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Babar Azam thwarted Australia with an extraordinary 196 as a gutsy Pakistan survived a dramatic late collapse to remarkably draw the second Test after batting through 171.4 overs to ensure the historic series remained deadlocked.Against all the odds, Pakistan finished their marathon second innings at 443 for 7 with Mohammad Rizwan unbeaten on 104 and Nauman Ali on 0 off 18 balls. Pakistan fell short of a record run chase by 63 runs, but in getting through they achieved the second most overs survived in the fourth innings behind the timeless Test between South Africa and England in Durban in 1939.Having endured a two-year century drought, Babar made up for lost time with his highest Test score and the highest fourth-innings score by a captain in Test history. Just as the match was petering out to a draw, there was a late twist in the final hour when Babar’s 425-ball epic ended when he prodded to bat-pad offspinner Nathan Lyon.Finally getting reward for his unwavering bowling, Lyon then picked up Faheem Ashraf on the next ball as Australia’s spirits lifted ahead of the third new ball. He didn’t claim a hat-trick but Lyon removed Sajid Khan shortly after and Australia suddenly needed just three wickets with eight overs left.In a nerve-jangling passage, Australia had seven fielders around the bat for the bowling of Lyon and debutant Mitchell Swepson, who almost had the big wicket of Rizwan with 19 balls left only for Usman Khawaja to drop a low chance at extra cover.It proved to be Australia’s last chance with Rizwan notching his century in the penultimate over and then keeping Swepson at bay in the final over as Pakistan conjured the improbable.A weary Australia were gutted for the fourth time in just over a year they failed to bowl out their opponent in the fourth innings. But Lyon, who endured criticism during those matches, produced a Herculean effort as did captain Pat Cummins.Swepson, Australia’s first specialist legspinner since Bryce McGain in 2009, was inconsistent but looked threatening at times in an encouraging debut.For a short while, Nathan Lyon’s heroics threatened to undo Pakistan’s hard work•AFP/Getty Images

But with their late rally falling short, it was a disappointment for Australia, who had dominated most of the match and declared both their innings in a Test in Asia for just the second time.After routing Pakistan for just 148 off 53 overs in the first innings, Australia appeared on course for victory but they were denied by Babar, who produced an innings for the ages.Babar came to the crease with Pakistan teetering at 21 for 2 just after lunch on day four as the hosts appeared to be headed for a crushing defeat in their fortress. But they incredibly lost just two wickets over the next 137 overs in shades of their batting dominance in Rawalpindi.The backbone of Pakistan’s defiance was Babar’s 228-run partnership with opener Abdullah Shafique, who made 96, as the pair batted through almost three sessions. Babar also combined with Rizwan for a century partnership to ensure Pakistan held on for a famous draw.With oppressive conditions in Karachi throughout the match, the pitch was marked by widening cracks in a contrast to the docile Rawalpindi deck amid a stale first Test draw. There was swing, sharp turn and variable bounce at times earlier in the match, but the pitch did not significantly deteriorate although occasionally played tricks late on day five.After tea, with Babar and Rizwan well set, it appeared Pakistan would make a bold attempt at mowing down the record chase as they scored 20 runs off the first two overs.But with the ball getting old and not coming onto the bat, Pakistan decided the gamble to go for broke was too risky, and they shut up shop before Lyon’s heroics threatened to undo all their hard work.Babar’s most testing period was before tea when he was dropped on consecutive balls by Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne fielding close to the wicket off Swepson, who rebounded with menacing sharp turn and bounce after wayward bowling in the morning session.Cummins had earlier almost single-handedly reignited Australia’s push for victory with two wickets during a brilliant spell either side of lunch.Having given themselves almost two full days, Australia rued two chances on day four against Shafique, who was dropped on 20 by Steven Smith in a regulation chance at slip and almost run out only for Cameron Green’s throw to miss from mid-on.With contrasting draws to start the series, this historic contest comes down to the third Test and Pakistan will enter with the momentum after their heroic performance in a match that will surely be talked about for a long time to come.

