Australia have at least 15 T20Is between now and the T20 World Cup next year, a trophy they have never won. They start with six against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 12 days beginning in Adelaide on Sunday. Here are some burning questions that need to be answered. Can the old David Warner return? There is debate around Warner's Test place, but there really shouldn't be around his place at the top of the order in the T20I side. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2019 IPL and the second-leading scorer in the 50-over World Cup. Bizarrely though, at the last T20 World Cup he was batting at three and four and in his last 13 T20Is he has reached double figures just five times with one half-century. The last time he played a T20I he was also captain, leading Australia to a tri-series victory. There will inevitably be chatter about D'Arcy Short potentially filling his role, but Warner has the chance to quell any doubts. What is Steven Smith's role? Smith is the best Test batsman in the world, but he is not the three-format behemoth like Virat Kohli. Smith's T20 record both internationally and domestically is modest and he hasn't played a T20I since the 2016 World Cup as he had been consistently been rested before his ban. During the IPL earlier this year he was dropped by Rajasthan Royals before being recalled and made captain. His career strike rate of 124.19 in all T20s is well below world-class. It appears as though he will be the fulcrum at No. 3 between the dynamic opening duo of Finch and Warner and Glenn Maxwell at No. 4. Given the power around him, the decision to use him in that slot instead of a player like Chris Lynn does make sense. He is a better player of spin, a better runner between the wickets, a better fieldsman and can bowl if need be. But as Kohli proves time and again, No. 3 is arguably the spot for your most versatile and skilled T20 batsman. Is Smith that man?

MS Dhoni's days as India cricketer have ended, going by the statements from MSK Prasad, the chairman of selectors, while announcing India's T20I and Test squads for the Bangladesh series at home. Dhoni did not feature in the T20I squad - he's already retired from Tests - and while Prasad didn't say Dhoni had been dropped, his answer was unambiguous: "This is our clear thought process that post-World Cup we are focusing on Rishabh Pant only." When prodded - he was asked the Dhoni question four times - Prasad said, "I made it very clear post the World Cup that we are moving on. We are giving opportunities to youngsters and see that they establish themselves in the side. With Rishabh Pant doing so well and even Sanju Samson coming into the side [as back-up wicketkeeper], I am sure you must be understanding our thought process." Prasad added that Dhoni had been spoken to about his future and the former India captain "also endorses our view of backing youngsters". When asked if Dhoni could make a comeback by returning to domestic cricket, Prasad did not give a conclusive answer. "That is purely his personal call," Prasad said. "Going into domestic cricket, getting his touch back, or thoughts about retirement, everything is purely his personal (decision). We've already laid the roadmap for future, I'm sure you can see in the way we are selecting the teams."

Shivam Dube was at the indoor nets at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru when an official with the Karnataka team stopped him with a friendly greeting. It ended with the official saying, "You owe the BCCI lots of money still!" A bout of laughter later, Dube continued on his way. The manager's reference was to Dube's incredible innings of 118 against Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20 just over a week ago. Dube had hit a century off 58 balls, going from fifty to hundred in a mere 17 deliveries, an innings he describes as one he felt "fabulous" in. He hit ten sixes during his knock, and the ball had to be replaced a fair few times - hence the joke about owing money to the BCCI. With his maiden call-up to the Indian squad, for the upcoming T20Is against Bangladesh, Dube might have a comeback line along the lines of "take it from my match fees". The first person Dube will speak to after receiving the call-up is his father Rajesh. "He's my whole and soul, everything. He's always behind me, and he's my backbone also," Dube told ESPNcricinfo during the Hazare Trophy. "He has done everything for me. So the first thing I'll do is call my dad and tell him, 'I've got selected for India'. "My dream has been to play for India, but even ahead of that, it's that my dad should be happy seeing me play for India." ALSO READ: The Shivam Dube journey - from school cricket to the Indian team Dube, who bats left-handed and is a right-arm medium pacer, has been chosen for his ability to hit big and bowl seam-up at a brisk pace, a readymade replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya. Dube's preferred area of big-hitting is "straight back over the bowler's head", and though his bowling is still in the medium-fast category, he is keen to get his pace higher. It's his big-hitting, though, that has had people sit up and take notice, and it's an aspect he works assiduously on. "I think I have good power and I use that for hitting big," he said. "I practice a lot for big-hitting too. I have a separate session for it. I always go for two-three sessions and the last session is power hitting. I work a lot on it because that's my strength and I always back my strength. I have the power, so I use it." True to his words, Dube spent a whole lot of time in that net session batting normally first, and then had a separate slot where the focus was on blasting the leather off the ball. It's something he has been doing in the middle a lot lately. He smacked 155 at a strike rate of 144.85 in four List A matches against South Africa A - and was out just once. In the Hazare Trophy, where Mumbai were done in by the weather, he scored 177 runs at a strike rate of 146.28 from five innings - and was out just twice.

All the world's cricketers walked into a bar. The LOLs, the chatter, and the occasional mini-brawls, they were endless. And the news cycle was never the same again! Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Social Buzz, your go-to destination for all the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond. October 25 MS Dhoni may be missing on the field but there's certainly plenty of him on social media. The latest Dhoni sighting comes courtesy Rishabh Pant, who visited the former captain at his home in Ranchi, for a wicketkeepers' confab, no doubt. Also on site, probably doing some fielding practice, in stealth mode if the camo coat is any indication, was Dhoni's Belgian shepherd Sam.

