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Darren Bravo appears to have rejected the chance of a return to the West Indies side by launching a claim for damages against the WICB.Bravo, who has not played for West Indies since he was sent home from Zimbabwe in November 2016 following his criticism of board president, Dave Cameron, is claiming lost earnings of around USD120,000 based upon what he could have made from ODIs against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, BPL and PSL contracts, and regional Caribbean competitions.The claim has come as a surprise to officials at WICB who believed they were on the verge of a reconciliation with Bravo. They are also surprised at the suggestion he was prevented from playing in the BPL or PSL as no application for an NOC (no objection certificate) was made ahead of either tournament and, when Bravo did apply for such a certificate ahead of the IPL, it was granted immediately.”It is true that Darren has initiated legal action against us,” WICB chief executive Johnny Grave told ESPNcricinfo. “It has come as a surprise as I was under the impression we had agreed a way back for him. I’m very disappointed and yes, a bit frustrated.”Grave believed he had made significant progress towards resolving the stand-off with Bravo. Having inherited the disagreement when he was appointed at the start of this year, Grave gained agreement from Cameron over a partial apology to Bravo (the president is prepared to acknowledge he was wrong to suggest Bravo had ever received a Grade A contract from WICB). He also thought he had agreed on the wording of an apology from Bravo to the president with Bravo’s legal advisors. Indeed, he was hoping news of Bravo’s reconciliation could be announced during the ODI series against England with a view to him playing in the Test series against Pakistan.As things stand, though, Bravo’s tweet calling the president a “big idiot” has not been deleted and the apology has not been made public by Bravo. The launching of legal proceedings against the board on the eve of West Indies’ series against Pakistan suggest a conflict still exists.”I just want what is best for West Indies cricket,” Grave said. “And having the best players available is part of that. Of course a player of Darren’s experience would be an asset.”I thought everything was agreed with his legal advisors. We didn’t want this to play out publicly but yes, it is true, his attorney is asking for damages and West Indies supporters deserve an explanation as to why he is not in the squad in Jamaica.”There is still a lot of sympathy for Darren. He was frustrated at the time of that tweet and we understand that. We want to move on and we want to move on with him. But that issue does have to be resolved before he can play for West Indies.”We have a talented young side who are working hard and have a great attitude. They may lack a bit of experience right now, but we’re playing a lot of cricket this year and we hope that will help them progress. If Darren wants to be part of that, he is welcome. You’d have to ask him whether he does.”The door remains open for Darren. We would love him to be playing for us and we will continue to work towards that. But I am scratching my head at this point wondering what more we can do.”One of the causes of disagreement between the board and the players in recent times has been the insistence that they should be available to play in domestic cricket in order to be considered eligible for the West Indies sides. While there is yet to be any formal announcement of a change in that policy, both Grave and new director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, have hinted they are in favour of a more flexible approach and it is likely a change will be confirmed in October when the new central contracts are announced. It is also likely WICB will bring in separate red- and white-ball contracts.It is also understood there will be no clash between West Indies’ international schedule and the IPL in 2018 or 2019. That would allow players to sign contracts with the WICB (worth somewhere in the region of USD130,000) and appear in the most lucrative T20 league. Bravo has an IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders worth around USD74,000 though he is yet to appear in this year’s tournament.

A batting meltdown at Eden Gardens cost Hyderabad dear as they were pipped for a knockout berth by Jharkhand on net run rate.Services’ pace trio of Suraj Yadav (3 for 36), Diwesh Pathania (4 for 21) and Sachidanand Pandey (3 for 22) skittled Hyderabad for 88, before the batsman wobbled and eventually got home by five wickets. Hyderabad ended their campaign with four wins in six matches.A stand of 39 runs for the sixth wicket between Tanmay Agarwal (16) and Chama Milind (32) saved some of Hyderabad’s blushes after they lost their first five wickets inside 11 overs. They were struggling at 25 for 5 when the duo added the only significant stand. Hyderabad’s bowlers, led by spinner Mohammed Siraj (2 for 31), made the Services chase difficult, but useful knocks from Gaurav Kochar (24) and G Rahul Singh (22) were enough to complete a consolation win.Karnataka completed their sixth-straight win to finish as Group D toppers after beating Chhattisgarh by three wickets . Captain Vinay Kumar snared three wickets while opener Mayank Agarwal slammed a half-century (66 off 76 balls) to help complete the chase of 200 at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University Ground.Vinay struck early after Chhatisgarh chose to bat; they slumped to 60 for 4 before Abhimanyu Chauhan (58 off 102 balls) and Mohammad Kaif (43* off 52 balls) put on a 75 for the fifth-wicket. Chauhan was the fifth man to go with the team on 135. They would lose their last four wickets for 12 to finish with 199.Karnataka’s started strongly after a 52-run opening partnership between Agarwal and Robin Uthappa (23). That was followed up by useful contributions from captain Manish Pandey (34 of 40 balls) and Stuart Binny (25 off 34 balls). Shubham Thakur’s three wickets kept Chhattisgarh in the hunt, but a batting collapse would eventually mean they didn’t have enough to defend in the end.Jharkhand qualified to the next round after Shahbaz Nadeem’s second List A fifth-wicket haul set up their five-wicket win over Jammu & Kashmir.A patient 78 from Kumar Deobrat led Jharkhand’s 185 chase. They got past the line with 90 balls to spare. MS Dhoni, who hit two fours and a six, was unbeaten on 19 when the winning run were scored. J&K got off to a strong start courtesy a 66-run third wicket partnership between Owais Shah (59) and Parvez Rasool (45 off 40 balls) but Nadeem’s introduction to the attack turned the game. He took four wickets off his last three overs to set up a comfortable second-innings chase.

