Jonny Bairstow a bystander as Glamorgan seize control at Headingley

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-May-2023If you are going to send a message to your national selectors from the other side of the world, doing so when they are awake can be tough, particularly with 11am starts. Sometimes, though, a player nails their small window.By 12.28pm on Friday at Headingley, Michael Neser did just that with typical precision, completing a maiden hat-trick in first-class cricket. It was early enough to have decent cut-through back home in Australia. Early enough, even with the ten-hour difference, that perhaps an everyman like Australia chief selector George Bailey would have been aimlessly scrolling social media before bed when it dropped into the feeds. He might have still been taking it all in some 15 minutes later when Neser removed Jordan Thompson to claim career-best figures of 7 for 32.The Queensland seamer became only 11th Glamorgan cricketer to take a hat-trick, the ninth to do so in the County Championship and the first since Robert Croft in 2010. And the great thing for a player keen to make as much noise as possible right now is the racket such historical feats tend to make.Related

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Timing is everything, and few will appreciate that more than Neser, the 33-year-old alternate to a pace attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. The misfortune of vying for a starting spot among three modern-great quicks manifested itself in a 17-man squad list for the World Test Championship and first two Ashes Tests that did not bear his name.A spell of this ilk with 2023’s Dukes at one of the Ashes venues won’t hurt, and the speed of the exploits was as vital for trending across hemispheres as the match itself. Yorkshire’s last five wickets fell for just 16 runs inside 21 deliveries, with Glamorgan closing day two with a lead of 196 and eight second innings wickets remaining. Even with just 29.3 overs of play on day two, progress has been swift.Dawid Malan was the first of the hat-trick, building into his work before Neser trapped him on the crease from around the wicket. George Hill’s leave was understandable given the original line of the delivery was fifth stump before seaming in to clip the very top of off. The best of the three deliveries confirmed the hat-trick: swinging in absurdly late, gathering pace off the pitch to strike off stump once more – this time hard enough to crack the middle-and-off bail.In real time, you wondered why Dom Bess offered no shot considering Hill’s dismissal the ball before. And yet watching the replay – over and over and over again – you can understand why. Even given the end result, you wouldn’t leave the house if you lived your life worrying about deliveries that far wide.”Pretty stiff ball to face straight up,” Neser said, sympathies with Bess. Having tried to move the ball away from the right-handers, Neser decided to go the other way and found more than he was bargaining for. “Fortunately enough it worked,” he said, in a typically subdued manner.He was more engaging on his Test snub, which Bailey explained isn’t a snub. Given Neser is not part of the first-choice attack, it made sense to keep him playing competitive red-ball cricket instead of travelling around as a glorified net bowler, as Neser was during the 2019 series. The experience of that tour makes this decision a little more palatable, though the annoyance of having to wait a little longer to add to his two Test caps still has not worn off. Frightening from an English perspective, considering his talents and this performance after a winter of 40 Sheffield Shield wickets at 16.67 during Queensland’s 2022-23 campaign.”It’s disappointing not to be part of that squad, but I’ve got to look at the positives,” Neser said. “I’m playing cricket here, and if I do get called up I’ll get ready to go. Having matches under my belt is far more important than bowling overs in the nets and not playing any games. From a squad point of view, it’s probably best I’m playing games and being ready to go if the opportunity arises.”I know personally I like to be playing constantly. Having matches under the belt is probably the most important thing. You can be bowling fit doing that in the nets, but it doesn’t emulate what you do in the game. I feel like I’m in a good place physically and mentally, so we’ll wait and see.”All of this is music to Glamorgan’s ears, particularly with Marnus Labuschagne leaving in two rounds’ time. Replacing his runs will be hard enough, and he is currently in the process of following up 65 out of 245 in the first innings with what the visitors hope will be another vital contribution in the second.Michael Neser has two Test caps to his name•Getty Images

