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Two weeks after the ECB announced the US$5 million Champions League Twenty20 tournament, England are in danger of not being part of the event with the BCCI officially deciding on Sunday to bar players associated with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL).Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told Cricinfo Pakistan had been asked to join the tournament after the Indian board found it would not be possible to invite English counties due to the ECB’s “policy of letting ICL players play in their leagues”. The IPL – a part of the Indian board – is the driving force behind the Champions League while the rules for the tournament are currently being framed by Cricket Australia.IS Bindra, a member of the IPL’s governing council, told Cricinfo that “as of now, three [participating] countries are confirmed – India, South Africa and Australia”. “Pakistan may be the fourth, but first we have to get a response from the ECB on the ICL issue,” Bindra said. “Teams from England can be considered, but only those who don’t have players associated with the ICL.”The BCCI is very clear that ICL players will not be featured in the tournament. If the ECB can’t guarantee that it will clear only teams without ICL players for the tournament, then we will look at the replacement.”The BCCI has barred all official links with players associated with the ICL, which was launched last year before the BCCI’s high-profile IPL, but there are currently around 25 players connected with the ICL playing for 15 of the 18 English counties.Bindra, who is also the ICC’s principal advisor, said the decision to ask the ECB to ensure teams without ICL links for the Champions League was taken at a meeting of the BCCI in New Delhi on Sunday. “We will get a final picture when the issue is discussed during the ICC’s annual conference in Dubai this month-end.”Other BCCI officials told Cricinfo they don’t expect the ECB to provide a “no-ICL guarantee” and suggested that English teams are virtually out of the tournament. The ECB allowed players associated with the ICL to play in their domestic circuit after it faced legal action from the league, which was backed by the country’s strong trade laws that protects the rights of individuals. “It’s just that the BCCI would like the ECB to be seen as taking a decision on this,” an official said.Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, had previously told Cricinfo that teams with players associated with ICL would not be invited for the tournament “under any circumstance”, even if these players are dropped just for the event.The Champions League was announced by England in a press release on June 7 which said that the ECB, Cricket Australia, the BCCI and Cricket South Africa had “reached an agreement for the staging of the inaugural Champions League this autumn”. However, Modi later said that the announcement was premature.The tournament, to be held in September-October, will involve the top two Twenty20 domestic teams from participating nations. Western Australia and Victoria from Australia, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings from the Indian Premier League in India along with the Dolphins and Titans from the Pro20 in South Africa have already qualified.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, has attributed the upset defeat against Bangalore Royal Challengers on Wednesday to “bad shot selection” from his batsmen.”One or two stands could have got us through to a win,” Dhoni said after the defeat. “No one took the responsibility. Couple of bad shot selections affected us today. It was a gettable total.”Chasing a low target of 127, Chennai were comfortably placed at 60 for 0 in the 10th over before a collapse left them 14 runs short of the target. Their opening partnership aside, Chennai’s second-highest stand was only 20 for the third wicket between Stephen Fleming and Suresh Raina.”We changed the batting order according to situation,” Dhoni, who promoted himself to No 3, said. “Most of them floated around. If the players had thought in the middle as much as they thought at the dressing room, we would have won.”The defeat has made Chennai’s task of securing a semi-final berth tougher. If Delhi lose all their games, Chennai can afford to go through without winning another. In case Delhi and Mumbai win one and Chennai don’t, it will be down to net run-rate. If Delhi win both games, Chennai must win one of their remaining two. Dhoni and Co can make matters easier by winning both, but their next match is against Rajasthan, the strongest side, and it may come down to the clash against the Deccan Chargers for them to ensure their spot.”We do not want to wait till the last league match [against Deccan Chargers] and are keen to make the semi-final grade against Rajasthan,” Dhoni said.Chennai’s next game is against Rajasthan on May 24 at the MA Chidambaram Staduim and their final match is against Deccan on May 27.

