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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA goose egg, bagel, doughnut, or a duck in cricket. Whatever you want to call it, Scotland had a big fat zero next to their name in the wins column for ODIs against Full Members: no wins, 23 losses since the 1999 World Cup.That dubious record was laid to rest on Thursday.Scotland didn’t get official ODI credit for laying the smackdown on Sri Lanka in a Champions Trophy warm-up last month, but the hosts came out of that match oozing confidence. It showed against Zimbabwe when Kyle Coetzer responded with a top-class century, like he had done against Sri Lanka, to set up a total of 317 for 6 in an eventual 26-run win on DLS Method.Both sides grappled through the first four overs in which Scotland added just four runs. Off the penultimate ball of the fourth over, Richard Ngarava pinged Kyle Coetzer on the side of the helmet with a bouncer. Much like a “heel” attempting a vicious maneuver on a “face” character in a wrestling match, the blow appeared to stir up Coetzer to bring out the full gamut of moves in retaliation.But it was Ngarava’s new-ball partner Tendai Chatara who was at the receiving end of Coetzer’s initial punishment, with a drive over long-on for six sandwiched by three boundaries in a 19-run seventh over. Matthew Cross was not to be left out of the fun at the other end; he pulled Ngarava and played a series of cover drives as part of five boundaries spread across the sixth and eighth overs. Cross struck seven fours in all for 33 off 35 balls before he played on to end a brisk 56-run opening stand.Coetzer brought up his half-century off 44 deliveries, dropkicking his opposite number Graeme Cremer’s legspin over the rope at long-on for six and then through midwicket for four along the way. At the other end, Zimbabwe connected with a few elbow drops to knock over Calum MacLeod, Richie Berrington and Preston Mommsen cheaply.But Coetzer was unmoved, bringing up his second ton in three days. It was Coetzer’s fourth ODI ton overall; he finished with 13 fours and two sixes in his 109 off 101 balls before he was caught at deep midwicket off Sean Williams to make it 215 for 5 in the 40th over.Making 300 is the bare minimum under good conditions at The Grange. With Coetzer gone, it was left to Craig Wallace and Michael Leask to take the act into overdrive, and they did just that. After bringing up 50 in 49 balls, Wallace pulled out a reverse ramp on Chatara in the 47th over to move to his highest ODI score of 58 before eventually holing out to long-on in the 49th.Leask, playing his first ODI since August 2016, stuck to old-school slogging at the other end, clearing the front leg to heave both medium pacers over the leg side boundary. He too finished with a career-best unbeaten 59 off 38 balls. Ngarava also had a career day, but in the wrong direction, ending up with 1 for 96 in 10 overs, the second-worst ODI figures by a Zimbabwean.Con de Lange finished with career-best ODI figures of 5 for 60•Peter Della Penna

Zimbabwe’s reply kept the 500-odd home fans mostly silent in the early part of their 318 chase as Hamilton Masakadza hit two monstrous sixes over long-on, one of which resulted in a ball change. But for the first of several times in the chase, Zimbabwe climbed up the top rope and readied themselves for the finishing move only to slip and fall off the turnbuckle.Masakadza was run-out for 38 when he responded to Solomon Mire’s tight call for a single off Leask, who ran towards short midwicket on his followthrough and relayed the throw to Cross. Craig Ervine was beaten for pace an over later by Chris Sole as a top-edged pull swirled before coming down to Cross.Con de Lange entered in the 18th over and struck five balls later, the first of what would be a maiden five-for in Scotland colors, when Mire’s top-edged sweep carried to Safyaan Sharif at deep square leg to make it 97 for 3. Another run-out came moments before the umpires took players off for thickening showers as Berrington’s spectacular diving stop at backward point created confusion between Williams and Sikandar Raza, with the latter ultimately short of the relay to Cross.The teams sat for 100 minutes before skies cleared and play resumed with Zimbabwe 107 for 4 in 21.3 overs, though set a new target of 299 in 43 overs. Williams made up for his role in Raza’s run-out by producing a series of reverse sweeps for boundaries off de Lange. He brought up his half-century off 49 balls with a boundary. He would go on to make 70 before Berrington dislodged him thanks to a sharp catch by Cross standing up to Berrington’s medium pace. In the same over, Berrington could have had another if not for a tough drop on a return chance to reprieve Malcolm Waller on 8.While de Lange burrowed through Zimbabwe’s middle and lower order at one end, Waller seized on the early evening cross-breeze to launch five sixes. Scotland’s nerves showed in the 38th over when a four and six off by Waller off Sole was followed by a no-ball, with the ensuing free hit smashed for another four. Fifteen had come off three legal deliveries, with Zimbabwe dragging the equation down to 59 off 33. However, they were eight down and Waller began turning down singles in order to protect the tail.With 38 needed off the last three overs, De Lange was brought back again only to be hit for another six down the ground by Waller. But three balls later another slog sweep held up in the wind for Sole to claim Waller at deep square leg for 92 off 62, though it was not without controversy as Scotland took a dramatic “heel” turn of their own. Video footage of the catch appeared to show that Sole’s right foot was on the rope when he completed the catch before quickly dragging it back inside play.For Zimbabwe fans, it will bring back bad memories of the disputed catch taken by John Mooney on the boundary to dismiss Williams on 96 in the 2015 World Cup, a match Ireland eventually won by five runs.Zimbabwe initially protested and Waller stayed at the wicket for nearly a minute before reluctantly walking off. De Lange had five, Zimbabwe were down on the mat for good. Sharif then came back to claim the final wicket to clinch a famous Scotland win.

