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FULL NAME: Brighton Tonderai Watambwa
BORN: At Harare, 9 June 1977
MAJOR TEAMS: Mashonaland A (1997/98); Mashonaland (1999/2000 to date); ZimbabweBoard XI (1998/99 to date). Present club team: Harare Sports Club
KNOWN AS: Brighton Watambwa. Nicknames: Bulb, Spikey, Slim
BATTING STYLE: Right Hand Bat
BOWLING STYLE: Right Arm Fast Medium
OCCUPATION: Professional cricketerFIRST-CLASS DEBUT: 28-30 August 1997; Mashonaland A v Mashonaland, at HarareSouth Country Club
TEST DEBUT: Still awaited
ODI DEBUT: Still awaitedBIOGRAPHY (updated April 2002)Brighton Watambwa is one of Zimbabwe’s young black pace bowlers who has improved steadily until he broke through into the Test team during 2001/02. This followed a real impact in the Board XI matches in the UCBSA Bowl Competition during the previous season. Tall and gangling, he generates a good pace and has developed his skills to the point where he is now able to trouble the top batsmen.Like most other emerging black players, Brighton has no family background in cricket. His interest first came at primary school, when he had the good fortune to attend Lilfordia Primary School a short distance to the west of Harare, where his headmaster was Iain Campbell, father of Test player Alistair. He started playing in about Grade Three, and many will be surprised to learn that throughout his schooldays he was better known as a batsman than a bowler, although he did bowl regularly and quickly. It was not until he played club cricket, where the limited-over game rules and promising players are so often placed in the lower middle order where they get very little opportunity to bat that he began to concentrate on bowling.At Lilfordia he spent three years in the school colts team and a further two in the seniors. He remembers scoring his first fifty in Grade Five but cannot remember his highest score. He does remember taking nine cheap wickets in an innings in one match. He did well enough to be chosen for the national primary schools team, which played a match against the previous year’s team. "That was hard cricket because they were a lot older than I and I wasn’t as quick as I thought I was," he says.For high school he attended Falcon College, nursery of so many of Zimbabwe’s recent top players. Unlike the others, though, he does not have very good memories of his cricket there. He played for his age-group first teams for his first three years there and the school second team in Form Four, before progressing to the first team for his final two years. "When you play for a strong side and someone always scores runs and someone always takes wickets, you have to share everything around," he says. His only representative cricket was for the Matabeleland Under-16 team in Form Three; he was injured during much of his final year when he might have had ambitions for the national schools team.He finished his schooling with a year at St John’s College in Harare in 1996, when he played Under-19 cricket for Mashonaland and was in the national squad for that age-group. He had a much more enjoyable year, succeeding mainly as an opening batsman, scoring several fifties and averaging in the thirties, and also bowling well enough to win the school’s all-rounder of the year award. He got full colours in one year, which he believes is a unique achievement. He also played in the Zone Six cricket tournament for Africa that was hosted by Zimbabwe that year.In his final two years at Falcon he played for Bulawayo Athletic Club without achieving anything outstanding, but when he moved to St John’s he joined Harare Sports Club and immediately struck gold with some fine performances, even recording a fifty in one match. He has stayed with the club ever since, with his best performance a six-wicket haul a couple of years back.After leaving St John’s he took a gap year in 1997, when he coached at Bryden School in Chegutu, and also made his Logan Cup debut for Mashonaland A. The following year he attended Rhodes University in South Africa where he played a lot of cricket and won a place in the South African Universities team after being joint top wicket-taker in the Universities Week.Back in Zimbabwe in 1999, he attended the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai with Dennis Lillee and played against the touring England A team. Shortly afterwards he was selected for the Zimbabwe Board XI in the UCBSA Bowl competition. He has played frequently for that team ever since, with the 2000/01 season proving his best. He remembers a particularly good match at Harare South the previous season, though, against Northerns, when he felt at the top of his game and bowled as well as he has ever done, yet took only three wickets."I think a bit of soul-searching has brought about an improvement