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England fans have an unexpected last-gasp chance to see Nasser Hussain’s side take on Sri Lanka in this summer’s opening NatWest Series One-Day International at Trent Bridge.Around 200 pre-booked tickets for the floodlit match on Thursday 27 June have become available and will now be placed on general sale.Said Notts CCC Sales and Marketing Manager Lisa Pursehouse: “England’s recent Test series victory has once again sparked interest in the national team.”With the opening ODI at Trent Bridge virtually sold out, it appeared theopportunity of seeing the Sri Lankans in Nottingham this summer had gone.”But we now have nearly 200 of the best seats in the house in the middle tier of the Radcliffe Road Stand up for grabs and they will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.”The tickets are priced at £47 each, and are available by phoning the Trent Bridge Ticket Office on 0115 982 3000.

Australian authorities will continue to monitor events in the region but this year’s Test and one-day international tours of Pakistan appear in grave doubt after today’s fatal bomb blast in Karachi.In the wake of the explosion that led to the deaths of at least 13 people outside the touring New Zealand team’s hotel in the city, the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed in a statement that it would continue to observe a time-honoured process in assessing safety conditions in foreign destinations ahead of its players’ scheduled departure in August.”With some months to go before we travel to Pakistan the situation is clearly quite fluid,” said ACB Chief Executive, James Sutherland.”Given the time frame it would be inappropriate to lock into a position today.”The ACB will continue to receive advice from the relevant experts to help the Board make a proper judgement on the situation in Pakistan.”I am also conscious of recent events that have affected international cricket in this region, and I will be speaking to the Pakistan Cricket Board as soon as possible about how Australia can help them in managing this situation,” he said.Sutherland also conceded, however, that New Zealand Cricket’s decision today to immediately cancel its team’s tour of the country fuelled his organisation with heightened concerns over Australia’s potential visit.”What has happened today in Pakistan has obviously caused significant concern to us,” he said in an interview with Channel Ten.”We have a pretty good process we work through ahead of tours and we’re in the midst of that at the moment. But what has happened today obviously adds a layer of concern to that,” he added, clarifying that while the ACB was keen for the tour to proceed, the security of its players remained paramount.A withdrawal from the tour would make it Australia’s second such decision within the space of six months, after it opted to cancel a trip to Zimbabwe as a result of political turmoil in that country. It also forfeited matches in Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup because of civil unrest.Dates and venues for Australia’s tour of Pakistan have yet to be finalised but it is likely that any such visit would be split into separate one-day international and Test campaigns on either side of September’s ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka.Speculation in both nations has centred on the possibility of either a two or three-Test series being held in the opening weeks of October, though neither of the two countries’ Boards has been drawn into public comment on either the likely timing or number of games.The one-day leg of the tour is due to involve a triangular series of matches staged as part of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations in early September.The third country scheduled to compete in that series was New Zealand.

Twenty-eight students have been officially welcomed to the 2002programme of the Shell Cricket Academy of St. George’s University.President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Reverend Wes Hallwas among those who participated in the welcome ceremony on Thursday(May 16) at the True Blue campus of St. Georges University, Grenada.He told the young cricketers from the Caribbean and the Americas thathard work and not talent would determine how successful they were.Grenada’s Minister of Tourism Hon. Brenda Hood who also joined inwelcoming the students, pledged the full support of her government,and noted that her ministry is on a mission to form more strategiclinks between sport and tourism.External Affairs Manager of Shell, Roger Brathwaite, and St. George’sUniversity Dean, Dr. Allen Pensick also addressed the new recruits tothe prestigious three-month programme that is a joint venture by theWest Indies Cricket Board, Shell Antilles and Guianas Ltd and St.Georges University.Following the ceremony, Director of the Shell Cricket Academy, Dr.Rudi Webster gave the students an outline of the programme and Rev.Wes Hall gave a master class on fast bowling and West Indies crickethistory.The members of the 2002 class come from a number of different parts ofthe Caribbean and the Americas. The nations represented includeAnguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Grenada,Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and theGrenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America. TheAcademy runs from May 16th to August 8th.

