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Charlotte Edwards has offered to help the ECB during its review into England’s 16-0 Women’s Ashes drubbing at the hands of Australia.Edwards, the former England captain turned decorated coach, has not ruled herself out of taking over the head coach role if it becomes available in the aftermath of the review, saying in an interview this week that she felt better equipped than she was two-and-a-half years ago, just before Jon Lewis replaced Lisa Keightley at the helm. But she was even stronger on lending her support to the ECB’s inquiry.”I’m certainly more prepared because of some of the experiences I’ve had in the last few years,” Edwards told the BBC’s Stumped podcast. “I just want to help at the moment because I feel like this review’s taking place and I think they’ve got to ask people within the game what they think. I’ve got great experience across county level, working in the WBBL, that hopefully someone will pick up the phone and ask what we need to do to get better.”That’s all I care about at the moment. I don’t care who coaches the team, who captains the team. I just want English cricket to get back to where it should be. And I think we’ve got to use people who know what’s going on to help and I feel I’m in a position to help and hopefully support the ECB in that process.”Related

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Edwards would be a leading candidate as England Women’s head coach should the role become vacant given her outstanding success in the world’s top franchise leagues and at domestic level.Having initially said she was interested in taking the England job in September 2022, Edwards decided against applying a couple of weeks later, saying she was enjoying her burgeoning franchise coaching career with Southern Brave in the Women’s Hundred and WBBL side Sydney Sixers, as well as leading Southern Vipers in the domestic women’s competition, which included a T20 competition named in her honour.Edwards has led Southern Vipers to five titles, including two Charlotte Edwards Cup victories – the second as part of a domestic double in 2023 – and Southern Brave to three Women’s Hundred finals, winning the 2023 edition. She also led Sydney Sixers to the WBBL final in her first season in charge in 2022-23.During that time, her franchise coaching portfolio expanded to include Mumbai Indians, who are about to begin their campaign for a second title in three years under her guidance, having won the inaugural WPL trophy. She has also been appointed head coach of Hampshire Women under the new domestic structure in England and Wales beginning this season.Edwards said she watched much of the Women’s Ashes, where England were thumped by more than 50 runs in three white-ball matches and by an innings in the Test, with a sense of “real disappointment”.”Hopefully this will be a moment, a line-in-the-sand moment, for the team and for the ECB to have a look at where we’re going with the women’s game because there’s a lot of good things happening and I think that’s what makes it sad for someone who’s involved in the system,” Edwards said. “There’s a lot of good things happening within the counties and the regional structure and it hasn’t necessarily been portrayed with the England team, so that’s a worry, I guess, and something that needs to be looked at.”Lewis described England’s group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in October as a “line-in-the-sand moment” and his position has come under increased pressure following that performance, most notably England’s shocking fielding display against West Indies, which knocked them out of the tournament.During the Ashes, there were few signs of improvement in the field, which along with some poor decision-making with the bat and a failure to adapt under pressure from the Australians, saw England unable to pose any real challenge other than in the rain-affected second T20I, which they lost by six runs on the DLS method.Since the T20 World Cup, England’s fitness has also come under scrutiny after commentator and former spinner Alex Hartley said that a handful of players were “letting the team down” with their fitness levels.While Lewis has stood firm in his defence of England’s work in training, even suggesting that Australia’s outdoor lifestyle gave them an advantage in producing athletes, Edwards said there was plenty of ground to be made up to match Australia physically.”I think if you do a comparison, they are more athletic and they are fitter and that’s what we need to now aspire to be like,” Edwards said. “That’s part of our jobs at county level is to now support these players to be fitter, to be more athletic so that we can compete with Australia, so there aren’t those question marks when we play them because that was the hardest thing, wasn’t it? Having that kind of noise in the background when it’s not just all about the cricket.”I think we can turn this around. I don’t think it’s as big a gap as people make out that there is. I know that’s probably quite a stupid thing to say, having been beaten 16-nil, but we are talented, we have a lot of talent in our country, and I think now hopefully this moment we will be a moment we’ll look back on with, I guess, real positivity.”The ECB review is expected to release its recommendations in the coming weeks.

