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Sussex supporters know by now not to spend too long away from their seats when Phil Salt is going about his business; whatever the young batsman does with a bat in his hands, it tends to happen quickly.His scores coming into this game were informative. Among his 13 innings this season were seven dismissals in single figures. But there was also a 137 off 106 balls that included six sixes in a 50-over game against Kent. To that can now be added the 122 in 104 balls with which he swung this match in the favour of Sussex, decisively they will hope.He is an explosive, all-or-nothing kind of player, not unusually for someone of 22 years old in the modern game. Some coaches and captains might find him infuriating. Sussex are in no hurry to see him change and quite happy to give him his head even against the new ball in the Championship.”He might have a crazy dismissal one day then win you a game on his own the next, so as captains and coaches we have to let him play his own game,” the Sussex skipper, Ben Brown, said following Salt’s call-up to England’s T20 squad earlier this month.Until then, Salt had not been selected in an England squad of any kind, not even at Under-19 level, which is slightly odd given the meticulous work that goes into the ECB’s talent identification processes, supposedly to ensure that the progress of no qualified player goes unmonitored, and that anyone with obvious talent is exposed to some kind of international cricket as soon as possible.Salt made 355 runs in the Vitality Blast last season, which is clearly his most effective arena, but he has such a good eye that if can survive the first dozen overs or so against the red ball he can produce an innings such as this one, which had echoes of the 148 he made at Hove last August to open a pathway to victory against Derbyshire.He got away with a fair few indiscretions in this one, picking up an early boundary with a slice over the slip cordon before an inside edge off Brett Hutton just before he reached fifty came within a whisker of his off stump.When the ball came out of the meat of the bat, though, it invariably went a long way. Jamie Overton, Nathan Buck and Luke Procter took it in turns to suffer, and when stand-in captain Adam Rossington turned to Rob Keogh, Salt went after his offspin from the off, smiting him through cover and over his head for back-to-back fours before hauling the next delivery over deep midwicket for six. That one cleared the bank of seats and sailed out of the ground, coming to rest in someone’s back garden, presumably.The only bowler he wasn’t able to get away to much gain was Hutton, in the game as an unprecedented second concussion substitute after Luke Wood was unfit to resume following the helmet strike he suffered against Chris Jordan on the second evening.Salt made the unfortunate Keogh watch the ball disappear into the distance a couple more times before it all came to a predictable end just before tea when another vigorous swing of the bat against Overton sent the ball directly upwards. As he began to run, he knew even before the ball started to drop that he may as well head straight for the pavilion.”At the end of the day, if you strip it back, it is just a ball coming down at you and you have to hit it,” he said.”Obviously, in four-day cricket you have to show the bowlers more respect but I don’t see much of change in the way I approach the game in different formats, apart from that mental switch.”Sussex had not been nearly as far ahead as they had hoped when Northamptonshire’s first innings ended, largely because of Buck, who had only once before passed fifty in 122 first-class innings but showed that he actually possesses a decent repertoire of strokes, particularly square of the wicket.His partnership with Procter, most of it against the second new ball, added 70 for the ninth wicket, taking Northamptonshire past the follow-on score and on to claim a third batting point. Ben Sanderson’s late support enabled Procter even to stay around long enough to claim a fourth.It left Sussex still 54 in front, but with a need to score quickly to manoeuvre themselves into a position from which they might dictate the way the contest played out. Salt completed that part of the plan, and half-centuries in the final session from Brown and Stiann Van Zyl have given them a big enough advantage to declare overnight, or at least early in the final day, although taking 10 wickets on this pitch will be a test.