Graham Ford has emerged as a leading contender to become England men’s new Test coach. Ford, 61, left his job as Ireland’s head coach in November after four years in charge, with his previous roles including stints with Sri Lanka, Surrey and his native South Africa.Most relevantly, he spent five years as Kent’s director of cricket where he worked closely with Rob Key, who captained the club from 2006 and started his tenure as the ECB’s new managing director of men’s cricket earlier this week. Key is an admirer of Ford’s work from their time together at Kent, writing in his 2020 autobiography that Ford was “a great coach to work with”.Related

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“We had a joint focus on taking the team forward,” he wrote. “Fordy would do everything he could to make a player be the best they could; me included. If you were out of nick, he’d throw at you in the nets until it got dark to try to get you back into form. Because of our shared attitude to betterment, we never really had a clash.”Key is widely expected to split the head coach’s role in two by appointing separate coaches for Test and white-ball cricket. Ford was frustrated by Ireland’s sparse fixture list in Test cricket during his time as coach, and ESPNcricinfo understands that he would be interested in discussing the red-ball format role with England.Ford has stayed in Ireland since leaving his role as head coach, and is currently coaching YMCA CC in Dublin. He expects to qualify for Irish citizenship later this year, but it is understood that he would be willing to delay that process if necessary.ESPNcricinfo revealed last week that Ottis Gibson, who has been linked with both the Test and white-ball roles, has committed his future to Yorkshire, where he began his tenure as head coach earlier this year.The has reported that Ricky Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene have ruled themselves out of contention, while several newspapers linked Simon Katich with the Test role on Saturday. Gary Kirsten, Tom Moody and Paul Collingwood are among the various other contenders.

Eoin Morgan’s position as the most powerful man in English cricket was further reinforced on Thursday with confirmation that Rob Key’s has decided to appoint Brendon McCullum as the new coach of the men’s Test team.McCullum was the inspiration for England’s white-ball revolution, master of ceremonies at Morgan’s wedding and his coach when he captained KKR to the IPL final last year; they share passions for red wine, horse racing and gambling and while Morgan is not directly involved in the Test side, the influence he has had on English cricket will be clear throughout the Ben Stokes-McCullum era.So it was fitting that on the day McCullum’s appointment was ratified and confirmed publicly, Morgan was back at Lord’s – supposedly for a gym session, though he was seen in conversation with Stuart Broad pre-match and later on the Middlesex balcony catching up with team-mates with the start of the T20 Blast two weeks away.Morgan’s presence meant this was a chance for Nottinghamshire’s batters to make an impression. When Haseeb Hameed threw his head back and raised his bat after clipping Tim Murtagh’s first ball after tea off his pads for four to reach a first hundred of the season, he could feel confident that he had done so.Hameed’s first seven innings of the season had brought a solitary half-century, with several starts but an average of 26.83. His first-innings dismissal against Glamorgan last month appeared to confirm that luck had deserted him: he was run out at the non-striker’s end when James Weighell deflected Ben Slater’s straight drive into the stumps via his boot, sticking out a hopeful left leg as he slid over in his follow-through. This, then, was a welcome return to form at a ground where he made the final hundred of his Lancashire career three years ago.It was not a faultless innings: he played uncharacteristically aggressively early on – perhaps subconsciously changing his method after reading reports of McCullum’s impending appointment – and survived some awkward flirts in the off-stump channel. But his 112 set the game up for Notts against the early pace-setters in Division Two after they had been asked to bat first, reinforcing their well-founded belief that they are the best side outside of the top flight this year. He was well supported by Steven Mullaney, the club captain and one of the more reliable middle-order batters on the circuit, who targeted the short boundary towards the Grand Stand to good effect in his 91 not out.Hameed told ESPNcricinfo in a pre-season interview that he thinks finding a way to “get back up from rock bottom” has been a strength throughout his young career and after a gruelling Ashes tour he needed to do so once again.Eoin Morgan watches on from the Middlesex balcony•Alex Davidson/Getty Images

