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ScorecardAllrounder Gareth Berg produced a match-winning performance as Hampshire began their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign with a thrilling two-wicket win over Sussex with four balls to spare at Hove.Sussex looked favourites when Hashim Amla was sixth out for 63 to leave Hampshire needing 118 from 15.5 overs to overhaul Sussex’s 250. But Lewis McManus and Berg thrashed 59 from 37 balls for the seventh wicket and although McManus was caught behind in the 41st over with 57 still needed Berg unleashed some powerful shots and farmed the strike effectively, although he should have been run out on 47 when he slipped backing up too far only for David Wiese to miss with his throw at the stumps.There was another twist when Berg, who had earlier taken 3 for 51, was caught at deep midwicket in the 47th over off Ollie Robinson for 65, made from 37 deliveries with eight fours and two sixes, to leave his side needing 15 off 20 balls.But Mason Crane and Reece Topley kept their nerve and when Mason drilled Robinson back down the ground for a precious boundary, it meant three were needed off the final over. Topley scrambled a leg bye off the first ball from Ishant Sharma then Crane crashed the next to the cover rope to seal victory.Amla had set things up with 63 from 83 balls and Sussex were to rue that they dropped him on 35, when Sharma spilled an easy chance at mid-off, and again on 54 when the same player dropped a more difficult opportunity off his own bowling. Amla could only hit three boundaries but he held the innings together and allowed McManus and Berg to take the initiative.Earlier, Sussex batsman Harry Finch had made his maiden one-day hundred a fortnight after scoring his first Championship century on the same ground.Wicketkeeper McManus dropped him on 12 off Topley and then on 98 Crane put down a sharp return catch. Finch celebrated by hitting his seventh boundary off the next ball to move to his hundred. He was eventually bowled by Berg for 108 off 142 balls with eight fours and two sixes, both off Berg.Topley, playing his first one-day game for more than a year after a succession of injuries, picked up Wells in his first over but Finch and Luke Wright, who was playing his 200th List A game, added 105 in 22 overs before Wright top-edged a sweep at Crane. Wiese, with 29 off 20 balls, hit out towards the end of the innings to take Sussex to a total that always looked competitive on a pitch on which it became increasingly difficult to time the ball.Robinson picked Rilee Rossouw and James Vince in an excellent new-ball spell and Sussex seemed to be in control before McManus and Berg turned the tables.

ScorecardGlenn Maxwell could face a nervous wait to see whether there is a place for him at the start of the one-day series against England after his second failure in three days. He was the only one of the Australians’ top order not to make a start against Middlesex at Lord’s as Travis Head’s century anchored the innings before the home side’s chase faded away.Maxwell was lbw sweeping at left-arm spinner Ravi Patel as Middlesex’s trio of spinners did an excellent job – none more so than 20-year-old Max Holden who bowled his 10 overs for 29 – in throttling the Australians’ innings in a similar manner to how Sussex fought back a couple of days ago. On that occasion, Maxwell drove the part-time legspin of Luke Wells to mid-off for 1 and his lack of runs in England follow on from a lean IPL.The Australians shuffled their batting order for this outing with Head promoted to open – back to the position where he finished the previous series against England – Aaron Finch slipping down to the middle and Shaun Marsh replacing Marcus Stoinis at No. 3, after Stoinis showed his form with a century against Sussex.Billy Stanlake was also brought in and his height added another dimension to the attack. He did George Scott for pace, the middle stump sent flying back towards the wicketkeeper, and had Holden caught at midwicket off a short delivery for a superbly constructed run-a-ball 71 which highlighted the promise so many around Middlesex talk of.After D’arcy Short had briefly cut loose, before falling to a brilliant catch at midwicket by Nathan Sowter, Head and Marsh added 114 for the second wicket although progress became sluggish against spin with timing difficult on a slightly two-paced surface.Holden, a former England Under-19 captain playing just his fifth List A match, broke the stand in his final over for a deserved scalp when Marsh chipped to midwicket. He conceded just one boundary in his 10 overs, and bowled an unchanged spell from the Nursery End, generally bowling the ball hard into the surface with the occasional one straightening on the left-handers.After Maxwell came and went, Head formed another substantial stand of 89 with Finch. Head reached a carefully compiled hundred from 133 deliveries before edging a cut off the legspin of Sowter. Finch clubbed three sixes in his 54 off 52 balls to continue his productive start to the trip, but overall it was a rather old-school one-day innings from the Australians.”We were a bit slow, they bowled quite well so credit to them,” Head said. “They made it challenging for myself and Shaun. We’ve definitely talked about ways that we can keep improving. I didn’t score as quickly as I would have liked through the middle overs but I was able to stay out there and build a partnership with Shaun and then Aaron to give ourselves a chance at the end to push the run-rate up which we were able to and get a winning score.”I enjoyed getting back up the order, getting out there and getting a hit. I felt like I’ve been in good form. I haven’t got the runs I would have liked in the early part of the season for Worcester but it’s nice to get out here with the boys and perform.”In reply, Middlesex started brightly before Nick Gubbins, who had flicked one six over the short Tavern boundary, bunted a return catch to Michael Neser who grabbed it one-handed to his right.Spin played less of a part for the Australians than it had for Middlesex, but Ashton Agar struck in his first over when Stevie Eskinazi’s top-edged sweep found deep square leg and later Short struck with his first delivery, a long-hop, that his Western Australia team-mate Hilton Cartwright deposited down long-on’s throat.Middlesex are desperate to find Holden – who went out on loan to Northamptonshire last season – a regular spot at the top of the order and he gave a glimpse of why as he struck eight boundaries in a composed display. But he fell soon after Cartwright’s dismissal and with him went Middlesex’s chances of pushing for victory.The last five wickets fell for 22 runs, the bustling Neser collecting a second and Kane Richardson three as all the Australian bowlers found success. They do, however, still have plenty of questions to answer before the opening ODI at The Oval on Wednesday.