ScorecardHashim Amla top-scored as the South Africans won their second one-day warm-up match•Getty Images

Tom Sole’s brave half-century on debut was not enough to prevent victory for the South Africans, despite a laboured display from the tourists at Wantage Road in their final warm-up match ahead of the ODI series against England.It was a game Northamptonshire could have won after Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and David Miller made half-centuries in the South Africans’ under-par total of 275 for 7. But the hosts’ chase failed to build on a strong start and the chance of an upset went begging.Sole, 20, had kept Northants alive after coming in at No. 9 with 91 needed. With 27 to win from 24 balls and Northants nine down, he swung Andile Phehlukwayo twice over long-off for six. Fourteen were needed from 18 balls as South Africa turned back to the pace of Morne Morkel and he ended the drama with a short delivery that Sole lifted to third man.Max Holden’s maiden List A fifty helped give Northants a bright opening. He took four boundaries from Chris Morris’ fourth over and went on to a half-century in 48 balls but dragged into his stumps for 55 trying to pull a short ball from Imran Tahir.Chesney Hughes also fell to a cross-batted stroke but his was far more agricultural, attempting a slog sweep at JP Duminy and being bowled for 31. Until then, Hughes played a full part in the second-wicket stand of 92 with Holden, the pick of his strokes a blistering cut against Morris.But Hughes’ dismissal was reflective of the innings where Northants were largely the makers of their own downfall. Saif Zaib swung Tahir to long-on, James Kettleborough mistimed a pull to mid-on and Rory Kleinveldt edged Morkel to the wicketkeeper trying to run a ball to third man.Steven Crook was the only other batsman to show for Northants, his entertaining 42 featuring four boundaries from Phehlukwayo’s sixth over. But he also fell in disappointing fashion, with a mistimed pull taken at short third man. That appeared to be Northants’ hopes ended but Sole got them close.The South African innings featured three half-centuries but no partnership of real damage. They slid from 197 for 3 to 221 for 7 and it took Duminy and Morris to haul 31 from the final three overs to put up a defendable score.The tourists lost Quinton de Kock for a seven-ball duck in just the second over – pinned by a Richard Gleeson inswinger – but then regained control through Amla and du Plessis, who added 93 for the second wicket.Amla played a delightful back-foot punch for four past point in the ninth over and was typically strong in working runs through the on side. He uppercut Gleeson for six to raise fifty in 63 balls but a rare display of aggression, trying to lift Sole down the ground, saw him hole out to long-on for 59. It was Sole’s first wicket in professional cricket.Du Plessis wasn’t as calm as Amla and worked himself into a lather in trying to force away a disciplined Northants attack. He finally fired, swinging the final ball of the 12th over back over Azharullah’s head for the day’s first six and repeated the shot for four more in the same bowler’s next over. But advancing down the pitch to Zaib he picked out deep midwicket.Miller launched Sole for two mighty sixes that both found the roof of the Lynn Wilson Centre but he lost his middle stump to an Azharullah inswinger during the South Africans’ slide.Lower-order runs were needed and Morris swept Zaib for four at the start of the 46th over and then lifted him over extra-cover for another boundary. Duminy, the captain who had relegated himself in the order to No. 9, swung Azharullah down the ground for six in the 48th over, and uppercut a boundary in the final over before lifting the final ball of the innings over long-on.

The Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) will be split into three rounds next summer, and for the first time prize money of $258,000 will be up for grabs in the one-day tournament.Cricket Australia has announced the WNCL schedule for 2017-18, with one round in October (prior to the Women’s Ashes), a second round in November (ahead of the WBBL), and the last round and final to be played in February.New South Wales will be aiming to defend their title after last year’s triumph, which was their 18th title. From 2005-06 onwards, New South Wales won 10 consecutive titles before South Australia broke the dominance in 2015-16.”This will be the 22nd season of the Women’s National Cricket League, and the tournament has a strong history of producing world-class talent as well as attracting high-profile international players,” Pat Howard, CA’s executive general manager – team performance, said. “It continues to provide a platform for Australia’s finest young cricketers to further develop their skills and strive for national selection.”We know we have a strong structure to our domestic competitions which identifies and elevates players who are performing, so that we can continue to strive for success on the international stage and ensure our players are provided with the very best opportunities to perform to their ability here at home and away.”Cricket has led the way in showing that women too can make a living from the game, with the proposed remuneration providing the country’s best domestic players the opportunity to earn a full-time wage for the first time.”

OPPO Mobiles India, the smartphone manufacturer, has won the Indian team sponsorship rights for a five-year period, starting April 1 2017. OPPO Mobiles will pay INR 1079 crore (approx USD 162 million) for the duration of their contract having beaten the only other bid of INR 768 crore (approx USD 115 million) from Vivo, another smartphone manufacturer. The minimum reserve price was set by the BCCI at INR 538 crore (approx USD 81 million).The bids were opened in the presence of both parties at noon on Tuesday. OPPO’s was worth INR 4.61 crore (approx USD 693,000) per match for bilateral series and INR 1.51 crore (approx USD 227,000) per match for ICC sponsored tournaments. The existing team sponsor, Star India, whose contract expires on March 31, had paid INR 1.92 crore (approx USD 289,000) and 61 lakh (approx USD 92,000) per match for bilateral and ICC tournaments respectively. The team sponsorship rights bring with them the opportunity to display a commercial logo on the men’s, women’s, Under-19 and A teams’ kits.The five years rights period starts on 1st April 2017 and continues until 31st March 2022, during which India play 14 home series and 20 overseas series, which also include the ICC Champions Trophy, ICC Cricket World Cup and the World T20 events.BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said the bid revealed the value of a partnership with the India team. “Star India gave us 203 crore (approx USD 30.5 million) in four years. OPPO has paid us 1079 crore over five years, which far exceeds the previous highest [contract],” he told ESPNcricinfo . “It really shows the true value of Indian cricket and the belief that companies have in Indian cricket. Because only once you have belief can you put in that kind of amount.”Johri said nine companies – “OPPO, Vivo, Star India, PayTM, Hero, Group M, DNA, DBS Bank and Encompass ” – had obtained the tender document following which two – OPPO and Vivo – submitted bids. Johri then went on the explain the process by which the winning bid was selected. “The tenders come into envelops, there is a technical evaluation and a financial bid. First, the technical bids are opened and examined for completion in terms of legal requirements by the BCCI lawyers and lawyers from Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas. And, all financial aspects of the bid are evaluated by Deloitte. Once Deloitte tabulated the final numbers, we showed both parties each other’s numbers and the one with the higher number gets [the contract].”Diana Eduljee, member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, said they were satisfied with the bidding process. “There was transparency and everything was in order,” she said in a press conference in Mumbai. “We are very happy with this bid because it has put cricket first and everything else in the background. This is a very positive sign and positive beginning for all of us. We hope to go forward from here.”Star India CEO Uday Shankar had said they decided not to bid again given the “volatility” surrounding the game and was particularly apprehensive about the lack of clarity over the Future Tours Programme.Johri, however, dismissed those concerns. “That [FTP] is already part of the tender document,” he said at the press conference. “Today’s result is testimony that there is no ambiguity. We play 259 games in total.” He also rejected the suggestion that big brands were no longer interested in investing in Indian cricket. “If you look at somebody putting 1079 crore for a five-year sponsorship, the company in its own right is a big company. That is testimony to the confidence in BCCI and Indian cricket,” he said.Sky Li, global vice-president and president of OPPO Mobiles India Pvt Ltd., said OPPO aimed to reach new heights alongside the India team. “Cricket in India isn’t just a sport, it is also a way of life, a culture, even a religion,” he said. “OPPO is the most adored youth-centralised brand. In India we also have been growing fast.”

