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In the aftermath of South Africa’s first series loss in Australia since 2005-06, Test captain Dean Elgar said he had to “bite his tongue” about the structure and schedule of South African cricket and the impact it is having on the Test team.The defeat is their second successive series loss, after a 1-2 result in England in August-September, and they have now lost four Tests in a row.Since South Africa’s domestic system was restructured in the 2021-22 season, their provincial teams play seven matches a season instead of the ten they played before. With the launch of the SA20 this season, those matches are pushed to the margins of the summer. The SA20 was also cited as one of the main reasons for South Africa’s lean Test schedule in the next Future Tours Programme. They will play 28 Tests in the next four-year cycle, no three-Test series until at least 2026, and only four Tests in 2023.Related

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Asked if this is the start of a spiral South Africa would find it difficult to climb out of, Elgar said: “Hopefully that spiral can come to an end come next season where first-class cricket will be looked after a bit better. I know that is in the plans that we do potentially have more first-class cricket back home. But yes, it’s a tough one. I’ve got to bite my tongue.”When pushed on what he was holding back, Elgar did not take the bait. “If I tell you then it’s pretty pointless me biting my tongue, right?,” he said.Elgar wants South Africa to play tougher teams more often
Elgar, however, did express concern at the scarcity of Test cricket in South Africa’s calendar and asked for more tough contests in order for the current group to develop. “We need to be playing more Test cricket and our players need to be exposed to this level. Even though we’re taking a hiding like we’ve had in the first two Tests here and the England series that we had, our players need to be exposed to that.”Unfortunately we are all learning in the most ruthless and brutal way but I think there are more learnings out of this than going out and playing against a team that’s of similar strength and we beat them.”South Africa’s next series, for example, consists of two Tests at home against eighth-placed West Indies. Their only other Test in 2023 will come at the end of the year, against India after the ODI World Cup, and will be part of the next WTC cycle.For now, despite the hefty defeats in Australia, South Africa are still in contention for the current WTC final but have to win the last Test in Sydney, and all of Elgar’s energy will be directed towards that. While admitting the “negatives outweigh the positives currently,” he aims to keep the squad motivated to finish 2-1 instead of 3-0.”For me, it’s about that positive affirmation that you have to give to the greater group. I’m not going to go away from that because I still feel the guys that we have here are talented cricketers and hardened first-class cricketers, but they obviously just lack experience at the Test level. We’ve still going to show faith in them. And hopefully that turns things around.”There’s a saying in cricket – you’re only one knock away from being back in form and got to believe that. For me, it’s not just a cliche. I think there’s a lot of merit in it. We have to still keep the encouragement and keep reminding the guys that they’re not crap cricketers – let’s put it that way and to be blunt.”Elgar calls for South Africa to restore pride
He also emphasised restoring respect in South African cricket over WTC points. “We are playing for the badge, playing for the pride of our team. We’ve got to believe we can still bounce back and put up a massive effort for the third Test. Playing for pride is of utmost importance for us going forward now. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys hurting. I can tell you that. So going forward, I’m sure that conversations are going to be about playing for this badge and we need to try and restore a little bit of pride that has maybe been hurt over the last two weeks.”The obvious way to do that will be a better effort with the bat. South Africa have been bowled out for under 200 in seven of their last eight Test innings and only just eked over the mark in the second innings at the MCG. While there are well-documented technical deficiencies among the batters, Elgar prefers to focus on the mental side of the game for now.”You can hit as many balls as you want, it’s not going to change as a cricketer. The game is 80-20: 80% in the mind, 20% skill. At the moment that applies quite highly for our batting group. The thing about Test cricket is you want to get bowlers into their third and fourth spells. We’re not getting to that position in the game which is quite disappointing because I always feel that might be a weakness in most bowling line-ups. If the guys are really tired and you’re pushing them into those longer spells where they really need a lot more energy, you can gauge or judge what they might have.”But the specifics of how South Africa plan to keep an Australian attack that Elgar described as “extremely consistent,” in the field for longer are yet to be fully fleshed out. In the immediate shadows of their most chastening losses, all Elgar had was an admission that things are not as they should be. “We know we’re falling short. The harder you try, sometimes the more you fail around it,” he said. For now, let’s just let things simmer down and move on to Sydney.”

