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Shikhar Dhawan’s 72 off 39 balls led India to a total of 203, which they defended comfortably thanks to a five-wicket haul from Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy18-Feb-2018On a flat pitch, in the thin air of the Highveld, India’s batsmen piled up 203 for 5, and that total proved more than adequate against a South African line-up missing a number of its biggest names. A 28-run win, with starring roles for Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, gave India a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series, but they may not have left the Wanderers entirely thrilled about their performance, particularly with the bat.India’s batting in T20s often seems more risk-averse than the format demands, built on a platform-setting template borrowed from ODIs. This innings was different. Short and wide bowling from Dane Paterson to Rohit Sharma allowed them to plunder 18 from the first over, but they kept going after the bowling even when it wasn’t so charitable. Suresh Raina took it to an extreme, exposing all his stumps and slogging at everything to score a chancy 15 off 7 at No. 3. Dhawan also kept going hard, his top-edged hoicks over the keeper making the same impact on the scorecard as his pristinely-timed flicks over square leg and slaps either side of point.This approach, aided by the bang-it-in tactics of South Africa’s seamers, who didn’t vary their pace nearly as much as they could have, brought India 78 runs in the Powerplay. By the time a Tabraiz Shamsi skidder trapped Virat Kohli in front in the 10th over, their score had already motored past 100. A pair of leg-side boundaries from Dhawan in the 14th over, off the debutant Junior Dala, moved India to 149 for 3. Getting to 200 seemed like a given now; the question was how much more they could get.BCCI

Dhawan fell in the 15th over, lap-scooping an Andile Phehlukwayo slower ball to the keeper. From that point, India simply weren’t able to keep their momentum going; they only managed 46 off the last five overs, with Manish Pandey only managing one boundary in an unbeaten 27-ball innings. South Africa’s bowlers, particularly Paterson who nailed his slower balls and yorkers in the 18th and 20th overs, brought the innings back under some sort of control at the death, but Pandey struggled to come up with answers to the questions he was being asked.Still, 203 seemed like a winning total, despite the last four T20Is at this venue going to the chasing side – but how might things have panned out had South Africa fielded a full-strength batting line-up, or even if they had AB de Villiers available?Even without de Villiers and the rest of the big names, there were moments during South Africa’s innings when they seemed capable of chasing down this total. The first 15 balls of their innings, for instance, brought 28 runs, with Reeza Hendricks and JJ Smuts hitting merrily on the up. But, in Bhuvneshwar, India had a bowler who could get the ball to move sideways as well as use imperceptible changes of pace. His knuckle ball brought them the wickets of Smuts and JP Duminy, and put India firmly back on top. When Hardik Pandya followed up with a slower-ball dismissal of his own to send back David Miller, South Africa were 48 for 3 in the seventh over.South Africa weren’t done yet. Hendricks and Farhaan Behardien clattered 81 in 8.4 overs, and at one point during their fourth-wicket partnership the equation was a difficult but doable 86 off 41 balls. With all the risk-taking that task demanded, however, a wicket was always around the corner. It fell to Yuzvendra Chahal, Behardien holing out to long-on for 39. Then Hendricks and Heinrich Klaasen took 25 off the next two overs, leaving 50 to get off the last three, with six wickets in hand.It took only six balls for India to wipe out four of those wickets and end the contest abruptly, South Africa crumbling in their desperation for boundaries; Bhuvneshwar grabbed three of them, in the process picking up his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is, and a run-out did for the other.

