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The Cricket Association of Nepal, which was suspended by the ICC over government interference, has a good chance at being reinstated following a meeting between prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and ICC chief executive David Richardson.After discussions which took place in Kathmandu on Sunday, it was decided that CAN would form an advisory group to review its constitution then conduct fresh elections as per that constitution.”Nepal is an important member with huge potential. It is important for us to work out a roadmap for its reinstatement,” Richardson said.Although Nepal have been allowed to keep playing in ICC competitions – and had even made a fine debut at Lord’s – their ICC funding had been cut and there has been a leadership vacuum with CAN and Nepal’s National Sports Council in a court battle over who should run cricket in the country.ICC’s chairman of Associates Imran Khwaja, who was also at the meeting, said: “I’m confident everything will be worked out smoothly and the country’s cricket will benefit immensely in the coming years.”

James Anderson has apologised to both umpires for behaviour he admits was “petulant” and “unacceptable” on the second day of the third Investec Test at Edgbaston.Anderson, England’s record wicket-taker, clashed with umpire Bruce Oxenford after he was warned about running on the pitch after delivering the ball. Anderson received two official warnings meaning that, if he encroaches on the area again during Pakistan’s first innings, the umpires can withdraw him from the attack for the rest of the innings.It was a frustrating day for Anderson. As well as struggling to gain much assistance from a sluggish Edgbaston surface, he saw Joe Root, at second slip, put down Azhar Ali off his bowling when he had scored 38. Azhar went on to make a century as Pakistan reached stumps just 40 runs behind with seven wickets in hand.When Oxenford, who had been prompted to warn Anderson by the intervention of the TV umpire Kumar Dharmasena, repeatedly asked him to move away from the pitch in the immediate aftermath of delivery, Anderson appeared to remonstrate angrily.But, having seen a replay of himself remonstrating with Oxenford, Anderson accepted that such factors were no excuse and concluded that he had over-stepped the mark and took the decision to apologise.”It was a frustrating day,” Anderson said. “I had a bad half-hour where I let things get to me. I’ve apologised to both umpires as my behaviour wasn’t acceptable. It was a bit petulant.”I wasn’t convinced that I had [run on the pitch], but Bruce had the third or fourth umpire in his ear telling him I was.”Having seen my reactions on TV, it doesn’t look great when I’m pointing at the pitch. I don’t necessarily think it was what I said, it was just the way I behaved. I had a bad half-hour, I’ve apologised and hopefully that will be the end of it.”It is not the first time Anderson has succumbed to bouts of petulance. He was, for a long time, a persistent sledger of opposition batsmen and infamously clashed with Ravindra Jadeja during the 2014 Trent Bridge Test. Since that incident, however, he has appeared to rein in that side of his character but admitted he struggles to balance the “competitive edge” he feels he requires to succeed at this level with the standards of behaviour expected of an international player.”That competitive edge has helped me throughout my career,” Anderson said. “I know there are times I can get close to that line. I try to control it, but I don’t want to lose that competitive edge. It’s a balancing act.”The dropped catch probably added to the frustration, but you have to try and deal with things like that. There are going to be times when catches go down. There are going to be times when the opposition plays well, as they did today. They played really well.”The pitch has lost some pace. It didn’t have the zip it had on the first day. But we did a good job. We created chances and if that catch had stuck, who knows what might have happened. There was some good bowling and some average batting that got us into this situation.”Today I thought we bowled reasonably well. But we could have bowled slightly better. We had chances and we didn’t take them. At this level you get punished if you don’t take your chances.”Anderson will hope that his apology will appease the officials. But it will be no surprise if match referee Richie Richardson cites him for dissent.

