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England’s Test captain prepared for possibility summer could be drastically hit

Alan Gardner30-Mar-2020Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has admitted that he is prepared for the possibility that there is no cricket played at all during the 2020 summer, with the UK currently under lockdown as it battles the coronavirus outbreak. Root also said that he expects conversations to take place “in the coming weeks” about the possibility of players taking pay cuts in order to safeguard the game’s financial future.England returned early from their tour of Sri Lanka earlier this month, as the pandemic began to take hold around the world, and the ECB has already said there will be no domestic cricket played before May 28. While the governing body is looking into the viability of holding games behind closed doors, Root conceded that scheduled home series against West Indies, Australia, Pakistan and Ireland may not go ahead.”It has definitely crossed my mind, it is a possibility,” he said. “But I think we have to try to stay optimistic, try to take things day by day, not get too ahead of ourselves, we’ve just got to be ready for whenever that opportunity to play again is.”We’ve got to stay fit, obviously can’t do much in terms of actual practice, hitting balls and bowling and stuff like that. Might be that my wife has to start giving me some throwdowns in the back garden but until things become that drastic it will be simply sit tight and wait. If that happens, then we’ll just have to adapt, make the most of those circumstances as a cricket community by coming together and doing the best for the game.”ALSO READ: PCA seeks collective solutions as players face prospect of pay cutsThe ECB is expected to announce measures aimed at propping up the professional game in England and Wales, with several counties contemplating “furloughing” their playing staff – effectively placing them on leave, with some of the costs met by the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. It was also reported at the weekend that centrally contracted England players could be asked to give up around 20% of their earnings, although Root said such matters would be in the hands of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA).”I’m sure at some point in the coming weeks there will be a discussion,” he said. “That’ll probably take place between the PCA and the ECB, and until those happen, that’s not my area of expertise. I think we just have to concentrate on making sure we are as fit and as ready to go as we can be for whenever it is we get back to playing cricket.”While there are graver issues at stake over the coming weeks and months, cricket’s current shutdown could have several knock-on effects beyond the purely financial – from impacting on the 2020 T20 World Cup to delaying the World Test Championship, with the final currently scheduled to take place in England next year.Root, who said that over the last two weeks he had “been in touch with every single player” on England’s winter tours, was understandably frustrated at the interruption after overseeing an encouraging 3-1 Test series win in South Africa. But he suggested the enforced break would see an increased appetite for the game among players and spectators when cricket does resume.”It is frustrating. There are more important things to concern ourselves with but, from a cricketing point of view, we were preparing ourselves well for the two Test matches in Sri Lanka and we made big strides in South Africa. Of course very different conditions but you saw how the warm-up games panned out and how the younger guys adapted with the bat and readied themselves for those Tests – it felt like we were in a very strong position to do something again.ALSO READ: ‘We’re going to cherish getting back out there’ – Anderson“It would have been nice to get those games in to test ourselves out there against a side on the rise, to see if we could keep building our away form and build on the three brilliant Tests we had last time [in 2018-19]. Going into the summer, the six Test matches [against West Indies and Pakistan] will be crucial points, as the home games seem to be really important in the Test championship. It might be that changes now. When it comes to those games they might have to be rescheduled, play them abroad. I am sure there are a number of different scenarios we may have to find ourselves looking at down the line. Of course it would have been nice to play those two games [in Sri Lanka].”When you get time like this away from the game when it is unscheduled, guys will be even more determined to come back and play. When that opportunity comes, all the guys will be desperate to start playing again and all of the pent-up energy that will be there from spending time at home will be expended on the field and into performances. Whenever we get back to playing again there will be some very excited players playing it and people watching it.”Joe Root reacts to the cancellation of England’s Test series•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Like the rest of the country, Root and his family are observing guidelines to stay at home – he conducted his media duties via video conference call – with cricket activity currently limited to giving his three-year-old son, Alfie, throwdowns.”I’ve got an exercise bike at home and have generally been using that for my aerobic stuff. I’ve tried to stay isolated as much as possible, trying to get Alf running around the garden or doing something outside with the kits the ECB have kindly sent us. I’m taking this very seriously, trying to stay indoors as much as possible, avoid contact at all costs. It’s pretty impossible to get online shops at the minute. We’ve had one booked for three or four weeks. We’re literally trying to get out as little as possible, be efficient with what we’re buying and use, try to be creative with our cooking, finding different ways of using what we’ve got in the fridge, not wasting anything.”Having announced at the weekend that he has become a patron of Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Root has also written an open letter to cricket supporters, jointly with England women’s captain, Heather Knight, calling on people to “stay strong and united” and praising those on the frontline in the coronavirus fight.”It is motivating seeing how powerful it is when people come together and show support for a fantastic organisation like the NHS. We are very lucky to have it. We should appreciate it and not take it for granted. The work they are doing right now is amazing and they deserve all the support and care they are getting. Hopefully that continues long after this pandemic finishes as well.”

