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Concerns are growing that the Bangladesh women’s team, due to tour Pakistan for 11 days starting October 23, may not visit after all. The tour, which comprises two T20Is and three ODIs, all in Lahore, was believed to be a near certainty to go ahead as far as both boards were concerned, but is still awaiting clearance from the Bangladesh government.The clearance was thought to be a formality despite the fact touring teams to Pakistan have, since 2009, needed extensive security guarantees from the PCB. Sri Lanka concluded a tour of Pakistan earlier this week that saw them play three ODIs in Karachi and three T20Is in Lahore, and although several leading players pulled out citing security concerns, the series itself went off without a hitch.The status of the women’s tour could also have an impact on the men’s team, pencilled in to tour Pakistan in January. BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan told reporters they would “only get the full details once the security team goes to Pakistan. As you all know, the BCB president mentioned how security is the top priority on tours after the New Zealand incident [when a terrorist killed 50 people inside two mosques in Christchurch]”.Khan would not be drawn on whether the women’s tour getting the go-ahead would de facto be a green light for the men’s series, too. “Security is definitely a concern but at the same time, we have to think about the development of women’s cricket. But I have said it repeatedly that only when we get the government’s green signal, will we go forward.”Ten days out from the women’s team’s scheduled arrival and with no confirmation, the PCB is understandably concerned. Aside from the logistical and financial hurdles delays would represent to the board, given the significant security effort that needs to go into assuring visiting teams are safe, the PCB is eager to begin a process of normalisation for international cricket in Pakistan. There was talk of Ireland visiting in the near future, and the PCB announced the entirety of the PSL would take place in Pakistan in 2020, in addition to a potential Test series against Sri Lanka.Even if the Bangladesh women’s tour was to proceed, the three Indian members of the support staff will not be travelling to Pakistan. Head coach Anju Jain, assistant coach Devika Palshikar, and trainer Kavita Pandey will be absent, the BCB saying they wanted to avoid visa-related difficulties because of the strained political ties between India and Pakistan. A number of Indian nationals involved in the TV production of the recently concluded Sri Lanka series were granted visas however.Earlier this year, Karachi hosted West Indies women for three T20Is. The Bangladesh women’s team last toured Pakistan in 2015, while the men’s side hasn’t visited since 2008.

Derbyshire may go into their first Finals Day in a fortnight as rank underdogs, but Essex, Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire will underestimate them at their peril. Victory here in the last of the Vitality T20 Blast quarter-finals was deserved, emphatic, and based on the same hard-nosed template of cricketing nous that has served Gloucestershire themselves over the years.Having restricted the home side to a total some way below par, their prolific top-four batsmen all but knocked off the target of 136 on their own, victory arriving with 17 balls to spare. Billy Godleman, Luis Reece, Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy had struck 1,384 runs between them in the North Group stage; they will head to Edgbaston on September 21 with that total now on exactly 1,500.”It is a huge relief, not just to me but to everyone involved with the club,” Madsen admitted after receiving the Man of the Match award for his 47. “It has been a great day for us. We have developed a good culture in T20 and in the last seven or eight games we have really clicked. The supporters deserve this and we will go to Edgbaston with a lot of confidence.”As the 18th and last county to make Finals Day since the competition was inaugurated in 2003, Derbyshire have taken their time to get here. But the club blueprint with a specialist coach for the format in Dominic Cork is sure to be examined by the rest given unprecedented interest in the Blast this season. Spare seats, again, were rare dots in the crowd, and spectators were cramped just as tightly on the balconies of the flats behind the Ashley Down Road end.Godleman wisely chose to field first given the peculiar appearance of the pitch. It was so green the stumps might have been hammered into the wrong part of the square, but he and his bowlers quickly assessed its true, slowish and slightly two-paced character. With the fielding display matching the discipline with the ball, Gloucestershire fell well short of the average first-innings score here this season, of 164.Batsmen received few opportunities to challenge the shorter, straight boundaries, and the wagon wheel deceives because two of the sixes that look the result of fierce return drives were actually top-edged pulls. After a reasonable start, Gloucestershire found themselves strangled by the medium pace of Alex Hughes and Matt Critchley’s wrist spin. They never recaptured any momentum given by their opening pair.Michael Klinger ran into such good form at the end of the South Group stage – 264 runs in four innings – that he claimed to be re-thinking a decision to retire, but his dismissal in the ninth over proved a critical moment and has almost certainly persuaded him that he was right first time. Miles Hammond had already pushed to cover following an enterprising start and James Bracey reverse flipped to short third man, leaving a rebuilding operation once Klinger failed to beat Ravi Rampaul’s throw from the edge of the circle.In fact, Derbyshire conceded only 38 runs in the eight overs immediately on from the Powerplay. Crucially, they continued to make inroads, and the catch by Critchley off his own bowling to remove Jack Taylor was so well-judged and athletic, running back to his right and finally diving to hold the ball one-handed, that he deserved his name twice on the dismissal: ct Critchley b Critchley.Much now hinged on Ian Cockbain, and for all his swings into the leg side, Derbyshire made sure that boundaries never came in clusters. Rampaul was exceptional at the end, changing pace and finding yorker-length, and went above Matt Parkinson at the top of the wicket-taking list for the season when Andrew Tye became his 22nd victim, fittingly to a full-length ball.”I think we needed a minimum of 160,” Klinger admitted. “The pitch played pretty well, the odd one held up but we knew Derbyshire were going to take pace off the ball anyway.” He could only lament the absence of Benny Howell to a serious hamstring injury, though the serious damage had been done by the time their leading exponent of dibbly-dob would have joined the attack.Madsen said as much, modestly deflecting his own sensible effort in praising the explosive start supplied by Godleman and Reece. Having identified the Powerplay overs as the most propitious time to attack, they were so positive that the required rate fell to below a run per ball by the end of the third over, Godleman bringing out the Australian fire in Tye by charging the pace bowler during a short, captivating passage.They fell in successive overs and Madsen was a shade fortunate that his first boundary, with Tye bustling in as Mike Procter used to at the ground, sailed only inches high of cover. From then on, he found leg-side gaps expertly and with the boundaries fully patrolled the singles and hard-run twos made for very easy pickings. That was all Derbyshire needed.Vitality Blast semi-finalsDerbyshire Falcons v Essex EaglesWorcestershire Rapids v Notts Outlaws

Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis have returned – at least loosely – to the national team fold after being named in a 26-man preliminary squad for Australia’s proposed white-ball tour of England in September.Test batsman Travis Head has also been named in a white-ball squad for the first time since he missed selection for the 2019 World Cup, while Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe and Daniel Sams make their first appearances in a senior training group, likely to be seconded to the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane next month before a cut-down group is conveyed to the UK.Khawaja and Stoinis were the two most high-profile names to lose their national contracts after falling out of favour last summer, though it had been made clear in Khawaja’s case at least that he remained a likely top-order replacement in the event of injuries to the likes of David Warner, Steven Smith or the limited-overs captain Aaron Finch.The selection chairman Trevor Hohns outlined the fact that a larger than usual squad would need to be sent should the tour go ahead, given the fact it will not be possible to send replacement players in the event of injury or illness. England are currently playing the West Indies in a biosecure “bubble” in the time of Covid-19 and similar arrangements are being worked through for an Australian tour.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“This preliminary list covers the contingencies of playing one-day internationals and T20 internationals in bio-secure hubs with the likely prospect of not being able to bring in replacements should the tour proceed,” Hohns said.”The preliminary list includes several exciting young players who have recently excelled at state level and in the BBL. These emerging players are among those we would like to develop further as we believe they have a bright future in Australian cricket. The preliminary list also has a view towards the upcoming T20 World Cup and in the longer term the 2023 World Cup.”Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia’s head of national teams, said that negotiations with the ECB and the Australian and British governments were continuing with any potential quarantine requirements for the players on return to Australia, which currently has closed international borders, a key issue.”There’s a lot of complexity around the tour and international cricket at the moment, but we’re doing everything we can to make sure we give that tour the best chance possible to proceed,” he said. “We take the quarantining environment very seriously and it’s important that we understand that fully before a decision on the tour is made.”Obviously for elite cricketers, elite athletes generally, the ability to train and stay fit and keep ticking over is an important factor. The health and safety of players and staff and the public health component is most critical. The quarantine arrangements aren’t confirmed. They obviously exist in terms of general international travel at the moment so that’s something we’re working through.”‘[It’s] at the start of our home summer so we are interested to understand how we navigate that. Equally we are fully supportive of the quarantine requirements that are in place across Federal and State and Territory Governments and our obligations around that from a public health perspective. We’re having constructive conversations with government agencies and particularly the ECB.”Oliver also confirmed that Hohns would continue as selection chairman for the forthcoming summer, after his previous contract ended earlier this year. “We’re moving forward with our selection panel as it was at the end of last season,” he said. “The panel is really focused on the challenges of the upcoming 12 months. We have some interesting challenges as we swap between formats and different tours that players are going to be involved in. Trevor is committed through this season.”In addition to the UK tour, originally slated for July, CA has also postponed a Test tour of Bangladesh and a limited-overs visit by Zimbabwe. Neither of the latter two series have as yet been rescheduled.

