All posts by csb10.top

Former New Zealand fast bowler Heath Davis has come out as gay. He is the first male international cricketer from his country to do so.In a documentary series for called “Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sporting Legends”, Davis opened up about his sexuality and the “lonely” experience of living separate lives on and off the field until he moved from Wellington to Auckland.”The first tour to England [in 1994], I was starting to discover myself, was going to a few bars and things privately to see what life was… well, you are on the other side of the world, no one is going to know you,” he said. “I left that part of my life there. There was a lot of that, just keeping your personal life separate.”It was lonely. Going to saunas and seedy places to get sex because you didn’t want to be seen and that sort of stuff. I had systems and people in place where I could talk about these things but I didn’t feel comfortable.”Davis, renowned as one of the fastest bowlers New Zealand has ever produced, but who struggled for control, played five Tests and 11 ODIs between 1994 and 1997. After being dropped by New Zealand for the last time in 1997 following a tour of Australia, Davis opted to move to Auckland.”All the stars aligned to move,” he said. “Everyone in Auckland knew I was gay; in the team it didn’t seem to be that big an issue. Maybe some of the young ones if you’re sharing a room with them or something, but just petty s**t. Things I thought might have been issues weren’t really. I just felt free.”Davis moved to Brisbane in 2004 and in 2009 had to have part of his foot amputated after a forklift truck accident.Overall, in his Test career, he took 17 wickets in five matches with a best of 5 for 63 against Sri Lanka and claimed 11 wickets in ODIs.Former England wicketkeeper Steven Davies became the first male international cricketer to publicly come out as gay in early 2011.

Abu Dhabi will host the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier from September 18 to 25. The top two teams taking part in the eight-team event will qualify for the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup, which is set to be held in South Africa.The eight teams taking part in the Qualifier have reached the tournament via different routes. Bangladesh and Thailand, who took the two spots reserved for the bottom two teams from the previous edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020, are also the highest-placed teams on the ICC Women’s T20I rankings behind the eight automatic qualifiers for the World Cup.Scotland (Europe), Zimbabwe (Africa), United Arab Emirates (Asia) and United States of America (Americas) won their respective regional qualifiers, while Papua New Guinea qualified as the highest-ranked team from the East Asia Pacific region, since that regional qualifier had to be scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Ireland, meanwhile, were the highest-ranked team from the regional qualifiers to not win their respective tournament.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The teams have been divided into two groups, with Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and USA in Group A and Thailand, Zimbabwe, PNG and UAE in Group B. The top two teams in each group will go through to the semi-finals, with the winners of each semi-final progressing to the final and next year’s World Cup.All matches in the Qualifier will be played at the Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub, which houses both the Sheikh Zayed Stadium and the adjoining Tolerance Oval.Hosts South Africa, as well as Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies, have all qualified automatically for the World Cup on the basis of their T20I rankings.

Thailand have confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup for the first time, after Bangladesh’s last league game against UAE on Tuesday morning was washed out. Bangladesh – the defending champions and hosts – needed two points to finish fourth and take the last available semi-final spot, but they got only one point from the abandoned game and ended in fifth place.While Bangladesh won only two out of six games, Thailand won three: they defeated UAE, Malaysia, and most significantly Pakistan by four wickets to finish on six points.Thailand’s success at the Asia Cup has been powered by their openers Nannapat Koncharoenkai and Natthakan Chantham, and the captain Naruemol Chaiwai who usually make up the top three in their batting line-up. With the ball, left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong is among the top five wicket-takers with eight scalps.Until 48 hours ago, Bangladesh looked set for a semi-final place to try and defend their Asia Cup title. They needed two points from their last two matches, but they lost to Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened match, where they failed to chase 41 in seven overs. With two overs left in the chase, Bangladesh were 27 for 2, needing 14 to win off 12 balls, but they lost four wickets in the penultimate over bowled by Inoka Ranaweera and eventually suffered a four-run defeat. On Tuesday against UAE, Bangladesh had the opportunity to bounce back and earn two points but rain ruined their chances.Thailand will now play table-toppers India in the first semi-final on Thursday morning, while the second semi-final will be played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Thursday afternoon.

