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Captain Kurtis Patterson
Coach Phil Jaques
SquadR=Rookie, CA=Australia contractSean Abbott, Trent Copeland, Pat Cummins (CA), Oliver Davies, Liam Doddrell (R), Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Mickey Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood (CA), Lachlan Hearne, Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon (CA), Blake Nikitaras (R), Jack Nisbet (R), Kurtis Patterson, Will Salzmann (R), Daniel Sams, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Lachlan Shaw (R), Steven Smith (CA), Mitchell Starc (CA), Chris Tremain, Hunar Verma (R), David Warner (CA), Adam Zampa (CA) In Liam Doddrell, Ryan Hadley, Hayden Kerr, Blake Nikitaras, Lachlan Shaw, Will Salzmann | Out Josh Baraba, Harry Conway (SA), Peter Nevill (retired)Winter moves
The main departures were Peter Nevill’s retirement after a distinguished career in front and behind the stumps, as well as a leader, while Harry Conway has gone to South Australia. Last season’s breakout star Hayden Kerr has earned his first full contract alongside young batters Ryan Hadley and Blake Nikitaras. Will Salzmann, 18, is a highly regarded allrounder.Related

• Tanveer Sangha ruled out of New South Wales action with back stress injury

• Chris Tremain's long wait: 'I contemplated retirement quite frequently'

Last season
Due to border restrictions, New South Wales faced Victoria three times in the first part of the season. They lost the opening two games to put their campaign on the back foot, but when the Shield resumed in February they secured wins against Queensland and Tasmania. However, it wasn’t enough to keep them in finals contention and in the last game of the season South Australia chased down 326. The biggest issue for NSW was a lack of first-innings runs where their highest total was 294 in the final outing. Overall, there were just two individual hundreds.Player to watch
On that note, it is an important season for captain Kurtis Patterson. In the last two seasons, he has averaged 21.29 and 28.11 respectively. He needs to lead a batting revival from the front as a senior player.”In particular our first innings batting last year just wasn’t good enough,” Patterson told ESPNcricinfo. “On day one [of pre-season] we had three or four really key areas to work on and guys really taking the reins in four-day cricket was a big one. That’s guided how we’ve trained around our red-ball stuff. I’ve always thought your captain’s hat is off when the team is batting, that’s easier said than done, but I feel in a better place having had a year captaining under my belt. Feel that separation is a bit easier now that I’m not too stressed out about team things.”NSW will also hope to see further development in their two wicketkeepers – Matthew Gilkes and Baxter Holt – following the retirement of Nevill. Holt is expected to start in the Shield side but he will need to build on a first-class average of 14.77.

New South Wales Shield fixtures

October 3-6: vs Western Australia, WACA
October 18-21: vs Queensland, Drummoyne Oval
October 31-November 3: vs South Australia, Wollongong
November 12-15: vs Tasmania, Blundstone Arena
November 22-25: vs Western Australia, SCG
December 1-4: vs Victoria, Junction Oval
February 11-14: vs Tasmania, SCG
February 21-24: vs Queensland, Gabba
March 2-5: vs Victoria, SCG
March 14-17: vs South Australia, Karen Rolton Oval

Australia radar
Beyond the big three quicks, David Warner, and Steven Smith, who NSW may not see anything off this season, Nathan Lyon is expected to be available for three or four Shield games before the Tests begin in late November. They will hope for a return more akin to 2020-21 (42 wickets at 25.97) than 2021-22 (four wickets at 62.75) but he won’t be available for the latter part of the competition due to the India Test tour.An interesting one could be Adam Zampa who, in theory, will be free for red-ball cricket in February. He has not played a first-class match since 2019. Elsewhere, Sean Abbott is the likeliest to be pulled away for Australia duty (he will miss the opening round due to the West Indies series) although probably only around white-ball cricket now enlarged squads are no longer needed. It’s a long shot, but another strong season for Chris Tremain, who took 24 wickets at 15.95 last summer, could push him into the list of back-up quicks. Tanveer Sangha‘s back injury appears likely to curtail his ambitions of pushing further towards international selection for a little while, but he will hope for a strong second half of the season.