The upcoming women’s ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka will feature an all-female line-up of match officials. On Thursday, the ICC announced the panel of four match referees and 14 umpires, featuring women from nine countries for the tournament that runs from September 30 to November 2.The match referees are Trudy Anderson (New Zealand), Shandre Fritz (South Africa), GS Lakshmi (India) and Michell Pereira (Sri Lanka).The on-field and TV umpires are Sue Redfern (England), Claire Polosak and Eloise Sheridan (Australia), Candace la Borde and Jacqueline Williams (West Indies), Kim Cotton (New Zealand), Sarah Dambanevana (Zimbabwe), Shathira Jakir Jesy (Bangladesh), Kerrin Klaaste and Lauren Agenbag (South Africa), N Janani, Vrinda Rathi and Gayathri Venugopalan (India) and Nimali Perera (Sri Lanka).Related

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Among them, Polosak, Williams and Redfern will be appearing in their third women’s ODI World Cups, while Agenbag and Cotton will be at their second.Three recent events – the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the two most recent women’s T20 World Cups – also featured all-female panels of match officials.

Panel of match officials

Match referees: Trudy Anderson, Shandre Fritz, GS Lakshmi, Michelle Pereira
Umpires: Lauren Agenbag, Candace la Borde, Kim Cotton, Sarah Dambanevana, Shathira Jakir Jesy, Kerrin Klaaste, Janani N, Nimali Perera, Claire Polosak, Vrinda Rathi, Sue Redfern, Eloise Sheridan, Gayathri Venugopalan, Jacquline Williams

“This marks a defining moment in the journey of women’s cricket, one that we hope will pave the way for many more trailblazing stories across all facets of the sport,” ICC president Jay Shah said in a statement. “The inclusion of an all-women panel of match officials is not only a major milestone but also a powerful reflection of the ICC’s unwavering commitment to advancing gender equity across cricket.”This development goes beyond symbolic value. It is about visibility, opportunity, and the creation of meaningful role models who can inspire future generations. By highlighting excellence in officiating on the global stage, we aim to spark aspiration and reinforce that leadership and impact in cricket know no gender.”We are honoured to recognise a new chapter in the growth of the women’s game. We believe the influence of this initiative will resonate far beyond this tournament, motivating more women worldwide to pursue officiating careers and helping redefine what’s possible within the game.”The 13th women’s ODI World Cup begins with hosts India and Sri Lanka facing off on September 30. Defending champions Australia will take on New Zealand on October 1. Each team will play the other seven teams once with the top four moving into the semi-finals.The matches will be played in Guwahati, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Navi Mumbai and Colombo with the final scheduled for November 2.