Do South Africa want a turning track at Edgbaston or don’t they? Against New Zealand, is spin an opportunity or a threat?On one hand, they have Imran Tahir, easily the most fearsome of the spinners in either squad – his average of 24.28 is at least 10 better than that of Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand spinner with the best numbers. On the other hand, their middle order has proven incontinent in the face of high quality spin during this tournament. In the match against India, they lost four wickets to legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal, one to left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, and essentially surrendered the game in a four-over period in which they lost three batsmen.Tahir, at least, seems to be in wicket-taking form. Although he was unsuccessful against India, he had taken two wickets apiece against England and Bangladesh, before running through Afghanistan – his googly flummoxing several batsmen – as he claimed 4 for 29. The tawny colour of the Edgbaston surface suggests there could be some turn on offer, and if there is, Tahir is best-placed among the potential participants in this game to exploit it.”Imran has been a star for this team,” spin coach Claude Henderson said. “He has proven to world cricket how well he can perform, even when he is under pressure. He is in a good space, he is bowling well, and he is excited. This is his last World Cup, but he is loving every minute still, which is amazing. He’s got great passion and what an example he is for any young cricketer.”ALSO READ: Ngidi’s return to fitness a boost for South AfricaBut how will their own batsmen fare, if there is turn to be had here? Although they were successful in denying Rashid Khan a wicket on a green surface in Cardiff, South Africa’s record against spin over the past two years is not encouraging. Their team average against spin over the past two years is 35.97, which places them seventh out of the 10 sides at this World Cup. New Zealand, meanwhile, are up at fourth with an average of 40.35 against spin in the same period.”We chat a lot about playing spin, because spin bowling has had a big effect on the one-day game,” Henderson said. “It might be that at Edgbaston that’s the case, because of the slowness of the wicket. It’s also a case of confidence. We played some good cricket against Afghanistan, and had some good practices. We’ll be staying positive.”Against wristspin, South Africa’s numbers over the past two years are even worse. They average 25.21 against legspinners and left-arm wristspinners through this period. They are worse only than Sri Lanka and Afghanistan out of teams at this tournament. Should the conditions allow, perhaps New Zealand will consider deploying legspinner Ish Sodhi for the first time in this World Cup.”Ish Sodhi is a good bowler, and he has showed in the past that he can also take wickets,” Henderson said. “We definitely don’t underestimate him. Santner is a good spinner as well. It’s nice to have Imran but from a batting point of view, our preparation is knowing exactly what we are going to face and understanding the conditions.”

Conflict between Cricket Australia and the BCCI has left Australia’s female players confused and fuming about their absence from the list of players taking part in the IPL exhibition series due to take place in India next month.The announcement from the BCCI on Thursday that no Australians would be taking part in the exhibition tournament, a year after Meg Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt and Beth Mooney all featured in the inaugural match, arrived with players still unsure about whether or not they would be travelling to India for the event.ESPNcricinfo understands that the decision not to include Australian women in the tournament is part of a wider disagreement between the two boards that also featured the BCCI’s insistence on CA honouring a touring commitment to play men’s ODIs in India in January next year, leaving Australian broadcasters angry about an absence of one day cricket on the home calendar while also taking the nation’s best players overseas in the midst of the Big Bash League.CA is believed to have been non-committal about the availability of women’s players for the IPL exhibition for some months, alongside negotiations about the men’s ODI series. However, as the world’s most powerful board put its foot down over the men’s ODI series, the CA chief executive Kevin Roberts broke from annual leave to travel to India for last-minute negotiations about the women’s IPL tournament – talks that now appear to have come to nought.”CA has never said the players will be unavailable. We have been working with the BCCI on this and assisted them with activating the visa process earlier in the week,” a CA spokesperson said. “We confirmed yesterday that the players would be released and able to participate in the tournament that commences on 6 May.”There was no indication at that time that there were any problems with this and the BCCI were grateful for the support of the women’s IPL. As was the case last year we are very supportive of the Women’s IPL and look forward to seeing some great games ahead of the Women’s Ashes.”The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) indicated on Friday that the three players slated to take part – Lanning, Healy and Perry – were still eager to do so if an agreement can be reached between CA and the BCCI.”The Women’s T20 Challenge in India is a good opportunity to grow and develop the global interest in women’s cricket,” an ACA spokesperson said. “In speaking with the players we know they have been preparing to go and are still keen to play. To have no Australian players in the tournament would be an opportunity missed.”Last year’s first exhibition match was not without its troubles, with some disquiet about the nature of the contracts offered to the players to take part, including their terms and conditions. This year CA had been working to negotiate contracts collectively on behalf of their players, before the breakdown in talks that has led to their absence from playing lists named by the IPL.Australia are the reigning T20 World Cup champions after winning the global tournament in the Caribbean late last year, with Lanning, Perry and Healy arguably the world’s best players. CA’s development of the WBBL has been unashamed in its focus to be the world’s biggest women’s event, taking the place that the IPL occupies for the men’s game.