James Anderson hopes his vast experience can help him compensate for a drop in pace over the remaining years of his career.Anderson, who turned 34 over the weekend, returned to the Test team at Old Trafford with a performance that showed his control and skills remain undimmed by age or injury. But it was noticeable that his average bowling speed in the game – about 81mph – was some way down on his peak.While Anderson hopes he was simply “rusty” and that he will be able to generate more pace at Edgbaston, he accepts that he may be at the stage of his career where he has to rely more upon other attributes if he is to continue to flourish.”I didn’t feel like my speeds in Manchester were where they could be,” Anderson said. “I felt a bit like Matthew Hoggard at the end of his career when he slowed down a bit but his control was pretty good.”With the skills I have, I can do a job even if my speeds did drop. With experience you can stay one step ahead in your head. It is like an old defender in football who might not have the pace of a quick striker but he’s two steps ahead of him upstairs.”Anderson has been sidelined by several injuries over the last year or so. After sustaining a side strain during the Edgbaston Ashes Test 12 months ago, he missed the first Test of the series in South Africa due to a calf injury and then the Lord’s Test against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury.But, after a modest tour of South Africa, he was back to something approaching his best at the start of this English summer. He claimed 21 wickets in the three Tests against Sri Lanka at an average of just 10.80 apiece – albeit in helpful conditions at times – and remains the No. 2-rated bowler in the ICC’s rankings for Test cricket. He is just one ranking point behind India’s R Ashwin.He denies that the relative glut of injuries are necessarily a reflection of ageing and suggests that he could emulate Glenn McGrath and play until he is 37 years old.”The way I feel at the moment, mentally, I’ve still got a hunger to play the game and a hunger to take wickets and help my team win matches,” Anderson said. “As long as I’ve got that hunger I’m going to keep working, keep improving and keep working on my fitness and if I get to 37 then great. I just try to concentrate on staying fit for the next game.”I thought I bowled well against Sri Lanka. I’m not sure it’s the best I’ve ever bowled but I felt in really good form and I just wanted to build on it, but the injury meant it wasn’t possible.”Fitness wise I keep working hard. My practice over the years has gone from searching for perfection to just doing as little as possible. The bare minimum. But when I do practise I try to make sure it’s absolute quality rather than going through the motions. If I don’t practise much I make sure what I do do is to the highest quality possible.”The England selectors took a lot of criticism for their decision not to risk Anderson in the first Test of this series at Lord’s. Although he was fit to bowl in the nets ahead of the game and subsequently played in part of Lancashire’s Championship match against Durham, he now admits it was “probably wise” not to rush him back into the Test team before he had gained match fitness after his shoulder injury. He hopes that, having had that Championship game and the Test in Manchester, he should be somewhere near his best at Edgbaston.Chris Woakes gets some advice from James Anderson in the England nets•Getty Images