Match facts

March 26, 2017
Start time 1230 local (1630 GMT)The upcoming tour of West Indies will be Sarfraz Ahmed’s first as captain of both limited-overs sides•Getty Images

Big picture

West Indies and Pakistan have only played four completed T20 internationals since last year’s World T20, a number they are set to double in this series. The sample might not seem like much to go on, but the scale of their contrasting fortunes – Pakistan haven’t lost any while West Indies have only one win – promises an intriguing narrative.Neither side has played a T20I since Pakistan beat West Indies 3-0 in the UAE last year. Both sides, however, are going through wretched runs of form, combining to win just two of their 17 games since then.What might differentiate the teams is the mood heading into this tour. While reasons for cheer in West Indies cricket are scarce at the moment, Pakistan are in buoyant spirits after a successful Pakistan Super League, the final of which was held at a packed Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, foreign players and all. There are no less than five players in Pakistan’s squad who directly owe their inclusion to impressive performances in the PSL this season, including Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad. The dampener is the absence of explosive opener Sharjeel Khan, provisionally suspended in the wake of the corruption scandal that engulfed the PSL.West Indies’ squad is an analyst’s nightmare, with teams varying wildly from one series to the next. The team that played their last T20I, for example, included just two players from the side that won them the World T20 less than six months prior to that. However, the management has brought back some T20 stars for this series, with Lendl Simmons and Samuel Badree notable returnees. With Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Carlos Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels all in, this appears to be as strong a squad as West Indies could have hoped to assemble.

Form guide

West Indies: LLLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan: WWWWL

In the spotlight

Carlos Brathwaite has yet to fire since being named West Indies’ T20I captain in the aftermath of that manic World T20 final against England. The four times he’s batted since, he has made 14, 18, 0 and 8. It could be argued he’s too good a power hitter not to bat higher up the order, but the West Indies side is replete with explosive batsmen, and if he is to make his mark, it may end up being lower down. With the first T20I in his hometown of Barbados, Brathwaite might just get the extra motivation he needs.Carlos Brathwaite is yet to replicate his World T20 heroics•Getty Images

Babar Azam is something of a peculiarity among Pakistan batsmen, in that he has been remarkably consistent. He has scored four hundreds in his last eight ODI games. What he could improve on is converting good T20 starts into big scores, and with him likely to open the batting in the absence of Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan, this is an ideal opportunity.

Team news

West Indies could go into this match with a healthy blend of youth and experience. The WICB announced on the eve of the first match that Andre Fletcher, Jonathan Carter and Veerasammy Permaul had been released from the original 16-man squad for the first two matches. Fletcher’s absence means the in-form Chadwick Walton, who scored a century against the English tourists in a 50-over warm-up match last month, will most likely take over the gloves and open the batting with Evin Lewis.West Indies (probable): 1 Chadwick Walton (wk), 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Jason Mohammed, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Jason Holder, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Jerome TaylorIt remains to be seen how many of the young players, who broke through during the PSL, end up being included. The older returnees – Kamran Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad – are expected to slot back in straightaway. With Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Wahab Riaz, Usman Khan and Sohail Tanvir all part of the squad, Pakistan’s fast bowling looks ominous.Pakistan (probable): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Kamran Akmal, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Rumman Raees, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Wahab Riaz

Pitch and conditions

The Kensington Oval surface has regularly produced high-scoring T20 internationals. All completed CPL games last season produced at least one total above 170. There is a slight chance of rain in the afternoon, although it is not expected to prevent a full contest.

Stats and trivia

• The Kensington Oval is yet to see a score above 200. In the 16 T20 internationals held here, the highest total was Sri Lanka’s 195 for 3 during the World T20 in 2010
• Kamran Akmal has not played a T20 international since the World T20 in 2014. His last game was also against West Indies. He was dismissed for 0 as Pakistan lost by 84 runs – their third-heaviest defeat in T20Is.