A day before the BBL started, Mitch Owen said he wasn’t sure where he’d be batting – or at all – for Hobart Hurricanes this season.After a record-breaking knock to win the competition for his home-town side, Owen, also the top run-scorer for the league, can start to lift his sights higher. The 23-year-old is set to earn life-changing amounts of money in franchise cricket, potentially starting with a replacement deal at the Indian Premier League.Related

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Owen’s manager confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he is available as a replacement player for the IPL, having registered for the auction longlist late last year before failing to make the shortlist. The Pakistan Super League, which virtually runs concurrently with the IPL in April and May, could be another option for him.Owen’s mighty knock of 108 off just 42 balls – the equal-fastest ton in competition history off 39 deliveries – had the sellout crowd chanting his name and won Hobart their first BBL title.”I feel a bit awkward in these situations. I don’t really know how to take it,” Owen said of the adoration. “It’s super special… the most special thing is hearing everyone in the crowd enjoying it. And I’m so grateful, I’m so proud that we could bring this trophy to Tassie.”Owen had played just six matches in the previous two seasons for Hurricanes, for a total of 42 runs. Previously a middle-order hitter, Owen said a decision that he would be batting in the top order came “probably one day, to be honest” out from their tournament opener.Ricky Ponting, Hurricanes’ head of strategy, said he was “amongst that” decision. Declining to elaborate on his role in that move, the Test great happily talked up Owen’s future, saying discussion of him representing Australia in next year’s World Cup was “inevitable”.Mitchell Owen made the equal fastest century in BBL history off 39 balls•Getty Images

“There’s not many players in the world that can do that,” he told AAP of Owen’s heroics in the final. “He’s done it pretty consistently through the tournament… some of his 30s and 40s that he’s got have actually won and set up games for the Hurricanes. And then he ended up getting a hundred in 30-odd balls and the game’s over.”Hurricanes team-mate and 2021 T20 World Cup winner Matthew Wade agreed Owen “would be there or thereabouts” when it came to squad selection for the 2026 tournament.”He can be anything… no stage really worries him too much. It was phenomenal,” Wade told AAP.Owen said he “absolutely” wanted to work towards the squad for the India-Sri Lanka-hosted tournament, which begins in February 2026.However, David Warner suggested such talk was premature. The losing Thunder captain said the Australian team didn’t need a shake-up.”No, no. You’ve got the guys that are there at the moment,” he said. “You can earn your stripes… we can’t be just picking blokes and chopping and changing when the guys that are there have won World Cups.”It will be difficult top order to break into, with Travis Head, Matt Short, Jake Fraser-McGurk and T20 captain Mitch Marsh having claims on those spots.Steven Smith, left out of last year’s underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign, also has to be considered after starring for the Sydney Sixers in the past two seasons when he has played as an opener in between international duties.But Warner was certainly happy to credit Owen with a “phenomenal knock” that meant his side came up short after posting 97 without loss after 10 overs.”We got beat by one player tonight, plain and simple,” he said.0815 GMT – This story was updated to reflect Owen’s availability as an IPL replacement player.

Saurashtra stay alive after blockbuster show

Saurashtra smashed 266 for 6, the second-highest total in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy history, en route to a 78-run win over Group B table-toppers Baroda. Their fourth win in five games vaulted Saurashtra to second place on the points table, with the top three, Baroda, Saurashtra and Gujarat, all separated only by net run rate.A Baroda attack sans the rested Hardik Pandya, the leading six-hitter in the tournament at this stage, came under fire from Harvik Desai, the wicketkeeper, who set the tone early on, with a 39-ball 76. There were handy contributions from opener Tarang Goel (15-ball 40) and Jay Gohil, who smashed an 18-ball 53 at No. 6.Baroda’s chase was dented early as they were reduced to 29 for 3 inside the powerplay. They managed to limit the damage to their net run rate by finishing with 188 for 8, thereby remaining table-toppers.Related