“Looking back, without having had any game time before that first Test, it was probably wise to get some overs under my belt before I came back into the Test side,” Anderson said. “I think it was probably the right decision.”There was some rustiness in Manchester. I bowled 20-odd overs at Southport after four weeks out of the game, and then at Lord’s with the weather before the game I only bowled six overs outside so there was a bit of rustiness. But now I’ve got that match practice under my belt hopefully I can build on that and my speeds go up rather than down. The age I’m at, four or five weeks without bowling shouldn’t make me lose my form that much.”As Anderson matures, so his role within the squad may start to change. It has been noticeable over recent months that Chris Woakes, in particular, has started to use the wobble-seam delivery demonstrated with such success by Anderson and, at times, started to hide his grip of the ball until the point of delivery so that batsmen cannot anticipate which way it will swing.But Anderson denied that Woakes is the obvious inheritor of his art and insisted that he is learning from England’s younger bowlers as much as the other way around.”Chris has a lot of skills, but I don’t see us as similar bowlers,” Anderson said. “I don’t know why. He’s got more pace, he’s got a lovely action, that’s what he’s got going for him, a nice repetitive action that will help him for the rest of his career. I’m not forcing myself upon him.”As a group of bowlers we are talking to each other all the time. We are trying in the nets to give each other bits of information that are going to be useful whether it’s on the opposition, tactics or specifics in skills and we all learn from each other.”I learn from Chris Woakes, I’ve learnt from Steven Finn and Stuart Broad, we all pass information round to each other, it’s a really open forum and I think that’s how it should be. I think that’s how teams get better.”Poor weather in Birmingham means the Test pitch may lack just a little of the carry that England enjoyed when defeating Australia a year ago. But the surface is still expected to provide some assistance to seamers, especially on the first morning and with the new ball, and little encouragement for spinners. As a result, England look highly likely to go into the game with four seamers and Moeen Ali as their main spinner.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s Test captain, has said it is important for the players to apply themselves and not get overawed by the conditions on their tour of England, where they play four Test matches, five ODIs and a one-off T20 international.Pakistan left for England from Lahore on Saturday morning, determined not to stir the memories from their previous tour, in 2010, when Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were mixed up in the spot-fixing scandal.Pakistan last played a Test seven months ago in the UAE, against the same opposition. Since then many of their players, including Misbah, have been idle for a large portion of time, though players like Sarfraz Ahmed, Amir and Wahab Riaz have played in limited-overs cricket. From the current touring party, only Azhar Ali, Amir and Wahab Riaz were a part of the squad that travelled in 2010. The inexperience has led to former players being sceptical of how they will fare, but Misbah exuded confidence on the eve of the team’s departure.”This is true that it will be a challenging series, but, overall, we have experience of playing good cricket irrespective of the conditions, and that is what we are confident about,” he said. “Our batters have scored enough runs … they all have done well in Test cricket, so I don’t see how it [the inexperience in English conditions] will make much of a difference.”We only have to apply ourselves, have to fight, and these boys love challenges. This is another challenge for them and they are ready for it. Nothing is easy and each time we have to fight it out to win, so this is yet another task for the boys. If we succeed in scoring around 350 runs in a Test [innings], we will have bright chances of winning. Our bowling attack is also outstanding and it has the ability to destroy even the strongest of batting line-ups. We need to be focused and should not get overawed by English conditions. I see the tour as a big opportunity for our players to prove their mettle and play their due role in Pakistan’s victory.”Pakistan have not won a Test series in England in 20 years, after their 2-0 triumph in 1996 under the leadership of Wasim Akram. Both their previous tours ended in defeats – 0-3 in 2006 and 1-3 in 2010. Including their first tour, in 1954, Pakistan have played 13 Test series in England and have won three, consecutively between 1987 and 1996. England have won seven, while three were drawn.Pakistan arrive in England as the No. 3-ranked team in the world, one place above England. Pakistan will have a two-week conditioning camp in Hampshire, before they formally begin their tour with a three-day practice match against Somerset from July 3. Misbah said it was important to focus on the cricket and not let the unsavoury moments of the past affect them.”It indeed is a tough series, but the easy way to deal with this tour is to just focus on your game,” Misbah said. “We don’t have to look around and there is no need to peep into the past, otherwise you will never move ahead. Just believe in your training, your practice and enjoy your cricket. This is the only way to keep away from controversies.”It’s not like Pakistan never played well in England conditions. No doubt they are good in their own conditions and very familiar with their venues, but we have a chance. Bowling is our strength and we are also coming with a winning state of mind. So we have an opportunity to do our best and it’s hope that keeps you alive, otherwise you can’t do anything.”With Amir set to play his first Test in more than five years, Misbah backed him to come out of the shadow of the spot-fixing controversy. After serving a five-year ban, Amir, who was the Man of the Series in 2010, has become an automatic selection, allowing him to resume his Test career and pick up from where he left off at Lord’s. “Whatever happened in past is gone, but it has resulted in some solid life lessons for him,” Misbah said. “He has changed, and now he has an opportunity to prove himself as a bowler and as a person as well.”So performance is the only way he can reintegrate himself with the England fans and he can do it. He is mentally strong and can handle pressure, and I expect him to play an important role in Pakistan’s victory.”