Chennai Super Kings, under a brand-new captain, enjoyed a winning start to their defence of the IPL title in front of a raucous Chepauk crowd on Friday night. Mustafizur Rahman, who was among four debutants for CSK, took out four of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s top five in the space of ten balls to set up an eighth successive defeat for RCB in Chennai.Rachin Ravindra, who was playing his first IPL game, also played his part in the victory, with 37 off 15 balls at a strike rate of 246.66 on a pitch that slowed down later in the night. In his first game as CSK captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad started with a first-ball four, but RCB’s Impact Player Yash Dayal cut his innings short on 15 in CSK’s chase of 174.Cameron Green and Alzarri Joseph then briefly silenced the Chepauk crowd with their contrasting styles. While Green bowled slower cutters into the pitch, Joseph operated at high speeds and generated steep bounce, taking the pitch out of the equation.2:42

Do RCB have an overseas combination problem?

Shivam Dube, who was working his way back from injury, replaced Mustafizur as an Impact Player for CSK and laboured to 7 off 13 balls. But he then turned up the tempo to usher CSK home with an unbeaten 34 off 28 balls along with Ravindra Jadeja, who scored an unbeaten 25 off 17. MS Dhoni didn’t get to bat in the chase, but perhaps this is what he had hoped for when he handed over the keys of the CSK kingdom to Gaikwad.

RCB’s Jekyll-and-Hyde powerplay

After opting to bat in what was his first IPL game as an opposition player in Chennai, Faf du Plessis dashed out of the blocks, hitting seven fours in the first three overs. He latched on to any width that Deepak Chahar and Tushar Deshpande offered, repeatedly pumping them over the off-side infield. Gaikwad got into the act and pushed extra cover back to deep cover and, on cue, Mustafizur had du Plessis holing out to Rachin Ravindra there for 35 off 21 balls. Three balls later, Mustafizur found a bit of extra bounce to have Rajat Patidar nicking off for a duck. Then, in the final over of the powerplay, Chahar had Glenn Maxwell guiding one straight into Dhoni’s gloves, also for a duck.After being on 37 for no loss in the first four overs, RCB lost three wickets for five runs in the next two.1:26

Moody: ‘RCB were predictable with short-ball plan’

Mustafizur goes bang-bang once again

Mustafizur then returned in the 12th over and dismissed Virat Kohli and Green in the space of three balls. While Kohli dragged a pull off a seam-up delivery to deep midwicket for 21 off 20 balls, Green was bowled by a whippy cutter for 18 off 22 balls. It was Mustafizur’s second double-wicket over.Mustafizur might not even have played had CSK’s death-overs specialist Matheesha Pathirana been fit. He ended up with figures of 4-0-29-4 on a night where the other two seamers in his team – Chahar and Deshpande – went at well over nine an over. When Pathirana returns to action, CSK will have a happy selection headache.

Rawat and Karthik prop up RCB

That RCB finished with 173 for 6 was down to a counterattacking 95-run partnership for the sixth wicket off just 50 balls that ended off the last ball of the innings courtesy a Dhoni direct hit.At one stage, RCB went 28 balls without a boundary, but Rawat then hit two in six balls to set RCB up for the end overs. He then walloped Deshpande for 6,6, 4 in a 25-run 18th over. At the other end, Karthik looked rusty to start with, but mixed power with inventiveness to give RCB’s innings more impetus.

Dube gets the job done for CSK

After CSK lost Gaikwad in the powerplay, Ravindra lined up RCB’s quicks with pulls and pick-up shots. He even whacked Karn Sharma over midwicket for six, but when he went for another six, he holed out to deep square-leg.Ajinkya Rahane (27 off 19 balls) and Daryl Mitchell (22 off 18) made cameos to take the chase deep in typical CSK style. But when Green snagged Mitchell, CSK still needed 64 off 45 balls. The two-bouncer rule empowered Joseph to run in hard and hit the deck even harder. Dube, however, just about passed the short-ball test and sealed the chase with six wickets and eight balls to spare.