Time is a terrible thing to waste, especially when you’re about to take on the best in the world.Since assuming the role of West Indies coach, John Dyson’s public utterances have been, if anything, much more measured and cautious than the former Australian opener’s watchful style of batsmanship. In fact, should the regional side happen to be in town in the midst of the next Carnival season, he would surely be able to hold his own at the Queen’s Park Cricket Club’s calypso competition, given his command of double entendre.He has become a past master at saying nothing and everything at one and the same time, challenging the listener to focus so much on reading between the lines that he couldn’t ever be accused of making a direct, damning statement about anything related to West Indies cricket.Maybe in his brief time here he’s already picked up on how insecure and sensitive we are to straightforward criticism, and how easily we fall instead for mamaguile.So when he comments that he and the squad have “made do with what we have been able to do” in relation to last week’s training camp in Antigua, you know, like an iceberg, there’s a lot concealed below the surface. No doubt he would be much more direct behind closed doors, or at least you would hope so if he sees this assignment as more than just another job with a fairly decent salary and lots of travel opportunities thrown in.But, then again, we didn’t need Dyson to say anything to recognise that, once more, a combination of issues related to finance, planning, administrative competence and players’ priorities has resulted in the failure to make the most of an ideal opportunity for intense preparation in a team environment, especially after finishing so strongly against Sri Lanka last month.In the five weeks since rain washed out the last one-day international in St Lucia, we have been provided with even more compelling evidence as to how irrelevant the West Indies Cricket Board is when it comes to charting a way forward for its own senior team.With no player under retainer contract, there was no legal obligation for any West Indian involved in the Indian Premier League to return to the Caribbean in time for last week’s training camp. In fact, were it not for the mandate of the International Cricket Council, the trio of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo (Chris Gayle’s injury prevented him from contemplating the same) could have skipped the first two Tests against Australia in pursuit of considerably more cash on the subcontinent.It was a prospect that WICB CEO Donald Peters had actually conceded as a virtual certainty a week before the ICC meeting in Dubai established that sanctioned international fixtures must take priority over private tournaments. To argue that the players should have been swayed by a sense of moral obligation to the regional side ahead of the filthy rich franchises is a waste of time, simply because such an unwritten obligation no longer exists in an environment of looking after number one.

Clearly all the kissing-up to and bigging-up of the players by regional officialdom–Peters’ claim that Marlon Samuels’ two-year ban was the consequence of some sort of entrapment reflects that kowtowing mentality-has not dented their collective resolve to seek their own interests first and foremost.In the immediate aftermath of the punishment handed down to Samuels, the WICB brought players and team management up to date with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Policy, a presentation that could very well have included sound effects of a gate being slammed shut and the clattering hooves of an increasingly distant steed.Once again, embarrassingly, a part of the world that produced a sporting unit 20 years ahead of its time is caught scrambling to make amends after yet another horse has bolted from the stable.Dyson’s veiled lament is no different from that of his compatriot, Bennett King, who was coming to the end of his first 12 months as West Indies coach during the last tour of Australia in 2005. On the eve of the first Test in Brisbane, he commented that since succeeding Gus Logie in the job after the dramatic Champions Trophy final triumph in September, 2004, he had to work through three disruptive showdowns between the WICB and the Players Association and was struggling to establish any sort of harmony or team ethos, given that he had already worked with more than 30 different players in such a short space of time.Less than three years later and with a record financial windfall supposedly in their coffers from the hosting of the 2007 World Cup, we are faced once again with the consequences of weak, reactionary leadership. At least now the bitter adversaries of 2005 appear to be on the same side, although it’s not too clear which side that is. And let’s not stoop to the level of equating frenetic vupping (at Eden Gardens or Guaracara Park) with preparation for Test cricket.Yes indeed, a Test match starts tomorrow, with the recently-arrived stand-in West Indies captain Ramnaresh Sarwan walking out for the toss at Sabina Park with Ricky Ponting, who probably understands the Jamaican dialect by now. Hopefully, Sarwan will have the good sense not to enquire of his Australian counterpart as to the weather on the island recently.