Mark Wood is hoping to prove that he is good enough to play with and against the best players in the world at the IPL, five years after a chastening first experience in the tournament.Wood, who has taken eight wickets in his first two matches for Lucknow Super Giants, arrived in India for the 2023 season with a solitary IPL appearance to his name, bowling four wicketless overs for Chennai Super Kings which cost 49 runs back in 2018.He was signed by Super Giants for INR 7.5 crore (£750,000 approx.) in the 2022 auction, and was then retained for 2023 after missing last season due to an elbow injury which also ruled him out of England’s home international summer.”I don’t think I was really prepared for CSK at that time,” Wood told reporters in Lucknow. “I’d just come off the back of a Test match tour [in New Zealand] and I hadn’t prepared well. That was my own fault, really; I went into that game a bit underprepared and didn’t do myself justice.”Coming back to the IPL, England have had such a big schedule, I’ve had injuries, time with my family – I’ve tried to factor all that in and it’s just never been a good time to come back. I would have come back last year but unfortunately I had elbow surgery.”I’m here this year and trying my best to contribute for Lucknow, trying to repay the faith that they’ve shown in me, sticking by me and picking me again. So far I’ve absolutely loved it: KL Rahul has been brilliant with me. The management have been excellent, keeping my role clear, what they expect… hopefully I can repay the faith that they’ve shown in me.”Related

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When asked what his aims were for IPL 2023, Wood replied: “To try and prove a point, or to try and prove that I’m up to this standard. The last time I was at Chennai, I was nowhere near the mark really, was I? I played one match and I got smashed.”I felt like I had a bit of unfinished business, I guess, in terms of trying to come here and prove myself on a big stage. I’ve played for England in World Cup finals – both 50-over and T20 – but I hadn’t cracked the IPL, so this time, I’m trying my best to prove that I can mix it in the IPL with the best players.”Wood took 5 for 14 on debut against Delhi Capitals, then 3 for 49 in Monday night’s defeat to Super Kings, making him the early pace-setter in the race for the Purple Cap. He revealed that he was reluctant to wear it during Super Giants’ second game, before eventually giving into team manager Avinash ‘George’ Vaidya.”Our manager, George, was desperate for me to wear the Purple Cap in the last game, but I was a little bit apprehensive to put it on,” Wood said. “It’s not really in my character to put it on and be a bit showy. It was only one game!”If it was halfway through the tournament and I was at the top then maybe, but I was a little bit reluctant to put it on, to be honest. I felt a bit embarrassed, in a way, to wear it. The cap was a little bit tight when I put it on, it was giving me a bit of bother – but George managed to convince me to put it on.”Wood has taken advice from Rahul throughout both games and said that he would “use the experience” of Lucknow’s captain. “He’s someone from India, he knows the pitches well, [and] he’s a vastly experienced player in these conditions,” Wood said, “so [I will] use him and use my own knowledge, and try and come up with the best plan on the field for these wickets.”It’s great to get the wickets. That’s what my role was going to be, coming to LSG. I went for a lot of runs in the last game, not so many in the first game… somewhere in between would be perfect.”He has bowled with good pace, but believes there is “probably still a little bit in the tank” over the next twelve league games. “The ones I’ve seen on TV, I’ve been around that 140-143 [kph] mark, which has been a bit disappointing,” Wood said.”That first game, I was slipping a little bit and was a bit wary of that, but I still got five wickets. As long as I’m still delivering pace and some sort of accuracy for the captain, that’s what I’ll try and do.”