Twelve state associations of the BCCI have informed the Supreme Court that they are ready to implement the Lodha Committee reforms barring four exceptions, the board’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said a day before a fresh Supreme Court hearing.

State associations that have sent the undertaking to the amicus curiae

• Andhra

• Assam

• Goa

• Jharkhand

• Kerala

• Mumbai

• Rajasthan

• Railways

• Tripura

• Universities

• Uttar Pradesh

• Vidarbha

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which is believed to be against the reforms, is not among the 12 that have agreed to implement them. Maharashtra is the 13th association to have agreed, but because it has run into legal trouble lately, Choudhary didn’t count it. According to the BCCI constitution, a three-fourths majority is required for the reforms to be implemented.The Supreme Court had asked the BCCI office bearers – who had given an undertaking they would ensure the reforms were implemented – to submit their suggestions regarding difficulties in implementing the reforms. The four points the 12 associations found difficult to implement were ‘one state, one vote’, the three year cooling-off period after a term, the constitution of the all-powerful apex council, and the distribution of power and functions between elected representatives of the board and its professional wing.The most significant suggestion put forward by these 12 states is for the board to have six representatives in the apex council as opposed to the one suggested in the Lodha reforms. “The apex council as presently contemplated has three office bearers, which will go up to five,” Choudhary said. “There will be one who represents the board, which will be 37 members, and two for players. Insofar as the board is related, the country is very, very large, therefore my submission is that each zone including a separate zone from northeast, so six representatives.”The implementation of ‘one state, one vote’ and the cooling-off period “doesn’t seem practical” to these 12 associations. The argument against ‘one state, one vote’ has been made in the past, and revolves around the role played by the traditional associations such as Mumbai, Baroda, Saurashtra in big states. They are against the cooling-off period because, according to them, if the two other restrictions – an age cap of 70 years and a total cumulative tenure of nine years – of an official’s tenure are implemented successfully, “the further restraint becomes unnecessary”.”Besides this, you have to contemplate the situation that the office bearers run for three years, then totally new faces come up,” Choudhary said. “That will mean no continuity.”Regarding the exception to the strength of the national selection committee – three now as opposed to five earlier – the 12 states are happy to comply given the team has managed with three for a while now. Given the amount of cricket played in India, though, they would still prefer five selectors.However, in its draft constitution submitted in December 2017, the court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had effectively put aside most of the objections raised.”Each State shall be represented by a state cricket association duly recognised by the BCCI and such associations shall be Full Members,” the draft states. “No State shall have more than one Full Member at any given point of time.” In states with multiple current members, the Full Membership – and its rights and privileges – shall rotate annually among them. The basis of that rotation will be framed by the BCCI.”No office bearer – whether in the BCCI or the state association – shall have consecutive terms,” the draft says. “Further, once an office bearer has completed a term of three years he/she shall not be a member of the governing council or any committee for the next three years.”