Injuries and absences have disrupted the build-up to the Test series and more of the squad may play the pink-ball warm-up match

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2020Australia will reconsider their plans for the build-up to the Test series with the potential for more of the squad to play in the pink-ball warm-up game against the Indians at the SCG in the wake of injuries and absences.The initial plan had been for the majority of the Test squad to link up in Adelaide shortly after the conclusion of the T20 series but more of them are now set to stay back in Sydney.David Warner is unlikely to be fit for the opening Test after suffering a groin injury in the one-day series while Mitchell Starc has been given compassionate leave due to a family illness. Josh Hazlewood was left out of the second T20I with back soreness.”With injuries, we weren’t expecting Davey for example to get injured like he did, so we are having a close look at that,” head coach Justin Langer said. “The best practice, I’ve said for years, is centre-wicket and the chance to play a pink-ball game against India under lights is certainly a very tempting preparation for a few of our players. We are looking at that.”I actually addressed the CA board the other day, one of the challenges we’ve got with such tight schedules … we’ve got six injuries now, which is really unusual. We’ll obviously review it. That’s one of the challenges moving forward, when guys are playing all the tours [and have] different sorts of preparations.”That could mean an extra hit out for Joe Burns and Will Pucovski, who are expected to the opening pair in Adelaide but fell cheaply in the first innings at Drummoyne Oval on Monday, while the support bowlers including Sean Abbott, Michael Neser and James Pattinson could get a run.Travis Head and Tim Paine are part of the Australia A side for the first match against the Indians.The last few days have tested Australia’s white-ball depth with the T20I side put out on Sunday missing at least six first-choice players. Reinforcements have been brought in with D’Arcy Short, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson all added to the squad over the last week but they had already been inside the team bubble in Sydney.Pat Cummins has been rested since the second ODI with an eye on the Test series with Langer quick to defend that decision and adding there was never a thought given to recalling him early due to the biosecurity measures around the squad.”Some of the simplicity of our past lives isn’t quite there,” he said. “There has to be isolation and we can’t do that. We are always considering the big picture here, we know that we’ve got a big Test series coming up – there’s been a lot of talk about Pat not playing but we’ve known we’ve had to manage this throughout.”If he hadn’t spent a few days at home in this little period he might not have gone home until June next year, so for any of the critics out there imagine not going home for that period of time. One we couldn’t bring him and back two we didn’t consider if because we’ve got to manage him to make sure we are ready for the Test series.”

Fixtures-wise, the only potential clash for the IPL – even if just by two days – is with the proposed Lanka Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2020Australia’s home T20I series against West Indies has been postponed because of the Covid-19 situation, and that means the IPL now has an uninterrupted window – between September 19 and November 10 – as far as international cricket is concerned.West Indies were scheduled to play matches in Townsville, Cairns and the Gold Coast on October 4, 6 and 9, with the series being seen as a precursor to the now-postponed men’s T20 World Cup, originally set to start on October 18.Now the only potential clash for the IPL – even if just by two days – is with the proposed Lanka Premier League, which has a finish date of September 20. However, Sri Lanka Cricket last week stated that it is considering advancing the dates to ensure there is no overlap with the IPL. As such, only two Sri Lankan players – Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians) and Isuru Udana (Royal Challengers Bangalore) – are contracted in the IPL.Meanwhile, Australia’s short limited-overs tour of England is expected to end on September 15, leaving players from both sides just about enough time to hop over to the UAE in time for the IPL, which will be held across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. However, the IPL’s SOPs are yet to be made formal, and it isn’t known if players travelling from the UK – where the number of Covid-19 cases has been much higher than in the UAE – will need to undergo a quarantine period before entering the bio-bubbles of their respective teams, many of whom are likely to begin their training camps in the UAE after the third week of August.Most boards have either provided or agreed to provide no-objection certificates to their players to play in the IPL. However, there are still concerns with regards to the participation of South Africa players since their provincial and international borders remain closed for commercial flights.