this season," he said at the time. "I’ve had a bit of trouble with injuries in the past and I have come to accept that I had to change a few things in my action. I’ve done that, and since I’ve come back from injury I’ve been thinking a lot more about my game. I’ve slowed my run-up and brought about a slight change in my action, and they seem to be working out well for me." The need to slow down his run-up was first suggested to him by Robin Jackman when he was in Zimbabwe several years ago, and this was confirmed by Lillee and the Sri Lankan Rumesh Ratnayake who also coached him in Chennai, and followed him up when he played for the Zimbabwe A team in Sri Lanka during 2000/01.He is uncertain whether he is actually bowling as fast as ever he has done, as he recalls a school match for St John’s against Churchill where he feels he bowled as quickly as he has ever done. "But I think right now I’m bowling with more consistent pace than I have ever done," he says. "I’m a genuine swinger of the ball [predominantly away from the bat], though, and I think that’s my main strength. Most of my wickets are bowled or caught behind."He spent the 2000 season in Hertfordshire in England, playing for a club called Langbury. He took two five-wicket hauls for them and was their top wicket-taker. He has been injury-prone at times, struggling most with his groin and quadriceps. He is now a fulltime professional cricketer with the Zimbabwe Cricket Union.Brighton was eased into Test cricket against Bangladesh, making their first tour of Zimbabwe in April 2001, replacing Henry Olonga. He began shakily, but took his first wicket when he had Naimur Rahman caught in the slips. He took nine wickets in the two Tests, and another three in the First Test against India in June, and looked to have gained a permanent Test place.Then came personal tragedy. In the Second Test against India, at Harare Sports Club, he took a crucial early wicket, but then tore a hamstring, limped off the field, and that ended his season. He was working hard to get fit for the new season, but then had knee problems, on top of which he tore a quadricep muscle in his right leg.When he was finally fit to play club cricket again in October, he was quickly put into the Board XI team as the selectors were eager to have him back in Test cricket. It proved to be a long, slow haul to recovery, but he was eventually selected for the tour to India in February. He had little success on the dead pitches there. He followed this with selection for Zimbabwe A in the triangular tournament in Namibia, where he found the pitches a little more helpful. He took a few wickets in Logan Cup cricket, but his main concern was to hold out until the end of the season without further injury, and then enjoy a long break to recover his strength.His batting is unrecognized to the point where he usually goes in at number eleven. His highest score in any class of cricket is 89 in a Country Districts match for Selous or Chegutu, teams he represented for winter cricket at times in the past. He has taken eight wickets in an innings two or three times, but never equalled his nine at junior school.When fielding, he prefers the covers but is usually to be found on the boundary when bowling. "I like fielding," he says. "It’s a very big part of my game. I’m very quick and I like to think of myself as a very good fielder as well."Cricket heroes: Dennis Lillee, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, "and I do admire Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee, the genuine quicks in this world."Toughest opponents: "Andy Flower. Maybe Mark Vermeulen."Personal ambitions: "To play for Zimbabwe as soon as possible – and stay there! I want to open the bowling for Zimbabwe in both one-day games and Test matches. I’ll work on my batting, but I’ll look for my bowling to do the talking for me, because I am in essence a fast bowler."Proudest achievement so far: "My selection for South African Universities."Best friends in cricket: "I get on well with most guys and don’t really have a problem with anybody."Other qualifications: "I did my first-year Bachelor of Commerce and then dropped out to carry on playing cricket. My parents wanted me to go back to university this year, but then the ZCU offered me a contract and my parents agreed with that, so everything seems to be working out okay at the moment."Other sports: "At varsity I played a lot of soccer. I played a lot of hockey at school as well, and just generally all ball sports. I played a bit of rugby until I got a bit small for the heavy guys. The only sport I can say I never really liked is swimming. I’ve played tennis and I play a lot of squash nowadays. I now play social tennis and a little bit of soccer."Outside interests: "Reading, movies, music and junk food."