Pakistan Women qualified for the upcoming Women’s World Cup in England despite being demolished by India Women by seven wickets at Colombo’s P Sara Oval. Ekta Bisht’s career-best returns of 5 for 8 in 10 overs toppled Pakistan for 67. India required just 22.3 overs to chase down the target, with seven wickets in hand, and finished the Super Six stage as table toppers.Before Bisht, it was Shikha Pandey, the new-ball bowler, who set the tone for Pakistan’s slide after Mithali Raj decided to bowl under overcast conditions. Pandey removed the in-form Nahida Khan and Javeria Khan for single-digit scores. Pakistan were 30 for 2 after 10 overs when Bisht struck for the first time, off her very first ball, trapping Ayesha Zafar lbw for her 50th ODI scalp. Zafar had made 19.Apart from Zafar, only Bismah Maroof got into double figures before Pakistan folded in the 44th over. Bisht had ample support. Pandey took 2 for 9 from her seven overs, while spinners Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma and Devika Vaidya picked up a wicket apiece.India’s innings began in bright fashion, with a boundary off the very first ball, but they quickly stuttered with Sana Mir and Sadia Yousuf reducing them to 23 for 2. Opening batsman Deepti Sharma then steered the chase with a 42-run third-wicket stand with Kaur, who became Yousuf’s second victim when she was caught by Zafar with just three needed. Five balls later, Veda Krishnamurthy closed out the game with a four off left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu as India’s innings ended the same way it began.Sri Lanka Women also secured their spot in the World Cup after a 42-run win via the Duckworth-Lewis method in their last Super Six tie against Bangladesh Women in a rain-affected tie in Colombo. Chamari Atapattu hit 84 at the top to help Sri Lanka to 197 for 9 in their 50 overs. In reply, Bangladesh, chasing a revised target of 111, could only reach 68 for 5 in their allotted 21 overs.Atapattu walked out with Sri Lanka 39 for 1 in the 11th over and started off with a half-century stand with Hasini Perera. After Perera’s dismissal for 32, the onus fell on Atapattu to build Sri Lanka’s innings. Atapattu nearly hung around till the end of the innings, before Salma Khatun took her out in the first ball of the 49th over. Sri Lanka could only collect four runs from the 11 remaining balls as they fell short of the 200-mark.Bangaldesh used seven bowlers, six of whom were among the wickets. Khatun was the pick of the lot, striking thrice and giving away just 18 runs in nine overs.Bangladesh began poorly in the chase, with Udeshika Prabodhani and Inoka Ranaweera reducing them to 25 for 3 in the eighth over. Nigar Sultana (24) and Shaila Sharmin (21) made contributions, but a double strike from Inoshi Priyadharshani in the 15th over hurt Bangladesh and they finished well short of the target.Rain affected proceedings at the Colombo Cricket Ground too where South Africa Women came out on top by 36 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method against Ireland Women. South Africa’s win was set up by a strong bowling performance that helped them bowl out Ireland for 166 in 49.5 overs. South Africa were 82 for 1 in 21 overs in their reply when rain stopped play. South Africa needed to be 47 for 1 at that stage, and with play never resuming, they emerged comfortable winners and secured second spot in the Super Six table.All seven of the bowlers used by South Africa chipped in with wickets as Ireland’s innings never got going. Cecilia Joyce struck 29 at the top of the order. Isobel Joyce and Gaby Lewis got off to starts with knocks of 30 and 21 respectively, but most of the rest largely failed to impress. That Ireland got to 166 was down to wicketkeeper Mary Waldron’s unbeaten 33 at No. 8, and her last-wicket partnership of 43 with Ciara Metcalfe, who contributed just 10.Lizelle Lee, Sune Luus and Dane van Niekerk took two wickets each for South Africa.Kim Garth snuffed out Lee for 14 in the third over, after which Laura Wolvaardt and Mignon du Preez got together for an unbroken second-wicket stand of 59. When the rain came down, Wolvaardt was unbeaten on 32 and du Preez was not out on 29.The four qualifying teams – India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – will be joined by England, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies in the World Cup which begins in June in England.

Australian fast bowler Joe Mennie has been admitted to hospital with a bleed on the brain after being struck on the head by a ball while he was bowling at Sydney Sixers training on Monday.”After being struck on the head by a ball at training on Monday, Joe was transported to a hospital in Brisbane where he underwent a series of check-ups before being discharged later that evening,” Cricket Australia chief medical officer Dr John Orchard said.”Joe was reviewed by a Cricket Australia doctor on Tuesday and had some scans performed that revealed a small fracture and associated minor brain bleed. Whilst this is a serious injury, Joe is feeling well. We believe that this is a stable injury and will not require surgery.”As a precautionary measure, Joe has been admitted to hospital for observation and will continue to be assessed by a neurosurgeon to determine best course of action.”Sixers wicketkeeper Brad Haddin had originally believed Mennie had escaped serious injury, telling on Tuesday that Mennie would be available for selection for Wednesday night’s semi-final against Brisbane Heat. Mennie has since been ruled out of the match.”It was a bit of a scary incident actually,” Haddin said at the time. “He was bowling in the nets and Michael Lumb got hold of one straight back and he’s followed through and got him in the head. It was a bit uncomfortable for a couple of minutes but lucky Joe’s all right.Mennie had played two matches for the Sixers during this BBL campaign. Earlier in the summer, he made his Test debut for Australia in Hobart against South Africa, having also made his ODI debut on the tour of South Africa in October.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:53