When MS Dhoni’s India arrived at Southampton in 2014, the visitors’ dressing room was brimming with confidence and belief. India were leading 1-0 in the five-match Test series going into the third match. The lead had come at Lord’s in the second Test, a memorable result for India: Ajinkya Rahane cracked a century; Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma grabbed career-best figures in an innings; and Lord’s was entranced by Ravindra Jadeja’s cavalier half-century, which he celebrated with a sword dance.England captain Alastair Cook’s career was on the line when he went to toss at the Ageas Bowl. Early on he edged Pankaj Singh. Unfortunately for India, Jadeja spilled an easy catch in the slips. The story after that is well known: Cook scored a gritty 95, England won that Test and the next two. India were wounded.Four years on, India have returned to Southampton. Although Joe Root’s England lead the series 2-1, Virat Kohli’s India feel they have the momentum after a crushing victory at Trent Bridge achieved with a collective effort similar to that Lord’s win in 2014. And Kohli believes India hold the edge with two Tests to go.That belief comes from the way India have adapted and learned from situations. At Edgbaston and Lord’s all the batsmen, barring Kohli, failed to show any application to survive the conditions and England’s bowling plans. Their slip fielders frustrated the fast bowlers by spilling catches.But at Trent Bridge the openers wiped the sheen off the Dukes ball, the partnerships prospered, the fast bowlers dominated, the debutant wicketkeeper and the slips held onto the catches nicely and the captain continued with his good form with the bat. India entered Nottingham with a series defeat a realistic possibility. They left Nottingham with a series-levelling victory in Southampton a realistic possibility.Kohli picked out the one crucial difference between the India side of 2014 and now is how the players have seized the situation in a match.”Last time around I can’t really pinpoint as to what we did wrong or maybe England played much better than us,” he said. “We probably didn’t have the experience to capitalise on the lead is how I see things four years down the line. Right now we understand that we are in a very exciting position to have gained momentum at the right time in the series, and to have played like that when 2-0 down when everyone thought that it is going to be a clean sweep or we are going to be rolled over. But we understood how we are playing and how we have been playing for the last few months and it was just about capitalising on the big moments during the Test match.”The other significant difference between the two India teams is the current fast bowling attack. Ishant Sharma has bowled and behaved as the captain of the attack. Mohammed Shami has built the pressure with high pace and fuller lengths. Jasprit Bumrah, in his first match of the series, created angles that bamboozled England. Hardik Pandya, too, stepped up his pace and displayed his bowling smartness, wrapping up England’s middle order in a spell of 29 balls in the first innings at Trent Bridge. India’s fast men now have a grip over the England batsmen.”They’ve been bowling well as a unit which is the most exciting thing for me as a captain and for the whole team,” Kohli said. “Be it a spell or bowling in a partnership, we feel happy when we are at the ground, at slips or even outside. It gives us happiness when we see our bowlers rushing the opposite batsmen. The game remains in balance and doesn’t shift completely to one side. We don’t think we are at a disadvantage when it comes to pace bowling. We think we are equal to any team in the world and if we play well, we can win anywhere.”Despite the self-confidence Kohli was well aware that India still can lose the series if they let their focus slip so they cannot afford to sit back now. “As cricketers we understand when the Test match goes away from you and we spoke about recognising that and making sure that we are relentless and ruthless in terms of capitalising on those important moments which we did in Nottingham.”But also to understand that we will have to do that two more times for us to achieve the goal that we want to. And not be satisfied with one victory, because if Nottingham was hard work this is going to be even harder. England would want to come back strongly. We understand that and we will have to be even better with what we did in Nottingham to be able to get results our way.”

