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The election for the post of league director ended in a deadlock, with both candidates receiving 12 votes each

Peter Della Penna18-Aug-2018Two rounds of voting were not enough to break the deadlock between ex-USACA president Atul Rai and former USA captain Sushil Nadkarni for the right to serve a three-year term as league director on the new USA Cricket board of directors. So the men decided to shake on it.In an unprecedented move, the two candidates have agreed to a split term according to a USA Cricket press release. In the main election voting that concluded on July 29, Rai and Nadkarni each received 12 votes from the eligible voting leagues. A special runoff vote that ended on August 12 produced the same result. A stipulation was announced that the winner would then be decided by a coin toss with the winner serving the full three-year term.However, both men agreed beforehand to serve half of the term each, an agreement that was unanimously approved by USA Cricket’s four-person nominating and governance committee, which includes ICC chief executive David Richardson. Rai wound up winning the coin toss, meaning he will serve the initial 18 months in the position. Nadkarni will then take over for the final 18 months before a fresh election is held for the league director position in 2021.Now that the seven-person constituent board has been finalised, the final three independent directors will be selected by the nominating and governance committee. The committee is meeting this weekend in Florida to finish their evaluations before putting their three candidates forward to complete the 10-member board of directors.

The former South Africa captain is not missing international cricket just yet, given its mental demands

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-20181:33

AB de Villiers retires: ‘I’ve had my turn, I’m tired’

AB de Villiers has “absolutely no regrets” about having walked away from international cricket, describing the day-to-day demands of the job as “unbearable at times”. De Villiers, 34, retired from international cricket in May, just a year out from the 2019 World Cup and a little more than a month after a maiden Test series triumph over Australia at home, to which he contributed heavily.Recalling his time in international cricket, de Villiers told the : “It’s been unbearable at times: the pressure you have to face, performing day in and day out. The expectations you put on yourself, from fans, from the country, from coaches. It is huge and it’s something that’s on your mind all the time as a cricketer. And it is definitely something that I’m not going to miss. I am very happy to have stepped away. Absolutely no regrets.”De Villiers had been criticised for picking and choosing when and in what format to play for South Africa when he went on a two-year break from Test cricket in 2016 and 2017, a combination of an injury layoff and a self-imposed sabbatical. When he did return in early 2018, he had immediate impact against India (No. 2 on the batting charts in a low-scoring series, with 211 runs from six innings at 35.16) and Australia (427 from eight innings at 71.16). Then, suddenly, four days after his IPL 2018 campaign ended, he announced his retirement via his official app.In his retirement video, he said he was “tired”. That’s something all players must feel in the current environment of professional cricket, he feels, even if they don’t admit to it.”I truly believe that players who tell you they don’t feel the pressure of international cricket, of being away from home for months at a time, are lying to everyone and themselves. I was prepared to embrace it, to fight the pressure, but it certainly takes its toll after a while.”I feel there is room for players to be more honest about it, having systems in place to make sure they keep fresh and mentally healthy. I was certainly not mentally ill at the time, but I can relate to the fact that the pressure can really drive you down, and make you so tired.”That said, de Villiers still expects to play the IPL and other T20 leagues for a “few years”, so his bat will be “coming out again soon”.

Only Kyle Abbott had much of an impact with the ball as Essex made brisk progress after the opening-day washout