Somerset County Cricket Club captain Jamie Cox returns to England in April with his new wife and baby after a very successful season down under playing for Tasmania.After leading Somerset to victory in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy in 2001 there is just one problem that he faces when he returns to captain the Cidermen in 2002. At the moment he has nowhere to live with his wife Helen and baby son Lachlan.For the last couple of seasons Jamie has lived in a flat within walking distance of the County Ground, but this year he needs extra space to accommodate his new family.Earlier this week his accommodation problem seemed to be solved, but just before all the arrangements could be finalised it fell through, and Jamie and his family are still homeless.Now the club are once again on the lookout for a house for the Somerset skipper and his family. Ideally Jamie would like to rent a three or four-bedroomed house within easy reach of the County Ground, and would need it to be available from April 1st until September 30th.If there are any readers of the website who think that they could help to solve Jamie Cox’s housing problem please could they give Sally Donoghue a call at the County Ground on 01823 272946.

Somerset Head Groundsman Phil Frost made his first visit of the season to the Rec at Bath on Friday, where Somerset will be playing Yorkshire in a 4-day championship match starting on June 13th.Phil spent the day watering and scarifying the wicket, as well as taking delivery of a heavy roller, which will remain at the Rec till after the festival is over."This year we will be able to have more time to complete our preparations at Bath, because there is no cricket at Taunton," he told me.For much of the year the outfield area at the Rec is used as a car park for Bath Rugby Club, and very little cricket is played upon the square apart from the Somerset matches.A sponsorship deal with local solicitors Withy King and matched funding from the local council looks likely to have guaranteed the future of the Bath Festival for the immediate future, but the local organisers will be hoping for fine weather and good support form local cricket followers.

Prasidh Krishna picked up a left quadriceps injury on the first day of Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy 2023-24 match against Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Friday, and was subsequently left out of the India squad for the first two Tests of the five-match series against England at home.Prasidh hobbled off the field after bowling 14.5 overs, during which he picked up the wickets of Manan Hingrajia and Siddharth Desai as Karnataka bowled Gujarat for 264 in 88 overs. PTI understands that Prasidh will play no further part in the match. In general, quadriceps injuries take between four and six weeks to heal, depending on the intensity.The Karnataka team physio is currently taking care of Prasidh, but as a BCCI-contracted player, he can also link up with the India A support staff, who are also in Ahmedabad for the two-day match against the touring England Lions.Related

• Vihari steps down as Andhra captain for rest of Ranji season

• Bhuvneshwar returns to first-class cricket after six years with a five-for

• Iyer shows good intent on Ranji return ahead of England Tests

Prasidh made his Test debut during India’s recent tour of South Africa after being out of action for nearly a year following a lumbar stress fracture. But he didn’t have a great time of it in South Africa, where the Test series was drawn 1-1. He picked up two wickets from the two Tests and had an average of 65, and was the most expensive India bowler across the games, going at an economy rate of 4.64.With Mohammed Shami yet to be ready for top-tier action, the India squad for the first two Tests has Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan as the frontline pace options.The first two Tests will be played in Hyderabad (January 25-29) and Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), before the teams move to Rajkot (February 15-19), Ranchi (February 23-27) and Dharamsala (March 7-11).

Bangladesh needed eight batters to deal with the first day pitch in Harare, according to their captain Mominul Haque. The visitors eventually won the Test by 220 runs against Zimbabwe, but despite an unusually long batting line-up, they still ran into trouble on the first day, slipping to 132 for 6.Mahmudullah, batting at No 8, led the fightback with an unbeaten 150, and put up partnerships of 138 and 191 runs for the seventh and ninth wickets with Liton Das and Taskin Ahmed, respectively. Das and Ahmed both made career-best scores as Bangladesh finished on 468 in the first innings.Related

• Donald Tiripano disappointed Zimbabwe let early advantage slip

• The strange silence on Mahmudullah's last day of Test cricket

• Mahmudullah shines in Test swansong as Taskin, Miraz hand Bangladesh big win in Harare

“After looking at the pitch, I expected it to turn on the fourth or fifth day, which is why I decided to bat first,” Haque said. “We had belief that our spinners could take advantage of those conditions. It would have been difficult to make a combination in these conditions without Shakib . Looking at the wicket, I thought that some of us might struggle but with a long batting line-up, we could get away from it.”Haque hailed the contributions of Mahmudullah, Das and Ahmed, saying that their efforts made batting very easy for Shadman Islam and Najmul Hossain Shanto in the second innings.”Riyad s partnership with Liton was critical as we were 132-6 at that stage. Riyad played an outstanding innings. Taskin’s 75 was also important to win this Test match.”Staying ahead in the first innings keeps you in the game for long. Shanto and Shadman played well in the second innings without pressure, which is how it should be. I think they utilised the situation very well by batting normally,” he said.The long batting line-up also meant that Bangladesh had only four frontline bowlers in the XI. This, despite Shakib being in the side and Mehidy Hasan Miraz having improved his batting. The team management’s decision to drop Abu Jayed was also called into question.Ebadot Hossain was picked in his place, despite the bowler having taken only seven wickets at an average of 90.71 in seven Tests prior to Harare. Jayed averages 35.13 in 12 Tests, and is generally considered an improved bowler in all conditions. This was the first overseas Test he missed since his debut in 2018.”It was a flat and slow wicket, we preferred a faster bowler like Ebadot. So we decided to leave out Rahi but he is not out for good,” Haque said, while also explaining that they had a hard time dislodging the Zimbabwe batters in the match because the pitch was flat and slow from the second day.”The wicket has been flat since the second day of this Test. We would have leaked runs if we went too hard for wickets. I had to contain the runs and we needed time to bowl them out. More runs would have helped them, not us. One has to take a bit of time to set up batsmen to get them out. I think the bowlers did very well,” he said.Still, it was a welcome win for Bangladesh after losing three of the four Tests this year. Haque said that it would help them to build up towards the second cycle of the World Test Championship, which for Bangladesh begins after the T20 World Cup.”This Test win will build confidence in everyone ahead of the World Test Championship. They would know their role better. We are trying to improve small processes, rather than plan big.”