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Karnataka knock Tamil Nadu out

Karnataka quick Vasuki Koushik made use of the early morning moisture in Indore to rip past Tamil Nadu in a sensational new-ball burst that fetched him three wickets in his first two overs. Tamil Nadu, who were reduced to 7 for 4 by then, were bowled out for 90, with Karnataka, fuelled by Manish Pandey’s 42, chasing down the runs in just 11.3 overs.Given how close the table is stacked, with all of Gujarat, Saurashtra and Baroda ahead of them, this was a virtual knockout. The result meant Tamil Nadu will be eliminated from the group stages of a tournament they have dominated in the recent past (they won back-to-back in 2020-21 and 2021-22).

Dhir, Ramandeep keep Punjab alive

Punjab continue to live on the edge. After clinching a Super Over win two nights ago against Mizoram, they beat Hyderabad by seven runs to keep their slim knockouts hopes alive. Their win on Sunday was fuelled by Naman Dhir, highly rated by Mumbai Indians, and Ramandeep Singh, who was retained by Kolkata Knight Riders before the recent auction.Having scored 196 for 6, thanks in part to Anmolpreet Singh’s 60 and Ramandeep’s unbeaten 11-ball 39, Punjab managed to bundle out Hyderabad for 189, with Dhir picking up his first five-for in T20s. Tilak Varma, the Hyderabad captain, managed just a run-a-ball 9.File photo: Ramandeep Singh’s cameo helped Punjab put up a winning score against Hyderabad•Associated Press

This was a clear case of the scorecard not revealing how one-sided the game threatened to be when Hyderabad were 141 for 8 in 17 overs. Then Chama Milind, the left-arm seamer, unleashed a barrage of sixes in his 22-ball 55 to take the game closer before Arshdeep Singh dealt the final blow to seal victory.

Bharat, Bhui lead Andhra’s charge

Unbeaten for four games running, Andhra are in with a good shout of making the knockouts. But their task gets tougher from here on as they still have games remaining against Kerala and Mumbai, both of whom are also in knockouts contention, and right behind them in Group E.On Sunday, KS Bharat and Ricky Bhui combined to help Andhra ransack 222 for 8 against Services for a 23-run win. Opening the batting, Bharat scored a 39-ball 63, while Bhui’s 84 came off just 35 balls and contained five sixes. Services made a good fist of the target with captain Mohit Ahlawat smashing 74 off 37. But an impressive 3 for 26 from Cheepurapalli Stephen eventually restricted them to 199.

Manchester Originals have handed Simon Katich a one-year contract extension after a season in which his men’s team won only once, but Stephen Parry has been let go after two years in charge of their women’s side.The decisions over the two coaches’ futures were made by the Originals board, which has been restructured to reflect their closer ties with Lancashire from 2025. The county will become majority shareholders in Originals next season, when they are handed a 51% stake by the ECB, with the other 49% set to be sold to a private investor.Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket, has been given responsibility to lead the recruitment process for Parry’s successor as women’s head coach as a result. James Sheridan, who is on the Lancashire board, has also taken over from the broadcaster Mark Chapman as Originals’ chair, though Chapman will remain on the board.Related