South East Stars racked up their third consecutive 150-plus score in the Charlotte Edwards Trophy, hitting 165 for 6 in a dominant 26-run win over Central Sparks. The win means Stars have qualified directly for Sunday’s final, while Sparks are out of contention.Stars were missing prodigy Alice Capsey through injury, but her replacement 19-year-old Chloe Brewer – playing her first regional match of the season – pummelled 41 from 33 balls. Emma Jones – bumped up the order to No. 6 – then top-scored with an unbeaten 46 off 27 balls, as Clare Boycott’s 3 for 22 proved in vain.Eve Jones led from the front in Sparks’ run-chase with 76 from 68 balls, but by the time she was stumped in the 19th over the result was a formality.Stars had been 26 for 2 after 4 overs, following a dream debut from right-arm seamer Grace Potts (2 for 23) which saw her remove both openers – Aylish Cranstone was trapped lbw, then five balls later in-form Bryony Smith pulled straight to midwicket.Legspinner Anisha Patel conceded just 25 runs from her 4 consecutive overs, but Brewer picked off runs from the other end, driving beautifully down the ground as she shared a 64-run partnership with veteran Kirstie White.Boycott’s first over, the 12th, reduced Stars from 90 for 2 to 90 for 4 – White lbw trying the ramp, while Alice Davidson-Richards fell for a golden duck, caught at short third.Brewer eventually became Boycott’s third victim, edging an attempted ramp behind the stumps in the 16th when she looked on course for a half-century. But five balls later Emma Jones showed her intent, sending the ball flying over Boycott’s head for the first six of the day. A cameo of 18 off 10 from Kira Chathli, which included a maximum pulled over square leg, helped Stars finish strongly.In reply, Sparks reached 69 without loss before Danielle Gregory made the key breakthrough in the 10th over – Marie Kelly pulling a full toss to deep square leg.Izzy Wong was sent out in the pinch-hitting role as Sparks attempted to secure a bonus-point win to keep their Finals Day hopes alive, but she miscued Gregory to long-on in the legspinner’s next over.Emma Jones had been removed from the attack after sending down two head-high no-balls, but Stars’ other young bowlers – including debutant Ryana Macdonald-Gay – kept it tight, and Sparks fell well short.”Losing Capsey and Phoebe [Franklin] was a big blow for us this morning, but Chloe and Ryana were really good for us today,” Smith, Stars’ captain, said. “They’ve both come through our academy system, I’ve coached both of them a lot so that was handy. We’ve got a few selection headaches for the final, which is good.”We want to play a really positive brand of cricket – we wanted to bowl first in all of our last three games but it just shows we’ve got the bowling to defend any score. We want to go out, go from ball one. I’m trying to lead that myself and to see the young ones come in and bat like that – I’m really proud of them.””When you’ve got that score on the board, you know they’re going to come hard. But we knew we had the attack to defend it – there were a few little blips in there, but everyone kept calm.”

Matt Parkinson has admitted he was “gutted” to be left out of England’s white-ball squads at the start of the summer and that he hopes his performances throughout Pakistan’s tour can prove he can play in the same team as Adil Rashid at the T20 World Cup in October.Parkinson was overlooked for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka last month, with Liam Dawson preferred as England’s third spin option. Eoin Morgan, their limited-overs captain, explained at the time that Dawson’s versatility and his ability to bowl in the powerplay had been key factors in him earning selection, but Parkinson admitted that he was so disappointed about his omission that he had not asked for any feedback.”Obviously I was gutted,” he said on Monday. “I didn’t ask for any feedback – I was sort of hoping it was about letting me play a bit in the Blast, and not come and carry drinks. That was how I tried to look at it. Sometimes if you look at things too closely, you can get down very easily, and I think I probably used it as momentum to performance for Lancashire.”It’s funny how cricket works. A month ago, I probably would never have thought I’d have played for England this summer, so to have played for the past two weeks have been great – if you’d told me two weeks ago I’d have played five internationals for England this summer and taken some wickets I’d have probably laughed at you. I think the reason I’ve done well is because I tried to use it as a bonus. I didn’t really have this on my radar.”Matt Parkinson was overlooked for Sri Lanka’s tour last month•Getty Images

