne Olivier also competing for the third seamer’s spot. Olivier, who was the leading bowler in this season’s first-class competition and the only one to take more than 50 wickets, made his debut during the Wanderers Test against Sri Lanka and impressed with pace, bounce and aggression. He was selected alongside Parnell in all-pace attack in that match; although he took one wicket fewer than Parnell, Olivier was more economical. In the aftermath of Kyle Abbott’s exit, Olivier has emerged as a serious contender for the third seamer’s spot and, if given the opportunity, could stake a serious claim in New Zealand.The only bowling place not up for debate is that of the spinner because South Africa are traveling with only one. Keshav Maharaj has retained his place in an expanded 16-man squad. Given the distance and time difference to New Zealand, South Africa are opting for extra men to ensure they have all bases covered. The Test squad members who are not already in New Zealand will travel there this weekend.The three-Test series will begin from March 8 with the first match in Dunedin, followed by Tests in Wellington and Hamilton.

The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has insisted its warning to players thinking of playing in the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore is from “highly credible security experts” and “in line with advice from government agencies and diplomatic missions.”FICA was fiercely criticised by the PCB after circulating a memo to players, players’ associations and players’ agents that spoke of “an extremely elevated” risk level in Pakistan. And while they stopped just short of advising players not to travel – they do not have the power to prevent them from doing so – they did conclude that “an acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed.”That warning infuriated the PCB who responded by calling FICA’s approach “careless and cavalier.” Stating that “not a single foreigner or hotel has been attacked in Lahore in the last five years” the PCB scolded FICA for making “a sweeping negative statement about the security situation” from “thousands of miles away.”Although FICA have now expressed “great sympathy for fans and players in Pakistan” and stated they “we would like to see the PSL succeed” they have reiterated that their responsibility and priority was “the safety and security of players” and have stood by their earlier comments warning of an “elevated security risk” when visiting Pakistan.Responding to the PCB’s claim that FICA “cannot name even one credible security expert” which might have informed their original statement, FICA clarified that they utilised the advice of Eastern Star International (ESI). That is the company headed by Reg Dickason, who has provided security advice to the ECB, CA, NZC and the ICC among others and who recently gave the go-ahead for England’s tour of Bangladesh.”FICA relies on advice given by expert security consultants, Eastern Star International (ESI),” their statement reads. “ESI has supplied security services over several years to a number of cricket boards and international teams around the world and to the International Cricket Council (ICC).”FICA sent a confidential memorandum highlighting the advice received from ESI relating to the elevated security risk for them of playing in Pakistan. The elevated risk is in line with advice from government agencies and diplomatic missions of several countries regarding travel by foreigners to Pakistan.”FICA also suggested the PCB was “not responsive” to attempts to discuss their security concerns relating to playing the PSL final in Lahore and reiterated the security situation which has led to the almost complete absence of top-level cricket from Pakistan since 2009.”Since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore Pakistan has played bilateral home series matches against ICC full member countries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for security reasons,” the FICA statement says. “The only full member men’s team to tour Pakistan in this time was Zimbabwe in 2015. The ICC declined to send its match officials to Pakistan to officiate in this series for security reasons. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside the stadium in Lahore shortly before the 2nd ODI of the series, killing himself and a policeman.”The PCB is staging all PSL matches, except the planned final in Lahore, in the UAE for security reasons. Several months ago the PCB consulted FICA in relation to provisions of the standard player contract for the PSL. When FICA expressed possible security concerns relating to playing the final in Lahore the PCB was not responsive to FICA on this issue.”Tony Irish, FICA’s Executive Chairman, said: “Players around the world from affiliated countries have always looked to FICA to provide them with information relating to security risks of playing in various parts of the world. It is our responsibility to provide this information, which we obtain from highly credible security experts, so that players can make informed decisions.”The PCB has made clear that the PSL final will be played in Lahore on March 7 whether overseas players participate or not.

India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar has said that increased batting practice for the side’s lower-order batsmen has led to greater contributions from them.

India’s Nos 7 to 9 in series in 2016

• v England: 704 runs; average: 41.41; team tally: 3135

• v New Zealand: 312 runs; average: 52; team tally: 1984

• v West Indies: 305 runs; average: 30.50; team tally 1559

Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India have largely opted for a five-bowler strategy, and the lower order has taken some of the pressure off the frontline batsmen with their knocks, which have sometimes turned matches for the side.In the recent five-match Test series against England, which India won 4-0, the performances of the hosts’ lower order was a significant difference between the two sides. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav played important knocks in Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai. Led by these three players, India’s last four wickets averaged 48.23 runs per completed partnership, while England’s average was less than half that value. Overall, in 2016, India’s batsmen at these positions scored 1321 runs in 12 matches – second only to England’s 2334 in 17 matches – and their average of 40.03 was the highest in Tests.”I believe the only way to polish your skills is to train in a correct manner with a lot of quantity and a clear plan,” Bangar told . “Your body must get into right positions such that you are able to execute all the shots you want to. From that perspective, we ensured that our lower order got the same amount of batting practice as our frontline batsmen.”Ashwin, who recently was named the ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the Year, has been one of the big contributors in the lower order, often slotting in at Nos. 6 and 7. In 2016, he scored 612 runs at an average of 43.71 with two key centuries in the West Indies and four fifties to go with a haul of 72 wickets. Bangar said Ashwin was a “clever cricketer, always eager to better his technique”.”He has a cool head, his technique is superb, and he allows the ball to come to him,” Bangar said. “And you can’t tie Ashwin down. He has the cut, he will drive you down the wicket, and even against spinners, he’s a very busy player. Credit to Virat [Kohli] and the team management for putting him at No.6. With his experience, he could control the innings there considering Wriddhiman Saha was relatively new, just settling in Tests.”