Alastair Cook says that he will retire from international cricket at the end of the forthcoming Oval Test knowing that he managed to dredge every ounce out of his ability.Cook, who will retire after an England record 161 Test appearances, said that his decision to stand down had come during a six-month period in which he felt that he had mislaid the mental edge that had carried him to more than 12,000 Test runs over a 12-year career.”It’s hard to put it into words, but over the last six months, there’ve been signs in my mind that this was going to happen,” Cook told reporters at The Oval. “I told Rooty [Joe Root] before the game [at the Ageas Bowl], then told Trevor [Bayliss] during the game.””For me, I’ve always had that mental edge, I’ve always been mentally incredibly tough, and that edge had gone,” he added. “That stuff which I’d found easy before was just wasn’t quite there, and for me that was the biggest sign.”Asked if he had considered asking for a sabbatical to reassess his game after an extraordinary 158 Test appearances in a row, Cook insisted that burn-out was not the issue that he had been contending with, in spite of averaging less than 20 in nine Tests in 2018.”It did cross my mind briefly, as the decision became clear in my mind, but if you are looking over the last two or three years, I haven’t played a huge amounts of games, and I’ve never felt that getting on another plane has been the struggle. You can have six months off and come back, but I still don’t think it would have been there.”You ask people about [retirement] along the way, and they said that when you know, you know. And for me that was so true.”The rest of the team was informed of his decision the aftermath of England’s 60-run victory over India at the Ageas Bowl, a result which ensured a series win against the No.1 Test team and allowed Cook to go public with his decision ahead of a dead rubber in the final match.”In this day and age, it’s very hard to keep anything quiet,” he said. “If it was 2-2 I would have had to keep my mouth shut. But when you do media and are asked questions, it’s hard to constantly lie, to be brutally honest.”I was a couple of beers in and I needed to be, otherwise I’d have cried more than I actually did,” he added. “But I managed to hold it together. At the end of the game, I just said it might be good news for some, but sad for others, but it’s time. I’ve done my bit and, if picked, the next game will be my last game. That was all I said.There was a bit of silence, then Mo said something, and we got on with it and had a nice evening in the changing room.”The confirmation of Cook’s impending retirement was then announced on Monday morning, leading to a wealth of tributes across the cricket media.”It’s a bit surreal,” Cook added. “One of my friends rang to check I was still alive, because everyone had been talking as if I’ve died. It’s obviously nice to hear so many nice words said about you. For the last couple of days I’ve been back at home and hadn’t seen much of it, until I let myself have a look last night.”The eulogies were richly deserved, given how much Cook had given to England’s cause in the course of his record-breaking Test career. Inevitably, he picked out his central role in England’s victories in Australia in 2010-11 and India in 2012-13 as his finest hours.”You can’t really look past those two away series,” he said. “That was the best I could play, and in my career as a whole, I can look back and say I became the best player I could have become. That means quite a lot to me. I’ve never been the most talented cricketer, and I don’t pretend I was, but I definitely got everything out of my ability.”Cook admitted that his lowest ebb had come in the midst of the 2014 summer, when England lost first to Sri Lanka and then went 1-0 down against India, and all against the backdrop of the sacking of Kevin Pietersen, a situation that Cook admitted he wished had been handled differently.”The KP affair was a tough year, absolutely no doubt about that,” he said. “The fallout of that wasn’t good for English cricket or for me, but I was involved in that decision without being the bloke that made the final decision.”I think that’s when it was real tough but I didn’t throw the towel in,” he added. “I still believe I was the best man for the job and the right man to be England captain at that time. I could have taken the easy option and thrown the towel in, but I didn’t, and the team got the reward with the Ashes in 2015.”Asked if he was the last of a dying breed of Test specialists, Cook replied: “I think naturally kids are going to be more attracted by the razzmatazz of T20. I’ve seen it in the youngsters in the Essex team, their attacking game is better than their defensive game, and that is fact.”I’m not sure I’m the last of a dying breed but there are cricketers of my ilk who are naturally suited to the red ball rather than white ball. The kids have the diet of T20. We played T20 when we were younger, but we still built an innings in the first five overs, rather than whack it over the keepers’ head third ball.”As for his ambitions for the final Test of his career, Cook added: “It would be fantastic [to bow out on a high], but it would be great for England to win most importantly – 4-1 sounds better than 3-2. If I can play a good innings, that would be fantastic.”