Wickets, though, are the real premium, underlining Neser’s value. His record stands at 72 dismissals at an average of 21.65 midway through his 17th match for the county, and it is no coincidence Glamorgan have only lost two of the previous 16.Even with the weather, a Glamorgan victory – a first of the season – seems the likeliest result. However, the presence of Jonny Bairstow gives a lowly Yorkshire team a sense of danger. Bairstow watched the Neser-induced carnage from the other end, and you could sense a growing sense of responsibility. A shame, then that he brought about the end of the innings: an attempt at keeping strike for the next over led to the run-out of a hobbling Ben Coad. Yorkshire were 106 all out, Bairstow unbeaten – and unsatisfied – on 20.”He looked like he was in good nick, too,” Neser said of Bairstow, who is two days into a competitive return from nine months out. Having kept for 71.5 overs on day one, Bairstow originally tried to hold his batting exclusively for day two, burning through Mickey Edwards and Matty Fisher as nightwatchers before reluctantly batting out the final two overs of the day.An innings of 34 balls can only tell you so much, but his timing is up to speed. We probably knew that from the 97 and 57 struck against Nottinghamshire 2nd XI last week, but a tuck off his hip through square leg, and a straight drive inside mid-off were good signs. He and Malan ticked along nicely, suggesting something substantial from the international duo. But their partnership ended on 31, and such was the flurry of dismissals at the other end that by the time Bairstow regained any meaningful strike, boundary riders were in place. A swipe of Timm van der Gugten to midwicket felt like the start of a retaliation that was quickly shelved by Kiran Carlson’s work at cover, swooping and taking out two stumps with a direct hit.”We’ll see how we go in the second innings,” Neser said regarding Bairstow, though it was unsure if he meant Bairstow’s or Glamorgan’s. Perhaps both. After all, the part Bairstow played in last summer’s chases for England against New Zealand (twice) and India will have Neser and his team-mates on edge in the final innings. Not to mention that Leicestershire chased down a target of 389 on this ground a month ago.Smatterings of rains before the eventual day-closing downpour at 4.30pm were negotiated well by openers David Lloyd and Andrew Salter. The former skewed a thick outside edge to backward point before the latter felt stitched up by an lbw decision granted to Thompson.The absence of Coad, hurt on day one, dulls the incisiveness of this Yorkshire attack, meaning Glamorgan should dictate the final throes of this match even with another poor forecast for Saturday. Whether 2022 Bairstow or a spell such as Neser’s, they require something special to turn this around.

England Lions keeper-batter will replace Dan Lawrence in middle order at new club

Matt Roller28-Jul-2023Kent are “disappointed” that Jordan Cox, the wicketkeeper-batter who toured Pakistan with England’s T20I squad last year, has turned down the offer of a contract extension in order to join Essex.Cox informed the club on Monday of his desire to leave at the end of this season and has signed a three-year deal with Essex where he is seen as a long-term replacement for Dan Lawrence, who is leaving for Surrey.Cox went to school in Essex – at Felsted, 10 miles north of Chelmsford – where he worked closely with Jason Gallian. Gallian became chair of Essex’s cricket committee earlier this year and the pair have maintained a good relationship.Cox’s departure is a major blow for Kent, the county where he has played since the age of 10. He played a significant role in the club’s Blast win two years ago, scoring 58 not out in the final before setting up a remarkable relay catch during Somerset’s run chase with sensational athleticism on the boundary rope.Related

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“We’re disappointed that Jordan has decided to move on from Kent next year,” Paul Downton, Kent’s director of cricket, said in a terse club statement. “He has made a name for himself as a Kent cricketer and has been extremely well supported by the club.”Downton, who is leaving his role at the end of the season, added: “That said, we would like to thank Jordan for his contributions to Kent Cricket and wish him well with his cricket in the future.”He is the second keeper-batter academy graduate to leave Kent in the last 12 months, after Ollie Robinson joined Durham at the end of last year. Robinson has thrived since moving north, scoring three Championship hundreds this season and finishing the Blast as Durham’s top run-scorer.There has been a logjam of wicketkeeper-batters at the county, with club captain Sam Billings generally taking the gloves when he has been available – though Cox had kept wicket in Kent’s last six Championship games with Billings taking a break from first-class cricket after a lean run of form.Billings tweeted on Friday night that he was “disappointed” to see Cox leave the club, but added: “As a club I don’t think we could have supported his journey any more & at times prioritised his development over others.He added: “Opportunities for young players now are endless. Good advice & support networks are paramount to navigate through a career especially in the early (most important) stages of development.”Essex have used three different wicketkeepers this year – Adam Rossington, Michael Pepper and Will Buttleman – but none has scored heavily in the Championship. Cox has not been given any guarantees around keeping wicket, but is likely to have opportunities with the gloves at some stage.Cox said it was “a real honour” to sign for Essex•Getty Images

