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R Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara on the Smith-DRS incident, on needling David Warner, and the forehead-pointing incident that mimicked Mitchell Starc

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017R Ashwin has said Steven Smith’s look towards the Australian dressing room for DRS advice on day four of the Bengaluru Test was “completely unheard of”. Speaking to his team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara in a video, Ashwin said the incident reminded him of his junior cricket days.”Steven Smith actually turned back and asked the dressing room if he could take a review,” Ashwin said. “That is completely unheard of. The last time I thought that to happen was in an Under-10 game, when my coach used to suggest where point fielders and cover fielders used to stand.”It was really surprising. I have a lot of respect for Steven Smith, but that was very very surprising.”

BCCI comes out in support of Kohli

A day after the Bengaluru Test ended, the BCCI issued a release in support of Virat Kohli and his team with regards to the Steven Smith-DRS referral issue. The Indian board said it had asked the ICC to “take cognizance” of the matter.
“The BCCI, after due deliberation and seeing the video replays of the episode, steadfastly stands with the Indian cricket team and its captain Mr Virat Kohli,” the release said.
“Mr Virat Kohli is a mature and seasoned cricketer and his conduct on the field has been exemplary. Mr. Kohli’s action was supported by ICC elite panel umpire Mr Nigel Llong, who rushed in to dissuade Mr Steve Smith from taking recourse to inappropriate assistance.
“BCCI has requested the ICC to take cognizance of the fact that the Australian skipper Mr Steve Smith in his press conference admitted to a ‘brain fade’ at that moment.”

There was a lot of chat on the field between the Indian and Australian players through the Test match, and Ashwin and Pujara detailed specific instances during their conversation. Pujara said he had been in David Warner’s ear, telling him about Ashwin’s record against him. Ashwin ended the match having dismissed Warner in both innings – and nine times over his career.”Well, see, they were talking a lot and probably sledging is something which, as a unit, we felt that we can give them back,” Pujara said. “They were always under pressure when they walked in to bat, and I wanted to make sure their batsmen were thinking about it, especially David Warner. Whenever he walks in to bat, Ash [Ashwin] is always happy, so I always keep reminding him that Ash is the one who picks [up his wicket].”After dismissing Mitchell Starc, Ashwin sent him off by repeatedly pointing to his own forehead – mimicking the gesture Starc had made after Abhinav Mukund had top-edged him for six in India’s second innings.”I saw yesterday, Abhi [Mukund] pulled Mitchell Starc for a six, he top-edged it for six,” Ashwin said. “But yes, I don’t think he was in any sort of hurry when he pulled that ball, and Mitchell Starc suggested that he would hit him on the helmet. I don’t know, people generally have the habit of saying I’ll hit you back on the helmet at Gabba.”It doesn’t matter, this is Bangalore, so I thought I must tell him that he got hit off me, in the first innings, on the helmet.”Pujara also revealed that he had batted with a sore neck while scoring 92 in India’s second innings.”It was my neck which was troubling me a lot,” Pujara said. “To be honest, it was a serious issue when I went in to bat in the second innings. I would like to thank Patrick Farhart, our physio, who made it possible for me to bat, and bat at No. 3, because there was one stage where I felt I might not be able to bat No. 3 because my neck was really sore. But he worked on it and ultimately I achieved the goal for the team.”

New Zealand will wait till the eve of the second Test to determine Trent Boult’s availability. The left-arm pacer is nursing a sore hip from the first Test in Dunedin