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Katich, the former Australia batter, has coached Originals men since the Hundred’s inaugural season in 2021, and said he had “unfinished business” after agreeing to return in 2025. “I have absolutely loved my time leading the Manchester Originals over the last three years and I’m already looking forward to next year,” Katich said.Originals were runners-up in the 2022 and 2023 seasons of the men’s Hundred, losing tight finals against Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles. But they failed to overcome the absence of the injured Jos Buttler this year, finishing seventh after winning only one of their eight matches with Phil Salt deputising as captain.”We were all disappointed with how this season went, particularly after coming as close as we did in 2022 and 2023,” Katich said. “I feel we have unfinished business given the events of the last three editions of the Hundred and all of us at the Originals will ensure that we get back on track next year… We are determined to win it for Manchester.”Parry, meanwhile, has been replaced after his side finished sixth in the women’s Hundred this season. Originals are the only women’s team who have not reached the knockout stages in any of the tournament’s first four editions, and are hoping to appoint “a world-leading women’s short-format head coach” for 2025 and beyond.”Stephen leaves us with our thanks and best wishes,” Sheridan said. “He joined us with our women’s team under-strength and still finding its feet at this level of cricket… We are in a much better place following two years with Stephen at the helm.”The recruitment process for Parry’s successor, which Chilton will oversee, will start immediately. “Our aim now is to recruit a world-leading women’s short-format head coach, and we are very excited where this group of players can take Manchester Originals next year and beyond,” Chilton said.The announcements come shortly before Friday’s deadline for first-round bids in the ECB’s sale process of the Hundred, with Lancashire actively seeking a “sporting partner” to become co-owners of Originals. Daniel Gidney, the county’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo in August: “We’d love to work with an IPL team.”The ongoing introduction of private investment is expected to make 2025 a season of transition in the Hundred, with the timeframe likely too tight for new owners to make sweeping changes to playing or coaching staff. The ECB has told prospective owners to expect significant wage hikes, though these could be delayed until 2026.

Nandre Burger has been ruled out of remainder of the three-match ODI series against Ireland in Abu Dhabi as well as the upcoming Test series in Bangladesh following “a lumbar stress reaction”.Burger “experienced discomfort in his lower back, and subsequent scans revealed the injury,” CSA said in a statement on Friday, not long before the start of the second ODI, adding that Burger “will return home and undergo further assessments”.There was no update about a replacement for the third ODI of the series, which South Africa are leading 1-0 after a 139-run win in the first game, but CSA said a replacement for the Tests in Dhaka and Chattogram would be “announced in due course”. That squad has Kagiso Rabada, Dane Paterson and Wiaan Mulder as the fast-bowling options.Also missing the second ODI against Ireland is Tony de Zorzi. CSA said de Zorzi had picked up “a soft tissue injury of his right knee” and was being rested from the game as a precaution.He hurt his knee attempting to slide and field the ball in the deep on the sand-based outfield in Abu Dhabi in the first ODI on Wednesday, and immediately left the field and was seen walking gingerly on the sidelines. He didn’t return to field, and underwent MRI scans on Thursday, which revealed the injury.De Zorzi is also in the squad for the Tests in Bangladesh, and is the likely opening partner for Aiden Markram there. The squad doesn’t have another opening batter, with Tristan Stubbs, captain Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham and one of Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne, the wicketkeeper-batters, likely to form the middle-order, with the uncapped Matthew Breetzke around as back-up.

Sussex tightened their grip at the top of the table while Yorkshire edged closer to promotion at the expense of Middlesex, after a complete washout on the opening day of the final round of fixtures in Division Two of the County Championship.With promotion already sealed and a 20-point cushion at the top, Sussex need only to avoid defeat against third-placed Middlesex to ensure they return to the top flight as champions. A haul of five bonus points from a possible eight would also suffice.Though there was no chance to pick up any points at Hove, with persistent rain forcing an early abandonment, the lack of play was far more damaging to Middlesex. They now have just three days in which to force victory, without which they have no chance of closing their 15-point deficit on second-placed Yorkshire. Although Friday’s forecast is slightly better, the outfield was saturated by the time of the abandonment at 1.05pm, and it will take a prolonged spell of dry weather to get the ground playable.As for Yorkshire, play in their final home fixture against fourth-placed Northamptonshire was also abandoned by lunch on the opening day, with the only moment of note coming when their young batter, George Hill, was presented his county cap by his team-mate, Jonny Bairstow, who has been a fixture of their promotion push since being overlooked across formats by England.Yorkshire need just 10 points to guarantee their return to the top flight, following their relegation in 2022, and are currently on a run of five wins in their last six games, having had to wait until the competition’s sixth round in May to register their first win.”It’s hard not to enjoy it,” Bairstow told the ECB Reporters Network. “Naturally, it’s been a pretty disappointing summer for obvious [personal] reasons, and I don’t need to get into that at the moment.”I’ve been happy. I got asked to show some form, and I’ve been pleased with the way I’ve kept as well,” he added. “I’ll do what I can with this group, and the first thing is to get promotion.””It will be a very nice way to finish the summer if I can be a part of that group that goes up with a record in the last five or six games that’s been outstanding. Most of all, it’s been great fun with a good bunch.”In the unlikely event that Yorkshire and Middlesex finish level on points, the tiebreakers of most wins, then fewest losses and then head-to-head record would come into the equation. Both teams are level on most wins and fewest losses – five wins, two defeats – but Middlesex have the advantage on head-to-head having won at Lord’s and drawn at Headingley.There was no play possible in either of the Division’s two remaining games, Leicestershire versus Derbyshire at Grace Road, and Glamorgan versus Gloucestershire at Cardiff. Each of the four teams concerned are in the bottom half of the table, with Derbyshire – 19 points adrift – all but guaranteed to finish bottom.