The third edition of the five-team tournament will conclude on August 21

Madushka Balasuriya11-Jun-2022The third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will take place from July 31 to August 21, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed. The registration of international players for the player draft “will commence shortly,” added an SLC media release.Despite speculation that this year’s tournament might see the addition of a sixth team, SLC has confirmed that it will remain a five-team tournament. Like last year, the group stage games will take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, while the action will then shift to the MRICS in Hambantota for the Qualifiers, Eliminator and final. The tournament will see a total of 24 games played.”We are extremely happy to announce the 3rd edition of the Lanka Premier League, which has started its journey toward carving a place in the global T20 League competitions, as a formidable tournament,” SLC president Shammi Silva stated in the release.Jaffna have won both editions of the tournament in 2020 and 2021, initially under the Stallions moniker and then a second time after being rebranded the Kings by its new owners. The Galle Gladiators have been the losing finalists on both occasions.The LPL will be part of a packed schedule for Sri Lanka’s cricketers leading up to October’s T20 World Cup in Australia. While the match dates for the tournament are yet to be announced, the July 31 start indicates a short turnaround for those involved in Pakistan’s July tour of Sri Lanka, the exact dates of which are to be finalised. Then in September, Sri Lanka are set to host the Asia Cup before heading off to Australia for the global tournament.

England, however, dropped down a spot to eighth as West Indies overtook them with their win at the Gabba

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2024India dropped three spots to fifth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table after their 28-run loss in the series opener against England in Hyderabad.The two-time WTC finalists were second, behind Australia, before the Test. But the result saw them slide below South Africa, New Zealand and Bangladesh, as their points percentage dropped from 54.16 to 43.33.Related

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India were briefly table-toppers too, when they had beaten South Africa inside two days in Cape Town earlier this month to draw the series 1-1. But their stay at the top was cut short when Australia completed their series sweep against Pakistan two days later to claim the top spot.India have so far won two and drawn one of their five Tests in the 2023-25 WTC cycle, while losing once each to South Africa and England.England, however, dropped a place despite beating India, as West Indies got a massive boost in their points percentage thanks to their stunning victory against Australia at the Gabba.West Indies overtook England to go seventh with their first win of this cycle.

PNG will be playing their second T20 World Cup, after a winless campaign in 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2024Batter Assad Vala will lead Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. This is the second time Vala will be their captain at the competition after also leading them in 2021. Vala will have allrounder Charles Amini as his vice-captain.Ten of the 15 players chosen for the 2024 event were also part of the squad in 2021, with Jack Gardner, who was a reserve three years ago, now picked in the squad proper. Those who missed out were Simon Atai, Jason Kila, Gaudi Toka, Nosaina Pokana and Damien Ravu, in whose place came in Gardner, Alei Nao, Hila Vare, John Kariko and Sema Kamea.In 2021, PNG had lost to Oman, Scotland and Bangladesh in the first round of the tournament, and failed to make it to the Super 12s.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“The energy has been great within the team,” Vala said. “For some of the boys who went to the last T20 World Cup, it’s a different feeling now with a lot of the training, because the last time was during Covid and the preparation wasn’t as good as what we’re going through now. I am looking forward to this event because I know we are going to do well.”PNG qualified for this year’s T20 World Cup by topping the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in 2023, where they won all six of their matches against Japan, Vanuatu and Philippines. They enter the T20 World Cup on the back of a 2-0 series win against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, which came immediately after they won a T20I tri-series also featuring Nepal and Hong Kong.PNG start their World Cup campaign against co-hosts West Indies in Guyana on June 2. They are part of Group C, which also includes Afghanistan, New Zealand and Uganda.

