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Former bowler has played 26 Tests and 191 ODIs and has experience of being on a selection panel in domestic cricket

Sidharth Monga30-Jun-2023Former India bowler Ajit Agarkar is the frontrunner to be the next India men’s chairman of selectors after applying to the vacant spot in the selection committee. The BCCI advertised on June 22 for the vacancy that has not been filled since February when the last chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma, resigned following a news channel sting operation on him. Agarkar applied on June 29 evening, a day before the deadline. If selected, the 45-year-old Agarkar, who played 26 Tests and 191 ODIs for India, will become the most experienced member of the panel, and thus also the chairman of selectors.Chetan represented North Zone in the panel, so Agarkar’s appointment will result in the panel having two selectors from West Zone, Salil Ankola being the other one. In the BCCI constitution, drafted as per the RM Lodha-committee recommendations, there is no mention of selectors being appointed on a zonal basis; just that the five selectors should have been retired for at least five years and played a certain number of matches. While the BCCI has followed an unwritten rule of picking a selector from each of the five zones traditionally, the advertisement for the role never specified it was looking for a candidate from a specific zone.Shiv Sunder Das, S Sharath and Subroto Banerjee are the other three selectors. With the most international experience among them, Das serves as the chairman as of now.Related

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For a team in transition, as India is, a settled selection panel with vision, clarity and continuity is of utmost importance. But the selection committee has been anything but settled since last year when the BCCI moved away from the convention of giving a chairman two terms and asked for new applications for Chetan’s role following the semi-final loss in the T20 World Cup. However, the board failed to attract a better option, and re-elected Chetan the chairman of selectors only for the sting operation leading to his resignation, which has never been acknowledged by the BCCI.One big challenge for India is that the chairman of selectors is paid just over INR 1 crore per year. Any former cricketer easily makes more with work in the media, which comes without the scrutiny a national selector faces, and also coaching gigs in T20 leagues.Agarkar himself was part of the Delhi Capitals’ coaching staff in the IPL apart from doing media work. Capitals’ Twitter handle on June 29 announced Agarkar, and Shane Watson too, had parted ways with them. Agarkar has also served as a chairman of selectors for Mumbai in domestic cricket from 2017 to 2019, when the entire panel abruptly stepped down.Agarkar brings the heft and the experience that the BCCI is looking for in a perspective chairman of selectors, but it remains to be seen if the board will review the compensation for the selectors.

It hasn’t been an entirely smooth route to England’s final 15-man squad, but it’s a vast improvement on past campaigns

George Dobell at Lord's21-May-2019There are some things – flights, cups of tea, and your heartbeat, for example – you want should be predictable.And perhaps it is the same with squad announcements. Squad announcements for global tournaments, anyway.Selectors have had four years to plan. They have had four years to ensure that every player knows their role and every player knows what to expect from their team-mates. At this stage, squads should be settled and predictable.England have achieved that pretty well. Yes, David Willey is unfortunate. Yes, Joe Denly will be disappointed. But, for the first time in many, many years, England are going into a World Cup with a relatively settled, well-balanced side that has a realistic chance of victory. The position that provoked most debate and discussion on Tuesday was that of reserve spin bowler. It’s a detail, really. An important one, but nothing compared to what we have seen before.Perhaps, to appreciate how smooth this process has been, it is worth comparing it to the chaos with which we have become accustomed. In 2015, for example, England sacked their captain, Alastair Cook, a few weeks before the tournament. Then, on its eve, they changed the new-ball attack (demoting Chris Woakes to first-change) and fiddled with the batting order (swapping Gary Ballance and James Taylor at No. 3 and No. 6). In the tournaments before that, it became customary for them to change their wicketkeeper (2007 and 2011) or opening partnership (1999) at the last minute. Indeed, in 1999, they dropped their captain (Adam Hollioake) and their opening batsman (Nick Knight) shortly before the tournament and prepared for a home event with a training camp in… Lahore. You could hardly make that up.And, even if England did go into a tournament with their best side, there was usually some crisis (the Zimbabwe affair of 2003, for example) or late change of approach that threatened to derail their progress. They rarely had a chance to define plans or develop well-rehearsed strategies. In a format in which role-definition and planning is so important, England have invariably gone into World Cups hoping it would all come together on the night. It rarely has done.Mark Wood and Jofra Archer both returned to the starting line-up•Getty Images