Moonda: Still concerns over Amla’s form, but Cook has established himself

Stephen Cook’s third Test hundred moved South Africa into a dominant position on a third day of rain delays and rapid scoring in Port Elizabeth. Sri Lanka caused a brief flutter with four wickets for 56 runs, but that only came after South Africa had moved to 221 for 1. At stumps, South Africa were 351 for 5, their lead 432 with two days remaining.For most of the day, the only force that seemed capable of halting South Africa’s march was the weather: Bad light and rain halted play twice, either side of an early lunch break, for roughly an hour cumulatively. Then, belatedly, Sri Lanka’s bowlers began to find some success.Nuwan Pradeep dismissed Amla with the last ball before tea, making him the 10,000th lbw victim in Test history. Dushmantha Chameera got Cook to nick behind in the sixth over after tea, before Dhananjaya de Silva, bowling his offbreaks from around the wicket to both right- and left-hand batsmen, began turning the ball appreciably. He got JP Duminy to edge to slip, and then had Temba Bavuma caught at short leg – Bavuma walked off without reviewing after being given out, despite replays suggesting there was no bat involved.Rangana Herath could have had Quinton de Kock three overs later, but Dinesh Chandimal, possibly unsighted by the batsman as the ball spun out of the rough and between bat and pad, missed the stumping. De Kock and Faf du Plessis went on to add an unbroken 74 for the sixth wicket, at 4.82 per over, reinforcing South Africa’s hold on the Test match.South Africa dominated right from the start of play, taking only 7.5 overs to wrap up Sri Lanka’s lower order, with Vernon Philander completing his 11th Test-match five-for, and gain an 81-run first-innings lead. Then Cook, courtesy century stands for the first and second wicket with Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla, ensured Sri Lanka remained on the mat.Amla fell two short of a half-century, Pradeep trapping him on the shuffle, spearing one full and straight the ball after that shuffle had brought the batsman a cheeky four, a leg glance off an off-stump delivery. By then, Amla had batted as fluently as he has done at any point this season, delighted his fans with some vintage strokeplay including scorching drives through the covers and down the ground, his balance and timing inch-perfect.After two days dominated by seamers, Sri Lanka may have hoped for continuing assistance from the pitch, but after some early help for the new ball – Cook and Elgar sent three edges streaking through gaps in the slip cordon in the first four overs – conditions seemed to ease out considerably. Given South Africa’s lead, Sri Lanka couldn’t attack for too long, and the innings eventually settled into a pattern of easily available runs against defensive fields.Elgar was the dominant opening partner before lunch – which was taken half an hour early thanks to bad light and later rain – scoring 26 to Cook’s 12 and hitting three fours including a muscular swat over midwicket when Suranga Lakmal dropped marginally short and a crisply timed back-foot drive down the ground off Angelo Mathews.Cook caught up when play resumed, with three fours in two overs – not all of them entirely controlled – when the seamers began bowling short. With singles now plentifully available against the deep-set fields, Cook’s strike rate climbed, and he reached fifty in style, punching Pradeep through the covers to bring up the landmark and slashing the next one backward of point for another four.Elgar soon joined him in the 50s before falling to a miscued pull off Suranga Lakmal. By then, Cook and Elgar had brought up their second century partnership of the match. It was only the tenth time in Test history that an opening pair had achieved this feat.South Africa began scoring even more freely with Amla at the crease: the second-wicket pair scored at 5.57 while the openers had gone at 3.60. Cook, who took 81 balls to score his first fifty, scored his second in 71 balls, as Sri Lanka’s bowlers went through the motions. Cook went from 95 to 99 with the shot of his innings, a straight punch off the front foot against Chameera, before getting to his hundred the next ball with a trademark nurdle into the leg side for two.South Africa’s day began in the best way possible. Philander struck with his very first ball, shaping it away from the fourth-stump channel to induce a poke and an edge from Dhananjaya de Silva, who, on 43 overnight, had held Sri Lanka’s hopes of narrowing South Africa’s lead to manageable proportions. Five balls later, Lakmal realised he wasn’t quite to the pitch of a fullish ball to drive, checked his shot, and popped a low catch to mid-on, giving Philander his fifth wicket.Philander and Kyle Abbott beat the edges of Chameera and Pradeep frequently, but Sri Lanka’s Nos. 9 and 11 managed to stretch their total by 20 runs along the way. There were a couple of audacious shots as well – Pradeep punched Abbott off the back foot to the point boundary, and Chameera hit Philander for a straight-bat scoop over mid-on. Eventually, having just got past the 50-ball mark, Chameera jabbed at an away-swinger from Abbott and nicked to first slip.

