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Nathan Hauritz has announced his retirement from competitive cricket. The 34-year old former Australia offspinner, who had played 17 Tests, 58 ODIs and three T20s, ends a career that began 15 years ago.Hauritz made his decision following the end of his Big Bash season with the Melbourne Renegades. He was picked for only one of their eight matches this year, when Perth Scorchers recorded the tournament’s first-ever 10-wicket victory. Hauritz bowled two overs, but went for 29 runs and his helplessness on that night figured heavily into his calculations.”I was just so shattered after the game,” he said. “I realised I hadn’t come down here to be that disappointed about a game of cricket anymore. I thought ‘I don’t need that anymore’. I just want to get away.”The highs and lows [are too much]. I need to get off that up-and-down rollercoaster and get back to a bit of normality in life.”A part of Hauritz’ problem at Docklands stadium was that he was no longer playing domestic cricket. Queensland had cut his contract in June 2014 and without overs under his belt, he found himself lost for ideas.”I competed as hard as I could, but I just felt that me competing as hard as I could wasn’t good enough,” he said. “They were that night, but I just didn’t have a different answer. I’m not in a competitive environment every week to [confidently] . . . try something different.”It was really tough that I wasn’t playing and training at that level anymore to get straight into it. I felt the pressure a lot more than I usually had. This year, I felt that if things weren’t 100 per cent right – I started to feel I was done – I don’t want to go through more heartache or disappointment, [just] to try and finish on a high.”Hauritz had to shoulder the responsibility of filling a Shane Warne-shaped hole in the Australian line-up for much of his career. His finest moment as an offspinner came against Pakistan in the 2010 New Year’s Test when he claimed 5 for 53, his maiden first-class five-wicket haul, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, for long his adopted home having turned out for New South Wales from 2006-07 to 2011-12. He returned to Queensland, his home state and with whom he began his domestic career, to play the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.He had made the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne prior to that special as well by hitting 75 off 152 balls, having come in ahead of Michael Clarke, Marcus North and Brad Haddin. Those two performances remain his best in long-format cricket and Australia whitewashed Pakistan across three Tests, five ODIs and a T20.”I have a lot of good memories, obviously a few bad ones mixed among them,” Hauritz said. “But I’ll definitely look back at my career very proud and very happy with what I achieved.”Those “bad ones” are hard to forget. Hauritz was dropped from the Test squad at the last minute before the Ashes in 2010-11 and never played Tests again. He had the chance to make a comeback in one-day cricket, at the ensuing World Cup in India no less, but injured his shoulder in Hobart and had to pull out of the squad. Haurtiz last played for Australia in January 2011 at Bellerive OvalHauritz has not given up on the game entirely though and is scheduled to participate in the Masters Champions League, a T20 tournament for retired players, in the UAE from January with Sagittarius Strikers alongside the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Daniel Vettori and Mahela Jayawardene.

Match facts

Thursday, May 8 2008
Start time 11.00 (local), 10.00 (GMT)

The Big Picture

This is the final chance for New Zealand to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the first Test and also a last opportunity for England’s fringe players to give the selectors a headache ahead of the squad announcement on Sunday. It should prove a tough assignment for the visitors with a strong Lions team including eight players with international experience. New Zealand managed a win against Essex, but they were rescued by their bowlers after two batting displays – James Marshall apart – that didn’t bode well ahead of Lord’s. Kyle Mills, at No. 8 in the second innings, was the only other player to pass fifty and they are also without Daniel Vettori, who has a finger injury. The Lions are led by Robert Key, who already has an unbeaten 178 against New Zealand in the tour, while Matthew Hoggard is hoping to push for a Test recall with more wickets after a promising start to the season for Yorkshire.