Surrey have signed Pakistan legspinner Shadab Khan and Australia opener D'Arcy Short for the 2020 Vitality Blast. Shadab will be making his first appearance in county cricket, while Short moves south after impressing with Durham in the Blast last season. The signing of Short will go some way to making up for the loss of Aaron Finch, who has played regularly for Surrey since 2016 but is expected to be involved in Australia's limited-overs tour of England next summer, affecting his availability. Short finished as the fourth-leading run-scorer in this year's competition, with 483 at a strike rate of 139.59, despite Durham failing to make it beyond the group stage. Shadab, 21, has played all three formats internationally but came to prominence in T20, during the 2017 Pakistan Super League. He has since played in the Big Bash and Caribbean Premier League, amassing 121 wickets in 98 games, with an economy of 6.81. Described by Surrey's director of cricket, Alec Stewart, as "one of the most exciting spin bowlers in world cricket", Shadab will spend much of the 2020 summer in the UK, with Pakistan touring and having also been signed up for the Hundred - although his participation in that competition will depend on his involvement in the Test set-up. The full county fixture list for next year has not been announced but the Blast is expected to take place from May to July. "I've been waiting for this opportunity to play county cricket for a long time and T20 cricket at the Kia Oval is a great place to start," Shadab said. "I'm honoured to be following in the footsteps of some great Pakistan cricketers and will do my best to make both my new team and the Surrey fans proud."

Three players competing at the men's T20 World Cup qualifiers have been suspended from bowling with immediate effect after a panel deemed their bowling actions to be illegal. "Selladore Vijayakumar of Singapore, Tom Sole of Scotland and Abiodun Abioye of Nigeria have been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the Event Panel of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier confirmed that they use illegal actions," the ICC said in a statement. Vijayakumar was reported by match officials during Singapore's game against Scotland last Friday, Sole in Scotland's match against Kenya the following day, and Abioye during Nigeria's match against Canada on Monday. The event panel, comprising members of the ICC panel of human movement specialists, viewed video footage of the players bowling in the tournament and concluded that all three employed actions that exceeded the allowed 15 degrees of tolerance. As a result, they were immediately suspended from bowling in international cricket in accordance with ICC regulations. Sole was previously cleared of having an illegal action during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Bangladesh allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin's back injury has ruled him out of next month's T20I series in India. According to the BCB, multiple scans have suggested that the player's recovery will take more time, and he will continue with his rehab for now. Team physio Julian Calefato said that Saifuddin would have more time to strengthen his body by taking the break. "Due to a recurring back injury, Saif will be rested from the India tour this year, giving him an opportunity to consolidate his recovery over a longer period of time," Calefato said. "He now will also have the opportunity to spend more time strengthening his body and his situation will be reviewed by the medical team again in the upcoming weeks for further updates." Saifuddin had recently said that he was keen to bear the pain to play in the T20I series against India. Bangladesh are yet to name his replacement. Bangladesh squad for T20I series: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Arafat Sunny, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam

Hong Kong 150 for 7 (Shah 59*, Barkat 27) beat Canada 118 for 9 (Cheema 20, Rana 3-25, Christie 2-23) by 32 runs An unbeaten half-century by Kinchit Shah and a three-wicket haul by Nasrulla Rana helped Hong Kong to a 32-run win over Canada in the Group B of the men's T20 World Cup qualifiers. This was Canada's first defeat in four games and they are now second on the points table, with the net run-rate separating them and table-toppers Oman. Despite their victory, Hong Kong stay at the second spot from the bottom with four points from five games. Hong Kong captain Aizaz Khan opted to bat after winning the toss and they found themselves on 24 for 3 in the fourth over. Left-hand batsman Shah, batting at No. 4, then took control and with Waqas Barkat added 39 for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings. Barkat fell to the offspin of Nitish Kumar for a 23-ball 27 but Shah carried on. He and Haroon Arshad took the side close to 100. The two added 35 in just 25 balls to keep the scoreboard moving but then Shah cut loose as Hong Kong plundered 51 runs from the last five overs. Shah brought up his fifty with a six off Dillon Heyliger in the final over and overall struck three sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 59 off 48 balls to help his side reach 150. Canada's chase never really took off. Medium-pacer Rana dented them early by dismissing opener Rodrigo Thomas for 12. From the other end, Haroon Arshad bowled Navneet Dhaliwal, the other opener and Canada captain, to leave them 17 for 2. Nitish and Ravinderpal Singh ensured Canada didn't lose any more wickets till the halfway stage but by that time the asking rate had climbed past ten. Rana broke the stand with Ravinderpal's wicket in the 11th over. The incoming batsmen tried to provide some impetus to increase the scoring rate, but Canada kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq scored a 13-ball 17 before becoming Rana's third victim, and on the next ball, Rizwan Cheema was run out for 20 off 19. At 88 for 6 in the 17th over, the result was all but decided. It was not that the Canada batsmen didn't get the starts. Seven of their batsmen reached double figures but no-one could go past 20.

Kane Williamson will miss New Zealand's T20I series against England with a hip injury, with Tim Southee named as captain in his absence. Trent Boult has also been omitted for the first three of five T20Is, in order to focus on his Test preparations. Although Williamson played in the Plunket Shield this week for Northern Districts, it was concluded after discussions with coach Gary Stead that rest was the best course of action. Stead said Williamson had been managing the right hip problem for 18 months, but hoped this was a chance to get him back "to somewhere near 100%" ahead of the Tests against England. "We've been monitoring the injury for a while now and it's the same issue that ruled him out of the final Test against Bangladesh back in March," Stead said. "It's disappointing timing for Kane at the start of an exciting Kiwi summer, but we feel it's the right decision with a busy season ahead. England XI for 1st warm-up T20 Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, James Vince, Eoin Morgan (capt), Joe Denly, Sam Billings (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Pat Brown. "We're fortunate to have someone experienced like Tim who can comfortably step in and take the reins, as he successfully did on the recent tour of Sri Lanka." Southee led New Zealand to a 2-1 victory in the T20Is against Sri Lanka, after Williamson was rested from that leg of the tour. Apart from Northern Districts' game against Canterbury, in which he batted once and scored 26, Williamson has not played since the two-Test series in Sri Lanka in August. Lockie Ferguson, who is due to make his return from a thumb injury in England's warm-up matches ahead of the series, has been named in the T20I squad for the first three games, with Boult returning to take his place for the fourth and fifth. Boult will instead play in the second round of the Plunket Shield for Northern Districts, building towards the two Tests against England at the end of November, and New Zealand's subsequent tour of Australia. "In working with Trent and looking at the season ahead, we feel another four-day game will provide him with the best preparation for the upcoming Test series against England and Australia," Stead said.