ECB Reporters Network30-Aug-2018
ScorecardDan Lawrence made his first County Championship century in nearly a year to underpin one of Essex’s best days with the bat this summer.The previous of his first-class hundreds also came against Hampshire in the penultimate game of last season but Lawrence has struggled, like most of his team-mates, for runs in Essex’s post-title-winning campaign and had just one half-century to his name previously this summer.He started circumspectly, and was outscored at one point in his first century partnership by Ryan ten Doeschate, who came in two wickets later, but picked up with the return of the confidence that brought him an England Lions call-up in the winter. He was 114 not out from 192 balls at the close.Essex finished the day on 363 for 6, only the fourth time this season they have gone beyond 300 in an innings. The top-order had endured such a parlous season they had accumulated just 11 batting points before Hampshire’s arrival at Chelmsford. But that was advanced by four on a day when nearly everything and everyone clicked and five batsmen surpassed their season’s averages by considerable margins.In addition, Essex posted three century partnerships with Varun Chopra and Tom Westley putting on 101 for the second wicket, Lawrence and ten Doeschate compiling 122 for the fifth, and Lawrence and Adam Wheater 105 for the sixth.It was a day of toil for Hampshire, barring when Kyle Abbott caused a mini-collapse in mid-afternoon as he reduced Essex from 117 for 1 to 124 for 4 with three wickets at a personal cost of four runs in 16 balls.The players spent the entire first day in the changing rooms because of damp areas on the outfield, but play started promptly with eight overs tagged on to the second day’s duration. Hampshire opted for a toss, lost it and Essex made them pay.Nick Browne exited in the fifth over when Fidel Edwards swung a ball in to clip the top of middle stump. That brought together Chopra and Westley for a partnership that embraced 33 overs.Spinner Liam Dawson made a surprise appearance as early as the 11th over, and found some turn off the pitch almost immediately. Westley played down the wrong line and got an involuntary edge for four to third man, then was fortunate to miss one that turned from middle to fly past off stump.Abbott stopped the steady progress. Westley departed for 40 when one nipped back and knocked over off-stump. Chopra followed when he was pinned plumb in front and Ravi Bopara lasted just four balls before edging to Jimmy Adams at slip.ten Doeschate corrected the downturn with three successive fours off Gareth Berg and a straight six off Dawson. Lawrence had eight fours in his 83-ball half-century, achieved on the stroke of tea, including a particularly well-timed boundary off his hip against Holland.The captain was the third player to fifty when he drove Dawson through the covers to reach the milestone from 65 balls, courtesy of six fours and the day’s only six. But he fell, nibbling at an Ian Holland delivery outside off stump to give Adams a second catch.Wheater’s fifty against his old team came with an edge through the slips and had taken 74 balls with 10 fours. In quick succession, the sixth-wicket stand passed 100 in 23 overs and then Lawrence reached his century from 173 balls with 14 fours.Wheater had maintained Essex’s momentum but eventually departed when he was bowled by Dawson for 52.

Mohammad Amir’s ouster from the one-day setup means he has now been dropped from all three formats this month

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2018Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez find themselves back in Pakistan’s 15-man ODI squad after spells of varying lengths out of the side. Hafeez sat out of Pakistan’s five ODIs against Zimbabwe in July and was dropped from the squad for the Asia Cup altogether, while Imad hasn’t played a 50-over international in 2018. Both of them are part of the squad that will face New Zealand in a three-match ODI series next week, which is otherwise notable for Mohammad Amir’s continued exclusion from the side. His ouster from the one-day setup meaning he has now been dropped from all three formats this month.

Pakistan’s ODI squad v New Zealand

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Shinwari

The squad is otherwise largely unchanged from Pakistan’s Asia Cup side, with Shan Masood, included in that 16-man side (though he didn’t play any match) the only other played omitted. Asif Ali retains his place, while Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Hafeez are the three opening options named. Sahibzada Farhan, who averages over 53 in List A cricket in Pakistan and was included in Pakistan’s squad for the T20I series against Australia and New Zealand, has failed to earn a call-up to the 50-over side. Shaheen Afridi, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali and Usman Shinwari are the four fast bowlers in the side, while Shadab Khan and Imad are the specialist spin options.Despite their splendid T20I form over the past two years, Pakistan are coming off a disappointing Asia Cup tournament, where they failed to make the final after losing to Bangladesh in a must-win encounter. It was part of a trend of shaky performances throughout the competition in which they were soundly beaten by India twice, and only managed to squeak past Afghanistan in a final-over thriller.Despite a superb record in Test cricket in the UAE, Pakistan have struggled there in ODI cricket ever since they relocated. In 61 ODIs there over the past decade, they have won 28 and lost 33. Excluding Sri Lanka, against whom they have won 12 of 15 encounters in the UAE, Pakistan’s record is an even more unflattering 16 wins and 30 losses. They have lost both series they played against New Zealand over that period, most recently in 2014, when the visitors triumphed 3-2.The first two ODIs will be held in Abu Dhabi on 7 and 9 November, with the third to take place in Dubai on 13 November.