It doesn’t feel like that this time. While the introduction of Jofra Archer has come at a late stage, anyone taken by surprise simply hasn’t been paying attention. While England would, in an ideal world, like him to have played more than three ODIs – and, indeed, more than 17 List A matches – the experience he has of playing in high-profile, high-pressure T20 leagues suggests he has the talent and temperament to succeed. His range of skills – not least his well-controlled pace – are a huge asset to a team that, Mark Wood apart, can look a little pedestrian. They were, remember, thrashed for sixes by Chris Gayle every 8.10 balls he faced in the recent series in the Caribbean. Archer’s batting and fielding are also more than useful. He is British, he is eligible, and he is very good. His is not, at this stage, a remotely controversial selection.Nor is Liam Dawson. He is, quite simply, a more experienced, more reliable spin bowler than Denly. And while Denly is almost certainly a better batsman, Dawson’s average of 45.33 in the Royal London Cup is proof that he’s no mug either. Besides, the role essentially demands that the occupant can come into the side at short notice and fill the hole left by injury to either Moeen Ali or Adil Rashid. Dawson is a better fit for that specific job. Denly may console himself with the knowledge that he now has the opportunity to return to county cricket and score heavily in the Championship with a bid to securing a place in the Ashes. He is the man in possession of the No. 3 spot in the Test side, after all.Willey could yet win a recall mid-tournament. While he is not officially on any reserve list, it stands to reason that he – and perhaps Chris Jordan – would be next in line should one of England’s seamers suffer an injury. His left-arm variations, the swing he can generate with the new ball and the control he demonstrates at the death, are all attractive qualities. But it was his ill-fortune to be competing for the new ball, in particular, with Archer, Wood and Woakes. Leaving him out was a tough decision, but it was also probably right.Again, in an ideal world, England might have liked Dawson to have been with them throughout the Pakistan series. Or at least for the final couple of games, when it became apparent the selectors were not in total agreement over the suitability of Denly for the role. But at least Dawson was playing cricket rather than running drinks on for his colleagues, and it is not as if he is a stranger to either the environment or the players.There have been other bumps on the road. The loss of Alex Hales – who may be remembered as the Pete Best of cricket if England go on to win the trophy (Denly may be remembered as the Jimmie Nicol) – might have destabilised some squads. Equally, the introduction of Archer might have unsettled the bowlers and provoked reasonable concerns about talent pathways in both England and the Caribbean.But, whatever feathers within the squad were ruffled by Archer’s arrival have long since been patted back down – not least by evidence of his obvious ability and his amiable, equable nature – while Hales has simply been left behind. This team, like kids cramming ahead of important exams, no longer had time for the class joker. Damning though it sounds, his absence has hardly been mentioned in recent times.So England go into this tournament confident, settled and united. Their squad has bite with the ball, punch with the bat and balance through the depth provided by the allrounders. This may well be the best World Cup squad they have ever assembled; it certainly represents their best chance to win in many years.

Middlesex stalwart determined to keep the enjoyment alive in return to top flight

Valkerie Baynes01-Apr-2023Alongside “entertainment” another buzz theme has underpinned English cricket in recent times – “enjoyment”. It’s been key to a career spanning more than two decades for Tim Murtagh but now, as an end draws near in the playing sense at least, enjoyment of each game has assumed a little more prominence.Murtagh, Middlesex’s ever-reliable swing bowler, jokes that for about half his career he’s been saying “just one more year” but, due to turn 42 in August and having already started to firm up post-playing plans, after the player-coach role he assumed last year was made official in another season-long deal for 2023, he gives arguably his strongest hint yet that this could be it.”Probably yes,” Murtagh tells ESPNcricinfo. “I’m in a bit of a different role this year with taking on the coaching as well… so I’ll say, as I have said for the last 10 years, ‘one more year’, but we’ll play it by ear. I’m not sure the body can keep going for too much longer. I still want to play as much as I can this year and be available as much as the coach and captain want me to play. We’ll see what happens.”I really enjoyed last season and it was great to help bring the boys up into Division One. Hopefully I can add a bit of experience having played in this division before – some of our guys won’t have done. I know there’s not much time left but I’m going to enjoy every game that I am playing.”Related