Three ground-breaking days have ended with Shakib Al Hasan not only cementing his status as the face of Bangladesh cricket, but also, potentially, the architect of its future. He has taken the mantle of players' leader in the strike that ended on Wednesday, a movement that has shaken up Bangladesh cricket and brought the debate over the board's governance, functionality and performance to the fore. Even though more than 100 professional cricketers - including Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah - also joined the movement, Shakib's presence gave it heft and credibility. There was, however, one legend-sized hole in the scenario: Mashrafe Mortaza, whose very low profile was a huge surprise given that he has always had an active role in helping the players' causes in big and small matters. It's a vacuum that Shakib filled capably but what made him take the lead? Truth is, he was the trigger for the strike. Three days after he signed for Rangpur Riders for the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League, the BCB said that the move couldn't be endorsed since the tournament's seventh edition comes under a new four-year cycle, and none of the franchises had signed the new deal. It was a strange decision given that the BCB's chief executive had sent a letter months earlier to the same franchises to begin preparation for the next season. With that in mind, some franchises signed up players. Tamim and Mushfiqur had reportedly made similar moves, but now that the BCB had cut off Shakib's deal, automatically all the other deals were off the table.

Northern 167 for 5 (Umar Amin 60, Mohammad Nawaz 31*, Amad 2-19) beat Balochistan 115 all out (Imran Farhat 32, Tanvir 3-27, Nawaz 2-10, Shadab 2-23) by 52 runs A half-century from Umar Amin and a frugal bowling display saw Northern thump Balochistan in the National T20 Cup final in Faisalabad. These two sides had finished top two in the group stage, with Northern edging Balochistan in the standings. It was much the same today, except Northern didn't edge it so much as romp home, such was their domination from the moment they set Balochistan 168 to win. That said, it wasn't always clear Northern would go on to pose as steep a total as that, particularly when they slumped to 109 for 5 with five overs to go. A splendid 38-ball 60 from Umar had done much of the heavy lifting in getting them there but not out of the woods yet. Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz combined for 58 off the last 32 balls, each unbeaten by the end, to put their side on course. It was Umar Gul who bore the brunt of the onslaught, conceding 45 runs in his allotted four, but in truth, Balochistan simply weren't as tight as their counterparts would be in the second innings. Only Amad Butt, who registered figures of 4-0-19-2, seriously halted Northern's charge. Balochistan's chase stalled before it had even begun thanks to two wicket for Sohail Tanvir in the third over, putting paid to both skipper Imam-ul-Haq and Bismillah Khan. That left the veteran Imran Farhat alongside Awais Zia to stabilise the innings, and though their 44-run partnership did that, the asking rate continued to climb. A lack of power hitters in the Balochistan line-up meant getting that down was always going to be a tough ask, and with Imad Wasim and Nawaz habitually stingy in the middle overs, the wheels began to come off. Shadab, too, put in a much improved performance that may bode well for his international prospects in Australia, conceding just 23 runs in his four while removing Haris Sohail and Imran Farhat. Northern would continue to puncture Balochistan's chances with routine wickets, with no one looking like they might hold up one end and drag their side closer to the finish line. Amad Butt struck an enormous six, but it was very much out of keeping with how his side were progressing. Northern's bowlers were canny enough to bamboozle a long-ish tail, and Balochistan would lose their last four wickets for 12 runs. They were bowled out 11 balls short of the full quota as the game, and Balochistan's campaign, whimpered to an uninspiring finish.

Scotland 204 for 4 (MacLeod 74, Munsey 51) beat Bermuda 8 for 158 by 46 runs Calum MacLeod's career-best T20I knock of 74 off 37 balls took him past 1000 career runs in the format and also to the first 200+ score of the tournament laying the platform for a commanding 46-run win over Bermuda in the first match of the Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday night. Though it's his best T20I score, it's not his best score at a T20 World Cup Qualifier as he previously scored 104 not out against Oman in Sharjah at the 2012 event. The result meant Bermuda became the first team eliminated from playoff contention while Scotland moved a step closer to securing a place in the knockout stages. MacLeod seized on a fantastic foundation laid by George Munsey, who notched his first fifty of the tournament in a relatively slow 40 balls. After five overs of pace to start the match, which resulted in the wicket of Kyle Coetzer caught at deep square leg, Dion Stovell finally brought himself on in the sixth and it provided the opening for Munsey to correct his scoring rate. Having made just 4 off his first 11 balls, he reverse swept Stovell twice in the sixth for a pair of boundaries. After heaving Delray Rawlins over the leg side for a pair of sixes, Oli Hairs fell in the eighth driving Stovell to long-off for Okera Bascome's second catch. It brought MacLeod to the crease to commence the first of two half-century stands, first with Munsey before another with Richie Berrington. Munsey continued to play the reverse, swatting Onias Bascome over third man for six. Another six over slog swept the traditional way over midwicket off Rodney Trott in the 15th brought up his half-century before he fell next ball, sweeping too fine to pick out Onias at short fine leg to make it 131 for 3. Berrington worked to rotate the strike for MacLeod, who used the pace of Kamau Leverock to glide a series of open-faced fours through third man to bring up his fifty off 27 balls. He had been dropped on a sharp chance at deep square leg on 41, then again in the 19th over at long-on by Leverock on 64. The extra lives allowed him to strike a boundary over midwicket off the penultimate ball of the innings, which took him past the 1000-run mark, before he fell on the final ball scooping Leverock to short fine leg. By that time, he had accounted for 63 of the 128 runs scored by Scotland across the final 10 overs, leaving Bermuda deflated after they had done well to contain Scotland to 76 for 2 at the halfway stage. Two wickets fell in the first four overs of the chase to Safyaan Sharif, bringing Rawlins to the crease. The Sussex star quickly showed a global TV audience why he was snapped up by Southern Brave for £50,000 in the Hundred draft, smashing three sixes in his first 12 balls over midwicket and long-on. He reverse swept, swept and pulled a trio of fours in the ninth over to put Scotland on the back foot at 91 for 3 as Bermuda were way ahead of Scotland's first innings rate