Dilshan Madushanka, the left-arm seamer, has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup, after sustaining a quadriceps tear on the eve of Sri Lanka’s first match of the tournament. The ICC’s Event Technical Committee has approved Binura Fernando as Madushanka’s replacement in the squad for the remainder of the tournament.Madushanka was seen hobbling away from practice on Saturday and was soon sent to get an MRI scan, which confirmed the injury.Having made his international debut in the recent Asia Cup, Madushanka had impressed through the course of the tournament, taking six wickets and maintaining an economy rate of 7.75 across six matches.Having brought lively pace and swing to the powerplay overs, as well as variety at the death, he had perhaps become Sri Lanka’s second-choice quick, after Dushmantha Chameera. He was likely to be in the XI for Sunday’s first-round match against Namibia.Binura has played nine T20Is and four ODIs for Sri Lanka, taking 10 and two wickets in the formats respectively. He made his international debut for Sri Lanka in 2015, in the first T20I against Pakistan in Colombo. His last T20I was the third match against India in Dharamsala in February 2022.The other seamers in the Sri Lanka squad are Lahiru Kumara and Pramod Madushan.Despite their recent Asia Cup victory, Sri Lanka must play the first round of the World Cup, where they play UAE and Netherlands in addition to Namibia, in order to qualify for the main draw.

An accurate Australia attack menaced with the pink ball under lights to leave West Indies in disarray after day two of the second Test in Adelaide.In response to Australia’s mammoth first innings, set up by big centuries from Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne, West Indies limped to stumps at 102 for 4 with their hopes of a series-levelling victory appearing forlorn.After a memorable debut 12 months ago in the Adelaide Ashes Test, recalled Michael Neser was relentless with his accuracy outside off stump and he was rewarded with the wickets of captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks.Unlike West Indies’ uninspired attack, who claimed just seven wickets in 137 overs, Australia consistently threatened with quicks Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc unlucky not to breakthrough.Only Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of legendary batter Shivnarine, defied the attack through patience and well-judged leaves against probing seam bowling from Australia’s quicks.Related

• Neser, Boland once again show off Australia's fast-bowling depth

• Nick Hockley defends Cricket Australia's handling of David Warner's appeal process

• Head's love affair with Adelaide continues

• Labuschagne, Head lead strong batting display to tune out off-field noise

After an impressive debut with scores of 51 and 45 in the first Test, Chanderpaul continued to dig in and occasionally showed flair, including a sweep for six against spinner Nathan Lyon.With his confidence increasing, Chanderpaul unleashed a bold counterattack before stumps and smashed a couple of short deliveries from allrounder Cameron Green to the boundary .Chanderpaul again upstaged his senior batters as West Indies’ chances of a strong reply nosedived. Their hopes had rested on in-form openers Chanderpaul and Brathwaite, who had gutsy partnerships of 78 and 116 in Perth.Brathwaite was particularly outstanding with scores of 64 and 110, but this was a different challenge against the pink ball under lights.Despite having a penchant for swing, Neser was held back until the 10th over but he made an impact quickly by having Brathwaite caught behind off a perfect line and length delivery.Neser almost added another but dropped Brooks in a tough one-handed return chance after diving to his left. It didn’t matter with Neser shortly after removing Brooks, who played as a concussion sub in the first Test, with an almost identical delivery that dismissed Brathwaite.Lyon came into the attack in the 21st over and immediately looked far more threatening than counterpart Roston Chase, who did little bar release the pressure seemingly every time he bowled in Australia’s first innings.Lyon got among the wickets by removing Jermaine Blackwood with a return catch, while Green bowled debutant Devon Thomas shortly before stumps to strengthen Australia’s stranglehold after a mighty batting effort earlier.Michael Neser took two key wickets before stumps•Getty Images