“It was just a case of trying to keep things simple,” Hameed said of his innings. “I felt like if I continued playing the way I was there would be a big score around the corner. I just had to keep that belief and thankfully I was able to get a decent one on the board today.”The pitch was a little on the slow side but there were a number of play-and-misses throughout the day and a lot of the dismissals were genuine nick-offs, even with an older ball at times like mine. I feel like there’s enough in there for us to take 20 wickets.”Hameed is, at best, an outside bet to play in the first Test of McCullum era, against New Zealand at this ground in three weeks’ time, and was keen to avoid the question of a recall. “I saw there was a decent chance he’d be made coach,” he said. “I know Broady was pretty excited about that appointment but honestly, there hasn’t been too much chat about it. I’m not even looking that far: for me, it’s always been important to keep things very short-term and very simple. That hasn’t changed.”Perhaps the day’s most intriguing innings came from Ben Duckett, who edged Ethan Bamber behind shortly after lunch for 42. He was handed an early life on 4 when Peter Handscomb put down a straightforward chance at first slip off Murtagh, but played brightly, driving confidently through extra cover and working through midwicket off his pads.Duckett is among a number of batters who could fill England’s vacancy at No. 3 and his unshackled approach in first-class cricket – his strike rate this season, 65.42, reflects a calculation that attack is the best option on seam-friendly Trent Bridge pitches – is in sync with McCullum’s preference for positivity. If he misses out on a Test recall, Morgan may well take a look at him in June’s ODI series in the Netherlands.Middlesex were unable to call on their star overseas signing Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has returned home to Pakistan to “rest and spend time with family and friends” before an ODI series against West Indies in a month’s time. He is due to return for the back end of the Blast’s group stages and Middlesex have plenty of fast-bowling depth but his absence is clearly a blow – as it would be to any team in the world.With the notable exception of Toby Roland-Jones, their seamers struggled to keep the scoring rate in check though Bamber, Murtagh and Martin Andersson all threatened at times. But it has been their batting that has been the major point of improvement this season: an attack of Broad, Luke Fletcher and a well-rested James Pattinson will offer a test of their progress at some stage on Friday.