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• Murtagh named as Middlesex club captain after contract extension

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• Middlesex admit to financial concerns as ECB monitor club's status

• Maharaj ruled out of Middlesex stint

That’s not to say that it’s all about the fun. Murtagh’s skill, nagging accuracy and all that experience made him the second-highest wicket-taker of Middlesex’s promotion campaign in 2022, which sees them return to the top flight after a five-year absence. His 30 wickets from 10 matches was behind only Toby Roland-Jones for the club, the latter topping Division Two overall with 67 from 13 games.And there are still boxes to be ticked. Murtagh needs 15 more wickets to reach 1000 across all formats for Middlesex while 30 more would allow him to overtake Phil Tufnell on the list of first-class wickets for the club. But it’s also the work to be done with the younger players in the squad that is helping to motivate Murtagh now.”Professional sport can be so serious sometimes, it can be so intense,” he said. “I’ve almost treated it like a game and that’s maybe easy for me to say, someone who’s had a long career and not worried about contracts every year. I’ve seen guys really suffer physically and mentally and it can weigh you down. If you don’t take yourself too seriously and always look for the positives and always look to compete and enjoy the game then I think you’ll have more good days than bad days.”That said, he knows being back in Division One won’t be easy.”I’m expecting it to be a challenge because we haven’t played in this division for a long time,” Murtagh added. “The consistency of the Division One teams is of a lot higher standard than in Division Two, but I think I said at the start of last season this didn’t feel to me like a Division Two squad. I felt like there’s enough quality within our four walls to be in the first division and to be really competitive.”I’m not going to suddenly say we’re going to walk into Division One and win it this year. That would be great, and it has happened before and I’d love that if it did happen but we just want to be as competitive as possible and we know it’s going be tough, but I think we’re ready.”Middlesex’s marquee overseas signing, South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj, had to pull out of his planned stint with the club after rupturing his Achilles tendon celebrating a dismissal during the second Test against West Indies in Johannesburg in early March. He had been due to play eight Championship matches from April and the Vitality Blast.A replacement is yet to be announced but otherwise, the only addition to their squad has been Ryan Higgins, who returns from Gloucestershire having initially played for Middlesex from 2014-17 and come through their academy system. They have also retained another overseas player, Pieter Malan, who joined last June as a replacement after Peter Handscomb left mid-season.It was Handscomb’s departure that allowed Murtagh to take on a greater leadership role. He assumed the captaincy as well as an informal coaching role for the Royal London Cup. Roland-Jones will skipper the Championship side for 2023 while Stephen Eskinazi will captain both white-ball sides, with Murtagh joining first team coach Richard Johnson, club coach Rory Coutts and director of cricket Alan Coleman alongside consultants Ian Salisbury and Mark Ramprakash in the coaching department.”It’s sort of natural,” Murtagh said of the move. “Being captain last year, I had a bit more responsibility, you could think about other people apart from yourself, which is great, and I just see it as a bit of an extension of me being a senior bowler for the last few years, trying to help some of these guys and guide them.”I’ve said to them, I’m not going to be the most technically knowledgeable coach to start with but in terms of real time, day-to-day bowling, I’ve been through it all in the last 20-odd years. So I’m there for whenever they need me. It’s a bit of a trial-and-error year, see if I enjoy it, if I’m any good at it, and then we’ll see what happens from next season onwards.”Murtagh and Mark Stoneman look on during Middlesex’s pre-season photocall•Getty Images

