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ScorecardRahat Ali finished with a match haul of five wickets•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz came to the fore on the final day of the warm-up match in Cairns, taking three wickets to help skittle Cricket Australia for 109 in 27.3 overs and complete a 201-run win for the Pakistanis. Rahat Ali and Mohammad Amir took two wickets each, while Wahab Riaz and Azhar Ali claimed one apiece.The lid had been ripped open by the new-ball pair of Rahat and Amir, who reduced CA XI to 4 for 27 in the chase of 311. Nawaz, who had bowled only five overs in the first innings for no wicket, then claimed the wicket of Matthew Short before going on to add the scalp of Arjun Nair, who top scored with 42, to his bag. No other CA XI batsman made more than 20 against the pink ball in the second innings.”For me to express my skills out there was a good opportunity. It felt good out there, decent deck, and to score some runs was a good, positive end to the game,” Nair said. “For me, it’s about building my own game, so getting runs was a good confidence-booster and something for me to work towards in the future. Batting against quality bowlers like Mohammad Amir, top class, and for us to come against those bowlers was a good experience. It’s about taking this experience and learning.”The third and final day of the practice game had begun with the Pakistanis on 5 for 124, with Azhar Ali unbeaten on 44. Azhar went on to make 82 not out and contributions from the lower-middle order took the score to 6 for 216 before the declaration came.”As a batsman, you want to spend time in the middle and get used to the conditions,” Azhar said. “As a bowler, you have got to get used to the lengths according to the pitch, so everyone tried to get the best out of this game.””And, obviously, playing the pink ball in Australia is different to playing in Dubai. During the night, when the lights come on, it starts to do a bit more. I think we are very satisfied with what we got. The wicket was not as quick as we thought it would be, still it was good time in the middle.Azhar also had a word of appreciation for the fielding. “We really worked hard on our fielding. As a team, we want to improve in that regard. Fielding is really important. In Test matches, if you catch well, you generally end up on the winning side.”Cairns has been a lovely experience. The hospitality has been brilliant. We were welcomed here, and obviously enjoyed the game as well. We’re looking forward to the Gabba. Obviously, it will be hard work, but as a batting unit we’re really confident that we have the capability to deliver in these conditions.”The first Test between Pakistan and Australia – a day-night fixture in Brisbane – begins on December 15.

England’s tour of India is unlikely to be disrupted by the hurdles the BCCI faces in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the ECB. Officials from both boards confirmed there has been no change to their preparations ahead of the series, which starts in Rajkot on November 9.The state associations hosting the five Tests – Saurashtra, Punjab, Andhra, Mumbai and Tamil Nadu – also said they did not foresee any difficulty as long as the England team’s hotel costs, airfare and the daily allowance are taken care of. A representative from one state association even said they would be happy to foot the hotel bill should it come to that.Alastair Cook’s squad had landed in Mumbai on Wednesday, but doubts emerged over whether the series would take place after email exchanges between the BCCI and the Lodha Committee revealed that an MoU had not been signed yet.According to an order passed by the Supreme Court of India on October 21, all contracts that the BCCI enters into have to be cleared by the Lodha Committee, which was appointed by the court to suggest changes to the way the board functions. Matters directly related to cricket though are beyond the Committee’s remit, which was why they had asked the BCCI for more information before giving their approval for the MoU’s signing. On Thursday evening, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke sent a copy of the blank MoU to the Lodha Committee without mentioning any specifics.To work around the problem, Shirke wrote to Phil Neale, England’s operations manager, on Thursday asking the ECB to pay for its own expenses until further updates. “We are already in India, there is no change to any plans and we are looking forward to the series against India,” an ECB spokesperson said.A top BCCI official said the board already had contracts in place with the hotels that England would be staying at and, as such, lodging expenses shouldn’t prove a problem. “The main issue is their daily allowance has to be cleared. Ultimately it is a large amount,” the official said. “The daily allowance is in the range of GBP 50-75. The England contingent strength is about 30 including