After a handful of lacklustre performances up front from Everton’s strikers, manager Marco Silva decided to make a change.

Richarlison joined the club in the summer from Watford for a figure in the region of £40m.

The Brazilian predominantly plays as a winger, but after his goalscoring antics, Silva experimented by playing the 21-year-old up front.

Richarlison has been positioned in the new role for Everton’s last three Premier League games, and in that time he has scored once and created a single assist.

With the January transfer window approaching, Silva may consider dipping into the market to recruit a new striker.

However, for the time being he has Cenk Tosun, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”310054″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Fake Madrid & Ross Barkley Emulates… David Ngog”]

Everton will be aiming to bounce back this weekend following their 2-1 loss to Manchester United on Sunday.

Next up for the Toffees is a home clash against Brighton at Goodison Park.

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Hampshire surpassed their highest score of the season, and their biggest innings total in matches against Derbyshire. Needing a massive 373 to avoid the follow on, Derbyshire advanced to 188-2 by the close, just half way towards their task.Prittipaul lost his wicket early in the day, when Derbyshire took the new ball, however, some big hitting from Dimitri Mascarenhas and Shane Warne game the home side maximum batting points for the first time this season.Simon Lacey with 4-98 was the pick of the Derbyshire bowlers.Mascarenhas hit a huge six off Lacey and with 10 fours splayed the Derbyshire attack. Warne was equally belligerent as he sent two sixes into the adjoining flats.When Hampshire was finally out at 1:40, the visitors set about recovering. Makeshift opener Luke Sutton and Steve Stubbins put together 85 runs, before Shane Warne bowled the latter leg stump. Australian Michael Di Venuto then joined Sutton. Both reached their 50s, Sutton in a patient 145 balls, Di Venuto in a quick fire 63.The Australian attempted a cover drive off Mascarenhas, the catch being gobbled up by White, but Sutton who has only opened twice before this season was still unbeaten at the close.With the wicket showing signs of turn, Hampshire will be looking to their own Australian – Warne, and off-spinner Shaun Udal to force Derbyshire to follow on and give them an extreme outside chance of survival in Division One.At the end of the day, both teams joined members in a barbecue at the County Ground to celebrate its pending closure.

Saurav Ganguly described the strip used for Friday’s ICC KnockOut semi-finalas the worst of the three strips played on by India during the tournament.This was probably just as well for South Africa. Had the match been playedon a good pitch by the Indian captain’s standards, the winning margin mighthave been even more than 95 runs to India.Ganguly’s 141, off no more than 142 balls, was the outstanding innings ofthe tournament and it carried India to a formidable 295 for six in their 50overs. They might have gone beyond 300 but for a final over from AllanDonald from which only two were scored as three wickets fell.Ganguly said that the pitch “stopped a bit” and South African captain ShaunPollock confirmed that it had been a little slower than the tracks used inthe early matches. You wouldn’t have noticed it as India stormed to 293before their third wicket fell to the last ball of the 49th over.On the day India earned their place in Sunday’s final against New Zealand bybatting, bowling and fielding better than South Africa. Neither side reachedthe standards set during their respective quarter-final matches, but Indiawere a good deal closer to the pace than the South Africans.Sachin Tendulkar was the senior partner in a 66-run opening stand, but afterhe had gone for 39, Ganguly gradually started to shift through the gears. Upto the halfway point, the South Africans had more or less been able to keepIndia in check, but the introduction of left-arm spinner Nicky Boje into theattack in the 25th over was the signal for Ganguly to move into overdrive.Ganguly carted Boje for three sixes during two overs that cost South Africa26 and the tone of the innings – and the match – had changed. With RahulDravid a willing ally, India were able to add 74 between the 25th and 35thovers and set themselves up for the highest total of the tournament.Dravid eventually went for 58, but his departure served only to bring YuvrajSingh, the find of the competition, to the wicket. Boje should have caughtSingh when he had one, but the fielder lost the ball in the sun and he wenton to crash 41 off 35 balls.Ganguly, meanwhile, had his slice of luck on 75 when he chopped a LanceKlusener no ball into the hands of Jonty Rhodes at point, but when it’s yourday, it’s your day and only the fact that he couldn’t get on strike duringDonald’s last over probably kept him under 150.Throughout the tournament captains have been talking about 280 to 300 as parfor the pitch and the ground and South Africa didn’t believe themselves outof it. They needed a start, though, and they didn’t get one.Andrew Hall was yorked in the third over, Gary Kirsten run out in thefourth, Boeta Dippenaar caught behind in the fifth and Jacques Kallis caughtoff a leading edge in the eighth. Runs had been coming, but at a price. Thescore was 50 for four.There was a 56-run stand for the fifth wicket between Rhodes and MarkBoucher and 55 were added for the sixth by Boucher and Klusener, but theSouth Africans did not have enough wickets in hand and each Indian successwas a further nail in South Africa’s coffin.Ganguly found time to bring himself on to claim Boucher’s wicket for 60 andthen dropped two successive dolly catches at slip off Nicky Boje who simplycouldn’t fathom which way Anil Kumble was turning it.But the match had long since shifted India’s way and Tendulkar wrapped it upwith the last two wickets in three balls.There was talk beforehand that India might field an additional spinner,Sunil Joshi, on Sunday, but a virgin strip is to be used in the field and itmight have just a little more pace. Changes are not expected in the Indianteam while New Zealand are again likely to be without allrounder ChrisCairns in the field.India will start the final as favourites, but New Zealand were able to weardown Pakistan and they won’t mind being seen as underdogs. They’re quiteused to it, in fact.