Sam Northeast has not given up on finally earning an England call-up and his towering 169 for Hampshire against Essex would have done his chances no harm ahead of a huge summer of international cricket.At 29, Northeast has not featured in the England system since U-19 level – apart from briefly representing the Lions in the Caribbean a year ago. But, while extremely humble and level-headed about his prospects of representing his country, as with most players, the lure of higher honours is undeniable.”It’s sort of just in the back of the mind, you’ve got to always have that goal, it keeps you going,” Northeast said. “But the most important thing is just to score runs for Hampshire.”If anything comes down the line, that would be a bonus but it’s just nice to score runs and nice to get off to a good season.”Resuming on his overnight score of 94, Northeast needed just four balls to bring up his 22nd first-class century and second since joining Hampshire from Kent before the start of last season.He bettered his previous best for Hampshire of 129, scored against Surrey a year ago before a finger injury hampered his debut season for the county in which he played 10 matches and averaged 25.05.”It was a strange year in many ways last year but I feel a lot more settled this year and hopefully it’s going to be a great year for me and the club,” Northeast said.”It’s just important in any season to get up and running and it’s nice to score a big hundred early and hopefully that gives me a bit of confidence to go on and have a big summer, but the important thing is it set us up quite nicely in this game.”Nineteen wickets isn’t going to be easy but hopefully we can make early inroads tomorrow and get in a winning position.”Northeast had hinted at his good form by scoring 118 against Oxford University in a pre-season warm-up and on the real stage he was flawless. He brought up his 150 with a boundary off Simon Harmer and on the next ball delivered a fifth bonus points as Hampshire reached the 400-mark.England World Cup hopeful Liam Dawson brought up his half-century moments later as he and Northeast pressed on towards a record fifth-wicket partnership for Hampshire against Essex of 165.It was Ravi Bopara who broke it when he hit Northeast on the pads with the last ball before lunch. Northeast faced 255 balls for his score, which included 23 fours and a six, as he anchored an innings in which four batsmen passed fifty.Dawson reached 64 before Matt Quinn was rewarded for some tough toil with his wicket, caught behind by stand-in wicketkeeper Will Buttleman, replacing Adam Wheater, who injured his thumb on the opening day and is expected to be out for six weeks.Dawson made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 2016 and played just two more during England’s tour of Sri Lanka last October before being ruled out with a side strain but some handy T20 performances in Bangladesh and Pakistan, along with his latest knock on English soil, cannot have hurt his chances of selection for the World Cup.At the end of the first day’s play, Hampshire’s feeling was that 450 would be a good first-innings total on this flat pitch. They more than achieved their aim, thanks largely to Northeast and Dawson building on some fine work by James Vince, Aiden Markram and Rilee Rossouw on the opening day.Alastair Cook, playing his first Championship match since retiring from international cricket and receiving a knighthood, caught Tom Alsop off the bowling of Harmer for 24, although the former England captain then dropped Gareth Berg on 20.That small blemish mattered little with Bopara holding onto a catch at deep square leg to dismiss Berg for 33 off Harmer and Hampshire immediately declared at 525 for 8.Fidel Edwards, Hampshire’s leading wicket-taker last season, made an early breakthrough in the fourth over of the Essex innings when he bowled Nick Browne for 1, but Cook and Tom Westley saw their way to an early close due to bad light.