Stand-in skipper Steven Smith ended Australia’s first innings shortly before tea in their third straight declaration in this one-sided two-Test series.Head and Labuschagne dominated an underwhelming West Indies attack with big centuries in a 297-run stand, the third highest fourth wicket partnership for Australia against West Indies.Coming together with Australia at 131 for 3, after the quick wickets of Usman Khawaja and Smith for a duck, Head and Labuschagne were almost flawless on a batting-friendly Adelaide Oval surface.Such was their ease, it seemed like a formality that Head and Labuschagne would reach double centuries but they both surprisingly missed out.Labuschagne fell for 163 late in the first session when he was caught behind off Thomas, whose handy seamers were a revelation, while Head was run out on 175 just after the dinner break.Hometown hero Head had cruised past his highest Test score of 161 but disaster struck when he was involved in a mix up with Green.Head’s fifth Test ton was marked by belligerence, continually plundering boundaries through the off side, while Labuschagne was technically sound and didn’t require good fortune which he sometimes seems to have in spades.Labuschagne hit his third straight ton to start the series and also passed 3000 Test runs in just his 51st innings with only Sir Donald Bradman reaching the landmark faster for an Australia batter.West Indies had no answers and once again rued sloppy bowling, while Brathwaite’s tactics were rather puzzling underlined by often not implementing a gully in a conservative move.He was generally reactionary, but a second-string attack didn’t help his cause. Without injured spearheads Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales, debutant quick Marquino Mindley only bowled two overs after suffering a hamstring injury early on day one.It was hard-luck for an exhausted Mindley, who had arrived in Adelaide from the Caribbean just 48 hours before the Test as injury cover.With injuries piling up and outclassed over two days, West Indies are spiralling to an inevitable defeat unless their rising star Chanderpaul can conjure something miraculous on day three.

Trent Boult is currently in action for MI Emirates in the ILT20 in the UAE, having turned down his New Zealand central contract. And Tim Southee has been wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the home Test series against England in February. The last time New Zealand played an ODI without both Boult and Southee against a top-ranked team was back in 2016 against Australia in Hamilton.Ish Sodhi’s ankle injury, sustained during the third ODI in Karachi, has depleted New Zealand’s attack even further. In the absence of a number of seniors, including regular white-ball captain Kane Williamson, who has also been rested for this India tour, New Zealand are looking to give some of their fringe players a run and find out if they could fit into their ODI World Cup plans.Related

• Jamieson-like Henry Shipley ready for the big stage

• Michael Bracewell has the World Cup in his sights

• Can New Zealand challenge India's strong home record?

“Anytime that Tim, Trent and Kane aren’t in the side or aren’t with us, it obviously leaves a massive hole for us,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said ahead of the first ODI in Hyderabad. “On the other hand, it presents opportunities for the other guys that have been around the squad for a while. I think we’re lucky that pretty much everyone has played international cricket in this side, which is a bonus and over Covid, it presented opportunities to other guys. When guys like that have a break, it’s the other guys’ turn to step up and have an opportunity and we’re lucky enough to have someone like Lockie Ferguson who has played a lot of cricket here in India and I’m sure the guys will be leaning on his experiences as best as possible.”On Tuesday, it was Ferguson, who has had IPL stints with Rising Pune Supergiant, Kolkata Knight Riders and reigning champions Gujarat Titans, who led the bowlers’ meeting. He opened the bowling for New Zealand in their last series – a 2-1 win over Pakistan – and is likely to do so again with two out of Doug Bracewell, Henry Shipley and Jacob Duffy supporting him. This series is an opportunity for them and the rest of the group to suss out the Indian conditions before New Zealand return for the ODI World Cup later this year.