The club has something to work with too. Tom Helm brings height and pace to their attack and enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2022 with 29 Championship wickets at 21.96 plus an impressive Hundred campaign with Birmingham Phoenix. Luke Hollman is emerging as an influential legspinning allrounder and Blake Cullen, a tall seamer who can swing the ball both ways, is hopeful of reprising an impressive 2021 after returning from a back injury which severely curtailed his involvement last year.With the bat, it will likely fall to the older, more experienced hands like Sam Robson, Mark Stoneman, John Simpson and Malan to lead the way along with Max Holden and Robbie White.Coleman said he had “no expectations as such” with the club seeking just its third trophy in 30 years, having won the Championship in 2016 and the T20 Cup in 2008.”We want to compete, we want to go out there, show what we can do, show the talent we have in our squad, be as consistent as we possibly can and you never know where you’re going to end up,” Coleman said. “We’ve got a really talented group of players here, many deserving of that opportunity to step up into Division One, and anything is possible.”Just ask Murtagh, who was part of both those title triumphs after joining from Surrey for 2007, and will have special reason to reminisce when Ireland play England in a one-off Test at Lord’s at the start of June. Playing the last of his three Tests for Ireland – and the only one at Lord’s – in the corresponding fixture in 2019, Murtagh earned a place on the honours board at his home ground with his 5 for 13 in the first innings. He retired from international cricket that year with 58 ODIs and 14 T20Is also to his name.Reflecting not just on the longevity of his career but on his lasting enjoyment of the game, Murtagh’s view is simple: “Passion. Whether it’s sport, business, whatever it is, passion is such an important thing and I’ve always had that. I’ve always seen it as more of a game than a job, not putting too much pressure on myself, and just try to enjoy it while it lasts because sports players don’t tend to last for that long.”After 23 years, it’s all relative.

Jhye Richardson bagged a five-wicket haul after Western Australia’s surprising decision to bowl first

Alex Malcolm16-Nov-2018South Australia captain Travis Head did his first Test chances no harm with a well-compiled 87 on a fluctuating opening day of the Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at Adelaide Oval.The Warriors caused a shock at the toss opting to bowl first on what appeared to be a good batting surface having picked four specialist quicks.The decision looked vindicated when the Redbacks slumped to 2 for 13. Jhye Richardson made the early breakthrough having Jake Weatherald caught at slip with an excellent late away swinger before Callum Ferguson was bowled not offering a shot to a gem from Matt Kelly.But Head and Conor McInerney put together a 123-run stand in quick time and made the pitch look placid in the process. Both men reached their half-centuries and looked set for big scores before McInerney dragged an attempted pull shot onto his stumps from Richardson then Head was then adjudged lbw to Cameron Green, despite the ball appearing to pitch outside leg stump.That triggered a collapse with the Redbacks losing 6 for 36. Nick Winter and Daniel Worrell mounted a revival adding 69 for the ninth wicket. Winter made his maiden first-class half-century and finished unbeaten on 53. Richardson picked up the last two wickets to claim a maiden five-wicket haul in Shield cricket.WA’s reply started poorly with a new makeshift opening combination. Josh Philippe fell to Worrall in the first over before Hilton Cartwright, opening for one of the rare times in his first-class career, and Shaun Marsh survived the remaining seven overs to stumps.

Lamichhane is currently out on bail, facing charges of alleged sexual coercion of another person

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Feb-2023Sandeep Lamichhane could be included in Nepal’s squad for their Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series at home in Kirtipur against Namibia and Scotland, in what would constitute his first appearance since his arrest last year. Lamichhane is currently out on bail, facing charges of alleged sexual coercion of another person. Nepal’s squad for the series is likely to be announced by February 10. His name is in a 14-man squad sent to the ICC for registration purposes – as the event is an ICC tournament – but that could still change when the squad is officially announced.His potential selection had been signposted after the Cricket Association of Nepal revoked his suspension last week. Lamichhane has been training with the team at a pre-series camp.The lifting of the suspension led to protests over the weekend in Nepal, calling for a boycott of the upcoming games against Namibia and Scotland. Cricket Scotland and Cricket Namibia issued statements, to say that Lamichhane’s availability was a matter for CAN and the ICC to consider.Related