If England required any extra inspiration ahead of what could be a momentous summer, the sight of three true greats of West Indies cricket being honoured between innings of this game showed, perhaps, what might be achieved.While it may be stretching a point to suggest England’s players could finish their careers with reputations quite as high as these three – Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Wes Hall and Sir Garfield Sobers really do represent the best of the best – it is probably fair to suggest that winning the World Cup would ensure this team’s place in their nation’s cricketing folklore. Like Weekes and co. it may prove a success that sustains even 50 years after their careers have finished. Whatever they achieve in the rest of their lives, it would probably be mentioned in the first sentence of their obituaries.This match – against the not especially catchily named University of West Indies’ Vice-Chancellor’s XI – represented England’s first List A game in a run of white-ball cricket that now lasts until mid-July.It’s hard to know what to read into such games. A few weeks ago, England annihilated a strong-looking side in two warm-up games ahead of the Test series; it didn’t prove an especially accurate indicator of their readiness.But the fact that Jason Roy and Joe Root both made centuries – the former from 78-balls; the latter from 74 – the fact that the spinners took wickets, that Mark Wood bowled with pace and Chris Woakes returned to action with a well-controlled spell, all boded well. The crushing margin of victory – 171 runs – underlined the chasm between the sides.There was some modest bowling and there were some dropped catches. Roy was missed on 45 and Root on 77, but the manner in which both of them managed to score freely on a sluggish wicket was encouraging. Jonny Bairstow, while not quite as fluent, took advantage of being dropped on nine to make 46 and later completed two neat stumpings.Alex Hales missed out, however. Only playing as Jos Buttler had been rested, Hales was unable to apply pressure on any of the incumbents as he clipped one to square leg without scoring. Eoin Morgan, meanwhile, was run out responding to Root’s call, Ben Stokes pulled a long-hop to long-on and Moeen Ali was bamboozled by Obed McCoy’s excellent slower ball.There might be just a little concern over Liam Plunkett, though. He did not, by any means, bowl poorly and came back pretty well after an expensive start. But he appears to be struggling to generate the pace that once seemed to come fairly easily and, without it, those back of the length cutters do not offer quite such sharp variation. He will be 34 by the time the World Cup starts and, with the likes of Tom Curran and, indeed, Jofra Archer – pushing for selection, his position as an automatic selection may be in some jeopardy. He goes into this series with just a bit to prove.Wood’s selection is not certain, either. But here he showed the value his pace can offer by first hitting Kjorn Ottley with a short ball and then dismissing him flapping at another one. Later Wood also had his brother, Yannick Ottley, caught hooking a short-ball to deep square leg.Woakes’ return was also encouraging. He has endured a frustrating tour, missing all three of the Tests due to a long-standing knee problem, but showed his value here by bowling a tight new-ball spell and then returning to nail yorker after yorker. He might be the most irreplaceable bowler in this England side.Meanwhile, an England supporter who was hit in the face by a six hit by Moeen – they had tried to catch it, only for the ball to burst through their hands – was said to be no more than uncomfortable by the end of the game. The England team doctor was among those to offer assistance at the time, with the amount of blood causing some alarm. While the spectator will have quite a bruise, they are not understood to have sustained a serious injury.

Big Picture

It’s happening again, you know. England’s impressively woeful record in the Caribbean is in serious danger of another four-year extension, after one of the most outstanding team performances ever put together in West Indies’ long and illustrious history.It’s not often that a spell of 5 for 4 in 27 balls can be overshadowed in the final analysis of a glorious Test win. But such was West Indies’ collective brilliance in Barbados that Kemar Roach’s finest hour was only the third-most stunning statistical feat of the game, behind Jason Holder’s wonderful double-hundred and Roston Chase’s web-weaving eight-for in the fourth innings.Throw in the gut-busting efforts of Shimron Hetmyer (whose first-innings 81 was arguably – arguably! – the most agenda-setting performance of the match), Shane Dowrich’s share of a record-breaking 295-run stand on that incredible third day, and some brilliant but under-rewarded old-school fast bowling from Shannon Gabriel and Alzarri Joseph in particular, and the net result was a performance that England – in a glorious, throwback-to-the-1980s fashion – simply found too hot to handle.Make no mistake: even allowing for the shifting sands of the Test game, and the increasing propensity for teams, of all nationality, to fold like badly-erected beach umbrellas when the pressure is cranked up and the prospect of salvation is lost, this was a battering – with bat and ball – that could hardly have been bettered by Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall, or Brian Lara and Curtly Ambrose.From an England perspective, the Barbados post-mortem zeroed in on two key shortcomings. The selection of the wrong team, with Sam Curran’s inclusion ahead of Stuart Broad and Adil Rashid’s anonymity as the second spinner, left them toothless at crucial moments of both innings, most spectacularly when Holder and Dowrich started teeing off in the second.But pitch mis-readings can happen. The less-forgivable shortcoming was England’s fatuous, almost blasé, attitude to their tour match at the 3Ws Oval. CWI had hoped for a proper four-day contest, not least to justify pulling so many players out of domestic competition. Instead, England insisted on two two-day warm-ups, glorified nets sessions against opponents who were visibly less than thrilled to be used in such a capacity. It provided, you suspect, further fuel to West Indies’ fire when it came to the main event.Stuart Broad walks out of the England dressing room•Getty Images