Team news

England Lions: The decision could come down to whether both spinners, Adil Rashid and Graeme Swann, make the final XI. If the spell of warmer weather pushes the selectors that way then one of the four frontline quicks will probably miss out.Squad: Robert Key (Kent, capt), Ravinder Bopara (Essex), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Steven Kirby (Gloucestershire), Matt Prior (Sussex, wk), Graham Onions (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Owais Shah (Middlesex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Hampshire), Luke Wright (Sussex)Player to watch: Ravi Bopara has been one of the form batsmen early season and added 66 to his impressive tally against New Zealand and Chelmsford last week. He said he was frustrated to miss out on three figures, so this is another chance for him to put pressure on England’s current batting line-up.New Zealanders: The visitors have already named their XI, which shows how they will probably line-up at Lord’s except for Vettori, who misses this match after splitting his finger at Chelmsford and the rested Mills. Vettori is hopeful of being fit for the Test, although a lack of bowling will be an issue, and Jeetan Patel is the back-up spinner. Daniel Flynn, the left hander, seems set for a Test debut after being given another chance in the middle order as does Aaron Redmond in the opening position.Team: 1 Jamie How, 2 Aaron Redmond, 3 James Marshall, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Brendon McCullum (capt, wk), 6 Daniel Flynn, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Jeetan Patel, 10 Iain O’Brien, 11 Chris MartinPlayer to watch: Tim Southee made an impressive start to his Test career with a five-wicket haul on debut in Napier. He has suffered some back problems in the early stages of this tour, but has now been given the all clear to resume. Barring any later reaction he is set to be part of the pace attack at Lord’s and a good performance against the Lions will be a timely confidence boost.

Quotes

“I’m having the stitches taken out on Saturday or Sunday and I’ll know a little bit more then. I’m confident, but I’ve never dealt with this before and it’s in the worst possible spot.”
“It’s always good to play a touring side in this part of the year, especially going into the first Test because you’ve got a great stage to stake your own claims personally and you can also do a little bit for England.”
Robert Key looks forward to the chance of making a few points over the next four days

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The ICL India XI may have not reached a target they would have expected after a solid start, but a superb spell of bowling (4-1-10-1) from Syed Mohammed left ICL World XI with a stiff task during their chase, and despite Damien Martyn’s 60, it was India XI that prevailed to clinch the title.India XI, looking for their fourth successive win, decided to bat at the toss. The going was slow, with Johan van der Wath bowling a maiden first up and Daryl Tuffey conceding only one in his opening over. However, from then on, G Vignesh and Ibrahim Khaleel picked up steam as they put on an opening stand of 76.Khaleel, who was later declared the Player of the Series, fell for a run-a-ball 34. Vignesh, dropped early in his innings, was the more aggressive of the openers, and was severe on Andrew Hall, hitting a six and two fours off the South African. Vignesh survived a stumping chance off Upul Chandana on 38, and brought up his fifty as India XI went past the 100-mark, before he fell to the same bowler for 57.However, World XI fought back well in the latter half of the India XI innings, with Russel Arnold conceding only six runs off his two overs. At 104 for 2 after 13 overs, India XI looked poised for a score over 160, but the last seven overs only fetched 44 runs as they were restricted to 148. Hall and Chandana finished with two wickets apiece.Matthew Elliott perished early during World XI’s reply, but Martyn and Vincent kept the runs ticking over and after eight overs, they were at 61 for 1. Mohammed then came into the attack, and his first two overs went for only one run each. Martyn had till then dominated the scoring, and Vincent had begun to gather momentum, hitting a six followed by a four off T Kumaran and Ali Murtaza. However, Mohammed had him stumped in his second over.The runs from then onwards came at less than the required-rate for World XI, and the pressure got to the batsmen, with captain Chris Cairns and Martyn dismissed by run-outs. Despite the best efforts from the rest, the target remained unconquerable; a ten-run win capped a four-match unbeaten streak that helped India XI conquer the title. Vignesh won the match prize, with two wickets to add to his fifty.

