South Africa saw as many as six chances go begging as Pakistan made it through the first hour of day two intact at the Wanderers

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-201911.5 – Philander to Imam-ul-Haq, no run, missed stumping chance down leg side. Length ball swings down leg. Imam’s back leg is up as he looks to flick this and he’s walked out too after losing balance. But QDK can’t gather15.4 – Philander to Mohammad Abbas, no run, dropped at gully! One of two gullies. Bavuma puts down a simple catch. Didn’t have to move too much. Full outswinger just outside off. Looks to drive and it’s shin height for Bavuma. Hard hands from him16.1 – Steyn to Imam-ul-Haq, no run, dropped! Oh dear, South Africa. Are they in too close? Short of a length in the corridor. Defended again for the one that comes in. Steyn takes it away off the seam. The perfect set-up. Flying to Elgar’s left at second slip, hip height. De Bruyn jumps across from third and it kisses his thumb on the way to Elgar who grabs it and can’t hold on takes his eyes off it after the distraction and cops it on the chest18.5 – Steyn to Mohammad Abbas, no run, dropped! Steyn holds his shoulder and walks back. Full outswinger, just outside off. Abbas pokes at it. It’s flying to Amla at first slip. QDK dives one-handed to his right and grasses it23.2 – Rabada to Imam-ul-Haq, no run, dropped! And a run-out missed! What is happening here! Length ball in the corridor, defends inside the line, gets an outside edge that’s dipping to QDK’s left. He goes one-handed again with a big dive and can’t hold on. It’s parried behind the cordon and Imam is ball watching as Abbas takes off for the run. Literally, back turned to his partner, Imam. Abbas has to run back. Rabada picks up the throw that is a shy at the striker’s end and chucks it at the other end. Misses. Abbas wasn’t close to being in24.2 – Olivier to Mohammad Abbas, OUT, edged and somebody finally catches the ball. De Bruyn grabs it to his right at third slip and ends nightwatchman Abbas’ little vigil. On a good length, angling in, and straightening away. Olivier tempts Abbas into wafting at it and nicking off
Mohammad Abbas c de Bruyn b Olivier 11 (51b 2×4 0x6) SR: 21.56

Back from the IPL, both batsmen attended their first full day of training with the Australian team since their ball-tampering bans ended on March 29

Andrew McGlashan in Brisbane05-May-20190:42

Smith and Warner join Australia net session

It was another small and slightly symbolic milestone. For the first time in more than a year, Steven Smith and David Warner were hitting cricket balls as part of an Australian squad. Warner middled more than Smith, which is pretty much what it has been like for the past six weeks at the IPL.Both have been ill over the last few days so while the camp in Brisbane officially started on Friday this was the first full day for them. It remains to be seen whether they both play the opening match against New Zealand on Monday – Australia are certainly not short of players this week with members of the Australia A squad also in attendance – or are staggered across the three games.There are, it’s probably worth reminding, a few other things for Australia to settle on before the World Cup than just the return of Smith and Warner.However, it remains the main story in town for now. The bans officially ended on March 29, but it has been the slow comeback: a quick meeting in the UAE, the IPL, now Brisbane, with more warm-up matches to come in England before the World Cup opener against Afghanistan on June 1.Warner had an easier afternoon that Smith under the pristine blue skies of a perfect Brisbane autumn day. He faced a bit of spin and then plenty of throwdowns from head coach Justin Langer. As at the IPL, most of his shots came out of the middle.”You rarely see him out of form,” Glenn Maxwell said of Warner before the session started. “He’s such a good player and you look at his stats over there in the IPL, what he’s done for Hyderabad – he’s got an unbelievable record. I think he’s scored over 500 runs every time he’s been over there, which is amazing consistency and hopefully that continues in the one-day stuff here.”David Warner and Steven Smith look on before the start of the match•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesSmith, his troublesome elbow still well strapped and occasionally being flexed, also began in the spinners’ net before facing the challenge of the pacemen. Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott and Michael Neser ran in hard (the latter two part of the Australia A squad) with more deliveries squirting off both edges of Smith’s bat than the centre – which didn’t escape Smith’s notice at one stage – but a couple of leg-side flicks showed promise.”They’re both superstars,” Maxwell said. “Steve made back-to-back fifties at the end there [at the IPL] as well and I watched both of them go about it as well, and they were absolutely brilliant over there. They’re striking the ball really nicely so there’ll be no worries about them coming back in.”Starc looked especially impressive after recovering from the pectoral injury he sustained in the second Test against Sri Lanka in February, which ruled him out of the one-day tours of India and UAE. He produced a searing delivery which climbed at Shaun Marsh to hammer into the gloves and was constantly testing Smith’s technique as he got to the ball to shape back.The main injury concern in the Australia camp remains Jhye Richardson after the dislocated shoulder he sustained in the UAE. On Friday, Langer said he hoped to have a better idea early in the week about Richardson’s prognosis. Kane Richardson and Josh Hazlewood, the latter who didn’t make the World Cup squad due to his back injury, are the first-choice reserves and are both attending the camp although Hazlewood won’t be available for the New Zealand matches.One final point worth noting about these three games is that they are scheduled to finish at 5pm. At this time of the year in Brisbane, even on a perfectly clear day, the light was barely playable at that point. While the results of these matches are not the important thing, it could be worth the chasing side having the DLS score handy. Which, coming into a World Cup, perhaps is not a bad practice anyway.