Anthony McGrath, their head coach, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to secure the signing of Jordan, who is a young, hungry cricketer looking to impress in all formats.”He will add real depth and quality to our batting line-up, as well as strengthening our wicket-keeping ranks too, and we are all very much looking forward to working with him.”Cox said it was “a real honour” to sign for Essex, adding: “The team is full of talent, they are going places, and I can only see the group getting better over the coming seasons. I’m excited to join them and contribute to what I hope will be a successful future.”I’d like to thank everyone at Kent for everything they have done for me to get me where I am today. I’ll miss my team-mates, coaches and the staff at Kent but I feel that now is the time for me to move on.”The club will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will always look back on my time here fondly. I will continue to give my all for Kent during the rest of my time here.”

Jadeja and Ashwin also scored fifties to take India past 400

Deivarayan Muthu21-Jul-20231:17

Dasgupta: Kohli wants to prove certain things to himself

Virat Kohli made his first away Test century in almost five years, and Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin helped themselves to half-centuries, as India piled up 438 in Port-of-Spain. In reply, West Indies started slowly but solidly, with captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul responsible for the hosts’ first half-century partnership in the series. But Jadeja struck 20 minutes before stumps to have Chanderpaul carving a catch to Ashwin. Brathwaite and debutant Kirk McKenzie, who is playing only his tenth first-class game, then safely negotiated a tricky passage of play, with West Indies still 352 runs behind.Earlier, Kohli looked like converting his hundred into a big one until Alzarri Joseph’s athletic intervention ran him out for 121. Jadeja looked set for a hundred of his own, but Kemar Roach removed him for 61. Both overnight batters fell in a space of six overs, but Ashwin marshalled the tail and pushed India towards 450.Related

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The Queen’s Park Oval pitch – and the outfield – had slowed down even further on day two but that didn’t prevent Kohli from pinging the boundary with his punchy drives. One of those drives, which was crunched behind point off Shannon Gabriel, brought Kohli his 76th hundred in his 500th international match. Three balls later, Jadeja reached his fifty and celebrated it with his signature sword dance.Another Kohli drive, this time off Jason Holder in the 92nd over, was among the contenders for the shot of the match. When Holder served up a half-volley on the stumps, Kohli had originally shaped to flick it away through midwicket, but he ended up half-flicking and half-driving it past mid-off with great authority. There was another drive that he drilled so straight that it knocked out the middle stump at the non-striker’s end.R Ashwin plays a ramp shot on his way to a half-century•AFP/Getty Images

Jadeja was more circumspect, but he combined well with Kohli to steal singles and doubles from right under the noses of the West Indian fielders. However, the 159-run fifth-wicket stand ended when an uncharacteristic moment of hesitation between the wickets resulted in Kohli getting run out. Joseph swooped on the ball from square leg and capitalised on the chance. Soon after, Roach dangled out a wide ball and had Jadeja edging a drive behind.Jadeja was originally given not out by the on-field umpire, but West Indies overturned the decision on review. The replay that came up, however, for the TV umpire was of a different ball. During the tea analysis show, the broadcast commentators clarified that the correct decision was made despite the “glitch”.Kishan, who had spent 19 balls on zero on Test debut in Dominica, started with more attacking intent in Port-of-Spain, advancing at left-arm fingerspinner Jomel Warrican and flaying the ball past him for four. After lunch, Kishan got a life when McKenzie dropped him after mistiming his jump at short midwicket. That error cost West Indies only four runs as Holder had Kishan wafting behind the very next ball for 25.Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul added 71 for the first wicket•AFP/Getty Images