Firdose Moonda in Wellington14-Mar-2017Trent Boult’s availability for the second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington will be decided on the eve the game. Boult is nursing a sore hip from the Dunedin Test and didn’t train full tilt with the squad on Monday.Boult left the field on the fourth day of the first Test after bowling just 15 overs in South Africa’s second innings. He was touted to return on the final day that was washed out. Should he be ruled unfit, New Zealand can choose from Tim Southee, left out in Dunedin to accommodate an extra spinner and Matt Henry, who joined the squad ahead of the game. Henry, incidentally, isn’t reinforcement; his inclusion was planned leading into the series.South Africa expect Southee to return on a surface with the most bounce and carry in the series, although there is also a possibility of New Zealand including both Southee and Henry if Boult is ruled out.”Southee is a quality bowler, very skilled, especially in these conditions,” Temba Bavuma said on Monday. “Fortunately, we’ve played against him, I’ve played against him. We are aware of what he brings to the party. We will make sure we pay as much attention as we can to him and make sure he is not successful against us.”Bavuma has not yet looked at Wellington pitch that was uncovered on Tuesday, for the first time since Friday when the city’s rains began More than 70 mm of rain has fallen over the last four days. Two days before the Test, the strip was covered in green grass, which may not have the batsmen smiling but should suit South Africa’s attack.”I haven’t had a look at the pitch. I never really have a look at the pitch. We are expecting something quite close to Dunedin, maybe a bit more pace, maybe a bit more bounce,” Bavuma said. “On the first day, we will just have to assess the conditions. In Dunedin we didn’t do that as well as we could have. We’ll make sure that we learn from that and make sure that in the first session, whether with bat or ball, we are able to throw the first punch.”With rain around, the groundstaff are racing against time to get the surface ready. “With the weather we’ve had we’re just trying to produce the best wicket possible. It’s been pretty tough going,” Hagen Faith, the groundsman told “We’re focusing on getting the surface hard and having the wicket ready for day one. That’s the ultimate goal.”Heavy clouds and high winds dominated Tuesday but the weather is set to improve and clear up in time for the match, which Faith expects to be a cracker. “A lot of first-class stuff has gone down to that last day, final session, and we have seen that here with Test matches as well.”

Anil Kumble has stepped down as India coach, four days before a limited-overs tour of the Caribbean

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Jun-20173:19

Bal: Kumble’s exit sends bad message to next coach

Hours after resigning as India coach, Anil Kumble has said he was “informed for the first time yesterday [Monday] by the BCCI that the captain had reservations with my style and about my continuing as head coach”. While stating that the cricket advisory committee (CAC) charged with deciding on who will be coach had backed him for the job, Kumble said “it was apparent the partnership [with Virat Kohli] was untenable, and I therefore believe it is best for me to move on”.Kumble stepped down as coach four days before the limited-overs tour of the Caribbean begins, even as the team was mid-flight to the West Indies. Kumble had remained in London after the Champions Trophy which ended on Sunday; as chairman of the ICC’s cricket committee, he will be attending the chief executives committee meeting there.Two days before the Champions Trophy had kicked off in England, it emerged in the media that India captain Kohli had told BCCI officials that some players were uncomfortable with the “intimidating” style of Kumble’s man management. As a result, despite India’s success in Kumble’s year in charge, during which the team climbed to No.1 in the Test rankings, the board advertised for fresh interviews for the head coach’s position instead of extending his contract.Kumble, whose original contract ran till the end of the Champions Trophy, had already reapplied for the job and only last week accepted the BCCI’s offer to extend his contract to include the West Indies series. However, Kumble said, in light of the reservations he came to know about through the board, he could not continue.It is understood that, on Monday, before Kohli departed for the West Indies, he met the BCCI’s top brass in London, as did Kumble in a separate meeting. The meetings were attended by BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary, board chief executive officer Rahul Johri and MV Sridhar, general manager of cricket operations. The meetings were necessitated after the three-member CAC, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, informed the BCCI that it had failed to resolve the impasse between Kohli and Kumble.The BCCI had received six applications including that of Kumble for the fresh interview process. But, considering it was the CAC that had recommended and shortlisted Kumble as the final choice last year, it still felt he remained the first choice for the head coach position going forward. However, given the current relations, it is understood that the CAC did not meet Kumble at all after it was asked by the BCCI to make the final decision.1:06