Atapattu’s questions to Harmanpreet, a crash course on ‘culture’ for Ecclestone, and more from the high-voltage four-match series

Annesha Ghosh in Jaipur12-May-2019Atapattu’s got her eye on Harman’s willowHalfway through the tournament, Sri Lanka’s Chamari Atapattu had a long-cherished dream fulfilled. Soon after Supernovas’ nets session ended on Wednesday evening, Atapattu, who played under Harmanpreet Kaur, joined her captain near the pavilion. As the Indian batsman started removing her gear, Atapattu drew Harmanpreet’s attention to the latter’s bat, and we witnessed an animated chat between two of the hardest hitters in women’s cricket.”I play against Harman very often [in internationals, at the Kia Super League and the Women’s Big Bash League], but never quite got an opportunity to touch her bat,” Atapattu told ESPNcricinfo later that evening. “I have often wondered, ‘how someone so wiry can hit such long sixes just like that?’ When I learnt last month I would be playing for Harman’s side, I made up my mind I’d get a feel of her bat no matter what.”So what was the feel like, what did Atapattu make of one of the most feared weapons of destruction in the women’s game?”The weight [of Harmanpreet’s bat, around 1170-1180 grams] seemed more or less the same [as mine], but Harman says she particularly likes this bat because of the ease of pick-up [for her high back-lift] it offers,”Atapattu explained. “When a great batsman like Harman holds a good bat, the wood works wonders beyond ways imagined. I’m just happy I was able to touch it.”Suzie Bates cleaves one through the off side•BCCI’Smriti sleeps’, Ecclestone is caked, Bates soaks it all inAmong the many things Suzie Bates found out about her 22-year-old Trailblazers captain Smriti Mandhana was how she “absolutely loves to sleep”.Bates’ curiosity about cultural differences gave her a peek into Mandhana’s, and the other Indians’, habit of getting a little shut-eye as often as they can.”We are just so different how we go about our day sometimes,” Bates said. “I’d ask them if they’d like to go for lunch, go do dinner, but they would be sleeping most of the time (laughs).”I am like, ‘Smriti, what have you done today?’ ‘I slept till 12,’ she’d say. And, yes, Smriti absolutely loves to sleep. And then, ‘Harleen [Deol], how about you?’ ‘I was sleeping, too.’ So, I had to give them a time in late afternoon so they could be up.”Bates was also involved in rescuing young England spinner Sophie Ecclestone from a cake attack on her 20th birthday, the same day as the Trailblazers v Supernovas tournament opener.”Sophie is young, she is not quite as [clued into the culture in India] as some other players,” Bates said. “On her birthday, they brought a cake, which was a lovely gesture, and when the Indians started rubbing it on her face, she just didn’t know what to do (laughs). I told her, ‘You just embrace it as part of the culture.’ It was one of my favourite change-room memories.”Sushma Verma and Amelia Kerr in conversation•BCCITake it easy, like Hayley MatthewsSushma Verma was part of the Indian side that, to this day, struggles to come to terms with their epic meltdown at the 2017 World Cup final. During the Women’s T20 Challenge, when Verma watched a world champion from West Indies up close, the difference between how the two camps approach adversity struck her.”Two days ago [in Velcoity’s second game], I was padded up from the seventh over, and I was waiting for my turn,” Verma recounted. “[Hayley] Matthews (the 2016 World T20 Player of the Match in the final), who just got out and walked back into the dugout, [was so calm]. An Indian player would have probably been upset, but Matthews kept talking to me, and I didn’t even realise that I am up for batting next. When the last ball of the match was sent down, it struck me again that I was next.”It was so chilled out, and I liked the fact that they have such a positive approach. Their plans don’t change because of quick wickets. At the end of the day, you’re targeting 150-160, and you cannot change your approach if you lose a wicket or two. That’s the main learning I would like to carry forward. Personally I have learnt how to stay tension-free and chilled-out in all situations.”Jemimah Rodrigues raises her bat after getting to fifty•BCCIYoung Harleen Deol and Rodrigues play mentors to the seniorsIndian youngsters Harleen Deol and Jemimah Rodrigues, all of 20 and 18 respectively, impressed with not only their batting but their mentorship skills, underscored West Indies and Sri Lanka captains Stafanie Taylor and Atapattu.”She’d say initially: ‘Take your time, play yourself in, and then switch it up’,” Taylor, the 2016 World T20-winning captain, said about Deol taking up the aggressor’s role in the second game. “And then when we decided we need to up the ante and go for runs, she was like, ‘I’ll go, you stay’. And I went, ‘Okay’. It’s reverse (laughs). As the senior pro, I liked how she asked me to take a step back and took responsibility.”Atapattu, meanwhile, took note of Rodrigues’ support during the third game. “Jemi was discussing how we should aim for small targets from the fifth over to the eighth over,” she said. “When I was struggling with the timing, she advised I try and just time it instead of hitting the ball hard. She is confident, multi-talented, and a very helpful girl.”

New Zealand got to 2 for 1 after four overs, while India had 5 for 3; it wasn’t the prediction at all

