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Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has made a personal intervention in a bid to ensure this winter’s Ashes tour is able to take place, after raising the issue of a travel ban on the families of England’s cricketers with his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, although any special dispensation seems unlikely.Johnson, who is currently on a diplomatic visit to Washington DC, met with Morrison over dinner on Tuesday where he sought assurances about this winter’s series. The first Test is due to get underway at Brisbane on December 8, but the trip remains in doubt after a number of England players expressed reservations about the strict quarantine measures that are likely to be in place for the duration of the tour.”I raised it [with Mr Morrison] and he said he was going to do his best for the families,” Mr Johnson told reporters in Washington. “He totally got the point that for cricketers it is very tough to ask people to be away from their families over Christmas. He merely undertook to come back and see if he could find a solution.”In response, Morrison said: “I would love to see the Ashes go ahead, as I shared with Boris last night. But there’s no special deals there. I don’t see a great deal of difference in skilled workers or students, who will be able to come to Australia when you reach the vaccination rates.”International travel is set to resume when Australia reaches 80% double vaccination for over 16s but, nationally, that figure is unlikely to be reached before the Ashes squad is due to arrive.The ECB has been in extensive negotiations with their counterparts at Cricket Australia in recent weeks, in a bid to find a workable solution to an impasse that could yet derail the tour. At this stage, the prospect remains that England will, at best, send an under-strength squad and, at worst, boycott the series entirely, due to the complex relationship between Australia’s state and federal governments, and the challenge of moving freely around the country through the differing quarantine measures that are currently in place at different venues.Related

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It is understood that the prospect of families not being allowed to join has receded but the 14-day quarantine period could still make it unworkable for many to fly into the tour. One development on the horizon that could yet assist is the New South Wales government announcing they will trial a seven-day home quarantine system from the end of September for those who fit certain criteria although it remains a long way from being an option for the Ashes.With a number of England’s players set to travel direct to Australia from the T20 World Cup, which begins in the UAE next month, CA has promised to give a final update on the Ashes quarantine arrangements by Monday. Despite the threat of withdrawals, Stuart Broad is one player who has committed to travel – potentially even as captain – telling The Mail on Sunday that he “would be happy to get on a plane to Australia in November”.Jos Buttler is one England player who has indicated he may not make the Ashes tour•AFP/Getty Images

That sentiment was shared on Wednesday by Dan Lawrence, the Essex batter who featured in three Tests this summer, and who captained his side to a two-day victory over Northamptonshire in their final fixture of the county season. Afterwards told ESPNcricinfo that he would “go in a heartbeat” if selected for this winter’s tour.”It’s such an individual, case-by-case basis,” Lawrence said. “For me personally, I’ve got no reason not to go to Australia, and if I was selected, I’d go in a heartbeat. It’s above my pay grade to find out what’s going on – we haven’t had any information yet, there are still negotiations going on. But just to get on the trip will be my first goal and I’ll be doing everything I can in the next six-eight weeks, because it’s a massive tick in a player’s career to play in an Ashes in Australia.”According to The Times, government support for the Ashes tour has been tempered by frustration at the ECB’s withdrawal from their two-match tour of Pakistan, which was due to take place in Rawalpindi on October 13 and 14. The paper reports that the Prime Minister and senior officials within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office believe that the decision, which was made on player welfare grounds rather than issues of security, has damaged relations between the UK and the Pakistan government.On Tuesday, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Christian Turner, issued a statement via Twitter, distancing himself from the ECB’s decision not to tour, which he said had been made independently of the country’s government.”The British High Commission supported the tour, did not advise against in on security grounds, and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed,” Turner said. “I have been a champion of international cricket’s return to Pakistan and will redouble my efforts in advance of England’s autumn 2022 tour. My thanks to all at the PCB who have worked so hard in support of that.”