Parkinson’s success in Sunday’s 45-run win – he took 1 for 25 in four overs and conceded a single boundary while defending a score of 200 – formed part of an unprecedented, spin-heavy England strategy, which saw him, Rashid and Moeen Ali bowl 11 overs between them to strangle Pakistan’s run chase. It was the first time that Parkinson had played in the same England team as another frontline legspinner, and he said he hoped that his success in tandem with Rashid demonstrated their complementary skillsets.”I’m used to playing with spinners at Lancs – it’s a philosophy we use there,” he said. “We bowl spin through the middle and to do that with England yesterday was awesome. A lot gets highlighted about how slowly I bowl – [Rashid] bowls faster than me, he uses his googly more than me. I think we are different and I think that’s why yesterday worked so well: from each end it was different and they couldn’t just line up one of us.”Moving forward, I would love to play with Rash. I don’t think it’s always feasible, but I’d like to think the performances I’ve put in this week will only aid us going forward. The best thing about yesterday was the pressure we had on them: all three spinners didn’t really bowl a bad ball, and I think it was 11 overs, 5 for 80-odd [87] and that only got ruined at the end by some slogging.Related

• Eoin Morgan: England 'continually monitoring different guys' for spots in T20 World Cup squad

• 'Sack it, I'm going to try and rip it' – Matt Parkinson on his ball-of-the-century contender

• Matt Parkinson: 'I don't just want to be in England squads on potential'

• Ben's Babes – the last-minute call-ups in England's emergency ODI squad

• England spinners get to grips with parched Headingley pitch in T20 World Cup dry run

“To have that bowling at the other end is great, and probably pushes me on as well. I think, ‘Rash has bowled a great over, and I need to bowl well here as well’. Hopefully I’ve performed well enough for England to consider playing two legspinners again. I know Rash is number one and an absolute gun bowler – probably the best spinner in the world – but I’d like to think this week has helped me push my case forward.”After a bright start in Friday’s first T20I at Trent Bridge, Parkinson conceded 36 runs in his final two overs to end with 0 for 47 as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan targeted the short midwicket boundary. He stuck to his strengths at Headingley, tossing the ball up and focusing on flight and drift rather than the speed gun, which has been a concern for him in the past (he is among the slowest bowlers recorded in international cricket).”Trent Bridge is a tough place to bowl – you need wickets early really to stem the flow,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I relaxed a bit but I thought I could search for a wicket, got full and that’s when I got banged into the stands. That was a good learner and I used it at Headingley.”In the past I’ve probably thought about [speed] too much. In South Africa [in early 2020] there was a lot written about it and I probably let that affect me – looking up at the board a lot, trying to see if I could push 47mph/76kph.”I’ve just embraced it really – we had a chat [earlier in the] summer about it and I said I’d like to be the only bowler that does it this way. It’d be pretty cool not to have to conform to what other spinners do – to be niche. It might be difficult and on some grounds you’re going to struggle but I’d like to think when there’s a little bit there that I can stick to that.”

Hampshire opener Michael Carberry marked his return to first-class cricket after being diagnosed with cancer by scoring a century against Cardiff MCCU at the Ageas Bowl.Carberry was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour last July and missed the second half of the season. He returned to training shortly before Christmas and was part of Hampshire’s pre-season tour to Barbados last month where he showed good form.On the first day against Cardiff he opened the batting, scoring 100 off 121 balls before falling to David O’Sullivan and was given a standing ovation as he walked off.Last week, Carberry issued a statement thanking people for their support and looking ahead to the season.”I would like to thank my family, the club, the supporters and my team-mates worldwide for all the kind messages of support and love through another very tough time in my career and life,” he said.”There is still a long way to go to being ‘recovered’ fully, but the outpour of support from the cricket family has helped massively in getting me back playing, and I’m looking forward to another great summer with Hampshire.”Carberry has played six Tests for England including all five on the 2013-14 Ashes tour where he was England’s second-highest run-scorer behind Kevin Pietersen.