Jarrod Kimber at Old Trafford10-Jul-2019Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s hands are in the air, Martin Guptill is looking down at his feet, and Richard Kettleborough is shaking his head under the Morrissey grey skies of Old Trafford.It’s clear from the first ball of the match that this is a different kind of pitch. A few days back, Australia and South Africa didn’t bat that well here, and both cleared 300.At times, it looks like the best batting pitch of the World Cup. The kind of surface that England had been hitting 350-plus on. But Guptill isn’t standing on a 300 pitch, the first one moves a touch in the air, straightens when it lands, and Guptill is nowhere near it. His bat is moving like a sliding door across the line trying to find the ball. He is so square that his back foot is outside off stump, his hand comes off the bat, and he overbalances.After the not-out decision, India get together to use their full 15-second DRS timer, before finally deciding to review. It isn’t out, not straightening enough, but that one ball changes how people see the pitch.The following ball is defended with a straight bat and head over ball; it’s Test Guptill. The next delivery is an in-control push into the covers, followed by another ball nipping around that takes his hand and flies to the slips. Then the perfect ball, moving like a legbreak and beating the bat.The first over of the semi-final is a maiden, one that Guptill barely survives.When India bat, it starts with an excellent inswinger from Trent Boult, curving back sensuously, and KL Rahul drops the ball on the off side and takes off. He runs with a sense of urgency, and perhaps a little panic. No more thoughts of a good pitch; now it feels like every run should be taken, forget prettiness and stroking through the covers, scamper if you get a chance. Rohit Sharma turns the ball around to square, and they sprint another run.For the rest of the over, they survive. They have two runs; Boult is curving the ball, there are two catchers on the off side, and two around midwicket. A few dot balls are needed and perfectly acceptable.Matt Henry celebrates the wicket of KL Rahul•IDI via Getty ImagesNew Zealand have already batted out one maiden when they face Jasprit Bumrah. The first ball, the very first ball, is fast, back of a length, and explodes off the pitch. Every bowler loses pace when their deliveries hit the pitch; Bumrah seems to find more. His bowling defies cricket logic, and this first ball is brutal, as it explodes through to MS Dhoni. The next ball is exactly the same, brutal back of length that just misses Henry Nicholls’ outside edge.The New Zealand openers had passed 50 once together this tournament, that was when they were chasing Sri Lanka’s 136 and got there no wickets down. In the rest of the tournament, they made 84 runs in all the opening partnerships combined. Nicholls is not even an opener, he is there because Colin Munro failed too often, and now he is facing Bumrah in a World Cup semi-final.Another danger ball from Bumrah finds the middle of Nicholls’ bat, and he pushes towards point. Both batsmen think of the run, but it’s Ravindra Jadeja – India’s omnipresent circle fielder. For the rest of the over, Nicholls pushes to the bowler or fielder; no runs.Against Australia, New Zealand used Colin de Grandhomme with the new ball; Matt Henry had been dropped for Ish Sodhi. Here, first ball, Henry takes one away from the bat, Rohit pushes to point. The next delivery is poor, slipping