Mark Boucher has urged England to stick with Jonny Bairstow despite his struggles with the gloves in the Test series in South Africa.Bairstow has, by some estimations, been unable to take seven of the 23 opportunities (until the end of South Africa’s first innings in Centurion) that have come his way as wicketkeeper in the four Tests. While a couple of the chances he has missed – not least a stumping opportunity in Durban – have been fiendishly difficult, several have been relatively straightforward by international standards.In the current match, he missed opportunities against all three centurions – Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock – and there were times when his team-mates were unable to hide their frustration.But Boucher, the most prolific wicketkeeper in Test history, believes Bairstow has “a big future” at the top level and has urged the England selectors not to “mess around with his head” by dropping him now.While much the same could have been said about Jos Buttler – dropped for Bairstow after his form with the bat fell away – Boucher revealed that he and Bairstow had recently discussed the challenges of the role after Bairstow requested a meeting.”He just wanted to have a chat with me, I think it was after I did a stint on TV explaining the mental aspects he might be going through and a couple of small technical things that could help him out,” Boucher told Press Association Sport.”For a youngster to speak to a guy who’s been in the opposition side was fantastic to see and I used to do the same with people like Ian Healy. He’s very keen to learn about his trade.”It was a very relaxed chat. I just wanted to find out where his head was at and basically told him I’d been through some of the same sorts of things, that he’s not the only one who’s gone through it and he’s not alone.”As Boucher sees it, Bairstow’s problems are not so much technical as mental. While he accepted there are some technical adjustments Bairstow can make, Boucher feels that more significant progress can be made with a more resilient attitude and an ability to put any mistakes behind him, so they are not clouding his mind when the next opportunity comes along. He also made the point that Bairstow’s batting – which in this series has seen him score more runs than any England player other than Joe Root or Ben Stokes – is highly valuable.”I think there’s a big future for him at this level but he has to be as mentally tough as possible in the face of criticism,” said Boucher. “I don’t think he needs big technical changes, they are all pretty small. It’s more the mental aspect of getting over one or two dropped catches as quick as he can and not letting them affect the next one.”The step up to test keeping is quite big and he needs to close that gap but his attitude is good enough for him to do it.”Is he worth having in this England side? Absolutely. You don’t want to mess around with his head and drop him now. That’s a dangerous move to make because it risks showing a lack of confidence in a youngster’s game.”There is some room for improvement there. He’s not a natural keeper but he’s proved he has the goods with the bat and there is more than enough talent there for him to become a very, very good allrounder for England.”

A century from Chirag Khurana and three wickets from the in-form Anupam Sanklecha left Maharashtra in a dominant position against Assam at the IIT-Chemplast ground in Chennai. Khurana, who began the day batting on 14, finished unbeaten on 112 as he helped Maharashtra’s last five wickets add 190 to their overnight total. They were eventually bowled out for 542. Khurana stretched his overnight partnership with wicketkeeper-batsman Vishant More (48) from 25 to 124, and added a further 68 with Sanklecha for the eighth wicket. Abu Nechim Ahmed and Syed Mohammad were Assam’s most successful bowlers, picking up three wickets apiece.Sanklecha – who picked up two seven-fors in his most recent game, against Vidarbha – then came back and ripped out three wickets to leave Assam 13 for 2 and then 56 for 3, before the opener Rishav Das (53*) added an unbroken 76 for the fourth wicket with Kunal Saikia (38*) to steer them to 132 for 3 at stumps, still trailing by 410.Rishabh Pant continued his run of form, scoring a rapid half-century to help Delhi take the first-innings lead against Rajasthan in Wayanad. Resuming on 37 for 0, Delhi were bowled out for 307, with seamers Pankaj Singh and Tanvir Ul-Haq taking three wickets each. Rajasthan ended the day 19 for 1 in their second innings and trailing by 50.Delhi’s openers stretched their overnight partnership to 52 before both fell in the space of four balls, Gautam Gambhir for 10 and Shikhar Dhawan for 38. Unmukt Chand (32) and Nitish Rana (24) added 51 for the third wicket, before Pant walked in at No. 5 and proceeded to score 75 of Delhi’s next 93 runs. He was fifth out with Delhi still trailing by 42, having scored his runs off 59 balls, with nine fours and three sixes. Delhi lost two more quick wickets and were 204 for 7 before Milind Kumar (42) and Sumit Narwal (34 off 25) steered them into the lead with a 54-run eighth-wicket stand. With Vikas Tokas (18) and Nitin Saini (16*) making useful contributions as well, Delhi stretched their lead to 69.Half-centuries from Biplab Samantray and Saurabh Rawat hauled Odisha out of a tight spot and into a sizeable lead against Karnataka at the Palam ground in Delhi. Replying to Karnataka’s 179, Odisha were 140 for 6 when wicketkeeper Rawat joined Samantray. They proceeded to add 106 for the seventh wicket in 34.4 overs before Samantray was out to the legspinner Shreyas Gopal for 58.Shreyas then dismissed Suryakant Pradhan (23) and Rawat, for 85 off 124 balls, to end the day with figures of 5 for 73. Odisha were 318 for 9 at stumps, leading by 139, with Basant Mohanty and Alok Mangaraj adding an unbroken 26 for the last wicket.A 171-run opening stand between Sanjay Ramaswamy and Faiz Fazal moved Vidarbha within sight of taking the first-innings lead against Saurashtra at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. At stumps, Vidarbha were 242 for 3, trailing by 59.Saurashtra had to wait till the 59th over of the day to taste any success, and used nine bowlers. Eventually, it was the part-timer Prerak Mankad who had Sanjay lbw for 77 to claim his first wicket in his third first-class match. Another part-timer, Amitoze Singh, then dismissed Fazal for 94, before the offspinner Vandit Jivranjani, sent back Ganesh Satish to have Vidarbha 223 for 3. Shalabh Shrivastava (31*) and Jitesh Sharma (6* off 41) saw out the rest of the day, putting on an unbroken partnership of 19 in 13.4 overs.

