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Sydney Thunder survived a wobbly chase to secure a BBL finals berth after a tense three-wicket victory over Melbourne Stars at the MCG.The finals positioning came down to the last match of this riveting regular season with Thunder needing a win to leapfrog Hobart Hurricanes, who had pushed into the top five after a remarkable two-run victory over Brisbane Heat earlier in the day.Eerily similar to that game in Launceston, it went down to the wire after a nervy Thunder almost botched their chase of 120.But Thunder, who have been up and down all season, did enough in a see-saw of a contest to claim fourth place and will host an elimination final on Friday against fifth-placed Heat.It ended another underachieving season for Stars, who finished bottom of the ladder with just three wins.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Thunder stumble over the line

Chasing a low target, Thunder had early wobbles with David Warner’s run of low scores continuing after being undone by extra bounce from quick Luke Wood.Warner lasted just three deliveries and has made just 63 runs from five innings since his long-awaited return to the BBL. He is likely to have one more chance to better those returns at elimination final.Thunder were boosted by the return of batter Jason Sangha, who was out for five weeks due to a broken collarbone. But Sangha couldn’t get going and was stumped off a sharp delivery from spinner Adam Zampa.Thunder kept losing wickets and appeared to be headed for the same fate of Heat earlier in the day. But a hard-hitting 28 off 18 balls from Daniel Sams and composed batting from skipper Chris Green and Nathan McAndrew got Thunder over the line and into the finals.

Zampa gives it his all

Zampa has had a rough season after taking the Stars’ captaincy reins from injured Glenn Maxwell. But he remains their talisman and did his very best to thwart Thunder’s finals hopes. He enjoyed a spinning MCG surface and turned the match by outfoxing Alex Ross and Sams to leave the contest in the balance. It wasn’t a flawless effort with Zampa dropping a sitter to reprieve Green on 1 in what proved a costly missed chance. The Stars did what they could to fight all the way to the finish and perhaps in that respect they made it a reasonable send off for coach David Hussey.Adam Zampa celebrates dismissing Jason Sangha with Marcus Stoinis and Joe Clarke•Getty Images

Qadir shines, Sandhu injured

Thunder vindicated Green’s decision to bowl after a disciplined performance from the attack. They bowled well in partnerships from the get go to shackle last-placed Stars, who appeared to be going through the motions in what was a dead rubber for them.Legspinner Usman Qadir, the son of legendary Pakistan spinner Abdul Qadir, stole the show with a three-wicket haul. He bamboozled Stars’ struggling batters with flighted deliveries and combined well with Green, who was typically miserly to finish with 2 for 19 off four overs. Qadir has proven a reliable part of Thunder’s attack after being drafted into the squad for injured spinner Tanveer Sangha.The team’s hierarchy will be well pleased with the performance of the attack after seamer Gurinder Sandhu limped off the ground with a suspected calf injury having bowled two overs. He appears in major doubt for Friday’s final.

Stoinis’ struggles caps tough season

Marcus Stoinis’ season might have been doomed from the start when he fell first ball in the opening game against Thunder shortly after contracting Covid-19. He made just 14 runs in his next three innings before finally rediscovering his belligerent best with a couple of powerful half-centuries. But a hamstring injury derailed his momentum and Stars’ season was basically shot when he returned.Stoinis was hoping to at least end things on a high and find some form before he heads to the UAE’s ILT20. He targeted Qadir in the sixth over and clobbered a six down the ground but couldn’t repeat the dose later in the over to hole out. It summed up a disappointing season for Stoinis, where nothing seemingly went right and he finished with just 190 runs at 23.75 from nine matches.

England smashed the highest ever women’s T20 World Cup total in a record 114-run thrashing of Pakistan in Newlands to complete an unbeaten group phase.Electing to bat in sunny conditions, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt hit blistering half-centuries to propel England to 213 for 5, an almost flawless performance ahead of the semi-finals.After Wyatt powered England to a fast start, Sciver-Brunt took over with an unbeaten 81 from 40 balls and she combined in a century stand with Amy Jones to destroy Pakistan’s short-handed attack.England were just as ruthless with the ball to secure top spot in Group 2 and they will face South Africa or New Zealand in the semi-finals.