After Ashwin had bedded in with back-to-back drives off Gabriel, West Indies’ quicks peppered him with short balls. But Ashwin used the bounce to his advantage and created scoring opportunities. When Roach kept banging it short – but not short enough – outside off, Ashwin leant back and ramped him over slip for a pair of fours. He then brought up his fifty with a slapped four off a similar short ball from Roach. With No. 11 Mukesh Kumar for company, Ashwin backed away and tried to rustle up more boundaries, but Roach knocked him over with his slower variation. Roach and Warrican finished with three wickets each before West Indies’ openers settled in.Chanderpaul, in particular, had to grind for his runs in the early exchanges. He took 58 balls to score his first boundary and move into double figures. When Ashwin erred down the leg side, Chanderpaul put him away with the sweep. He then countered Mohammed Siraj’s bouncers with the hook.Both Chanderpaul and Brathwaite were happy to leave anything wide of off stump on a track that didn’t offer much assistance to seamers or spinners. Brathwaite had glanced Siraj and whipped Jadeja for fours but wasn’t as assured against Ashwin who got one to drift past his outside edge from over the wicket.It was Jadeja who produced the breakthrough in the 35th over. After bowling 36 balls on the trot to Brathwaite, Jadeja had a crack at Chanderpaul and with his second ball to the left-hander, he drew a thick edge that looped to backward point. McKenzie announced himself in Test cricket with a six down the ground off Ashwin and then caressed Jadeja through extra cover for four to help West Indies end the day in a confident manner.

Lancashire push into 160-run lead after Bohannon and Balderson put on century stand

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2023Josh Bohannon indulged his liking for Northamptonshire’s bowlers yet again with an imperious century to put Lancashire in control of their LV= Insurance County Championship contest at Wantage Road.The 26-year-old hit 175, his highest knock of the season and a third successive hundred against Northamptonshire, becoming the second Division One player to pass 1000 runs this summer in the process.Bohannon batted almost the entire day, sharing a partnership of 150 with George Balderson – a Red Rose record against Northamptonshire – to guide the visitors to 392 for 7 in their first innings, a commanding lead of 160. Northamptonshire toiled resolutely in the heat for little reward, with seamer Jack White the pick of their bowlers with 3 for 79, but they face a battle to rescue the game on day three.Having steered his side to 54 for 2 the previous evening, nightwatchman Will Williams took an early boundary off Ben Sanderson before the Northamptonshire seamer removed him with a rising delivery he could only fend to second slip. At the other end, White found both movement and bounce, ensuring a difficult start for Williams’ replacement Phil Salt as a couple of balls zipped past the bat and another flew off his inside edge just past the stumps.Salt had more joy against Tom Taylor, who offered too much width and was punished with three boundaries in a single over – but Taylor eventually got his man when he top-edged a pull and Emilio Gay ran back from his position in the slips to gather the catch.Taylor was unlucky not to add a second wicket when his strong leg before appeal against Vilas, on 10, was turned down and the former Lancashire captain took advantage of that let-off to build a partnership of 92 with Bohannon. The pair also shared a comic moment when a Vilas boundary mistakenly prompted the announcement of his partner’s half-century on the ground’s PA system, with both batters removing their helmets in mock celebration.Bohannon’s actual fifty duly arrived when he glanced White for three in the next over and the Lancashire batter continued to look untroubled after lunch, aside from a rare lapse when he was fortunate to get away with carving Taylor between second and third slip.White raised the prospect of a slender first-innings lead for Northamptonshire, striking twice in three deliveries as Vilas chopped onto his leg stump for 37 before George Bell was pinned in front without scoring. But Bohannon remained unruffled at the other end, drilling Rob Keogh sweetly to the cover boundary to advance to 99 before cutting the next delivery, the 184th of his innings, for a significant single.He raised personal and team landmarks in style soon afterwards, crashing Keogh for six over long-on to move past 1000 runs for the season and lift Lancashire beyond the home side’s first-innings total of 232.Bohannon found a new ally in Balderson, who was quick to pounce on anything wide of off stump as the pair put together a century stand and extended the Red Rose advantage into three figures. A thumping cover drive off Sanderson scuttled over the rope to take Bohannon past 150 as he dominated the post-tea scoring, with Balderson adopting a more watchful approach en route to his half-century.Taylor finally separated the pair by having Bohannon caught behind off a bottom edge, but Balderson, who finished unbeaten on 83, ensured there was no respite for the home side as he and Tom Hartley added a further 53 by stumps.