Northamptonshire 155 for 5 (cobb 70) beat Derbyshire 151 for 9 (Taylor 4-27) by five wickets Northamptonshire Steelbacks captain Josh Cobb struck 70 from just 44 balls, his highest score of this Vitality Blast season to help his side chase down 152 and earn a five-wicket victory over Derbyshire Falcons with 11 balls to spare.Cobb, deprived of opportunities this season by Chris Lynn’s power-hitting, picked up the mantle after the Australian fell to a rare first-ball duck. Playing a belligerent innings, he struck six fours and three maximums before Rob Keogh took the Steelbacks over the line.Earlier Tom Taylor took three wickets in an over as the Steelbacks’ bowlers restricted Derbyshire Falcons to a modest total. Wayne Masden was the only batter to offer any real resistance with 37.The Falcons were kept to 40 for two at the end of the powerplay. Luis Reece swung one high over deep midwicket in the first over but Taylor and Ben Sanderson applied the brakes, backed up well by some sharp Steelbacks fielding.Reece attempted to up the scoring rate but miscued a big shot against Taylor and offered a steepler of a catch to Neesham at midwicket. Shan Masood fell shortly afterwards to an astonishing running catch by Keogh on the boundary at backward square off Sanderson.Hayden Kerr (29 off 22 balls), promoted to number three, looked assured and put on 39 for the third wicket with Leus du Plooy (19). Any hope of building a big total fell away though when the Falcons lost three wickets for 16 runs in as many balls to stutter to 80 for five at the end of the twelfth over.First du Plooy hit Freddie Heldreich straight to Taylor on the long-off boundary before Kerr holed out at deep midwicket off Jimmy Neesham. Brooke Guest then gave Heldreich his second scalp caught at point.The Falcons went four overs before scoring another boundary as Madsen and Alex Hughes rebuilt. Hughes finally cleared the square leg boundary dispatching the ball into the gardens of the neighbouring terraced houses.Masden survived two dropped catches off Sanderson but Taylor struck back in the next over. First he removed both set batsmen who both fell to catches by Cobb at cover before knocking back Mattie McKiernan’s stumps. With a run-out off the last ball, the Falcons finished on 151 for nine.An expectant Wantage Road crowd were momentarily hushed when Lynn, fresh from his heroics in the previous two Steelbacks home games, edged behind off the first ball of the chase bowled by Kerr.Cobb though started aggressively, clubbing Kerr over mid off and then cutting him for consecutive boundaries.He slog swept George Scrimshaw over deep midwicket for six and hit Watt down the ground for another to take the Steelbacks to 53 for one at the end of the powerplay.He rode his luck at times, offering two sharp chances which the Falcons failed to hold. Later he was caught on the ropes only for the fielder’s boot to touch the rope in the process.He had put on 55 with Ben Curran before his partner fell to a catch behind square off Scrimshaw when Conners took a well-judged catch sliding on his knees to get to the ball. Saif Zaib made only six before he offered a catch behind off an attempted pull shot.Cobb meanwhile advanced to his half century reaching the landmark off 31 balls. He continued in belligerent fashion crunching the ball through the covers and playing some deft cut shots before finally falling off a thick edge to Conners at deep point off Scrimshaw to leave the Steelbacks on 102 for four in the 13th over.Neesham hit 20 before he fell to a catch at long-on but Keogh held his nerve, finishing with an undefeated 28 off 24 deliveries.

