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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.”

Dimuth Karunaratne hit 75 and soaked up 176 deliveries in a century stand with Lahiru Thirimanne, and Oshada Fernando struck an unbeaten half-century of his own later in the day, as Sri Lanka comfortably batted out a draw in Antigua.Missing Shannon Gabriel for part of the day due to a hamstring complaint, West Indies were only able to take two Sri Lanka wickets on a pitch that had become slower and lower for the quicks and yet did not take substantial turn for the spinners. Only the occasional delivery misbehaved, and that was usually out of the rough.Each of the four Sri Lanka batsmen who came to the crease in this innings appeared comfortable. Even if the quicks occasionally took the edge, the ball was likely to die well before it reached the slip cordon, as long as it had been played with soft hands. Rahkeem Cornwall, meanwhile, threatened the inside edge with his straighter deliveries, but none of the thick edges was a viable catch for the fielder at short leg. At no stage was there the dramatic, fast turn – often seen in South Asia on the fifth day – to envenom the slow bowlers.

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It was the 101-run opening stand that laid the platform for Sri Lanka’s successful resistance. Thirimanne was dropped on 17 in the third over of the day when wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva failed to grasp a straightforward leg-side chance off the bowling of Gabriel. But otherwise, the openers were secure right through that session, defending resolutely and finding regular runs into the outfield, mostly square of the wicket.Karunaratne was especially adept at shuffling across the stumps, closing his bat, and hitting into leg-side gaps. In fact, 55 of his runs (73%) came on that side of the pitch, with all but one of his nine boundaries scored there. He completed a half-century shortly before lunch, having hit some memorable on-drives, to go with his leg-side flicks.Thirimanne was more cautious, venturing only two boundaries in the morning, perhaps pushed to reticence by the early chance he gave up. When he was dismissed for 39 off 114 nicking a full Alzarri Joseph delivery to first slip where Cornwall took a sharp, low catch, Karunaratne slowed down too. Although at times in his innings Karunaratne was striking at over 50, his eventual strike rate was 43. Sri Lanka had very clearly decided the target of 377 was going to be too much of a stretch (it always seemed extremely unlikely).Oshada, likewise, did not seem to be overly troubled either by the pitch or West Indies’ depleted attack. He hit out only against the truly wayward balls, picking up frequent singles in between the big shots. He scored more quickly than the openers, reaching his half-century off the 86th ball he faced, but then buckled down soon after. He was 66 not out off 119 when Kraigg Brathwaite decided no result was possible and the match was called off. With Karunaratne having been dismissed by Kyle Mayers late in the second session, Oshada had Dinesh Chandimal for company for the 20 overs that were played in the third session. Chandimal made 10 off 66 deliveries.In the end, this Antigua surface’s refusal to take substantial spin even at the back end of both Tests allowed teams to bat confidently in the fourth innings, greatly reducing the chance of a result. The footmarks did not play a substantial role, and spinners did not become seriously threatening in either Test.The 0-0 result means Sri Lanka failed to win any of their series in the Caribbean, having lost the T20Is 2-1 and the ODIs 3-0. They do maintain their No. 7 ranking in Tests, however, keeping West Indies at eight.