India’s thrashing of Scotland, with an unbelievable 81 balls to spare, means India are well and truly in the hunt for a top-two finish in the group. With three matches left in the group, three teams are still in contention for the second semi-final spot. Here is a look at how each team can make it.India
In just two games, India’s net run rate has leapt up from -1.069 to 1.619. They still need Afghanistan to beat New Zealand to stand a chance of qualifying, but if Afghanistan pull off that win, then India have an excellent chance of qualifying due to their run rate.For example, if Afghanistan score 160 and beat New Zealand by 30 runs, then India need to defeat Namibia only by 21 runs to stay ahead on NRR. And given that they will play the last match of the group on Monday, they will know exactly what they need to do to qualify. If New Zealand win, though, then India will be knocked out.Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s qualifying chances have taken a beating with India’s big wins in their last two games. As detailed above, even if they beat New Zealand by a healthy margin of 30 runs, India’s target victory margin to stay ahead on NRR is a pretty modest one. Afghanistan will need a really big win to give themselves some sort of a chance: if they score 160 and win by 60, they will want India to win by no more than 48 runs. The problem for Afghanistan is that India play last in the group, which means they will go into that game knowing what is required.Also, knowing that a win by any margin will probably not be enough, might also influence the way Afghanistan approach the game. Of course, their ideal scenario would be to beat New Zealand, and then for Namibia to pull off an upset to beat all upsets.New Zealand
For New Zealand, net run rate isn’t a concern. If they lose, their NRR will stay below that of Afghanistan, so they will be knocked out for sure. If they win, they will move to eight points, two clear of the six points that India can, at best, get to.New Zealand will also have to deal with the challenge of playing three times in five days, at three different venues, while Afghanistan have played their last two in Abu Dhabi, which is also where they will play New Zealand.

Ryan Campbell, the Australian-born Dutch coach, has criticised the ICC’s decision to scrap the World Cup Super League and fears cricket may be getting smaller and less inclusive as a result.Campbell and his team are in South Africa for a three-match ODI series which is part of the Super League, which is set to disappear after just one edition. The 13-team league will decide the countries for the coming World Cup, which will be made up of hosts India and the nine best-placed finishers. But for 2027, the top 10 teams in the ICC rankings at a scheduled cut-off date will qualify directly. Four more will be added to the main draw after a global qualifier. This, Campbell says, will further minimise the chances of smaller teams getting to play against top-ranked nations.”The Super League was always meant to give that 13th team, an Associate, an opportunity to play the best teams in the world. It was the first time in the history of Dutch cricket that cricket was shown live on Dutch television. The scrapping of the Super League was disappointing for all Associate countries but that’s the decision that’s been made,” Campbell said. “Every Associate country is wondering what next? How do we play? Where do we get our fixtures? Is the World Cricket League Two going to stay in place? How do you get into a ranking league and compete for a spot in the 2027 World Cup? There’s lots of answers we need to find and I think that is only going to be in time.”While Campbell said Netherlands would “make the most,” of the year-and-a-half they have left to compete against the likes of England, West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan, he urged Full Members to develop a better understanding of the Associate game and commit to cricket’s growth.”I was lucky enough to be involved in the greatest team for Australian cricket and while I was there, I had no thought of what goes on in Associate cricket. I had no idea. I was drafted to go to Hong Kong and that was my first hard look at Associate cricket and the rigours you’ve got to go through, mostly unpaid. It really gets under my skin that the top cricket teams in the world – and I am trying not to be political here – but the facts are that we should be leaving this game in a better state for future generations.”We can come out and say we want to be the most participated sport in the world and go on and ‘blah blah blah’ but if you’re not giving opportunities to the best Associate teams or teams lower down the scale to improve and go up against the big ten, it’s very frustrating. If you follow the game, teams ranked 11, 12, 13 are very close to teams 14, 15 and 16.Netherlands are the only Associate nation part of the 13-team ODI Super League•ICC via Getty