England will not make either mistake again. Broad, with his shorter, Richard Hadlee-inspired run-up, is sure to play at Antigua, while England are sure to have the match readiness for this second Test that they so palpably lacked for the first. But having blinked first in a three-Test series – and let’s face it, it was more of a bout of narcolepsy than a momentary nodding-off at the wheel – England face a massive challenge to get their series expectations back on course.For starters, there’s the Antigua factor – an island synonymous with some of West Indies’ most towering feats in the past, particularly against England. From Richards’ 56-ball hundred to Lara’s twin world records, and more recently to a pair of epic rearguards in 2009 and 2015, it’s an island where England have never yet tasted victory.Admittedly, the actual venue has shifted in recent years from the legendary ARG to the less-storied stadium in North Sound, and there has to be a first time for everything. But if West Indies can come close to matching the intensity they displayed in Barbados, it will be a challenge for England simply to stay with them, let alone better them.But whatever transpires, this series has already confounded expectations, and revived memories of past West Indian glories that, all too often in a troubled couple of decades, have threatened to consume rather than inspire their current and coming generations. Barbados was a performance around which the whole of the Caribbean was proud to rally. Bring on the next instalment.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLL (completed matches, most recent first)
England LWWWW

In the spotlight

How does any player follow up a performance quite like that, let alone a young captain who is, at long last, starting to get the respect his talent and dignity have earned? Jason Holder produced a Test match for the ages in Barbados, smoking a quite brilliant double-century – his first in front of his home fans – while bowling with brilliant, understated control, and marshaling his resources with a deft touch. In the course of his endeavours, he rose to become the No.1 allrounder in Test cricket – West Indies’ first such incumbent since the matchless Garry Sobers. His challenge this week is to lift his side to do it all again, and secure a series win that Sobers himself would have been proud to play a part in.Joe Denly looks on during a net session•Getty Images

England confirmed on match eve that Joe Denly will complete a remarkable journey to Test recognition – one that stalled way back in February 2010 but was unexpectedly revived in a Man-of-the-Match display of legspin in a one-off T20I in Sri Lanka before Christmas. At the age of 32 and 321 days, he will be the oldest batsman to debut for England since Allan Wells in 1995 (not that he’d want to emulate that particular England career…) Opening the innings will be a stiff challenge for Denly, whose return to recognition stemmed from his middle-order contributions for Kent over the last two summers. But he’ll have streets of experience to fall back on, and who knows, his wristspin might be a handy option for Joe Root too.

Team news

Why change a winning formula? Assuming there are no lingering fitness worries from Barbados, then West Indies are set to name an unchanged XI. That said, Gabriel was troubled by a bruised toe during the second innings at Bridgetown, while Joseph has been prone to back stiffness on his return from a stress fracture. Dowrich, who handed the wicketkeeping duties over to Shai Hope after picking up a niggle during his batting heroics, is fully recovered and ready to resume his role.West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 John Campbell, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Shannon GabrielKeaton Jennings has paid the price for his terrible display in the first Test, with Denly to make his Test debut, almost ten years on from his first appearance in England’s one-day set-up. Broad is also slated for a comeback, with England seemingly committed to a solitary spinner this time around – Adil Rashid has been left out of a 12-man squad, with Jack Leach coming into contention. Moeen Ali’s bowling was scarcely any more economical than Rashid’s in Bridgetown, while his pair spoke of a batsman whose form has fallen off a cliff, and Leach is an option who is sure to provide control. Ben Foakes was fearing for his place after a double failure in Bridgetown, but both he and Sam Curran have credit in the bank after their first taste of defeat in an England shirt.England (possible): 1 Rory Burns, 2 Joe Denly, 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Jack Leach, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

Two days out from the Test, there was still a fair amount of live grass on the wicket, but with a bit of a haircut and another day of Caribbean heat, it ought to be a fairly dry surface come Thursday morning. It might prove to be a touch quicker than in 2015 but in essence, it is a good batting wicket.