A round-up of the CSA T20 Challenge matches on December 4, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2016With three league games left in the T20 competition, Lions kept themselves in contention for a playoffs berth with a five-run victory over Warriors in Durban. Lions defended 157 to rise to third, while Warriors remained in second place, seven points ahead.Lions were off to a flier after Dominic Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen put on 76 for the first wicket. Hendricks was the quieter of the two, contributing a 27-ball 25, while van der Dussen scored an even 50, his 10th in T20s, off just 25 balls. They were dismissed in consecutive overs, leaving an increasingly fragile looking middle-order to mount a competitive total.Lions were unable to keep pace with the openers as Colin Ackermann’s offspin sparked a middle and lower-order collapse. They lost their last eight wickets for 48, with no batsman between Nos. 3 and 10 contributing more than 17, as the innings ended with a ball remaining.Viljoen and left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin put Warriors in trouble early in their chase. They were reduced to 31 for 3 in the fifth over before Colin Ingram and Christiaan Jonker mounted a recovery. They shared a 59-run fourth-wicket stand, but then spin turned the match again as legspinner Eddie Leie took three wickets in five balls to reduce Warriors to 95 for 6 in the 14th over.Andrew Birch’s 30 off 19 balls kept Warriors in the hunt, leaving them with 34 to get off the last three overs, with three wickets in hand. They plundered 15 runs off the 18th over, but only eight came off the 19th. With 11 needed in the final over, Dwaine Pretorius took a wicket off the first ball, and conceded just six off the next four deliveries. With six needed off the final ball, Pretorius bowled Birch to secure a tense win.Kevin Pietersen’s 51-ball 79 went in vain as Dolphins suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Cobras, who achieved their 179-run target by seven wickets and eight balls to spare at Kingsmead in Durban. This was Cobras’ second win in seven matches. The four points helped them narrow the gap to three points over fourth-placed Dolphins.Pietersen hit three fours and five sixes in his knock to help strengthen the foundation laid by Morne van Wyk, who made 44. Pietersen drove the innings forward in the company of Khaya Zondo, with whom he shared an 89-run stand for the fourth wicket. Zondo contributed 40 of those in the team’s 178 for 5. Rory Klienveldt picked up three wickets.Cobras stuttered early when they lost Wayne Parnell in the third over, but their chase received a fillip courtesy half-centuries from Richard Levi and Dane Vilas. When Levi was dismissed by Imran Tahir, Cobras still needed 63 off 46 balls. Vilas found an able ally in Kieron Pollard, who made an unbeaten 31, to steer the team home.

Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed has said that he is fit for the ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe next month

Mohammad Isam29-Oct-2015Bangladesh fast bowler Taskin Ahmed has said that he is fit for the ODI and T20 series against Zimbabwe next month. He bowled in the Bangladesh nets at full pelt, leaving him quietly confident of returning to the senior side for the first time since June 21. Taskin is one of the 18 players in the preliminary squad for the Zimbabwe series starting on November 7.Eleven of the players turned up for training on Thursday since six will travel back to the country from South Africa on Friday as part of the A side and Shakib Al Hasan is expected to arrive from the USA on Saturday evening.Taskin suffered a tear on his left side during Bangladesh’s second ODI against India in June. He recovered and was sent to India with the Bangladesh A squad but after five overs in the first game on September 16, suffered the same injury and returned home from Bangalore the next day.”There aren’t any problems now,” Taskin said. “I bowled with full effort on Wednesday and today so I am hoping there won’t be any problems ahead too. I could bowl with my usual pace. I didn’t complain to the physio. I will be more confident if I can bowl like this in the next couple of days.”I am confident that since I am free of injury and I don’t feel pain while bowling, I will do well if I get an opportunity to play.”He may, however, be chosen for only one of the formats against Zimbabwe, so as to not put pressure on his body, which has been susceptible to major injuries in the past.Taskin felt he had hurried his return from the side injury in June, which caused a relapse in India.”I didn’t recover fully and had put myself under pressure. But now I have worked hard on my rehabilitation in the past five weeks. I have found rhythm in my bowling too.”

Richard J. Kaplan, mayor of Lauderhill, has said that the Broward County ground will need to stage more than one event a year if it is to be commercially viable for the county, and that the USACA and ICC need to step up and coordinate as to how to go abou