England will play a Test at Colombo's R Premadasa stadium for the first time when they tour in March. Galle and Colombo will be the host cities for the two-Test series, with points going towards the World Test Championship. Although there had been some concerns about the security situation in the country, following a series of bombings over Easter earlier this year, New Zealand toured Sri Lanka in August and former Test captain Kumar Sangakkara told ESPNcricinfo that the situation had "improved dramatically". "It's safe, it's secure, Sri Lanka is completely back to normal and we're looking forward to welcoming more and more visitors from around the world," he said. "England is touring next March and from a UK perspective that is very significant, because we get a huge amount of followers that come and enjoy the country while watching great cricket." The tour will begin with a three-day warm-up match in Katunayake, followed by a four-day fixture at the P Sara Oval in Colombo, before the teams move on to Galle for the first Test, starting on March 19. The second Test will be held a week later at Khettarama, which most recently hosted a Test against Zimbabwe in 2017. On their last visit, in 2018, England secured an unexpected 3-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka, the first time they had managed such a feat in Asia. Sri Lanka currently sit higher in the WTC table, however, with 60 points to England's 56. England itinerary March 7-9 - Tour match v SLC Board President's XI, Katunayake, CMCG March 12-15 - Tour match v SLC Board President's XI, Colombo, P Sara Oval March 19-23 - 1st Test v Sri Lanka - Galle, Galle International Stadium March 27-31 - 2nd Test v Sri Lanka - Colombo, R. Premadasa Stadium

Saturday is taking far too long to come, but while we wait for the All Blacks to have better luck than the Black Caps and therefore completely erase everything that happened one July evening at some random cricket ground let's focus on a sport that is totally devoid of contact and insists on going on for days on end. Here are the highlights from the opening round of Plunket Shield matches. Kane misses the run train The New Zealand first-class season got underway earlier this week and it offered us a truly rare sight indeed. Kane Williamson got out for 26 in a match where 888 runs were scored in the space of two innings. Hagley Oval didn't so much lay out a pitch as a bright and shiny welcome mat for batsmen and was even cool enough to entertain members of the opposition too. A Test series against England starts soon and their media manager was at the ground taking in the sunshine and quite possibly the coordinates of the Matt Henry ball that hit the deck and generated the extra bounce necessary to get Williamson to nick off to second slip. It later emerged that Williamson has a recurrence of a hip problem and will miss the T20Is against England.

Karnataka 146 for 1 (Agarwal 69*, Rahul 52*) beat Tamil Nadu 252 (Abhinav 85, Aparajith 66, Vijay Shankar 38, Mithun 5-34, Koushik 2-39) by 60 runs (VJD method) Abhimanyu Mithun rang in his 30th birthday in style, and Mayank Agarwal then put on a masterclass that entertained one of the largest crowds seen for a domestic match in India in recent times, as Karnataka won their fourth Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a dominant display against Tamil Nadu. Mithun took his first five-wicket haul in List A cricket and finished off Tamil Nadu's innings by becoming the first from Karnataka to take a hat-trick in the competition. He ended with 5 for 34 in 9.5 overs, as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 252 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Rain halted Karnataka's chase at 23 overs, but they had waltzed to 146 for 1 by then, well ahead of the VJD par score of 86, with Agarwal batting on 69 off 55 balls. KL Rahul was in the middle with Agarwal, on a sedate 52 not out off 72 balls, as Tamil Nadu's bowlers were sent on a leather hunt. The win was set up by the Mithun-led bowling performance, which reined Tamil Nadu in each time they looked like they had a launchpad. They still got more than any team had against Karnataka batting first in this year's competition, but it was far from enough. Mithun had struck the first blow after Manish Pandey won an important toss and chose to field, by removing M Vijay for a duck in the first over. He got his second wicket only in the 46th over, Karun Nair plucking a fine catch at long-on, keeping his balance and holding the ball behind him, when Vijay Shankar couldn't get enough elevation to clear him. It was an important strike, with Tamil Nadu looking to build momentum in the final overs through Vijay Shankar and semi-final hero Shahrukh Khan. In the final over of the innings, Mithun wiped out Shahrukh, M Mohammed and M Ashwin, all caught on the off-side trying to hit big, but not connecting well enough. It capped a fine start for the medium-pacer to what could be a tricky season. R Vinay Kumar, his long-time new-ball partner, is now with Puducherry and that left Mithun as the leader of Karnataka's attack. Moreover, the team was also without Prasidh Krishna, their quickest bowler, who had picked up a side strain in the quarter-final. Mithun carried the burden of being the senior pro well, and emerged as Karnataka's highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 20 scalps at an average of 14.55 and an economy rate of 3.93. "Prasidh wasn't there in the team, so as a senior, I had to take the responsibility for the team. At the end, hard work paid off," Mithun said after the match. "When we go into a match, everyone knows what they need to do, so there's very less for me to tell them. If they need anything, I go and talk to them."