LIVE in the UK and USA

You can watch the first ODI between India and New Zealand LIVE on ESPN Player in the UK and on ESPN+ in the USA.

“This is our last opportunity to play in these conditions before the World Cup in October and November, which you know, isn’t too far away,” Latham said. “So, I guess for us it’s [about] taking as many learnings as we can from these conditions and I said we’re lucky enough that most of the guys have played in these Indian conditions before. I don’t think we’ve played a one-dayer at any of the venues we have been playing at, so for us, it’s getting used to the conditions and familiarising ourselves with different surfaces that we may be faced with during the World Cup.”Latham also drew confidence from New Zealand’s ODI success in Karachi, where they bounced back from being 0-1 down to secure the three-match series. The pitches in Pakistan were slow and grippy, but the ones in India could be much better for batting, as was the case during the recent series against Sri Lanka, where the home side put up two scores of 370-plus in three games.Doug Bracewell is one of three NZ quicks in the running to partner Lockie Ferguson in Hyderabad•Associated Press

“The cricket we played in Pakistan was really good,” Latham said. “It was somewhere we have never toured before for a long time and to come up with a series win where it is difficult to play was really nice. I guess for us coming here, it’s about trying to adapt to conditions the best we can. The surfaces here will potentially be better than what we had in Pakistan; so just trying to stick to our plans as best as we can and I’m sure it’ll be a competitive series. Every time we play India, it’s always a competitive series and we’re looking forward to what’s coming up.”While New Zealand’s bowling attack appears light, they have some excellent players of spin in their batting line-up. During the Test series in Pakistan, Latham and Devon Conway had their eyes locked on mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed’s hand – both from the striker’s end and the non-striker’s end. New Zealand will now come up against Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav though the chances of both the wristspinners playing together are slim. Washington Sundar’s offspin is more likely to be matched up with New Zealand’s left-hander heavy line-up.”As I said before, we’re lucky enough we’ve played these guys and we’ve played India a lot – whether it would be here or back home in recent years,” Latham said. “So, as I said we plan for these guys with our scouting as best as possible and talking to the guys that have played here before – whether it’s in the IPL or different series in terms of trying to read their different deliveries. We will certainly be doing our best to try and negate them [Chahal and Kuldeep]. Obviously spin is quite a big thing over here in India, and we’re really excited about the three games coming up in the one-day series.”

For about ten overs, Karachi Kings looked like they would cruise to victory, but for the other 30, Multan Sultans comprehensively outplayed them. You do the maths. And yet, the numbers were the greatest irrelevance of all in a contest for the ages.Imad Wasim needed five off the final ball to seal a heist to end all heists in a PSL classic. Explaining how we got there is an epic story of its own, but in its denouement, Imad couldn’t quite pull it off, and Sultans celebrated a scarcely believable three-run win.Just ten minutes ago, and yet, what seems like an age ago, Kings needed 37 off the final nine balls, dead and buried by all accounts. Wides, no-balls, lost nerves and Imad himself somehow brought it down to six off the final four, plundering 31 off the next five balls. Which is, remember, a mathematical impossibility.But it wasn’t a PSL impossibility. Abbas Afridi, having seemingly lost his nerve when it mattered most, found a way to claw things back, dismissing Ben Cutting with two balls to go. Kings managed to get Imad on strike for one final shot at eternal glory. As Kings fell short and a packed Multan stadium exulted, Imad’s eyes glistened.Kings had won the toss and puzzlingly opted to field, despite their thumping win against Lahore Qalandars batting first on Sunday. Shan Masood, who had struggled for form until today, began much brighter, taking the lead from his captain in the powerplay. A 31-ball 50 from the left-hander ensured Sultans edged ahead after the first six while Mohammad Rizwan scratched and scribbled around, unable to quite find his usual timing. When Masood arrowed one down Imran Tahir’s throat, Sultans had 84 in the first ten, and the platform had been set.It was the perfect time for Rilee Rossouw to come in, but it was Rizwan instead who would shine brightest in the final few overs. The Sultans captain had three fifties in four innings until Wednesday, but would top it all off with a stunning century, taking just 18 balls to move from his 50 to his hundred, getting there in style with a couple of sixes and then a scrambled couple as Kings lost their discipline in the field. He would finish with an unbeaten 110 off 64 by the end, giving Multan’s crowd an innings to remember in the final game the city will host this PSL. The final six overs had yielded 85 runs for Sultans, and at that stage, a haggard Kings already looked done and dusted.James Vince took just 20 deliveries to reach his fifty•PCB