ScorecardRikki Clarke got Warwickshire back into the match•Getty Images

This match is so intriguingly set with a day remaining that is hard to decide who has the upper hand. The 265 needed by Warwickshire to retain an outside chance of staying in contention for the Championship looked a tall order but a composed half-century by Laurie Evans has given them an opportunity. Scoring a further 140 with seven wickets still intact looks much less daunting.Success may depend on how long the partnership with Sam Hain survives in the morning session but Hain batted exceptionally well in the first innings and there is a depth of batting to come, with the possibility that Chris Woakes might complete a highly satisfactory comeback by scoring the winning runs.Woakes, in his first competitive action since suffering a foot injury during the World Cup and subsequently damaging his left knee during his rehab, has already shown that he is in good order with ball in hand. Having spoken of his hunger to play a part in England’s Ashes summer, he took three wickets in the space of 10 balls as Warwickshire scythed through Durham’s top order. It was only the enterprise of another bowler who clearly knows what to do with a bat that kept Durham in the match at all.Durham had earlier appeared to be well in control, claiming the last three of Warwickshire’s first-innings wickets in the first 45 minutes for a lead of 116.But then came carnage. In a muggy atmosphere with a threat of showers, they lost their own first four second innings wickets for just nine runs. Conditions were ideal for Woakes, who posed a threat from his first ball and drew first blood with the second ball of his third over, finding the edge of Mark Stoneman’s bat with a delivery the first-innings century-maker was obliged to play.In his next over he struck twice, the first ball clipping Paul Collingwood’s back pad and persuading umpire Graham Lloyd to raise the finger. For the second time in the match, the Durham captain, already facing a dissent charge for his reaction to his first-innings dismissal, appeared to react with incredulity. Four balls later, Scott Borthwick, Durham’s other in-form left-hander, was drawn into a tentative push and was caught behind.Meanwhile, Rikki Clarke, impressive as the senior bowler in the first innings as Woakes eased his way back in, was giving staunch support, running in with purpose at the other end. He flattened two of Keaton Jennings’ stumps and struck again when Michael Richardson, who had pulled Woakes for six as he counter-attacked vigorously, flashed hard and fell to an excellent catch by Evans at third slip. Durham went to lunch, teeteringly, on 34 for five.The mayhem continued into the afternoon as Gordon Muchall, with a wild an injudicious swing, became Clarke’s eighth wicket of the match. Surprisingly, this was new territory for the former England all-rounder, a reliable chipper-in for much of his Warwickshire career but seldom the main man. His biggest match haul previously was seven.When a fine ball from Oliver Hannon-Dalby had John Hastings caught at slip, Durham were 55 for 7, desperately hoping they could at least finish 200 in front. In fact, they exceeded that handsomely. The ball began to lose its venom and runs began to come less hazardously and they did manage a recovery of sorts. Jamie Harrison, the left-arm seamer, completed his second first-class half-century, adding 40 in company with Ryan Pringle and 48 for the ninth wicket with Chris Rushworth.Varun Chopra and Ian Westwood made a decent start to the chase, scoring at five an over, but then both were out. Chopra, with no end in sight to his wretched run, was strangled down the leg side, then Jonathan Webb was out without scoring for the second time in the match, his middle stump plucked out as Rushworth, another five-wicket haul under his belt from the first innings, claimed his 52nd victim of the season.Another glut of wickets might have followed, but Warwickshire applied themselves doggedly. Evans had gone first ball in the first innings but by now the surface was offering Rushworth fewer favours. He and Ian Westwood were determined to keep mistakes to a minimum but nonetheless kept the scoreboard moving. They added 65 for the third wicket before Westwood edged a decent ball from John Hastings and raised the possibility of a win.Woakes was pleased with his comeback. “I’m still feeling a little bit sore of an evening,” he said, with reference to the aftermath of surgery to repair a torn meniscus. “But I’ll take that. Pulling up in the morning is fine.”I’ve never been out for a significant amount of time before so it has been frustrating. It’s been one thing after another starting with the ankle at the World Cup and leading on to my knee.”In terms of timing, it was a bad moment to pick up an injury being in the England squad for all formats. It’s great to see the boys doing well but I want to be part of it.”I’ve got to get myself back to my best fight my way back in. It is not going to be easy but I’m looking forward to it. It is great to see the Ashes summer start so well for and I want to be back in it.”