Australia's captain Aaron Finch is firming to play in the opening international of the summer, a Twenty20 date with Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, though he has no qualms about lending the leadership to Alex Carey or Pat Cummins should he still require more time to recover from a side strain that was initially disguised by a parallel back spasm. The road to hosting the 2020 T20 World Cup has begun with a series of meetings, media commitments and training, with Finch and the coach Justin Langer eager to ensure the group chosen for six matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan over the next two weeks starts to develop role clarity and comfort in each other's company. ALSO READ - Langer's bid to turn Australia into a T20 fortress If Finch is unfit, there is the strong likelihood that the wicketkeeper Carey will lead Australia for the first time, after his leadership credentials were strongly endorsed by the selection chairman Trevor Hohns, who has gone as far as to say that he would like to see the South Australian leading the Redbacks in place of Travis Head. "The two guys who are vice-captains, Alex and Patto, both are well-placed to do it. Everyone who's involved with the leadership group is across a lot of things. They'll have no issues stepping in if need be," Finch said. "I don't think it's going to be a long-term injury. I'm feeling better and better every day. It'll be a case of having a hit today, assessing how it goes, having a hit tomorrow and keep reassessing each day. "Probably a little bit of a later diagnosis than what we first thought it was, a bit of a back spasm. It sort of started to get better and then I felt a bit of a twinge in my side. As a result, had a scan on Monday in Perth. Maybe last Friday actually in Perth. Just a little tear there, not a hell of a lot. So I still think I'll be fine on Sunday. "The back was the same thing [as end of BBL last summer]. The side is something that's totally new. Sitting down for a couple of days in that Shield game at the Junction Oval and then coming out and trying to swing a bit too hard. It wasn't one [shot] in particular. Could have been a number. I went pretty hard." Having worked assiduously alongside Langer to build a strong 50-over World Cup campaign out of the humblest of beginnings last year, Finch argued that the scheduling of plenty of T20 matches for the Australian short-form team over the next 12 months, certainly when lined up against their regular split of Tests, ODIs and T20s, should allow for a similarly promising build-up. "It's great that we've got 21 games of T20Is over the next 12 months leading into the T20 World Cup," Finch said. "That's probably the first step, having that continuity of selection in the T20 format. We've probably not had that in the past. It's been a process of managing players of the back of Test series or high workload tours. It's going to exciting to be able to have a similar squad over the next 12 months to two years with the two T20 World Cups back-to-back. "The 50-over World Cup was exciting and certainly didn't pan out the way we wanted it to. We fell two games short. But as the lead-up went, from about December right up to the end of that World Cup, we got a lot of things right. We built a lot of good stuff through the Indian ODI series and the Pakistan series in the UAE and continued that on. That's a really key thing we've taken out of it and hopefully with this as well."

Steven Smith shapes to slog sweep an Adelaide net bowler, down on one knee and eyeing off the imagined midwicket boundary. Despite swinging hard, he isn't close to getting all of it, letting out a frustrated cry as the ball skews up off the top edge and rebounds from the inside of the net. Sunday's first T20I against Sri Lanka will be another first for Smith on his road back from 12 months out of the game. Not only will this be Smith's first T20I in more than three years, it will be his and David Warner's first international match at home since the expiry of their Newlands bans. In both senses, Smith is finding his way, although on the strength of his first net session at Adelaide Oval, the public adulation may return a little more easily than the T20 batting rhythm. "It has been a while [since the last T20I]. My last game was the World Cup in 2016 against India, where Virat [Kohli] took the game away from us," Smith said. "It's going to be nice to walk out on Adelaide Oval on Sunday and play a T20 for Australia. They love it down here, you only have to look at the Big Bash crowds that the Strikers get, they come out in numbers, and hopefully it's no different this Sunday. "It's a game where you have to be ahead of the game and think on your feet. I usually do that reasonably well, so hopefully I can do that for this team"Steven Smith "I'm pretty relaxed, I've been hitting lots of balls and feel really good, so just excited to get started and look forward to hopefully a successful summer." The perception of Smith's relative lack of success as a T20I batsman has been driven partly by the greater achievements of others but primarily by absence: both of Smith from the Australian T20I team entirely in recent years, but also the lack of a chance to build some method and thinking through continual match play. Smith is reckoned by the likes of Justin Langer and Tim Paine to be arguably the game's greatest batting problem solver. He has not had nearly enough recent T20I assignments to test himself. Steven Smith last played a T20I back in the 2016 World Cup Getty Images "With the World Cup in about a year's time there's an opportunity to have that continuity and I think we've seen over the years that the T20 format's the one where guys have rested a lot and that'll probably change leading into a World Cup, I dare say," Smith said. "I think it's a great opportunity for the 14 guys that have been picked here to have that continuity and try to form a bond together and work towards hopefully all being part of a World Cup. "It starts here this summer, we've got six games straight, which I think is really good, and 20-odd games before the World Cup, so an opportunity for guys to work together and gel as one. I haven't played a T20I for a while, but I've still played a lot of T20 cricket and playing in the IPL and things like that. I may not be as strong as some of the other guys. or can hit the ball as far, but I back myself in working the gaps, hitting boundaries and things like that. "It's a game where you have to be ahead of the game and think on your feet. I usually do that reasonably well, so hopefully I can do that for this team." As for future captaincy prospects, the question is not allowed to linger too long in the air before Smith swats it away, rather more definitively than his attempted slog sweep a few hours later: "Not on my radar at all. I'm pretty chilled, [Aaron] Finchy and Painey are both doing terrific jobs, so I'm enjoying playing and pretty chilled." *** The Ashes was a low point for David Warner, with Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer getting the better of him Getty Images Warner advances down the wicket to Adam Zampa, keeps his head over the ball, and launches it clean and straight, bellowing "yes" as he runs with the shot, and signalling six with both arms raised as he reaches the other end. Given some of his batting travails over the past three months, the sound of a solid connection was more than welcome to Warner, in environs where he has for long felt at home. Adelaide Oval was the ground where he made his very first T20 half-century for New South Wales against South Australia in January 2009, and at which he has subsequently carved out five further centuries while averaging comfortably better than 50 across the three forms of the game combined. "I think that's one thing that we sort of forget about, what you have done and what you can do and what you're capable of doing," Warner said. "You get caught up in everyone saying you're out of form or you're not doing as well away from home and whatnot. You've just got to try and... that external noises, just don't let it get into your head. Negative thoughts are a very, very bad driver in anyone's mind, so you've got to keep being positive and don't buy into that." Warner's words were the fruit of time out following a grim Ashes tour, the low point of a winter that had also featured strong performances in the IPL and then at the ODI World Cup. There was a sense that, for all his smiling visage, the constant baiting of English crowds, added to some outstanding bowling from Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer, had taken their toll. "You're only going to mentally cook yourself by going back into the nets if you're trying to refresh. For me it's about putting down the tools and focusing on other things"David Warner "We knew what we were going to tackle over there and what we were going to face, it was about keeping a smile on your face and not letting anyone rattle you," Warner said. "Go back six or seven years and it probably would have rattled me, but this time you know what you're going to expect when you go there, the English team say the same thing when they come to Australia. So for us it's about focusing on the task ahead, playing good cricket and scoring runs." Asked whether he had been afforded enough time to recover between a late English summer Ashes and an Australian international season beginning as early as October, Warner referred to the extended break enforced in the wake of Cape Town. "I had a long time off in the past year, which was great mentally," he said, "and then coming back into it you forget how busy you actually are. But that's all about trying to stay as fresh as you can mentally. "Take your mind away from the game when you're not playing, and try to find gaps in your schedule to actually get away from the game a little bit. For me it's family, that's one thing I really, really love. You go away from work, you put your tools down, and you just chill out, be quiet. For me it's about spending time with my family, doing the normal father things that you do and be a husband. That's what I do and for us you don't pick up a bat.