England obliterate Pakistan attack

In what was essentially a dead rubber, England were determined not to ease up and they eyed a formidable total against a weakened Pakistan attack with just one seamer.England have batted fearlessly under coach Jon Lewis, but this belligerent effort took them to new heights with a sustained assault through the innings.Wyatt kicked it off by smashing left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal for six and a four in the first over. She unleashed a range of strokes, including several sweet blows over cover, to reach her half-century off just 29 balls.It was a return to form for Wyatt, who had only scored 27 runs in England’s three previous matches this tournament.Sciver-Brunt, however, entered with confidence and played aggressively from the get go even though England wobbled at 33 for 2. She used her feet with authority against Pakistan’s spinners and scored at will all around the wicket.Sciver-Brunt and Jones took advantage of an increasingly ragged Pakistan attack and smashed 88 runs off the last six overs as England became the first team to post 200 in a Women’s T20 World Cup match.Nida Dar finished with 1 for 47 from four overs•ICC via Getty Images

Dar becomes women’s T20I highest wicket-taker

With Pakistan captain Bismah Mahroof missing due to a groin injury, Nida Dar grabbed the reins for the first time as she eyed breaking the record for most wickets in women’s T20Is.She entered tied with West Indian Anisa Mohammed on 125 wickets and had been in good form with her accurate offspin snaring four wickets in her previous matches against West Indies and Ireland.But Dar struggled to find her length after coming into the attack in the sixth over and was immediately under fierce examination from Sciver-Brunt, who hit a boundary through cover first ball.A rattled Dar leaked 25 runs off her first two overs before returning in the 13th over to claim opposite number Heather Knight, who holed out. It was enough for her to re-write the record books but proved the only moment of joy. Dar finished with 1 for 47 from four overs.

England tear through Pakistan’s batting order

England had been searching for a complete performance and were keen to complement their earlier effort with the bat.They did exactly that with Katherine Sciver-Brunt dismissing recalled opener Sadaf Shamas on the second ball of the innings. She also claimed Omaima Sohail to leave Pakistan 15 for 3 with the result a foregone conclusion.The wickets kept tumbling with Pakistan spiralling to 54 for 7 before Tuba Hassan and Fatima Sana mustered some belated fight with a 37-run partnership. But the disastrous run-out of Tuba symbolised Pakistan’s abject performance as they suffered the biggest defeat in women’s T20 World Cup history.

After a rousing start to their campaign with a memorable win at Centurion, South Africa’s lack of batting depth and bowling penetration was ruthlessly exposed in a trio of defeats at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and the Wanderers. One man, however, showed fight with ball and bat to hint at a more promising future. Here are their marks out of ten.9Anrich Nortje
South Africa’s find of the series ended as the highest wicket-taker overall, ahead of his own team’s spearhead Kagiso Rabada and England’s Stuart Broad. Nortje bowled at a consistently high pace in the upper 140s throughout the four Tests, used the short ball to good effect and showed an ability to deliver long, pressure-building spells which bodes well for the future of South Africa’s attack. He collected his first five-wicket haul at the Wanderers and also put in two lengthy vigils as nightwatchman, one of which gave him his highest Test score of 40 and formed part of a match-winning partnership at SuperSport Park.7.5 Quinton de Kock
A class above the rest of South Africa’s batsmen, de Kock finished as the leading run-scorer among both teams, 56 runs ahead of Dom Sibley, and scored a half-century in every Test. De Kock seemed to be operating on different surfaces to the rest, took the attack to the opposition bowlers and scored quickly. What he needs now is to develop the nous to switch gears and play the long game by batting time, which will help him convert his fifties into hundreds at a better rate. His work behind the stumps was tidy, apart from the occasions when he dived in front of first slip and catchable chances went a-begging. As South Africa’s new ODI captain and Test-captain-in-waiting, de Kock has shown he has the form to take on more responsibility.6.5 Rassie van der Dussen
Van der Dussen enjoyed a satisfying debut series where he demonstrated composure and maturity in a batting line-up sorely lacking in experience. He scored fifties in three of the four Tests, including sharing in a match-winning partnership in Centurion and falling two runs short of a maiden century at the Wanderers. Most impressively, he coped well with being moved from No.5, where he played the first three Tests, to No.3 in the finale, where he made a career-best 98. His versatility has given South Africa’s top order options for the future. Though he dropped three catches, he took eight and proved himself a competent slip fielder.6 Keshav Maharaj
Tasked with the often thankless job of holding up an end, Maharaj bowled more overs than anyone else despite being benched for the final match, and was mostly successful in his containing role. At Newlands, in particular, he allowed South Africa’s quicks to rotate while keeping runs down, but in all three matches, he struggled against Ben Stokes. After playing some rash shorts early in the series, Maharaj bedded in when it was too late in Port Elizabeth and scored a free-spirited second Test half-century to again show that he has something to offer with the bat.5.5 Kagiso Rabada
A fourth demerit point in a 24-month period meant that Rabada’s series was blighted by his ban from the finale at the Wanderers and highlighted his continued disciplinary issues, which have seen him miss a second Test in less than three years. Still, Rabada remains South Africa’s poster-boy and was their leading wicket-taker until his suspension. He showed glimpses of his best at SuperSport Park, where he took seven wickets in the match. His dismissal of Joe Root in Port Elizabeth, where his celebration breached the ICC Code of Conduct, revealed both how much he values big wickets and how big the burden on him has been in an attack that lacks the bite of old.Beuran Hendricks
South Africa’s search for variation, particularly now that Vernon Philander has retired, may have found an answer in left-armer Hendricks. On his home ground, the Wanderers, he was fairly impressive on debut, especially in the second innings where he took 5 for 64. Hendricks has enough domestic experience to have gained a good understanding of his game, and how to vary his lengths, and could be a handy bowler for South Africa to keep around.Quinton de Kock and Vernon Philander leave the field after the 3rd day of the 3rd Test•AFP / Getty Images