Wessly Madhevere is eager to establish himself as Zimbabwe’s No. 3 in ODIs after making the most of an unexpected opportunity in the opening match against Australia in Townsville.Madhevere only found out shortly before the game started that he was in the team when Sean Williams was ruled out having taken a blow on the elbow at training on Saturday. An indication of how late the change was made came from the hasty scribbles on the team sheet.”To be honest I didn’t know I was going to play,” Madhevere said. “Was told [on Saturday] I wasn’t going to play but found out that Sean wasn’t doing too well with the elbow and that’s when the coach told me that I was playing.Related

• Williams: 'Definitely a big skill gap' between Zimbabwe and Australia

• Dave Houghton wants to 'take away that freezing' when Zimbabwe play 'strong sides'

• Cameron Green five-for, David Warner fifty take Australia 1-0 up

• Roy 388: Townsville pays tribute to Andrew Symonds

“I normally get nervous the day before, especially when I know I’ll be playing, but today I was kind of relaxed.”Madhevere went on to make his fourth ODI fifty and a new career-best of 72 to give Zimbabwe a platform from where they could have accelerated at the death, but after he gave a return catch to Adam Zampa’s final delivery they lost 6 for 15 to be bowled out for 200 with 15 balls unused.However, Madhevere wants to take on the No. 3 role in a more permanent capacity having made 5 and 2 in the position on the previous occasions he had batted there, in the recent series against India.”I see myself batting there, it’s one of the crucial positions when you want to be exposed to the pressure, so that’s one of the key areas and I quite like that challenge,” he said. “It also helps me grow as a cricketer if I get exposed to it right now, then it will be easier for me in the future.”Madhevere, who made his debut in early 2020, began his ODI career with a solid run of scores, making his first three half-centuries in the space of eight innings against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but after that he had only reached 20 once in 13 innings before facing Australia.He built steadily against seam and spin, reaching his fifty from 67 balls, and said he found the Townsville surface similar to those he had played on while at school in South Africa.”I quite enjoyed it,” he said. “Got exposed to those kind of conditions while I was at school so I knew what was happening.”Madhevere added that he felt 250-260 would have been a competitive total and Zimbabwe are hopeful that spin will be become more of a factor in the remaining two games. Sikandar Raza caused a few problems with his offspin while legspinner Ryan Burl collected three wickets as the Australians played aggressively against him.The second ODI takes place on Wednesday.

Sussex 94 for 5 (Pattinson 3-27) trail Nottinghamshire 240 (Mullaney 70, Slater 55, Robinson 4-44) by 146 runsEngland fast bowler Ollie Robinson took four wickets on his return to competitive action as Sussex bowled out Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire for 240. In reply, however, they sunk to 49 for five before closing on 94 for five on an eventful opening day of their latest LV= Insurance County Championship match.Robinson, whose problems in recent months have included a bout of Covid, a tooth infection and food poisoning in addition to a persistent back injury, dismissed the first four names on the Nottinghamshire scorecard to finish with four for 44 from 16 overs in his first appearance since May.He produced two particularly high-quality deliveries to bowl openers Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater, albeit 89 runs apart, the latter making 55 as one of two Nottinghamshire players to post half-centuries in an otherwise largely miserable-looking scorecard in which skipper Steven Mullaney’s 70 was vital in giving the innings some substance.James Pattinson added a useful 39 batting at nine before taking three wickets in his principal role as spearhead of the Nottinghamshire attack. Much responsibility will rest with Cheteshwar Pujara, captaining the side here, to build on his 34 not out if Sussex are to claim any advantage tomorrow, although the Indian Test star needed checking over late in the day after being struck on the helmet by a ball from Dane Paterson.”I had an injection and it took about 10 days to feel fully settled. I started my rehab slowly with a bit of gym work but two and a half weeks in I started bowling and could tell straight away it felt better,” Robinson said.”I would have liked to have bowled in a Second XI game but the fixtures just didn’t allow that, but last week I bowled 30 overs, the week before 24 and the week before that 18. So I was able to come into this match feeling I could give 100 percent. I felt a bit rusty as I suppose after a few months it is going to be, but the ball came out OK.”I’ve had a few conversations with the England coaches and said that I wanted to bowl as many overs as were needed by the team, with no restrictions, and they have allowed me to play this game to 100 percent. I’m hoping to play in a Lions game early next month after which the South Africa series comes up pretty quickly, so I’m hoping that with a couple of good games I can be back in the mix.”After Sussex won the toss and made the home side bat first on a wicket with a good covering of grass, Robinson quickly put Nottinghamshire on the back foot, dismissing Hameed with his 12th delivery.Hameed fell four short of a maiden 200 against Derbyshire last week but went for just five this time, offering no shot to a ball that came back a long way to clip his off stump.Slater put early runs on the board as a fast outfield added value to any attacking shot, particularly with a short boundary on the Bridgford Road side.But he lost partners in Robinson’s fourth and fifth overs as Ben Duckett clipped one straight to backward square leg and Joe Clarke nibbled outside off stump to be caught behind at 41 for 3.Nottinghamshire went to lunch at 87 for 4 after Lyndon James was caught at second slip off seamer Ari Karvelas for 7, having been dropped by the same fielder on the same score in the previous Karvelas over.Back after lunch, Robinson struck another blow by removing Slater for 55 with the ball of the day, pitching on middle and hitting the top of off.Tom Moores flailed at a wide loosener from 20-year-old left-armer Sean Hunt to be caught behind and Liam Patterson-White nicked a loose drive to second slip off Karvelas as Nottinghamshire slipped to 152 for 7.Mullaney was dropped at second slip on 26 and by the keeper on 53 but made the most of his opportunities otherwise, hitting eight fours and two sixes, helping Pattinson add 65 for the eighth wicket.After Pattinson nicked one behind, the last two wickets fell quickly as left-armer Brad Currie, who took 6 for 93 on his debut at Lord’s last week, picked up the final three, including Mullaney who was perhaps unlucky to be given leg before to the left-armer coming round the wicket, before Paterson was caught behind off an inside edge.Nottinghamshire missed out on a second batting bonus point but in the context of the match their 240 began to look a decent effort as Sussex stumbled to 49 for 5.Pattinson pinned Tom Clark leg-before, Paterson produced a beauty to beat Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s defensive push on his return from a stress fracture and then Pattinson took two in five balls, ending Ali Orr’s good start with a ball to match Paterson’s and squaring up Oli Carter for another lbw.Paterson then drew an edge to second slip from James Coles to leave Sussex with half their wickets gone and still 191 behind, but Pujara and Archie Lenham survived the last 18 overs to cut that deficit to 146.