Afghanistan have announced a raft of changes to both their ODI side, which flattered to deceive at the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales, and the T20I team, which shared the honours after a washed-out tri-series final in Bangladesh in September. For the upcoming matches against West Indies in Lucknow (a city in Northern India), top-order batsman Ibrahim Zadran and fast bowler Yamin Ahmadzai, among others, were brought in, even as veteran paceman Dawlat Zadran was left out. Afghanistan lost all their nine matches at the World Cup under Gulbadin Naib, who was subsequently replaced by Rashid Khan for all three formats. The trip to Bangladesh was a successful one for Rashid, and the team, as they beat Bangladesh in the one-off Test and then beat the home side and Zimbabwe once apiece - and lost once to each side too - on their way to the final, where rain forced an abandonment without a ball bowled. Most of the players from that trip retained their spots in the T20I squad - trimmed from 17 to 16. However, Dawlat, who was expensive in his only outing, batsmen Fazal Niazai, Najeeb Tarakai and Shafiqullah, who also failed to impress in the limited chances they got, and uncapped 20-year-old left-arm-spinning allrounder Shahidullah were left out. In their place were Ibrahim and Ahmadzai, as well as senior batsman Javed Ahmadi and left-arm medium pacer Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, who in July was called in to their World Cup squad as late replacement following disciplinary action against Aftab Alam. In the ODIs, which will precede the T20Is, there was no place for Dawlat or his fast-bowling partner Hamid Hassan, and familiar faces like Hashmatullah Shahidi, Noor Ali Zadran and Samiullah Shinwari, who also missed out from the party that did duty at the World Cup. Filling those gaps, as well as the ones following suspensions to Mohammad Shahzad and Aftab , were Ahmadi, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Ibrahim, Ahmadzai and Naveen-ul-Haq. The series against West Indies will start with three ODIs (November 6, 9 and 11), followed by three T20Is (November 14, 16 and 17), and a one-off Test, beginning November 27. ODI squad: Rashid Khan (c), Asghar Afghan, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Javed Ahmadi, Afsar Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Ibrahim Zadran, Yamin Ahmadzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ikram Alikhil, Mujeeb ur Rahman. T20I squad: Rashid Khan (c), Asghar Afghan, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Yamin Ahmadzai, Naveen-ul-Haq, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Mujeeb ur Rahman

"When we started out as a group, we were at No. 7, and the only way was up" That was Virat Kohli, speaking after India went 2-0 up against South Africa recently. They would go on to win the next Test and seal the series 3-0, their 11th consecutive series win at home. If it is hard to believe India were ranked No. 7 when Kohli took over permanently in January 2015, above only West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, here's why. The ICC rankings take into account a moving average of performances over the preceding four years, with higher weightage for more recent matches, while also taking into account the strength of the opposition. India's record in the four years preceding November 2014 (from December 2010), read thus: Played 38, Won 14, Lost 16, with the preceding 12 months' results reading: lost 3-1 to England, lost 1-0 to New Zealand, lost 1-0 to South Africa. Since then, here's how things have changed.