the players and support staff. The BCCI will need to calculate the daily allowance for roughly 50 days for the Test series, and that amount will need to be ratified by the committee before the Indian board disburses the amount to ECB.”The BCCI official also said the MoU could be signed once the series starts. “In letter and spirit, we can’t sign it right now because it is part of the list we sent to the Lodha Committee,” the official said. “Unless and until they revert we can’t sign something that we have referred to them. (But) ultimately we hope it will get signed.”In the interim order delivered on October 21, the Supreme Court asked the BCCI to stop distributing funds to its state associations until they instituted the reforms the Lodha Committee had suggested in January.But the state associations that will host the five Tests said they have no trouble taking on routine costs in the course of the matches and can provide security and in-ground hospitality for the England team if the BCCI finds a way to take on the tourists’ hotel charges and daily allowances.Niranjan Shah, secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association, said he saw no threat to Rajkot’s first-ever Test in under a week’s time. All the preparations, he said, were going on as scheduled, and even added that if SCA has to pay for lodging, it will.Punjab Cricket Association, that will host the third Test, in Mohali, is also going ahead with its preparations. “Will PCA do the match? Yes, PCA will,” the secretary MP Pandove said. “Will PCA pay for the expenses? Yes, PCA will pay for the expenses it is required to pay for. To get the teams here, to pay for their hotels, to pay their daily allowance, that is BCCI’s job. All ground hospitality, all local transport, traffic control, all staging costs, that is our responsibility. That has been the understanding for years now.”Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which will host the final Test of series in Chennai, will finalise its plan at an executive meeting on November 7. “We will meet only those expenses that the states have to pay,” a TNCA official said. “Payments concerning daily allowances, airfare, hotel bills have to be met by the BCCI. We will take care of ground expenses and team security.”Mumbai Cricket Association, hosting the fourth Test of the series, has said it is ready to host the match, following its managing committee meeting on Friday. Andhra Cricket Association secretary G Ganga Raju, who is also one of the five BCCI vice-presidents, has said the association has enough funds to host England for the second Test, in Visakhapatnam.

Pink-ball cricket will mark its debut in Sri Lanka when the first unofficial Test between Sri Lanka A and West Indies A commences at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.”We have been lagging behind other countries in experimenting with the pink ball, but a start had to be made somewhere,” Sri Lanka Cricket vice-president K Mathivanan said. “With the ICC planning to introduce day-night Test cricket in the near future we should be prepared to face the changes and not lag behind.”Sri Lanka currently use the Australian Kookaburra ball in their domestic tournaments. Mathivanan said the pink ball costed as much as the red ball, priced at LKR 16,000. SLC is also likely to use the pink ball in their forthcoming domestic competition.Sri Lanka A captain Dimuth Karunaratne felt the pink ball doesn’t differ drastically as compared to the red ball. “We have had few practice sessions with the pink ball and found it very much similar to the red ball,” he said. “But with use, pink ball gets a bit strange and the colour fades.”Shamarh Brooks, the West Indies A captain, said the experience of having played with the pink ball should help. “The balls we use in the Caribbean are a bit light in colour, these balls are brighter,” he observed.Pink ball trial aside, the series will also help Sri Lanka’s national selector identify players who can make the Test cut ahead of the tour of Zimbabwe in October-November.Among those fighting for the opening slot are Karunaratne, Roshen Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne. “I think we have a strong team with some drop outs from the national squad. So this is a great chance for all of them to regain their form and perform well for the country,” Karunaratne said, while sidestepping the question about competition for places.Sri Lanka A coach Avishka Gunawardene said the priority was to identify a battery of fast bowlers. “The Zimbabwe and South African tours are coming and we have to find more fast bowlers so we will focus more on the fast bowlers during this series as that is the national side’s need of the hour,” he said. “We have a good balanced side including Under-19 players who performed well at the last Under-19 World Cup.”West Indies will play three four-day matches and three one-dayers during their month-long stay.