Match facts

August 6-10, 2015
Start time 11am local (1000GMT)

Big Picture

England thrust aside Australia in less than three days at Edgbaston to go 2-1 up in the Investec series, but for all that there is no widespread conviction that they are about to settle the job at Trent Bridge. Almost counter-intuitively, it is Australia who are more fancied to bounce back, which would be in keeping with a series of great unpredictability.England’s win in Birmingham came at a heavy cost – an injury to the leader of their attack James Anderson which prevents him from playing at a venue where he has taken 53 wickets in eight Tests at 19.24. Instead, he will be offering advice from the dressing room to an attack which will be led, on is home ground, by Stuart Broad. Much responsibility rests with Broad who will be playing only his fifth Test without Anderson in the side. The identity of his new-ball partner remains to be seen, with both Steven Finn and Mark Wood having different attributes.That presents Australia with an opportunity to find some batting form in a series when, their top three apart, they have batted dismally. Much focus is on Michael Clarke, who has been increasingly feisty in the build-up, but who has struggled against Stuart Broad, in particular, throughout the series. Alastair Cook, his opposiute number, has also had a lean time with the bat – but England are ahead in the series and so after two tough years he is judged to be on the verge of redemption.There remains the feeling that both sides are often on the brink of a batting collapse, although the depth of England’s order – with Moeen Ali at No. 8 – could yet be a deciding factor. Last year the Trent Bridge Test against India was a bore draw, and resulted in a ‘poor’ rating for the surface, but it would be no surprise if this encounter more mirrored what happened in 2013 when wickets fell steadily throughout. And while it would not be good for the nerves, either side would happily take another nail-biting win.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWLW
Australia LWLWW

In the spotlight

Shaun Marsh has a strong claim for an opportunity in an Australian batting line-up that has looked flimsy as soon as the second wicket has fallen. Perhaps only his inexperience in English conditions counted against him at the start of the series, but he has made hundreds in tour games against Kent and Derbyshire. Repelling a Test attack in swinging conditions at Trent Bridge would be a different challenge.Pitching an opening batsman into Test cricket in an Ashes series is a big ask and Adam Lyth has struggled in his first three Tests on home soil to justify England’s faith. He seems to have reverted to the chancy style outside off stump that was apparent in his early Yorkshire seasons. A result perhaps of a rise in quality or an over-eagerness to buy into England’s commitment to attacking cricket. A more methodical approach is needed.