An unbeaten 41 from all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla helped Bengal complete a memorable comeback win against defending Ranji Trophy champions Railways at Siliguri on Saturday. Chasing 154 for victory after dismissing Railways for 129 in their second innings on the third day, Bengal reached the target with three wickets to spare. Debang Gandhi, who made 37, and opener Deep Dasgupta with 29 were the two other batsmen who played a part in setting up the win that earned Bengal two points.Rajasthan’s 159-run first innings lead proved vital in gaining them a four-wicket win on the final day of their elite group encounter against Hyderabad at Jaipur. Hyderabad, who began the day on 226-4, were eventually dismissed for 350 in their second essay; opener Daniel Manohar the top-scorer, making 101 before being run out. For Rajasthan, off-spinner Rahul Kanwat claimed 5-37.Kanwat (41) along with opener Gagan Khoda (51) and captain PK Krishnakumar (43*), then, ensured that their team reached the victory target of 192 with four wickets and a little over four overs to spare despite a four-wicket haul from opposing skipper Venkatapathy Raju. The hosts were rewarded with two points for their efforts.A monumental effort from opener Sandeep Sharma helped Himachal Pradesh gain a nerve-wracking draw against Delhi in another elite group four-dayer at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Sharma, who began the day on 25*, went on to make 170 off 354 balls with 24 fours and two sixes, before falling to the last ball of the day, as his side ended the final day at 336-8 in their second innings. Virender Sharma (48), who shared a crucial 90-run sixth wicket partnership with Sharma, also played a role in ensuring that Delhi only got one point from the match (for earning a 262-run first innings lead).At Guwahati, Punjab went on to complete a comeback win against Assam. The hosts, who began the day chasing 286 runs, wilted against the spin of Navdeep Singh (5-59) to be dismissed for 196 in 79 overs. The margin of defeat might have been much larger if it had not been to the spirited efforts of Kiran Powar (55) and Manoj Joglekar (49). Punjab walked away with two points for the win.At Chennai, meanwhile, Tamil Nadu earned a lucky draw against Uttar Pradesh. An umpiring error, which saw the match being called off twelve minutes before the scheduled close, denied the visiting Uttar Pradesh team an opportunity to end a frustrating 34-ball last-wicket stand between Laxmipathy Balaji (3*) and MR Shrinivas (14*). The duo’s hung on grimly to ensure that Tamil Nadu, who were set a target of 298, staved off defeat by ending on 194-9. Uttar Pradesh, however, did not have to leave empty-handed; they got one point for having earned a 44-run first innings lead.Mumbai, for their part, completed an innings and 72-run win over Andhra Pradesh at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday morning. With left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni claiming four wickets, the hosts dismissed Andhra, who resumed their second essay on 133-7, for just 184 to claim three points, including a bonus point, from the match. For the visitors, Hemal Vatekar waged a lone battle, ending on 75 not out. Mumbai now have seven points from three matches as against Andhra’s tally of just one.Kerala thrash Tripura at KochiThe plate group encounter between the two sides ended 14 minutes before lunch on the fourth day. Tripura, who after being asked to follow-on were 62-3 at the end of the third day, capitulated to 139 all out in their second essay as Kerala completed an innings and 148-run win. Opener R Deb Burman, who made 58, was the only batsman to put up any resistance against spinners KN Ananthapadmanabhan (leg-spin) and Suresh Kumar (left-arm spin), both of whom ended up with three wickets each. Kerala now have won all their three group matches and are on the verge of clinching a semi-final berth.At Nagpur, hosts Vidarbha emerged winners, thrashing Goa by 203 runs. The visitors, who began the final day at 10-1, chasing 369 for victory, were dismissed for a paltry 165. Spinners Pritam Gandhe (5-33) and Madhusudhan Acharya (3-65) were the wreckers-in-chief. Vidarbha, after gaining two points for the win, now have three points from as many matches while Goa have only one.The Haryana-Maharashtra match at Rohtak was one of the few drawn matches on the day. Maharashtra, who resumed their second innings at 124-2 declared after notching 262-4; Abhijit Kale completing his second century of the match, reaching 104 not out of 211 balls.Chasing 276 for an improbable win, Haryana settled for a draw, making 121-4 before stumps were drawn. Maharashtra secured one point for having gained a slender 13-run lead on the third day.