ScorecardAfter a sparkling start, the Ahmedabad Rockets seem to have fizzled out. Their eight-wicket loss to the Kolkata Tigers was their fourth consecutive defeat and leaves them languishing at the bottom of the points table. In a rain-affected tie, the Tigers were set a revised target of 85 in tenovers, which they easily chased down with eight balls to spare.After deciding to bat, the Rockets were in trouble early as captain Damien Martyn and Wavell Hinds fell cheaply. Murray Goodwin and left-hand batsman Parvez Aziz started the recovery, but the run-rate remained less than what would be expected in Twenty20 games. It was left to Sridharan Sriram (52 off 35 balls) to boost the scoring-rate, first with the help of Anshu Jain, and then, providing the final flourish with Martin Sanjeev (22 off 15 balls) as the Rockets posted a competitive 156.The rain came down during the interval, reducing the number of overs available for the Tigers’ chase to ten. They rarely looked in trouble, with the 14-run first over setting the tone, and cantered tovictory to move into fourth spot.

The ECB is seeking to verify a video that appears to show England’s Ben Duckett drunk and unable to find his way back to the team hotel during the squad’s mini-break to Noosa between the second and third Ashes Tests.The video emerged on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, hours after men’s managing director Rob Key confirmed there would be an investigation into the trip to the Sunshine Coast resort town, which followed an eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane that put them 2-0 down in the series.The four days in Noosa, which the ECB stressed was not a holiday, had been organised a year in advance by head coach Brendon McCullum, who believed it would refresh the players. A number of the squad leaned into the time-off, with no training scheduled during this period.While England went on to put in their best showing of the tour in Adelaide, they succumbed to an 82-run defeat as Australia took an unassailable lead in the five-match series, retaining the Ashes inside just 11 days. Speaking at the MCG ahead of the fourth Test in Melbourne, which begins on Friday, Key said he would look into the trip but believed the players had been “very well behaved”.Related

• Ashes fallout: Key to investigate whether England's drinking went too far in Noosa

• Rob Key in a bind as McCullum's wild ride hits Ashes skids

• Ashes fallout: Contrite Key admits New Zealand white-ball tour was planning error

A statement from the ECB read: “We are aware of content circulating on social media.”We have high expectations for behaviour, accepting that players are often under intense levels of scrutiny, with established processes that we follow when conduct falls below expectations. We also support players that need assistance.”We will not comment further at this stage while we establish the facts.”Having been one of England’s more reliable batters, Duckett has had a tough Ashes series with just 97 runs at an average of 16.16 putting him bottom of the tourists’ specialist batters on both metrics, with a top score of 29.The 31-year-old has also had previous on Ashes tours. Eight years ago, while part of the Lions squad for the 2017-18 series, he was sent home with a fine and suspension by the ECB for pouring a drink over James Anderson in the Avenue Bar in Perth.