down leg, and they take two leg byes.On the third, not everything goes right for Henry, the line is good, around fourth stump, and it’s on a good length, but the seam is all over the place, not cross, but wobble. But the ball reacts as if it had a perfect seam, it moves away, and Rohit, he of five World Cup 2019 hundreds, is gone.Virat Kohli enters, and his first two balls take the outside edge, one bounces to slip, the other flies down to third man. Rahul finishes the over.Guptill gets on to the front foot against Bhuvneshwar, ensuring he doesn’t get caught on the crease. The balls go back to the bowler, into the covers and to midwicket. But after 16 deliveries, New Zealand have not scored. Nicholls has only faced six of them, but Guptill, the leading scorer in the last World Cup, has faced ten. India have not bowled a poor ball yet, not even an average ball, just probing areas, movement, or explosions from the pitch. Bhuvneshwar finally pauses for a moment, angles into the legs, and Guptill steers it to the right of midwicket. The 17th ball brings the first run. The next ball Nicholls blocks.Kohli, world No. 1 in anything he wants to be, flashes at a wide length ball like he’s a kid playing his first game of seniors. A couple of balls later, he flicks in the air just near Guptill. One of the most famous people in the world is out in the middle doing what has made his name, and he looks unsure. He doesn’t look right. Then Boult straightens another one – how many times has Boult curved one into Kohli in his life – but this one means more. And Kohli falls over as he tries to flick away, the ball hits above the knee roll, rebounds up to his chest. Kohli isn’t even sure where the ball is, but while he looks around, Richard Illingworth gives him out. He will review and will be told it’s umpire’s call. Kohli is gone.Rishabh Pant, the most famous absentee from the original 150 players at this World Cup, is now coming out to bat. The whole country demanded his selection, and New Zealand’s bowlers have brought him in early.With Guptill finally at Bumrah’s end, he is beaten straightaway. He lasts only two more balls when Bumrah gets another exploder off the length to fly through, take the edge and almost remove Kohli’s fingers at slip. Kane Williamson – who has been most of New Zealand’s batting this tournament – is so put off by Bumrah’s first ball that he doesn’t quite play or leave the ball as it flies outside the edge.Rahul was supposed to bat four this tournament, but Shikhar Dhawan’s thumb was crunched against Australia. Rahul opening the batting is the only time he’s ever looked okay in ODI cricket, and he is back there, but now he’s facing Henry, who again is around off stump and moving away again. Rahul’s bat is unsure of what it wants to do, his legs have moved across the crease, but his bat is somewhere between a leave and a back-foot defence, the ball takes the edge, and it reaches Tom Latham with the gloves.Dinesh Kartik walks in; he wasn’t in the XI when India were unbeaten early in the tournament, he’s in the team now to bolster the lower order. Now he’s dead batting a ball in the fourth over.There was a time when New Zealand were dotting up the first few overs of this match, where they looked completely outclassed. When India had finished their first four, Dhoni is biting his bat in the change rooms, Ravi Shastri is taking big breaths on the balcony, and New Zealand’s dot balls are now different.This is not the pitch or match that we thought we’d have.