Peter Della Penna27-Apr-2013Richard J. Kaplan, Mayor of Lauderhill, Florida, says his letter to the ICC earlier this month was written in a last-ditch effort to get them to intervene and be proactive with the USA Cricket Association (USACA) about holding more events at the cricket stadium at the Central Broward Regional Park before plans are enacted by Broward County officials to convert the venue into a facility for other sports.”I’m afraid what the county is going to do [is] go ahead and proceed (to make the conversion). We’re at the 11th hour,” Kaplan told ESPNcricinfo. “The ICC, if they do nothing or they say sorry there’s nothing we can do, that is the answer. Cricket in the United States will go away.”Kaplan says that last year’s pair of Twenty20 matches between West Indies and New Zealand at the ICC’s only certified ODI stadium facility in USA proved the sport can be commercially viable in Florida as evidenced by the 15,000 people that were estimated to have attended each day. However, he says that the inability to sanction more events is a source of frustration for local officials who want to host more games with ICC Full Members, but can’t without USACA’s permission.”From those games we believe it is [commercially sound], but you can’t have games unless they’re sanctioned,” Kaplan said. “Not because you can’t sell tickets or get TV time. It’s not viable for the one reason you would never expect: you can’t get permission to have the game.”You can’t survive on putting on one event a year, and waiting a few weeks before the event before you even get permission to put it on. That just does not work. If I was USACA, I would embrace this stadium, prove how well it works, get as many games in there as possible, just to go to other parts of the country and prove how well this [concept] works so they can establish more stadiums in the rest of the country.”According to Kaplan, he spoke with USACA president Gladstone Dainty ahead of sending out the letter to the ICC to voice his concerns. Kaplan says that Dainty’s response was that developing and staging events in other areas of the country was a higher priority, specifically in New York.”Their president would prefer games be played in New York at some unknown field,” Kaplan said. “He expressed to me that he did not want to have ODIs in Florida, that he wanted to develop cricket in New York. I asked at what facility and he says he has a couple in mind. There is no facility in New York that can compete with what we have here. I don’t know what it is that he’s thinking but I’m afraid that USACA will be the cause of [their] downfall. If USACA continues down the road it’s going, cricket is going to be set back 15-20 years with no hope in the future of ever getting back to the level that it is right now. We are fully prepared and capable of handling international events.””This is what’s interesting. Dainty started telling me that he’s president of USACA and that USACA gave that authority [to sanction events] to Cricket Holdings America. I said, ‘Who’s the president of Cricket Holdings America?’ He said, ‘I am.’ So you’re the same person on both boards that can provide sanctioning?”Mayor Greg Ballard of Indianapolis, Indiana, visited India earlier this month and discussed plans to construct an international cricket facility in Indianapolis, something that was initially reported by ESPNcricinfo in 2009. Kaplan says that he can’t see how any other city would want to follow through on such an investment after witnessing what has happened with the stadium in Lauderhill, which was built as part of a $70 million county park.”It’s been told to me that [USACA] is trying to get other cities in the United States to build facilities that could be accredited,” Kaplan said. “I will tell you that I know most of the mayors in the country that may deal with this thing, and I presume they’re gonna talk to me about how it turned out in Florida. It isn’t gonna be a positive review. I would assume that any area that is doing due diligence on working out the economic viability are going to look at what presently exists, in which case they’re going to come and take a look at what happened here, and they’re gonna ask what happened.””It’s being utilized a little bit by some Associate members and developmental teams for the ICC. It’s [also] being used by some private groups from American College Cricket, but not one of those events puts anybody in the stands. It doesn’t sell one ticket. I don’t need a multi-million dollar stadium with 5000 permanent seats to sit there with nobody using it. I can understand the county’s point that somebody needs to use it. It’s a wasting asset.”Without more revenue generating events, Kaplan says that stadium reconfiguration may begin by the end of this summer. The most likely sports that the stadium would accommodate would be soccer, lacrosse or minor league baseball.

Star TV, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has won the rights to broadcast Indian cricket for 2012-2018