Don’t read too much into it, but South Africa took the lead in the three-match T20I series against England after winning a game initially reduced to nine overs a side by batting for 7.5 and then defending an adjusted five-over target.Wet conditions in Cardiff stalked the match throughout as play began two hours and 20 minutes after the scheduled 6.30pm start, and was then interrupted with seven balls remaining in South Africa’s innings.South Africa were on track for a total over 100 thanks to a top-score of 28 from captain Aiden Markram, who sold for R14 million (US$800,000 approx.) at Tuesday’s SA20 auction and hit two fours and two sixes in the 14 balls he faced. Markam shared in a 32-run second-wicket stand with Lhuan-dre Pretorius before Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira put on 36 off 15 balls to form the spine of a competitive total.A heavy burst of rain ended South Africa’s innings prematurely and England were set a reduced target of 69 of 30 balls. With a required run rate of 13.8 an over, their task was always going to be tough but losing Phil Salt and Harry Brook for ducks made it even more difficult. Jos Buttler returned to the top of the order and scored 25 off 11 but needed support against South Africa’s top seamers to challenge for the result to go England’s way.

Wood proves his worth

England made a late change to include left-arm seamer Luke Wood in their XI in place of Jofra Archer, who was wrapped in cotton wool in wet conditions. Wood seized his opportunity: his second ball, and first to the left-handed Ryan Rickelton, swung away, Rickelton drove with no footwork and edged to Buttler for a golden duck.Luke Wood claimed Ryan Rickelton for a first-ball duck•AFP/Getty Images

Markram hit Wood over mid-off for the innings’ first boundary later in that over, then back over his head for six and over mid-on for four at the start of his second over but Wood came back well. Pretorius tried to hit over the leg side but miscued towards mid-off where Brook dived forward to take a stunning catch and Wood ended with 2 for 22.

Brevis justifies the big bucks

After breaking the SA20 pay record and selling for R16.5 million (approx US$944,000) a little over 24 hours ago, Brevis is expected to produce big things and he delivered. When Liam Dawson was brought on in the fifth over, Brevis played the no-look six first up and then smashed a low full toss into the sightscreen for six more. He is a strong player of spin and dispatched Adil Rashid too, over midwicket for his third six.But when Sam Curran was brought on, to bowl his first international spell of the year, he foxed Brevis with an ultra-slow slower ball that Brevis played too early and edged to third. Still, his cameo in partnership with Ferreira showed off his quality – and the reason Pretoria Capitals were willing to splash the cash.Dewald Brevis drills a six down the ground•AFP/Getty Images

Welcome back, South Africa’s strike bowlers

The wisdom of picking Kagiso Rabada, who sat out the ODIs in both England and Australia with ankle inflammation and will have a big role to play in upcoming tours to Pakistan and India, and Marco Jansen, who has not played for almost three months, could have been questioned but both seemed keen to be back.Rabada’s first ball back was full to Phil Salt, who picked out Kwena Maphaka at deep backward square with precision. Rabada barely had time to celebrate his early strike before Buttler hit his fourth and fifth balls, both pace-off, for four and then six to close out the over strongly.Jansen beat Jacob Bethell to start but was then dispatched over midwicket for six before he had him caught at cover. After Brook missed a coupe, Jansen then found extra bounce to beat his uppercut and ended with a slower ball. He bowled a second over, mixed up his pace well and ended with the wicket of Buttler, caught off the inside edge, to end the game as a contest.South Africa were without Lungi Ngidi, ruled out of the series with a hamstring strain sustained at training on Tuesday, and Keshav Maharaj, who tweaked his groin during the warm-ups. Nandre Burger will replace Ngidi – who is due to fly home on Thursday – and will join up with the squad ahead of Friday’s second T20I in Manchester.

Will Smale scored the first hundred of his professional cricket career but as Glamorgan, the Metro Bank One-Day Cup’s reigning champions, still lost to a Ben Foakes-inspired Surrey in a rain-shortened affair.Smale, a 24-year-old from Newport playing his 15th List A match, finished on 105 not out from 106 balls and was chiefly responsible for Glamorgan reaching a 50-over total of 308 for 7 at The Kia Oval.But Foakes, captaining Surrey after Ryan Patel turned his ankle in the pre-match warm-ups, smashed 43 not out from just 17 balls and was joined by Josh Blake in an extraordinary stand of 77 in six overs that snatched the game away from Glamorgan.Heavy rain forced a delay of two hours and twenty minutes after Surrey had made 21 for 1 from 5.1 overs. That resulted in a revised target of 146 in 16 overs, following Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculations and a 5.50pm restart, meaning 125 more runs were needed in 10.5 remaining overs.It looked a stiff task but, with 40 still needed from the last three overs, Foakes hit leg-side sixes off Kiran Carlson and Andy Gorvin – after Blake had also struck Carlson for a maximum to long-on.With eight only now required from the final over, Blake hit the first ball for four before being bowled for 27 by Dan Douthwaite’s third ball. And then, in a slightly farcical finish, Douthwaite bowled a high leg-side no-ball, giving new batsman Cameron Steel a free hit. And when he hit high to deep mid-wicket, from another no-ball, Surrey had won with three balls to spare.Will Smale hit his first Glamorgan hundred•Getty Images