How the Kohli-Kumble saga played out

Kumble confirmed he had the CAC’s backing in his statement, which began thus: “I am honoured by the confidence reposed in me by the CAC, in asking me to continue as head coach.”The BCCI was left not much choice other than accepting Kumble’s resignation, given that the efforts of board officials, the CAC and the Committee of Administrators had failed to bridge the divide between Kohli and Kumble. Officials well versed with the meetings with Kohli realised that the differences with Kumble could not be “resolved” and the relationship could not be “sustained”. “The differences seem irreparable,” a board official, who is privy to the discussions, said. He said that Kohli was not ready to take a step back.Once the CAC realised the relationship was beyond repair, it asked the BCCI to take the negotiation process forward. “It was not a pleasant meeting,” the board official, who has knowledge of Monday’s meetings, said. According to this official, Kohli remained “adamant” about his stand, which might have helped Kumble make up his mind.”The CAC is likely to have told BCCI that the differences were not cricketing related but more of a personal nature,” the official said. “If he were to stick on, it would be very awkward on Anil’s part. It is not good to handle someone as big as Anil in this manner.”The BCCI said that MV Sridhar will travel to the Caribbean to “supervise the team management”, while batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R Sridhar will continue in their roles.Besides Kumble, the other people who had applied for the India coach job were former India opener Virender Sehwag, former Australia allrounder Tom Moody, former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus, former India medium pacer Dodda Ganesh, and former India A and current Afghanistan coach Lalchand Rajput.

Steven Finn has been confirmed as Chris Woakes’ replacement in England’s Champions Trophy squad

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-20171:50

‘Finn’s experience will come in handy’

Steven Finn won’t be worrying too much about his economy rate if he gets his Champions Trophy chance against New Zealand on Tuesday having been confirmed as Chris Woakes’ replacement.Woakes was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a side strain in the opening game against Bangladesh at The Oval. He managed just two overs before leaving the field.Finn was the most significant omission from the original 15-man squad and was called up for the final ODI against South Africa at Lord’s last week. He has since played two matches for England Lions against South Africa A in which he has taken five wickets.Finn, who has 102 ODI wickets from 69 matches, will immediately come into the reckoning for a place in the XI against New Zealand in Cardiff on Tuesday with a number of England’s other pace resources under scrutiny.Jake Ball has conceded over 80 in two of his last three outings while David Willey struggled to make the white ball swing in his one outing against South Africa. There also remain question marks over Ben Stokes’ ability to get through 10 overs due to his ongoing knee problem and Finn believes he can boost England’s wicket-taking threat.”Taking wickets is always something I try to do. I never take a backward step and try to be negative or defensive,” he said. “I think trying to take wickets is the mantra we have tried to adopt as a one-day bowling side and I can help that.”I think I’ve got a good record in one-day cricket. I think I am slightly taller than the other guys and can therefore get a bit more bounce. I’ve played a lot of ODIs. There is experience there. I think we have got a really well balanced squad and hopefully my personal attributes can bring something to that.”England could be keen to retain the balance of five quick bowlers alongside Moeen Ali because of the short, straight boundaries in Cardiff which make it a challenge for spinners. In their previous two ODIs at the ground they played just one frontline spinner – Adil Rashid against Sri Lanka and Liam Dawson against Pakistan – so Rashid, who was omitted against Bangladesh, could be sidelined again.Finn was part of the three-match one-day series in West Indies during March which were his first ODIs in 18 months. He admitted feeling a little pressure during Saturday’s Lions match before getting the tap on the shoulder from national selector James Whitaker to confirm his call and also revealed he had to shake off a stiff back in recent days.”It was just a case of making sure my back was 100%. It was a result of doing a bit of travel and bowling on top of each other in the last few days. I knew that James Whitaker and [selector] Mick Newell were there watching me. You feel that pressure I suppose knowing that they are watching you to call you up for this game. But that is no different from every time I pull on an England or Lions shirt.”Finn was always the frontrunner to replace Woakes although Toby Roland-Jones, who made his debut against South Africa, and Surrey’s Tom Curran could have been other options.

After the protracted saga preceding his own appointment as the new India coach, Ravi Shastri is eager for the focus to shift to his players and their cricket

Arun Venugopal in Mumbai19-Jul-20171:50

‘Arun knows these boys better than I do’ – Shastri

After the protracted saga preceding his own appointment as the new India coach, Ravi Shastri is eager for the focus to shift to his players and their cricket. Speaking ahead of India’s departure for Sri Lanka on Wednesday, Shastri provided a peek into the kind of coach he might be, placing the credit for a team’s success squarely on its players, and saying that coaches like him and Anil Kumble will “come and go”.