An increasingly confident innings from Steven Smith and the return to action of Mitchell Starc provided the good news for Australia, but it was a distinctly mixed day as they were comfortably beaten by the New Zealand XI who secured a seven-wicket victory in Brisbane on the back of Will Young’s 130.Pace bowler Jhye Richardson was also ruled out of the World Cup and David Warner fell for a duck on his return to opening the batting before the visitors, without ten of their main squad, reached their target of 278 with 16 balls to spare. It followed the Australians’ batting collapse in the opening match when they scrambled to a one-wicket win.Smith’s 89 not out off 77 balls, coming at No. 5, was his highest score in a 50-over match – albeit an unofficial one – for more than two years since an unbeaten 108 against Pakistan in January 2017. Glenn Maxwell, with a crisp 52 off 44 balls, and Usman Khawaja also made half-centuries.The uncapped Young, who faces up to nine months on the sidelines due to upcoming shoulder surgery, was the star of the chase reaching his century off 110 balls. He added 133 for the second wicket with George Worker, after Starc had struck third ball to castle Hamish Rutherford, then put on 130 for the third with captain Tom Latham who made an unbeaten 69.Starc, playing his first competitive match since the final Test against Sri Lanka in February, bowled with impressive pace – clocking 148kph during his first spell – and returned to spear a rapid yorker through Worker. He was limited to two short spells after the lengthy time on the sidelines, finishing with for 2 for 14 from five overs, but looks primed to lead Australia’s attack at the World Cup.However, in the absence of the rested Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa, the rest of the attack was somewhat pedestrian. Kane Richardson, who has replaced Jhye for the World Cup, went wicketless for the second match running, neither Sean Abbott or Michael Neser, who are both part of the A squad could make an impact, and Nathan Lyon was milked for 54 from his ten. Without Jhye and Josh Hazlewood, a lot appears to rest on Starc and Cummins.The Australians batted first by agreement having bowled in the opening match when there was a toss. It was tough going early on against excellent new-ball spells from Hamish Bennett and Doug Bracewell. Warner drove Bracewell to cover in the second over and captain Aaron Finch was caught behind as the Australians managed 2 for 29 in the first ten overs.Khawaja, who was dropped on 6 at square leg, and Shaun Marsh rebuilt and steadily increased the tempo before Marsh was caught behind. Khawaja went to his half-century off 64 balls but his innings was then cut short by a stinging catch at short midwicket by Jimmy Neesham who grabbed onto a powerful pull shot.Smith and Maxwell then added a brisk stand of 81 for the fifth wicket which was dominated by the latter as Smith continued to find his feet. When Maxwell fell after threatening to really cut loose in the final ten overs, Smith took charge of the closing stages, tallying four sixes including increasingly inventive strokeplay as he plundered 39 off his last 17 deliveries. The innings was warmly applauded in what is becoming a successful week for him.However, overall the Australians have been short of their best in the first two matches of the week and will be keen for a dominant finish before getting on the plane on Friday night.

A clinical bowling effort, headlined by Masabata Klaas’ 39th-over hat-trick, was followed by Laura Wolvaardt’s 14th 50-plus score in ODIs as South Africa trumped Pakistan by eight wickets to level their three-match Women’s Championship series at 1-1.The first game of the series was all about Sana Mir, the veteran offspinner taking 4 for 11 to shoot the home side out for 63 in 22.5 overs before the chase was wrapped up in 14.4 overs. Pakistan started this game well too, Nahida Khan and Sidra Ameen giving them a first-wicket stand of 50. But it slipped from their grasp after that, and they were bundled for 147. With Wolvaardt in charge, South Africa pulled off the chase in 36.4 overs.Lizelle Lee and Wolvaardt had both been sent back inside two overs in the first game, but this time they made amends in style. Lee was the more aggressive of the two, as she usually is, scoring 40 in 43 balls, but she was also the first to fall, caught at the long-off boundary by Mir off Umaima Sohail.Andrie Steyn couldn’t hang around for too long, Nashra Sandhu catching her off Mir for 9, but Wolvaardt and captain Sune Luus kept things steady after that, the opener hitting an unbeaten 74 in 104 balls, and Luus ending on a 46-ball 21 not out.Batting first after losing the toss, Pakistan got a good start courtesy Nahida and Sidra. But Nahida, who was scoring at upwards of a run a ball, was sent back by Tumi Sekhukhune for 37, with the scoreboard reading 50 in the 12th over, and the slowdown began.Sidra (25 in 59 balls), Javeria Khan (20 in 35) and captain Bismah Maroof (32 in 49) all got starts, but couldn’t really provide the innings with the thrust it needed. Sekhukhune sent back Sidra to finish with 2 for 20, and while Luus and Marizanne Kapp also picked up two wickets apiece, Klaas grabbed the limelight with three in three, accounting for Aliya Riaz, Umaima and Sidra Nawaz.It was only the tenth hat-trick in women’s ODI history and the second by a South African after Dane van Niekerk achieved it against West Indies in Basseterre in 2013.

Shikhar Dhawan has been added to the India A squad for the fourth and fifth one-day games against South Africa A in Thiruvananthapuram, while Vijay Shankar has been ruled out of the series after an injury to his right thumb.