Stats and trivia

• England need to win this Test to have any hope of improving a woeful series record in the Caribbean, in which they have won a solitary series (in 2004) in their last nine attempts since 1968.
• After his scores of 4 and 22, Root’s Test average has dipped below 50 for the first time since August 2014, when he scored an unbeaten 149 against India at The Oval.
• If they are reunited with the new ball, James Anderson (570) and Broad (433) will become only the third bowling partnership to take the field with a combined 1000 Test wickets behind them, after Glenn McGrath (563) and Shane Warne (708), and Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Chaminda Vaas (355).
• Ben Stokes passed 3000 runs at Bridgetown, making him the fifth England allrounder to complete the 3000 runs and 100 wickets double, behind Ian Botham, Tony Greig, Andrew Flintoff and Broad.

Quotes

“We’re definitely still the underdogs in this series. We’re ranked eight and they’re ranked two or three.”
“It’s a very determined group of players who have had a bit of pride dented last week and know that’s not a good enough performance for what we’re capable of. This is our first opportunity to put things right.”
Joe Root believes his side are ready to bounce back

His unbeaten 141 in the BPL final against Dhaka Dynamites became an out-of-body experience for Tamim Iqbal. He said that he needed a little more time to fully grasp the enormity of his knock, one that contained a Bangladesh record 11 sixes and ten fours, and which turned out to be 70.85% of Comilla Victorians’ total in the final.It was such a one-man show that Tamim not only gave the Victorians a good start, he also built partnerships, held it together in the middle overs and then had to slog all the way through to the last over. The rest of their batsmen contributed only 47 runs off 59 balls.Parts of Tamim’s innings were truly unique to his style of batting. He has 20 international hundreds, and has figured out how to go about run-scoring in Tests and ODIs, in different circumstances. But this involved pacing an innings and never dropping off in his strike rate, which ended up being 231.14 after facing 61 balls.Tamim said that the plan to treat one bowler – Sunil Narine – with respect paid dividends. He batted at a 246-plus strike rate against Rubel Hossain and Andre Russell, and then despite having a more defensive mindset against Shakib Al Hasan, went after him for 30 runs off 10 balls.”To be honest, I feel I am still dreaming,” Tamim said. “I still don’t know how I batted. I think I can explain better after I see the highlights. At one stage I got very pissed when [Anamul Haque] Bijoy got out. I had to calm myself down and start again. I am sure that when I see the highlights, I can say it better.”I honestly never thought I’d play such a knock but I think I planned it really nicely. I didn’t want to give a wicket to Shakib [Al Hasan] and [Sunil] Narine, who were Dhaka’s most successful bowlers. I hardly took any risk against Narine apart from one six. It was an unbelievably good wicket so I backed myself against the pacers.”To remain in a positive state of mind for the duration of the tournament, Tamim said that he adopted Mashrafe Mortaza’s mantra of continuously telling himself that he will win. “I get tensed before a game, especially when the responsibility is with me,” he said. “So I decided to be positive all the way. You know owners can be emotional but not for a minute did I tell them that we will lose. The credit goes to Mr Mortaza.”Tamim said that his innings would also be a lesson for the rest of the Bangladeshi cricketers that on a big occasion, someone among the locals can do the job. “A Bangladeshi did the job in a big occasion in the BPL. I think this is the best achievement from today’s innings. Normally an overseas player does the job on the big day in previous occasions.”I hope my innings inspires the others from Bangladesh. They don’t need to wait for others to do it. We can also do it.”Tamim’s wait for the BPL trophy is now over, having gone through several disappointments and some controversies in the past editions. “It was very personal,” he said. “I always wanted to win a cup. The monkey is off my back.”