Batter Yash Dhull will lead a 17-member India squad at the next edition of the Under-19 World Cup, to be played across four countries in the Caribbean from January 14 to February 5 next year. The Delhi man’s deputy is SK Rasheed, the batter from Andhra Pradesh.India are grouped with Ireland, South Africa and Uganda in Group B, and start their campaign on January 15 against South Africa in Guyana, followed by fixtures on January 19 against Ireland and on January 22 against Uganda; both those matches will be played in Trinidad & Tobago.Related

• New Zealand withdraw from 2022 Under-19 World Cup

• VVS Laxman to be part of India's U-19 World Cup contingent

Defending champions Bangladesh are in Group A with Canada, England and UAE. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe make up Group C. And Group D has Australia, Scotland, Sri Lanka and hosts West Indies.New Zealand are the only major side that will be missing in this edition of the tournament, after they decided to withdraw owing to “extensive mandatory quarantine restrictions [because of Covid-19] for minors on their return home”. Scotland, who had initially missed qualification in the Europe qualifiers, became the 16th team to participate in New Zealand’s absence.Recently, in November-December, two India Under-19 sides, A and B, faced off against Bangladesh Under-19s in a triangular tournament in Kolkata, but fell short, with the visiting side winning all their matches, except one that was washed out, on their way to the title. The main India squad now has the Under-19 Asia Cup – to be played in the UAE from December 23 – to get its finetuning done.India, four-time title-winners, have been the most successful team in the history of the Under-19 World Cup, with Australia in second place, with three crowns, followed by Pakistan, who have won it twice. India last won the tournament in 2018, when they were led by Prithvi Shaw, and finished runners-up in 2020 to Bangladesh, who won the title for the first time.India’s other successes came in 2000, when they were led by Mohammad Kaif, in 2008, when Virat Kohli was the captain, and in 2012, under Unmukt Chand’s leadership.Squad: Yash Dhull (capt), SK Rasheed (vice-capt), Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Nishant Sindhu, Siddarth Yadav, Aneeshwar Gautam, Dinesh Bana (wk), Aaradhya Yadav (wk), Raj Angad Bawa, Manav Parakh, Kaushal Tambe, RS Hangargekar, Vasu Vats, Vicky Ostwal, Ravikumar, Garv Sangwan.
Stand-by players: Rishit Reddy, Uday Saharan, Ansh Gosai, Amrit Raj Upadhyay, PM Singh Rathore.