BRISBANE, Nov 24 AAP – Western Australia is firmly in control after a roller coaster ride of a day in the Pura Cup clash against Queensland at the Gabba.A total of 15 wickets fell during the first day of play with Queensland on 5-106 at stumps, chasing Western Australia’s total of 228.The Warriors lost their last six wickets for just 30 runs as momentum swung like a pendulum throughout the day.The Warriors started on the front foot when captain Mike Hussey called correctly and elected to bat on a wicket that promised plenty of bounce and some sideways movement.Hussey and opening partner Chris Rogers preceded to dispatch the Queensland attack to all parts of the Gabba as they put on 59 for the opening stand, bringing up the team’s half century in 44 minutes off just 11 overs.Hussey smashed Bulls quick Michael Kasprowicz for four boundaries in one over, but the former test pacemen had the last laugh when he had Hussey caught behind for 33.Queensland stemmed the flow of runs following Hussey’s dismissal with Joe Dawes bowling five consecutive maidens to bring the Bulls back into the game. He was rewarded with the wicket of Rogers who dragged the ball onto his stumps.The game was then delicately poised with the Warriors at 3-102 at the break.The second session belonged to the home side with the Bulls claiming seven wickets.The only bright note for the Warriors was an 82-run partnership between Murray Goodwin and Ryan Campbell who took the score from 116 to 198.Goodwin’s departure triggered the major batting collapse which saw the Warriors all out before the tea break.Dawes and Lee Carseldine claimed three wickets apiece with Ashley Noffke and Michael Kasprowicz claiming two each with Ryan Campbell top scoring for the visitors with a quickfire 62.Queensland looked to be in the drivers seat but they were soon in trouble when captain Jimmy Maher was run out for 13 attempting a quick single.It went from bad to worse for the Bulls with both Martin Love and Stuart Law going out for second ball ducks in the same over.Queensland duo Andrew Symonds and Brendan Nash fought a rearguard action compiling a 51-run partnership.But both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession late in the day to leave the Bulls struggling for 5-72.Lee Carseldine and Wade Seccombe guided the Bulls to stumps still 123 runs short of their target with only the tail to come.Western Australian captain Hussey said the pitch was not to blame for the avalanche of wickets.”I thought it was a really good cricket wicket the ball came onto the bast nicely. We were disappointed to only get 228 but we knew if we worked hard we could put the bulls under pressure,” Hussey said.”To get Maher, Love and Law cheaply really helps but there are no slouches in the Queensland tail so we will have to work very hard.”

It is not often that a man who has scored 195 in a Test match complains that he has got out, but Michael Vaughan was annoyed with himself after doing just that. He was 182 not out overnight, but added only 13 runs to that score on the second day before being caught behind off Zaheer Khan.Vaughan said: “I was disappointed to get out today because I was looking to go beyond 200. But it was decent ball. At least I didn’t get it when I was on nought.”Vaughan has enjoyed a very successful summer, joining an elite band of England players who have recorded four Test centuries in one season. He also just missed out on a double century at trent Bridge. He puts the success down to a change in attitude. “I am looking to be a lot more positive and Duncan Fletcher has been very helpful and taught me a few new tricks. I felt I could hit the ball all round the park yesterday.”Dominic Cork made a successful return to the Test side with the bat and now needs to contribute with the ball. “We have to stay consistent, get the ball in the right areas and try and take the edge," he said.Getting the ball in right areas consistently was what Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh did to become, amazingly, the first bowler in the series to take five wickets in anInnings. He believes there is still time for India to win this match, despite the England first innings total of 515.”We are pretty much back in the match, we just need to bat well tomorrow. It is now quite open, it’s only the second day and there is a lot of time left. We have batsmen in form and ideally I won’t have to bat. We have two spinners and the ball will turn more as time goes on.”

1:40

Is Gill’s captaincy affecting his batting form?

Tewatia finishes again

It’s not like Titans were in serious trouble, but they needed someone to come in and play the match-winning batting innings nonetheless. And Rahul Tewatia was the guy once more. At one stage, Titans needed 38 runs off the last four overs, with five wickets in hand. A couple of wickets for Kings right then would have changed the match completely.But Tewatia hit two fours off Brar’s over to bring the required rate back in hand, and restore Titans’ grip on the match. Then he hit three fours – two clubbed down the ground, and one tickled through fine leg – off Kagiso Rabada’s 18th over, in which Shahrukh Khan also hit a six. They reaped 20 runs there, and essentially made the game safe, bringing the requirement to five off 12 balls.