Shastri hails under-rated Arun

Ravi Shastri hailed newly-appointed bowling coach Bharat Arun’s “outstanding” track record and cited his familiarity with the team’s players as his strength. Arun was appointed by a four-member committee on Tuesday, following Shastri’s recommendation.
“Fifteen years [of] his life he has been coaching,” Shastri said of Arun. “You look at that track record, it is outstanding. Right from junior level to A teams to Indian junior World Cup teams, he has been a part of them. He knows these boys better than I do because he has been in the system for the last 15 years.”
Shastri suggested Arun was under-rated because he hadn’t played much international cricket – representing India in two Tests and four ODIs.
“You look at the last World Cup, India took 77 out of 80 wickets,” he said. “If Bharat Arun’s name was someone else who has played a lot of Test cricket, you would have put him on top of the tree. So, I don’t need to elaborate too much on what he is good at, what are his strengths. It is there for everyone to see”.

“I have matured immensely in the last two weeks [during the coach-appointment process],” Shastri said. “Mine will be a refresh button that will be pushed. I carry on from where I left. I don’t come with any baggage.”The team has done exceedingly well over three years and they are the people who deserve the credit more than anybody else. These Ravi Shastris, Anil Kumbles will come and go. The fabric of Indian cricket will remain and the credit should go to everyone who has participated in this Indian team over the last three years. If they are No. 1 today [in Tests], it is their efforts they have put in over that three-year period and they deserve the credit. People like us will come and go”.India enjoyed considerable success under both Shastri as team director and Kumble as coach. During Kumble’s one-year reign, India won series in West Indies, and at home against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, losing only one of 17 Test matches along the way. Under Shastri, whose earlier tenure as team director lasted almost two years, India made it to semi-finals of successive global events – the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20, and also won their first limited-overs bilateral series in Australia, whitewashing the hosts 3-0 in T20Is.In his second coming, Shastri will work with his core team – Sanjay Bangar (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and R Sridhar (fielding coach) – from his previous stint. Shastri said his job was to make the player focus on his game “without a care in the world for anything outside”.”When you play the game, you want your mind clear,” he said. “You want to be able to focus inwards without a care in the world for anything outside. That happens with good communication with the support staff. My job is to do exactly that with every player – to put him in a frame of mind where he is thinking only about his role and he is thinking about the team he is playing for and, of course, the opposition which we always respect. And that’s his job, period.”Captain Virat Kohli felt working with a coaching staff the team was familiar with meant everybody knew what to expect from one another. “We have worked together for three years – 2014, 2015 and 2016 – so that amount of understanding is bound to be there,” he said. “Since we have worked together in the past, we know what’s expected and what’s going to be on the plate and what’s worked for us in the past.”I think understanding and communication is something that works in every walk of life. The changing-room environment is nothing different. You need to have all those aspects for any relationship to work in life. It’s not just confined to cricket.”We follow the same rules of life that are followed everywhere else. I don’t see anything different that can be elaborated upon this. Everyone has gone through experience of relationships somewhere or the other in their lives. The same rules apply here”.Asked if there was extra pressure to perform since he now had a familiar coaching staff, Kohli replied in the negative and said he shut out external factors. “I don’t think there is any added pressure because what has to happen will happen, I believe in that, regardless of what happens around on the outside world,” he said. “As a team, we aspire to achieve what we want to achieve. Every one of us has faced hardships in the past. Criticism and being criticised is nothing new, so we understand that aspect of playing sport as well.”I only have the bat in hand and my job is to go out there on the field and control what’s being done on the field. And, that’s something that I have focused on in the past couple of months, two months and I continue to do so. [A] lot of speculation and lot of things fly around and those things are not in my control. As I said, my job is to go out there on the field and try to bring the best out of this team along with the management and try to perform to the best of my abilities which I believe in.”I only started off as a player and I wanted to do the best for the team. And, I continue to take up this responsibility and will continue to do so in the future years, till the team I am the captain or I am kept at this position. That’s what I see of it. I mean you only have to look at the series you are going to play ahead of you. If you focus only on these external factors, it’s very similar to you going out to bat and thinking what if I get out. It can happen in any scenario, so you just need to take care of your mindset and move forward.”Ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, where India will play three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I, Kohli looked back on the 2015 series as a “landmark” tour in setting the template for India’s performances overseas. Particularly heartening to him was the manner in which India came back from 1-0 down to win the Test series 2-1. It was Kohli’s second Test series as a full-time captain after India had drawn the only Test in Bangladesh under him in June 2015.”If you look at the average age of that team a couple of years back – I mean obviously the players have matured from then on and it’s been 24 months, but that tour for us was a sort of start of the belief system that we can win away from home and we do have the side required to win away from home,” he said. “And, we do have the culture that’s been created in the team to win whatever Test matches or Test series that we play.”So, the mindset immediately was to try and win series and losing the first Test was a shock to us. The way we bounced back was only because of the team culture that was created at that stage where our players were the less experienced if you compared us and Sri Lanka. The comparison of number of Tests was not even close. But, we showed more belief in our abilities and that we could win from any situation and that really turned our mindset around. From then on, you can see the results that we have had so far.  We have away series coming up, so the same mindset would apply now what we started back in 2015”.