• Sandeep Lamichhane named in Nepal squad for Scotland, Namibia tri-series

• Nepal cricket board lifts suspension on Lamichhane

• Lamichhane taken into custody upon landing at Kathmandu airport

“Cricket Scotland is aware of the reports regarding the legal status of Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane, ahead of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 Qualifiers.”As a governing body, and as a squad, Cricket Scotland stands firmly against all forms of abuse, which have no place in modern society.”The player’s availability for these games is a matter for the Cricket Association of Nepal and the ICC to consider.””Cricket Namibia strongly opposes all forms of gender-based violence, discrimination and abuse,” the Namibia board statement said.On Monday, the Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan met with Lamichhane in Nepal, as part of a visit with the team and board to discuss the growth of the game in the country. The visit drew criticism of Rizwan on social media.Sandeep Lamichhane is escorted by police following his release on bail•AFP/Getty Images

Britant Khanal, the CAN general manager, had earlier told ESPNcricinfo that the decision to remove the suspension and allow Lamichhane to play in the tri-series was with the condition that he would “respect the limitation prescribed” by the court that granted him bail in January this year. And if Nepal were to go on tour, Lamichhane’s participation would depend on whether the court gave him permission for it or not.The suspension came into effect in September last year after an arrest warrant was issued against Lamichhane in Kathmandu. He was granted bail for the equivalent of around US$ 15,300 but was barred from leaving the country until the final verdict.Lamichhane, 22, is Nepal’s most high-profile cricketer, and the only one to have played in T20 leagues in most parts of the world, including in the IPL, the BBL, the PSL, the BPL, and the CPL. When the news of the arrest warrant came out, Lamichhane was in the West Indies with Jamaica Tallawahs, his CPL team. He returned to Nepal after that, and was taken into custody on October 6.He is also the world’s second-fastest bowler to 50 ODI wickets and third-fastest to 50 T20I wickets, and last played international cricket in August 2022, in the T20I series against Kenya. He was also Nepal’s captain at the time of the arrest warrant, a position he lost following his suspension. Rohit Paudel will lead Nepal in the series against Namibia and Scotland.

Seam bowler to stay at club at least until end of 2025

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-2023Sam Cook, Essex’s prolific seam bowler, has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until the 2025 season.Cook, 25, claimed 51 wickets at an average of just 16.23 in last year’s County Championship, and now boasts an overall first-class record of 213 wickets at 19.37, making him the first player to reach the 200-wickets milestone while averaging less than 20 since Derbyshire’s Alan Ward in 1971.He has been named in both the red- and white-ball squads for the forthcoming England Lions tour of Sri Lanka.Cook said: “It’s been an exciting year for me personally and I’m already looking forward to seeing what the next three years have in store for me and my career at the club I’ve supported all of my life.”I’m happy with the progress I’ve made this season with the help of Anthony McGrath and Mick Lewis, and I feel my white-ball game in particular is going from strength to strength. I’ve had the opportunity to test my skills in the Vitality Blast and The Hundred this year, which was especially rewarding.”I am always seeking ways to improve and look forward to heading overseas with England Lions before the season gets underway in April.”Head Coach, Anthony McGrath, added: “Sam has developed into one of the best bowlers in the county game and his great attitude and willingness to learn means that he will only keep on improving.”He’s enjoyed another fantastic year and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he will get an opportunity to showcase his skills at international level.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, who had recovered from a thumb injury he picked up earlier, has been advised to not even lift a bat for two months