Two things happened on this dark, drizzle-haunted day at Cheltenham. The first was that Hampshire made 457 and then took two prime Gloucestershire wickets, thereby establishing a position from which they will hope to force a vital victory in the second half of this match. The second was that James Vince made 95.Yes, before you say it, the two achievements are intimately bound up with each other. Vince is Hampshire’s skipper, after all, and he had judgements to make about batting points, the shape of the match and other stuff. Yet anyone who has watched him drive through the on side or past point knows that when Vince bats as he did early this afternoon this, his innings transcend their context and become separable from everything else we are watching. So often when he is in this mood, there is a simple alchemy to his batting and a suggestion that however remarkable his gifts might appear to others, they seem terribly straightforward to him. And now that Ian Bell has retired and James Hildreth is not in Somerset’s team, there is no more aesthetically pleasing strokemaker in English cricket than Vince.But this was also a day of four interruptions and they had their impact on Hampshire’s captain. After batting prudently to be unbeaten on six from 35 balls overnight, Vince reached his fifty off a further 68 deliveries with seven fours and a six, the latter being struck straight and clean into corporate hospitality in Zafar Gohar’s first over of the morning. Included in that half-century was a square drive off Tom Price and a back-foot punch off Zak Chappell, and it was difficult to think those strokes could have been played much better.By that time, though, we had lost most of the morning’s play but at least watching any cricket was vastly more pleasurable than it had been 24 hours earlier and parlour games about movie stars had nothing to do with it. The 15 degrees of separation between Tuesday’s play on the College Ground and this morning’s cricket concerned only the thermometer. The folk who filled the small stand opposite the pavilion wanted merely to see whether Gloucestershire could contain a Hampshire side that was clearly intent on rattling up a big total and batting once. A day earlier, one speculated that the people occupying the scalding plastic seats were masochists who liked reminiscing about the Raj, which has often been a topic of conversation in Cheltenham.The weather soon took a role, though, and one didn’t need to be steeped in English cricket to see the irony of it. Seven overs into what was likely to be a long day, mizzle and heavy cloud drifted in from the south-west and soon became sufficiently heavy for the umpires to take the players off the field. We anticipated a brief delay but the bowlers’ run-ups were soon covered and an early lunch was taken. When play resumed at 1.25 it was announced that a further 84 overs would be bowled and the umpires’ determination to squeeze in as much cricket as possible was not greeted with universal rejoicing. correspondent fretted that at this rate he was going to miss his dinner and pointed out with some asperity, that those langoustines weren’t going to eat themselves.The cricket resumed and while Vince batted with perfect precision, wickets were falling at the other end. Felix Organ, who had reached his second century of the season early in the morning’s play, fished rather horribly at Zak Chappell and was caught behind for a career-best 118. Liam Dawson opened with a six and two fours but was well caught at midwicket by Graeme van Buuren off Josh Shaw.Something of a pattern had been established. Ben Brown and Aneurin Donald both made entertaining twenties as Vince sought to recapture his earlier rhythm. There were three more interruptions in late afternoon but none of them trimmed as many overs from our allotment as we had supposed. Keith Barker blasted a half-century in 37 balls and took three-quarters of the strike during his 66-run stand in nine overs with his captain. Eventually, after batting for 263 minutes and facing 162 balls, Vince was bowled by Tom Price with one that squirmed between bat and pad and may even have shaved the inside edge. The last three wickets fell in as many overs and we steadied ourselves for Gloucestershire’s reply.The bad light and rain that had plagued our cricket earlier stayed away during that last hour or so and home supporters must have cursed their absence. Muhammad Abbas’s tenth ball of the innings swung in to Chris Dent, who was pinned without a plea on the back foot for nought. The light closed in a little but only enough to bring on the spinners and that didn’t help Gloucestershire either. In his second over, Dawson turned one out of the rough to the left-handed Marcus Harris and Graham Lloyd raised his finger for the second time in ten minutes. Dawson wheeled away in a celebration that would have done credit to Jack Brooks and there can be no higher praise.Miles Hammond and Ollie Price saw their side to the close amid a cacophony of leg before shouts and a gaggle of near things. The question now is whether van Buuren’s batsmen have the skill and fibre to resist Hampshire’s fine attack for something like two days. We shall see but at least other matters reached a clear conclusion. For example, epicurean correspondent filed his copy and skedaddled. Things were looking bleak for the crustaceans. Some gloomy folk think they are not that much rosier for Gloucestershire.

West Indies’ search for the ideal squad to take to the T20 World Cup in October continues at pace with an almost entirely new set of personnel set to take on Bangladesh in a three-match series that starts on July 2. Five of the 16 that played in their last short-form assignment have been left out.It had already been announced that Jason Holder would be rested from these matches, and Kieron Pollard has retired from international cricket altogether but Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell and Shai Hope, who had all made the trip to India in February, have been sidelined. Dominic Drakes only finds place as a reserve player.Meanwhile, Rovman Powell, who had an impressive season with Delhi Capitals at the IPL, was named T20I vice-captain.

West Indies vs Bangladesh 2022

T20I squad: Nicholas Pooran (capt), Rovman Powell (vice-capt), Shamarh Brooks, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Dominic Drakes (reserve player)

Out: Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Shai Hope

In: Obed McCoy, Shamarh Brooks, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Devon Thomas

ODI squad: Nicholas Pooran (capt), Shai Hope (vice-capt), Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd (reserve player)