Match facts

Saturday, January 28
Start time 16.15 local (08.15 GMT)2:41

Macpherson: Selection quandary for both teams

Big picture

In a repeat match-up of the BBL’s most memorable final yet, a classic in Canberra two years ago to the day, the Perth Scorchers and the Sydney Sixers will meet for what is likely to be the last-ever BBL match at the WACA, with the Scorchers relocating to the new Perth Stadium across the Swan River for the expanded tournament in 2017-18.No team has dominated this season, but the Scorchers seem to have hit their straps at the right time, with emphatic wins over the Hobart Hurricanes and the Melbourne Stars in the last week, the latter securing their home final. They have a method that is tried, tested, and tried again – if a little defensive – and the depth to cover for absent stars. At the WACA, they are exceedingly hard to beat.The Sixers are the competition’s most intriguing team. They simply refuse to be dull: they have lost to poor teams, won against good ones, collapsed, Super-Overed and everything in between. When the two teams met just after Christmas at the SCG, the Sixers pulled off a dominant victory. The form of their captain Moises Henriques, a BBL finals specialist, will be vital to their hopes of a second title.

Form guide

Perth Scorchers WWLWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sydney Sixers WWLWW

In the spotlight

Mitchell Johnson sent the Sixers – and other franchises around the world – a message with his gutting of the Stars’ top three on Tuesday. His return as a new-ball bowler in the absence of David Willey has been a revelation, and Adam Voges may be tempted to give him all four overs first-up once again. The final will also serve as a neat shop window for Johnson, with the IPL auction scheduled in February. He is a different beast these days, but remains a fearsome prospect.One of those who will have to fight Johnson’s fire is Nic Maddinson, who has endured a torrid time since being dropped from the Test side. In six games, he has managed just 74 runs, and was bowled by Joe Burns, of all people, in the first over of the Sixers’ semi-final chase. Maddinson is a class act and a genuine BBL star, so it would be a surprise if he failed to finally free the arms. He should return to No. 3 because of the absence of Colin Munro, giving the Sixers’ higgledy-piggledy order a more settled look.

Team news

Since their respective semi-finals, both teams have lost players to international call-ups. The Scorchers’ Shaun Marsh, who made dazzling half-centuries in each of his last two innings, and the Sixers’ Munro have headed across the Tasman Sea to battle for Australia and New Zealand respectively. Hilton Cartwright looks set to replace Marsh, while Jordan Silk would be a like-for-like replacement for Munro, although the Sixers may look to bring in an extra fast-bowling option, with Henry Thornton and Doug Bollinger in the squad.An intriguing pace option looms for the Scorchers, too. Jason Behrendorff, their all-time leading wicket-taker, was expected to miss the entire tournament while recovering from a fractured leg, but has been in the squad, and captain Voges insisted he was fit and firing in the nets. Jhye Richardson, who has had a good season, would likely make way if Behrendorff were to be risked.Scorchers (probable) 1 Michael Klinger, 2 Sam Whiteman (wk), 3 Ian Bell, 4 Adam Voges (capt), 5 Hilton Cartwright, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Andrew Tye, 11 Jhye RichardsonSixers (probable) 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Daniel Hughes, 3 Nic Maddinson, 4 Moises Henriques (capt), 5 Brad Haddin (wk), 6 Jordan Silk, 7 Johan Botha, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Ben Dwarshius, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jackson Bird

Pitch and conditions

This is Perth, so it will be sweltering. There has been a bit of chatter about the pitch, which is the same one on which the Scorchers thrashed the Stars on Tuesday. Kevin Pietersen, memorably – and perhaps slightly melodramatically – described it as “unbelievably slow” when miked up for . By the time Voges and Henriques toss the coin, the track will have had 40 more overs on it, with the Women’s BBL final preceding it.

Stats and trivia

• The Sixers have only lost to the bottom three teams on the ladder this year – the Hurricanes, the Adelaide Strikers and the Sydney Thunder
• These two teams have previously met twice in the final – in 2015 and 2012, with both games oddly played on January 28 – winning one each. The Sixers won the inaugural edition at the WACA, and the Scorchers took the title in the fourth edition at the Manuka Oval
• Henriques played significant innings in both those finals, with 70 off 41 in 2012 and 77 off 57 in 2015.

Quotes

“It’s nice to be at home, no doubt. Great for the fans at a packed house to be able to watch us and the girls. I think it’s a significant advantage – we have a good record here against the Sixers, and their game is based a lot around their two excellent spinners, so, hopefully, a fast WACA wicket will nullify them a bit.”
“We haven’t played him [Mitchell Johnson] yet this year. We got the win over them at the SCG, but he didn’t play that game. He bowled really well in the semi-final, only going for three runs in his four overs. At the end of the game, he bowls left-arm over, he bowls quick. We are pretty lucky at New South Wales and the Sixers to have a few guys who do something pretty similar to that with Mitch Starc and Doug Bollinger. A lot of guys have faced that sort of stuff before.”