Winning is a habit, and Adelaide Strikers aren’t kicking it anytime soon. The reigning champions started their title defence in emphatic style with a five-wicket victory over Brisbane Heat, built on the back of another stunning spell from Rashid Khan and a dazzling knock from Alex Carey.The match was marred by some bizarre umpiring, with James Pattinson incorrectly given run out by the TV umpire before the Strikers withdrew the appeal, and Carey admitted he nicked a ball to the keeper after being given not out on 52.Rashid decimated the Heat’s batting line-up in conjunction with crafty spells from Peter Siddle and Ben Laughlin. At one stage, the hosts were 9 for 101 before Mujeeb Ur Rahman made 27 off 22 balls, a record for No. 11 in T20 cricket to push the total to 146.Strikers made a blistering start to the chase and though there were some wobbles Carey went deep enough before Jon Wells finished the job.When too many gimmicks might be too muchThe BBL is supposed to be one of the best T20 leagues in all of professional cricket. The opening night of the new season featured a toss of a bat instead of a coin. At one stage there were three players mic’d up on the field at once talking to two different television broadcasters and the whole ground descended in darkness during the innings break to allow for a fireworks display. So when the TV umpire incorrectly adjudicated a run out as ‘out’ that every person at the ground, at home, and around the world could see was clearly not out, you could be forgiven for wondering how serious this tournament is.Pattinson dived to beat a throw from Peter Siddle in the 13th over as the Heat were struggling at 6 for 92. Replays showed him clearly making his ground, but the signal coming down from umpire Greg Davidson was out. After much confusion, Strikers bowler Ben Laughlin inquired with his captain Colin Ingram as to whether they could withdraw the appeal. Ingram checked with on-field umpire Simon Fry and then recalled Pattinson. He only lasted seven balls for four runs before being stumped by Carey from the bowling of Matthew Short.Matthew Hayden does the first ever bat toss in the Big Bash League•Getty Images

Rashid’s worldThe Bash Brothers failed to fire after being sent in and the Heat combusted. Brendon McCullum hit the first ball for four and the second straight up the in the air to be caught by the wicketkeeper. Chris Lynn clubbed 33 from 20 balls including a six and a four off Rashid in the fifth over, but he was knocked over by Peter Siddle with four balls left in the Powerplay.The Heat slumped to 9 for 101 with 31 balls left. Rashid claimed 3 for 9 in three overs post the Powerplay. Equally startling was that he bowled 14 dot balls on a batsman’s paradise. He undid Ben Cutting with extra bounce as the batsman holed out sweeping. He completely bamboozled Mark Steketee and Mitch Swepson in his last over with trademark wrong ‘uns. He was unstoppable and as a result, so were the Strikers.Mujeeb makes historyMujeeb, on debut in the BBL, walked out at No.11 having never made more than 16 in any of his previous 28 innings in professional cricket. He wandered all around the crease and played all sorts of mad strokes including several attempted reverse hooks off the express pace of Billy Stanlake. But he mustered 27 off 22 balls, including three boundaries, the highest-ever score by a No.11 in T20 cricket. Mujeeb and Peirson put on 45 for the last wicket before Mujeeb fell with two balls left in the innings.Carey cool, calm and collectedThe Strikers batting relies heavily on their opening combination and Carey and Jake Weatherald picked up where they left off last season. They cracked 56 in 5.3 overs before Weatherald fell to reduce the required rate to a meagre 6.53.Carey was savage in the Powerplay. He took Steketee for 16 in three balls with simple clean striking and added another six off Joe Burns. Heat youngster Max Bryant dropped Weatherald in the second over which proved costly from a partnership perspective. Carey too was fortunate to survive a caught behind in the 11th over off the legspinner Swepson. He launched the next ball for six and added 18 more to his total before Swepson finally got his revenge. The Strikers still needed 39 from 36 balls but Wells made a very composed and unbeaten 24 to secure the victory with five balls to spare.