Big picture

Chris Gayle made a triple-hundred in Galle, Brian Lara hit 351 runs in one match in Colombo, and 688 in that three-match series, but this has to be one of cricket’s more surprising facts: West Indies have never won a Test in Sri Lanka. Partly this is down to their not having played on the island in their roaring 1980s – Sri Lanka too weak to attract them then perhaps, and too volatile geopolitically to have had a consistent touring schedule anyway. But still, since 1993, these teams have met eleven times in Sri Lanka; they have drawn just four of those games – three on a severely rain-affected tour in late 2010.Related

• Sri Lanka pick Asalanka, Bhanuka for West Indies Tests

• SL fielding coach McDermott tests Covid-19 positive

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On paper, this doesn’t seem like the West Indies team to improve that record, but it is clear this is an improving team. Their batting, for one, looks better than it did in 2016, when they last toured Sri Lanka. On their most-recent trip to South Asia, West Indies had pulled off a chase for the ages, debutant Kyle Mayers hitting 210 not out as West Indies hunted down 385 in Chattogram. They won the second Test, in Dhaka, too. In the next series, against Sri Lanka, in the Caribbean, they established substantial first-innings leads in both matches, even if they would eventually peter out to draws.Sri Lanka aren’t quite ripe for the plucking; Tests are still probably their safest format. But there is a little instability around this outfit that could hypothetically make them vulnerable. This series sees the return of several senior players – including Angelo Mathews – who had felt slighted during the months-long contracts standoff the players were involved in, with the board. This is also Mickey Arthur’s final Test series as coach, and the likes of batting coach Grant Flower, and bowling coach Chaminda Vaas, aren’t guaranteed their positions into next year either.As both matches are due to be played in Galle, spin is likeliest to decide the series. How will these flawed teams use it? How will they play it? On that front, Sri Lanka would seem to have a significant edge, particularly after West Indies’ tour match in Colombo was rained out.

Big picture

(completed matches, most recent first)West Indies LWLLD
Sri Lanka WDDDL

In the spotlight

Kyle Mayers may have created more buzz this year, but West Indies’ most consistent batter, by a slim margin, has been their captain, Kraigg Brathwaite. In 2021, he has hit 556 runs at 34.75, and given most of his 16 innings have come against the brand new Dukes ball, these are laudable numbers. But does he struggle against spin bowling, on turning tracks? He had one outstanding tour of the UAE in 2016, but even with his 328 from that series, his numbers in Asia (average of 28.87), lags behind his career stats. If he can spend substantial time at the crease (in his trademark shades-and-helmet), West Indies will likely make a bigger impact than they did in 2016, when they lost 2-0.66, 118, 244, 75 – so read Dimuth Karunaratne‘s last four Test knocks. The problem is, the most recent of these came way back in May, so it’s not as if you can say he comes into the series in form. Rarely does a home Test series pass by without a serious contribution from him, however, and he is especially good at Galle, where he has produced exceptional innings on tough pitches. West Indies’ bowlers will be desperate to neutralise him early.Dimuth Karunaratne has been Sri Lanka’s most consistent batter in recent Tests•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

The surface is likely to be spin-friendly, but with the amount of rain that’s been around in all parts of the country, the pitch is unlikely to start out very dry. Given the northeast monsoon is still in operation, expect frequent rain interruptions, particularly in the afternoons.

Team news

Sri Lanka had thought about giving Charith Asalanka a debut, but it appears that they will go in with a bowling-heavy side instead, fielding two legspinners – Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama, in addition to offspin-bowling allrounder Ramesh Mendis (Dhananjaya de Silva is also there to contribute with his offbreaks).Dinesh Chandimal is likely to keep wickets, with Niroshan Dickwella suspended for a year over breaking Covid protocols in England.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt.), 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Oshada Fernando, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dhananjaya de Silva, 6 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 7 Ramesh Mendis, 8 Suranga Lakmal, 9 Lasith Embuldeniya, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Praveen Jayawickrama.Jeremy Solozano, the Trinidad opening batter, could also be in line for a debut, as Brathwaite’s opening partner. With Roston Chase capable of delivering half-decent offspin, West Indies will also have to decide which of their other spin options – offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall, or left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican – plays. They could field them both, but that would mean their only serious seam options are Kemar Roach and Jason Holder.West Indies (possible): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt.), 2 Jeremy Solozano, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Kyle Mayers, 7 Rahkeem Cornwall, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Joshua da Silva (wk), 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Jomel Warrican/Jayden Seales