Although the BCCI has agreed to use DRS for the five Tests against England starting on November 9, HotSpot will not be among the tools available.The last time India played in a series with DRS – also against England, in 2011 – they were not impressed with HotSpot. Ravi Shastri, who had been a commentator at the time, had famously said, “HotSpot has gone cold.” Its absence now, however, is the result of logistical issues.It is understood that about a month ago the BCCI had asked HotSpot proprietors if they could provide the equipment for HotSpot and Realtime Snicko. At the time, the board hadn’t made up its mind over the use of DRS, but was happy to include the technologies as a broadcast tool.However, the BCCI was told it would take at least until the middle of November to transport the hardware to India. And that was not a guarantee either. There was a worst-case scenario which suggested the BCCI would have to wait until mid-February to have HotSpot and Realtime Snicko in working order. This was because the cameras used for HotSpot are military-grade and their shipping required special permission from the Australian government.So considering the first Test against England is scheduled to begin on November 9, the BCCI has decided to use DRS minus HotSpot.The presence of UltraEdge, however, should help make sure DRS deliberations are as accurate as possible. The technology is used to determine exactly when and what part of the bat or batsman the ball has struck, and its use was a contributing factor in convincing the BCCI to use DRS. “UltraEdge also ensures that post-impact balls do not affect the predicted path or impact point and hence the accuracy has been improved,” the board had said last week.UltraEdge will now be used in detection of edges on caught-behind dismissals and bat-pad catches, and to determine whether a batsman had hit the ball in lbw scenarios.

ScorecardMiguel Cummins claimed five wickets in the second innings to seal a thrilling win•Getty Images

Miguel Cummins bowled Worcestershire to a thrilling victory by 11 runs over Sussex at Hove after claiming 12 wickets in the match.The Barbadian followed up his 7 for 84 in the first innings by taking 5 for 82 in the second, including the last four, just when it appeared that Sussex were heading to victory.Chris Jordan (50) and David Wiese, who finished unbeaten on 70, put on 114 in 23 overs for the seventh wicket to get Sussex to within 45 runs of their target.Even when Jordan was squared up by Cummins and caught behind, one ball after reaching his second half-century of the match, Wiese and Jofra Archer added 19 runs to get the target down to 26.But Archer (16) then showed his inexperience, chasing a ball well outside off stump and edging to second slip after Cummins switched back to bowling down the slope.Wiese cracked two boundaries as Sussex took 13 off the next over from Joe Leach to get the target down to 13 but the contest was ended by Cummins in spectacular style.Brett D’Oliveira produced a wonderful catch at square leg to intercept Danny Briggs’ leg-side flick and with the next ball Cummins sent Steve Magoffin’s middle stump flying with a yorker before setting off on a celebratory run around the outfield, with his delighted team-mates in hot pursuit.Victory has improved Worcestershire’s chances of finishing behind champions Essex in the second division with a home game against Derbyshire to end their season.They had started the final day needing nine wickets with Sussex requiring 259 runs and they made the perfect start when Leach bowled Craig Cachopa through the gate with the second ball of the day, condemning Cachopa to a pair.Sussex were soon 42 for 4 as Cummins bowled Ben Brown with a nip-backer which kept a touch low and Leach collected his 60th wicket of the season when Fynn Hudson-Prentice (20) was bowled.But the green shoots of a Sussex recovery began to sprout in a fifth-wicket stand of 54 between Ollie Robinson and Phil Salt, who had started to look at ease until he drove a slower ball from Charlie Morris to mid-off for 17.Worcestershire looked to have more or less wrapped things up on the stroke of lunch when D’Oliveira plucked out Robinson’s middle stump with a direct hit from backward point after confusion between him and Jordan over a single. Robinson made 42 but after lunch Jordan and Wiese took the attack back to their opponents.Their first 50 runs came from just 41 balls and luck seemed to be running Sussex’s way when Jordan’s mis-timed pull off the indefatigable Cummins dropped just short of D’Oliveira at midwicket.Jordan made 50 off 84 balls while Wiese finished from 70 off 80 deliveries with eight fours and a six, off D’Oliveira but it was Cummins, whose match figures of 12 for 166 were the best of his career, who had the final say.”It’s a shame one side had to lose and I genuinely mean that,” said Steve Rhodes, Worcestershire’s head coach. “It was a great game and a fantastic advert for Championship cricket.”The wicket was strange. A lot of batsmen got out early but if you could get in and form partnerships it could be hard to take wickets. I was pleased with the way we stuck at it because when Chris Jordan and David Wiese were batting together I thought that might be it for us – it looked like being the crucial stand – but Miguel Cummins has come back and won it for us.”To take 12 wickets and keep running in hard as he did was a mighty fine effort. He is a hard trier and it was an amazing way to finish it with those two wickets at the end.”Wiese, whose efforts had taken Sussex so close, said: “CJ (Jordan) and I decided there was no point going into our shells, we wanted to be positive because if you hung about on that wicket you would eventually get knocked over.”We put pressure on their bowlers and we went through stages when we could score quickly. We complemented each other well and it was such a good wicket that all of a sudden it looked like we might win the game.”But they took two really good catches and Miguel Cummins kept coming in hard at the end. It was a terrific game and it’s just a shame we couldn’t get over the line.”