A maiden Test fifty from Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah’s first Test hundred in eight years drove Bangladesh to a dominant position, allowing them to declare their innings for a second time in the match

The Report by Liam Brickhill14-Nov-2018AFP

Bangladesh ended the fourth day in Dhaka in a strong position in their bid for a series-levelling win, reducing Zimbabwe to 76 for 2 at stumps. Mahumudullah’s first Test hundred in eight years allowed them to declare their innings for the second time in the match and set Zimbabwe a target of 443, or – more realistically – four sessions to survive. Either result seemed unlikely when the visitors lost Hamilton Masakadza and Brian Chari before the close, with Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz extracting significant turn to trouble the visiting batsmen.Faced with a Herculean task, Zimbabwe’s openers cobbled together stand that stretched to 68 as Bangladesh’s seamers created a couple of chances, but weren’t backed up in the field. Masakadza fended a rising delivery in Khaled Ahmed’s fourth over to Mehidy in the gully, but the ball was grassed and Khaled’s wait for a maiden Test wicket went on. That was Bangladesh’s ninth drop of the game (as compared to five from Zimbabwe), and the third off Khaled’s bowling.As he had done in the first innings, Chari first set down an anchor and then looked to transfer a little pressure with some calculated hitting. He brought up the fifty stand with a quick single into the covers in the 17th over of the innings, but Bangladesh’s spinners – and particularly Taijul – found enough in the surface to suggest that chances would keep coming.Mehidy was the first to strike, removing Masakadza for 25 with a regulation bat-pad catch by Mominul at short leg. Chari then missed a paddle sweep against Taijul to be lbw for 43, the Zimbabwe opener failing to get the decision overturned on review. With close-in fielders surrounding the batsmen and the light starting to fade, Taijul and Mehidy bowled in tandem, getting the ball to bite and spit at Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams. They managed to survive, but the signs for the batting team were ominous.Bangladesh had decided not to enforce the follow on this morning, and their batsmen had struggled in similar fashion against Zimbabwe’s new-ball bowlers. It took a 118-run fifth-wicket stand between Mohammad Mithun and Mahmudullah to repair the innings after they had slipped to 25 for 4, with Kyle Jarvis and Donald Tiripano picking up two early wickets apiece.Mithun’s debut had got off to a shaky start with his four-ball duck in the first innings, but in the second dig he applied himself much more effectively. His knock was not without its iffy strokes, but he put the bad ball away whenever the spinners missed their lengths.Mahmudullah played the more adventurous role early in the partnership. He had gone 10 Test innings without a fifty before this one, and finally reached the mark from 70 deliveries. Mithun had also reached his own maiden Test fifty by then, from 91 balls, and with the partnership pushed beyond 100 the time came to step on the accelerator.Mithun fell in the pursuit of quick runs, and after Ariful Haque was quickly bowled around his legs, Mahmudullah found an able partner in Mehidy, and they added a further 73 as Bangladesh’s lead ballooned. Mahmudullah continued to take on Zimbabwe’s spinners, hitting his second six off Mavuta and then slicing an uppish drive through point off the final delivery of the second session to bring up his ton.With that came the declaration. Despite a gritty opening stand from Zimbabwe, Bangladesh will go into the final day confident that they can pick up the remaining seven wickets, with Tendai Chatara’s injury making him unlikely to come out to bat. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, need a miracle.