England colleagues Heather Knight and Fran Wilson staged a brilliant recovery as Western Storm beat Lancashire Thunder by six wickets to extend their 100 percent record in Kia Super League matches at Taunton.Suné Luus top-scored with 62 from 48 balls to help Thunder, seeking their first success in five meetings with Storm, to post a competitive 141 for 6 after winning the toss and electing to bat on a drying pitch.But her efforts were eclipsed by Knight and Wilson, who both scored half centuries and staged a restorative stand of 88 in 11.3 overs for the third wicket. Wilson posted 54 from 35 balls, while Knight finished unbeaten on 50 as Storm reached their target with three balls to spare.Required to chase 142 at 7.1 runs an over, Storm were well and truly up against it after slumping to 18 for 2 inside four overs, star openers Smriti Mandhana and Rachel Priest both suffering rare failures.The leading run-scorer in KSL a year ago, India star Mandhana gave Sophie Ecclestone’s slow left arm the charge and was superbly caught by compatriot Harmanpreet Kaur at long-on for two. Big-hitting Priest followed two overs later, chipping Emma Lamb’s off spin to cover point for 12.Keeping their cool in trying circumstances, Wilson and Knight saw off the dangerous Ecclestone and proved adept at finding the gaps as they advanced the score to 58 for 2 at halfway.Wilson brought up her 50 with her eighth four, only to then offer a return catch to Alex Hartley with 36 more runs needed from 27 balls.Somerset’s Sophie Luff calmed any nerves thereafter, scoring 22 from 13 balls to see her side to within sight of victory. Calm under pressure, skipper Knight hit the winning runs, driving Kate Cross to the boundary in the final over to raise 50 from 52 balls.”We knew our partnership was key,” Knight told Sky. “We lost those two early wickets, and knew the pitch was quite slow, and that it was going to be hard to score heavily at the back end. I was just trying to give Fran the strike at one point.”She batted lovely – hit her areas really well, manipulated the field. I’m really pleased for her. She’s worked really hard on her T20 game, so for her to play that innings and win the game for us today was outstanding.””We were in the game for a long time,” reflected Thunder captain Cross. “Heather and Fran needed [to score at] eights for most of the game, and we nearly got them up to nines at one point. There were a few loose balls under pressure. Hats off to Heather and Fran, the way they batted – they didn’t really give us a chance.”Desperate to make amends following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Southern Vipers and Surrey Stars, the Thunder were rather more competitive on this occasion, thanks in large part to South African international Luus.Intent upon establishing herself beneath lowering skies, the 25-year-old allrounder played a perfectly-paced innings, relying on clever placement and quick running between the wickets before accelerating during the middle overs.She dominated a progressive second-wicket stand of 66 in 11 overs with Tahlia McGrath, raised her first KSL 50 from 42 balls and then went on the attack, accruing three fours and four sixes before dancing down the wicket to Nicholas and top-edging to short fine leg in the 15th over with the score 98 for 3.A perfect foil for Luus, McGrath compiled 22 from 30 balls, helping to provide a platform for India World Cup star Kaur. Finishing the innings with a flourish, Kaur contributed a quickfire 30 from 18 balls, with a quartet of fours, to ensure the Thunder posted a meaningful total.Electing to put their faith in spin on a used pitch, the Storm benefited from taking the pace off the ball, the naggingly accurate trio of Nicholas, Knight and Deepti Sharma returning combined figures of 3 for 68 from 12 overs.So often an unsung hero, Welsh offspinner Nicholas claimed 2 for 25, including 16 dot balls, and weighed in with a catch, while India recruit Sharma kept things tight to finish with 22 for 1 from four overs.