India A squad for last two one-dayers

Shreyas Iyer (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Prashant Chopra, Anmolpreet Singh, Ricky Bhui, Sanju Samson (wk), Nitish Rana, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Ishan Porel

Dhawan had left the World Cup after the first few matches after suffering a hairline fracture to his left thumb during the match against Australia. Upon returning to full fitness, he played in the limited-overs series in the West Indies, but made just 27 runs in the three T20Is and 38 runs in two ODIs.Vijay, who was all set to make his return to top-flight cricket after an injury had brought his maiden World Cup campaign to a premature end, was named in the squad for the entire series against South Africa A after missing the West Indies tour as he had not recovered in time. He made his return from injury in the Tamil Nadu Premier League earlier this month, where he made just ten runs and picked three wickets in three games for Chepauk Super Gillies.The BCCI had earlier named two India A squads – one for the first three matches and another for the last two games – with Manish Pandey (first three matches) and Shreyas Iyer (last two) sharing captaincy duties.India A are currently leading the series 1-0 following their 69-run win in the first one-dayer on Thursday.

It has been a “disruptive sort of season”, according to Delhi Capitals’ head coach Ricky Ponting, but it has worked out well for his team in at least a couple of ways: they are up at No. 2 on the table and their captain Rishabh Pant who is getting better with each passing day, and the gap between IPL 2021 Part 1 and Part 2 means Shreyas Iyer, who Ponting feels makes “the make-up of our team look a little bit more complete”, is back from his shoulder injury and ready to do his thing again.”I am absolutely delighted to have Shreyas back into our line-up,” Ponting said in a press interaction on the eve of Capitals’ first match in the UAE leg of the tournament, against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. “It was devastating for him and the team when he hurt his shoulder just before the start of the IPL earlier in the year. He is a world-class player, and he has been an exceptional player for Delhi Capitals for a long time now. Him slotting back into our line-up, I think it makes the make-up of our team look a little bit more complete.Related

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“The first part of the tournament, as well as we played – we won six of our eight games – our overall balance didn’t quite feel like it was just right. But Shreyas coming back in now, it does give us the opportunity to play the two overseas fast bowlers, which we had [done] successfully in the past.”We know that [Kagiso] Rabada and [Anrich] Nortje are world-class performers, and have done well when they have played together for Delhi Capitals as well. So it does give us that option, but at the end of the day, we still need to pick the best playing XI. We have someone like Avesh Khan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Amit Mishra as well; any of those guys can slot into our XI, and it ends up being a really well-balanced team.”In Iyer’s absence, either Pant or Steven Smith slotted in at No. 3 after Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, with Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer completing the batting line-up on most occasions. Of the lot, Ponting has high expectations of Stoinis, who has done the job for Capitals in the past too, and gives the XI a lot of depth with his versatility.”He is very highly regarded here at Delhi Capitals, he’s actually had a lot of big impact on a lot of the games he has played for us in the last season and a half, and I think he has the talent and the capabilities to be one of the better allrounders in world cricket, certainly in the white-ball format,” Ponting said. “We use him in any number of different roles. We saw in the IPL final that we played last year, he opened the batting in that one [but scored a first-ball duck], we know that he can open the batting, we know that he can bat at five or six, and finish off games, and we know that he can chip in with the ball and take some handy wickets. And he is very good in the field.”So with Rishabh four, Stoinis five, Hetmyer six, we’ve got lot of finishing power. If the top order can continue to do the job they did in the first part of the tournament, and obviously having Shreyas Iyer back in our group as well, it makes that batting line-up look really strong and really deep.”Ponting: ‘Pant’s level of maturity in the last couple of seasons has gone through the roof’
And then there is Pant. He has 213 runs from eight innings this IPL, the runs coming at 35.50 and a strike rate of 131.48. Since the end of the first leg of this year’s IPL, he has had a mediocre run with the bat, though all of it has been in Test cricket, in the WTC final against New Zealand and then against England.Rishabh Pant took over as Delhi Capitals captain this season after Shreyas Iyer hurt his shoulder•BCCI/IPL