Without reading ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary or watching the highlights again, can you get all six right?

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2019You can read our ball-by-ball commentary of Yuvraj Singh’s feat here.And relive all the sixes below:

#OnThisDay @YUVSTRONG12 caught

in the 2007 #T20WorldCup. pic.twitter.com/1hvwKE2CBf

— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) September 19, 2019

On his decision to retire, we look at Brendon McCullum’s five most memorable T20 knocks

Deivarayan Muthu07-Aug-2019158* off 73: Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2008, Bengaluru innings in the inaugural game of the Indian Premier League was a microcosm of his career: smash the ball fearlessly. The ferocity of the assault is such that his score has been bettered only once – by another T20 superstar Chris Gayle – in 11 seasons of the IPL. McCullum later said that his 158* changed his life; it changed the T20 landscape as well.He began by playing out five dots against the moving ball in the first over, but exploded in the next, carting Zaheer Khan for four successive boundaries. There would be no stopping him. He unleashed familiar down-the-track swings and rasping slog-sweeps, but it was the outrageous scoop over his left shoulder off Zaheer that left some of our collective jaws on the floor.His first fifty took 32 balls, the second only 21 and third a mere 17 balls. Sure, the boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium are small, but it was a mighty innings that headlined the advent of the IPL and provided a peek into the future.158* off 64: Warwickshire v Derbyshire, T20 Blast 2015, BirminghamReprising his otherworldly hitting in the first game of the IPL, McCullum marked his home debut in Birmingham with the then highest individual T20 score in England. After Warwickshire were sent in, Baz(ooka) launched himself on Derbyshire’s attack and never let up. By 10 overs, Warwickshire were 117 for 0 with McCullum claiming 71 off those in 31 balls. He more than doubled that score in the last 10, propelling Warwickshire to 242 for 2 – their highest T20 total.Getty Images103* off 54: for Otago v Northern Districts, HRV Cup 2012, HamiltonNorthern Districts had an international-quality attack comprising Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Scott Styris and Daniel Vettori, but McCullum’s brutal ball-striking made a mockery of them and a target of 188. He walked out to bat at No.3, after opener Hamish Rutherford was run-out for a duck in the first over, and wasn’t dismissed as Otago secured the chase with nine wickets and 16 balls to spare.McCullum teed off – like only he can – against Southee and Boult, leaving the sparse crowd, scoreboard and even the food and bar tent in danger. The shot of the day came when he came down – no, raced down the track – and clouted Southee way beyond the midwicket boundary.100 off 56: Chennai Super Kings v Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2015, ChennaiMcCullum’s ultra-fast hands came to the fore again, this time on a scorching day in Chennai at the IPL. He regularly dashed down the track against Boult and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and even stood just outside the leg stump against legspinner Karn Sharma to throw them off their lines and lengths.McCullum ticked off nearly every shot: slog-sweeps into the deserted leg-side stands, drives over covers, pulls over square leg and even a scarcely-believable ramp over the keeper’s head off a slower bouncer from Boult in the final over of the innings. He reached his second IPL hundred – and first for Super Kings – off the last ball of the innings and vaulted them to 209, which proved 45 too many for Sunrisers Hyderabad.72 off 35: Brisbane Heat v Hobart Hurricanes, BBL 2016-17, BrisbaneTwenty-four hours out from the 2017 New Year celebrations, McCullum provided the fireworks along with his Bash brother Chris Lynn. In a chase of 174, McCullum swung through his hips and began with a signature first-ball four. His second ball, bowled by left-arm spinner Clive Rose was then rifled behind point for four, but it was the down-the-track 104-metre six off Stuart Broad that turned out to be the portent for the carnage that was to follow.He could have been dismissed on 22 had Kumar Sangakkara clung onto a catch, and McCullum ran up a 27-ball half-century instead. By the time he holed out for 72, Heat needed 56 off 60 balls, and Lynn finished the job.