Out: Nkrumah Bonner, Shermon Lewis, Hayden Walsh Jr

In: Gudakesh Motie

A T20I squad of 13 featured recalls for left-arm seamer Obed McCoy, who played the IPL final for Rajasthan Royals, allrounder Keemo Paul and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.Gudakesh Motie, the left-arm spinner who has played a Test and a T20I each, was called up to a 13-man ODI squad to face Bangladesh from July 10. Nicholas Pooran will continue to captain West Indies in both formats.”We know Rovman’s history,” chief selector Desmond Haynes said. “He has captained the West Indies before and is also the captain of his CPL franchise [Jamaica Tallawahs]. Our role is to look at future leaders as well and we have identified a few, including himself, who we will be putting programmes around to ensure we keep them involved in that aspect of the cricket.”Generally, we have to start looking at the bigger picture of getting these players playing together as often as possible in preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup later down in the year. We need to ensure we are fielding a very strong side for that tournament.”West Indies’ last white-ball cricket was in Pakistan, a three-match ODI series they lost 3-0. Brandon King, who struggled in that series, kept his place in the side. The 32-year old Thomas, who broke an eight-year spell between T20I appearances this past December, stayed in the team as well. Over a 101-game T20 career, he averages 18.79 and strikes at 112.90.”Thomas is a very versatile cricketer, who has been knocking on the door in all formats,” Haynes said. “He has been doing well in franchise cricket and with that level of talent, we must ensure we keep him interested. He brings a lot to the table and is basically a four-dimensional player, he can bat, bowl, he is brilliant in the field, and he can keep wicket as well.”The white-ball games will kick off with three T20Is on July 2, July 3 and July 7, before the ODIs on July 10, July 13 and July 16. The first two games will be played in Dominica, the first games that country will host since Hurricane Maria heavily damaged the island in 2017. The final four games will take place in Guyana. West Indies concluded a two-match Test series against Bangladesh on Wednesday, winning both games.

Zimbabwe couldn’t quite make it a whitewash after Bangladesh trounced them by 105 runs in the third ODI in Harare. The visitors put on a better show with the ball as the home side were bowled out for 151 runs, after fifties from Anamul Haque and Afif Hossain powered Bangladesh to 256 for 9.It was Bangladesh’s lowest total in the series after making 303 and 290 in the last two matches, but Zimbabwe had no answer to Bangladesh’s all-round bowling efficiency on Wednesday. Mustafizur Rahman took four wickets after two each from Ebadot Hossain and Taijul Islam.The win was delayed by an entertaining 68-run tenth wicket stand between Nos. 10 and 11, Richard Ngarava and Victor Nyauchi, who scored 34 and 26, respectively – Zimbabwe were reeeling at 83 for 9. The pair struck nine fours and two sixes as they added Zimbabwe’s highest tenth-wicket stand in ODIs.The hosts had a wobbly start to the chase. Openers Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Tadiwanashe Marumani fell in the first two overs. Hasan Mahmud trapped Kaitano lbw while Marumani needlessly charged at and missed and was bowled by Mehidy Hasan Miraz. The openers’ total of 32 runs in the series is the lowest for any team which has won an ODI series. The previous lowest was the Indian openers making 37 runs against England during their 2017 series.Ebadot then put the mockers on the Zimbabwe line-up with a double-wicket over that included the prized scalp of Sikandar Raza. After removing Wessly Medhevere with one that bounced awkwardly, Ebadot yorked Raza for a first-ball duck.Taijul then took the next two wickets in quick succession too. He removed Innocent Kaia for 10 in the ninth over, before having Tony Munyonga stumped for 13. Mustafizur then had his three wickets in the space of five deliveries. Luke Jongwe holed out to sweeper cover before Clive Madande, on debut, skied one after making 24. Later in the same over, Brad Evans top-edged a slower ball to point.Zimbabwe were all out for 151 when Mustafizur bowled Nyauchi for his fourth wicket.Earlier, the visitors looked cramped with six batters in their line-up, particularly after a less than robust start from Tamim Iqbal. Tamim was on 19 when he was run out after a terrible mix-up with Anamul in the ninth over.Zimbabwe struck twice in the next over to further destabilise the visitors. Evans removed Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim for ducks; Shanto was caught at point while Mushfiqur’s uppercut was caught by Richard Ngarava, who was running in from deep third.Anamul, however, kept Bangladesh going with a 77-run fourth-wicket stand with Mahmudullah. Anamul struck six fours and four sixes in his 71-ball 76, his first six over extra cover came off Ngarava, shortly after Tamim’s dismissal. He hooked the same bowler in his next over, before hammering Evans for two more sixes over square leg. But Jongwe removed him with a fine delivery, giving wicketkeeper Clive Madande his first ODI catch.Zimbabwe missed a chance shortly afterwards when Innocent Kaia dropped Afif on two off his bowling. Afif and Mahmudullah went on to add 49 runs before Ngarava had Mahmudullah dragging onto his stumps in the 35th over. Mahmudullah made a slow 39 off 69 balls.After a brief partnership with Mehidy, Afif had only the tail for company in the last eight overs. He struck a few boundaries as he farmed the strike with wild swishes and falling wickets at the other end. He hit six fours and two sixes to stay unbeaten on 85 off 81 balls, helping Bangladesh to a total that proved enough.