5Dwaine Pretorius
A dependable allrounder, who offers consistency with the ball and stoicism with the bat, Pretorius had a decent first series without offering anything exceptional. His economy rate of 3.15 speaks to the containing role that South Africa were looking to fill with a fourth seamer, and he played a part in some important lower-order partnerships. Whether Pretorius has all the skills to succeed Philander is doubtful, but South Africa deemed him important enough to stop him from signing a Kolpak deal on the eve of the series, so we can expect to see more of him in the future.Pieter Malan
A resolute start on his debut, where Malan scored 84 in the second innings at Newlands, gave way to a forgettable final two Tests. Malan was out twice to spinners in Port Elizabeth, got a good ball from Mark Wood first-up at the Wanderers and then played a nothing shot off Chris Woakes in the second innings. All-in-all, it would appear Malan has wasted the opportunity to have a long run in the Test team, especially with South Africa desperate to find a permanent partner for Dean Elgar. On the evidence of this series, Malan is not it.Dean Elgar
Elgar has escaped a certain degree of scrutiny because the other end of the opening partnership has been so problematic but it won’t be long before the spotlight turns to him. Although he scored 88 in Cape Town, the shot he played to be dismissed (a mow to mid-off against Dom Bess which Elgar described as a “brainfart”) was a microcosm for a serious flaw in his game. Elgar’s shot selections were not those of a senior player – from his playing across the line in Port Elizabeth to him flashing a short, wide ball straight to point and then pulling like a No.8 in Johannesburg – and underline what has become a problematic period in his career. South Africa needs players of Elgar’s ilk to do better and overall, he had a disappointing series.4.5 Vernon Philander
Philander bowed out with South Africa at an all-time low but at the right time for himself. Though his 4 for 16 at SuperSport Park made it seem as though he still had years left in him, a disappointing performance in Port Elizabeth, where he went wicketless and only bowled 16 overs, made it clear that his time was up. He finished 10th on the overall wicket-takers’ list in the series. In his final outing, Philander took two wickets in the first innings and then send down nine deliveries in the second before tearing his hamstring. He was also fined 15 percent of his match fee for giving Jos Buttler a send-off and a further 60 percent as part of South Africa’s slow-over-rate penalty. Philander again showed with the bat that he had what it took to contribute more to the line-up, and he may look back on that as potential unfulfilled.3.5 Dane Paterson
His new-ball performance in Port Elizabeth can best be described as flat, which did not give Paterson the best start to his Test career. An honest trier, Paterson does not appear quick enough to merit a place in the attack long-term, unless he can bring in some of his other much-talked about skills to the table. At domestic level, Paterson is known to move the ball off the seam and is vaunted for his accuracy, some of which we saw in the second ininngs at the Wanderers.Faf du Plessis
In what could prove to be his last series, du Plessis was under immense pressure and it showed. His poor form from the India series bled into this one and he top-scored with 36, making it a year and 11 innings since he last scored a half-century. Usually, du Plessis has been to hide poor form behind strong leadership but even that let him down. His captaincy in the first innings in Port Elizabeth and during the tenth-wicket partnership in the first innings at Wanderers left him looking strategically wanting and has only increased questions over his future. Du Plessis’ usually pleasant media mannerisms became visibly tetchy as the matches wore on, and he notched up a third successive series defeat.Zubayr Hamza
An eye-catching 39 at SuperSport Park suggested Hamza has the technique to develop into a strong No.3 for South Africa but perhaps not quite yet. He appeared tentative against teasing lengths in Cape Town and visibly afraid of the short ball in Port Elizabeth, where Mark Wood had his number. Hamza was left out of the Johannesburg Test and will need to find form domestically before he can be reconsidered.3 Temba Bavuma (33 runs at 16.50)
The most-talked about man in the series, especially when he was not there, Bavuma was unable to repeat the heroics of four years ago, when he scored his only Test hundred to date against England. But he dominated the conversation nonetheless. He was injured for the first match and dropped for the next two, but made a career-best 180 to force his way back in for the finale. He was out for 6 in the first innings but struck a positive 27 off 29 balls in the second before receiving a snorter from Stuart Broad. Curiously, Bavuma’s social media throughout the last four weeks has suggested he feels hard done by and has a point to prove. Now we have to wait for him to do that.2Aiden Markram (22 runs at 11)
After recovering from a broken hand (the result of punching something in the change-room during the India tour), Markram was strangled down the leg-side for 20 at Centurion, then struck on the pads for 2 before fracturing a finger and being ruled out for the rest of the series. The injury is not his fault but his lack of form is cause for concern. Markram has not scored fifty in seven innings and last scored a century almost two years ago. South Africa have big plans for him but they can’t be fulfilled if his trajectory continues like this.