Kings shine in spurts

Some Kings players shone, but too briefly to make a defining impact on the game. The first of these was Prabhsimran Singh, who smoked three sixes and three fours in the 35 off 21 balls that raised the Kings innings off the ground. He was out before the powerplay ended though.When they were defending their poor score, Livingstone took 2 for 19 from his four overs, and Harshal Patel and Sam Curran backed him up – Harshal taking three wickets and Curran one. But Kings had lost too much ground already with the bat.

Nottinghamshire 448 (Patterson-White 101, Clarke 59, Fletcher 51) beat Somerset 107 (Fletcher 4-21) and 181 (Paterson 4-46) by an innings and 160 runsNot enough character, not enough discipline. Tom Abell was distraught over Somerset’s first-innings collapse. If he was that blunt to the media, what did he say in the dressing room? The message was abundantly clear: it was time to regain some respect, to show some discipline, to dig in.The temptation to imagine Somerset’s young thrusters looking in bewilderment at Abell’s instructions was irresistible.”Well, I’ve got this shot where I swivel yards outside off stump and slam it behind square leg for six,” Tom Lammonby might have ventured.”That’s nothing,” Tom Banton might have answered in turn. “I can slog-sweep the quicks over midwicket as well as anyone, if you like.””That’s just too high risk,” says Abell. “I want percentage shots.””Maybe I could swivel, but not so far?” offers Lammonby.”I never really understood percentages,” mutters Banton.More seasoned professionals, who have seen it all before, nod in acquiescence at such moments and privately tell themselves they will bat with serious intent. But while the older players will merely recalibrate slightly for the matches to follow, or just accept it as one of those things, Somerset’s younger pros have a greater challenge to find a workable Championship tempo.Banton and Lammonby have two half-centuries in 28 Championship starts. Banton averages around 21, Lammonby around 15. Banton’s Championship approach looks a bit shot; in fact, even in the shorter formats, the daring with which he burst on to the scene is now tinged with doubt. Lammonby just looks strokeless. Lewis Goldsworthy, too – a third talented young buck, although as yet not so highly feted – has a similar return.Banton and Lammonby are quite rightly regarded as two of the most thrilling white-ball batters to come out of Somerset for many a year. But you could feel their growing pains. Take chances, push the boundaries and make mistakes is the creed that has carried them so far, but bowlers are learning more about their games and, anyway, in the Championship there are deeper truths and they have yet to find them. Certainly, both need more get-out shots, workaday solutions that keep risk to a minimum. But when four-day cricket is not their first love – and no matter how much they keep up appearances it probably isn’t – finding solutions is psychologically even harder. They literally have run before they can walk.It was shortly after 5 o’clock when Somerset were beaten by an innings and 160 runs, dismissed second time around for 181 to follow up their 107 in the first innings. Everybody tried to dig in, nobody succeeded. They lasted 28 overs longer, but the irony was inescapable that their two highest-scoring batters, Jack Leach and Marchant de Lange, got there by accepting the inevitability of defeat and having a bit of a swing after tea.”We could have done that,” one could fancy that Banton and Lammonby mused in unison.For Nottinghamshire, the first phase in this four-game Division One climax could not have been more fruitful. Their first win at Taunton since 1985 was also their biggest victory margin in history against Somerset. Luke Fletcher and Dane Paterson bowled splendidly throughout, both taking seven wickets in the match as they outdid their Somerset counterparts. They began the season without a Championship win for nearly three years and are now very much in the title shake-up.For Somerset, the manner of defeat questioned their Championship credentials in the absence of two key seam-bowling allrounders, Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory. Leach needs a pitch offering some turn, but he is unlikely to get that against Yorkshire at Scarborough next week and when Lancashire come to Taunton the week after they will carry the legspin threat of Matt Parkinson in return.Somerset’s first three wickets fell to excellent deliveries – Steve Davies, edging one from Fletcher that seamed away; Abell, after 11 in 56 balls, edging one from Paterson that this time did not swing in but held its line; James Hildreth leaving Fletcher’s inswinger, his off stump rattled.For a long period on either side of lunch, Paterson to Lammonby was on repeat. Paterson, sensing that Lammonby had eschewed all temptation, repeatedly offered up deliveries wide outside off stump and Lammonby, a tall man crouching forward, let them pass. When Paterson took a breather, he had figures of 9-6-4-1 and Lammonby had failed to score off 23 balls from him, or the same ball, 23 times.Lammonby found some release when Notts skipper, Steven Mullaney, filled in with a few overs of medium pace – he swung it, too – and he also hooked Brett Hutton down to long leg. But on 34, from 95 balls, he pushed at a good ball from Hutton and was caught at first slip.Banton’s demise came when Paterson squared him up to be lbw. It put him out of his misery and that misery must not be allowed to fester. By the end of the over, only a single from Leach had prevented Paterson taking a triple-wicket maiden. Roelof van der Merwe clipped his first ball to square leg and Goldsworthy, another figure of undying responsibility, lost his off stump.Somerset were 86 for 7 after 48.5 overs, a penitent innings that had achieved nothing.Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, was left to reflect upon it all. “We were in game on the first day, but Liam Patterson-White’s century took it away from us and since then we have been totally outplayed,” he said. “We came into the game with high expectations, but respect to Notts for how they went about things and we can certainly learn a few lessons from that. There were no redeeming features in our performance. We expect better individually and collectively from Somerset players.”