Australia’s team performance chief Pat Howard, the man held ultimately accountable for the fortunes of the national side, has reached out to former opening batsman Chris Rogers for advice on how to scotch the bleeding of the Test team’s currently hapless top six.Howard also admitted that he, the coach Darren Lehmann and the national selection panel were under pressure to keep their jobs unless results improved. Appointed as a result of the Argus review in August 2011, he said that there needed to be renewed focus on the defensive and tactical skills of batsmanship to get through difficult days like the one experienced in Hobart on Saturday.”It needs more focus. That’s simple,” Howard said. “Chris was fantastic, you go back to what he and David Warner did at the Oval [in 2015], I think it was 14 runs off 10 overs, they read the situation really well. That patience and adaptability to read the situation there. I’ve really been impressed by Chris’ insights and comments and I was before.”He’s got a good insight into the game … we’ve talked to him about coming and talking to people around that, both technically and mentally, and about a year ago he worked with our Under-19s. It’s a fair comment and something to drive some of our thinking.”The position of Australian batting coach has changed hands this year, following Howard’s decision not to grant an improved contract to Michael Di Venuto, who held the position with some success for the previous three years. Di Venuto, who has been in Hobart this week, then took the job as head coach of Surrey, and the role was handed over to the former England batsman Graeme Hick, an internal appointment via his role at the National Cricket Centre.Before this Test, Hick admitted he had his work cut out to build the relationships necessary to be an effective batting coach for the team. The rest of Lehmann’s support staff, including the assistant coach David Saker and the fielding coach Greg Blewett, are all relatively recent appointments. Rogers has said that the spate of batting collapses pointed to deeper issues within the team, and in the domestic structure beneath it.”I think good sides always find a way to fight when they’re in trouble, and the Australian side at the moment, when they lose a few wickets it’s just a collapse,” Rogers told ABC’s Offsiders on Sunday. “All 10 wickets have fallen, we’ve seen it now two Tests in a row I think for 86 in the first Test and now 85 in this Test, and you don’t see that [often]. So there’s something fundamentally wrong I think with the side, they’re obviously lacking confidence. There’s no doubt the talent’s there, but they just can’t find a way to fight, and that’s really disconcerting.”Speaking to particularly a few of the older guys, past players, there’s a bit of a thought that maybe we should push to return to how the Sheffield Shield used to be – just pick the best sides, the best players and see who wins. We have this system now where we’re trying to identify players and push them through. But we’ve been doing that for a fair while now and it doesn’t seem to be working, the performances haven’t really been there to justify it. I think it’s about now finding that winning culture. We’ve perhaps lost that, and whether we need to find that at the level below, maybe that’s the way to go.”Howard stated, among other things, that Australia’s traditional Gabba start – where they had not lost a Test match since 1988 – had to be moved for commercial reasons, namely an effort to build the audience for a Brisbane match via the avenue of a day-night Test. But he also said the team had to be adaptable enough to cope.Pat Howard on Chris Rogers’ role: “He’s got a good insight into the game … we’ve talked to him about coming and talking to people around that, both technically and mentally”•Getty Images