Daniel Flynn, the former New Zealand and Northern Districts left-hand batsman, has called time on his 16-year-long career, at age 34.In an international career spanning a little over five years, Flynn played 24 Tests, 20 ODIs, and five T20Is, making a combined 1325 runs, including six half-centuries. He batted almost three hours in the second innings of his debut Test at Lord’s, his 118-ball 29 helping New Zealand salvage a draw. The early days of his international career are also remembered for him walking off Old Trafford with a mouthful of blood and two fewer teeth as a result of a vicious James Anderson bouncer that he copped during the opening day’s play. His last international appearance came in July 2013, during a Test match against South Africa where he made a pair.Flynn played 135 first-class matches and scored 7815 runs, including 21 centuries, at an average of 35.04. He featured in 100 first-class matches for Northern Districts, leading them in 47 of them, aside from making 88 and a record 104 appearances for them in List A and T20 matches respectively. His 20 first-class hundreds for Northern Districts are the most by any batsman from the side.”Representing your country is the ultimate for any cricketer; it’s what you dream of as a kid, so to have achieved it is something I look back on with immense satisfaction,” Flynn was quoted as saying by . “The people I’ve played alongside throughout my career stand out for me; they’re not just good cricketers, but good people, who I’ve learned plenty from both on and off the field.”Winning trophies for ND alongside these guys was always special, and those are memories that I will never forget.”