Chris Silverwood has admitted England were “obviously not good enough” as they stumbled to the brink of defeat in the LV=Insurance Test series against New Zealand.On a blameless batting track, England were 122 for 9 at stumps on day three of the Test. That gave them a lead of just 37 runs with one wicket in hand. New Zealand, who have not won a Test series in England since 1999, therefore look certain to inflict upon England their first home Test series defeat since 2014.It left Silverwood, the England head coach, acknowledging the batters would be “disappointed” in the performance and that his side would “need to improve” if they were to challenge the top sides in world cricket.”It’s obviously not good enough,” Silverwood said. “We need to improve, there’s no doubt about that. There are things to work on without a shadow of a doubt. No-one is going to hide from that or deny it.”I’m not going to lie: I thought it was a great opportunity for some of the younger lads to come in and stamp their mark on the game. I’m sure one or two will be disappointed they haven’t been able to do that.”When do we stop talking and start delivering? I think we need to start seeing starts turned into big scores now. That’s one thing we’re looking for: people pushing on and being greedy when they get in.”Related

• Henry, Wagner bring New Zealand within sight of series win

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• Fortress Edgbaston falls as England's not-so-fancy batters crash the party

Silverwood did ask for perspective, though. He pointed out that this England line-up was missing Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler from its first choice top seven and that, in their absence, the batting line-up was one of the youngest in the side’s history.”Let’s have a little bit of perspective,” he said. “We have got a very young batting line-up with limited experience. Joe Root is the one guy you would say has a heap of experience in that top seven.”Getting the experience of Buttler and Stokes back will help the young players, as well. We’ve seen in the past that, if you put the inexperienced players in between the experienced ones, it helps them learn. That’s what I’m hoping will happen in the India series.”We need to get that batting line-up more solid and start playing the game plan we’re aiming for. That’s big first-innings runs, big partnerships and big individual scores.”He dismissed the suggestion that the furore over historic social media posts had in any way distracted his players and expressed a hope they could learn from the skill and commitment of the New Zealand side.”I don’t think it has [been a disruption],” he said. “We’ve tried very hard to make sure that the noise on the outside has been quietened down to try and concentrate on cricket. Obviously, it’s not easy, but that’s what we’ve had to try and do because we had a Test match to try and compete in.”There were plenty of lessons out there to learn from. It’s a case of watching and learning what we can from how the New Zealand players go about their business, the methods they use and the way they apply themselves.”He conceded, however, that he would be keeping an open mind towards changes in selection, with Dawid Malan one name tipped for a recall.”I’ll be keeping my mind wide open, that is for definite,” Silverwood said. “So, if people are getting runs, I’ll be taking notice.”

Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Morne van Wyk has stepped down as captain of the Dolphins franchise, making way for middle-order batsman Khaya Zondo to take over. Van Wyk will continue playing for the franchise, who have recently had to say goodbye to senior batsman Daryn Smit, who is relocating to the UK.Van Wyk took over at the Dolphins in the 2013-14 summer, when he moved to Durban from Bloemfontein. He led them to their first standalone cup of the franchise era, when they won the domestic T20 competition that season but has also overseen a period of transition which started when Lance Klusener’s contract was not renewed last year. Klusener’s departure also saw Dolphins lose two of their premier international players. Kyle Abbott moved to Warriors – and has since gone Kolpak – while David Miller went to Knights, as Dolphins began this season with a depleted squad and a new coach in Grant Morgan.They have not had any real success – finishing fifth in the T20 challenge and fourth in the first-class competition – but several players are putting in strong individual performances. Keshav Maharaj has earned promotion to South Africa’s Test squad, and Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Zondo were second and third on the first-class batting charts. With one competition, the domestic one-day cup, still to come, they have high hopes of changing their fortunes.Van Wyk believes they have what it takes to win trophies, especially under a new leader. “I have been so privileged to captain the side for four years. I have seen some tremendous growth from players on and off the field over the past four seasons and I think that the timing is right,” he said. “Khaya has really come into his own and taken on the responsibility that he has been given this season well and I am excited to see him grow as a leader.”Zondo captained the Dolphins in their last two first-class matches of the season, something van Wyk said has been brewing since he joined the franchise. “I spoke to Khaya about the captaincy just four months after I arrived here so it is something that I think has been in the making for a number of years,” he said. It’s not a surprise then that van Wyk has offered Zondo his full support.”I am hopefully going to be around for another two or three seasons so I am here to offer Khaya support and guidance if he needs it,” van Wyk said. “I’m not going to be looking over his shoulder all the time, in fact I am actually going to take a step back. If he needs advice I will be a shoulder to lean on but it’s his ship to run now.”

Kolkata Knight Riders have named former Indian seamer L Balaji as their new bowling coach for the 2017 IPL. He replaces Wasim Akram, who said “professional commitments and time constraints” had prevented him from being with the team this year.Balaji, who represented Knight Riders between 2011 and 2013, is currently in his first season as a full-time bowling coach with his former state side, Tamil Nadu. “I had thoroughly enjoyed my stint as a player for KKR,” he said, “And I am delighted to be back to the franchise that I have admired.”Knight Riders chief Venky Mysore was pleased to have one of his old team members back. “It is great to welcome Bala back to the KKR family. He was an integral part of our team and played a key role in helping us win the championship in 2012.”The 2017 IPL is set to begin on April 5 with the final scheduled for May 21.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Ahmed Shehzad hit five fours in his unbeaten 56-ball 61•Raton Gomes/BCB

Ahmed Shehzad’s half-century helped Comilla Victorians beat Barisal Bulls to record their second win in nine matches this season.For a change, Comilla started well in chase of 143, with openers Imrul Kayes and Shehzad adding 93. But by the time he was caught down the leg side by Mushfiqur Rahim for a 56-ball 61, Comilla were within 23 runs of victory.Imrul was equally destructive at the other end, hitting six fours and a six in his 35-ball 43. The formalities were completed with six balls left, with Marlon Samuels and Khalid Latif seeing them hope.Earlier Mushfiqur and Jeevan Mendis made 29 and 28 respectively in an otherwise disappointing batting performance from Barisal that resulted in them slipping to 92 for 7 in the 16th over.Enamul Haque ensured that they had a good finish with his 15-ball unbeaten 20 that had a four and a six, along with small contributions from tailenders Abu Hider and Taijul Islam. Left-arm spinner Nabil Samad took three wickets while Rashid Khan picked up two wickets.

Trevor Bayliss believes Ben Stokes could develop into one of the “all-time best allrounders” following his Man-of-the-Match performance in Chittagong.Bayliss, the England coach, made the comments after Stokes helped seal victory with 103 runs and six wickets in the match. Bayliss was particularly impressed with Stokes’ improvement against spin bowling on the sort of low, slow pitches on which he has struggled in the past.Coming to the crease in the second innings with England precariously placed on 46 for 4, Stokes compiled 85 in just over three hours with his trademark power complemented by some tight defence and mature rotation of the strike. He also gained reverse swing and generated impressive pace on a sluggish surface.”He could be right up there with some of the all-time best allrounders,” Bayliss said. “He’s young into his career and that’s going to be easier to judge the longer he goes. Only time will tell.”But the strides he’s made on the subcontinent playing spin have been top class. It wasn’t all that long ago we were wondering how he might go on spin-friendly wickets, but he’s a guy that works extremely hard in the nets.

How does Stokes’ performance compare?

Ben Stokes scored 103 runs and took six wickets in Chittagong. Here are what some of the game’s finest ever allrounders managed in Asia.