Stats and rivia

• This is West Indies’ second World Test Championship series in the new cycle. They had won one Test and lost one against Pakistan in August, giving them 12 points. For Sri Lanka, this is their first series in the new cycle.
• Kraigg Brathwaite averages 25.75 in four innings in Sri Lanka – his third worst average in host countries, after India (where he averages 19.91), and Bangladesh (21.16).
• Dimuth Karunaratne averages 51.36 in Galle, and averages 47.52 as captain. His career average is 38.62.
• Across conditions, West Indies have won just one of the seven most-recent Tests between these sides. Sri Lanka have won three of them.

West Indies Women are set to tour Pakistan for three ODIs in November ahead of the ODI World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.The matches will be held from November 8 to 14 with all games scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in Karachi. West Indies will then fly directly to Zimbabwe, with the Qualifiers to begin on November 21.Earlier this year, Pakistan Women had toured West Indies for three T20Is and five ODIs, and Johnny Grave, Cricket West Indies’ CEO, said West Indies’ visit to Pakistan this time would serve as ideal preparation “in different conditions” ahead of the Qualifiers.

West Indies Women in Pakistan, 2021

• First ODI: November 8

• Second ODI: November 11

• Third ODI: November 14

“This reciprocal tour to Pakistan is an important part of our preparation plans ahead of the World Cup qualifying tournament that is scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe in mid-November,” Graves said. “This tour to Pakistan will give the team the chance to play in different conditions compared to the Caribbean and have more high level competitive cricket ahead of aiming to secure one of the three qualifying spots available for the Women’s Cricket World Cup next year.”The West Indies players are currently in Antigua for a high-performance training camp as part of their preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers, where they will be one of ten teams to compete for three spots in the tournament proper, to be held in New Zealand next year.Related

• Security alert: New Zealand call off Pakistan tour minutes before first ODI

• England withdraw from October tours to Pakistan

• Zimbabwe to host Women's ODI World Cup qualifier

Meanwhile, Grave sounded confident of the security measures to be provided by Pakistan for the West Indies side, after the New Zealand and England’s men’s teams and England Women, recently pulled out of their Pakistan tours.””The security plan arranged by the PCB is the same high level that the West Indies men’s and women’s teams received when they last toured Pakistan in 2018 and 2019, respectively,” Grave said. “Independent security advisors, Eastern Star International (ESI) have confirmed to both CWI and WIPA [West Indies Players’ Association] that they are satisfied that the risk is manageable and can be mitigated to an acceptable level of safety. We will now take a final recommendation to our Board of Directors before the Selection Panel confirms the squad.”

Former Australia allrounder James Faulkner feels disrespected and shattered following a contract saga that has led to his departure from Hobart Hurricanes.Faulkner, 31, will not play for Hurricanes this year, and appears very unlikely to play in the BBL altogether, after turning down a one-year contract offer that he claims was “pretty embarrassing”.Faulkner made the comments on , in an interview with close friend and Australia Test captain Tim Paine who was co-hosting the show.”I found it pretty hard to take when I first heard it on the phone,” Faulkner said. “I found it pretty disrespectful for what I’ve sort of given to Tasmanian cricket. I’ve put my heart and soul into it and to hear their initial offer, and that is what it all comes down to, it cut pretty deep.”I know what I’m worth. I’ve signed enough contracts around the world for different teams. I didn’t want more. I just wanted what was fair and what I thought I was worth and even maybe a little bit less. But it just comes back to that first offer. I didn’t feel respected as a player or a person or a Tasmanian athlete. I’m just shattered how it has all played out.”Faulkner, who last played international cricket for Australia in 2017, joined Hurricanes in his home state of Tasmania ahead of the 2018-19 BBL season after seven years at Melbourne Stars on a three-year deal that finished at the end of last season.Related