Thunder 188 for 9 (K Bryce 4-38) beat Lightning 116 (Hartley 4-8) by 72 runsA captain’s performance par excellence by slow left-armer Alex Hartley helped Thunder to their second victory in the Rachel Heyhoe-Flint Trophy when they defeated Lightning by 72 runs at Aigburth.Hartley brought herself on when the visitors were making brisk progress in their pursuit of 189 but then took four wickets for eight runs in a magnificent ten-over spell than included five maidens to leave Thunder totally in charge of the game.Lightning were eventually dismissed for 116 with No. 4 Abi Freeborn the last wicket to fall, bowled by Hannah Jones for 28.Thunder’s dominance was far removed from the situation in the early afternoon when Lightning were 55 for 1 in the 15th over. However, the crucial wicket of the in-form Sarah Boyce was taken by Natalie Brown, who yorked the in-form Scot for 24 and the stage was set for Hartley to bamboozle the other batsmen.The skipper needed help, though. Two outstanding stumpings by Ellie Threlkeld removed Kathryn Bryce for 22 and Lucy Higham for a duck before Hartley’s brilliant diving caught-and-bowled dismissed Nancy Harman for 4. Hartley’s last wicket was that of Shachi Pai who was leg before wicket for 7 and legspinner Liberty Heap’s 3 for 34 completed a fine afternoon for Lightning, who had lost their three previous games. Jones finished with 2 for 20 from 8.1 overs.In the first innings of the match Thunder posted a clearly competitive total in their 45 overs thanks to a half-century from Natalie Brown and useful contributions from both Georgie Boyce and Rebecca Duckworth.Kathryn Bryce in her delivery stride•Getty Images

The total was also boosted by the addition of 37 runs from wide deliveries, although several members of the Lightning attack bowled good spells, notably Kathryn Bryce, who took 4 for 38, and her fellow new-ball bowler Sophie Munro, who was wicketless but conceded only 27 runs from her ten overs. And in the mid-innings interval Thunder’s top order may have been pondering how many more runs they would have scored had not their effort been crippled by two run-outs.Bryce removed both Laura Marshall and Laura Jackson in her first four overs and Alicia Presland trapped Threlkeld leg before wicket for 4 before Brown and Boyce began to repair the innings with a 23-run partnership which took the score to 73 for 3 in the 19th over.However, Brown then rightly sent Boyce back when the opener called for a single, only to see her partner fail to beat Higham’s accurate throw and depart for 32. The same fielder later accounted for Brown when she had made 52 and was attempting a similarly unwise single.That run-out ended the Thunder top scorer’s excellent seventh-wicket partnership of 59 with Duckworth and the Thunder tailenders then scrambled a further 29 runs with Duckworth, who was smartly stumped by Freeborn off Bryce for 27. Higham had earlier conceded only 17 runs from her seven overs of offspin.

Ireland head coach Graham Ford will miss his side’s upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan in India after a “slip accident” at his home in Dublin led to a fractured vertebrae and three broken ribs.Ford had to travel home from the Ireland Wolves (the ‘A’ side) tour of South Africa last week, after a Durban doctor told him he would be unable to participate in physical training with the squad.Rob Cassell, who will leave the coaching staff to take up a bowling coach position with Rajasthan Royals immediately after the tour, will be acting head coach for the series, while another coach will be added to the staff in the interim.Cricket Ireland also confirmed that it will “continue to monitor the situation” with regards to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The board said it was “concurrently taking advice from government, health and sporting bodies,” and that “while a duty of care approach to players’ health will be maintained, there is currently no advisory against travelling to northern India”.The series starts on March 6, with all three games being played in Greater Noida.

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imad Wasim will join Pakistan team-mate Babar Azam in this year’s Vitality T20 Blast, after confirming deals with Hampshire and Nottinghamshire respectively.Hampshire have been in discussions with Afridi’s agent ever since the Blast’s fixtures were confirmed, and have confirmed his availability for their seven remaining group games, plus the knockout stages should they qualify.His availability is a major boost to their bowling attack in the absence of Kyle Abbott and Fidel Edwards due to travel restrictions, and with Liam Dawson out for the season with an Achilles injury.Hampshire won their first game in the competition on Monday against Essex, and Afridi will debut against Surrey at The Oval on Thursday evening.Unlike Afridi, Wasim had never officially signed for Nottinghamshire this season, but did play seven Blast games for them last year, taking 10 wickets – including the crucial scalp of AB de Villiers in the quarter-final win against Middlesex – and conceding just 6.64 runs per over. They have won two of their first three games – the other was washed out – in this year’s Blast, despite the absence of Harry Gurney through injury.Wasim has gone straight into the squad to play second-placed Lancashire at Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon, meaning he could play two T20s in the space of 24 hours after appearing in the third T20I against England on Monday night.Azam is set to play seven group-stage games for Somerset this season, plus the knockouts if they qualify, after topping the run charts last year. His first game will be Somerset’s televised game against Worcestershire at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