ScorecardJonathan Trott played an innings suited to a used pitch•Getty Images

A century from Jonathan Trott helped Warwickshire into the semi-finals of the Royal London One-Day Cup with a 70-run victory over Essex. They will play Somerset at Edgbaston over the Bank Holiday weekend with a Lord’s final the reward for the winner.Trott, with his third century in five innings in the competition this season (one of the other innings was 66 against Lancashire), laid the platform for a competitive total on a used pitch – this match was played on the surface used in the Test between England and Pakistan – before Laurie Evans provided some late impetus and Warwickshire’s three spinners strangled the Essex reply.It was the fourth time in the last three seasons that Warwickshire had defeated Essex in a limited-overs knock-out match and the second time in little more than a week that Essex had been knocked out in a quarter-final following their T20 loss against Nottinghamshire. Their dressing room door remained closed for some time after the result, though their season is not over. Promotion in the County Championship is still within their reach.This was, in many ways, an old-fashioned one-day match suiting Warwickshire’s old-fashioned template. While Warwickshire, and Trott in particular, may not be the best on the sort of pitches where 350 might be considered par, on these surfaces, where a total of 270 is decent, they are almost ideal.Plan A for Warwickshire involves Trott – it could be any of the top three, but realistically it is Trott – batting for the first 40 overs or so and providing the foundation of a competitive score before Evans – it could be any of the middle-order, but realistically it is Evans – thrashing the late runs required to take the total to the required level. Get either of them early and Warwickshire have to fall back on Plan B. It is far from certain that they have one.If it sounds familiar, it is because it is how England used to play their ODI cricket. It may be unfashionable now, but it is not so long since it took England to No. 1 in the world and the brink (on this very ground) of their first global ODI title.For a while, it seemed Warwickshire may struggle to set a competitive total. After settling in against the new balls – the easiest time to bat on this wicket – Warwickshire were forced to regroup once Sam Hain was beaten by a quicker one from Graham Napier (playing the final List A match of an outstanding career that really should have earned some T20I caps) and Ian Bell fell for a duck. Three successive overs brought just one run from the bat.Gradually, though, Tim Ambrose and Trott grew more comfortable. With Essex having only one full-time spinner in Ashar Zaidi and the offspin of Tom Westley in support, they were obliged to persist with their seamers on a surface offering them little and Warwickshire’s third-wicket pair added 136 in 26.4 overs. Trott, driving fluently, running quickly and reverse-sweeping well, completed his 13th List A century – a chanceless affair – for Warwickshire from 122 balls. Only Nick Knight, with 23, has scored more List A centuries for the club.The value of Trott’s contribution was highlighted after his dismissal from a leg-side wide. Just as they needed to accelerate, they were forced to rebuild, scoring just 14 runs from the start of the 43rd over to the end of the 46th.But Evans remained. Whatever his frustrations in red-ball cricket – he has requested his release from his Warwickshire contract due to his lack of first team opportunities in the Championship side – his remains an essential part of the club’s white-ball teams. Here he thrashed an unbeaten 70 from 53 balls, striking powerfully over midwicket and taking 14 in three balls (two fours and a six) from the penultimate over of the innings bowled by the unfortunate Napier.When Essex raced to 69 without loss in 12 overs, it looked as if they might coast to victory. Nick Browne, driving sweetly, hit the usually tight Rikki Clarke out of the attack, while Westley used Chris Woakes’ pace to his advantage with some lovely drives and late cuts.But the introduction of spin was always going to be crucial. And, after