Most want to, with the exception of one Australian, who has a very good point

Valkerie Baynes18-Jul-2019Talk to any woman who has had a chance to play a Test match, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find one who doesn’t wish she could play more.But while there has arguably been no better time to be a woman playing cricket, the shift towards shorter formats within the game as a whole puts rare women’s Test matches – like this week’s Ashes contest between England and Australia – in a curious position. Is now the time to seize on recent growth in women’s cricket and allow Tests to blossom, or will the long form be left to rot on the vine?Katherine Brunt, the 34-year-old England fast bowler who has played 11 Tests – eight of them against Australia, believes the nuances of Test cricket cannot be replicated anywhere else, and that’s what she loves.”I absolutely love a Test match,” Brunt said. “I think it’s my favourite format and I think it’s a favourite amongst a lot of our team, and there’s a lot that haven’t had the opportunity to be a part of it yet, so what I would say is, it’s a game of patience and when the opportunity comes along to be in a fight, [it’s important] that you know you’re ready for it.”Because there can be quite long periods of play that are quite boring or not much is happening when the ball stops swinging or somebody’s got themselves in. You’ve just got to stay ready for that, that opportunity to take the ball again or with the bat to get your head down and see your team through a tricky period.”It’s full of ups and downs. Even though It’s long and mind melting sometimes, you’ve got to stay ready, you’ve got to stay on top and be raring and ready to go for when can make impact on the game and that’s what I love about it.”Brunt could be describing any Test match – men’s or women’s – both can be “mind melting”. But when women’s matches enter a lull it seems to spark more controversy than when men’s matches do. It’s not often questioned whether men “should” be playing Tests because for them to play the purest, most traditional form of the game is accepted as a given.But while women’s Test matches raise the excitement levels of the players, they can spark indifference and even opposition among observers. And a key factor is that women play so few of them. Unlike the men’s game, Tests are not the “norm” for women – how can they be when one is played every two years or so? And the fact that women play so few is, of course, going to impact on the skill level.The latter point is not something the players shy away from. Tammy Beaumont scored 70 and 37 against Australia in 2017 – the most recent of her three Test appearances – where Australia’s Ellyse Perry notched an astonishing 213 not out at North Sydney Oval but the tourists held out for a draw on the back of captain Heather Knight’s unbeaten 79 off 220 balls and 41 not out off 190 by Georgia Elwiss.”I do love the Test match,” Beaumont said. “I almost wish we played more. I actually remember saying on the night of the third day last time, ‘I think I’m getting the hang of this Test match now’. All the girls enjoy the novelty but I think it’s something that if we did more of we’d be better at and know what we’re trying to do.”(l-r) Nat Sciver, Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor of England•Getty ImagesPitch preparation is also crucial to enhancing the spectacle – more so even than in the men’s game, where the balance between bat and ball is a regular bone of contention. Think the 2014 Women’s Ashes Test at the WACA, which England won by 61 runs after both sides were bowled out twice and where each team barely managed to post first-innings totals beyond 200. That was a vastly more compelling spectacle than we saw on the slow surfaces which prevailed in the Ashes Test immediately before and those since. Only time will tell if a Taunton pitch which is expected to spin this week will yield the result both sides crave and, in England’s case, keep the Ashes contest alive.So, will there come a time when women play more Tests? Again, ask any player and their responses are as universally pragmatic as their professions of love for the long format are enthusiastic.Brunt said: “Because I’ve not seen it now, I’m not sure how I can see it in the future. With The Hundred ball around the corner, things are getting less rather than more, which doesn’t show us any signs of there being a future in