Put in by Surrey, the Welsh county initially stuttered to 213 for 6 in the 39th over before Smale was joined by Alex Horton in a superb seventh-wicket partnership of 86 in ten overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Horton, 21 and with just 18 previous white-ball appearances behind him, contributed a jaunty 35 from 30 balls while Smale pressed the accelerator in impressive style at the other end.There were three sixes and seven fours eventually in Smale’s first score of 50 or more in List A cricket, with fast bowler James Taylor and legspinning allrounder Steel bearing the brunt of his late assault.For most of Glamorgan’s innings, however, it seemed as if a predominantly youthful and inexperienced Surrey bowling attack was doing a fine job of working their way through a strong-looking batting line-up.Slow-arm spinner Yousuf Majid might have finished wicketless but he conceded only 41 runs from his ten overs across several spells while fast bowlers Nathan Barnwell and Alex French took 3 for 55 and 2 for 49 respectively.Barnwell had both Sam Northeast (24) and Carlson (25) caught at the wicket before later seeing Zain ul-Hassan lift a straightforward catch to mid-on, while 18-year-old rookie French put the embarrassment of bowling multiple wides in his opening over with the new ball to have Eddie Byrom caught for 9 in his second.French, playing his second List A game, also removed Asa Tribe for 16 in the 12th over and Glamorgan were in danger of underachieving when Douthwaite edged a legcutter from Taylor to give keeper Blake the third of his four catches.Smale and Horton, though, built their stand with steady accumulation at first and then explosive acceleration, with Surrey’s bowlers seemingly powerless to prevent 91 runs being plundered from the final ten overs of the innings.Rory Burns, inside-edging to keeper Horton as he jumped down the pitch on 12 to seamer Ul-Hassan, was an early Surrey casualty and after the restart there was a steady fall of wickets in a frantic finale.Nikhil Gorantla and Ollie Sykes fell swiping – Sykes after two powerful straight fours off Gorvin – and Adam Thomas took 21 off slow left-armer Romano Franco’s only over, including successive blows of 4, 4, 6, 6 before being spectacularly caught diving backwards at long-off by Carlson off Gorvin for 34.

Big picture

This is not an ODI World Cup year. The series between West Indies and India is not part of the World Cup Super League. Both teams finished their previous 50-over assignments less than a week ago. So what can one expect during these three ODIs?After clinching both white-ball series in England, India have rested Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, while KL Rahul is on the recovery path after a hernia surgery. That means some of their back-up players – under stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan – will get a full series than just a one-off game here and there.

Live in the USA

If you’re in America, you can watch Friday’s first ODI between West Indies and India live on ESPN+

West Indies, on the other hand, are on a six-match losing streak in the format, and have one of the worst win-loss ratios in ODI cricket this year. To put things back on track, their captain Nicholas Pooran and coach Phil Simmons have asked their players to make sure they bat out full 50 overs, something they have struggled with of late. Since January 2021, West Indies have batted first 12 times in ODI cricket; on nine occasions, they failed to last their full allocation of overs.In good news for the hosts, Jason Holder is back after having been rested for the Bangladesh series. His presence will lend the side the much-needed experience not just in the bowling department but also in the lower middle order.Related

• 'Doing things together' key to the Shikhar Dhawan way

• Which teams have had more than six captains in a calendar year?

• Hosein, Motie and Seales among talents who could challenge India

• WI ODIs a chance for India's bench to prove its strength

• Simmons puts faith in struggling WI batters, adds voice for better pitches

Form guide

West Indies LLLLL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India WLWWW

In the spotlight

Nicholas Pooran was one of the few bright spots for West Indies during their white-ball series against Bangladesh. If the hosts are to challenge India, Pooran will once again have to lead from the front. The good thing from West Indies’ perspective is that their captain has a favourable record against India: 354 runs in nine innings, at an average of 44.25 and a strike rate of 107.59.Shikhar Dhawan will be key for India in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli•AFP/Getty Images

Shikhar Dhawan might be the stand-in captain for the series but his recent form with the bat hasn’t been great. In his last five ODIs, Dhawan has made 112 runs at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 61.53. It has been 20 innings since he last made a hundred in the format. In the absence of experienced players, India will want Dhawan to find his form back.