“The team does like starting in Brisbane obviously but we just talked about adaptability and being able to play in different conditions at different times,” Howard said. “Brisbane has been a Test match that has struggled in other areas of the game over the last couple of years and they look to do something different.”I’d like to have games in Brisbane to support the team at times, there were other aspects as well, but we also need to adapt and I don’t want to look for excuses. We want to look for excuses at times and look for easy answers, and I don’t want to go down that track. Whatever you get overseas, whatever you get at home, do your homework, do your preparation get ready to adapt to the situation and the conditions on offer.”Like the national selectors, Trevor Hohns and Mark Waugh, Howard’s contract expires at the end of June 2017. The selection chairman Rod Marsh has already indicated he will vacate his post at that time, but Howard said there had been no discussion about finding his replacement any earlier than that. He did indicate,d however, that the entire panel may be refreshed at that time.”It’s important to note that Rod and I had that discussion well before the Sri Lanka tour,” Howard said. “This has been well in train and [his replacement] hasn’t been contemplated, we announced it a couple of weeks ago, and it was just confirming what all of us had known for a long time.”We’ve always had different guys on different tours. Trevor Hohns and Mark Waugh will go on and their contracts are due up at the same time as well, so they may not be staying either. I appreciate the pressure comes on Rod, he knows that this comes with the role, but there are people in that situation all the time and every time you say someone is not going to stay and you exit them straight away it doesn’t respect the work that they are doing at the time.”Howard also defended the decision to extend Lehmann’s contract until 2019 in August. “This is a great challenge for his coaching, I think he’s in uncharted territory for him as well and we’ve talked about that,” Howard said. “This is a great chance for him to reinvent.”He’s been contracted through past 2019, which is a huge year in the calendar, Ashes away and a World Cup back-to-back. We’ve got a young captain with a coach that’s wanted to give the team and squad some stability. I make no apologies for that, I made the decision and I take accountability for that.”

Jason Roy, England’s limited-overs opening batsman, says that England’s Test team needs to tap into the mindset that helped propel the T20 side into the final of the World T20 earlier this year, as they prepare for the challenge of facing India on home soil.England have arrived in Rajkot for Wednesday’s series opener against India, still smarting from their historic defeat in the second Test against Bangladesh last month. With doubts about their spin attack, and several question-marks about a batting line-up that crumbled in the space of a single session at Dhaka, England could hardly be starting the series from a less promising position.However Roy, speaking at the Chance to Shine annual awards in London, believed that the England squad would have the spirit to take the fight back to India, and urged his team-mates – particularly the likes of Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, who starred in England’s World T20 campaign in March – to remember how they turned their fortunes around on their last trip to India.”I think it’s important to go with the same sort of mindset as we did at the T20 World Cup,” said Roy. “It’s a difficult place to go and play cricket, especially Test cricket, so we can’t have too many preconceived ideas on what we want to achieve. We’ve just got to go out there and do everything we can, everything we know we can do. We’ve got the talent, the skill, the players, I’m sure we’ll be alright.”England’s World T20 campaign started inauspiciously when they were crushed by the eventual champions, West Indies, in their opening fixture in Mumbai. But they warmed to their task by chasing a world-record 230 to beat South Africa at the same venue, and earned the respect of India’s crowds in the process.”Those crowds are the most incredible to play in front of,” said Roy. “To see the passion they’ve got for their country, it’s good for us to play in front of that. We can only enjoy it. We can’t go out there and hate it, because we know what’s to come.”Reflecting on his own involvement in England’s winter campaign, the one-day leg of the Bangladesh tour, Roy admitted that their 2-1 series win had been put into its correct context by England’s subsequent difficulties in the Test series.”We know now they are a top quality side,” he said. “We played some very good cricket, it’s not always easy to go there and win, as we’ve seen in the past, and the ODI series was a good benchmark for us, I think.”The build-up to the Bangladesh tour had been dominated by security issues, with Roy’s opening partner, Alex Hales, choosing not to travel, along with England’s regular one-day captain, Eoin Morgan. And in spite of the success enjoyed by Hales’ understudies, in particular Ben Duckett and Sam Billings, both of whom starred in the series decider, Roy was adamant that Hales would not be made to regret his choice.”Based on what we got told before the tour, there’s nothing wrong with him not going on the trip,” he said. “He’s been training hard and putting the hard work in, he’s obviously got the numbers that suggest he deserves that spot, so I don’t think there will be any hard feelings. There certainly aren’t within the squad.”But it’s a huge positive that we’ve got so much depth now in one-day cricket, so many players who can just go in there and play, and that’s a huge credit to the start-up systems and the England Lions. It’s all exciting stuff for the future now.”Security wasn’t a problem at all, we were looked after incredibly well. The hospitality at the hotels, by the Bangladeshi side and by everything around the cricket, was fantastic.Jason Roy was speaking at the Chance to Shine Annual Awards, supported by Lycamobile. ECB will double its investment in the charity, from 2017, to inspire millions of young people to play and learn through cricket. Visit chancetoshine.org