Pakistan’s national selectors will meet next week to pick the squad for the five-match ODI series against Bangladesh in April. A selector told that the selection committee will start taking inputs from the Pakistan team management before naming the squad.The selectors will be particularly keen on speaking to the management after it emerged that Geoff Lawson, the coach, was unhappy with the selection procedure before the ODI series against Zimbabwe. Lawson said, in a report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), that despite assurances from the board he was not consulted in the finalisation of the 15-member squad named for the series, which Pakistan won 5-0.There have been reports of friction between coach and selectors earlier but this was the first time Lawson had put it in writing. PCB rules stipulate that national selectors should consult the captain and coach while finalising the squad during a home series. The selectors, though, have the prerogative to pick the final playing eleven, a change from the past when the team management had the authority to do this.Lawson’s grouse was that the selectors had not even consulted him while picking the full squad. In his report on the series against Zimbabwe, Lawson also talked about the 2011 World Cup and his doubts over whether allrounder Shahid Afridi had a role to play in the tournament. “The performance of Shahid Afridi will have to be closely monitored before finalising the likely team for the World Cup 2011,” he wrote.The series against Bangladesh was hurriedly lined up by the PCB after Australia refused to go ahead with the tour scheduled for March-April because of security concerns. Bangladesh are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on April 6 to play five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international. According to the unofficial itinerary, the opening match will be played on April 9 in Lahore, which will also host the second one-dayer on April 11. The rest of the ODIs will be played on April 14 in Faisalabad and April 17 and 20 in Rawalpindi. Karachi will host the only Twenty20 match on April 22.

Nottinghamshire 180 for 4 (Taylor 77, Franklin 3-26) trail Middlesex 374 (Malan 182*, Harris 73) by 194 runs
ScorecardBrendan Taylor led a steady Notts reply•Getty Images

The odds against Yorkshire retaining the title may be shortening every day but Middlesex ought not to be discounted as contenders just yet, even though Andrew Gale’s team clearly have some momentum. A win for Middlesex here would take them above Durham into second place, albeit having played a game more than the leaders.Yorkshire, moreover, would have a comfortable lead (assuming they go on to beat Warwickshire at Edgbaston). Yet if Middlesex can stay in touch there is the possibility that Yorkshire’s visit to Lord’s in the penultimate round in September could be a title decider. Yorkshire won by four wickets at Headingley in June but it was a close contest in which the champions needed another outstanding performance from Jonny Bairstow to give them the edge.Middlesex strengthened their first-day position by adding 62 runs before Nottinghamshire could claim the final three wickets. The eighth-wicket partnership that turned Sunday in Middlesex’s favour was broken in the eighth over of the morning by a Brett Hutton inswinger. Toby Roland-Jones fell to another swinging ball from Hutton to which he offered no shot but his runs and those of Tim Murtagh were valuable in helping Dawid Malan extended his career-best to 182 not out as Middlesex claimed a fourth batting point for only the second time this season.Nottinghamshire announced the highest membership numbers in the county’s 174-year history, revealing a 15 per cent increase to 8342 for 2015, during the afternoon. Those members need to show some forbearance at the moment, as their team struggles to recover from a poor couple of months in Championship cricket and Twenty20, which has clearly been a key driver in their popularity boom. The win over Worcestershire last week was a step in the right direction in their bid to avoid relegation in the Championship, which would clearly have negative consequences for membership next year. Yet the shortcomings that have undermined them in the last couple of months remain.Alex Hales, whose compelling start to the season brought him 639 runs from his first eight first-class innings, has only 90 from his last seven, the latest ending on 18 when he went to cut a ball from Harris but succeeded only in chopping it down on to his stumps. Michael Lumb, still feeling his way back after missing the first two months of the season following an arm operation, pushed tentatively at a ball from James Franklin and was caught behind.Franklin, the veteran former New Zealand left-armer, was the only Middlesex bowler who managed to make the ball swing to any noteworthy degree. It was the first over of his second spell, from the Pavilion End, that undermined Nottinghamshire’s progress towards a more substantial reply after Brendan Taylor and Steven Mullaney had added 71 for the third wicket. He bowled Taylor with an inswinger that the former Zimbabwean captain played all round and, two balls later, took a return catch in his follow-through as Riki Wessels tried to flick the ball away on the leg side.Taylor made 77, his second half-century in as many matches and his fifth all told in the Championship, three of which he has converted to hundreds. He has 742 runs for the season so far, which is a fair return given that his signing brought Nottinghamshire more criticism for importing another batsman at the expense of home grown talent, although with Jake Libby injured after his impressive introduction last season there were extenuating circumstances. Only Jonny Bairstow and James Hildreth have scored more Division One runs than Taylor.Speaking afterwards, Taylor said he felt he owed his team-mates some runs after putting down two chances in the slips on the first day. “I’ve been fairly consistent in the slips over the years but I’ve dropped a few too many this season,” he said. “It’s been a little different catching Duke balls to Kookaburra ones but they’ve been very catchable chances I’ve put down. There’s no excuses.”Samit Patel cannot cite unfamiliarity with the make of ball as an explanation for his two misses at point on Sunday, which between them cost 162 runs, nine to Harris and 153 to Malan. He had carefully cleared 12 of his personal deficit by the close, with Mullaney, who batted impressively under some pressure, unbeaten on 57, his second half-century of the season, although with 45 more needed to reach Nottinghamshire’s first target, of avoiding the follow-on, the two will need to work with equal diligence on the third morning.