Team news

Keemo Paul didn’t bowl in the final ODI against Bangladesh after sustaining a hamstring injury. While Simmons is happy with his recovery, West Indies will take a call on his inclusion on the eve of the match. With Holder and Kyle Mayers in the squad as other seam-bowling allrounders, they may not want to rush him though. Apart from Paul, Keacy Carty could be the other one to miss out from the 13-member squad.West Indies (probable): 1 Shai Hope (wk), 2 Brandon King, 3 Shamarh Brooks, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Nicholas Pooran (capt), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Akeal Hosein, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Gudakesh Motie, 11 Jayden SealesIndia have plenty of decisions to make. Who will open with Dhawan? What will the seam-bowling attack look like? Do they pick Shardul Thakur at No. 8? They can choose from Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill to open with Dhawan. Among seamers, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh are their options. What is certain, though, is Ravindra Jadeja has a niggle that could keep him out of the series opener at least.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad/Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Avesh Khan/Prasidh Krishna, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and conditions

After Pooran criticised the pitches used for the ODI series against Bangladesh in Guyana, one expects the Queen’s Park Oval to offer a better contest between bat and ball. To Simmons, the surfaces here look better prepared, but the venue last hosted an international match in 2019. So it needs to be seen how they play out. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy with the temperature hovering around 30°C.

Stats and trivia

• India have won eight of their last nine matches at the Queen’s Park Oval. The other game was washed out.
• Dhawan will be India’s seventh captain across formats this calendar year.
• Among Full Member players, Akeal Hosein is the leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket this year. In 14 games so far, he has picked up 22 wickets at an economy of 4.90.

Quotes

“He [Holder] looks fresh, he had some time out of the game. He has been bowling well for the last two days and actually batting well too. So it’s good to have him back.”

Rohit Sharma has hailed Virat Kohli’s “work ethic” and his attitude of “never letting things go no matter what” following his first T20I century in India’s Asia Cup fixture against Afghanistan. In turn, Kohli credited the “space” Rohit and Rahul Dravid have given him upon his return from a six-week break for the recent success.”Personally, since I’ve come back from a break where I didn’t touch the bat for the longest time in the 13-14 years I’ve played, a lot of things were put into perspective,” Kohli told Rohit in a chat on BCCI’s official portal. “I got a lot of clarity from you guys [pointing to Rohit] and the team management, to just allow me to bat. That was very important.Related

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“The space I got made me feel very relaxed. When I returned, I was excited to see how I could contribute to the team. Playing this way was important for me because the World Cup is big and if I play well, I can contribute big for the team.”I’d spoken to Rahul [Dravid] three-four days back, where batting first, especially the middle overs phase, how I can improve my strike rate. My only goal was to work on whatever I need to improve, I will try it at the Asia Cup. I honestly didn’t expect it [to score a T20I century]. I was shocked, [and] as you also mentioned after that, no one expected a century from me in this format after a long time. I was pleasantly surprised, grateful and honest.”Kohli finished the Asia Cup with 276 runs in five innings, striking at 147.59. After India’s game against Afghanistan, he was the leading run-getter in the tournament, 64 ahead of second-placed Mohammad Rizwan. He had made two fifties and a century, his 71st in international cricket and first in over three years.The standout aspect of that hundred was his end-overs acceleration after having opened the batting. On 59 off 40 going into the last five, he switched gears and scored his next 63 runs off just 21 balls. There were no nerves even as he approached a landmark that had eluded him for 1020 days. On 94, he played a disdainful pull to bring up his century. It was a drought he broke in style.”I got a lot of clarity from you guys [pointing to Rohit] and the team management, to just allow me to bat,” Kohli said•AFP/Getty Images