Man-of-the-Match Adair struck with the fourth ball of the game, getting Harrison Carlyon driving to mid-off for a duck. Jersey briefly counterattacked through Nick Greenwood and Ben Stevens, who flicked and drove for a trio of fours off Boyd Rankin in the fourth over. The pair added 36 in quick time as Greenwood concluded the boundary sequence with an edge past Gary Wilson for four before he was bowled by David Delany to end the fifth, beaten for pace driving to make it 36 for 2. Jersey would not score another boundary until the 16th over as Ireland strangled them. Adair produced a wicket maiden in the sixth over, foxing Jonty Jenner with a slower ball to trap him leg before for a second-ball duck. David Delany struck again next over as Wilson kept a slip in for the new batsman Jake Dunford and it resulted in an edge there to Andy Balbirnie for a golden duck. The middle order continued to struggle as Craig Young induced a drive from Stevens to Gareth Delany at cover for 25 to end the 10th over at 49 for 5. Ireland then suffered an injury scare when David Delany limped off midway through his third over in the 13th with a leg problem but Ireland team officials said later they believed it was just cramp. George Dockrell came on to finish the over and struck with the wicket of Ben Ward who skied a drive to long-off. Corey Bisson charged Gareth's legspin to be stumped, making it 76 for 7 in 15. Adair came back in the 17th to claim his third as Dominic Blampied edged a drive low to Wilson behind the stumps for 20. Charles Perchard drove a sharp return catch back to Boyd Rankin in the 19th before Anthony Hawkins-Kay was run-out off the final ball of the innings, trying to steal a bye, as Jersey were dismissed for 105. Paul Stirling muscled Ireland's chase with an unbeaten 58 off 37 balls. He added 35 with Kevin O'Brien for the first wicket before O'Brien drove Perchard to Hawkins-Kay at extra-cover. The only other wicket to fall was Balbirnie for 33, skying a drive off Blampied's legspin for another catch at extra-cover by Hawkins-Kay. Stirling brought up his fifty with a six over long-on to bring Ireland one shot away from victory. He finished it off by slog-sweeping Blampied over square leg for another six. Ireland face winless Nigeria in their final Group B match. A heavy win could boost their net run rate and put them in position to possibly claim first place depending on the tiebreaker as they jostl

Jasprit Bumrah's injured back might not require surgery "as of now", according to India bowling coach Bharat Arun. India's fast bowling spearhead is, however, unlikely to play a part in the remainder of India's home season, which features limited-overs series against Bangladesh, West Indies and Sri Lanka over the next three months. Earlier in October, Bumrah visited the UK with the National Cricket Academy's chief physiotherapist Ashish Kaushik, and consulted specialists to treat the back problem. The BCCI hasn't made public the nature of Bumrah's problem, except saying in a press release that the injury was "minor". ALSO READ: 'Is it Ashwin and Jadeja or Jadeja and Ashwin?' "Fast bowling is an unnatural activity. Despite our best efforts there can be no guarantees. We expect Bumrah to be back sooner than later, hopefully in time for the New Zealand Test series that is our next big challenge," Arun told the Hindu. "As of now, he doesn't need surgery." Bumrah's absence hasn't affected the performance of India's fast bowling group, though, with Umesh Yadav stepping up to join Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma to form a solid combine against South Africa in the recent Test series. Arun, who has been working with the bowlers since 2015, was particularly impressed with Umesh's comeback - he picked up 11 wickets in two Tests, a majority of those a reward for attacking the stumps. "He's strong and quick and now he is bowling in better channels, making the batsman play around the off stump," Arun said. "He's got reverse swing, has a nasty short ball. He and Shami, who is fast, accurate and dangerous, are a potent combination." Arun also conceded that there might be no immediate end in sight to the battle between R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to be the No. 1 Test spinner. Chances are the team management will go in for a "horses for courses" approach should they have to pick just one of the two. While their performances have been neck-and-neck with the ball, the team management has in the past considered Jadeja's batting and fielding contributions as a valuable add-on, especially overseas. "He's among the best spinners in the world, top class, and is approaching 400 Test wickets," Arun said of Ashwin. "In fact, Ashwin went to England and Australia as our No. 1 spinner and then ran into fitness issues. Ravindra Jadeja grabbed his chance, giving us control with the ball, solidity with the bat and fielding brilliantly. "Away from home, if we have to pick one of the two in the eleven, it will be horses for courses looking at the conditions and the opposition. Then we have Kuldeep Yadav who picked five with his wrist spin in his last Test, in Sydney. We have an embarrassment of riches."

Tony Ura and Assad Vala started the good work with the bat, Charles Amini and Kiplin Doriga built on it, and then the bowlers, led by Damien Ravu, put the seal on a strong Papua New Guinea performance as they beat Singapore by 43 runs in Dubai. The result helped PNG get to eight points from five games, placing them top of the Group A table for the moment, while Singapore, after starting their campaign with a win over Scotland, have just four points from five games. Singapore captain Amjad Mahboob asked PNG to bat upon winning the toss, and the experienced PNG opening duo of Ura and captain Vala proceeded to add 61 runs in quick time before Vala was dismissed off the last ball of the Powerplay for an 18-ball 24. Ura fell 20 runs later for a 21-ball 30 in the ninth over, and when Lega Siaka was dismissed next ball for 13, PNG did look a bit shaky at 81 for 3, which appeared worse when Sese Bau fell for 11 to leave the scoreboard reading 101 for 4. But that brought Amini and Doriga together, and they both hit unbeaten 40s as Singapore, who had lost the services of offspinner Selladore Vijayakumar before the game after he was suspended for a suspect bowling action, wilted. Amini ended on 41 not out off 28 balls, with two fours and a six, while Doriga's 43 not out came off 27 balls, with two fours and two sixes. The two added an unbroken 79 runs for the fifth wicket. Singapore's reply started on a poor note as Surendran Chandramohan was dismissed for a diamond duck, run out without facing a ball. If that was bad, it got worse when Ravu sent back Rohan Rangarajan and Rezza Gaznavi off consecutive balls in the sixth over to leave Singapore on 37 for 3. There was a bit of a fightback, led by Tim David, who hit a 26-ball 44, but though four others - Aritra Dutta, Navin Param, Vinoth Baskaran and Avi Dixit - got into double figures, there wasn't the one other big knock that could have helped David pull off an unlikely win, Ravu's 4 for 18 making it simpler for PNG. Singapore's last group-stage match will be against Namibia tomorrow, while PNG's final fixture is against Kenya the day after.