ScorecardHampshire hope a move down the order can spark Michael Carberry’s form•Getty Images

There was a heavy sense of sadness about this, the flattest of days, at the Ageas Bowl. Played out in front of a smattering of barely 100 people, a crowd described by one seasoned journalist as the smallest he had seen here for at least a decade; bottom of the table, relegation-threatened Hampshire battled and blocked, nudged and nurdled and waited for the forecasted rain to fall.It is at times like these that a club needs its senior players. In Michael Carberry, Hampshire have one who stood up better than most to some of the fastest bowling in history when Mitchell Johnson ripped England apart in the 2013-14 Ashes. Shortly after that, perhaps harshly, Carberry’s international career came to an end and Dale Benkenstein, the Hampshire coach, revealed it has not been an easy adjustment for Carberry to make. This season season his average hovers around the mid-20s.As part of Hampshire’s attempt to re-motivate Carberry they have shifted him down the order to No. 4 to give him a new challenge and the management will have been pleased with the fight he showed, closing on an unbeaten 37, alongside Sean Ervine in a 52-run stand before play was halted.”We are trying to find some motivation for Carbs,” explained Benkenstein. “I think it’s tough when you don’t have England anymore. You just lose your oxygen. When you’ve had one thing as your goal and suddenly it goes, and you’ve never really thought about anything else – you’ve always wanted to play for England. I’ve seen that with a few senior players in my career as captain.””Physically and skill-wise he could play for many more years, but at this level you have got to have a real hunger to play. Especially as a batsman you have to have that hunger for runs because you are getting a year older and guys are getting faster and better and they have ambition to play for England and you tend to see guys drop off quite quickly.””We’ve found he is actually playing quite well but keeps getting out,” Benkenstein said of the move to bat him down the order. “The new ball is always tough in England and we thought maybe it’s a chance to free him up a bit and take him away from the new ball. Just changing his role gives him a bit of a mini-challenge and we are hoping that stimulates him.”Hampshire will hope Carberry can flourish in the second half of the season. Play began under a warming sun, but as the day wore on, the clouds thickened and darkened and like the looming threat of Hampshire’s relegation, they slowly closed in.When, at 3.18pm the umpires decided the light was too bad for play to continue Ervine and Carberry could hardly have left the pitch much quicker. Less than five minutes later it started to rain and the players never returned.More rain is forecast tomorrow and Hampshire could well escape this match with a draw but having been hoping for rain since mid-afternoon on day one, it will be with a heavy heart that they make the five hour drive to Chester-le-Street on Saturday.This pitch has been very slow, too slow to produce particularly intriguing cricket, and without the blanket of dark clouds under which they bowled on the first day, Somerset must have felt what it was like to bowl several overs in Hampshire’s shoes on day two as the hosts fought admirably against some accurate bowling.Unlike Somerset’s batsmen however, Hampshire’s were unable to convert strong starts into significant scores. All three of the wickets to fall were self-inflicted.Tom Alsop was the first to go when shortly before lunch he was caught at second slip having tried to cut a ball from Peter Trego that was too straight to do so to and angling in further still. Alsop’s wicket ended a stoic partnership of 89 – tellingly Hampshire’s best second-wicket stand of the season.That Alsop received a generous reception from Hampshire’s members for his 53 when he finally reached the pavilion, head bowed, bat hanging limply by his side and dragging along the turf, is perhaps emblematic of the club’s readjusted expectations. A good effort it was, but ultimately not good enough.After the interval Will Smith dragged on to Lewis Gregory and when Liam Dawson’s limp push outside off stump ended up in the hands of second slip there was a possibility Hampshire were not even going to beat the rain, let alone Somerset.After an hour of thick, miserly rain, with darkness enveloping the ground and puddles forming on the covers, the floodlights were unceremoniously switched off. Ten minutes after that, with the ground practically deserted but for a lone member of the ground staff, the PA system echoed around the stadium confirming to no one but the assembled press that play had been abandoned.And with that the lonely groundsman trudged across the outfield and disappeared into the bowels of the stadium, the only sound he left behind him was the gentle patter of rain on the covers as a melancholy day crept slowly towards its end.