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He has been plagued by a series of injuries since his international career ended and played just 12 of 29 matches in the last two BBL seasons. Last season he suffered a serious hamstring injury which ended his tournament in December. Faulkner said it was unfair for his injuries to be used against him in the negotiations.”They just used injury the whole time against me, really,” he said. “Last season I had an eight-week hamstring I did at the Gabba and tried to come back in three-and-a-half weeks and put my body on the line to come back so we had a shot at making finals and we weren’t really in the mix at that stage, which I’m happy to do and I’ll always do that. But for the coach to use that against me, I felt was wrong.”He also took aim at head coach Adam Griffith following comments he made at a press conference last week.”When you watch the news, and you see who I thought was one of my mates, as well as the head coach, say the bowling group and the team have performed well without me, first of all, and then secondly saying, we need to move on and that he didn’t really care – that cuts deep,” Faulkner said. “That’s like sticking a knife straight in my back. That’s not called for.Faulkner also claimed the lengthy BBL embargo period on contract signings had left him in limbo.”I’ve had teams make contact but the issue we have is the fact there was an embargo period with Cricket Australia and obviously you can’t speak throughout that,” Faulkner said.”And obviously because the contract negotiation went on for so long teams obviously want to sign their list. So I was sort of left stranded six months down the line. Other lists were full and that’s the big thing that hurts.”I wouldn’t have wanted to play for any other franchise anyway. The whole reason I came to the Hurricanes was to finish here and play in front of my family and friends and play with some of my best teammates that I have great memories with and for that not to happen it’s bloody disappointing.”However, teams, players, and agents are allowed to talk informally during the embargo period and often do. The embargo only applies to binding agreements meaning no contracts can be formally signed.Faulkner will now ply his trade in various leagues around the world. He performed well in this year’s PSL for Lahore Qalandars taking 13 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 6.50. He will also look to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 and the Lanka Premier League.

Kurtis Patterson hopes having the New South Wales captaincy to focus on will help free up his batting as he searches for a return to the form that earned him two Test caps three seasons ago.Since playing for Australia, and scoring a maiden century in his second outing against Sri Lanka, Patterson has endured a frustrating couple of seasons: first through injury which disrupted his 2019-2020 campaign followed by a struggle for runs last year as he averaged just 21.29 in the Sheffield Shield.He admitted considering whether it was the right time take over the Sheffield Shield captaincy from Peter Nevill amid looking for a batting revival. Having had a taste of the role at the end of last season, though, he believes having other areas of responsibility will be an advantage.”I guess being able to do it last year doing for the one-day final and the last couple of Shield games was good for me to see how I reacted and how I thought with it,” he said. “To be honest with you, half of my battle with my batting is getting myself out of my own head, so the captaincy does that naturally because you can’t just think about yourself, you have to think about the rest of the team.Related

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“I certainly felt that when I was batting last year as captain that it allowed me to kind of see the bigger picture. But it certainly was something that I thought about because at the end of the day, even now that I am captain, first and foremost I’m a batter, certainly when we are batting it’s no longer Kurtis the captain I have to perform as a batter.”It’s something that I probably won’t really know the answer to until we’re in the depths of the season, but last year I felt really comfortable, it didn’t feel like it hindered my batting at all. It felt if anything like it helped. So looking forward to hopefully seeing that come through again this year.”Although Patterson’s only substantial score last season was the 102 he made against South Australia, he felt he had found something close to his best rhythm during the Sheffield Shield final against Queensland, where he scored 43 in the first innings against a strong attack in demanding conditions.That had coincided with him delving back into footage of the run of scores he had in the 2018-19 summer, which included twin centuries for a Cricket Australia XI in Hobart and the Test century in Canberra, as well as a conversation with New South Wales batting coach Chandika Hathurusingha.”I feel like I’d got to a place that I was satisfied with before the Shield final and it wasn’t until before the final that I’d looked back on my lead up, my Test series I played, and the Australia A game,” Patterson said. “I watched some footage and just tried to focus on one or two of the basic things that I did well. Really they were just being still at point of release and looking to get forward.”I had a really good chat with Chandika, just spoke about simplifying things as much as we can. I only scored 40-odd in that Shield final but in terms of just the way I felt, it felt like I was back to my normal self, which was nice in a way but also a bit disappointing that it took me the whole season to work that out.”I think that was just I was just lacking confidence last year coming off coming off the injury the year before, there was probably an extra layer of thought in my head that probably didn’t need to be there. It was a challenging year for everyone. It’s been nice to take a step back and take learnings out of it.”