Gary Sobers WI v Ind, Mumbai, 1966
50, 53*, 3-56, 2-79
Tony Greig Eng v Pak, Lahore, 1973
41, 72, 4-86, 2-28
Ian Botham Eng v Ind, Mumbai, 1980
114, 6-58, 7-48
Kapil Dev Ind v Pak, Chennai, 1980
84, 4-90, 7-56
Imran Khan Pak v Ind, Faisalabad, 1983
117, 6-98, 5-82
Richard Hadlee NZ v SL, Colombo, 1987
151*, 4-102
Jacques Kallis SA v SL, Kandy, 2000
16, 87, 2-18, 1-25
Andrew Flintoff Eng v Ind, Mumbai, 2006
50, 50, 1-68, 3-14

“It’s his defence to spin that has improved out of sight. We know that if he gets a bad ball he can hit anything over the fence, but you’ve got to be there to get that loose ball. In the past he probably hasn’t had a lot of footwork, has played from the crease and backed his eye and his hands. But as we’ve seen on this tour, in the one-dayers and this Test, he’s defended really well off the front foot, got right out and smothered the ball before it had a chance to spin and jump past the outside edge.”It is not the first time Stokes has won high praise from an international coach. During England’s tour of the Caribbean in 2015, the then West Indies coach, Phil Simmons, remarked that Stokes was “in the mould of Jacques Kallis” and wished “I had him at No. 6…. That’s the kind of cricketer you need.”There will be those who scoff at such comments. They will point out that Bangladesh are rated the ninth-best team in the ICC’s rankings and suggest that conclusions over Stokes’ worth be postponed until he has achieved success more consistently and against higher-ranked sides. But a reflection on some of the great allrounders’ best performances in Asia over the last half-century (see sidebar) underlines the impression that Stokes’ performance in Chittagong is worthy of some respect. Perhaps the next few weeks in India will define Stokes’ reputation in such conditions.There may also be an element of psychology in Bayliss’ comments; hearing such praise from his coach can do Stokes’ confidence no harm. But there can be little arguing with the allrounder’s value to the team. So much so that, while England are considering rotating other players, Bayliss feels it is likely that Stokes will, fitness permitting, play all seven Tests before Christmas. Moeen Ali is viewed similarly by the management.”Stokes is very important,” Bayliss said. “He allows us to play that extra spinner and the third pace bowler. Mo batting at No. 5 plays a similar role to us, especially here in the subcontinent, and the way he played in the first innings, he is suited to playing spin bowling.”We don’t want to get halfway through the India series and have one or two guys injured and definitely out. And we also want to give those guys who will probably play at some stage some game time.”But it would be a brave man to bet against Stokes playing all seven Tests. I’m not sure we’d be game enough to drop him anyway; we might get a thump in the head. He’s a very resilient person, let alone cricketer, and he just keeps on keeping on. We’ve just got to watch what he does between the Tests to make sure he is available for all the matches.”While other players might be equally reluctant to miss a Test – “you would expect no less from a professional cricketer,” Bayliss said – it does seem England are committed to changes ahead of the second Test in Dhaka. Steven Finn, who has impressed with his rhythm and pace in training, could well come in for Stuart Broad or perhaps Chris Woakes, and Zafar Ansari may come in for Gareth Batty or perhaps Adil Rashid.England are keen to reiterate no-one is being dropped – Broad bowled an especially impressive spell towards the end of the first Test, including nine consecutive overs at the end of the fourth day – but may feel that Rashid, who was not at his best in Chittagong, would benefit from another bowl ahead of the India series.Ultimately, the decision over who plays in Dhaka may come down to the England management’s view of the pitch: if it looks like it will turn sharply, Rashid may be left out on the basis that the other bowlers will gain enough purchase. But if it looks flat, he will play as he can gain turn on surfaces they cannot. Bayliss, like Cook, is reluctant to field a fourth spinner and is not considering changing the batsmen.”It’s a bit like playing five pace bowlers on a green seamer,” he reasoned. “If three or four can’t do the job… Remember, we’ve got Joe Root who can bowl decent spinners as well.”I don’t think there’s any reason to change the top six at this stage. The top four guys found it very difficult against the new ball facing the spinners. That was very difficult facing good spin bowlers on a wicket which sometimes bounced up around your shoulder and sometimes skidded straight through. I’m sure all the batters will be better for it.”