PNG squad for T20 World Cup

Assad Vala (capt), Charles Amini (vice-capt), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura

The squad comes together in the UK this weekend ahead of next month’s WTC final then the five-match Ashes

Andrew McGlashan26-May-2023An Australian squad arriving for an Ashes tour of the UK is not like it used to be. Long gone are the days of landing en masse at Heathrow airport in late April to begin a month of county matches before the real thing started. Even a single warm-up game is no longer a reality.This generation of players will convene over the next few days from a variety of locations with little more than a week to prepare for their first challenge of the trip which has nothing to do with Ben Stokes and Bazball as they look to secure the World Test Championship against India.Those who have remained in Australia will meet those who have been playing county cricket and IPL – minus Cameron Green, for now, who remains with Mumbai Indians – for a few days of team bonding (which may include golf) before a short training camp in Beckenham. Australia’s choice of how to prepare for these six Tests has been a topic of considerable debate, particularly in light of how they used a similar approach ahead of the India tour and were off the pace in the first Test, although it’s worth noting how they did not have warm-up matches in Pakistan or Sri Lanka, either.Related

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There is a view, and not only shared by Australia, that the value of the tour match has diminished so much as to make them redundant. Head coach Andrew McDonald believes self-contained intrasquad training, in a controlled environment, can be more beneficial. In their favour this time is that conditions in the UK will be less extreme than those that presented in India (notwithstanding the challenge the Dukes ball can provide) and for which a few days at North Sydney Oval was not like-for-like.Some of the squad have been getting good-quality middle time against the red ball, notably Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith whose volume of runs in the five Tests against England will likely determine the course of the series. Then there is Michael Neser, not officially part of the squad, although that could change, whose standing has only risen over the last few weeks.Australia’s first challenge is to overcome Rohit Sharma’s India•Getty Images

Those coming from the IPL have a few more question marks, although it’s a transition players are used to these days. However, Virat Kohli’s recent comment about having an eye on his Test technique even during the IPL was notable. Much of the focus will be on David Warner and whether he can find a likely final flourish to his Test career. It is difficult to read much into T20 form with what is ahead and, while McDonald was sounding a more upbeat note this week, there will be a better indication when he faces the new ball at The Oval.It appears time may be too tight for Josh Hazlewood to make the WTC final after his small setback in the IPL. It had been said that the short spells of T20 cricket provided the ideal lead-in for Hazlewood. Again, judgement on that will have to wait. Being ready for Edgbaston now looks like the goal as he tries to emerge from a stop-start two years in Test cricket.The fact the India Test comes first and so close to the beginning of the England series makes this a curious build-up to the Ashes. In a sense it almost goes on pause while the business of deciding the Test champion is confirmed, but in reality one will spill into the other especially when it comes to form and any potential injuries.Steven Smith is among those who have been playing in England•Getty Images

Overall, it feels as though Australia are in decent shape. It’s a healthy sign when you can probably ink in 10 names of their XI for The Oval. Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, two crucial cogs at the top and in the middle, will need to get into gear swiftly after a short off-season, while Green, fresh off a thunderous maiden T20 century for Mumbai Indians, faces the adjustment from to Tests that challenged him in the last Australian season. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon have been building up their workloads at home. Despite the questions around Hazlewood, they do not have the lengthy injury concerns of England’s pace attack while India have also had to deal with some problems ahead of the final.”Feels as though it’s coming together well,” McDonald said earlier this week. “If you’d asked me a month ago it feels disjointed, got people everywhere, but having that week [in Brisbane] when we connected with the players back in Australia, those guys are almost fully wound up and ready to go and that was by design. We have a shorter prep on the ground when we get over there.”This year – with the trio of top-level Test assignments laid out in front of them – was billed as era-defining. “We’ve spoken about being on a continual journey,” McDonald said. “It will be up to others to define the team.”The opportunity in India had gone almost before they realised but they were strong enough to not fall apart. The next two months will go a long way to determining how this group, under Pat Cummins’ leadership, will be remembered. If they can emerge as World Test Champions and win an Ashes in England for the first time since 2001 it would give the team a legacy. As Meatloaf sang, two out of three ain’t bad.