Browne was stumped off another leg-side wide, Warwickshire’s spinners utilised the conditions perfectly.If the highlight was a leg-break bowled out of the front of the hand by Jeetan Patel – it was the first time Trott had seen the offspinner bowl the delivery in a match and it certainly surprised Ravi Bopara, who sliced it to backward point – Warwickshire will have been equally pleased by the contribution of their two younger spinners.Josh Poysden claimed three wickets with his leg-breaks – “I bowled 60 leg-breaks today,” he said, “with some of them turning and some of them skidding on” – while Ateeq Javid provided two more with his waspish off-breaks: one with a leg-side wide; the other with a filthy full-toss that must have been perilously close to be called for no-ball on height.In all, Warwickshire’s trio of spinners claimed 8 for 108 in 24.1 overs. Poysden bowled just the one poor delivery in his entire spell – a long-hop that was pulled for six by the impressive Ryan ten Doeschate – and, while he doesn’t turn the ball a great deal, nor did Eric Hollies. And they named a stand after him.Bell deserves credit, too. While he failed with the bat, drawn into an edge as he attempted to guide one down to third man, he juggled his bowlers masterfully and challenged the Essex batsmen to attack his spinners by keeping fielders close to the bat. The crucial wicket of Jesse Ryder, who had scored two centuries and three half-centuries in the competition this season, was claimed when Bell urged Poysden to go round the wicket and bowl into the rough. The resulting leg-break turned through the gate as Ryder advanced down the pitch.This was a much-needed result for Warwickshire. Having failed to qualify from their T20 group and seem their Championship hopes gradually descend into a relegation battle, this competition provides the final chance to salvage some success from a disappointing season. Rumblings from around the club suggest change is in the air. Perhaps a Lord’s final might provoke a re-think.

ScorecardPakistan A captain Babar Azam led his side’s final-day victory charge•Getty Images

Pakistan A swept to a remarkable eight-wicket win over Sri Lanka A in Worcester, riding on the back of belligerent half-centuries from captain Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel to mow down a target of 148 in 19.1 overs, with time running out on the final day.With a maximum of 23 overs to chase down the target, Pakistan went for the win right from the outset. They were reduced to 37 for 2 in the fifth over as Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Nawaz both fell to new-ball bowler Vishwa Fernando in the quest for quick runs. But Azam (66 not out) and Shakeel (51 not out) then combined for an unbeaten partnership of 111 off 86 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes between them to complete a thrilling chase.Pakistan’s task could have been easier but for Sri Lanka’s stubborn tenth-wicket partnership in the second innings. Half-centuries from opener Dhananjaya de Silva (88) and captain Ashan Priyanjan (66) had taken them to 309 for 9, before Minod Bhanuka, who scored an unbeaten 54, and Asitha Fernando combined for a 49-run stand that kept Pakistan’s bowlers at bay for 7.3 overs. When Fernando, who contributed just 2, finally perished to give right-arm medium pacer Hasan Ali his fourth wicket of the innings and seventh of the match, Sri Lanka were all out for 358 to set up the pulsating climax.Pakistan’s stranglehold of the match, however, had been established in the first innings. After Sri Lanka opted to bat, Mir Hamza (4 for 62) and Hasan (3 for 70) inflicted the bulk of the damage to bowl the side out for 250, with only Roshen Silva (57) and Udara Jayasundera (53) registering fifties. Pakistan responded by piling on 461 for 8 before declaring. Most of their batsman made solid contributions, with Shakeel top-scoring with 86.Battling a first-innings deficit of 211, Sri Lanka never really managed to claw back. Coming into the final day two down for 83 and still 128 behind, any hopes Sri Lanka may have had of saving the match came crashing down, thanks to a spirited effort from Pakistan.