“I think his level of maturity in the last couple of seasons has gone through the roof,” Ponting said of his captain. “When I first came here, Rishabh was just starting to burst on to the scene, if you like, and I made a pretty big call in the Australian summer last year when Rishabh finally made his way back into the Test team, that I felt there and then that we were going to see the unearthing of someone who could be a star Test-match player for India for some time, and what he has done since then, the last 18 months now, in the international stage is nothing short of sensational. And I could see that coming. Because I could see how much his game had developed, I could see how much he had matured, and I could also see how much he wanted to be in every Indian team. Now I think it is going to take a very good player to knock him out of one of those positions in any of those three teams.”When he wasn’t captain [at the Capitals], he was an exceptional vice-captain. He has taken over the reins for this IPL and he has done a terrific job so far, and I have enjoyed every moment of working alongside him, as I have with all the rest of the boys. We are all striving for something special around the Delhi Capitals franchise. We got close last year, making it to the final. But this year we want to go one step further. And obviously Rishabh is going to be a big part of that.”For his part, Pant is aware of what is expected of him, and as far as he is concerned, he can only do it by being himself, and by making himself slightly better as a person.”I just try to keep the environment light,” Pant said. “I am open to anyone in the team. If anyone has any problem, you can come and discuss it with me, or Ricky, for anything at any point of time. We have a good mix of youth and experience in the team, which [will] help us going forward all the time, and we stick to our basics, our processes, and everything will follow.”As a skipper, I have learnt from Ricky that you have to treat everyone equally, whether he be a senior or a junior, even the coaches. If you respect each and every player in the team, it’s going to be a good combination because when you start respecting your players and support staff around you, special things happen. If you respect them, they are going to give everything, whatever they have, for you. As a skipper, that’s the only thing you want. That whatever you want the team to do, they just stand by you each and every time.”

Members of the public will not be allowed to bring alcohol into Lord’s for the rest of the Hundred in an attempt to create a family-friendly atmosphere following feedback from the first two matchdays at the ground.According to MCC’s ground regulations, fans are allowed to bring in “small quantities of alcohol” – either a bottle of wine or champagne, two cans or bottles of beer or cider, or two cans of premixed aperitifs – to games at Lord’s.But that right has been waived for the rest of the tournament, starting with Sunday’s fixtures between London Spirit and Southern Brave – though MCC members will still be allowed to bring alcohol into the ground. A cap of two alcoholic drinks per transaction has also been introduced, and all public bars will close at the start of the run chase in the men’s match.Ticket-holders for Thursday night’s fixtures against Trent Rockets were told via email that “following feedback from last night’s match, we have agreed to change some of the policies around alcohol at Lord’s”.”The Hundred is a tournament designed for families and children and we hope these measures will allow everyone who comes to the Home of Cricket to feel welcome, safe and have a great day out,” the email said. “Cricket is a game for all and we want the next generation of cricket fans to love and be inspired by the sport.”MCC has already stripped back its stringent dress code within the pavilion during Hundred matchdays, removing the stipulation for members and their guests to wear collared shirts, jackets or blazers, tailored trousers and formal shoes.