ScorecardAjmal Shahzad delivered a three-wicket burst•Getty Images

Stu Whittingham enjoyed a dream home debut at Hove by taking a wicket with his first ball as Sussex’s seamers dominated a rain-affected opening day against Derbyshire.The Derby-born 22-year-old removed Hamish Rutherford for the third time this season, having dismissed the New Zealander twice on his first appearance in the Specsavers County Championship at Derby three weeks ago.Whittingham followed it up with the wickets of skipper Wayne Madsen and Matt Critchley either side of a penetrative spell from Ajmal Shahzad, who picked up three wickets in five overs as Derbyshire, who were put in, slumped to 97 for 7.Shiv Thakor, who made 130 against Kent earlier this week, led a counter-attack with an unbeaten 44 but two late wickets for Steve Magoffin left Derbyshire reeling on 142 for 9 at stumps from 40 overs.Sussex had won the toss and elected to bowl but ten minutes before the scheduled start heavy storms swept in and play was only able to start at 4pm after a two-hour mopping-up operation.A pitch with good pace and carry also offered the bowlers some sideways movement, but too many Derbyshire batsmen were complicit in their own downfall including in-form opener Chesney Hughes. The second division’s leading scorer, with 520 runs this season, followed the second ball of the match from Magoffin that moved a touch off the seam and edged to second slip.Rutherford was dropped at midwicket by Ed Joyce in the sixth over on nine but departed when Whittingham took over in the 11th over at the Sea End and immediately produced a full-length delivery which the batsman played all around.Madsen was then defeated by late away movement and edged to slip for 10 before Shahzad took centre stage.In his third over he ended 21 overs of careful resistance by skipper Billy Godleman (17) whose first false shot, a loose drive to cover, was held low down by Luke Wells.Nick Broome (22) started confidently before an expansive drive at a ball well outside off stump resulted in a head-high catch at second slip for Chris Nash.Shahzad then produced a beauty which pitched on middle and broke Tom Poynton’s off stump. He might have had a fourth wicket but Thakor was put down at gully by Matt Machan when he’d scored just 9.Whittingham returned to the attack to have Matt Critchley (3) held at square leg but in the same over Thakor twice deposited him over the midwicket boundary for six to signal a spirited counter-attack.Thakor added 44 for the eighth wicket with Tom Taylor before Taylor was caught at third man upper-cutting Magoffin, who then had Tony Palladino taken at second slip later in the penultimate over on a dispiriting day for Derbyshire.

New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra has been ruled out of the Chappell-Hadlee T20I series against Australia after suffering a major laceration to his face during training on Tuesday.Ravindra collided with the boundary boards during fielding practice at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. He passed initial concussion tests but his injury required significant stitching.Related

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Allrounder James Neesham, who was part of the New Zealand side for the T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe during July where he played one match, has been called up as his replacement.”We’re all really disappointed for Rachin to be forced to miss the series,” head coach Rob Walter said. He sustained a major laceration to his upper lip and nose area which required specialist and intricate stitching and will take time to heal.”Rachin is obviously an important player for us, but his health and wellbeing is our top priority, and so the decision was made to send him home to recover with an eye to being available for the England series in two weeks’ time.”Ravindra has enjoyed his most successful run in T20Is during this year with scores of 69, 30, 3, 63 and 47 in his last five innings.He adds to an extensive list of absentees for New Zealand in this series. They are missing captain Mitchell Santner (abdominal injury), Will O’Rourke (back), Glenn Phillips (groin), Finn Allen (foot), Adam Milne (ankle), Lockie Ferguson (hamstring) and Kane Williamson (unavailable).While Neesham has been added to the squad, top-order batter Tim Robinson is another option for the starting XI on Wednesday. The three matches against Australia take place across just four days.

Sonny Baker has won his maiden England call-up for the forthcoming ODI series against South Africa, while Jacob Bethell’s rapid rise continues after he was named captain of the T20I side to tour Ireland immediately after.Bethell is set to become England’s youngest men’s captain when he deputises for Harry Brook in three T20Is. Still only 21, Bethell will beat the mark currently held by Monty Bowden, who was 23 and 144 days when he led England against South Africa at Cape Town on the Test tour of 1888-89.Related