For most people, a car accident on a treacherous stretch of road would teach them to slow down.But not Mumbai taxi drivers, it seems, nor Trevor Bayliss.For Bayliss has reacted to England’s defeat in the third Test by suggesting England’s batsmen should be more positive. The fault, he believes, is that they were too defensive in Mohali.

Go easy on player confrontations, says Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss has urged the ICC not to crack down too hard on players engaged in on-field exchanges with the opposition, after Ben Stokes was reprimanded for remonstrating to the India players following his dismissal in Mohali.
“I think at times the ICC are almost looking for things,” Bayliss said. “I agree that things have been out of hand in the past, and we don’t want it to go overboard.
“But sometimes a little bit of by-play between a couple of guys on either side – who are passionate about their cricket and their team – I think it’s good for the game.
“We’ve just got to be careful we don’t completely cut that out. I think having some personalities in the game is fantastic to watch.”

It didn’t seem Moeen Ali was too defensive when he was caught at deep backward square in the first innings, or mid-on in the second. And it didn’t seem Jos Buttler was too defensive when he was caught at extra cover in the first innings and deep midwicket in the second. The same might be said about Ben Stokes’ first-innings dismissal, when he charged down the pitch and was stumped, or Joe Root’s, when he missed an attempted pull against the first ball of spin he faced.But Bayliss is convinced that the secret of England’s success is to be found in them playing more positive – and, specifically, less defensive – cricket.”I thought we gifted them a number of our wickets,” Bayliss said, as he reflected on the Test. “We’ve got to make them work a little harder.”When we have been a little bit more defensive, we look like wickets waiting to happen. As soon as we’re a little bit more positive, rotating the strike and hitting a boundary when the opportunity comes, it puts pressure on the opposition.”Yes, it might get you out once or twice. But with the batting order we’ve got, there’s going to be a number of guys that do score runs, and that puts some pressure on the opposition.”We all know what Bayliss means, of course. He means that bowlers can be hit off a length or close fielders pushed back. He means that, if batsmen can make the bowlers’ lives uncomfortable, they are unable to go on the attack and batting becomes more straightforward.It might be relevant, though, that the greatest run-scorer in England’s Test history is the most defensive player in the side. And it might be relevant that, while England have tried several aggressive opening partners for Alastair Cook, it has been Haseeb Hameed, the man with the tightest defensive technique, who looks most likely to fill the spot on a permanent basis.Might the approach of Bayliss and Cook be at odds here? While Cook called upon his team to block their way to safety in Vizag, Bayliss always seems inclined to take the more aggressive option. Might we be coming to the time when this side – Cook’s for so long – is changing in nature and needs a different leader to ensure a clear message? It is too soon to say for sure, but they do seem to have a notably different ethos to batting and if there is one thing a dressing room desires, it is clarity.A man apart: Trevor Bayliss conducts England practice in Mumbai•Getty Images