“I just get the feeling that sometimes individual countries forget that it’s supposed to be a world game. I think it was Donald Bradman who said we are supposed to leave the game in a better position when we go and I would ask that question of all the big teams: are they doing that or are they just worried about their own backyards and interests?”When you look at the last division of (ICC) money that was split up, England and India and Australia wanted more and that came out of the Associate pool and then within weeks, they were announcing billion dollar new TV rights deals which is pretty frustrating.”At the end of the day, it’s the world game and hopefully some of these bigger countries understand that if we want to grow the world game, the growth isn’t going to come from the big countries, it’s going to come from all the ones underneath them and they need to get in and help.”While the last financial model did favour the Big Three countries in a massive way, the money that went to them also came out of the ICC cutting down operational costs. It wasn’t all from the Associates’ coffers.Keshav Maharaj, South Africa’s stand-in white-ball captain, said he supports playing as much as possible, against as many different teams as possible, because it will make his side stronger. “It’s really important. The more we play, the better we get and the more we gel as a unit,” he said. “From a tactical point of view, we can try various combinations, see what works, see who fits in. I would love to play more against any nation, whether deemed as a smaller nation or a bigger nation. Cricket is really important and match time and game time is really important.”Campbell knows that better than most. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected Associate teams like his more than most, with Netherlands going almost two years without any ODI cricket. They came out of that drought with a series against Scotland and then upset Ireland 2-1 as well to gain 20 points but they remain last on the points table. Campbell is optimistic they can climb the ladder though.”Our short term goal is to finish 10th in the Super League. That’s always been our goal. That sounds a bit brash but this group of players will always set out to not just survive but show what we are all about,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of good professionals playing in the county system but also back home. It’s really important for us that we go out there and to inspire the next generation of Dutch cricketers but also to show the world that we can compete against the best teams in the world.”While historically, the Dutch have done that, their most recent performances have slipped. They failed to qualify for the Super 12s at the recently completed T20 World Cup and Campbell hopes they will move on swiftly from that to make a statement in South Africa. “We had a disappointing World Cup but three bad games of cricket shouldn’t define this group,” he said.

Hobart Hurricanes were hit with a rare five-run penalty in their Big Bash League match against Melbourne Stars at Bellerive Oval on Friday after batter Tim David was deemed to have deliberately run short in the last over of the home side’s innings. This was the first time a five-run penalty had been enforced in the BBL, for any offence.In what was the penultimate ball of the innings, David hit a yorker-length delivery from Brody Couch to long-on, and while at first glance it seemed like the batters had returned for two runs, it was soon evident that David had avoided finishing the first run in an effort to get back for the strike – his partner was No. 8 Nathan Ellis. As a result, what could have been at least one run, and possibly two, ended up being a dot ball. Not just that, for the deliberate act, David’s team was slapped with five penalty runs under Law 18.5.1.David kept the strike, though, and earned five more runs for his team – two off the regulation last ball, which was a full-toss that was a no-ball for height, and two more off the free hit. That took Hurricanes to 180 for 6, and Stars began their chase with five runs already on the board.Adding to the drama, there was obvious chatter between the Stars players and David as the teams left the field at the end of Hurricanes’ innings.Related

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Peter Handscomb later said that the Hurricanes players felt somewhat aggrieved by the penalty. “Tim was just trying to get back to his end. He’s a big boy and can hit sixes so it was his job to get back on strike,” he told Fox Sports. “I’ve never heard that rule before but every day is a school day so you learn something.”Adam Gilchrist said on the Fox Sports broadcast that he had never seen that type of incident before and believed it was “not really in the spirit of the game. It was really quick umpiring to pick it up… good umpiring,” he said.Other instances of batters deliberately running short include Sri Lanka’s Roshen Silva in a Test against England in 2018, and West Indies’ Kieron Pollard in a match in IPL 2017.