Centurion Rachel Priest and captain Heather Knight shared the highest stand in the KSL’s brief history

ECB Reporters Network20-Aug-2017Rachel Priest struck a powerful century•Getty Images

Centurion Rachel Priest and captain Heather Knight led Western Storm to a record-breaking Kia Super League win over Yorkshire Diamonds at York as they chased down 161 to win by 10 wickets with three overs to spare.New Zealander Priest led the way with some fearsome hitting, albeit taking advantage of a bit of luck along the way as the Diamonds spilt a couple of boundary chances.She finished with 106 not out off 65 balls and Knight unbeaten on 48 off 38. The pair shared the highest stand in two seasons of the KSL.A second win from three matches puts Storm level on eight points with the Diamonds in third place with a game in hand in the race to reach Finals Day.Home captain Lauren Winfield, batting in her home city, had earlier posted 58 off 44 balls as England’s World Cup winning hero Anya Shrubsole returned to action following a side injury with 1 for 30 from four overs.Despite the early loss of Sri Lankan Chamari Atapattu, run out by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from Stefanie Taylor from mid-on, the Diamonds got off to a healthy as another Kiwi Sophie Devine cut loose with 41.Devine hit offspinner Claire Nicholas for two big sixes over long-on and midwicket as the score reached 55 for 1 after five.Devine played on trying to hoist Shrubsole to leg with 75 on the board in the eighth over before Winfield, happy to take few risks, reached 50 off 38 balls in the 16th over as the score reached 132 for 3.The Diamonds then lost four wickets for 19 in the last three overs, the first of which was Winfield bowled by a Davies slower ball, to slip from 141 for 3.Hollie Armitage then dropped a couple of catches at long-on, with Priest on 25 being the most costly.Her 39-ball fifty included two sixes over long-on, the second off compatriot Devine’s first ball in the tenth over as Storm reached halfway at 81 without loss. Fours and sixes continued to come at ease as Yorkshire’s heads dropped.Priest reached her century off 64 balls, the second in KSL history, with 13 fours and three sixes with the penultimate ball of the match.Storm’s next fixture is against Surrey at the Oval on Wednesday, while Yorkshire’s final game comes against Southern Vipers at Arundel on Saturday.

Preity Zinta takes over from previous owner Brimstone, an investment corporation that pulled out of their deal last month