Team news

Wood’s fitness record suggested from the outset that he is not designed for a world of back-to-back Tests, but his problematic ankle has come through training sessions successfully and, barring a last-minute deterioration, he will play. Liam Plunkett and the uncapped left-arm quick Mark Footitt are on standby.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Adam Lyth, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Moeen Ali, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Steven FinnSuch has been the weakness of Australia’s middle order that a switch to six specialist batsmen, with Shaun Marsh replacing his brother Mitchell, is one option that could be considered. Alternatively, he could replace Adam Voges, enabling Western Australia’s brothers to team up in Tests for only the second time.Australia (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon

Pitch and conditions

Alastair Cook has predicted “another Edgbaston” and if so it will continue the transformation from the attritional pitches of recent vintage. Trent Bridge dare not risk a boring surface, having been marked “poor” a year ago by the ICC for a slow, low surface for a Test against India in which only 29 wickets fell. The weather is also unsettled enough to fill both bowling attacks with optimism.

Stats and trivia

• Mitchell Johnson became the 12th player to achieve the Test double of 2000 runs and 300 wickets at Edgbaston and Stuart Broad, with 299 wickets to his name, is poised to join the list on his home ground.
• Only Anderson has bowled more deliveries than Broad in international cricket in this decade.
• The Marsh brothers – the sons of former Australia opener Geoff – have appeared in a combined total of 20 Tests, but they have only played together once – against India at Brisbane last December.
• Steven Smith needs 59 runs to reach 3,000 in Tests

Quotes

“The series has been slightly strange in the topsy-turvy nature of the results, but it has been brilliant to be part of it.”
Alastair Cook relishing the unpredictability of the Ashes series“I don’t think you can build it up too much, I think you’ve got to play your best. You want the excitement that comes with a grand final, but you also want the calmness and freedom to go out there and play like you play in any other Test match.”

Before the start of three-day game against Bangladesh A, India’s national team had a camp at the adjoining NCA. While the others there practised with a white ball, Shikhar Dhawan, the India A captain, faced throwdowns with red balls and also had bouncers thrown at him with a wet tennis ball on a wet cement pitch. He had this three-day game on his mind then.Into the first day of the three-day match, with Bangladesh A having been bowled out for 228 and with their bowling looking innocuous, Dhawan let himself travel into the next format. He will join the Indian team to play the three-match T20I series against South Africa. And in his innings of 150 off 146 balls he pulled out all the shots. The spinners barely kept him in the crease, and he also reverse-swept them to distraction. This was a rare time, Dhawan, now a regular in international cricket, said. A rare time when you can play without any pressure and let yourself go.”I started off in the Test mode, and luckily I got boundaries,” Dhawan said. “Once I got to 50, I was thinking about the T20 matches I have to play. That’s why I was playing more aggressively after that. I wanted to practice the shots that I will play in T20s and later on in the series [against South Africa].”See, I was practising with the red ball because we were using that in this match. And once I scored 50, I was in that flow and I knew that wicket was supportive and I could play more freely. You don’t get many opportunities like this. Sometimes you have to let yourself go. There’s always pressure when you are playing for your team, and I enjoyed batting over here. The wet ball was to keep my reflexes going strong. South Africa has got a good fast bowling attack so I had to do that. I made sure I did everything to get ready for the series.”For Dhawan this was also a sort of a fitness test, an important fitness test with two other Test openers still not fit. He had injured his hand while fielding in the slips in Sri Lanka, and missed the remaining two Tests. Here he stayed away from the slips, and also provided a mini scare when the magic spray came out for him midway into innings. Dhawan, though, settled any nerves there might be around that hand.”I am happy with the way I came back after a month, and the way my hand responded,” he said. “I used the spray because I dived on the field, and I had a scratch on my hand. It was a layer to cover up. But my hand is doing great, and hopefully it will be all right against South Africa.”Dhawan said he was ready and looking forward to the home international season. “Of course, it’s going to be a tough challenge and it will be a great series [against South Africa]. It’s always good if two strong sides are playing. We are playing at home so that’s our advantage, and hopefully we will end the series on a good winning note.”