Victoria captain Peter Handscomb has all but confirmed that Aaron Finch will not open the batting in this week’s Sheffield Shield clash against Queensland at the Gabba, despite Finch looking set to open for Australia in the first Test against India.Handscomb, who himself has been named in Australia’s 14-man squad for Adelaide, said a final decision had not yet been made but following Victoria coach Andrew McDonald’s comments last week, suggesting Finch was better suited to the middle order, Handscomb reiterated that Victoria were unlikely to break up their opening combination of Marcus Harris and Travis Dean, despite the fact that Harris and Finch could well be the opening combination for Australia in the first Test in Adelaide.”Obviously Harry has got the call up [to the Australia squad] and Deany has been making runs for us for years, so it’s hard to knock those two out of the opening positions for us,” Handscomb said. “Finchy averages 50 batting at No.5 and 6 for us so it’s also hard to change that as well.”Finch’s average over the last two Sheffield Shield seasons at No.5 and 6 for Victoria is 46.41, from 13 innings only, and includes two centuries and three fifties. His career average for Victoria in those two spots is 32.89 from 29 innings.He has not opened for Victoria since 2013-14 where he averaged just 18.50 at the top of the order in eight innings Shield innings, that did include 97 against South Australia at the MCG.The situation involving Finch’s revolving position has not pleased Shane Warne who came out strongly on Twitter calling it a “disgrace” and that Victoria should be doing what is right for Australia.Finch’s overall first-class average at the top of the order is actually better than his career first-class record. He averages 46 from 24 innings, that includes games for Australia A, the Cricket Australia XI and Australia, with two centuries and six half-centuries.He made 122 in a match for Australia A against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2011, sharing in a 289-run opening stand with David Warner. He also scored 288 not out for the CA XI against New Zealand in a bizarre tour game at Blacktown in Sydney in 2015. He and former New South Wales batsman Ryan Carters put on 503 for the first wicket in 121 overs before the match was abandoned due to an unsatisfactory pitch.Finch made scores of 62, 49, 39 and 31 in the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE after being picked as a makeshift opener for the tour. He had batted no higher than No.4 in his previous 44 first-class innings over nearly three years prior to that tour.He has been opening in T20 and ODI cricket for Australia since the UAE tour but has been struggling for runs. Handscomb believes batting in the middle order in the Shield game would not affect Finch’s preparation for the Test match.”I wouldn’t be worried at all,” Handscomb said. “Finchy has been opening the batting in white-ball cricket. He’s been facing a new swinging ball. And batting No.5 and 6 you also get the opportunity to face the second new ball, hopefully, if we’ve done our job right. He’ll be fine. He’ll get what he needs. If he does open the batting for Australia he’s ready to go.”Handscomb said his own call up to the Australia Test squad had come as a surprise after his omission from the Test tour in the UAE.”It’s a weird one,” Handscomb said. “I was hoping that I was going to get the call but I wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen and what direction the selectors were going, but obviously I was very happy that they’ve gone with me.”He has not received any indication as to whether he will play in Adelaide but he has been in contact with Australia coach Justin Langer.”He just messaged once the side got announced and just said congratulations and good work on getting yourself back in,” Handscomb said. “But I’ve got another Shield game to go and he just said go out there and showcase what you’ve got.”

South African prosecutors are reportedly set to reopen the inquest into the death of Peter Roebuck, the former Somerset captain turned journalist who died in 2011. Roebuck fell to his death from a hotel room in Cape Town, with local police saying he had committed suicide.Roebuck’s family have previously expressed concern that they were not invited to be present at a closed hearing in 2013. Roebuck, who was in South Africa covering Australia’s Test tour, had been confronted by police while staying at the Southern Sun Hotel over allegations of sexual assault.South Africa’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Western Province, has been reviewing the case for a number of years. In 2016, the original inquest “docket” on the incident, which was believed to have been lost, was discovered and passed on to the DPP.Now, the has reported that the case will be re-examined “in the interests of justice”, although no date has been set for the inquest.David Hood, an English barrister representing the Roebuck family, said in a statement to the newspaper: “From the outset, the family and supporters of the late Peter Roebuck have put their faith in the legal system of South Africa. It is important to all internationally recognised systems of justice that justice is not only done, but is seen to be done.”That could never have been with the death of Peter Roebuck, unless and until the circumstances of his death were examined at a legally convened hearing held in public with witnesses called and questioned under oath.”The inquest is expected to examine a number of questions around Roebuck’s death, including the nature of the injuries he sustained after falling from the sixth floor and how he was able to jump through a window while a police office was supposedly present in the room.