However, James Vince came out firing on all cylinders. He put Sultans’ bowling attack to the sword in an astonishing powerplay, with Kings racking up 72 in the first six overs. There were eight fours and five sixes during the powerplay, and while Matthew Wade was a useful support act, it was really all about the Englishman. It took him 20 deliveries to get to 50 with a huge six over cow corner, and Kings were seemingly on course.There they might have stayed until a fateful mix-up between Haider Ali and Vince. In the melee, it was Vince who ended up out and watched from the dugout as his team-mates failed to pick up the baton. Shoaib Malik struggled throughout a scratchy innings as Sultans successfully applied the squeeze, and appeared on track for a comfortable win in the end, particularly when the equation was down to 37 off nine.But the drama was only just beginning. Imad flayed Mohammad Ilyas for a pair of sixes, and with 22 off the final over required, a neck-high full toss that went for six suddenly put Kings in pole position. Cutting would smash Afridi for the biggest six of the night to leave his side just one hit away.But that hit proved elusive as Sultans, and an electric crowd, had the last laugh in a game anyone involved would never forget.

There were strong winds that blew deliveries off course and forced broadcast staff to abandon their posts at the Adelaide End, middle-order batters that fought back, and tailenders who resisted for hours.Through all that, New Zealand’s bowlers “kept on coming”, said captain Tim Southee. New Zealand had bowled 66.5 overs in the first innings, and then, having enforced the follow-on, ended up delivering 142 more – a total of 208.5 overs.And despite Monday’s conditions, which were extreme even for Basin Reserve, where strong winds frequently affect play, New Zealand still completed their innings victory, to seal the series 2-0.Related

• Stats – Williamson and Nicholls, at their best when together

• Rookie mistakes leave SL needing another miracle

• Southee, Tickner wrap up innings victory for NZ

“We’ve had a few follow-ons, and you’re preparing yourself to possibly be out in the field for a long time,” Southee said. “It was great to have the guys want the ball in their hand, and wanting to keep coming in. Guys putting up their hand up to bowl into the wind. I think of Blair Tickner’s spell early in the day, to come into the wind, and to get the two guys out early was massive and set up the day. Doug Bracewell coming in after a long period of time and wanting to bowl into the wind. The guys just kept on coming. That’s a characteristic of the side – to keep going in tough times.”She was pretty blustery out there. Not pleasing conditions to be out there in. I can’t remember too many times when the camera was taken down. It just shows the sheer force of the winds and the gusts that were out there today. Some horrible conditions at times. The guys just managed to find a way to get the job done.”With the Basin Reserve surface having flattened out, New Zealand peppered the opposition with short balls – Tickner started the day with a bouncer barrage that dismissed the overnight pairing of Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews, who on the previous tour had batted out an entire fourth day at this venue to save a Test.This time, however, they were both out in the opening exchanges of day four, out trying to take on the short ball. Sri Lanka had ended the third day 113 for 2, but were 116 for 4 pretty quickly.”It was a pretty slow surface,” Southee said. “The ball was 40 overs old, and we had Matt Henry at the other end bowling more traditional lengths, and we thought Blair bowling short was our best chance to get a couple of early wickets and it came off today.”This was New Zealand’s fourth Test in fairly quick succession, after having finished a two-Test series against England not long before Sri Lanka arrived. At the end of a big bowling effort, Southee paid tribute to New Zealand’s endurance over their Test season.”The guys are all a bit weary after a busy wee while,” he said. “Test cricket isn’t easy. The guys were a bit heavy in the legs, but very pleased to have this game wrapped up.”There’s a lot of character shown throughout the home summer, and also in Pakistan as well, which is a tough place to go. We got ourselves in positions to win both of those Pakistan matches as well. It’s been a pleasing few months in the whites. A number of guys have stepped up. We’ve won from different positions, and have shown character to bounce back from a loss at Mount Maunganui [against Bangladesh]. It’s nice for Test cricket to be ticking along.”