James Pattinson, the Australia fast bowler who retired from international cricket on the eve of the Ashes, is set for a third stint with Nottinghamshire after signing an all-format deal covering the 2022 season.Pattinson is a British passport holder but has been registered as an overseas player, having previously spent parts of the 2017 and 2019 seasons with the county, taking 40 first-class wickets at 15.52.He announced the end of his international career in October 2021, having played 21 Tests and 19 white-ball internationals since his debut as a 21-year-old in 2011. His 81 Test wickets at 26.33 apiece included a best of 5 for 27 in Australia’s thrilling 14-run defeat at Trent Bridge in 2013.Pattinson’s elder brother Darren, who made a one-off Test appearance for England in 2008, won the County Championship title with Nottinghamshire in 2010.”Trent Bridge felt like home from the moment I first stepped through the gates,” said Pattinson. “To arrive here and be met by a group of guys that made me so welcome from minute dot was pretty special, and I’m looking forward to getting back amongst them again.”The family link with Darren having done what he did in Nottingham a few years back, and with Dad having played football at junior level for Forest, made it feel like an authentic fit for me right from the off. I knew straight away that I’d found a county I could be really passionate about representing.”The bowling group did some special things last season. Hopefully I can add something to that and help the club enjoy some success in the coming years.”Once I get that badge back on my chest and the ball in my hand, there’ll be no backward steps taken for sure. It’ll be a case of ripping into the season and giving it everything to win matches for the club.”Pattinson claimed 32 wickets at 12.06 in his first Championship stint at Trent Bridge in 2017, and made an immediate impact on debut, scoring a career-best 89 not out, adding 122 for the eighth wicket with Stuart Broad, as well as claiming match figures of 8 for 84.He played in ten matches as Notts lifted the Royal London Cup, taking 13 wickets in the tournament and hitting the winning runs against Surrey at Lord’s, then returned for a brief stint in 2019.”We first recruited James in 2017 because we believed he possessed the two qualities you always look for in an overseas signing: tremendous pedigree and the desire to commit fully to life at the club,” Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire’s head coach, said.”In both respects, he proved to be everything we wanted and more, both with his performances on the field and the mark he left on us all as a character and a competitor, so we’re all really looking forward to welcoming him back over here.”Our bowling attack did great things in 2021, and the way to build on that is by going again and trying to get even better.”Jimmy will add a new dimension with his pace, hostility and experience. He’s someone our young players can benefit from spending time with and he adds more depth and quality to our bowling group, which we know is really important.”

The BCCI has announced the revised dates and venues for Sri Lanka’s tour of India, which will comprise three T20Is and two Tests. The tour begins with the first T20I in Lucknow on February 24, with the other two being back-to-back matches in Dharamsala on February 26 and 27.This will be followed by the first Test in Mohali from March 4, before the tour concludes with a day-night Test in Bengaluru starting March 12. Both Tests will be a part of the second cycle of the World Test Championship.Originally, the tour was scheduled to begin with the T20I series followed by the Tests, but as reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier, the BCCI decided to change the sequence. This was done after SLC’s request to allow a smoother bubble-to-bubble transfer of their T20I squad, which will have concluded a series in Australia just four days ahead of the first T20I against India.Another change was in the venues. Initially, the first Test was to be played in Bengaluru and the second in Mohali, while the T20Is were to be held in Mohali, Dharamsala and Lucknow. Now ending the tour in Bengaluru facilitates the visiting Sri Lanka side with a direct flight to Colombo.This will only be India’s third day-night Test at home – they hosted Bangladesh in 2019 and England in 2021 – and their fourth overall, the same number as Sri Lanka. Both teams have won two and lost one of their three day-night Tests so far.

New Zealand Women’s assistant coach Jacob Oram has left the squad and returned home to his family after learning that his wife and two children have tested positive for Covid-19.Head coach Bob Carter was fully supportive of Oram’s decision. “Ultimately, family is the most important thing, so we fully support Jacob and his need to return home and care for his loved ones,” Carter said.Related

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Meanwhile, the experienced duo of Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu will be assessed in Christchurch, after they had picked up injuries during their one-wicket loss to England in Auckland on Sunday. Devine had developed back issues while batting and had to retire hurt on 37. Even though she returned to bat later in the innings, she added just four more runs to her tally and was not able to field in the second innings. Amy Satterthwaite was New Zealand’s stand-in captain when they tried to defend 203.Tahuhu, on the other hand, hurt her left hamstring while bowling her first spell, which was restricted to 4.4 overs. Tahuhu was in visible pain as soon as she delivered the fourth ball of her fifth over and was clutching on to her left leg in pain. She also walked off and could not return to bowl again.Satterthwaite later said the two injuries were “pretty pivotal moments” for them in the game as they were short of two bowling options and nearly defended their total.New Zealand are all but out of the semi-finals race now, and need a lot of other results going in their favour to qualify. They are currently sixth on the table having won only two of their six games, and will move to Christchurch on Monday for their last league game against Pakistan on Saturday.