Orla Prendergast anchored Western Storm to a crucial seven-wicket win over Central Sparks at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium to keep alive their hopes of progressing in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.Top-scoring with 46 from 43 deliveries, the Ireland international staged a meaningful stand of 57 in 7.5 overs for the third wicket with Fran Wilson, who made 34, and then saw the job through in an unbroken partnership of 45 with skipper Sophie Luff, who contributed 20 not out off 21 as Storm chased down their target with four balls to spare.Sparks won the toss, elected to bat and were buoyed by a superb innings of 66 from 45 balls by overseas signing Erin Burns, who dominated stands of 36 and 66 with Davina Perrin and Abbey Freeborn for the third and fourth wickets respectively.In outstanding form, England hopeful Dani Gibson did her best to keep the visitors in check, proving both incisive with the new ball and wily at the death to return figures of 4 for 23 from four overs and deny the visitors the opportunity to post a truly imposing total.With three wins from their six games so far, Storm still have an outside chance of making Finals Day as they prepare for Wednesday’s key fixture against group leaders Blaze at Cardiff. But Sparks are now effectively out of the running after four defeats in six outings.Without England batter Amy Jones and potentially short of top-order runs, Sparks were heavily dependent upon overseas star Burns after openers Eve Jones and Ami Campbell perished inside four overs with 16 on the board. Storm’s most effective bowler this summer, Gibson accounted for both, having Jones held at mid-off in the act of driving and then dislodging Campbell’s off stump with a ball that nipped back.Demonstrating superb timing and clean hitting from the outset, Burns immediately set about redressing the balance, driving Sophia Smale through the covers to collect her first four and help Sparks reach 30 for 2 at the end of the six-over powerplay. Teenager Perrin played her part at the other end, displaying confidence beyond her years in carrying the fight to the bowlers.Prepared to live dangerously, the 16-year-old was dropped on 10 off the bowling of Prendergast, Smale the offender at mid-off. But she made good her escape to register 22 from 23 balls in a valuable stand of 36 in 31 balls with Burns for the third wicket before chipping Alex Griffiths to mid-off in the ninth.Having reached a modest 57 for 3 at the end of 10 overs, Sparks still had a good deal to do in order to post a challenging total. Now partnered by Freeborn, who adopted a supporting role, Burns took it upon herself to redress the balance, moving up through the gears and dominating a key fourth-wicket stand of 66 in 8.5 overs.Targeting Chloe Skelton’s offspin, the Australian stepped down the crease to plunder three boundaries in a twelfth over that yielded 14 runs, in the process surpassing her previous highest T20 score of the season, 41 not out made against Thunder at Worcester last month. She offered just one chance, dropped on 49 by Griffiths at midwicket off the bowling of Gibson in the 17th over, scampering two runs to bring up her 50 from 36 balls and raise a half century stand with Freeborn.Having served as the perfect foil in an innings of 21 from 22 balls, Freeborn was caught at backward point by Luff, snared by slow left armer Smale. Looking to accelerate in the final over, Burns was bowled by Gibson, who then demonstrated her expertise at the death by removing Katie George two balls later.Gibson proved forthright at the top of the order, striking a quartet of fours in an innings of 18 that occupied just 14 deliveries as Storm made a quick start to their chase. Although she was held at extra cover off the bowling of former team-mate George and fellow opener Nat Wraith hit Burns to midwicket and departed for 6, the home side still managed to raise 50 for 2 from the six-over powerplay, at which point they were required to score at just over a run a ball.Confronted by a triumvirate of spinners in the form of Burns, Hannah Baker and Georgia Baker, Wilson and Prendergast eschewed unnecessary risk, proved adept at finding the gaps, ran hard between the wickets and punished the bad ball when it came along to consolidate Storm’s good start. Former England batter Wilson scored freely either side of the wicket as the home side advanced their score to 77 for 2 at the halfway stage of the innings.Having already contributed half-centuries in successful run chases against Thunder and Sunrisers this season, Wilson again used her considerable experience to render a potentially tricky situation relatively straightforward, the 31-year-old raising 34 from 28 balls, with five fours, when she was lured forward by Baker and stumped in the 13th over with the score on 92.Storm required a further 44 from 45 balls when Prendergast was joined by Luff, and the fourth-wicket pair always had something in hand as they closed in on their target without any undue alarms. Both scored at a run-a-ball, Luff accruing two boundaries in a breezy innings, and Prendergast hitting the winning runs with her fifth four.