Test cricket for women.”It’s really sad and something I don’t want but, I don’t know, the calendars sometimes aren’t big enough – which I’m not complaining about because my body hurts and I’m not sure I can do any more,” she added with a laugh. “We have to look after the fans and we have to have a certain amount of followers because even though we love it they might not necessarily so we need to stick with what people love for the most part and then go with that really.”What they saidEngland opener Tammy Beaumont: “To be honest, I don’t really see that happening. You only have to look at the fact that England and Australia are the only two countries that are willing to play it. It’s easy to invest in T20 cricket and one-day cricket and that’s actually quite marketable now. You could see at the last couple of World Cups that people actually come to watch that, whereas at the moment Test cricket probably isn’t something of an investment, which is unfortunate because I think our players would definitely like to play more of it.”Australian quick Megan Schutt: “You ask anyone in the team and they’re going to say they want to play more Test matches. It’s the absolute pinnacle of cricket and it’s what you grow up wanting to play. There’s some absolute greats out there from other countries who will never get the opportunity to play a Test match in their career, and that’s really disappointing. It’s the shorter formats that are the most marketable for bringing young kids into the game and, especially for trying to drive young girls to the game, Test match cricket isn’t always the best way to do it, with kids in general.”Australian allrounder Ellyse Perry: “As an Australian cricketer, knowing that you’ve got the opportunity to wear the baggy green, which is synonymous with playing for Australia, it’s really special and it’s the true test of your ability as a cricketer, hence the name, so everyone really enjoys it. We play a lot of white-ball cricket, it’s been a great way to progress the game, further develop it, particularly T20 cricket. I think we all enjoy that format and enjoy playing it but certainly to add a few more Test matches in there – it doesn’t have to be a lot – but almost landmark fixtures within a series where we still have that longer format of cricket would be really cool.”But Australian vice-captain Rachael Haynes has a different take. She wants to see the growing gap between the top women’s nations and the rest closed first.”My honest answer is that I think there are some more steps that need to happen in the game before we do play more Test cricket,” Haynes said. “As much as I would really love to do that, I think the game is still professionalising at the moment and there’s some international teams who aren’t even necessarily whole squads of full-time athletes.”I’d like to see those sorts of things become a bit more of a priority, a bit more support for domestic structures that are supporting our international teams as well. I think once those things are in place, not just in one or two countries but across the board, then that would really open up an opportunity to play more Test cricket. At the moment, with where the game’s at, there’s probably some other priorities, to be honest.”Rachael Haynes bats•Getty ImagesThe ICC’s position is that it sees growth in the women’s game through the shorter formats, such as T20, as that is the growth vehicle for cricket globally. However, it says it encourages Member nations who want to organise bilateral Test matches to do so.This year’s Ashes combatants, including Haynes, agreed that they have a responsibility relish the chances they do get to play Tests, starting in Taunton on Thursday.”I guess in some respects it’s a little bit of a travesty that we don’t get to play more of them,” Haynes said. “But it’s such a unique opportunity and for an Australian cricketer it only really happens when we play an Ashes, so when you get the opportunity it’s one we really cherish and it’s your time to walk out and be able to wear the baggy green.”Schutt said: “Everyone kind of should be able to have an opportunity at some point but at the same time I know that we have to respect the Tests that we’re playing and really play it in a true form so that there is incentive to bring Test matches into other countries. We have a real responsibility to put on a good show with this Test match to kind of give any incentive to bring it to other countries.”