Former England spinner will take up the role in January ahead of the team’s tour of the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2018Ashley Giles has been confirmed as the ECB’s new Managing Director of England Men’s Cricket, and will take up the role in January ahead of the team’s tour of the Caribbean.Giles, who played 54 Tests as a left-arm spinner, including the 2005 Ashes victory, is currently Sport Director at Warwickshire. He replaces Andrew Strauss, who stepped down in October for family reasons.”I am delighted to be joining the ECB and shaping the future of England cricket throughout the men’s game,” said Giles.”I am very grateful for the opportunity and excited about working with some talented people. The legacy left by Andrew Strauss has put the performance programme in a stable place. It is fundamental that I facilitate the great work currently being carried out, meet our objectives and help our sport achieve great things in the coming years both domestically and internationally.”Giles, 45, joins the ECB at the start of what promises to be one of the most crucial years in the history of English cricket. With a home World Cup closely followed by the Ashes, two competitions for which the team are current favourites, there is expectation and opportunity for the ECB, as well as considerable jeopardy if they fail to make the impact that might be expected of a side that, in white-ball cricket in particular, has transformed its horizons since the ignominy of the 2015 World Cup.Much of the credit for the upturn in white-ball fortunes can be attributed to Strauss, whose appointment of Trevor Bayliss as head coach was made in recognition of the need to seize on the transformative opportunities offered by a home World Cup – something that England singularly failed to acknowledge when they crashed out early in their last hosting of the event in 1999.”I believe it is important for the game to have a strong international set-up, which is showing great promise in what will be a significant year for our red- and white-ball teams leading into the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup this summer and The Ashes,” said Giles. “The next 12 months could transform the game like no other time in recent memory.”In a press release, the ECB stated that Giles “will be responsible for the long-term strategy of the England men’s cricket teams and the performance pathways leading into the international teams. He will also be responsible for developing the right coaching and management structure to support it.”The appointment follows a month-long formal recruitment process led by ECB chief executive, Tom Harrison. As ESPNcricinfo reported last week, Giles emerged as the standout candidate after several significant rivals for the role, including Andy Flower, Martyn Moxon and the ECB director of women’s cricket, Clare Connor, all chose not to pursue their interest.”We were fortunate throughout this process to interview some of the most talented and respected people in the game,” said Harrison.”Ashley was the standout candidate amongst a very strong field. He will bring a fresh perspective to the role and build on the excellent work carried out by Andrew Strauss over the past three and a half years. He has a tremendous passion for England cricket, extensive knowledge of our county game, and a wealth of experience from playing at the highest level to becoming a respected leader in the sport.”He will lead the England men’s teams forward in what is a pivotal year with an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the Specsavers Ashes Series, both on home soil. This is a key appointment and we are excited about Ashley’s arrival.”It’s quite a comeback at the ECB from Giles, who was England’s limited-overs coach from 2012 to 2014, and a national team selector for six years from 2008. On his watch, England reached the final of the 2013 Champions Trophy, but he was sacked in the wake of their poor showing at the World T20 in Bangladesh the following year – his dismissal being signed off by the man whose role he now fills, the original England team director, Paul Downton.Prior to his move into coaching, Giles played for Warwickshire for 13 years and, following his retirement in 2007, became the club’s director of cricket, leading them to the championship title in 2012.He subsequently took over as head coach and cricket director at Lancashire, and in his first season at Old Trafford, he won the Blast and led the county to promotion to Division One of the County Championship.He returned to Warwickshire as Sport Director in January 2017, in the wake of their relegation from the Championship top flight, and oversaw an immediate return as Division Two champions, as well as finalists in the T20 Blast.”Finally, I would like thank Warwickshire County Cricket Club and in particular Chairman, Norman Gascoigne, and Chief Executive, Neil Snowball, for their guidance and support during my time at Edgbaston.”