Sidharth Monga19-Jul-2018Wriddhiman Saha, India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper, will be out of action for at least two months with a shoulder injury. His injured shoulder will soon be assessed to see if it requires a surgery. As of now he has been advised to not even lift a bat for two months. The India selectors and the BCCI, however, had never made it public that Saha had recovered from the thumb injury he picked up earlier this year, and that it was this serious shoulder injury that was keeping him sidelined.This injury – which could even put him in doubt for the Australia tour – caps what has been an extremely disappointing year for Saha, who will be 34 by the time India travel to Australia later this year. After he scored 0 and 8 in the first Test of the year, against South Africa in Cape Town, he suffered a hamstring injury and was sent home. During the IPL he had injured his thumb, which was believed to be the reason for his missing the Afghanistan Test.
A BCCI press release in June had said: “Saha suffered an injury to his right thumb while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the VIVO IPL Qualifier 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders on 25th May, 2018 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. He was under observation by the medical staff of the BCCI and the management has decided to give him adequate rest before the start of the England Test series. Saha’s recovery period is expected to be around five to six weeks.”What has followed raises more questions over the BCCI’s handling of injuries, its communication regarding injuries, and, more importantly, over the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru where Saha was undergoing the rehabilitation. It is learnt that the NCA medical team communicated to the BCCI that Saha will need five to six weeks of rehabalitation; it now looks like it might take five to six months.The BCCI didn’t help matters by withholding the information that a shoulder injury – much more serious than the thumb one – existed when Saha was not picked for the Afghanistan Test. India’s injury management has been under the scanner with Bhuvneshwar Kumar already ruled out of the first three Tests in England. Bhuvneshwar, whose workload was managed during the IPL because of a back condition, was cleared to play all three formats on the long tour of England. The injury resurfaced during the ODIs; he missed the first two matches but aggravated the injury when playing in the final ODI, a day before the Test selection.Curiously the chairman of the selection committee still believes Saha is out with a thumb injury. “Saha’s recovery from a fractured right thumb hasn’t been satisfactory. He hasn’t responded well enough to the rehab at the National Cricket Academy, in Bengaluru. At this moment, therefore, Saha is uncertain for all five Tests, not just the first three,” chief selector MSK Prasad was quoted as saying by the .

A first-class career best five-wicket haul for Ivan Thomas, giving the young seamer nine wickets in the match

ECB Reporters Network21-Aug-2018
ScorecardHeino Kuhn and Sean Dickson took full advantage of much improved conditions to compile an unbroken double-century partnership and steer Kent to a three-day victory in their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire.Coming together when the visitors, chasing 253, had been reduced to 38 for 2, Kuhn and Dickson batted with impressive purpose and positivity in scoring at more than five runs an over.After two days of heavy cloud, under which the ball swung the air and nipped around on the previously used pitch, the weather cleared shortly after lunch. The pitch flattened quickly, and in the hot sunshine only Mohammad Abbas offered any sort of consistent threat.Kuhn, who had been first to his half-century, was overtaken by Dickson, who went on to hit three sixes and 12 fours in going to his century off 131 deliveries. He finished on 134 not out, with Kuhn unbeaten on 92, their third wicket partnership of 215 having been compiled in 41.3 overs.Earlier, a first-class career best five-wicket haul for Ivan Thomas, giving the young seamer nine wickets in the match, saw Leicestershire bowled out for 227 in their second innings.Resuming on 126 for 5, Leicestershire lost Ben Raine in just the third over of the day, Harry Podmore seaming a delivery away from the left-hander and finding the edge of the bat, giving Sam Billings a straightforward catch behind the stumps.Callum Parkinson was then bounced out by Thomas, gloving a bouncer to second slip. Harry Dearden, 61 not out overnight, had taken his score on to 74 when he tried to cut a wide delivery from Darren Stevens and succeeded only in top edging a catch to slip, where Dickson took a chest-high catch.Leicestershire were in danger of subsiding, but Dieter Klein put bat to ball, thumping a run-a-ball 41 to extend their lead past 200 before being adjudged leg before on the back foot to the legspin of Joe Denly, and Gavin Griffiths and Abbas added another 20 runs for the final wicket before Abbas slog-swept Denly into the hand of Thomas at deep backward square.Abbas, who had taken six wickets in Kent’s first innings, then had Daniel Bell-Drummond caught behind and flattened Grant Stewart’s off-stump to give the Foxes hope of forcing victory – a hope inexorably extinguished by Dickson and Kuhn.