Having seen James Pattinson up close, even Australia’s Test match spearhead Pat Cummins can only agree that it may be the touring side’s best option for the Ashes to break up the hegemony of the “big three” he has comprised with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.In a warm-up match billed as little short of bloodsport between the fringe members of the Australian squad, Pattinson has been a standout performer, confirming the danger he can pose when in rhythm with the Dukes ball in English conditions.As arguably the shrewdest bowler in the Australian attack, and recently joint vice-captain to Tim Paine alongside Travis Head, Cummins could not deny the evidence of his eyes after seeing Pattinson at very near his best in Southampton – room must be found for him to return to the Test team, even if it means one of Starc or Hazlewood make way.ALSO READ: Bowlers pose rare conundrum, snapping at the heels of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood“Yeah, potentially. I think we are blessed at the moment with riches,” Cummins said. “As long as I’ve been playing, Patto’s always been around and unfortunately hasn’t had great momentum the last few years. The four of us have been around. Sids [Peter Siddle] has obviously played a lot and done really well over here. We’ve got Tremain, Bird, Neser who have also done really well for Aussie A. It’s a weird one, because everyone’s been bowling beautifully.”It’s going to be tough to whittle that down to five or six for the selectors. But we’ll see what the selectors go with. I like bowling with all of those guys. I’ve done a little bit with all of them. In the five-Test match series in Australia, we played four of them. But it’s very rare that you keep the whole group together for five Tests so whoever it is, everyone’s in form and bowling well. They all get along. So let’s see what happens.”Speaking specifically about Pattinson, who claimed 4 for 35 across 23 overs over two innings in the warm-up game, Cummins said that with all cylinders firing, the 29-year-old was nothing short of world class. “He’s impressive isn’t he? It’s the first time I’ve seen him live in a couple of years,” Cummins said.”You hear from guys playing him in state cricket, and who’ve faced him in the nets, about how well he’s been bowling. When he’s on fire, he looks that class above. His Test record so far is brilliant. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played for a few years.”I haven’t played a lot with him to be honest. In terms of changes, I haven’t seen a lot. I think, if there’s anything, he’s a bit more patient. He still gets fired-up but he’s not trying to blast teams away. He’s confident in his body and getting through 20 overs in a day and just bowling good areas. When he’s up and running, he looks as good as anyone else in the world I reckon.”Cummins was an important if somewhat low profile performer during the World Cup, often taking on the middle overs while Starc dominated the top and tail, but in Test matches he has a far more central role. With Starc off the field to get precautionary scans on a sore knee, Cummins took the new ball in the second innings, responding with the wicket of Joe Burns.”I hadn’t bowled a long spell for quite a while and trying to learn some of the nuances of bowling in Test matches,” he said. “That first spell I think I bowled seven yesterday. It is kind of weird. You start of fresh and then after three or four, you’re hurting a little bit. So just those kinds of things, trying to bowl a few bouncers and get the pace up. It’s nice. I think there’s probably not too many bowlers going around the world who’ll say they prefer one-day cricket.”I’ve always found there’s something a little bit more in the wicket, a little more with the red ball. It seems to swing a bit more and stay hard a bit longer. And I like the contest of bowling 20 overs in a day and trying to outthink batsmen, use your bouncers. There are so many different phases of Test cricket. It’s my favourite form of cricket. You play cricket because you want to influence games and win games. As a bowler, when you’re sitting at home and chuck on the TV you see a swinging Dukes ball, you get pretty excited so we’re here.”Hopefully, we get some wickets where it’s going to swing and seam. I’m excited. I think the last six months we’ve bowled with the white ball, knowing that once we get the Dukes ball, hopefully it will swing a bit more and be able to adjust to that. And after a couple of sessions, I feel like I am where I want to be. We know not every Test match the ball swings around, but you feel like you’re always in the game.”

Opener Philip Salt scored his second successive century to put Sussex in a good position on day one of their Specsavers County Championship match against Glamorgan at Hove.Having made 122 against Northamptonshire last week, Welsh-born Salt reached the fourth hundred of his career in the final over of the day when he collected his 12th boundary courtesy of a bad mis-field by Charlie Hemphrey at mid-off.But two balls later Salt lost concentration and was caught behind cutting at Dan Douthwaite for 103, made off 105 balls with 12 fours and three sixes. Sussex were 208 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 22.Sussex have struggled to get good starts this season but Salt, who was called into England’s T20 squad earlier this month, gave the innings a solid platform by putting on 85 with Luke Wells in 15 overs.Wells reached 30 but failed to control his hook shot when Douthwaite dug one in short then Glamorgan took three wickets in ten balls to reduce Sussex to 126 for 4. Australian leg-spinner Marnus Labuschagne picked up Harry Finch and Stiaan van Zyl with his first two deliveries as Finch missed a long hop and van Zyl was beaten by a googly. Timm van der Gugten then returned to the attack to bowl Laurie Evans via an inside edge.But Sussex skipper Ben Brown, who also made a century last week, and Salt took Sussex into the lead with a stand of 82 in 17 overs.Salt wasn’t the only opener to prosper with Glamorgan’s Nick Selman carrying his bat for the second time in his career. The 23-year-old was left unbeaten on 76 when Glamorgan, who have only won once in the Championship at Hove since 1975, were dismissed for 186 in 55.2 overs.Sussex’s seamers dominated apart from a period either side of lunch when Selman and Graham Wagg added 72 in 22 overs for the seventh wicket. Wagg contributed 44 before he was caught behind to give Chris Jordan, who regularly got the ball to bounce disconcertingly off a good length,his third success.Jared Warner, who was making his first-class debut after joining on loan from Yorkshire, polished off the tail to finish with 3 for 35 leaving Selman, who passed 2,000 first-class runs when he reached six, high and dry.Glamorgan had won the toss but were soon struggling at 44 for 4 after Mir Hamza and David Wiese took two wickets each with the ball. Hamza’s late movement was too good for Hemphrey and David Lloyd while Wiese found some extra bounce to unseat Labuschagne before angling one across Billy Root’s defences.When Jordan replaced Wiese, he picked up Kieran Carlson with his sixth delivery and Glamorgan were 102 for 6 when Douthwaite was bowled via an inside edge. Wagg and Selman showed what was possible once the ball lost its initial hardness, but Salt ensured it was a tough day for the visitors.