Lancashire 264 and 12 for 3 (Holland 2-6, van Beek 1-10) trail Leicestershire 491 for 8 dec (Handscomb 142*, Rehan 100, Turner 2-44) by 212 runsRehan Ahmed and Peter Handscomb both made centuries as Leicestershire tightened their grip on the third day of their Rothesay County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.Replying to the Lancashire’s 263, the visitors made 491 for 8 declared, giving them a lead of 228, with Handscomb unbeaten on 142. Left with eight overs to survive, Lancashire ended the day on 16 for 3, Keaton Jennings having been bowled between bat and pad for a second-ball duck by Ian Holland, who also had nightwatchman Anderson Phillip lbw for two.The home side’s utter misery was completed when Michael Jones was bowled for four by a ball from Logan van Beek that kept lowSo, for the second time in two games on this ground, Lancashire must bat out the final day for a draw having been outplayed by their opponents. Their supporters might be hoping Monday’s weather forecast is correct.In the first 16 overs of the morning, Ahmed and Holland, Leicestershire’s overnight pair, scored 68 runs and displayed almost complete command of the Lancashire attack. The climax of this period of play came when Ahmed reached his hundred, the second of his first-class career, off 147 balls with 14 fours.However, two balls later, the centurion was caught at silly mid-off by Josh Bohannon off Tom Hartley for exactly 100 and this ushered in the second half of the session in which the visitors managed only 54 runs in 18 overs for the loss of Holland, who was caught at mid-on by Saqib Mahmood for 35 when he miscued a pull off John Turner.That wicket fell just three overs after that of Ahmed. and the new batter Lewis Hill and Handscomb rebuilt the innings with some cautious strokes. Nevertheless, the fourth-wicket pair displayed greater aggression towards the end of the session, most notably when Hill took ten runs off three balls from George Balderson, and that trend was maintained deep into the afternoon.The hundred partnership came up and Hill reached his fifty in 91 balls and 115 minutes. Lancashire took the new ball and Handscomb got to his half-century in three balls more having taken nine minutes longer.The pair had extended their partnership to 130 before two wickets fell in three overs. Hill skied a pull to Michael Jones at midwicket off Balderson and departed for 64 and then Louis Kimber was bowled for eight when trying to hit all round a ball from Turner. That left Leicestershire on 331 for 5 but Handscomb and Ben Cox increased the run rate after tea and took their side to the verge of a fourth bonus point with a sixth-wicket stand of 66.Handscomb reached the 27th century of his career off 170 balls, having hit ten fours, before Cox holed out on the deep square leg boundary for 31, Luke Wells taking the catch to give Mahmood his second wicket of the innings.That success brought Lancashire their third bonus point of the match but Leicestershire collected their seventh with 11 balls to spare, van Beek nudging the single that took his side past 400. The visitors’ acceleration continued deep into the evening session as wickets were traded for runs.Van Beek made 29 before he was bowled by Wells and Ben Green five before he was castled by Hartley, who finished with 2 for 151 off 44 overs, the most he has bowled in any game. Turner took 2 for 44 and Mahmood 2 for 99.Leicestershire’s total is their highest at Old Trafford and only two short of the most they have ever scored against Lancashire