Koos Jansen spotted the cricketing talent of his twin sons, Marco and Duan, when they were nine-years-old and ran with it. Much like Richard Williams, who masterminded Venus and Serena’s rise to being among the best players tennis has ever seen, Koos made it his mission to train and talk to his kids about the sport he believed they would excel in, becoming cricket’s equivalent of King Richard. Let’s call him King Koos.Like Williams, and in keeping with a few other famous cricketing dads, Koos Jansen wasn’t always gentle in his methods.”There have been some very tough times when my dad was very tough on us,” Marco Jansen, South Africa’s 22-year old tearaway, said. “There was no sugarcoating. Back then, he spoke to us in the same way he is speaking to us now. Nothing has changed. That enabled us to grow and mature a bit quicker than all the other kids when we were a bit young.Related

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• Root: Stokes' honesty about mental health epitomises leadership qualities

“Since we were growing up, he is the one that has been – not the tough guy – but harder on us, especially when it comes to sport.” Koos demanded the best from his boys in other spheres too, such as academics. “But we weren’t that great,” Jansen said.By Jansen’s own admission, and despite some eye-watering numbers (164 and 80 respectively) in a T20 game for example, the pair were not stand-out youth players either. “My high school career didn’t go well. I wasn’t the top schoolboy cricketer,” Jansen said.Neither of he nor Duan played in an Under-19 World Cup and both made their names as net bowlers. In a professional era where the pathways are clearly laid out, and usually followed, theirs is the stuff of fairytales, which is why when Jansen made his Test debut, with only 18 first-class appearances to his name (and of those only half in South Africa’s top-tier of domestic cricket), he could barely believe his good fortune. “If you had told me you will make your debut against India in South Africa, I would have laughed and said, no, there’s no chance,” he said.There was an element of his selection which was about him being in the right place at the right time. South Africa were without Anrich Nortje for that India series and would have picked Duanne Olivier for the Boxing Day Test but he had not fully recovered from Covid-19 and was nursing a hamstring niggle. When Jansen’s name appeared on the team-sheet, it was a surprise and he found himself under scrutiny immediately.He was nervous and his first spell was wayward but he returned later in the match and showed off an ability to swing the ball at pace, to exploit any bounce and to challenge even the best. In India’s second innings, Jansen dismissed Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Mohammed Siraj to finish his debut match with five wickets.He has since added KL Rahul – three times – Cheteshwar Pujara and most recently Joe Root to his list of wickets and continues to ask serious questions of marquee players. In Root’s case, Jansen struck him on the pad with a delivery that shaped in and the amount of movement on offer at Lord’s surprised Jansen himself. “I didn’t expect the ball to swing that much,” Jansen said. “The plan was to stick around that off stump or fourth stump area and let the ball pass through there. If it nips back then it brings all dismissals into play and if it just straightens, you can nick him off. When you get the big names out, it’s always a good feeling.”Duan (left) and Marco Jansen with Virat Kohli in the nets on India’s 2018 tour•Koos Jansen