Small targets. Big drama. The story has done the rounds for as long as there has been Test cricket and yet another riveting chapter was added to it at Sabina Park.West Indies were set 168 to win. But they ended up battered and bruised and barely standing as Pakistan, and especially Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali, went into mode.A match that had ebbed and flowed, forever refusing to reveal a clear winner, had come to an unbelievable climax. One team needed 17 runs. The other needed one wicket. Anything was possible.”I have never been in a situation like that before, batting with the tail,” Kemar Roach, a professional cricketer of 13 years, said after play. “I am part of the tail, so for me it was to go out there and believe. That was the biggest thing – to believe and stay positive – and it worked, and I give thanks.”Roach’s strength of will translated into 30 unbeaten, match-winning runs. His experience shepherded the 19-year old Seales, who had already announced that he was ready for the big stage by picking up 5 for 55 on Saturday, through a last-wicket partnership that just wouldn’t be broken, even across four high-pressure overs.”The plan was to just stay positive. That’s me,” Roach said. “I was just trying to take on every ball as it came. This is by far the most important innings so far. I was just trying to pick the gaps and run hard. My advice to Jayden was just protect the stumps. The biggest threat is the straight ball. He did it very well. He is a star for the future. His five wickets today speaks wonders about our cricket. All the best to him, and I wish him a great career!”Seales’ contribution to West Indies’ victory – eight wickets and an equally crucial two runs off 13 balls – earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. It also left him speechless. “Test cricket has been a dream come true for me,” he managed in the end as he picked up his prize and walked away during the presentation.So it was up to his captain to come up with some suitable words, much as it had been down to him to come up with a suitable total in the first innings. Kraigg Brathwaite’s 97 off 221 deliveries was the highest individual score across all four innings of an extremely tight game. “We never lost hope,” he said. “It was truly amazing. I thought Pakistan bowled really well. It is about patience – who has more patience will come out on top.”Last week, Phil Simmons, the West Indies coach, had pulled his batters up, demanding more runs from them, but he has rarely had a bad thing to say about his bowlers. And in the end, with light fading and tensions rising, they were the ones that stood up to be counted yet again.

Nathan Sowter produced his best Vitality Blast figures of the season as Middlesex’s bowlers staged an impressive fightback to see off Sussex Sharks by 63 runs. The legspinner finished with 3 for 13, while teenage seamer Blake Cullen returned a career-best three for 21 to successfully defend a score of 166 for 7 at Lord’s.That total was concentrated around Stephen Eskinazi’s 59 from 35 balls, making him the tournament’s leading scorer, but Middlesex still looked light on runs. However, the Sharks – whose quarter-final hopes had already been dented by five washouts in their previous six games – could only manage 103 for 9 in reply.Sussex inserted their hosts after winning the toss, but they looked understandably rusty in the field as Eskinazi and Max Holden, promoted to opener, built a solid platform during the Powerplay.The pair shared a partnership of 85 from 54 balls, with Eskinazi placing his shots shrewdly as he passed 50 for the fourth time in as many Blast innings. Holden swatted Tymal Mills’ first two deliveries for four and six, advancing to 38 before he holed out off Archie Lenham and when Eskinazi perished in similar fashion, scooping Will Beer to deep extra cover, Middlesex lost their way.A tight over by Ravi Bopara – in which he dismissed the dangerous Daryl Mitchell with a slower ball – turned the tide, while Mills came back strongly from his earlier mauling to finish with 2 for 31.The Sharks conceded just 32 from their last six overs, along with collecting five wickets as Middlesex laboured to what looked a below-par total. However, they swiftly removed both Sussex openers, with Luke Wright spooning Tom Helm to the diving Steven Finn, while Phil Salt drilled Mujeeb Ur Rahman straight to midwicket.Mujeeb’s initial spell of three overs for 13 created pressure and Sowter compounded it by bowling Aaron Thomason with his first delivery – while Cullen’s second accounted for David Wiese, hooking into the hands of Holden at deep square leg.Sussex’s best chance appeared to rest with Travis Head, who announced himself with a trio of boundaries off Helm, but the Australian was next to depart for 23, dragging a bottom edge from Cullen on to his stumps.With Holden taking another running catch to dismiss Bopara off Sowter, the Sharks’ cause looked hopeless at 59 for 6 and so it proved, despite a promising knock of 22 by debutant Harrison Ward.