Firdose Moonda08-Sep-2017Preity Zinta, the Bollywood actor and co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, has taken over the Stellenbosch franchise in South Africa’s T20 Global League, bringing the number of IPL owners in the tournament to three. Cape Town Knight Riders are owned by Shah Rukh Khan, who also owns Kolkata Knight Riders, while the Jo’burg Giants were bought by the GMR group, which owns Delhi Daredevils.Stellenbosch was the only franchise that did not have a private owner after South African investment corporation Brimstone pulled out of the deal last month. The Stellenbosch franchise had been taken over by Cricket South Africa before being acquired by Zinta. The T20 Global League has only one locally-owned team now, in Pretoria, bought by Osman Osman, who owns events company Blu Blood.The lack of local interest in the league was cited as a concern by CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat, when he addressed Brimstone’s withdrawal. “It is a fact that we have struggled to convince South Africans to become owners in the Global League,” Lorgat said.Brimstone’s reasons for withdrawal hinted at general uncertainty over the profitability of ownership in the T20 Global League. “We found it quite difficult to get to actual numbers because it’s the first year of the tournament and we knew we were going to have to use some modelling as to what to expect going forward,” Mushtaq Brey, Brimstone’s CEO said. “When we did all the numbers, we decided not to go ahead with the investment.”So far, the T20 Global League has cost CSA millions. In their latest annual report, CSA tabled a loss of 3.3 million Rand (US$ 257,294) having only generated a revenue of R 1 million (US$ 93,561) and incurred expenses of R 4.5 million (US$ 350,555).Expenses on the T20 Global League so far included the costs of the launch, which was held on June 19 in London for which several guests were flown in business class from South Africa, and stadium upgrades around the country.Lorgat had informed owners to expect it to take time to see returns on their investment but that did not deter foreign interest, especially from India. The Benoni and Durban franchises are owned by corporations, who also have interest in the Pakistan Super League, while the Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein teams are owned by businessmen from the UAE and Hong Kong respectively.With the tournament – scheduled to start on November 3 – less than two months away, all eight squads are finalised. The Stellenbosch franchise will be coached by Stephen Fleming, with Eric Simons as assistant coach, and Faf du Plessis as the marquee player. Lasith Malinga and Alex Hales are the big international names, with several home-grown players from the Paarl area such as Henry Davids and Justin Ontong in the squad. None of the players from Kings XI Punjab are in the Stellenbosch side but du Plessis had been in touch with some national team-mates who have worked with Zinta before.”I’m very excited to see that Preity Zinta has come on board,” du Plessis said. “I have heard from my team-mates that she is very good to work with, so I’m looking forward to working with her and seeing how she impacts our team space. She is also very passionate about the sport and I am sure local fans will have an awesome time at Boland Park.”The Paarl stadium, situated 63 kilometres away from Cape Town, will benefit from CSA’s financial upgrades, which should improve facilities, including stands and floodlights. Like the other seven venues, it will host seven league matches in the T20 Global League, with the final scheduled for Johannesburg on December 16.

Rain cut short the hosts’ progress in Jamaica

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2017Sunil Ambris celebrates his century•WICB Media

Sunil Ambris’ 106 powered West Indies A to a 300-plus score against Sri Lanka A on a rain-affected second day in Florence Hall, Jamaica.The overnight partnership of Vishaul Singh and Ambris was finally broken by Asitha Fernando, who bowled the former for 81. Three more wickets fell on the day, with Chamika Karunaratne dismissing centurion Ambris and Rahkeem Cornwall (36 off 64 balls) and Malinda Pushpakumara having Damion Jacobs (15 off 45 balls) stumped – it was keeper Sandun Weerakkody’s third stumping of the innings.Sheldon Cottrell (2 not out) and Keon Joseph (1 not out) were at the crease when rain stopped play in the day’s 44th over.

Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, says there will be no curfews imposed on his players in the wake of Ben Stokes’ arrest