The best, in fact. Though Jansen has an IPL deal and was among the players who opted out of the series against Bangladesh earlier in the year, he spoke of Test cricket as the highlight of becoming an international. “I enjoy the red-ball format. It’s the format where what you put in, you get out. If you bowl well, you will get wickets. If you bat well, you will score runs,” he said. “That’s what I have enjoyed the most. And just being around the guys, they make it [nice] to play the game.”As the youngest in the group, Jansen is soaking up the knowledge from players who are much more experienced than him, much like he did with his dad.”Like today, we had a long practice session, so then you chat to them and you ask all the nitty gritty stuff,” he said of South Africa’s preparations for the second Test at Old Trafford. “They help you think out of the box. And there’s the coaches as well. They bring a different perspective. There’s a lot of angles or perspectives you have at your disposal to try and figure out what you can do to give yourself the best chance to perform.”There’s also some advice about what not to do. Naturally, because of Jansen’s frame – he stands at 2.06 metres tall – there are concerns about overbowling him and injuries. He has already overcome what was turning into a stress fracture of the lower back. “I’ve had problems when I was 18 or 19 – a semi-stress fracture in the lower back. I have grown a lot quicker for my body to adjust to my muscles and all those kinds of stuff.”To try to prevent future issues, he has to work specifically on his lower body and abdominal area. “My core has to be strong. My glutes, my lower body have to be very strong because that’s where most of my loads go. Because I twist a lot, if my core muscles are quite strong, then I have a base to work from.”That’s how Jansen’s entire career has been. He has the foundations laid by his family (and he wants you to know that Koos was also always there for “a bit of love and a bit of softness”) and he built on those by almost immediately joining the best cricketers in the country and turning out regularly for them. And it’s not just any international team.After the last year South Africa have had in Tests, and their performance at Lord’s, there’s already talk this pace pack could become one of the best going around. Asked if he thought the South Africa attack was as good as it could be, Jansen checked himself. “I wouldn’t say we are unbeatable. We put in the hard yards and we are still putting in the hard yards,” he said. “We don’t take anything for granted because we know when we do that, Mother Cricket is going to kick you on the backside.”Or make that, Papa (King) Koos.

Alex Gidman has stepped down as Worcestershire’s head coach after four years in the role, and will leave the club with immediate effect.Gidman joined Worcestershire, initially as 2nd XI coach, in early 2018. He was involved with the side that won the T20 Blast that summer, before taking over as head coach after Kevin Sharp moved into a management position.It was announced in August that Sharp would also leave his role as head of player development, with Worcestershire expected to appoint a director of cricket before starting their search for a new head coach. ESPNcricinfo understands that former club captain Joe Leach has interviewed for the director of cricket position.”Alex has led the Club to great success winning the T20 Blast in 2018 and runner up in 2019,” Worcestershire chair, Fanos Hira, said. “We wish him well in the next steps of his career and thank him for his contribution to our club.”Worcestershire finished fourth in Division Two of the County Championship, but endured a tough year in white-ball cricket, winning just twice in the Blast and twice in the Royal London Cup, propping up the group-stage table in both competitions.They face a winter of transition on the playing side, as well, having lost England star Moeen Ali and homegrown allrounder Ed Barnard to local rivals Warwickshire.Gidman said: “I enjoyed my time at Worcestershire and would like to thank the club for all for its support. I wish the club well for the future.”

One of the most enduring relationships between a franchise and a player in the IPL has ended. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians have released Kieron Pollard, their most senior player, to end a 13-year playing career that began in 2010, when they signed Pollard for an undisclosed sum via a tie-breaker that broke the deadlock between four teams. While Pollard said he would be calling time as a player in the IPL, his relationship with Mumbai is not ending: he has joined them as a batting coach and will play for MI Emirates, owned by the same group, in the ILT20 in the UAE.