The attention now shifts to the main one-day event as the two teams, in vastly different positions at the start of the final run-in to the tournament, face each other in Sydney

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan11-Jan-20197:26

Hodge: Both teams seem to lack good death bowlers

Big Picture

Five days after the end of the Test series, where India celebrated their historic victory, the attention now shifts to the main one-day event of the year: Mission World Cup.These are two teams in vastly different positions at the start of the final run-in to the tournament in England. Australia, the defending champions, have won three of their last 24 games since the end of January 2017 and have a multitude of questions over their team. India, one of the favourites, are very close to knowing the players they’ll take.The contrast was stark in the build-up days with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli saying it’s unlikely they’ll be many changes from the squad on show in Australia – save for the rested Jasprit Bumrah to return and some competition for the reserve pace-bowling slots – while Australia captain Aaron Finch confirmed another much-changed XI with new players in new positions and incumbent players taking new roles.Just matching up the top three of both teams doesn’t feel like a contest: Finch, Alex Carey and Usman Khawaja against Rohit, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli. If India’s top trio fire, as they did consistently last season, they will be very hard to stop for a new-look Australia bowling attack.While India can think of the World Cup from a position of strength, Australia are desperate for short-term success as well. They have yet to win a series in any format since the ball-tampering scandal. It would certainly go against the form guide if they ended that run here.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
Australia LWLLL
India WWLTW

In the spotlight

Glenn Maxwell has prompted significant debate in the last few days with his continued Test omission and now he finds himself at No. 7 in the one-day side, tasked with bringing power to the latter stages of an innings. He appeared somewhat frustrated in that role against South Africa in Hobart earlier this season and it is unlikely to provide much chance to build an innings although Finch offered the prospect of him moving up the order in certain situations.Does MS Dhoni have a final hurrah in him at the World Cup? A great player, he has looked a shadow of his former self in recent times and hasn’t passed fifty in 14 ODI innings. That is partly due to batting behind a mighty top order, but even when given the chance to dictate a passage of play he hasn’t seemed to have the touch of old. One thing in his favour, however, is that his glovework remains sharp and he continues to produce some terrific work against the spinners.

Team news

All change, please. Australia have mixed things up in their one-day side again in the search for answers. Carey will open with Finch, with the recalled Khawaja and Peter Handscomb either side of Shaun Marsh. Peter Siddle will play his first ODI in more than eight years while Adam Zampa misses out. Mitchell Marsh was ruled out yesterday due to illness.Australia: 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 Alex Carey (wk), 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Peter Siddle, 9 Jhye Richardson, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jason BehrendorffHardik Pandya and KL Rahul are not available for selection, as the BCCI mulls their fate following their controversial comments on an Indian TV show. In an ideal world Pandya provides the balance that allows three seamers and two spinners, but in his absence Ravindra Jadeja is the all-round option while another seamer plays.India: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Mohammed Shami

Pitch and conditions

After the damp end to the Test match and more rain in recent days, the good news is that the forecast for a warm, sunny Saturday in Sydney. The SCG pitch has been flat this season which should bode well for a high-scoring contest although there appeared a decent covering of grass left on the surface.

Stats and Trivia

• The teams have played 16 ODIs at the SCG with Australia winning 13 and India two. India won the most recent encounter in 2016, chasing down 331 with two balls. Australia had centuries from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh while India were steered home by Manish Panday’s 104 off 81 balls
• Dhawan needs 65 runs for 5000 in ODIs; Jadeja needs 18 for 2000 runs; Bhuvneshwar needs one wicket for 100
• Carey, who will open in ODIs for the first time, has a strike-rate opening the batting in List A cricket is 75.55 from 19 innings

Quotes

“While it would have been great to have a settled side for the last 18 months there’s still enough time to get it right and make sure come that World Cup that we are ready to go with a really balanced and settled side.”
Aaron Finch on getting the team right”We’ve been wanting to figure out who apart from Bhuvi and Bumrah are the two or three guys we can bank on. And these games will provide an opportunity for those guys to firstly present their case strongly and secondly gain confidence from playing these games.”
Virat Kohli on the battle for seam-bowling spots

An unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 88 steered the Vikings home after a 56-ball 74 from Laurie Evans had propelled Rajshahi Kings to 157

The Report by Mohammad Isam23-Jan-2019How the game played outMushfiqur Rahim and Mosaddek Hossain took Chittagong Vikings to the top of the points table with a six-wicket win over Rajshahi Kings. Mushfiqur was unbeaten on 64 off 46 balls, while Mosaddek contributed an unbeaten 26-ball 43, as Vikings completed their chase of 158 with two balls to spare.Mushfiqur and Mosaddek added 88 unbroken runs for the fifth wicket, after coming together in the 11th over with the Vikings in a spot of bother at 71 for four.Put in to bat, the Kings had posted 157 for 5 courtesy a well-paced 56-ball 74 from Laurie Evans. His innings included eight fours and two sixes, and ended just as Christiaan Jonker got going in the last four overs, scoring an unbeaten 36 off 20.Turning points

• For the second match in a row, the Kings finished their innings strongly, scoring 65 in their last four overs.
• When the Vikings needed 48 off 30, Mushfiqur and Mosaddek cracked three fours off Kamrul Islam Rabbi in a 15-run 16th over to ease the pressure.

Star of the dayMushfiqur, who was playing against his former franchise, struck some well-timed reverse-hits among his six fours and two sixes. He also guided Mosaddek during their partnership, which could pay off in the Vikings’ remaining matches.The big missWhen Evans was on 28, Nayeem Hasan dropped a sitter he offered at deep fine leg. It was his second life after surviving a run-out opportunity in the second over when he had a comical mix-up with Soumya Sarkar.Where the teams standWhile the Vikings move to the top of the table with their sixth win, the Kings remain on eight points after eight matches.

Joe Root’s century puts him back in batting top five

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Feb-2019England’s 2-1 series defeat at the hands of West Indies has dropped them two places to fifth on the ICC Test team rankings. England, who play just one more Test – a four-day fixture against Ireland in July – before the Ashes, now sit one place below Australia, with India, South Africa and New Zealand making up the top three.England’s rankings slide was expected, following their loss in the second Test in Antigua at the start of February – handing West Indies the series with one to play – coupled with Australia’s 2-0 home win over Sri Lanka.In the individual rankings, Joe Root moved up three places back into the top five Test batsmen, sharing fifth spot with New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls. Root, who previously held the No. 1 ranking in 2015, bounced back from a tally of 55 runs in his first five innings of the series in the Caribbean to score 122 in St Lucia, his 16th Test century.Also moving up the batting list were Jos Buttler, whose scores of 67 and 56 in England’s third-Test victory lifted him eight places to 26th, and Ben Stokes who stepped up seven places to 34th with scores of 79 and 48 not out. Virat Kohli remains the rankings leader.Man of the Series, Kemar Roach, is on the cusp of breaking into the bowling top 10, moving up one place to 11th after claiming five wickets in the final Test. His 18 wickets at 13.88 for the series has lifted him 13 places in all.West Indies captain Jason Holder, who sat out the third Test after being suspended for his team’s slow over rate in the previous match in Antigua, held o nto top spot in the allrounder rankings, while Stokes moved up one place to No. 4.

Aaron Finch fell just sort of a hat-trick of hundreds before a limp batting display from Pakistan left them facing the prospect of a whitewash