Paul Farbrace, the England assistant coach, believes the cultural evolution of one-day cricket as an equal to the Test game in England is almost complete, after a summer where the national side has found a new lease of life with the white ball.

England’s shift in mindset

England are increasingly viewing cricket as a squad rather than team game, so both physical and mental workloads on the players can be managed.
Steven Finn was rested at Headingley despite it being a must-win game, with Mark Wood recalled, and the notion of there being a ‘best XI’ at any one time is being replaced by an interchangeable model seen in other team sports. Joe Root has missed this whole series, Jos Buttler was left out after the first two matches and Stuart Broad has had a Test-only season.
“It was nice to see Woody, after two games off, saying ‘I feel really fresh and excited about playing,'” Farbrace said. “That’s a great place to be, yes you want players to be excited for every game – if you are playing club cricket you think they should be excited to play every game for England, of course they should – but it’s hard work and relentless. So to hear a young bloke say I’m really excited after two matches off, that’s a great place to be.
“That’s one of the reasons we looked at Rooty, Finny now. I think it’s important we look after people. Ben Stokes is another who at some stage is going to have to miss a series. Moeen Ali is another. The lads who play all forms of the game – it’s going to be impossible for them to play every series.”

One of Andrew Strauss’ first decisions on being named director of England cricket – after ending Kevin Pietersen’s career – was to reappoint Eoin Morgan as limited-overs captain and make abundantly clear that Test results were not the be-all and end-all. Farbrace has now suggested that focusing purely on a limited-overs career would not be seen as a lesser option.Farbrace even supported the notion that in the near future, a player could shelve red-ball cricket in its entirety earlier in a career to focus on the shorter versions of the game. “The way the game is moving forward that could easily happen, couldn’t it?,” he said.It would not be an entirely new concept. Some West Indies players, such as Dwayne Bravo who has not played a first-class game since 2013, are heading that way. Chris Gayle could be next, but the decisions of these players have have been based around either money, politics or injury. For an English cricketer, especially, to go solely the white-ball route would be a considerable sea-change.It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Morgan becomes such a man. Only once in the last four seasons has he had first-class returns of any strength – 2014 when he averaged 45.84 – and his first-class average of 34.97 is lower than his List A figure of 37.20.”He would have said previously: ‘Yes, I want to play Test cricket for England.’ But it might just be that we are saying for the first time in England that it’s okay to be seen as a specialist one-day player and you haven’t got to always be pushing to play Test cricket,” Farbrace said.”If so, Straussy should take the credit for this. Test cricket might not be suited to you. There will be others in the same boat. Now, I am not saying that Morgs wouldn’t play Test cricket for England again but at the moment the way he is playing one-day cricket and the freshness that he then brings into series is working really well.”On Sunday at Old Trafford, England have the chance to secure a series victory against world champions Australia, having been 2-0 down. England have also beaten New Zealand 3-2, and won the two one-off T20s against both teams, meaning they could be unbeaten across all formats this summer come the end of the weekend.Long seen as the poor relation to the five-day game in a country where Test cricket has continued to be held aloft, England’s diabolical World Cup – their sixth failure in the event since reaching the final in 1992 – brought the latest attempt to haul the one-day game into greater focus. That desire was not new. Each World Cup exit promoted a review and a host of new ideas, but this time, there is the belief that the changes are for real and will have a sustained effect.”What will happen is that some people will come into one-day cricket and do really well and might get themselves into the Test side. But we’re not using one-day cricket as a vehicle for Test cricket,” Farbrace said. “One-day cricket is being treated in isolation to Test cricket. If you have the skills to play one-day cricket, you can have a great career for England without ever playing a Test match. There’s nothing wrong with that.”Perhaps a few years ago, it was perhaps seen as a bit of a stepping stone to play Test cricket. I think that is where Strauss has been really clever, he has been very upfront and honest about it.”It has been England’s limited-overs resurgence that has been the success story of the summer despite the Test side regaining the Ashes. England’s Test fortunes had not slumped to the depths of the one-day game, despite the inconsistency which saw them throw away series leads against West Indies and New Zealand, and remained on show in the Ashes. Farbrace admitted the collective success had exceeded expectations.”If at the start of this summer somebody would have said that we would draw the New Zealand Tests, beat New Zealand in the one-dayers, win the Ashes and be going into the last game locked at 2-2, we would have snapped their hand off – and probably walked away saying ‘whatever they’re drinking, I’ll have a pint of that.'”Let’s be fair. I know people have said they want England players to play with a smile on their face, playing this positive cricket, but the most important thing to any national team, in any international sport, is winning. Winning series is what it’s about.”To win a match chasing down 300 like on Friday gives you huge confidence. We want to win on Sunday, and we want to play well, but I would take a scrappy win. It’s about winning and teams develop quickly when they’re winning. You don’t want to be a developing team that keeps losing. We all want to see the team win, don’t we?”