Tariq Engineer02-Apr-2012Star TV, owned by Rupert Murdoch, has won the rights to broadcast Indian cricket for 2012-2018. The deal, which also includes internet and mobile rights, was valued at Rs 3851 crores (approximately $750 million) and covers 96 matches. The other bidder – at Rs 3700 crores, or $727 million – was Multi-Screen Media (Sony), which currently owns the rights to the IPL.The rights cover all international cricket in India, and domestic competitions including the Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup; they do not include the IPL. The first series under this deal, according to a schedule announced on Monday, will be New Zealand’s tour of India in August-September 2012; England have a full tour later in the year and Australia arrive in February for a four-Test series.Under the deal, Star TV will be paying approximately Rs.40 crores (US$7.86 million) for each match, significantly more than the Rs.32.5 crores (US$6.38 million) the previous broadcaster, Nimbus, had to pay for each match. The pricing is in two stages, Farooq Abdullah, chairman of the BCCI’s marketing committee, told ESPNcricinfo: Rs 32.2 crores ($6.3 million) for the matches from 2012 to 2014 and Rs 43.20 crore ($8.5 million) for the matches from 2014 to 2018.”This is a substantial improvement [on the previous contract with Nimbus],” N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, said. “And the BCCI is very, very happy that the media rights have been fully evaluated and now, I think, fully priced.”While the bid was submitted by Star TV, Uday Shankar, the channel’s chief executive, made it clear that the rights will be shared with ESPN, its partner in the ESPN Star Sports* joint-venture. “STAR India will work collaboratively with ESPN-STARSports to exploit the rights”, Shankar said. “Right now, we have three sports channels — Star Sports, ESPN and Star Cricket to broadcast cricket. However, if required, we could explore the launch of new channels.”Manu Sawhney, managing director, ESPN STAR Sports, said: “It was decided by ESS that the preferred way for these rights is for Star to bid with the understanding that should they win, they would utilize these rights in partnership with ESS.”The deal gives Star and ESS a virtual stranglehold on marquee cricket events, since they already own the rights to ICC tournaments as well as cricket in Australia and England. The collaboration also owns rights to the Champions League Twenty20.The board has also cancelled its production rights contract with Nimbus. ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCCI might want to own the production rights instead of selling it.The board was forced to issue a new tender after it terminated its contract with Nimbus in December 2011, claiming the latter had defaulted on its payments. The matter has subsequently been referred for arbitration, with the Bombay High Court ruling that Nimbus must deposit Rs 305 crores (approx US$60 million) with the court as security for the amount the BCCI claims it is owed by the company. Nimbus has also made a counter-claim of Rs 600 crores (approx US$118 million) from the board.The BCCI’s marketing committee set the price for category A games at Rs 31.25 crores per match (approx $6.1 million) plus Rs 1 crore (approx $0.2 million) while category B games were set at Rs 34 crores (approx $6.67 million) plus Rs 1 crore. The contract with Nimbus had a base price of Rs 31.25 crores (approx $6.1 million) per game for each of the three formats purely for the broadcast rights.The board did attempt to sell the internet rights separately last year, but the tender found no takers at the initial base price of Rs 3 crores (approx $0.6 million) or its subsequently reduced price of Rs 2 crores (approx $0.4 million).*ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.), the parent company of ESPNcricinfo, and News Corporation Limited (STAR)(Additional reporting by Nagraj Gollapudi)

ESPNcricinfo previews the game between Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Hyderabad

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya13-Apr-2011

Match facts

Thursday, April 14
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Deccan Chargers’ middle order needs to step up•AFP

Big picture

A revamped Deccan Chargers have had a tough time in this early phase of the tournament with two defeats in two games. They were beaten comfortably by Rajasthan Royals and fell short by nine runs chasing 163 against Kolkata Knight Riders. On each occasion their batting has let them down – while batting first in their opening game, they managed a modest 137 while pressure got to them in a tight chase against Kolkata. Their opponents, Royal Challengers Bangalore, began the competition on a promising note but are reeling from a humbling defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians.One team is desperate to clinch first points and ensure its campaign takes a turn for the better, the other is eager to prevent a slide after an encouraging beginning. Deccan need their foreign players, their captain Kumar Sangakkara, JP Duminy and big buy Daniel Christian to step up in the middle order, which has underachieved in each of their two games. The trio have got starts but the team has paid a price for their failure to push on.For Bangalore, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan have kicked off well but the rest, particularly Virat Kohli, will aim for more runs. They lost Dirk Nannes early in the previous game and Mumbai Indians had no trouble chasing down 140; the rest of the bowling, including Zaheer Khan struggled, but against Deccan’s struggling batting line-up they have a chance to make amends.