David Warner is in an 18-day race to be fit in time for the opening Test of the summer against India, after he was formally ruled out of the remainder of the white-ball matches and replaced in the squad by D’Arcy Short, while Australia’s vice-captain Pat Cummins is also to be spelled until the opening long-from game at Adelaide Oval from December 17.The groin/adductor tear Warner suffered while fielding against India on Sunday night at the SCG has not been ruled serious enough to remove him from calculations for the start of the Test series, although he will need to make a rapid recovery given the short turnaround time.Former Cricket Australia team doctor Peter Brukner suggested* that in his experience, similar injuries were likely to take between four and six weeks to heal, and said that Warner would be more likely to be fit in time for the second Test at the MCG on Boxing Day than the first.”It certainly seemed to be a significant injury, what we’d call a grade two, the fact he’s not having surgery indicates he hasn’t torn it off the bone or anything like that, but it was clearly more than a grade one and traditionally we’d say that was a four to six week injury if you’re looking at a footballer, hopefully closer to four than to six,” Brukner told SEN Radio. “It’s 18 days between yesterday and the start of the first Test, so that’s cutting it pretty fine.”Probably the odds are that he’s not going to make it, but knowing Davey he’ll give it a good crack and he’s in superb shape and he’ll do everything possible, he’ll be very well looked after by the physios, David Beakley and his group. So I think he’s a chance but probably the odds are against him playing the first Test – second Test should be fine, much more realistic.”Australia’s opening two victories over India made it patently clear how valuable Warner is as a top order batsman in home conditions, forming a platform against the new ball but also scoring freely and setting up an innings for the likes of Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Australia’s’ coach Justin Langer said Warner’s timely return would be pivotal to the Test team’s fortunes, in addition to giving Cummins some time off following his IPL stint and lengthy quarantine.ALSO WATCH: David Warner run out by direct hit (Indian subcontinent only)“Pat and Davey are critical to our plans for the Test Series,” Langer said. “Davey will work through his injury rehab and in Pat’s case it is important all of our players are managed well to keep them mentally and physically fit throughout what is a challenging summer. The priority for both is being fully prepared for one of the biggest and most important home Test Series we have played in recent years, especially with World Test Championship points up for grabs.”Labuschagne said that Australia needed to adapt to a scenario where they would be missing Warner for at least four matches, but he expected the super-fit 33-year-old to make his return for the Test series.”He’s been a massive part of us winning this series and it’s not great that we’ve lost him, but like anything it provides an opportunity for someone else to step up in the top order and make runs,” Labuschagne said. “It’s unfortunately how the game works, there’s always an opportunity for someone else when something like that happens. We hope Davey gets a speedy recovery and he’s back as soon as we can get him. He’s a very strong character and he’ll be back.”I hope he’s back for the Test series, but I’m not a physio or a doctor, so I think for us it’s just about being able to adapt. We need to make sure we adapt for this last one-dayer and then if he’s not available it provides an opportunity for someone else to step up. That’s how we have to play it.”Short had been on standby in Sydney in the event of injury, and comes into the team with the benefit of a couple of Sheffield Shield appearances for Western Australia earlier in the season. It remains to be seen whether he slots straight in opposite Aaron Finch at the top of the order, or the selectors shuffle around their other available options, including that of Matthew Wade.The uncertainty around Warner’s fitness adds further intrigue to debate around the opening spots in the Test team, as the incumbent Joe Burns and the aspiring talent of Will Pucovski wait in hope of chances to wear the baggy green this summer. Labuschagne said that Burns was capable of stepping up to play a more senior role should Warner be absent.”Joe’s averaging 40 in Test cricket so he’s certainly established and he’s got four Test hundreds, so he’s a very good player,” Labuschagne said. “Although he hasn’t made the runs in Shield cricket he would’ve liked, he got 99 [97] against Pakistan in the first Test last summer and he negotiated through that new ball period almost every time.”So he’s not far away from a couple of really big scores and I think if he was to step up into that senior opener role, 100% I think he’s that sort of player that can step up if the team really needs it.”Meanwhile, allrounder Mitchell Marsh will not join the Australia A squad for the matches against India as he continues his recovery from the ankle injury sustained at the IPL. He will now target a return in the BBL with the Perth Scorchers.