Match facts

Thursday, October 1
Start time 9.30am local (0730GMT)Azhar Ali has arrived to take charge of Pakistan’s ODI team•Associated Press

The big picture

Pakistan have had a topsy-turvy year in ODI cricket. They made the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but never really looked like threatening for the title, losing to India, West Indies and Australia along the way. They were then whitewashed by Bangladesh, before surging to an emotional victory in the historic home series against Zimbabwe. After that they scrapped to their first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka since 2006, and after the high of their 2-0 win in the T20Is, they start favourites against Zimbabwe on Thursday.Conversely, there has generally been a sameness to the tenor of Zimbabwe’s one-day campaigns. They have looked good, and more often than not been competitive, but in 15 matches this year they have only won two. The second of those was their stunning victory over New Zealand in their highest successful chase at Harare Sports Club. But what happened next is typical of the side. Zimbabwe are probably one of the only teams that could register a record chase and a ten-wicket defeat in the same series. In fact, they are playing the only other team for whom such peaks and troughs are the norm: Pakistan.Indeed, the T20I series showed that there isn’t a great deal to separate these teams in these sorts of conditions. They have also seen a fair amount of each other this year, with Pakistan prevailing in yet another match that Zimbabwe have won at the Gabba during the World Cup before the Zimbabweans performed entertainingly, but without success, during their tour to Pakistan in May.Pakistan and Zimbabwe also share a few of the same concerns heading into these one-day games. Brittle top-order batting has been a problem for both teams, as well as an inability to rotate the strike when boundaries aren’t forthcoming. With the bowling attacks looking in fine fettle, the opening ODI could be decided by whichever side is able to coax more industriousness out of their batsmen.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LLWLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LWWLW

In the spotlight

Sean Williams was one of the few batsmen for whom rotation of the strike did not appear to be a problem in the T20 games, and given the 360 degree range of his strokes in limited-overs cricket he could be vital to Zimbabwe’s batting success on a slow wicket. Williams hasn’t scored quite as many runs as Zimbabwe have needed from him this year, and he’s also yet to make a one-day hundred.After an early blunder against Bangladesh, Azhar Ali appears to have settled well into his role as Pakistan’s one-day captain. He scored heavily against Zimbabwe at home, and continued to contribute as Pakistan took their away series against Sri Lanka 3-2. With Pakistan’s top-order wobbles in the T20s, Ali should bring some stability, and he will look to stamp his authority on this series as quickly as possible.