Katherine Brunt, the longest-serving member of the England women’s squad, has warned her peers not to lose sight of the huge progress made by their game, after a gender pay row threatened to overshadow Wednesday’s standalone opening fixture of the Hundred.According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, several of the more junior members of each of the Hundred’s eight city-based teams risk losing out on regular income for the duration of the tournament, due to heightened restrictions within the teams’ Covid-safe environments.With salaries for the women’s game starting at £3,600, compared to the lowest men’s pay bracket of £24,000, this means that some of the participants may be required to choose between the tournament or their existing jobs.However, Brunt – who made her Test debut as a 19-year-old in 2004, and went on to become of the ECB’s first centrally contracted female players a decade later – insisted that the women needed to remain mindful of the bigger picture, adding that the struggle for equality is never a smooth process, but that the prospects for their sport were better now than at any time in her career.”I used to pay to play,” Brunt said. “I used to only get expenses for a good eight years of my international career. So when you look at it from that standpoint, with more women in cricket being paid than ever before, then we’re doing pretty well. We’re doing very well.”The wages aren’t anything to turn your nose up at,” she added. “They’re good. Yes, they could definitely be better. And there’s gaps in it. That happens all the time in every different field, but it’s definitely going to get better. This isn’t going to go the other way, this is only going to go up.”Related

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A record 41 female players across the English game now hold professional contracts, and while Brunt said she sympathised with those players on the fringes who aren’t yet financially secure within cricket, she also recognised the responsibility of the Hundred’s female competitors to live up to the billing that this competition now offers them, and to set about proving their worth “time and time and time again”.”I do feel for those girls but it is a good chunk of change for one month’s work that they would never have seen before,” she said. “You’d only ever dream about it, to be honest, so you have to look at it from that angle too.”We’ve been fighting for equality for hundreds of years,” Brunt added. “These things don’t happen overnight. And as long as the conversation keeps going, that’s all you can ask for. It’s when you keep quiet and don’t say anything that things don’t move forward, so I think it’s great that the girls are speaking out and they’re brave enough to do that but, equally, sometimes the positive message gets lost in that.”Regardless of all the other things that are flying around, the important thing is that we are being paid. Yes, we are a way off the men, but that’s because the men bring in more crowds, they bring in more money. They bring in more press around the world. You can’t get people like Andre Russell and Rashid Khan over here to play unless you make it worth their while.”But once we start playing these games, and we get this year in the bag, and we show that we can play these games alongside the men, then they will invest in us even more. But we need to keep proving this time and time and time again, but not forget that positive message which is that we’re all being paid for once, and more than ever before.Katherine Brunt has been an England stalwart since before the days of professionalism•ECB/Getty Images