England’s players will pay tribute to the late Graham Thorpe before the start of their Test series against Sri Lanka, which starts in Manchester on Wednesday.Thorpe took his own life at the age of 55 on August 4, after suffering from what his widow Amanda described as “major depression and anxiety”. He was one of England’s greatest batters, averaging 44.66 in a 100-match Test career, and was later their batting coach and an assistant coach until leaving that role after the 2021-22 Ashes tour.He worked with most of England’s squad for the Sri Lanka series in that role and was particularly influential in the careers of Joe Root and Ben Stokes. In his first Test as England’s full-time captain, Stokes wore a shirt bearing Thorpe’s name to the toss following a previous attempt on his own life which left him seriously ill in hospital.”We’ll have our black armbands on throughout the course of the game and there’ll be a tribute to him before,” Ollie Pope, who is standing in for Stokes as captain, said on Tuesday. “It’s hurt a lot of people in that changing-room. He was a great man. I probably had two or three years playing with him as a batting coach. I really admired him.”I remember him saying one thing to me, which was: ‘Never let the runs you’re scoring define you as a person’. In a bit of a rut when you’re young, that was exactly what I needed to hear. It shows, for me, what a people’s person he was. He was loved in the changing-room. He’s such a sad loss to everyone: to the country, his family and the boys as well. He’s missed, and we’ll honour him this week.”Related

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The teams will line up for a moment of applause before the national anthems at Emirates Old Trafford on Wednesday morning, with a tribute video played on the big screens. Sky Sports will also pay tribute to Thorpe in their coverage, with many of their commentators counting him as a long-time team-mate and a close friend.The opening of an inquest into Thorpe’s death heard last week that he died from “traumatic injuries” after being struck by a train at Esher railway station in Surrey on the morning of August 4.Lancashire will also recognise James Anderson’s career throughout the Test, with Anderson due to ring the bell before the start of play, at the pavilion end of the ground which was named after him in 2017. They will celebrate his achievements as an England player on the outfield during the lunch interval, with Michael Atherton scheduled to make a presentation to him.The club have sold around 14,500 advance tickets for the first two days of the Test, with Friday sold out.