India coach Gautam Gambhir did not confirm whether out-of-form captain Rohit Sharma would be part of the starting XI for the New Year’s Test in Sydney or not.”The head coach is here. That should be enough,” Gambhir said to a room full of reporters wondering why Rohit was not at the pre-match press conference.Rohit had skipped it before the third Test in Brisbane too – Shubman Gill spoke to the press then – but the explanation then was that he had not come for the optional training session at the Gabba where the press conference was being held. Thursday’s training session at the SCG was optional too, but Rohit was there at the ground, on the eve of a Test India must win to draw the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.So the question was asked: Is Rohit okay? “Everything is fine with Rohit,” Gambhir replied.And when he was asked again whether Rohit was going to play, he said: “We’re going to have a look at the wicket and finalise it [the XI] tomorrow.”That’s where it all kicked off.Related

• Rohit Sharma and the ties that are a fraying

• Mitchell Marsh dropped, Beau Webster to debut in Sydney

• Akash Deep and Marsh out of Sydney showdown

Rohit has been struggling for form. He’s averaging 10.93 in his last nine Tests and only 6.2 in this series. He was late to India’s training on Thursday. Technically, it was an optional session, so it might not be right reading too much into it, but everybody was there.Gill, who was left out of the XI for the MCG Test, was among the first set of batters in the SCG nets. Dhruv Jurel, who hasn’t played since the first Test in Perth, was among them too; it was one of the few times he has worked alongside the first-XI players. Jasprit Bumrah came out from the doors leading into the members pavilion and went straight to Gambhir for a little chat.Still there was no sign of Rohit at the nets. He had been in the main ground playing a game of foot-volleyball and then disappeared. It was only after the others had batted for an hour that Rohit made his way out to join them, without his kit, in just his sweatshirt and shorts. He went down to where the team analyst, Hari, was standing. Then Bumrah joined the two. This had happened at the MCG as well. Rohit took his time to get to the outdoor nets and had a fairly long session facing only throwdowns. The only difference was in Melbourne he also attended the press conference.At the SCG, he had a light, 40-minute hit facing the fielding coach T Dilip and throwdown specialist Daya off the sidearm. The other frontline batters were already done with their stints by this time. Rohit was batting alongside Tanush Kotian and Abhimanyu Easwaran. There were moments that he looked good, a pull shot off the front foot for example, moments that he seemed to have fun, an apology for an awkward throwback down the pitch had him smiling from ear to ear, and moments where he batted like someone not in form, he left one that took out his off stump.Rohit Sharma was a late arrival at training and did not practice like the others did at the SCG•Getty Images

At the end of the Brisbane Test, Rohit had admitted that while he wasn’t batting well, he was still ticking all the boxes that he needed to.”As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well, I am pretty happy with how things are panning out for me,” Rohit had said two weeks ago. “Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it’s been a while since he has got big runs. But for a person like me, I think it’s all about how I feel in my mind.”In Melbourne, he seemed to find a semblance of form, or at least a lot more faith in his defence, as he withstood a period of bowling that Pat Cummins said was pretty close to perfect from his side. Australia hunted for his outside edge, he denied them for the first hour, but then gave them their first breakthrough when he played a risky flick shot that ended up in the hands of the gully fielder.”As a batter as well, a lot of the things that I am trying to do is not falling in the place that I would want to,” Rohit said after India went 2-1 down in the series. “But mentally, it is disturbing without a doubt.” Reports emerged in the media that Rohit was already thinking of retiring at the end of the Sydney Test, which then begged the question, if he was thinking along those lines, could he not step away now when the series is still alive?India rarely reveal their XI on the eve of a Test match but Gambhir refusing to confirm whether Rohit will be part of it was odd. Doesn’t the captain walk straight in? Isn’t he the one who decides who plays, not the other way around? The new year has begun with plenty of intrigue for India.