Team news

They weren’t officially part of Zimbabwe’s squad on Wednesday, but Matabeleland Tuskers opener Brian Chari, legspinning allrounder Tino Mutumbodzi and medium-pacer Tawanda Mupariwa all trained with Zimbabwe the day before the first ODI. The idea of opening the batting with wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami had been discussed within the team prior to this series, but that seems unlikely now and the player himself is apparently unwilling to make the move. Chari could play, but it’s unclear how many changes Zimbabwe will want to make to their XI.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Chamu Chibhabha, 2 Brian Chari, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Hamilton Masakadza, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 8 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 9 Tino Mutumbodzi, 10 Graeme Cremer, 11 Tinashe Panyangara.Pakistan have welcomed a number of new players to their squad, including one-day captain Azhar Ali. He and the other new members of the squad spent Tuesday and Wednesday training and acclimatising to conditions. Ali will slot straight into the opening position, while the Twenty20 matches will have given Pakistan a good idea of what sorts of combinations they will need to succeed. Pakistan have also made it clear that they would like to have a look at offspinner Bilal Asif before their series against England, and he could strengthen their spin attack in helpful conditions.Pakistan (possible): 1 Azhar Ali (capt), 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 6 Aamer Yamin, 7 Bilal Asif, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Yasir Shah, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Mohammad Irfan.

Pitch and conditions

There was stark contrast between the bone-dry, off-white pitch and the lush green outfield as the groundsmen made their final preparations on Wednesday afternoon. Expect another dry surface that could play a little slow and low, and will aid spinners and quicks with a skill-set to suit the conditions. The early start could mean swing in the morning, but that won’t last much more than an hour. The weather is expected to be hazy, but warm.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan’s openers have registered more 50-plus stands than anyone else in 2015. Their first wicket averages 56.95, the highest for any team in 2015. Pakistan’s openers have added 1139 runs in 20 innings, including four hundreds and six fifty stands.
• Of the 51 ODIs between these sides, Pakistan have won 45 and Zimbabwe three. There have also been two games with no result and one tie.
• Of Zimbabwe’s current squad, Hamilton Masakadza has scored the most runs against Pakistan, with 476 in 14 innings at an average of 34, including four fifties.

Quotes

“It’s not a quick fix. The answers come from two or three different sources. But initially it has to come from within. That’s the major area.”
“They’ve been training today, and they’ll train again tomorrow as we try to get them used to the conditions.”

ScorecardFile photo: Arun Karthik struck two fifties in the game to be named Man of the Match as Assam thumped Delhi•PTI