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-20171:45

Getting drunk is the best form of team bonding – KP

Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, has confirmed that there will be no curfews imposed on his players during the forthcoming Ashes, but added that “sensible” guidelines have been drawn up in the wake of Ben Stokes’ arrest outside a Bristol nightclub last month.Speaking in Perth during England’s first nets session since arriving in Australia, Bayliss reiterated his long-held belief that personal responsibility is a key aspect of being a professional cricketer, and added that England’s players themselves had decided when is and isn’t acceptable to have a drink and enjoy the experience of being on tour.”Not drinking between matches is just sensible,” Bayliss told the BBC. “There’s been no set curfews. I think they’re just sensible rulings.”To me, they’re what we should be sticking to anyway as a player or someone around a professional set-up. The players have sat down and had a chat and they’re the ones that’ve come up with it.”With Stokes withdrawn from the tour pending further investigation into the incident outside Mbargo nightclub on September 25, and following the disciplining of three other players who had been out that night – Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett -England’s captain, Joe Root, was forced to deny last week that the England team is beset by a drinking culture.But Bayliss believes that instilling a siege mentality in the wake of the Stokes incident would undermine England’s hopes of success in the Ashes.”We certainly don’t want to put too many curfews on them that keep them in their rooms,” he said. “It’s a long tour, you’ve got to get out and experience the country that you’re touring.”His comments echo the views of Kevin Pietersen, a three-times Ashes tourist, who last week told ESPNcricinfo that nights out on long tours were a vital factor in team bonding.”When we had the great tour Down Under in 2010-11, we had the most incredible couple of nights out at the start of that tour, which brought the team so close together,” Pietersen said. “I know that it sounds so stupid, but if you go and get hammered as a team on a night out – as senior and junior players – the bonds you can create there are better than any ridiculous sessions you can do in the forest in Germany.”Bayliss admitted that the aftermath of the Stokes arrest had been a “difficult time” for the team, but that their arrival in Australia had helped to focus their minds on the task at hand.”It’s a month ago now, and certainly the guys here in Australia have gone about their business and there hasn’t really been chat about it all,” he said. “Everyone’s been concentrating on what we need to do to win this series.”He conceded that Stokes’ absence was less than ideal but echoed Joe Root’s pre-departure statement that the team were preparing to be without the allrounder.”It’s something you’d much rather do without,” Bayliss said. “The Australian media will hammer away and try to put the pressure on in other areas as well. We have to try to deal with that and keep it separate from what we are doing on the practice field and in matches.”Root said the other day himself. They are concentrating on playing without him. If we worry too much about whether he is or he isn’t, that takes the focus off what we are doing. If we see that creeping in with the players, we will stop it as soon as we can. They are getting on with it well.”He also gave an indication of England’s thinking about how they would rebalance the side, with Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes set to move up the order in order to accommodate another bowler.”Having to replace Ben and the combination that we come up with requires doing a bit of both,” Bayliss said. “Personally I think we have to play a bowler in his place which makes our batting not quite as long but when you have Chris Woakes at No. 8, that’s probably the combination I’ve been after for a while.”Mooen Ali batting as low as No. 8 for the last couple of years I think that’s a waste. I think it’s something that as the team develops over the coming years, that’s a combination that we will get to. We have had problems at the top of the order so having Mo at eight and Woakes nine suited us. It’s been successful, so no problems there. Eventually Bairstow and Ali at six and seven and Woakes at eight is a combination England will end up with.”

The limited-overs fixture at the venue is part of a compromise that will also see the Perth Scorchers play any Big Bash League home finals at the ground

Daniel Brettig20-Nov-2017Australia and England will play an ODI in the new Perth Stadium on January 28, the first major sporting event to be held at the venue after construction couldn’t be finished in time to host the third Ashes Test next month.Cricket Australia had initially hoped to schedule the mid-December Test at the stadium, but the governing body was disabused of that notion after the chief executive James Sutherland met with stadium management and Western Australia state government ministers in May. Its availability for the limited-overs fixture is part of a compromise that will also see the Perth Scorchers play any Big Bash League home finals at the venue (if Scorchers make the knockouts or the final, they will both be played at new stadium), after hosting all their regular season games at the WACA.”For Cricket to host the first major sporting event at Perth Stadium is a huge honour for our sport, and given it’s an Australia-England fixture, we are confident that will be able to celebrate history being made with a sold-out stadium,” Sutherland said in Perth. “Thanks must go to the WA Government, VenuesLive and the WACA for working hard to enable this to happen. The stadium is simply state-of-the-art, and a magnificent asset for the state and WA sports fans.”We very much look forward to bringing the excitement of an Australia-England ODI to Perth Stadium on 28 January.”Christina Matthews, the WACA chief executive, said the arrangement would mean a fitting handover of major cricket events from one venue to the other. “We’re extremely excited to be the first sport and first major event at Perth Stadium, which comes after close collaboration with the WA State Government and Cricket Australia to ensure a world-class, fan-first cricket experience at the new venue,” she said.”Not only will we be able to reach a larger live audience through increased capacity, the ODI will showcase the new stadium to a large global televised audience. Playing a final Ashes Test and regular BBL matches at the WACA Ground and passing the torch to Perth Stadium with an England ODI, is a fitting way to start a new chapter in WA’s cricket tale.”