India tourVirat Kohli and Tim Paine exchange team sheets before the coin toss•Getty Images

This remains the crucial part of Australia’s season with A$300 million – the financial health of the game – riding on it taking place. The chances of a traditional Test series across four venues appears to be receding with the Boxing Day Test at the MCG looking under threat. To ease the biosecurity protocols that will be needed – and state-by-state requirements to quarantine – it could be that the matches are staged in fewer locations while there is likely to be consideration given to what size crowds are allowed. Fans have returned to stadiums for winter codes in Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales amid various restrictions on capacity.The Adelaide Oval will have its on-site hotel completed by October and has already been talked of as a training hub while Perth, who missed on hosting India in the initial fixture list, may yet be part of the series. Following the Tests there is a three-match ODI series pencilled in for mid-January which currently has games in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.The India Women’s team is also due to tour in January for three ODIs which are due to act as a lead-in to the ODI World Cup in February.Afghanistan TestThe Perth Stadium has successfully hosted India and New Zealand Tests over the past two seasons•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

The international fixtures that had been scheduled early in the season have steadily dropped away with series against Zimbabwe and West Indies postponed. The T20Is against India scheduled for mid-October also won’t take place now the T20 World Cup has been moved and the IPL has its window. The next big question for CA is the one-off Test against Afghanistan slated for Perth on November 21 which they remain committed to staging.However, the time frame created by the IPL and the need for players to quarantine for two weeks on return to Australia is very tight, especially for anyone featuring in the closing stages of the competition, unless those in contention for the Test from both sides leave the UAE early to allow 14 days in Perth ahead of the match. Even if that was possible there would need to be exemptions granted to allow players to train although with hotels very close to the grounds this could be feasible.State cricketPeter Nevill and Phil Jaques with the Sheffield Shield•Getty Images

In some ways, this is the biggest headache for Cricket Australia given the logistical challenges of competitions that are vital to the game’s ecosystem but do not generate revenue. Particularly problematic is how to formulate a Sheffield Shield – the ten-game season and final can’t be cut back without agreement with the Australian Cricketers’ Association as it’s part of the MoU – amid travel and border restrictions.The hub concept is tougher and much costlier for a first-class competition but a whole range of scenarios remain on the table. A report said starting the tournament earlier and rushing through a set of matches ahead of the Test summer was one idea, to ensure players had a chance to prepare or push for selection, while at the other end there is the possibility of limited Shield cricket before Christmas with the season then back-filled after the BBL.The men’s and women’s one-day competitions – the Marsh Cup and WNCL – would appear vulnerable at the moment although players have made it clear they are open to the idea of hubs. The WNCL is especially important this year if the Women’s ODI World Cup goes ahead as played next February and March in New Zealand.WBBLBrisbane Heat pose with the Women’s Big Bash League trophy•Getty Images

This will be the first of the marquee competitions to be staged in the season with the tournament due to begin on October 17 but is likely to need some reorganisation. When the fixtures were announced, the competition had already headed towards a hub model with a three-week block of matches in Sydney, and weekend blocks of matches elsewhere, but with New South Wales at a crucial stage of trying to limit their Covid-19 numbers – and significant restrictions around travel into the state – it could be that Queensland or Western Australia become the major centres with Tasmania also putting their hat in the ring to host a hub.There remains confidence that the overseas players will be able to take up their deals as planned although a potential curveball has been thrown by the BCCI’s announcement of the T20 Challenge in early November which came in for strong criticism from a number of players led by Alyssa Healy.BBLJosh Hazlewood celebrates with his teammates after taking the wicket of Pete Handscomb•Getty Images

There is a little more time up Cricket Australia’s sleeve for the Big Bash, but with the tenth edition to be the longest tournament – running from early December to early February – it could be hugely demanding if Covid-19 restrictions remain. Unlike the WBBL, the initial fixtures featured the full home-and-away model which involves regular travel and, even in the extended tournament, quick turnarounds between matches which would not be possible under the current quarantine requirements imposed by the various states.The need to hub the competition will have to be considered as well as the flexibility to change mid-tournament if Covid-19 cases spike in a state. If there arises a need to reschedule or move matches in the BBL, it will add another layer of complexity given it runs concurrently with the major part of the men’s international season.