Team talk

The end of the Australia-Bangladesh series means Cameron White will return to the Deccan Chargers squad but it is unlikely he will be part of the XI tomorrow. Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha bowled well in the previous game, but it’ll be interesting to see if they leave one out to accommodate someone like Harmeet Singh, who has a wonderfully deceptive slower ball, to bring some variation into their bowling.In the likely absence of Nannes, Bangalore might be prompted to rope in Nuwan Pradeep, the exciting fast-bowling prospect from Sri Lanka. Their lower order hasn’t had a chance to bat, with Cheteshwar Pujara waiting for his turn at No. 7. Could he receive a promotion ahead of Asad Pathan?Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Shikhar Dhawan is an attractive strokemaker and Deccan bank on him to control proceedings from one end. But too often he can be flashy or concede his wicket playing a rash shot. He got a start in Deccan’s opening game, making 24 off 15, before throwing it away by holing out in the deep. He had an impressive opening IPL for Delhi in 2008, providing solidity at the top and Deccan would expect no less from him this time.Virat Kohli has scores of 24 and 12 in his two games thus far. He looked at ease in Bangalore’s opening game against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, striking some delightful fours before being trapped in front. Against Mumbai, he was kept quiet and eventually nicked one to the keeper. Along with AB, he forms the backbone of Bangalore’s batting line-up; one has stepped up, Kohli yet has to.

Prime numbers

• Pragyan Ojha is one of only two bowlers – the other being RP Singh – to pick up 50 wickets in the IPL. He’s played 46 games, averaging 22.62 though has been expensive, conceding 7.19 an over.
• Kumar Sangakkara effected 11 dismissals as wicketkeeper in the IPL last year, in 13 matches, third after Adam Gilchrist and Dinesh Karthik.
  

  The chatter

  “We need to bat smarter, make less mistakes.”

  “I think this competition is about momentum. In such a short period of time between games, if you can get on that (winning momentum), it’s going to make things a lot easier.”

Poonam Raut, the India women’s team left-arm spinner, has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, during the second Twenty20 match against England in Mumbai

Cricinfo staff08-Mar-2010Poonam Raut, the India women’s team left-arm spinner, has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action. She was reported by on-field umpires Ulhas Gandhe and S Ravi, after India’s second Twenty20 match against England, which was played on Saturday in Mumbai.Raut had returned figures of 3 for 12 in four overs during India’s victory in that match, her first wickets in Twenty20s. She has been part of the Indian team for a year now, making her debut in the one-day World Cup in Australia last March.Raut’s bowling action will now be scrutinised further under the ICC process relating to women’s Tests, ODIs and T20Is. She will be required to submit to an independent analysis of her action by a member of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, appointed in consultation with the BCCI. This analysis must take place within 21 days from the report being received by the BCCI, and the report of the analysis should be filed with the ICC within 2 weeks of the analysis.If Raut is found to have bowled with an illegal action during the independent analysis then she will be suspended from bowling until she undertakes remedial action and reassessment. India’s next international engagement is the World Twenty20 which begins in May.

He will join the team during their ten-day preparatory camp in St Kitts and Nevis

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2024The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed former West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, to be held in the Caribbean and the USA. Afghanistan have already arrived in St Kitts and Nevis and are expected to begin a ten-day preparatory camp, during which Bravo will join the team.Bravo, part of the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies side, called time on his international career after the 2021 T20 World Cup but continues to play in T20 leagues around the world. Earlier this year, he featured in the ILT20, where he played for the eventual champions MI Emirates. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 625 scalps in 573 games.Apart from his playing experience, Bravo is also the bowling coach of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, a position he took over after retiring from the IPL in December 2022.Afghanistan play their first warm-up game against Oman on May 29 followed by the second one on May 31 against Scotland. At the World Cup, Afghanistan are placed in Group C alongside West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. They start their campaign against Uganda on June 5 in Providence.Kieron Pollard, another former West Indies player, will be at the England camp having been appointed their assistant coach for the tournament.