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South Africa will arrive to play three ODIs and three T20Is next month, which will conclude England’s home season. Brook will then sit out the three-match trip to Ireland, along with four other all-format players – Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith – as part of workload management.Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick will also take the reins from Brendon McCullum for the games in Malahide.Baker impressed with England Lions over the winter, which led to him being awarded an England development contract. Capable of bowling around the 90mph mark, he has caught the eye with Hampshire and Manchester Originals this summer.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He joins an ODI squad that is largely unchanged from the group that beat West Indies 3-0 in Brook’s first series as permanent white-ball captain earlier in the summer. Gus Atkinson, Luke Wood and Tom Hartley drop out, though Wood is included in both T20I squads and Hartley will travel to Ireland. Atkinson will likely build up his red-ball loads ahead of the winter’s Ashes.Rehan Ahmed returns to the ODI group and is included in all three squads after a prolific summer with the bat. Baker is also in the Ireland T20I squad, as is Matthew Potts, who debuted in the format against West Indies.”Jacob Bethell has impressed with his leadership qualities ever since he has been with the England squads and the series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage,” England men’s selector, Luke Wright, said.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Sonny is a player we have identified for a while and he was impressive during the England Lions tours last winter. He has carried that form into this season in white-ball cricket with Hampshire and Manchester Originals and deservedly gets his opportunity.”England ODI squad to face South Africa: Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie SmithEngland T20I squad to face South Africa: Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Luke WoodEngland T20I squad to face Ireland: Jacob Bethell (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood

The chatter surrounding India’s No. 3 slot has taken another twist, with Smriti Mandhana saying that the batter will be chosen based on the conditions and match situation.”The wicket condition and ground conditions are a lot different to what we thought when we came here,” Mandhana, India’s vice-captain, said on Tuesday. “It just depends on the match situation, who we are playing, how the wicket is playing, and what score we are chasing as well. I think that also is a big consideration. I wouldn’t say that it was all planned.”Head coach Amol Muzumdar had all but confirmed prior to India’s women’s T20 World Cup opener that Harmanpreet Kaur, the captain, was the chosen one for the key position.Related

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Harmanpreet, who has been cleared of any major injury after leaving the field with a neck sprain in India’s previous game, batted at No. 3 in both the warm-ups as well as in the opening game against New Zealand. On Sunday, against Pakistan, India sent in Jemimah Rodrigues in a chase of 106 after a slow start. Harmanpreet slotted in at No. 4. Of the players in the squad, Yastika Bhatia is another option for the spot.Mandhana suggested that while conditions in the UAE have been challenging, the difference between batting in an afternoon game (vs Pakistan) and an evening game (vs New Zealand) wasn’t all that much, especially with dew yet to become a massive factor.”Except the New Zealand match, we haven’t seen any team go over 140 in the whole tournament – 135-140 – be it a day game or a night game. It says a lot about the conditions,” she said, prior to the start of Australia’s game on Tuesday when they made it to 148. “I wouldn’t say it changes massively in terms of the wicket or the conditions, the outfield especially. Yes, the heat is a lot more.”But yeah, I think [when] we came here, for the first two-three days, we felt a lot hotter, but now I think it’s gotten better. It feels more like Indian conditions now. So it’s not as bad as we thought. Even in the last match, we thought it would be a lot hotter than it was actually when we were playing. I wouldn’t say it changes a lot. Definitely maybe 10 or 15 runs here and there depending on how you bat, but yeah, that’s it.”India’s cautious approach with the bat against Pakistan, in particular, has led to questions about whether they were even thinking about a possible net run-rate scenario where three teams in their group might be tied on points at the top. Mandhana said points on the board were most important.”That’s the first priority for us,” she said. “I think it’s a balance between trying to find out what’s the best for the team. Of course, in the last match, I started off fine, but then later I consumed a few dot balls, which was a little irritating for me. But yeah, having said that, I think as batters we have to be really smart. We can’t just go out there thinking that we are going to take on this bowling line-up and we are just going to cruise, because of course the conditions and the outfield is a lot different.”So yeah, I think we have to keep that net run-rate in mind, but first is of course winning the match and definitely then going on and thinking about the net run-rate. Of course, the group is definitely a lot tricky. But it’s just the start. I think we don’t want to go ahead thinking a lot about what will happen but one day at a time, and if at all [against Sri Lanka] there’s a place where we think about the net run-rate, of course we’ll be trying to get it first. But I think the win is the priority.”4:48