Annabel Sutherland scored a century opening Australia’s second innings as their three-day warm-up for the Women’s Ashes against England A ended in a draw.Phoebe Litchfield, who is tipped to open for the Australians when the Ashes kick off with next week’s Test at Trent Bridge, also enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, scoring 68 in a 167-run stand with Sutherland, who made 116 from 138 balls.Litchfield had taken the wicketkeeping gloves for just one ball first thing in the morning as Australia rested their regular keeper and captain for this Tour, Alyssa Healy, after she suffered a knock to her finger the previous day. Healy did not bat in the second innings either and Beth Mooney, who would normally take over behind the stumps in Healy’s absence, was spared those duties after scoring a century in the first innings. Litchfield made an excellent fist of the assignment with a catch to remove last batter Sarah Glenn off the bowling of Georgia Wareham on the first ball of the day.England A ended up on 562, a first-innings lead of 278 before Sutherland and Litchfield helped Australia to 361 for 7 at stumps. Tahlia McGrath made 44 batting at No. 4 while Mooney came in at No. 6 and was 35 not out in the second innings. With Healy wishing to drop down the order, Mooney is expected to open with Litchfield, who was delighted at the prospect after their successful pairing in the ODI series against Pakistan in January.Related

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“Such a level head,” Litchfield said of Mooney. “Always knows what to say and an awesome human so it’s a pleasure to share the crease with her and she’s definitely doing good things for my batting.”Litchfield, who added that she had a “whole circus” of family and friends heading to England to watch this tour, was also full of praise for allrounder Sutherland, who pressed her case for inclusion in the XI for the Test starting on Thursday.”Class,” Litchfield said of Sutherland’s innings. “She looked so good out there and it was a real pleasure to watch form the other end for most of it and it was awesome for her to bring up three figures.”Left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon, managed to prise out five of Australia’s top-six batters in this match – Litchfield, Sutherland, McGrath, Ashleigh Gardner and Wareham – on her way to figures of 5 for 49.Meanwhile, England’s senior side drew their match with an Australia A side captained by Test squad spinner Jess Jonassen, who was 173 not out in their second innings.England had taken a 390-run lead on the back of Tammy Beaumont’s double-century on the second day, but Jonassen – batting up the order at No. 4 – guided Australia A to 361 for 7 at the close, helped by Courtney Webb’s 79.Seamer Lauren Bell was the pick of the England bowlers on the final day with 3 for 31, while Kate Cross, Issy Wong, Sophia Dunkley and newcomer Dani Gibson took one wicket each. Lauren Filer, the only other uncapped player named in England’s Test squad went wicketless for the match, bowling 19 overs across both innings.

The owner of Dukes has pledged to investigate the controversial ball change in Australia’s second innings during their 49-run defeat in the fifth men’s Ashes Test at The Oval, while casting doubt on a theory that a five-year-old replacement ball might have been used.The ball was changed in the 37th over of Australia’s chase, after Usman Khawaja was hit on the helmet by a Mark Wood bouncer. Khawaja said after Australia’s defeat that he had immediately queried the choice of replacement ball – which looked visibly newer than the previous one – with umpire Kumar Dharmasena.Ricky Ponting, the former Australia captain, labelled the choice of replacement ball “a huge blunder that needs to be investigated” while Zak Crawley, the England opener, described it as “a good break for us [which] probably made the difference”.Related

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Dilip Jajodia, the owner of British Cricket Limited, the company which manufactures the Dukes ball, told CODE Sports: “I’m going to investigate myself, because it affects me … my name is at stake so it’s important they don’t misallege something wrong with the ball.”CODE Sports reported that “whispers have emanated out of the English camp” since the conclusion of the Test suggesting that the ball might have been part of the 2018 or 2019 batches of Dukes, which offered more for seam bowlers, though Jajodia suggested that was unlikely.”I can’t imagine they would risk putting a ball in there with a different date on it,” Jajodia said. “Frankly the match referee should be on top of it. We do bang that number in quite hard, so even if the gold comes off, the ball is imprinted. It wouldn’t be easy to get rid of it. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s not likely.”Ponting was among those who questioned whether a sufficiently broad range of balls had been presented to the umpires to choose a replacement ball. But Jajodia explained that his company supplies balls directly to venues rather than to the ECB or the ICC.”On this particular occasion, the balls would be done by Surrey,” he said. “Surrey get the supply of balls from us before the season starts and then they start knocking them in, getting them into wear and tear… in my view, they’re probably not doing it that accurately.”