Odisha denied by umpiring gaffe, Hyderabad and Rajasthan keep all-win records

Shashank Kishore15-Nov-2021A hat-trick, a four-over return without giving up a run, a controversial boundary call that rescued the defending champions and scintillating performances from IPL stars were among the many highlights from the group stages of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 competition.As the caravan moves to New Delhi for the knockouts, amid worsening air quality that has left the local administration contemplating a lockdown, here’s a quick look at those made it and those who missed out.

Group A

Defending champions Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, led by the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad, both made the cut on the back of four wins in five matches. However, Maharashtra have to play the pre-quarterfinal despite finishing with a better net run rate than TN because head-to-head is the first criterion for teams tied on points. When the two sides met, TN comfortably defended 167 despite Gaikwad’s 30-ball half-century.Maharashtra won’t have Gaikwad’s services from here on, as he is part of India’s T20I team for the New Zealand series. TN, who endured a massive slice of luck en route in the group stage, won’t have any such worries, having a full squad to choose from.In what proved to be a turning point, a final-over umpiring gaffe resulted in Odisha being denied a boundary. M Ashwin’s feet were in contact with the rope even as he went beyond the line to push the ball back in – and Odisha lost the match by one run. Punjab were the closest among the other sides to qualification, but eventually lost out after going down to TN.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Group B

Bengal stole the top spot from high-flying Karnataka in the final group game, but both sides made it through to the knockouts without any hiccups. Both sides will be missing key players because of either India A or national duties. Bengal will be without Abhimanyu Easwaran and Wriddhiman Saha, while Karnataka will be without Mayank Agarwal, K. Gowtham, Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna.Shreevats Goswami, controversially left out of the group stages, has an opportunity to make amends as he returns for the knockouts. Goswami was left out due to Saha’s availability, despite being among the top three run-getters in the tournament for the side in three of the last five seasons.Mumbai was the nearly-side from this group, having finished with three wins in five matches. Although captain Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 286 runs in five games at a strike rate of 133, including four half-centuries, they couldn’t capitalise. Prithvi Shaw’s poor form – 107 runs in five innings, 83 of which came in their final game against Baroda after being knocked out – didn’t help matters either.Deepak Hooda’s move to Rajasthan has paid big dividends•BCCI

Group C

Rajasthan were the undisputed leaders, maintaining an all-win record to blaze into the knockouts, even as Himachal staved off competition from Andhra and Jharkhand to squeeze into the knockouts as the second side from the group.Much of Rajasthan’s running was done by their new signing Deepak Hooda, alongside established hand Mahipal Lomror. Hooda, who moved from Baroda after a spat with Krunal Pandya last year, top-scored with 291 runs in five games, including an unbeaten 39-ball 75 after walking into bat at 10 for 2 to help beat Jharkhand. More than the four half-centuries he struck, his strike rate of 175 stood out. Ravi Bishnoi, the legspinner, impressed with the ball, picking up eight wickets in five games.Himachal, meanwhile, were propped up by Rishi Dhawan, who finished the group stages with 14 wickets, third-best. This included his career-best figures of 6 for 23 that helped pip Jammu & Kashmir in a thriller after his 26-ball 45* had set the game up in the first place.