Australia Test captain Tim Paine says he is not a man of faith but admits he has prayed more than once in recent times for a fully fit James Pattinson ahead of the Ashes series in England.While Australia’s ODI side is about to begin their World Cup defence in England, Paine is on the other side of the world quietly preparing to plot England’s downfall in the Ashes series which follows in August.”I’m not a religious man but I have said a few prayers when I’ve gone to bed at night in the last couple of months to make sure he’s fit because I think he can clearly add a lot to our Test match team,” Paine said in Melbourne on Thursday.”I think the England guys have seen him bowl a lot in county cricket in the last couple of years. At times he’s been quite devastating and I think that will be at the back of their minds. I think at times in this Ashes series, if he’s fully fit, he’s going to be a real weapon for us.”Pattinson is in England currently as well, on a stint with Nottinghamshire which is due to end on June 15 when he joins the Australia A one-day team for five 50-over games and three four-day games in the UK that will take place during the World Cup and prior to the Ashes, although those could well change.Pattinson has not played since Nottinghamshire’s Royal London 50-over Cup match against Northamptonshire on May 6 due to a niggling side strain, missing Notts’ semi-final loss to Somerset and two four-day county championship fixtures in the meantime, but he is close to making a return. understands that Pattinson met with Australia coach Justin Langer in Southampton last week to map out a plan over the coming months, which is likely to include more four-day cricket for Nottinghamshire before the Australia A four-day matches in July.Pattinson played his last Test for Australia in February 2016, a full 20 months before Paine was even reinstated as Australia’s Test match wicketkeeper following a seven-year absence.Pattinson hasn’t played a Test in England since the 2013 Ashes series but a successful spine surgery after years of repeated stress fractures has helped him back to the cusp of Test cricket following a sensational finish to the Sheffield Shield season for Victoria.James Pattinson picked up seven wickets in the match•Getty Images

Paine was also enthused by the news that Josh Hazlewood was in career-best shape following his World Cup selection snub.”I think he was a bit stung,” Paine said. “He’s got a pretty good case, his numbers in one-day cricket are outstanding. He’s a World Cup winner. I must admit when I’ve seen him speak about missing out, I think he is a bit dirty.”I’ve seen some footage and some numbers on his fitness in the last three or four weeks, he’s in the best condition he’s ever been in and I think he’s going to be cherry ripe come the first Ashes Test which is going to be really exciting for us.”Paine believes Hazlewood is primed for a big Ashes campaign after taking just 16 wickets in the unsuccessful 2015 series when much was expected of him.”I think Josh knows himself, he was the one who brought it up. He said he didn’t handle it well and I’m sure he’s learnt a hell of a lot,” Paine said. “He’s a hell of a bowler and he’s now had four more years of international cricket and I’m sure he knows exactly what he needs to fix to improve how he went in the last Ashes [in England].”Paine himself has enjoyed a lengthy break having not played since Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield season ended late March. He will captain the Australia A four-day squad in England but that does not commence until July 3. Next week, Paine will head to Brisbane with all members of the two Australia A squads taking part in a training camp with the exception of those, like Pattinson, who are currently in England.

Big picture

Whose home is Feroz Shah Kotla anyway? As with the most cosmopolitan city of India, you can’t say for sure for Delhi’s international cricket ground either. Delhi Capitals, who call it home, have struggled not just for home support but also for a pitch conducive to their style of play. As a result, they have won just one of their four home games, the worst success ratio at home this year. It is their four wins in five away games that have kept them in playoffs contention, but they know they need to find a way at home too.

Form guide

Delhi Capitals: Lost to Mumbai Indians by 40 runs, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 39 runs, beat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets
Kings XI Punjab: Beat Rajasthan Royals by 12 runs, lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by eight wickets, lost to Mumbai Indians by three wickets, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets

It doesn’t help that the ground staff have only a day’s break to work on a pitch that, in the words of home captain Shreyas Iyer, keeps getting worse. It is a slow and low surface that is aiding spinners, something Capitals’ next opponents should dearly love. Kings XI Punjab have the two Ashwins and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in their ranks to exploit exactly those conditions. They also have a batting line-up that hasn’t been over-shooting, the virtues of which were displayed by Mumbai Indians in their win on Thursday night when they went for 140 and ended up getting 168 because they had played themselves into a good situation.At 10 points each from nine games, both sides have done well enough to dream of the playoffs, but not yet enough to feel confident of making the cut. Matches where they can’t afford to make mistakes await.