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has died at the age of 85 in Lahore.In 2008, he was appointed chairman of the PCB by then-president Asif Ali Zardari. He held that position through one of the most chaotic and tumultuous periods in Pakistan’s cricketing history. Just five months into his tenure, there was a terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team and match officials that claimed the lives of eight people and stopped international cricket in Pakistan for the best part of a decade. It was followed by angry accusations of lax security by ICC match referee Chris Broad which Butt dismissed as “lies”.The Pakistan captaincy changed hands several times during his tenure, with Shoaib Malik famously described as “aloof and a loner” in a report, days after he was sacked. After a disastrous tour of Australia, the PCB hit back with huge sanctions against its own players. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were banned “indefinitely” in 2010, Malik and Naved-ul-Hasan were handed one-year bans, while Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were put on six-month probations. Yousuf and Younis were back playing Test cricket a few months later.Butt would also have to content with the fallout from the spot-fixing scandal that saw three Pakistan players – captain Salman Butt, and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – caught agreeing to bowl no-balls in a Test at Lord’s in exchange for money. The three players were banned, and relations between the PCB and England turned especially frosty, which Butt played a part in contributing to on at least one occasion.Butt was replaced by Zaka Ashraf, who is also the current PCB chairman, in 2011.He played eight Tests for Pakistan, making his debut in Karachi against West Indies in 1959 as a wicketkeeper-batter. His last match came at The Oval against England in 1962. He was the manager of the Pakistan team for a tour of Australia in 1982 and headed the selection committee a couple of times. He also served as the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan – the precursor to the PCB – from 1984-88.PCB management committee chairperson Ashraf said: “On behalf of the PCB, I want to express my deepest condolences on the sad demise of Mr Ijaz Butt.”I had the privilege of knowing him personally and I have nothing but utmost respect for Mr Butt. I offer my deepest condolences to Ijaz Butt’s family and friends, and assure them that he will always be remembered for the contributions he made to Pakistan cricket.”

Welsh Fire’s seamers set them on the path to a victory which keeps their top three hopes alive, with Jonny Bairstow top scoring as they chased down 110.Captain Tom Abell and Glenn Phillips finished the match with a partnership of 41 off 24 balls, after the platform had been set by the seam bowlers who took 8-65 between them.New Zealand pair Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson impressed in their first game while David Willey and David Payne also took advantage of a seam-friendly wicket, all taking two wickets each. London Spirit had Ravi Bopara to thank for getting them to three figures after an early batting collapse, while Dan Worrall took three early wickets to give them hope in the field.The result sees the two teams swap places in the table between fifth and sixth, while Welsh Fire are level on points with third place, but behind on net run rate.Welsh Fire had lost Pakistan pair Shaheen Shah Afridi and Harris Rauf as they returned to international duty, but Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson flew in from New Zealand as quality replacements. The new-look bowling attack was soon unleashed after London Spirit captain Dan Lawrence won the toss and elected to bat.The tone was set by David Willey who did not concede a run in his opening five balls to Zak Crawley. He did not have to wait long to add a wicket, returning for the third set and dismissing Crawley, caught behind by Joe Clarke via bat and pad.Henry was proving equally effective as his bounce saw the end of Lawrence second ball, caught in the covers by Tom Abell, soon followed by Australian Matthew Wade caught behind trying to scoop Willey.In-form Adam Rossington had been watching the carnage from the other end, but he fell trying to hit Henry out of the ground, a top edge well taken by Abel running back. Willey and Henry bowled all the first 30 balls between them and the Spirit score at that stage was just 21 for 4.Daryl Mitchell and Ravi Bopara started rebuilding, but could only amass 42 at the half way stage. Then Mitchell went to David Payne, Willey taking the boundary catch from a short ball. Matt Critchley’s breezy 21 came to an end when he skied an attempted pull from Ferguson, Glenn Phillips taking the catch.The run rate was always slow, it was only the 92nd ball that the runs equalled the balls bowled for the first time. Ravi Bopara played responsibly, finishing 24 not out off 20, while Liam Dawson’s 24 was a useful contribution as well as Spirit crept up to 109 for 9.The bowling figures were impressive, Willey, Henry, Ferguson and Payne all getting two wickets each, with Henry, Willey and Payne all conceding less than a run a ball.Any possible complacency in the Welsh Fire line-up would soon have been dispelled by Spirit opening bowler Dan Worrall, whose away swing with the new ball proved hard to play. Steve Eskinazi went on the attack and skied the ball, while Joe Clarke and Luke Wells both were caught behind misjudging the swing.Worrall bowled 20 of the first 25 balls, Bairstow hitting a couple of fours to leave the Australian’s final figures as 3 for 24. Bairstow and Tom Abell put on fifty before Barstow was bowled for 41 going for a big swipe off Liam Dawson.Abell survived to see it through, given good support by Phillips, the pair taking 15 from a Daryl Mitchell set of five balls to settle nerves in the final section of the innings. Phillips finished it with a straight six off Nathan Ellis. Abell finished on 37 and Phillips on 21.