Playing his first Shield match since April 2021, Marsh helped lift WA to a first innings total of 336 and a lead of 157

Tristan Lavalette03-Mar-2023Captain Mitchell Marsh smashed a belligerent century in his first Sheffield Shield match in almost two years to power Western Australia into a commanding position over Tasmania at the WACA.Marsh, playing as a specialist batter, returned to his best with an unbeaten 108 from 111 balls to lift WA to a first innings total of 336 and a lead of 157.Tasmania reached stumps on day two at 1 for 27 with Caleb Jewell on 21 and Jake Doran on 1.Opener Tim Ward, who top-scored with 44 in the first innings, fell lbw to left-arm quick Joel Paris for five to leave Tasmania facing an uphill battle to keep their final’s hopes alive.Having recently returned from a three-month layoff after ankle surgery, Marsh was in commanding form and hit nine fours and four sixes. He combined with Charlie Stobo in a last-wicket partnership of 113 to thwart Tasmania’s attempts at a comeback.After a subpar opening day, where they were bowled out for 179 in their first innings, Tasmania had clawed back into the contest with regular wickets through the opening two sessions.Offspinner Jarrod Freeman, who had claimed in-form Cameron Bancroft late on day one, dismissed opener Sam Whiteman for 64 to leave WA wobbling at 4 for 132 at lunch.Freeman added another after the long break when allrounder Aaron Hardie smashed a long-hop straight to midwicket with WA still 25 runs behind.Marsh, playing his first Shield match since April 2021, came to the crease looking to step up his preparations ahead of the upcoming ODI series in India.He was run out for a duck in his return against Tasmania in the 50-over Marsh Cup, but Marsh showed little rust as he navigated a short-pitched assault from speedster Riley Meredith who is arguably the fastest quick in the country.After a searing Meredith bouncer sailed over his head for byes, Marsh then counterattacked with a beautiful drive to the boundary followed by a six over midwicket.But Marsh was running out of partners with WA slumping to 9 for 223 with a lead of only 44 runs. He was on 38 when Stobo joined him and then hogged the strike by resisting singles.Marsh quickly sped past his half-century as he targeted Freeman straight down the ground while taking on Meredith’s sustained short-ball line.Tasmania had taken the extra 30 minutes before tea in a bid to claim the final wicket but their flagging attack was left frustrated as Marsh closed in on his century.He smashed a six off Freeman to move to 94 before reaching his ton moments later much to the delight of the smattering of fans in the terraces.Marsh received strong support from Stobo, who made a first-class career-best score of 38 off 84 balls to prove his worth having batted in the top-order for his local club in Perth grade cricket.Stobo finally fell as the shadows crept onto the WACA turf as WA moved closer to securing a home Shield final.

The Australia captain does not expect many players to withdraw but will support anyone who does

AAP13-Jan-2022Pat Cummins believes the vast majority of Australia’s Test squad will travel to Pakistan but the skipper fully understands if any team-mates opt out of the tour.Cricket Australia is yet to press players for a final decision regarding the multi-format series in Pakistan, which is slated to begin on March 3 with a Test in Karachi.But selectors have started to thrash out plans for a busy couple of months, when Australia’s white-ball series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka will be quickly followed by the Pakistan tour then the IPL.Players and staff have been given a preliminary briefing about security measures in Pakistan before Australia’s first tour of the nation since 1998.Related

• Ramiz Raja to propose Pakistan involvement in annual four-team series including India

• Need to be 'kind and patient' with Australia players who opt out of Pakistan tour

“Still a bit to work through…but at this stage it’s all looking really positive,” Cummins said. “The amount of work the PCB has put into it is fantastic.”It’s shaping up as, I think just about everyone – if not all – will go. If some players need to make a choice, it’s absolutely fine that they won’t be there. Still got a bit of water to go under the bridge, a bit more info to gather and get around to everyone.”In February, Australia’s best players will likely be split into a white-ball squad at home and a Test touring party in Pakistan. Cummins is concerned about bubble fatigue, knowing freedoms for players will likely continue to be restricted because of Covid-19.”We’re two years in, so we’ve learned a lot,” he said. “But it also means probably some players are further along their tether. It’s unprecedented times, we just have to make sure we look after each other. Conversations are happening. The selectors have been great along with the coaching staff.”This summer marks the first time Cummins has donned the baggy green since losing to India a year ago, while it is the first five-Test series during the Covid-19 era.Cummins said he doubted whether the rivals would get through five Tests, especially after Travis Head contracted coronavirus.”And just about everyone I know in Sydney has Covid,” Cummins said. “We’ve been tested just about every day for the last 20 days. It’s just been fantastic that we’ve got through the series.”