Group D

Gujarat topped the pool with four wins in five games, on the back of clinical batting performances, led by Priyank Panchal. However, their designated captain won’t be available for the knockouts because of India A commitments, along with Arzan Nagwaswalla, the left-arm fast bowler who picked up seven wickets. Piyush Chawla, who featured in just one game at IPL 2021, proved why he isn’t a spent force yet. He picked up five wickets in as many games and was economical, conceding at just 6.42 per over.The Sanju Samson-led Kerala took the second spot, after overcoming stiff competition from Madhya Pradesh. Both sides managed three wins, but Kerala pipped them on head-to-head, in the team’s final league engagement, making light work of a 172-chase courtesy stroke-filled half-centuries from Samson and Sachin Baby. Meanwhile Venkatesh Iyer, who made it to the India’s T20I side on the back of a breakout IPL season, managed just one half-century at the top of the order in five outings for MP.Akshay Karnewar was devastating in the Plate Group•Prakash Parsekar

Group E

They named two captains and two squads prior to departure, the kind of confusion and chaos not new to Hyderabad cricket. But on the field, they managed to turn a corner, winning all five games to make the quarterfinals. Tanmay Agarwal, the captain, is currently the tournament’s highest run-getter with 302 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 150, while left-arm seamer CV Milind leads the wicket charts with 16 scalps, including a best of 5 for 8 that helped defend 147 against Uttar Pradesh.Saurashtra were the second qualifiers from the group, with four wins in five games. While Jaydev Unadkat led the wicket charts, Sheldon Jackson, who returned to his home state after a stint with Puducherry at the end of the 2020-21 season, left his imprint with the bat, top scoring with 221 runs in five matches. Their only loss was in a last-over thriller against Hyderabad, where Unadkat joined Prerak Mankad at 67 for 6 and then put on a near century stand to set up a defence of 173. Hyderabad won by two wickets with three balls to spare. Hanuma Vihari, who returned to home like Jackson, from Andhra, had underwhelming returns, 57 of his 94 runs coming in one innings alone.

Plate Group

Two-time Ranji winners Vidarbha proved no match for the rest of the pack, as they emerged runaway winners from this group. Meghalaya and Tripura fought hard to post four wins in five games, but couldn’t close out games against Vidarbha.Vidarbha’s Akshay Karnewar, the ambidextrous spinner, broke the record for the most economical figures in T20 cricket when he produced a return of 4-4-0-2 against Manipur. He became the first player to bowl four maidens in four overs in men’s T20 cricket, bettering Pakistan pacer Mohammad Irfan’s returns of 4-3-1-2 in CPL 2018. A day later, Karnewar claimed a hat-trick against Sikkim returning figures of 4-1-5-4.

Belligerent opening stand with Finn Allen turns a taxing chase into a saunter at Edgbaston

George Dobell01-Aug-2021Birmingham Phoenix 145 for 4 (Allen 43, Smeed 36) beat Trent Rockets 144 for 6 (Malan 51, Milne 2-13) by six wicketsAn outstanding spell of bowling from Adam Milne and a blistering innings from Will Smeed helped Birmingham Phoenix inflict a first loss of the competition upon Trent Rockets at Edgbaston.Milne equalled the most economical analysis by any bowler delivering their full contribution of 20 deliveries in the competition to help keep Northern Rockets to a modest total of 144 on what appeared to be a fine batting track.While Dawid Malan made 51, the highest score of the match, he struggled for fluency for much of his innings. At once stage, Moeen Ali was able to bowl 10 successive deliveries for a cost of just 10 runs with Benny Howell again impressing with his control and variations.Only Alex Hales and Samit Patel scored at the rate Trent Rockets would have wanted. But Hales skied ball 44 to mid-off, the victim of a neat piece of bowling from Moeen who floated one a little wide, and without his impetus, the innings failed to ignite.In taking 59 from the first 20 balls of the reply – a record for a Powerplay in this competition even before the final five balls of the period (they only added one more in that next set) Smeed and Finn Allen soon broke the back of the run-chase with Phoenix reaching their target with six wickets and 26 deliveries to spare. Only once in the competition to date, when Manchester Originals defeated Phoenix with 27 balls remaining, has that margin been exceeded.While Trent Rockets, who won their first three matches, stay top, it’s a result that revives Birmingham Phoenix’s campaign. They move into the top four.Mean Milne

Despite bowling two sets in the Powerplay, Milne went for just 13 runs from his 20 deliveries. Bowling at a sharp pace and cramping the batters for room, Milne’s spell included 14 dot balls while he also claimed the wickets of D’Arcy Short, dismissed for a duck in the opening moments of the game, and Rashid Khan. Tom Helm’s first five balls, by contrast, cost 18 runs. It was, in many ways, the defining contribution of the match. But it’s a batter’s game and it was Smeed’s impressive innings which won the Hero of the Match award.Going according to Malan?