Big picture

“50-over World Cup is the biggest sporting event in cricketing history. So, for me, this is the biggest event that I will be part of.”You might share this sentiment, expressed by Rohit Sharma on Saturday, but you may not have seen too much evidence just yet that too many others do. Four matches in, we’re yet to see anything like a full house at this World Cup.This will change on Sunday, in Chennai. You’ll know that a World Cup is going on. The air will crackle with anticipation, but there’ll be a tinge of anxiety too, for this is India’s first match in a home World Cup that they start as favourites. It’s hard to imagine the pressure a team can go through in these situations, and it’ll come as a relief to India’s players when the umpires call “play”, and there’s a ball to focus on, or a batter and a set of stumps at the other end.It’ll be a stern test right off the bat, because they’re playing Australia, and is there anything as spine-jellifying in sport as the prospect of facing Australia in a cricket World Cup? This Australian team isn’t the Australian team of 1999, 2003 or 2007, and they aren’t a complete team either, lacking most of all depth in the spin department, but you’d be surprised if they didn’t make the semi-finals at the least. India won’t face too many stronger oppositions in this tournament. They aren’t being eased into this at all.Spin is expected to be hugely influential at Chepauk, and India are better equipped in that regard, on paper, but they only have to go as far back as March, when they lost to Australia at the same venue, to know it won’t always translate into results.Chepauk, newly renovated, sports a series of murals commemorating the many historic moments it has witnessed. One is particularly interesting, and unusual in a country that usually only celebrates the achievements of its own: Pakistan’s victorious team soaking in a standing ovation while going on a victory lap of Chepauk in 1999. This is a crowd known to appreciate good cricket no matter who plays it, so they’re guaranteed a good time on Sunday, as long as the rain stays away.

Form guide

India LWWWL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
Australia WLLLL

In the spotlight – Hardik Pandya and Glenn Maxwell

Back after being rested for the ODI series against Australia, Hardik Pandya is perhaps the most important member of India’s line-up. Apart from everything he brings to the table with the bat, he’s a genuine third seamer in white-ball cricket, his presence allowing India to pick an extra seamer or spinner as the conditions dictate. Much of their team-building worries over the last few months have revolved around finding ways to play six bowlers without compromising batting depth; Hardik is the one man who makes it possible.1:57

Steyn: Magic happens around Cameron Green

Picking a squad for Indian conditions with only one frontline spinner is a risk, but for Australia it’s slightly less of a risk because Glenn Maxwell has turned himself into a genuine allrounder in ODIs. It’s a relatively new development – he averaged 130.66 with the ball in 61 ODIs in the 2016-20 period but has taken his wickets at 28.53 since then – and Australia will be glad his improvement has coincided with this World Cup cycle. On a Chennai pitch that’s expected to turn, he may have to bowl a full 10 overs.