Liton Das may have ended up five runs short of a maiden Test century, but he overcame one mental barrier during his day-one innings in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, according to Bangladesh’s new batting coach Ashwell Prince. Das was among three batters to cross fifty and help Bangladesh recover twice, after they had slipped to 8 for 2 and then 132 for 6.Das added 138 for the seventh wicket with Mahmudullah to move Bangladesh towards a position of respectability, but he missed out on a personal milestone when he holed out to fine leg off Donald Tiripano shortly before the second new ball was due.Prince, who is with the Bangladesh set-up only for this Zimbabwe tour, said Das had taken a step towards fixing an issue that’s dogged him through his career so far – of suffering breaks in concentration when set at the crease.”During some of our conversations during the week, he shared that sometimes he gives his wicket away in the thirties or forties, due to lack of concentration,” Prince said. “I told him, if he can bat for more than three hours, forgetting about the score which is on 30 or 40, he’d be close to a hundred. I would like to see how many hours he batted today. We were all quite disappointed for him that he didn’t get the hundred. I think this is a good learning for him.”Prince said Mahmudullah played a crucial role during the partnership, since Bangladesh needed a calm head with the experience of facing such situations in the past. Mahmudullah and Das came close to surpassing the highest-ever seventh-wicket stand against Zimbabwe, but fell four runs short of the mark achieved by Nicky Boje and Prince himself, back in 2005 at Centurion.”Mahmudullah played a really crucial innings for the team,” Prince said. “He was the perfect person for that job at the time. He and Liton Das really complemented one another really nicely. He was watchful, and Liton maneuvered the ball around. At 132 for 6, it was a big partnership for the team.”Prince also praised captain Mominul Haque for his composure, both mentally and technically as a batter. Mominul made 70 to steady Bangladesh after Blessing Muzarabani had rocked them with two early strikes. “The team had lost some early wickets,” Prince said. “It was a crucial period for us. Mominul’s calmness gives a lot of confidence to the dressing room.”His positions were very strong on the crease. He was comfortable at the crease. He is an experienced player, a very good Test player.”Bangladesh, Prince felt, weren’t out of the woods yet, but hoped the lower order could rally around the still unbeaten Mahmudullah.”Ideal scenario for Bangladesh would be for the No 10 and 11 to provide support to the one out-and-out batsman at the crease, Mahmudullah,” Prince said. “Nobody knows how good a score is, until both teams have batted on the pitch. So we can’t take for granted that anything between 290-320 is a good score. The best situation for Bangladesh would be to get as many runs we can get.”

Teams can take a squad of 33 players to cover 15 starting positions in rugby’s next World Cup, and 23 for 11 spots in football’s, but cricket diverges from the norm. England will take a 15-man squad to the T20 World Cup this winter – albeit with the possibility of a couple of reserves as a Covid precaution – and as a result, the ability of back-up players to cover a range of roles is crucial.With that in mind, Liam Livingstone has done his chances of inclusion no harm at all in the first two games of their T20I series against Sri Lanka in Cardiff. An innings of 29 not out off 26 balls and four tight overs of liquorice-all-sort spin that have cost 19 runs do not demand retention in themselves, but have demonstrated the flexibility that Livingstone would add to a touring party as a utility player.”It’s something that I pride myself on, being as versatile as I can,” he said after the second T20I, in which he won the match award after steering England home from No. 6. “It’s something that’s rolled into my bowling as well, trying to bowl both legspin and offspin to give people different options [and] it’s the same with my batting, trying to make myself a player who can bat all the way from No. 1 to No. 8.”While he has made a reputation for himself as a power-hitter who deals in sixes – in last year’s Big Bash, he scored a higher percentages of his runs in sixes (39.4%) than anyone else in the top 25 run-scorers – Livingstone’s innings on Thursday night demonstrated his willingness to adapt, with a single ramped six standing out alongside a series of clips and pushes into gaps to suit the situation and build a partnership with Sam Billings. Four years on from a pair of frenetic innings in his first two T20Is, he looked a different player.Importantly, given England’s logjam of top-three options, it also demonstrated an ability to bat in the middle order. Twenty-five of Livingstone’s last 26 innings in domestic T20 cricket for Lancashire and Perth Scorchers have come as an opener, with Jos Buttler even moving down to No. 4 in order to accommodate him at the top in this year’s T20 Blast, but there is little chance of him batting there in an England shirt.While he will have limited opportunity to do so before the start of the World Cup, Livingstone should consider shuffling down the order for one of his clubs if he can – potentially for Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred – in order to gain more experience in the role, though batting in the middle order for Peshawar Zalmi and Cape Town Blitz two winters ago meant he had something to lean back on.”I batted at No. 4 and 5 in the PSL and in the South African T20 [MSL],” he said. “I guess that’s the reason I go away and play in these competitions: trying to get experience of batting in different roles, which has obviously helped me coming into an England side, batting in a position I’m not really used to.”But it is with the ball that Livingstone is particularly multi-talented, as he has demonstrated in this series. He generally bowls legbreaks to right-handers and offbreaks to left-handers, and while not a prodigious turner of the ball, he gets enough spin both ways to keep batters guessing and forcing them to watch him carefully out of the hand.Related