The allrounder has claimed career-best figures in both the Shield and Marsh Cup and also shone with the bat

Andrew McGlashan13-Oct-2023New South Wales allrounder Jack Edwards has begun this summer as one of the players in eye-catching form and he has praised the impact of pre-season work done with Shane Watson.Edwards has been particularly impactful with the ball, claiming career-best figures in both the Sheffield Shield (6 for 36) and Marsh Cup (4 for 38) against Queensland, while he has made scores of 92 and 87 across the two competitions to pick up where he finished last season which brought a career-best 138 against South Australia.Related

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Watson was brought into the NSW coaching set-up as a consultant alongside Michael Bevan, part of new structure under Greg Shipperd aimed at reviving the state’s fortunes after a winless Sheffield Shield campaign last season.Edwards has found the time with Watson, who has delved extensively into the mental side of the game, especially valuable and hopes to maintain the connection.”The one-on-one chats with Shane were fantastic for me on the mental side of the game,” he said. “A couple of things that I’d brought into my game at the end of last year and then was able to refine with him and just around bringing the best version of myself out on the field and being competitive. Having that competitive drive to win and getting into the contest.”I took a lot away from those conversations. It was also fantastic to just chat to him, he was a bit of a childhood hero of mine so it was nice to sit down and meet him.”The similarities to the beginning of his career had with where I’m at, juggling the responsibilities of being an allrounder and managing your body and the weight of expectation on yourself and all sorts of things. Hopefully I can stay in touch with him and keep picking his brain.” Edwards made his NSW debut in 2018, hitting a maiden one-day hundred against Queensland, and in the 2020-21 season was player of the match in the Marsh Cup final against Western Australia where he scored 108, but had not found the consistency to command a regular place.In recent months he has also worked closely with Jackson Bird who joined NSW from Tasmania this season having been part of the Sydney Sixers set-up and from the same grade club, Manly, as Edwards.”I do a lot of chatting with him and being able to work a little bit closer with him this pre-season has been nice,” he said. “Just the way he prepares for every training and game, he’s the ultimate professional. Even at the twilight of his career, he still does everything he can to get his body in the best place possible.”Then there’s just a few other things like wrist position and trying to maximise that. He’s someone who’s exploited that beautifully over the years. I just pick his brain on little things and controlling what I can to make the outcome as good as possible.”Edwards was particularly impressive from around the wicket to Queensland’s left-handers during the Shield match at Cricket Central, removing Bryce Street, Matt Renshaw, Jack Clayton and Usman Khawaja with that angle.”I’ve done it for quite a while had a bit of success, that’s probably my best mode of attack to left handers,” he said. “Watching how the game’s changed in recent years with [Stuart] Broad and guys going around the wicket, basically try and copy what they do. Seems to be working for me right now. If I can keep working on my stuff to the right-handers and have that option to the left-handers as well, it’s a nice combo.”However, despite Edwards’ impressive performances in the early rounds, NSW missed out on what should have been a victory in each format against Queensland with the visitors producing a superb rearguard through Jimmy Peirson and Michael Neser in the Shield, then a thrilling final-wicket stand of 73 to steal the one-day game at North Sydney Oval.”Everyone’s passion to represent New South Wales is as high as ever and [to] try and make amends for what happened last year,” Edwards said. “I think everyone was a little bit embarrassed, so I think everyone’s hungry. We’re doing a lot of good things so hopefully some wins are coming soon.”

Coetzee and Maharaj restricted Afghanistan to 244 after Omarzai waged a lone fight with 97* earlier in the day

Sreshth Shah10-Nov-20231:57

Harmison: Gerald Coetzee’s character and attitude key for winning semi-final

A 62-ball partnership of 65 between Rassie van der Dussen and Andile Phehlukwayo shepherded South Africa to a win against Afghanistan in their last league-stage game of the 2023 ODI World Cup, ensuring they didn’t stutter in a tricky chase before their semi-final against Australia.Phehlukwayo came in as the No. 7 with South Africa needing 63 but with Afghanistan’s spinners then possessing the game’s momentum. Phehlukwayo finished the game with 6, 4, 6 to finish unbeaten on 39 while van der Dussen controlled the chase with his 95-ball 76*.In the afternoon, Gerald Coetzee (4-44) and Keshav Maharaj (2-25) had ensured Afghanistan could only make 244 in 50 overs. In fact, the target could’ve been much less had it not been for Azmatullah Omarzai’s unbeaten 97 that expertly held the crumbling Afghanistan innings together.Related