Equally noteworthy was Kohli’s propensity to step out of his crease, especially against spin, something he’s done quite a lot at the Asia Cup, seemingly to try and increase his scoring options. Between April 1, 2018, and the start of the Asia Cup, Kohli stepped out once every 7.9 balls on an average in all T20s. This Asia Cup, as per ESPNcricinfo’s data, he stepped out once every 4.9 deliveries.In trying to raise the bar, Kohli also brought out shots he doesn’t often play, like the conventional sweep. The one he hit off Mujeeb Ur Rahman was only his 24th sweep against spinners in all T20s in this time period, out of the 1200-plus deliveries he has faced from them. This includes all kinds of sweeps, including the slog, so the numbers for the conventional sweep would be even lower.Kohli explained how his focus has been on playing good cricket shots, without worrying too much about strike rates and six-hitting, something he said had bothered him prior to his break. He admitted to having been “desperate to do something that wasn’t in my game” at that point.”My aim was to always to play all three formats, and I banked on good cricketing shots,” he said. “I always came to every tournament or series thinking six-hitting is not a big strength of mine. I can [hit sixes] when situation demands, but I’m better at finding gaps and hitting boundaries, so as long as I can hit boundaries, it will still serve the purpose for the team.”I told the coaches as well that I’m going to try and hit gaps rather than thinking I’ve to hit sixes to improve strike rates in T20 cricket. That thing I removed from my system in this tournament, and that helped because I was able to come back to my template. But it’s about being in a good space and enjoying your batting.”We can play in many ways, but my role is to play as per the situation and if it demands I have to take the scoring rate higher, I should be able to do it. My aim was if I can be in this zone, I can be relaxed because I know if I’m set for 10-15 balls, I can accelerate. I’m very happy that especially from the team’s point of view, I’m back to being in my template I’ve played for a while, which I was going away from because I was desperate to do something that wasn’t my game.”Rohit, who was conducting the interview, agreed that the knock against Afghanistan was a fine lesson in pacing an innings. “Obviously in T20 cricket we talk about big hitting and all of that. But that [century] was the perfect example of how to craft an innings without focusing so much on the big hitting,” he said. “That was wonderful to see. I know it personally because I’ve seen you bat long enough.”

A career-best double-century for Glamorgan captain David Lloyd put his side in the driving seat in this third vs fourth clash.Glamorgan finished the first day on 380 for 3, gaining four batting bonus points, with Lloyd on 203 not out, his second century coming off just 101 balls as Derbyshire’s bowlers toiled.Glamorgan first class debutant Tom Bevan offered good support with 48 in a century partnership which set the platform, while Billy Root made the most of a move up the order to No. 5 by contributing 77 not out in a partnership of 197.Derbyshire needed a win to overtake Glamorgan and stay in contention for promotion going into the final round of fixtures, but now find themselves with their backs against the wall with the Welsh County looking to push on to a huge first-innings total.Glamorgan were without India’s Shubman Gill with a heavy cold, while they also brought in off spinner Andrew Salter for all-rounder Kiran Carlson. Derbyshire gave a debut to South Wales-born paceman Adam Sylvester.Related

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With a winner between these sides having a chance to challenge second-placed Middlesex in the final round of matches, Lloyd’s day did not start so well when he lost the toss and was asked to bat on a pitch which had a greenish tinge.Three balls later and Derbyshire had lost opening bowler Ben Aitchison with a rolled ankle, which made the decision to bowl seem a little unfortunate. He did return to bowl one more over, and fielded at slip, but his future fitness in the game is doubtful.Anuj Dal took over the rest of that over and also made the first breakthrough, getting opener Ed Byrom caught behind.Bevan made his first class debut having made his breakthrough this season with a century against Hampshire in the Royal London Cup.He was slower than Lloyd at the other end, but also showed enough promise to mark him out as one for the future. While he has helped steer local side St Fagans to the South Wales Premier League title this season, he is likely to be otherwise engaged next year.He would have been disappointed to miss out on a half-century, attempting to get there in style hitting across the line at spinner Alex Thomson and skying the ball instead.Sam Northeast looked comfortable until he was clean bowled out of the blue with Luis Reece getting the ball to move off the seam.While wickets fell at the other end, Lloyd got better and better. Having moved to his half-century just before lunch, he moved to three figures comfortably before tea, no sign of nerves about his first hundred of the season as he smashed the ball aerially through mid on off Thomson to bring up the landmark.His previous highest score this season was 84, his average in the mid 20s with the allrounder having moved to regularly opening the batting.Soon after tea he surpassed his career-best score of 121 and carried on past 150, with Root offering steady support in another century partnership. Root moved to his half-century off 94 balls as the run rate increased with the second new ball.