Aiden Markram is in a race against time to find fitness and form for South Africa's next international assignment against England at home. Markram fractured his wrist by "lashing out at a solid object," after his second innings dismissal in the second Test against India in Pune. He has been put in a cast until the end of November and will miss the Mzansi Super League. A full recovery could take eight weeks, which will run until mid-December. The England series starts on Boxing Day. In the interim, efforts to speed up Markram's recovery are being made with such of hyperbaric therapy, which involves using high air pressure to accelerate healing. Markram is due to be reviewed by an orthopedic surgeon in five weeks' time. By then, the MSL will be at its halfway stage and even if declared fit, Markram will play no part in the T20 tournament. He has been replaced in the Paarl Rocks' squad by Cobras batsmen Kyle Verreynne. With franchise suspended for the duration of the MSL, Markram could play in the second-tier provincial competition but the only other opportunity for Markram to have some game time will be in a round of four-day fixtures before the Test series, which begin on December 19. Time in the middle will be important for Markram, who scored just 44 runs in four innings in India and bagged a pair in Pune. Both captain Faf du Plessis and coach Enoch Nkwe spoke about mental scars that teams can suffer from after touring India, and Markram appears to be one of the players affected. Like several batsmen on their first tour of India, Markram was undone by foreign conditions, but unlike touring teams of the recent past, he wasn't outspun. Instead, Markram was unable to cope with the intensity and unexpected bounce Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav generated, a style of bowling he would have been expected to counter, given conditions he usually bats in at home.

Scotland 146 for 6 (Coetzer 54, Vala 1-21) beat Papua New Guinea 142 for 9 (Vanua 33, Tahir 3-24) by four runs Playing their third match in three days in the Dubai heat, Papua New Guinea looked on track to maintain a perfect record at the T20 World Cup Qualifier. But they ran out of gas after Mark Watt's double-strike in the 13th over turned the tide towards their opponents in a dramatic four-win win for Scotland on Monday. Chasing a target of 147, PNG were 81 for 2 in 12 overs before Watt's intervention. After he had been driven for two sixes in the opening over of the chase by Assad Vala, Watt bounced back with a maiden in the sixth before an over that won the match for Scotland, at least according to PNG captain Vala and Scotland stand-in captain Richie Berrington - Kyle Coetzer didn't take the field after his first-innings fifty due to dehydration. Charles Amini drove the second ball to Calum MacLeod at long-off for 9 before Lega Siaka was bowled on an attempted drive next ball for 31. Fellow left-arm spinner Hamza Tahir built off the Watt breakthroughs with two more wickets of his own in the 15th, bowling Riley Hekuru playing over the top of a pull before Sese Bau slogged a short ball to sub fielder Michael Leask at deep midwicket to make it 94 for 6. PNG never stopped fighting though allrounder Norman Vanua rallied on. With 26 needed off two overs, Jason Kila pulled Safyaan Sharif for back-to-back fours before Vanua clubbed a full toss for six over long-on, his second of the innings, to take the target down to nine off the last over. But Josh Davey was immaculate at the death. Kila pulled the first ball to George Munsey at deep midwicket before Vanua couldn't get enough power behind a lofted drive taken by Tom Sole at long-on. The last-wicket pair of Nosaina Pokana and Damien Ravu could only manage four off the last four balls. Coetzer had anchored Scotland's innings grinding his way to a 42-ball half-century in the stifling heat. Outside of Munsey's assault on Bau's offspin in the second over - twin reverse sweeps for four and six - Coetzer didn't get much support during the innings. Munsey fell in the fourth to a skied drive to mid-off before Vanua trapped MacLeod for a four-ball duck in the next over, putting pressure back on Scotland in the Powerplay. Coetzer found his release shots slogging a pair of sixes over long-on to push Scotland forward. He finally fell in the 17th, slogging Amini's legspin flat to Pokana at long-off. Matthew Cross then provided a crucial late burst, striking a six and four fours across the final four overs, to get Scotland up to a total that proved to be just enough in the end.

Joe Root has insisted that the introduction of the Hundred will help England in their bid to retain the World Cup in 2023. Some have suggested that the new competition will reduce England's competitiveness in ODI cricket as their leading white-ball players will no longer be available for the domestic 50-over tournament, which is scheduled at the same time as the Hundred. But Root feels the benefits of exposing young English players to some of the best overseas players in the world will outweigh any such issues. "By playing the Hundred, you're exposing our next generation of players to play against some of the best players in the world," Root told ESPNcricinfo. "Regardless of the format that will be more influential and have more of an impact. "Look at the guys in the current white-ball team who have gone off to play in the IPL: they've come back better players for it. I feel the Hundred will have a similar impact on more English players. Not just the top end guys, but on the next group of players that are on the fringe of the international teams. And, on the back of it, they'll have more opportunity to play elsewhere, too. "Of course it's important we look after our 50-over cricket and, long-term, don't let it slide off a cliff. But I don't think playing the Hundred will dilute our chances of winning the next World Cup