Team news

Shubman Gill is recovering from dengue and is a doubtful starter. If he isn’t available, Ishan Kishan is likely to open with Rohit. India will have a choice to make in their middle order, likely between Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav, and another at No. 8, between R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur. Given Chepauk’s recent history and the dry, black-soil pitch that has been rolled out for this game, it’s likely they’ll go in with the third spinner in Ashwin.India (probable XI): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill/Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer/Suryakumar Yadav, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajMarcus Stoinis is in a race against time to recover from a hamstring injury, which means Cameron Green is likely to take the main seam-bowling allrounder’s slot. Alex Carey is set to hold on to the keeping gloves ahead of Josh Inglis.Australia (probable XI): 1 David Warner, 2 Mitchell Marsh, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

A straw-coloured, black-soil pitch is likely to induce India to play three spinners. Chepauk tends to offer a fair contest between bat and ball: the last eight first-innings scores in ODIs here have ranged from 227 to 299, with the team batting first going on to win six times.The weather is likely to be muggy, with a forecast maximum of 33 degrees Celsius. The North-East monsoon could bring scattered showers in the evening.

Stats and trivia

• The MA Chidambaram Stadium has hosted seven World Cup games. Australia have played three of them and won each time: they beat India by one run in a group-stage thriller and hammered Zimbabwe by 96 runs here in 1987; then, in the quarter-finals of the 1996 edition, they chased down 287 to see off New Zealand.
• India have played one other World Cup game at Chepauk apart from the 1987 loss to Australia. They beat West Indies by 80 runs here during their run to the title in 2011.
• India and Australia have met 12 times in ODIs since the end of the 2019 World Cup and won six games each.

Quotes

“You heard the great man say so many times that you know, until he wins the World Cup, he’s got a bit of unfinished business. I’m sure you know who I’m talking about. So it’s the same for us as well. You want to win the World Cup, It’s the biggest prize that you can have in your career. But again, there’s a way to do it. There’s a procedure that you need to follow. There’s a process to it […] It’s good to be desperate. It’s good to be hungry. But you’ve got to find that balance, right? […] You cannot get way too ahead of yourself because that can lead into something that you don’t really wish for.”
“I think the most exciting thing about a World Cup is it is a campaign. It does feel like you’re there with 14 other guys and you’re on a journey to try and make the next couple of months as special as it can be. So I love that. There’s no forward planning and you’re not trying to manage different formats now. We’re here for a World Cup and everyone’s fully focused on that. So, I’ve really enjoyed that and the boys have been awesome so far and yeah, it’s my third World Cup and first one as captain. They’re all really special.”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam believes that as long as Fakhar Zaman was batting on Saturday, they “could even have chased 450″ against New Zealand in Bengaluru. Speaking on an in-house PCB video, Fakhar and Babar talked about their unbeaten 194-run partnership that saw Pakistan post 200 for 1 in just 25.3 overs before rain put paid to the game, giving Pakistan a 21-run win by the DLS method. Pakistan were originally set 402 to win from the 50 overs.”My view was as long as Fakhar was there, we could even have chased 450,” the Pakistan captain said. “When he plays innings like these, we win 90% of games. After every six I said to him, ‘don’t force the issue’. He said okay but then ignored me and started hitting sixes anyway. So I then said to him, ‘do whatever you want, just don’t get out’. [It’s] one of the best innings I’ve seen.”While the prospect of rain had hung around all day, it hadn’t eventuated until partway through the second innings. New Zealand amassed 401, their second-highest ODI total, before a brief rain interruption delayed the start of the chase. But according to Babar, Pakistan approached the chase in the belief the game would go all the way.Related

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“We didn’t have rain in our mind at all,” he said. “But the clouds came suddenly, and then we started to calculate the DLS and we wanted to stay with it throughout. We were trying to keep wickets in hand, and I was trying to take it deep. Fakhar was utilising the short boundary while I held one end up and we made sure we didn’t let the run rate get out of control.Fakhar praised the wicket as “outstanding for batting”. He stopped short of calling it his best innings, reserving that for his 193 against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2021. But the value of an innings where he smashed an unbeaten 126 off 81 was not lost on him; he hit more sixes in that innings than any Pakistani has throughout the entire World Cup. And it meant Pakistan stayed alive, becoming just the second team to win an ODI after conceding more than 400 runs in the first innings.”Of all the wickets we’ve played on this World Cup, this one was the best,” Fakhar said. “It was clear from the second over that the wicket was great for batting. If Southee and Boult aren’t swinging the ball, you know the wicket is great to bat on. After four overs or so, whatever little swing there was also evaporated, and that gave me even more freedom.”This is a World Cup innings so this might be one of my favourite ones. It still doesn’t pip the 193 I scored at the Wanderers, because it’s the fastest wicket in the world and Asian players struggle there, but this innings and the situation I scored my runs in made me very happy.”