Pakistan’s new coach Mickey Arthur has said the opportunity of associating with a subcontinent team was a “massive attraction”. Soon after his arrival in Lahore, his first visit to Pakistan after his appointment, Arthur spoke to the media and explained his decision to take up the job by saying, “If you haven’t coached in the subcontinent you haven’t really coached.”Arthur was appointed last month to fill the role vacated by Waqar Younis, who resigned following the team’s early exit from the World T20. This is Arthur’s third assignment with an international side – he previously coached South Africa from 2005 to 2010, and Australia from 2011 to 2013.”(It has) massive attraction,” Arthur said. “You just got to look at the passion that the Pakistan public have for cricket. The passion that everybody in the subcontinent has for cricket. For me, I wanted to come and coach in the subcontinent at some stage of my coaching career because if you haven’t coached in the subcontinent, you haven’t really coached.”That was a massive attraction, coupled with the fact that we need to improve the rankings in ODI cricket without a doubt, we need to improve the rankings in Twenty20 cricket. We need to become a little bit more consistent. Our Test cricket seems to be very good at the moment. Test cricket is being played in conditions conducive to the subcontinent. If we can play well outside the subcontinent [it] means the team’s really going forward and those are all the challenges I’m really looking forward to.”Pakistan are ranked No. 3 in Test cricket but are currently at ninth place on the ODI table and at No. 7 in T20Is. With a long tour of England and Ireland as his first assignment, Arthur urged the team to guard against fear of failure.”I don’t care if they fail, I don’t care if they make mistakes. Professional people are going to make mistakes. As long as we’re learning from those mistakes and going forward as a team, I’m going to be happy. I don’t want us to fear the failure. I think any team that fears failure is a team that struggles. Certainly I don’t want us to fear failure at all and we’re going to give players the opportunity to get out there and really perform to the best of their ability.”The strategy is to make them believe in their own abilities, make them believe where we are going to take this team and that belief comes over time, it just doesn’t start. I love to see the players dig deep inside and find the extra 10% that’s going to make a significant difference to this team going forward and that’s what I will try to dwell and try to get out of every player. To make sure that they become better, and if they become better players Pakistan cricket will benefit. That is my primary focus at the moment.”Arthur has a two-year deal with the PCB, which will be reviewed after a year based on the team’s performance. With four major series for the side over the next eight months – after the England tour, Pakistan are scheduled to play West Indies, New Zealand and Australia – Arthur has set his sights on identifying players who fit in with the long-term vision of taking the team to No. 1 across formats.”The short-term plan comes in and creates a culture that I think is necessary for a team to be successful,” he said. “With long-term plans I want to get the team to No.1 in all forms of the game, that is without a doubt. We also need to identify long-term players who can be with us for the ride, players who can play all three formats. We need to identify really good allrounders, somebody who can bat in the top six and bowl seam specially when he plays outside subcontinent conditions. Those are all things in my mind as long-term plans.”Arthur had an uneasy tenure as Australia’s coach, despite having garnered success with South Africa. He was sacked almost three weeks before the start of the 2013 Ashes in England, after a challenging time with the team which included the infamous Homeworkgate episode on the tour to India earlier that year. Arthur was confident such an incident would not occur again.”I’ve got no doubt they’ll operate in the right way and Australia did,” he said. “Sometimes things work and sometimes things don’t. We’ve had a good record with Australia but there were other issues that we needed to address and they always say there’s two types of coaches – there’s a coach that’s current and there’s a coach that’s been fired, and if you haven’t been fired, you’ve never coached. So I had a really good five years with South Africa, with Australia we had two very good years and that ended in tears, but that’s what happens. I’m confident that in this role we’ll get things going in the right direction, it won’t happen again.”Arthur’s arrival in Pakistan was delayed by a month – due to paperwork issues involved in switching from South African to Australian citizenship – and he missed the preparatory fitness camp for the England tour. He clarified that his inputs were taken before the selection of the team and that he had had fruitful discussion with the selectors and the rest of the coaching staff.”I had very good and clear communication with the selection panel before this team was selected,” he said. “Inzi (Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s chief selector) and I have built a nice relationship, we spent some time chatting and I know that my opinions will always be taken into account. At the end of the day it’s their job to select the best possible team but I know they will do this in consultation with myself and the captain always.”I’ve had fruitful discussions with every stakeholder throughout the last month – with Inzi and his selection panel, with Mushi (bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed) in terms of the young players coming through, so I’ve got a pretty good indication where Pakistan cricket is. I’ve got a pretty good indication that if we find some players that become long-term, we need to invest in those players, and if we invest in those players and be consistent with our selection, and consistent in the roles that those players have within the team, then, without a doubt, the team will go from strength to strength.”Soon after his appointment, Arthur had stressed the importance of discipline and fitness, and he stated he would manage this on a day-to-day basis to ensure the team’s performance was not affected.”At the end of the day it’s up to me to give them a clear role, let them know exactly how they fit in and also to make sure that they bind to the team. All those issues I haven’t experienced yet and I will manage them on a day-to-day basis to make sure that they don’t impact our performance going forward.”