Half-centuries from Kashif Ali and Adam Hose led Worcestershire to a six-wicket win against Durham at the Seat Unique Riverside, their first win of the Vitality County Championship season.Ali (76 not out) and Hose (50) came together when the visitors were 65 for three and combined for a partnership worth 129, which took the game away from the hosts, who will be left scratching their heads after they were firmly in the ascendancy prior to the lunch break on day three.Worcestershire wrapped up the Durham second innings early on, with the Pears needing 231 to break their winning duck.Gareth Roderick batted positively early on and set a platform for Ali and Hose to guide the visitors to a vital win in the Division One relegation battle.Ali, a graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy, has been a bright spark in a difficult season for Worcestershire and picked up his second half-century of the match to give his side that all-important first win of the season, while Hose, who has now got fifties in back-to-back matches, was also imperative to the win.For Durham it is a first home defeat in the County Championship since April 2022, but it drags them back towards the bottom end of the table, with the North East county now just 11 points ahead of today’s victors, who occupy the second relegation spot.Resuming on 148 for nine, the job for Bas De Leede and Ben Raine was to get as many runs as possible for the hosts, but they only added four to the total, as Ben Allison got De Leede for three when the Dutch international edged to second slip.Beginning their chase of 231, the Pears’ opening duo of Roderick and Jake Libby had the job of giving the visitors a good start with a difficult chase on their hands, as the pitch had given the bowlers plenty of assistance in the previous two days.While Roderick initially struggled against Raine, he started to go through the gears and punched one from Matthew Potts down the ground for four, which was followed by a glorious cover drive in Ben Stokes’ opening over.Despite the visitors making a good start to their chase, there was a sense that a wicket was coming as Libby survived an LBW appeal from Peter Siddle and Roderick nearly chopped a Stokes delivery onto his stumps.Durham then made the breakthrough with Stokes getting Roderick for 38, as he attempted a pull shot from a short ball but he feathered it through to Ollie Robinson behind the stumps.Wickets came like buses for Durham as a second arrived soon after as Libby went for 19 after he whipped a Siddle ball to mid-wicket to swing the momentum back to the hosts. Stokes then dismissed Rob Jones with an absolute beauty as he bowled him for one to leave Worcestershire 65 for three.First innings top scorer Ali and Hose then came together and saw the visitors through to lunch without further loss.Ali and Hose looked to consolidate after lunch and withstanded a lot of short-pitched bowling from the Durham attack.The pair then took 12 from a De Leede over to reach the 50 partnership, with Ali taking a liking to the all-rounder’s bowling.The number three then followed this up with a perfect cover drive for four from a Potts ball and then former Warwickshire man Hose played a great straight drive for four.Ali survived an LBW shout on 33 as Siddle was convinced he had his man, but the umpire thought there was an inside-edge, while an erratic over from Stokes went for 15 to only add to Durham’s woes.Hose continued to cash in on the England captain’s bowling and got back-to-back fours including a delightful cover drive.Ali then reached his half-century from 77 balls, with Hose reaching his milestone soon after from 86 balls.Raine finally broke the partnership when Hose was caught behind for 50, but the excellent Ali finished unbeaten on 76 and guided his side home.

Moeen Ali has called on England to “throw the first punch” and be “ruthless” in their remaining two Group B games as the defending champions aim to keep their T20 World Cup 2024 hopes alive.Saturday’s heavy defeat to Australia left England fourth in Group B, with all sides having played twice, and potentially in a battle to qualify for the Super 8s on net run rate. Having taken just a point from their washed-out opener against Scotland, victories by significant margins over Oman and Namibia may be required if Jos Buttler’s side are to avoid a second ignominious World Cup exit in eight months.Scotland play Oman on Sunday knowing that victory will put them on five points, which is the maximum England can achieve. They will then have the advantage of playing Australia after England complete their group fixtures, thereby knowing exactly what sort of result would be required to put them through.Speaking after a chastening afternoon at Kensington Oval, Moeen said England needed to avoid dwelling on results so far and get back on the front foot – albeit a similar mantra failed to produce a turnaround in India during last year’s failed ODI World Cup defence.”Net run rate is huge and there’s been quite a few tournaments when I’ve missed out on net run rate, so it’s huge,” Moeen said. “If we get the chance in those next two games we’re going to have to win by quite big margins.”We’ve got the team to do that. I know in this World Cup big teams are losing but we’ve got to go into these two games and almost throw the first punch and just keep going from there.Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali must try to turn England’s World Cup around•ICC via Getty Images