Leicestershire dug in on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two clash against Durham at the Riverside after the home team posted 428 in their first innings.David Bedingham’s brilliant knock of 191 was the foundation of a strong first-innings total from the North-East outfit, while Ben Raine added a useful 51 not out. The visitors had work to do in response, and although it was slow going, half-centuries from Hassan Azad and Colin Ackermann defied the Durham bowlers with a stout defence in an unbroken partnership of 107 for the third wicket.However, Leicestershire still trail the home side by 269 runs with eight wickets remaining in their first innings heading into day three.Resuming on 356 for 6, there was an air of ante-climax as Bedingham was only able to add seven runs to his overnight total, falling frustratingly short of a double-century. A delivery from Beuran Hendricks stuck in the wicket, prompting a loose straight drive that the left-arm bowler claimed with ease. Raine and Matthew Potts attempted to guide Durham towards maximum batting points, but Ackermann delivered four straight dot balls in the 110th over to deny Raine the two runs the hosts required.Durham continued their innings towards the lunch break with Raine and Potts combining for a stand of 61 for the eighth wicket, which was only undone by a sharp Will Davis delivery that kept low to remove Potts for 23. Raine ground his way to his 13th first-class fifty to further frustrate his former club, but was left stranded as Oliver Gibson and Chris Rushworth were the final two wickets to fall in the Durham innings albeit with a competitive total of 428.Leicestershire openers Azad and Sam Evans blunted the home side’s new-ball attack as Rushworth, Potts and Raine were held in check. Azad, following his century against Worcestershire in the first week of the campaign, was measured in his approach and nullified the opening burst without issue.The home side were forced to be patient for the breakthrough, which eventually came through Raine as he got seam movement off the pitch to find Evans’ outside edge, allowing Scott Borthwick to claim a routine catch at second slip. Rushworth prised out George Rhodes as Borthwick collected his second catch of the day, but Ackermann would prove a huge obstacle for Durham’s bowlers in the evening session as the Riverside pitch flattened out.The Leicestershire captain combined with Azad to thwart the hosts with a fifty partnership, displaying great control and poise at the crease. A rare mistake by Ackermann on 34 was not punished behind the stumps by Ned Eckersley, who put down a catch on the leg-side off Potts.Azad was rewarded for his resilience with a half-century, nurdling a Liam Trevaskis delivery into the leg-side to reach the milestone from 161 balls. Ackermann followed his team-mate past fifty to bounce back from a disappointing return against Worcestershire and leave his side well in the contest at the close after reaching the century stand for the third wicket.

Ravi Shastri and Daniel Vettori believe that Virat Kohli needs a break, not because of his batting form, but to recharge himself mentally.Both ESPNcricinfo experts agree that having been “consumed” for seven years leading India and also being their best batter for several years across all formats, Kohli is still coming to terms with transitioning into the background as one of the players.Vettori and Shastri were reacting to Kohli’s statement about him intending to talk to the Indian team management, led by head coach Rahul Dravid, about taking a break in the near future and why he felt that was a “healthy” option. Kohli made those remarks in his chat with Star Sports, which was aired on Thursday.In the chat, Kohli also spoke to former India team-mate Harbhajan Singh. Kohli said he was going through one of the “happy” phases of his career and was totally unperturbed by his batting struggles, which has seen him clock three golden ducks this IPL and not score a century since November 2019. Kohli stressed there was nothing wrong with his batting, but he was keen to take a break to refresh himself.Vettori, who worked with Kohli for several years while serving as head coach at Royal Challengers Bangalore, said the senior Indian batter might be experiencing withdrawal symptoms from captaincy.”I don’t associate his lack of form with a mental break,” Vettori said on the T20 Time Out on Thursday. “He is working hard and he knows exactly what he needs to do with his game. We underestimate how consuming captaincy is and for a player who was seven years in the job, in all three formats, who meant so much to the team from a batting perspective, from an emotional perspective, from the leadership perspective and the captaincy. That’s overwhelming.”Vettori, himself a former international captain for New Zealand, admitted he “hated” being at the helm as it was a 24×7 job.”You don’t realise how consuming it is when you are in it and as soon as you are out of it, it almost estranges you completely,” Vettori said. “You are gone from talking to Ravi 24×7 to potentially no one consulting for a lot of things. So you actually get left in the background a little bit because the team moves on and the captain-coach relationship starts again with other people. So it’s a funny time.”A break could be the best thing, who knows, but Virat knows himself so well that he’ll understand exactly what he requires and what he needs to get himself back to his best.”Shastri, who was the head coach for the majority of Kohli’s captaincy reign, which ended earlier this year, agreed completely with Vettori.Virat Kohli has not scored a century in any format since November 2019•BCCI