“I’m only going to bang on about the positives because I’m here to play the Hundred and get on with this, and do the best I can for my team.”Brunt’s opening match for Trent Rockets comes on Saturday when they take on Southern Brave at Trent Bridge, a venue that she has never played at in the entirety of her two-decade career. While she admitted to a degree of trepidation about bowling at a venue where England and Pakistan racked up 433 runs between them in last week’s men’s T20I, she also admitted that the chance to share equal billing with the men’s team would fill her with pride.”It’s going to be great,” Brunt said. “It’s my first time ever at Trent Bridge, which is unbelievable, but it’s a brilliant ground, with lovely facilities. The boys are here at the same time as us. I’m watching Rash [Rashid Khan] bowl now, and it gives you the feeling that you’re part of something bigger – part of one team, and not just a spare part, or a sidepiece. You’re ‘it’. You’re the ones that people are coming to watch and be entertained by. And that’s brilliant, we’re all really excited.”However, she added a note of caution to the anticipation, warning that the complications of the tournament’s build-up, as well as the fast-tracked nature of many of the newer players in the squad, meant that the standards in the opening rounds may need to be given some leeway.”We really don’t want to mess up, but it’s going to be carnage,” Brunt said. “People are going to have to be patient. We will get better, I promise you, but as of this point, tomorrow’s the first game and today I’ve still got four names to learn. It’s a quick turnaround, but we’ll get there.”

A decade or so ago, a Pakistan batsman was fielding on the boundary at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. There are plenty of big stadiums around the world but Eden Gardens, at capacity, is a big ol’ stadium. It was his first time there and for most of it, he remembered, he could barely hear himself think. But he does recall one piece of advice he got from a spectator right at the front.”See the crowd here, son? It’s bigger than the population of your entire country.”At that time, Pakistan still hosted matches at home but crowds had begun to dwindle for Tests and only the really big ODIs would draw full houses. And no stadium in Pakistan could come close to matching Eden Gardens for capacity. It was, the player felt at the time, as intimidating an atmosphere he had come across in his career until then.But that Eden Gardens moment was a long time ago and as at least eight of the Pakistan XI will turn up at the MCG in an atmosphere unlike any they would have come across before they too will know that they have just stepped up into the big time. Sixty thousand are expected on the first day and only Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Amir know what it is like to perform in front of a Boxing Day crowd.Pakistan did play to full houses on days of their England tour earlier this year, but this will be on a far larger scale. Only the non-breathing will not be affected by it. The significance of the occasion, and the place it holds in the Australian calendar is not lost on Pakistan’s players.”We know the importance of the game,” said Asad Shafiq. “It’s a big Test match, the Boxing Day one. We all grew up watching this match in Pakistan. We know the value of this Test.”We will feel it [pressure] a little because we probably haven’t played in front of such a big crowd. And this ground has a really prestigious history and playing here is a big honour for me, for everyone but especially for those playing here for the first time there is also a lot of excitement. But the way we played that first Test, we’re very united and are hopeful that we can get a good result in the next two Tests.”Brisbane was as good as a foregone conclusion before the series began (Pakistan had lost three and drawn one there before the last Test), though the nature of the defeat was a bonus. Pakistan’s chances in this series were always dependent on the less lively surfaces of Melbourne and Sydney; their four wins in Australia are equally divided at the two venues.The surface is not expected to turn unduly, not towards later in the Test in any case and conditions should ease up for batting as each day progresses.”Yes, I have heard about this [record] and seen it too that this wicket suits Pakistan a bit more,” Shafiq said. “This is in everyone’s mind, that if we do get to bat first and put up a good total, we are capable of winning the match. But every day is a new day, every match is a new match. You have to work hard and play hard for every win.”All week, word from the Pakistan camp – backed up to a degree from the evidence of their training sessions – is that the spirits are high, and so too their confidence, or at least that it is more than what a number of previous Pakistan teams ahead of playing a Test in Australia had.Not least Shafiq himself, whose hundred came on the back of a wildly fluctuating run of form – in his last 13 Tests, he has three hundreds, six fifties and five ducks (including two pairs). “We are hopeful, we are positive, especially after the first Test,” he said. “We are playing positive and good cricket. Nobody was expecting we would come back like that.”But we all showed the character, we all showed courage. And these kind of matches always give you confidence as a team, as a player. Especially if it’s the first Test of the series – it always helps in the next Tests.”