Bayliss has been successful in a couple of important areas. He has created an environment in which his teams feel both relaxed and motivated – which is probably the key role of a coach at this level – and he has, in limited-overs cricket, established a clear ethos: all-out attack. And while the change in approach in limited-overs cricket may have begun just before Bayliss took charge – Paul Farbrace was stand-in coach for the watershed series against New Zealand – he has consolidated and improved it. He deserves credit for those things.But the longer he has been in office, the more the faults become apparent.For a start, he has little idea of the best players in county cricket. He is not really to blame for this – the England schedule is unrelenting and there is no way he can become steeped in the domestic game as an international coach should be – but it is a reason why his appointment was, in some ways, flawed. Maybe it is why England seem to pick their spinners by looking at the batting averages.His approach to support coaches is also questionable. While there are good motivations for reducing the number of support staff travelling with the squad – the aim was to make the dressing room a little quieter, the message to the players a bit more consistent and to encourage them to think for themselves more – it has also had less welcome consequences.The absence of a full-time fielding coach, for example (Bayliss and Farbrace now lead the fielding sessions), might well be one of the reasons that discipline has become so inconsistent, while the improvement of the spinners (especially Adil Rashid) since the short-term appointment of Saqlain Mushtaq begs the question: why do England not have access to such expertise more often?Most of all, Bayliss’s approach to Test cricket looks unsophisticated. In a format of the game where patience and discipline have always been important, he instead preaches the virtues of aggression and positivity. Instead of building the batsmen’s games from a defensive base – like Hameed – he seems more inclined to stuff the line-up with sufficient aggressive players and allrounders that the inevitable failures of some can be mitigated by others. At times, Bayliss sounds like the coach shouting: ‘Score at 10 an over, but don’t get out’. At times, he seems like the man driving home as fast as he can to get through the fog.Can that approach work? It’s entertaining, for sure, and it may bring the best out of some players. But as they have found in Australia of late, the best Test batsmen are not necessarily the ones with the greatest array of strokes or the ability to hit the ball furthest. They are ones who can see off the new ball and have the technique to play the spinning one. They are the ones who know which balls to play and have the patience and confidence to weather the tough periods. They are ones who have the defensive techniques that allow them still to be at the crease when the poor ball is delivered.But, not for the first time, it seems England have embraced an Australian approach – on this occasion, an overly aggressive attitude to batting – just as the rest of the world has realised its drawbacks.

Jos Buttler looks set to return to England’s Test side as a specialist batsman. Buttler, who was dropped as wicketkeeper a year ago, has only played one first-class game since but such is the England management’s belief in his ability – and, just as importantly, the modest form of the alternative options – that he looks certain to be recalled for the third Test against India in Mohali.The man to make way will be Ben Duckett. While the England coach, Trevor Bayliss, remains a believer in Duckett’s natural talent, his struggles against spin appear to have convinced the team management that to subject him to further exposure could damage his long-term development. He has scored 18 runs in the three innings he has played in the series against India and seen a technical weakness against quality offspin from R Ashwin exposed in merciless fashion.There are only two spare batsmen in the squad: Gary Ballance, who was dropped after the Bangladesh portion of the tour, and Buttler.For all Buttler’s ability, he has an oddly modest record in red-ball cricket. He only once reached 30 in his last 12 Test innings (his highest score in that period was 42) and he has a first-class average of 32.07; notably lower than Chris Woakes’.But the team management have long believed that his problem was temperamental rather than technical. They hope that he will take the confidence he shows in limited-overs cricket into the longest format and will encourage him to play in that same positive manner.”The one thing with Jos,” Bayliss said, “is that if he plays the same way as he does in one-day cricket, I think that’s the way ahead for him; red ball or white ball. I think he’s starting to get his head around that fact.”He’s in the top echelon of destructive batters when it comes to white-ball cricket, and there’s no reason – if he can get his head around playing against a red ball – that he can’t do the same and put the pressure back on the opposition.”Buttler’s lack of match practice is far from ideal. He played in one red-ball warm-up match in Bangladesh a month ago (he scored 4 in his only innings and was dropped once as well), but it remains an irony that a nation that plays as much and appears to plan ahead as England should find itself in such a position.This predicament was created by an odd combination of events, though. First Buttler was encouraged to play in the IPL and then, just as he would have embarked upon a spell of County Championship cricket with Lancashire, he sustained a thumb injury in a T20 match against Worcestershire. But Bayliss hopes that his form in the nets can be transferred to a Test.”He’s certainly hitting the ball very well in the nets,” Bayliss said. “Yes, we would have liked him to have a hit-out at some stage, but it is what it is these days. We’ve no time to fit one in. If he does come in I think he’ll give it his best shot.”While Duckett looks certain to be dropped, Bayliss remains an admirer of his ability and his work-ethic and maintained that, aged 22, he has time to come again.”I think he’s got a special talent,” Bayliss said. “Whether he plays the next match or not, I think he’ll play a lot more for England. Every level you get to, you go up. It gets harder and harder, and the step is bigger. Ben’s working harder than anyone in the nets to try to fix things up, getting himself into a position that he is confident enough to score runs.”