In the news

Chris Morris, left out of the South Africa World Cup squad, will be under pressure to keep his place in the Capitals’ side after he went for 39 in three overs on what was widely acknowledged as a difficult pitch. If Capitals do drop him for legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, they might need a bit of a rejig somewhere to bolster their batting.Kings XI are waiting on Mujeeb’s fitness, who has made good progress since injuring his shoulder in their last game. A decision on his availability was to be made after the training session on the night before the match. Moises Henriques is out “for a period of time” after injuring himself in the warm-ups ahead of the last game.

Previous meeting

Members of the Capitals squad could be forgiven if they still get nightmares about their last match against Kings XI, when they lost seven wickets for eight runs to mess up what looked like a straightforward chase in Mohali.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Colin Munro, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt.), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant SharmaKings XI Punjab 1 KL Rahul, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Sarfaraz Khan, 5 Mandeep Singh, 6 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Hardus Viljoen/Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 9 R Ashwin (capt.), 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 M Ashwin

Strategy punt

• The Powerplay and death overs become all the more important on a tired pitch such as Delhi’s. Mumbai attacked Capitals in the first six and in the last five, getting 121 of their 168 runs in those 11 overs.
• Expect Kings XI to try to ensure there is one left-hand batsman in the middle at all times. That played havoc with Capitals’ plans of using Amit Mishra, who ended up bowling only three overs against Mumbai.
• Capitals have extra reasons to bat first in this game because if they do so, Kings XI can’t take as many liberties with substituting Chris Gayle and Sarfaraz Khan as they do when they have already batted first.

Stats that matter

• Kings XI Punjab have won the last four games between these two teams. They lead the head to head 14 games to nine.
• Mayank Agarwal, who might be batting in the middle overs for Kings XI, doesn’t have a great record against Chris Morris, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel.
• Ishant Sharma is two short of 100 Twenty20 wickets.

Sean Abbott claimed 5 for 31 and Moises Henriques nipped out three top-six batsmen as New South Wales secured a convincing 174-run win at the Gabba by skittling Queensland for 89.Set 264 in conditions which had been challenging for batsmen throughout, Queensland never threatened to get close to the target after Abbott ripped out the top order with an impressive new-ball spell. With the light fading, New South Wales were told they could only use spin as the overs ticked down, but they were able to avoid having to return on the final day when Jason Sangha had Billy Stanlake caught at slip.Abbott had reduced the the Bulls to 3 for 14 inside six overs. Joe Burns shouldered arms to a delivery that ducked in and took off stump and then two ball later Marnus Labuschagne was given lbw to complete a pair. Charlie Hemphrey became the second batsman dismissed not offering a shot when his pad was clipped by Abbott.New South Wales’ charge was momentarily halted by Matt Renshaw and Sam Heazlett but Henriques’ introduction quickly put Queensland back in the mire when his second ball climbed and nipped away to take Renshaw’s edge. Heazlett was then caught in two minds whether to play or leave a short delivery, lobbing a simple catch to gully, and Nathan McSweeney was caught behind.It was now only a matter of whether the Blues could win in three days. Trent Copeland hastened the end by having Jimmy Peirson caught at third slip and then Abbott returned to complete his haul.New South Wales had fought hard through their second innings in conditions that continued to favour the quicks. Daniel Hughes and Henriques took their overnight stand to 119 with Henriques producing the most dominant batting of the match with his 78 off 116 balls.After resisting the pacemen, it was spin which broke through when Henrqiues edged Labuschagne to slip in his first over.Sangha edged a lifting delivery from Stanlake and Michael Neser ended Hughes’ gritty 218-ball stay when, after beating him repeatedly outside off, he had the batsman caught behind. Hughes had reached 40 off 83 balls on the second day, and his next 28 runs took 135 deliveries.Neser was impressive with old and new ball, later having Peter Nevill caught in the gully. However, Jack Edwards produced a valuable hand of 40 as the lower order pushed the lead over 200. It proved more than enough.