Takeaways – Reddy, Patil’s performances great signs for India

Before the tournament, it was assumed that the Asian teams would find the conditions in Dubai and Sharjah more to their liking than, say, New Zealand, who beat India handsomely in their contest.”I’m sure the first match didn’t go the way we planned. But, having said that, we won’t shy away from taking that responsibility that we did not step up to play good cricket on that particular day,” Mandhana said. “As a batting order, as a bowling unit, I think we couldn’t do it. We had that one-off bad day where sometimes you just come and want to do everything but you’re not able to get over the line.”Having said that, I don’t think that it’s just the Asian teams that are not able to adjust to the conditions. I’m sure that in the other teams as well, it’s not like they have scored 170-odd.”But yeah, I think the brand of cricket which we want to play, I would say that in the first match we could not do that. Even in the second match, I wouldn’t say we played 100% of our cricket. I’m sure we are still better than what we have been playing. In these conditions, you have to understand your cricket very well, be very smart, and know what shots to play and which shots to play. So I don’t see any difference in Asian teams and other teams.”

Half-centuries from Sam Robson and Leus du Plooy gave Middlesex the upper hand on the second day of their Vitality County Championship game against Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ School.Robson enhanced his impressive record at the Northwood venue, which includes four first-class centuries, by grinding out a vital 58 while Du Plooy hit an unbeaten 66 as the home side reached 250 for seven, a first-innings advantage of 43.However, Ben Sanderson kept Northamptonshire right in contention with figures of five for 58, regaining his status as Division Two’s leading wicket-taker after being briefly displaced by Middlesex captain Toby Roland-Jones.Northamptonshire were dismissed for 207, with Roland-Jones taking a season’s best of five for 49 – and the visitors’ hopes of restricting Middlesex to a lower total were not helped as Prithvi Shaw shelled a trio of slip catches.Sanderson and Lewis McManus, who had hauled Northamptonshire out of difficulties the previous evening, did enough to usher the visitors beyond the key landmark of 200 as they extended their partnership to 83.Sanderson unfurled a pair of classic drives to the boundary off Tom Helm and thoughts of a maiden first-class half-century must have entered the veteran seamer’s mind as he overtook McManus to reach 40.However, those thoughts were dashed when Henry Brookes bowled Sanderson around his legs and, although debutant Dom Leech cracked a cover boundary to raise the visitors’ 200, Roland-Jones quickly wrapped up the innings by capturing their last two wickets in three balls.In reply, Middlesex’s opening pair both survived close calls during the hour prior to lunch, although they made it to the interval unscathed on a surface with variable bounce and pace.With just a single to his name, Robson edged a rising delivery from Justin Broad through the slips, while Mark Stoneman offered a tricky slip chance off the same bowler and Shaw, going low to his left, was unable to hang on.Sanderson made the breakthrough soon after the resumption, getting the ball to swing and uprooting Stoneman’s off stump for 36, but Robson and Max Holden dug in for an afternoon of laborious progress.Robson cut the seamers with authority to keep the scoreboard moving and passed 50 from 118 balls with a sweet cover drive for four off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, whose change of ends then bore immediate fruit as he trapped Holden leg before.Northamptonshire might have removed Robson as well in the next over, with Shaw – who had also put down Holden – fumbling another opportunity, but Sanderson made amends immediately after tea with two wickets in as many deliveries.With Robson lbw to one that kept low and Stephen Eskinazi succumbing in identical fashion, Middlesex were suddenly wobbling at 129 for four but a bristling partnership of 72 between Du Plooy and Fernandes was exactly what they needed.Leech eventually brought the stand to an end with his first Northamptonshire wicket, having Fernandes taken at second slip, but Du Plooy remained to nudge his side into the lead with a crisp off-driven boundary.However, Sanderson returned with the new ball and promptly claimed two more wickets in quick succession, completing his third five-for of the summer before Roland-Jones launched a late flurry of boundary-hitting.He took two fours from successive Sanderson deliveries and had just cracked Broad to the fence to earn Middlesex a batting bonus point when the deteriorating light brought play to a close.