Steven Smith smashed a half-century in another statement as Sydney Sixers overcame a superb allround performance from Will Sutherland to edge Melbourne Renegades out at the SCG.In what will be a rare BBL appearance this season, six days before the first Test between Australia and Pakistan, Smith again relished opening the batting to top-score in Sixers’ 175 for 6.No.3 Jake Fraser-McGurk made Sixers’ veteran attack nervous with a furious 48 off 24 balls, but his dismissal just before drinks left Renegades in peril at 78 for 4.Sixers were made to work with Sutherland, having earlier starred with the ball, providing a late twist. He bludgeoned an unbeaten 51 from 30 balls before Sixers secured their eighth straight win over Renegades.Several of the high-profile signings for Renegades, who last season made finals in a bounce back, did not play including Test spinner Nathan Lyon. But legspinner Adam Zampa performed well with 2 for 24 after crossing over from Melbourne Stars.It wasn’t enough for them to break a Sixers hoodoo with Smith once again relishing returning to the BBL.Smith has openly stated his desire to open the batting for Australia at next year’s T20 World Cup having shuffled around the order previously. He auditioned for the role late in last season’s BBL with blistering centuries in consecutive innings.Smith also made a half-century against India during the recent T20I series in his first opportunity to open at the international level.After Sixers were sent into bat, Smith starred with 61 off 42 balls in a knock mixing gorgeous traditional strokes with inventive tennis-like swats. He waited patiently for the strike with opener Josh Philippe hitting a boundary off the first ball of the innings to foreshadow what was ahead.Philippe, once a BBL standout who has endured a torrid run in this season’s Sheffield Shield, was in superb touch with five boundaries in his first 11 deliveries.Smith wasn’t to be overshadowed and made his move in the third over by whipping seamer Tom Rogers through backward square before bludgeoning a six over deep square on the next delivery.With pace having no impact, offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was thrusted into the attack in the powerplay but Smith treated him with disdain by striking three straight boundaries through the offside.Smith raced to 25 off 10 balls as Sixers stormed to 48 for 0 after four overs. Zampa hoped to stem the onslaught, but Philippe slog swept him for six into the famous Member’s Pavilion.Ben Dwarshuis picked up three crucial wickets to dent Renegades•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Sutherland provided a much-needed breakthrough with his first ball after Philippe chopped on and James Vince fell in similar fashion later in the over. Bowling a hard length, the towering Sutherland led a fightback with a brilliant four-over spell.He was difficult to score off as Smith reverted to unfurling the ramp shot to hit a rare boundary in the middle overs. Smith reached his half-century off 31 balls, but struggled to regain his earlier fluency and eventually holed out to deep midwicket off Zampa.Zampa on his next delivery clean bowled Tom Curran with a brilliant googly to continue Renegades’ stirring comeback. But late hitting from Jordan Silk and Jack Edwards lifted Sixers to a strong total.Renegades’ hopes rested on Fraser-McGurk just two months after he entered the record books for the fastest ever List A century. Wickets fell around him, but Fraser-McGurk was undaunted and whacked 18 runs in the third over off seamer Jackson Bird.He then whipped quick Sean Abbott for six to race to 24 off nine deliveries before pulverising Edwards over long-on and onto the roof.Fraser-McGurk, playing his 26th BBL game, rapidly closed in on a maiden half-century before being bamboozled by a clever slow bumper from veteran quick Ben Dwarshuis.Veteran Aaron Finch overcame a scratchy start to provide support for Sutherland, but Renegades were always pushing an uphill battle. Sutherland tried his best and a huge six off Dwarshuis meant Renegades needed 14 off the last four balls.But Dwarshuis did enough to complete a resilient performance after his father passed away this week.