“The fact that suddenly there is no one asking him for a press conference, who should play, who should not play, this time is the team meeting, you got to be there. You suddenly go to the other end of the spectrum, so it is very difficult to handle that for any human being, leave alone Virat Kohli.”So, it’s not a question of him batting badly. He must be ticking all the boxes in the nets, striking it beautifully. (But) mental fatigue creeps in, that’s the time you need a little bit of a break to just rejuvenate, to recharge the batteries and come back refreshed. It’s not a break because of form like Danny mentioned. It’s nothing to do with it. It’s just that little bit of overload that he’s had over the last few years – for that reason give him a break.”Shastri reckoned it would not surprise him if the Indian selectors were to rest senior players like Kohli, Indian captain Rohit Sharma and few other all-format players for the five-match T20I series at home against South Africa in June, only to have them fresh for the England tour comprising a one-off Test and a six-match white ball series.Shastri agreed that players like Kohli would do well and need such short breaks more frequently to keep “optimum form.””Absolutely no question about it,” Shastri said when asked if managing the workloads of key senior players was necessary. “Very difficult for a player to maintain optimum form, hunger, that passion if you are going to play all three formats constantly. And he is the one player amongst all Indian players who has done exactly that.”

Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson completed an outstanding match for Australia A with an unbeaten century to lead them home in a big run chase against Sri Lanka A.The victory was made more impressive by the fact Australia A were struggling on 69 for 4 having been left a target 367. Firstly, Peirson added 151 with Henry Hunt who made a fine century of his own and then the match-clinching partnership in an unbroken stand of 150 with allrounder Aaron Hardie.Peirson’s unbeaten 128 followed his undefeated 67 in the first innings which helped keep Australia A in the game after the rest of the batting struggled. It also meant he was not dismissed in his three innings during the two-match series having been subbed into the opening match when Travis Head was called into the ODI squad.Peirson had not been an original member of the Australia A squad but was called up when Peter Handscomb left the tour for family reasons.Earlier, Hunt had made 107 from 212 deliveries after the top order had been removed by Lakshitha Rasanjana and Dilshan Madushanka. A notable element of both centuries was the relative lack of boundaries: Hunt hit just three while Peirson’s 189-ball stay only included four in what became a one-day style chase during the final session.The five-wicket victory completed a successful tour for the Australia A which saw them take the four-day series 2-0 following a share of the two one-day matches. The benefit of the concurrent series to the senior tour was also emphasised by the ability to draft players in amid what has been a lengthy injury list during the T20Is and ODIs while giving others preparation.At various times Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Matt Kuhnemann and Scott Boland have moved between the squads. Kuhnemann made his ODI debut and played four matches in the series while Boland, who is part of the Test squad, claimed seven wickets in this match in his first competitive bowl since the end of the Australian season in late March.Left-arm spinner Jon Holland and offspinner Todd Murphy, along with Kuhnemann, will stay on with the Test squad as part of the preparation for the two-match series in Galle. None of them have yet been officially added to the group, but with doubts continuing over Ashton Agar after his side strain there could yet be an opening.