India batsman Rohit Sharma has railed against the popular perception that he isn’t making best use of his abundant natural talent, saying that he has got where he is through sheer hard work. Rohit said that the widespread opinion about him was “unfair and wrong.””People say, ‘Boss, this guy is gifted and he can do this and he can do that.’ But nobody knows what happens behind the scenes,” Rohit told . “Nobody knows about the hard work that’s been put in.”This ‘talent’ talk has messed things up for me. I started my career as a bowler. I was never a batsman. All this natural talent, god’s gift that you guys in the media talk and write about is unfair and wrong. I have worked on my batting to get here. I used to bat at No. 8. From there, I made my way up. Ask my coach, Mr Dinesh Lad, and he will tell you that I was an offspinner.”Whatever I have achieved is because of my hard work. All these terms like ‘lazy elegance’ have been coined by you guys. Maybe on TV it comes across like that, but that’s not the right way to judge anyone. One must get to the root of the matter. I became a serious batsman during my under-17 days. I broke the middle finger of my right hand during a 50-over match against the visiting Sri Lankans in 2005. It was difficult for me to grip the ball after that injury. That’s how I became a regular batsman.”Rohit made his Test debut in the home series against West Indies in November 2013, having already played 108 ODIs since June 2007. He began with two hundreds in his first two innings, but has not scored one in 23 innings since. Rohit has 870 runs at an average of 37 in 14 Tests so far.”Honestly, as a batsman, there is a lot more I have to do,” he said. “That’s very, very clear to me. Fourteen Test matches is nothing. I have nothing great in Test cricket. This is just the start. In ODI cricket, yes, I know have done well, especially after becoming an opener.”Rohit made 202 runs in six innings during India’s recent 2-1 Test series win in Sri Lanka, their first victory in the country since 1993. He was their second-highest runscorer, though only four specialist batsmen played all three matches. Rohit was out for 9 and 4 in the defeat in Galle, but contributed 79, 34, 26 and 50 to India’s wins in the next two Tests. The 79 was Rohit’s highest score since his debut series, but his push for a third hundred was cut short in the final over of the first day at the P Sara Oval, when he was lbw to Angelo Mathews.Elaborating on that dismissal, Rohit said it had come about because he had not played his natural game. “Just before I got out on 79, I told [Wriddhiman] Saha, ‘Partner, you know what, the light is fading and I think this is going to be the last over. Let’s just play out this over and come back tomorrow.’ The idea was to just to block those six balls and get back into the dressing room. But I ended up making a big mistake. I thought hard about survival. And what did I do by doing that? I forgot about my natural game, which is anything but blocking the ball. So, I got out because I did something completely different.”I was thinking of stumps, staying not out and going to the dressing room. I was over-cautious instead of being just me. The moral of the story is: Do not tweak your natural game.”One aspect of his game that Rohit said he had been born with, however, was his temperament. “Now, that’s a natural gift. That’s something I was born with. Actually, I have never had to work on staying relaxed or calm. Even in the middle, I take my mind off cricket in between deliveries and overs. I don’t think about the swing, the wicket or the bowler. I look at the scoreboard, I look at the fans sitting in the stands, I look at the guy playing the drums. I divert my mind.”India’s next Test series is at home against South Africa in November and December, and there is stiff competition for place in a shortened batting line-up. If India continue to use the five-bowler plan that worked for them in Sri Lanka – and if all batsmen are fit – then M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit will be competing for five spots.”Let the people who are in charge of the team take that call,” Rohit said. “I am a team man. It doesn’t matter if I am in the XI or not. I still represent India. I am still part of the team. And I will do whatever is expected of me.”