In an innings that provided something of a microcosm of his career, Malan top-scored for Trent Rockets. But he did so at such a run-rate that it remains debatable how valuable an innings it was. Certainly there were moments in Malan’s innings – not least when he had scored seven off his first 12 deliveries despite batting in the Powerplay – when his run-rate appeared to put pressure on his partners. Hales’ dismissal, caught at mid-on, could be put down to just such pressure.Moeen Ali had a good day as Phoenix captain•Getty Images

As so often, Malan started to make up for lost time as he innings progressed. From having scored 29 from 29, he finished with 51 from 41. But his run-out – he was the victim of a direct hit from Moeen fielding at wide mid-off – from the 91st delivery of the innings prevented him from fully cashing in on the investment he had made at the start. And when the opposition gallop to victory with more than a quarter of the allotted deliveries unused, there are bound to be questions about how well he paced his innings.The counter argument is that, without Malan, Trent Rockets may not have got anywhere near 144. This was their highest score of the competition to date, after all, and the site of Rashid, flailing like a drowning man at No. 6, and Matt Carter at No. 8, suggested their batting lacks a bit of depth.Either way, Malan’s method is sure to encourage more debate.The need for Smeed

Smeed is fast making a name for himself. Like Jos Buttler and Tom Banton, he was educated at King’s College, Taunton and like both of them, he has impressed as a young player at Somerset. But, having won a call-up in the Hundred as one of many replacement players, he had never previously opened in T20 cricket (the Hundred is officially seen as T20 for statistical purposes) and owed his opportunity to something of a hunch from Phoenix’s coach, Dan Vettori.It worked beautifully. Smeed thrashed 36 from just 13 deliveries to put his side far ahead of the run-rate at the start of their innings. At one stage, the 19-year-old took 20 from four successive balls (two sixes and two fours) from Timm van der Gugten, a man who has played almost 50 international matches. Such was the power with which he pulled and drove that he will have franchise owners around the world sitting up and taking notice. “The coach just told me to go out and have some fun,” Smeed said later. “I just kept it simple and watched the ball.”Van der Gugten, by contrast, later parried a chance from Liam Livingstone over the mid-wicket boundary for six. Sometimes it’s just not your day.Mole-eye

Moeen hadn’t scored from any of his first five deliveries. And while the pace at which Smeed and Allen had started the chase gave Moeen some sort of cushion, there was just a bit of pressure building when he defended his sixth ball only to see Patel ask for a review of a leg-before decision that had been given not out on the pitch.Multiple replays persuaded the TV umpire that ball had, indeed, hit pad before bat, at which stage Moeen’s heart must have been in his mouth. But ball-tracking technology was unavailable due to a technical error meaning the officials were obliged to stick with the on-field umpire’s decision. Moeen went on to make an increasingly fluent 26 to speed his side towards victory. It could have been a crossroads moment.Voting with their feet

Edgbaston might be seen as a potential swing state in the Hundred’s bid for success. While the ground has a good record for international ticket sales, it has never matched the London grounds (or, of late, Emirates Old Trafford) when it comes to domestic T20 sales. Only local derby matches against Worcestershire have come close to selling out in the Vitality Blast.So, to see Edgbaston close to full here felt significant. The club also reported swift sales of merchandise (a report supported by the number of spectators wearing Phoenix orange) and an eight percent increase in the number of female ticket-buyers in the tournament to date when compared to the Blast.As ever with the Hundred, you have to be a little careful with official reports. Several thousand seats were unavailable here due to the placing of the stage and because of Covid protocols. And, with plenty of beer being consumed and even Sweet Caroline making a brief appearance, it wasn’t entirely clear how ‘new’ these spectators really are. But a crowd of 17,479 for a domestic cricket match outside London is impressive and suggests this competition is starting to gain some traction.