Mark Davis has spoken about Sussex’s frustration in having to wait for Mustafizur Rahman, one of the club’s overseas signings, to arrive. Mustafizur has been working to regain fitness after the IPL and his stint in England remains uncertain.Davis, Sussex’s head coach, said the club was struggling to find another replacement for Mustafizur, after South Africa allrounder David Wiese departed for the CPL. Wiese was initially signed as cover for two games at the start of June but ended up making four NatWest T20 Blast appearances. Ahead of their game against Gloucestershire on Sunday, Sussex will also be without Chris Jordan who is away on England duty.”We have a couple of people but it is very late in the day so it is very hard to get replacements,” Davis told the Brighton-based . “The top players in the world have been signed, or are playing CPL, or their countries aren’t allowing them to play. That’s the frustration because we have chosen Mustafizur as probably the No. 1 bowler in the world in that format.”On June 9, the Bangladesh physio Bayjidul Islam had said that Mustafizur would take at least two weeks to be ready but last week, trainer Mario Villavarayan said he would require another month to recover from his injuries.Sussex had earlier said they would be happy to wait for Mustafizur, at least until June 10, but that time has now passed. Davis said he had only been able to get advice from Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha but he was confident that Mustafizur would show up for his side.”I spoke to the Bangladesh head coach and he said he would be assessed after two weeks, which is now,” Davis said. “It hasn’t been easy to nail Bangladesh down. Their coach has been the one I have got most direction from. But we are also dealing with physios and trainers who are putting things on the internet. I am sure we will get it nailed down.”

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said that playing in England will be a steep learning experience for left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman to develop as a bowler.Last month it was learned that Mustafizur had expressed reluctance to those close to him of going to England to play for Sussex soon after completing the IPL season. He also suffered a low-grade right hamstring injury towards the end of the tournament in India but it is not being considered a big problem. Sussex too have been keen on having him over, albeit a little later.”If you want to improve the performance, you have to play in those conditions,” Hathurusingha said. “[If] you don’t go there, you don’t know. Bangladesh cricket will be benefited. Mustafiz will develop quickly and perform well. So if it is not going to harm his health, I think it is a good thing for him to go and play. It is a rare opportunity for Bangladeshi players to play there [in England]. If I can send four players I will send them all. It is the best way to do it.”Hathurusingha’s statement is by far the strongest push for Mustafizur to honour his contract with Sussex, who signed him in March this year, to play in the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One Day Cup this season.Hathurusingha, who arrived in Dhaka on Wednesday evening after his vacation at home in Melbourne, said that while Mustafizur’s next challenge would be to do well in Tests, he would also have to be taken care of, now that many batsmen around the world are seeing more of his bowling.”He has played two Test matches and became Man of the Match in one with four wickets,” Hathurusingha said. “At the start it is impressive but as you said it is going to be a challenge. He has to be fit, we have to look after him.”We all know that his mystery is going to be found out very soon, so at the same time I am looking forward to his cricketing intelligence. So we will find ways for him to be competitive. Our challenge is look after him and develop him and keep him in the pack to play for Bangladesh.”