“When you lose a game, especially [against] Australia, the camp is never positive. But you can’t get too down and go into our shells and say ‘What if this happens?’ We’ve just to be really ruthless in those two games playing our best cricket otherwise we’re going home.”Buttler has been unwilling to talk about the ODI World Cup, where England lost six of their first seven games to crash out in the round-robin stage, during the build-up to the T20 version, but faces would could be a make-or-break week for his captaincy.Moeen, Buttler’s deputy, preferred to draw on the team’s experience at the previous T20 World Cup, in 2022, when England suffered a shock defeat to Ireland during the Super 12s, followed by an abandonment against the hosts, Australia, before winning four games in a row to lift the trophy.”India was different because it’s a different format, you have to play proper cricket, closer to Test matches and your technique is exposed and all that. I think this situation it’s more like when we lost to Ireland in Melbourne and we had to win every game and run rate was important as well then so we can take experience from that.”I think we’re better at T20s, I just think today Australia were better than us. Even in the last World Cup when we won it, we had to win every game so we’re kind of used to this with our backs against the wall. My own personal thing is I don’t care about the 50-over World Cup, that’s done but I think in this World Cup we ca do a lot better.”The first game being rained off is unfortunate and then losing today is not great so we’re going to have to win those next two games.”It’s about being calm and not letting the outside noise or whatever it is affect us. We need to be more aggressive without being reckless, not overthink things and take those two teams down.”

Joe Root has defended England’s preparations ahead of the second Test after the tourists missed five chances on day two at the Gabba, four of which came in a final session under lights that allowed Australia to establish a crucial 44-run lead with four first-innings wickets remaining.Root’s first century on an Ashes tour had given England a workable total of 334. But they were unable to make it count through wayward bowling and an array of spurned chances. All but one came after sunset, when the pink ball becomes harder to see under the floodlights, allowing the hosts to close on 378 for 6.Travis Head, shifted up to open the batting, was missed badly by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith on 3, and went on to make 33. During the final session, Ben Duckett missed a pop-up at gully that would have removed Alex Carey for a golden duck, and could only palm Josh Inglis away at third slip on 19 – although Ben Stokes bowled Inglis three deliveries later for 21.Related

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Michael Neser was given a life on 6 after slapping Jofra Archer straight to Brydon Carse, who put down a simple effort at cover that split the webbing on his right thumb. Finally, Carey, on 25, slashed between Root (first slip) and Smith, who should have got to it. Carey and Neser eventually walked off together at the close, their unbeaten stand – 49 from 55 deliveries – putting Australia ahead in the match.England chose not to send any of their starters to Canberra for a two-day game against a Prime Minister’s XI that would have given them exposure to day-night conditions. Instead, they underwent a five-day training programme going into the Test, which included two sessions (Monday and Wednesday) under lights, both in the nets and on the outfield of the Gabba to practice fielding in the various scenarios they would come across in this match. Root believes this, unequivocally, was the right thing to do.”We worked as hard as we could in the lead up to this,” Root said. “We had five days of prep and we did a huge amount of catching and making sure we utilised those two sessions under lights well.”You could look at it like that [England could have played in Canberra] but you can’t replicate that surface [at the Gabba], the bounce, the way the nicks come. It’s never going to be exactly the same, it’s never going to be perfect. All you can do is give yourself the best possible chance and I think we’ve done that.”In the lead up to this game we’ve got used to conditions, we’ve got used to the heat, we got used to the surfaces. The nets were at 3mm [grass length], the same as the wicket. We faced our own bowlers, we’ve caught under lights, we’ve caught in daylight and tried to catch in twilight as well. Sometimes they don’t stick and you’re always looking for answers.”Sometimes they just don’t stick and you’ve got to keep applying yourself and wanting the ball so you’re ready when that next opportunity comes.”England did at least have sympathy from across the divide. Jake Weatherald, who struck 72 for a maiden half-century in his second Test, admitted to his own struggles in the field on the evening of day one.”It was definitely difficult,” he said. “We were probably lucky we didn’t get as many catches square of the wicket as them. It is really difficult.”It has been a hard thing to do and it was hard last week for me with the red ball, obviously against the crowds. This week has been another level hard, especially square of the wicket.”I feel for them, I understand how hard it is out there, especially when the ball is being hit hard and there is a bit of dew on the wicket as well. It comes flying at you and it’s not great visuals. It’s a different challenge.”