England quick takes cues from how home attack went about their work

Matt Roller24-Sep-2022If you ever need a reminder of Pakistan’s fast-bowling culture, a quick glance at the honours board of five-wicket hauls in ODIs at Karachi’s National Stadium provides it. The first three names engraved read as follows: Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar.Mark Wood’s name is not on that list just yet but his first outing in Pakistan was enough to set tongues wagging in the way those greats used to, as he nudged 156kph (97mph) on the broadcasters’ speed gun. Waqar and Wasim were close at hand, waxing lyrical on commentary about his express pace.”They are guys I grew up watching,” Wood said. “I look up to them a bit so if they give you any praise, you know you must be doing something right. I value their opinion. It seems like this country produces a lot of fast bowlers and when you look at the pitches, their skill level has to be really high to get wickets and they’ve got that deadly pace as well. They have a mystery about them that makes them deadly.”Wood spent the first two games of the series on the sidelines as England take a cautious approach to his comeback from double elbow surgery, but found himself studying Pakistan’s modern-day crop of fast bowlers in a bid to pick up some insight into how to bowl on the low, skiddy surfaces that have been served up.Related

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“I feel that when teams come to England, they’ll look at how our bowlers bowl and learn,” he said. “You get a feel for bowling the right length and I noticed that the Pakistan bowlers were getting a lot of wickets ‘bowled’ from lengths that would not be a ‘bowled’ length in England. It was back of a length, and the ball was skidding through.”I knew my length could be half a yard shorter and it would still cause problems. I literally tried to whack the wicket as hard as I could from back of a length and some were going through hip-high, some were going through head-high. Last night, I could really let it fly and my margin of error was a little bit bigger because of that.”Wood has kept a close eye on Haris Rauf in particular. “He’s someone that’s my height, my pace, skiddy,” he said. “And he has an excellent slower ball. His arm-speed for his slower ball is very good and that’s something I’m not good at and would like to get better at. Maybe I’ll chat to him and see if he’s willing to share some secrets.”His first wicket on his return was Babar Azam, caught on the deep-third boundary by Reece Topley while slashing at a second successive short ball. It was his first wicket since cleaning up Lanchester CC’s Cam Metcalfe when he made an unsuccessful attempt at a comeback in club cricket for Ashington in July, and his first in an England shirt since dismissing Kraigg Brathwaite in the Antigua Test in March.Babar Azam was given the hurry-up by Wood•Getty Images

“Mo [Moeen Ali] told me: ‘I need you to be aggressive here,'” Wood said. “We’d spent the game before not bowling any bouncers. That was it. I let it fly. I was trying to bowl fast, really. It could have gone either way: they could have smacked me, but we got a couple of wickets. I just tried to charge in and make something happen.”The wicket prompted pin-drop silence from a sold-out crowd. “I was cheering so I didn’t notice,” he said, laughing. “It was loud, proper loud. Babar just walks out to warm up and they go mental. It’s crazy for us English people because obviously it’s not our main sport but here, it is. It means so much to so many people here.”Wood is 32 but a relatively inexperienced T20 bowler – Friday night was his 41st game in the format – and is still teaching himself how to stay “level” after games. “When I have a bad day, I’m disappointed, but I’m not, like, down in the dumps, he said. “If I had a good day then, look, it’s a good day, but I could easily have gone for runs.”He [Babar] could have cut that for six and all of a sudden, I’ve gone for four and six in my first four balls and I’m under pressure. I loved it. I enjoyed it so much, being back out there for England and I felt really happy to get them wickets. If I can bowl quickly and try and help the team that way, that’s what I’m going to try and do.”Wood is unlikely to play in Sunday night’s fourth T20I, suggesting that he arrived in Pakistan expecting to feature once in Karachi and twice in Lahore as England look to ensure he arrives in Australia fit and fresh ahead of next month’s World Cup. He admitted that he felt “rank” after his four overs on Thursday night and the next challenge will be backing his performances up.He hopes to be part of the Test squad that will tour Pakistan in December, having had a taste of the McCullum-Stokes era when he trained with them before the third Test against South Africa, and will take a red ball in his kitbag to Australia. “If they want me, I’ll be ready to go,” he said.