Assam continued their excellent run, having earned promotion this year, by beating table-toppers Delhi by five wickets in Guwahati. There were only 95 runs away overnight and most of those were knocked over by Arun Karthik (55*), who struck his second fifty of the match. Opener Rahul Hazarika (59) joined him, and those two were the only batsmen to reach the mark in the entire match. Delhi lost all 10 wickets for fewer than 200 in both innings, which proved their undoing. Assam have now vaulted into second place in Group A. With three wins in six games, they are on 22 points, only two behind Delhi’s 24.Vidarbha 247 (Sarwate 50, Tanveer ul Haq 4-60) and 199 for 2 (Badrinath 70*, Satish 61*) beat Rajasthan 216 (Puneed 67, Dobal 51, Umesh 4-45) and 226 (Menaria 76, Saxena 54, Sarwate 5-58) by eight wickets
ScorecardAditya Sarwate, the 25-year old left-arm spinner, is having a fabulous debut season in the Ranji Trophy. His second first-class five-for now takes him to 25 wickets in four games and has also set up Vidarbha’s third win of the season. A target of 199 became a formality with Ganesh Satish (61*) and captain S Badrinath (70*) and hitting unbeaten half-centuries.Sarwate needed only one ball on the fifth day to wrap up Rajasthan’s second innings on their overnight score of 226. He finished with 5 for 58, to finish with seven wickets in the match. Besides him, Umesh Yadav had taken a hat-trick in the first innings.Early wickets were necessary for Rajasthan to pose a challenge to a line-up that features three of the best professionals in the Ranji circuit. Although Wasim Jaffer did not bat, Satish and Badrinath combined for an unbeaten 127 runs for the third wicket to seal the game and consolidate Vidarbha’s place at three on the Group A points table. They have 22 points from seven, same as Assam, who have played only six.
ScorecardHaryana held on for 103 overs in Lahli thanks to Chaitanya Bishnoi’s unbeaten 86 off 259 balls, but the 250 for 4 that they ended up with while following-on was still not enough to match match Odisha’s 529 for 6 declared. Chances of an outright win were high for the visitors, especially after a Virender Sehwag-less Haryana were bowled out for 216 in the first innings in 85.5 overs. But their batting was able to show greater resolve to deny Odisha a second win of the season. Haryana themselves have not had any victories so far and both teams are stuck in the bottom half of the table.Bishnoi, the 21-year old playing his first season of Ranji Trophy, was the common thread that connected three solid partnerships. He added 86 runs in 36.5 overs with Nitin Saini (64), 75 runs with Rohit Sharma (42) in 30.5 overs, 44 runs with Sachin Rana in 18.5 overs and an unbeaten 30 runs with Priyank Tehlan in 11.5 overs to guide his team to relative safety. And clearly, Odisha’s bowlers could not summon the finishing blow: Dhiraj Singh, Suryakant Pradhan and Basant Mohanty bowled 73 overs for only four wickets.
ScorecardThe game eventually petered out into a race for the first innings lead, and Maharashtra who had come into the final day on 290 for 3 did have an opportunity to run down Bengal’s 528 for 9 declared, but were unable to do so. They were reliant on the overnight pair of Rahul Tripathi’s (132 off275 balls) and Ankit Bawne (65 off 143 balls) but once that 156-run partnership for the fourth wicket was broken, Bengal took control.Bawne was bowled by Veer Pratap Singh and the score became 313 for 4. Tripathi fell 16 runs later, then Maharashtra lost their sixth, seventh and eighth wickets for only 11 runs and finally were eventually all out for 406. Pragyan Ojha took 3 for 71. Ashok Dinda, Mukesh Kumar and Aamir Gani picked up two wickets each. Bengal then played out 33 overs with Abhimanyu Easwaran securing his second fifty of the match.

Veteran Hyderabad off spinner Kanwaljit Singh helped restrict UttarPradesh on the third day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at GreenPark in Kanpur on Saturday. UP, 206 for three overnight in reply toHyderabad’s first innings total of 291, were all out for362. Hyderabad in their second innings had just about wiped off thefirst innings deficit by scoring 72 for one by close of play.The in form NP Singh struck an early vital blow when he bowled MdKaif. The India batsman was out without adding to his overnight scoreof 66. The other overnight batsman skipper Gyanendra Pandey went on tomake 47 before he was bowled by Kanwaljit Singh. Pandey faced 98 ballsand hit seven fours. The innings was kept going by a seventh wicketpartnership of 46 runs off 22 overs between wicketkeeper Pradip Yadav(20) and Ashish Winston Zaidi (52). But the persistent Kanwaljit Singhthen took three wickets late in the innings to keep the UP lead downto manageable proportions. Zaidi faced 96 balls and hit six foursbefore he was also one of Kanwaljit’s victims. He finished with sixfor 97 off 48.2 overs.When Hyderabad batted a second time, they lost Manohar (14) at 29. ButA Nandakishore (35) and VVS Laxman (20) by watchful batting added 43runs off 18.3 overs and were unbeaten at stumps with the matchtantalisingly poised.