The Report by Danyal Rasool27-Mar-2019Shoaib Malik said on Sunday, and again at the toss here today, that Pakistan were using this series to test their bench strength. Well, it appears they haven’t got much.It was a grey day in Abu Dhabi, sparsely attended by the locals who’d had their fill with the recently concluded PSL. And that was just as well, because the cricket that transpired won’t have brought much joy. It was another commanding performance from Australia, who, having won just four ODIs in two years, have suddenly come up trumps in six on the bounce. They sealed their second consecutive series win in a fortnight with an 80-run win and will fancy a 5-0 scoreline.Aaron Finch’s 90 – he fell 10 short of becoming the first Australian to score three ODI hundreds on the trot – and a 55-ball 71 from Glenn Maxwell, who was given a life on 27, took Australia to 266. Pakistan, who lost their first three wickets for 19 runs, were never really in the game from that point onwards; partnerships between Imam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik, and then Umar Akmal and Imad Wasim, merely delaying the inevitable. With five overs to spare, they had folded for 186 in what the most uncompetitive series defeat for Mickey Arthur’s men since New Zealand whitewashed them fourteen months ago.The recalled pair of Pat Cummins and Jason Behrendorff found early swing that kept Imam and Shan Masood on their toes. Masood has had a frustrating series so far, struggling to replicate the form that saw him impress so highly in the Test series in South Africa. He was the first to fall, edging Cummins to second slip, where Peter Handscomb completed a superb catch. Haris Sohail, who came in at No. 3 was deceived by the bounce, edging to first slip to leave Pakistan tottering as rain interrupted play for the second time in the day.While the rain stopped soon after, the rot didn’t. Mohammad Rizwan was undone by a pearler from a brilliant Cummins who maintained the probing off stump line, shaving the outside edge on the way to the keeper. It brought Imam and Shoaib Malik together for a consolidation that never looked like it could move to the next level. The spin bowlers had come in and showed no signs of letting up on the intensity or quality of their quick counterparts. It didn’t even take one of the specialists to break the partnership. Maxwell drifted one in to Imam, who played outside the line and found himself trapped in front of middle and leg.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Pakistan fielding a long tail in the absence of Faheem Ashraf, Umar and Imad came together with the hosts still needing 171 for victory. They tried to take the attack to Australia, bringing up a boundary just about every over while attempting to play through the line on a slowing surface, but with an ever-increasing run rate and a vast number of runs still to get, it was a hopeless cause. Some risk had to be taken, and when a visibly tiring Umar slogged Behrendorff right down deep square-leg’s throat with 118 still to get, that was the end. Adam Zampa was good enough to rip through the lower order, the final four wickets falling in just 16 balls.For a while in the first innings, Australia did have it all their own way. Off just the sixth ball of the innings, Usman Shinwari knocked back the off stump of his namesake. Usman Khawaja needed just two runs to surpass Virat Kohli as the highest ODI runscorer this year but a fast, inswinging yorker meant he will have to wait till Dubai to achieve that landmark. Shinwari was Pakistan’s most impressive bowler overall, going at just two per over in his first spell, and the only bowler who looked in control of proceedings towards the end when Maxwell had teed off. Not long after, the other new inductee into Pakistan’s bowling line-up, Junaid Khan, needed just three balls to make his mark when Shaun Marsh got a think inside edge to square leg.That put Australia into rebuilding mode straightaway. Finch was content to nudge and nurdle his way for most of the innings, departing from that policy only when Yasir Shah pitched the ball up to deposit him into the stands behind the sightscreen. Peter Handscomb was brighter in his approach, beginning by punishing a wayward Mohammad Hasnain with four boundaries in an over. It was another tough day for the 18-year old; he had conceded 16 in that over, and it wouldn’t be his most expensive of the innings. Overall, Malik only saw fit to trust him with half his allotted quota, in which he conceded 50 runs, and still awaits his first international wicket.Progress was slow and when Marcus Stoinis was castled by Imad, Pakistan would have sniffed a chance to get the lower order in. But Finch and Maxwell held firm, even if it came at the expense of the run rate, and a revision of the total they would aim for. Yasir looked more comfortable, and finished off his spell by snaring Finch in his final over.It wasn’t until the end of the 44th over that Australia crossed 200, but a costly drop by Imam at point that gave Maxwell a reprieve on 27 meant the next four overs would be chaotic for Pakistan. As their fielding standards dipped and Maxwell finally hit his straps, Pakistan conceded 47 off the following 24 balls. It was a crucial passage of play that allowed Australia to seize the momentum – they would never let it go after that.