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“We fought right till the last moment”, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said after their defeat, and that summed up their bowling effort too. They came back superbly after South Africa’s openers put on 64 for the first wicket but Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s wicket of Temba Bavuma (23) and Mohammad Nabi’s wicket of Quinton de Kock (41) in quick succession applied pressure on South Africa.Led by Rashid Khan’s penetrative and troubling spell of 2 for 37, Afghanistan also picked off Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller without the trio doing much damage, and when Phehlukwayo – playing his first game of the World Cup – joined van der Dussen, it seemed like Afghanistan were one more wicket away from exposing the lower order. That didn’t happen, and South Africa brushed aside any lingering doubts about their chasing capabilities.For van der Dussen, the Player of the Match, his unbeaten innings of 76 was his fourth fifty-plus score of the World Cup. He walked in at 64 for 1, and clinically rotated the strike early on. In all, he scored 38 runs off singles and four off twos in his 95-ball innings – once every 2.26 deliveries.Rassie van der Dussen attempts a reverse sweep•AFP/Getty Images

That helped him stay on top of the Afghan spinners through the middle overs, and when Noor Ahmad or Mujeeb erred, he punished them to keep South Africa’s score moving. His stability at one end ensured South Africa were never behind in the game even when wickets fell regularly, and he was strong behind square, hitting five of his six fours between deep third and deep backward square leg.Earlier in the day, Afghanistan opted to bat first knowing they needed an improbably 438-run victory to move to fourth on the points table. The opening stand blossomed briefly, but two consecutive wicket-maiden overs bowled by Maharaj and Coetzee sent both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran back before the powerplay ended. Maharaj then prised out Shahidi to reduce Afghanistan to 45 for 3 and went on to produce a miserly spell of 2 for 25 that included 41 dots and no boundaries.Coetzee brought the fire through the middle overs, giving a strong account of himself through the early middle overs when Lungi Ngidi was out with a hamstring issue. He would also get Ibrahim Alikhil and Noor caught behind, and also dismissed Mujeeb with a short ball to finish with 4 for 44. Rabada went wicketless but only conceded 40 in 10 overs while Ngidi’s two wickets kept Afghanistan in check even though he was expensive at the death.Afghanistan’s wrecker-in-chief, especially when it came to Ngidi, was Omarzai, who walked in at 45 for 3, but held fort even as wickets tumbled alongside him. In the company of Rashid and Noor, he dragged Afghanistan from 116 for 6 to 204 for 8 before a late assault took him rapidly towards a century. A tidy Rabada over ensured he would fall three runs short, however his innings of seven fours and three sixes ensured Afghanistan had a score they could possibly defend, even if it wasn’t to be in the end.Afghanistan finish the World Cup with their heads held high, winning four games in nine, and very nearly winning a fifth. This is their best-ever World Cup performance and they have also secured their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy. They are confirmed at least sixth place on the table. South Africa now have a rematch of the 1999 semi-final awaiting them in Kolkata, and if they win there, they’ll be back in Ahmedabad for the final on November 19.

Pakistan pick two debutant quicks for the first Test while the home side will go in with Mitchell Marsh in the XI

Tristan Lavalette13-Dec-20234:32

What do Pakistan need to do to win in Australia?

Big picture: Pakistan usher in new era, Australia switch gears after WC win

For a generation of Australian cricket fans, they’ve only seen Pakistan’s Test team reduced to a punchline on their shores. The statistics are particularly macabre for Pakistan, who have lost 14 straight Tests in Australia dating back over two decades.Apart from the continual plunderings, Pakistan have also suffered several catastrophic defeats – namely Hobart ’99 and Sydney ’10 – that cemented their reputation in Australia as a highly combustible side.Expectations of Pakistan bucking history are low. They arrive for the series-opener in Perth with an unfancied line-up that some Australian cricket fans – those who only follow the sport in December and January – would not know bar a handful of players.Related

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But Pakistan are optimistic as they start a new era under captain Shan Masood, who has replaced Babar Azam. He is hoping to provide a steadying figure for an inexperienced Pakistan once again engulfed in off-field chaos.Masood has led by example with his shift to a more proactive approach at the crease as Pakistan successfully reverted to an aggressive brand during an impressive series win in Sri Lanka in July. Inevitably comparisons have been made to ‘Bazball’ although Pakistan’s commitment to the cause will be tested against an Australia team still basking in last month’s memorable World Cup triumph.A full-strength Australia will field nine players part of the World Cup-winning squad and welcome the return of frontline spinner Nathan Lyon from his calf injury that prematurely ended his Ashes campaign.