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“It’s certainly advantageous isn’t it?” Buttler said after Wednesday night’s game. “It’s a fantastic skill to have, to be able to bowl offspin and legspin to international standard. We will potentially see that come into the game more and more. He’s an exciting package, a great guy to have in your squad and your XI.”Livingstone is not the finished article with the ball. Two of the three most expensive overs of his T20 career have come at crunch moments, confirming Lancashire’s exits in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the last two Blast seasons when Ravi Bopara and Dan Christian took him down, but he insisted that those experiences have been beneficial in the long run.”[My bowling] has always been well-regarded at Lancashire,” he said. “I’ve obviously had a couple of tough moments with it over the last couple of years, but they are the moments that have made me a better bowler. It’s something I’ve worked hard on for this sort of opportunity, to push my way into a team as someone that can offer something in all three facets of the game.”As an excellent outfielder too, Livingstone’s case for inclusion in the World Cup squad is strong: even if he is unlikely to start once Ben Stokes returns from injury, the fact he offers some overs as a second – or even third – spinner, can cover a number of batting roles and is a good option to come on as a substitute fielder mean that he has quickly become England’s Mr Versatile.

Yorkshire 150 (Garton 3-25) and 305 (Ballance 74, Lyth 66, Carson 5-85) beat Sussex 221 (Haines 86, Patterson 4-26) and 186 (Bess 6-53) by 48 runsYorkshire took just 70 minutes to take the four remaining Sussex wickets and complete their second successive LV= Insurance County Championship win of the season at the 1st Central County Ground in Hove.England offspinner Dom Bess took the final wicket to finish with figures of 6 for 53 as Yorkshire won by 48 runs. They collected 19 points against Sussex’s four. It was always an unlikely run chase for Sussex but they – and in particular their captain Ben Brown – made a fight of it.”It was a fantastic win, particularly from where we were on the first day,” Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s first team coach, said. “We didn’t do ourselves justice in the first innings but we showed great character and resilience after that. We won by a decent margin in the end and I’m really proud of them.Related

• Dom Bess meets his calling with maiden Yorkshire five-for

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“The batting is an issue at the moment but to still be winning games is very pleasing. But we have got to start to put big first-innings scores on the board.”Sussex started the fourth day on 136 for 6, requiring a further 99 runs for victory, with Brown unbeaten on 26 and new batter Ollie Robinson yet to face a ball following George Garton’s dismissal from the final delivery of the previous day.Yorkshire opened up with Steven Patterson from the Cromwell Road End and Bess from the Sea End, and with the second ball of the 59th over – the seventh of the morning – they broke through with the wicket of Robinson. The batter pushed forward to a delivery from Patterson which nipped back and caught him in front of his off stump. Robinson’s 17-ball stay had yielded just six runs.Yorkshire knew they were through to the Sussex tail but Brown and Jack Carson, the offspinner who impressed with a five-for in Yorkshire’s second innings, defied them with a stand of 35. Carson got a thick edge for four off Patterson and repeated the trick when the bowler was replaced by Jordan Thompson.Brown, meanwhile, provided the best stroke of the morning when he drove a full-length delivery from Thompson through the covers for four.But the intervention of England Test captain Joe Root with the ball ended the eighth-wicket stand just when Sussex hopes were beginning to rise again. Root replaced Bess and with his third delivery he made the second breakthrough of the morning as Carson edged to Adam Lyth at first slip for 18, leaving Sussex 180 for 8 and still 55 shy of victory.Sussex lost their ninth in the next over when Thompson plucked out Brown’s middle stump. The Sussex captain had batted for two hours and 21 minutes and faced 111 balls for his 46.And it was all over in the next over when Bess, who had just been hit over mid-on for four by Henry Crocombe, had the batter caught by the leaping David Willey at short midwicket.”It was disappointing to lose but we played some good cricket and came out of this game with a lot of pride,” Brown said. “We were up against a seriously good Yorkshire side with a number of international players and for our young team it was nip and tuck all the way.”Tom Haines looked good again and Jack Carson went toe to toe with the England offspinner Dom Bess. We could have got more runs in the first innings but a few things didn’t go our way.”