The much-anticipated early-season match-up between Alastair Cook and James Anderson has been scrubbed with Cook, the former England captain, out of Essex’s opening Specsavers County Championship match against Lancashire with a hip problem.A scan on Cook’s left hip has ruled out a serious injury but he will undergo an injection to try and ease the problem he has been managing for “several weeks” according to an ECB statement and will therefore sit out the first round of the Championship.The match against Lancashire would have been Cook’s first first-class outing since the Test series against India in December after which he stepped down as England’s Test captain in January.”I’ve got a sore hip, which is not getting right,” Cook said. “We’re going to go for a different bit of treatment and hopefully it will be all right for Somerset. It’s just frustrating to miss the first game.”Even though his next England assignment is three months away, Cook added he did not want to risk making the problem worse. “That’s the key in one sense [not taking chances], the first Test match is in July. Ultimately the hip’s not quite right, so it needs to get right before you can play. It’s been going for a month or so now.”Earlier this week, Cook spoke to ESPNcricinfo about the transition from being a captain back to a player and said it was taking some adjusting to. “I won’t miss going into all the extra press conferences, he said. “But being at the centre of it, being involved in a lot of decision-making, was the excitement of the job. Not doing that any more, will probably take a while to get used to.”Ultimately I know it was the right decision for myself and the team but that doesn’t make it any easier. It has been time to move on as a person and a player.”He added that he was eager to return to the middle for Essex ahead of the resumption of England’s Test cricket in July when they face South Africa. “It’s the next phase of my career,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed playing for Essex in pre-season and that’s the most important thing. I’m refreshed and raring to go. It’s time to move on.”

Quetta Gladiators will turn up on the field for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final with a significantly altered line-up to the one that has seen them through in the first place. On Saturday, the morning after they discovered their opponents for the game in Lahore on Sunday, they secured the services of five foreign players to replace their contracted roster, none of whom were prepared to travel to Pakistan for security reasons.Their XI will feature a combination from Bangladesh’s Anamul Haque, South Africa’s Morne van Wyk, Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura and Sean Ervine, and West Indies’ Rayad Emrit who have all agreed to travel to Lahore. They are not quite like-for-like replacements for Kevin Pietersen, Rilee Roussow, Luke Wright, Tymal Mills and Nathan McCullum but organisers will be relieved that they do at least have an overseas contingent to rely on for the final.Haque, van Wyk (both wicketkeeper-batsmen), Chigumbura and Erive (both allrounders) will join the team on Sunday morning, while logistics are being worked out to get Emrit (also an allrounder) to Lahore in time for the match that begins at 8pm local time. Pakistan pacer Aizaz Cheema has also been added to the squad, a replacement for the injured Umar Gul. Team mentor Viv Richards and fielding coach Julien Fountain – both overseas recruitments – are expected to arrive in Lahore for the game in the early hours of Sunday morning.”KP, Luke, Rilee, Mills would have been great but we respect their decision,” the franchise said. “We are still confident of winning the PSL final despite missing the big stars. For our local players, playing at home is a huge opportunity. The experience of playing in front of the home crowd is massive, and all of them are excited about it.”The local players of the Quetta squad are already in Lahore and have had training sessions at the National Cricket Academy, next to the Gaddafi Stadium where the match against Peshawar Zalmi will be played. As the city prepares for the much-awaited game with various security measures, an estimated 18,000 tickets have already been sold and a full house is expected.Their opponents Peshawar, meanwhile, will be able to call upon nearly all of their first-choice foreign stars, having successfully convinced their quartet to travel to Lahore for the game*. The captain Darren Sammy was asked after Friday evening’s win over Karachi Kings in Dubai about Lahore, but he evaded the question, saying only that he had to discuss the matter with the franchise owner Javed Afridi.Late on Saturday, however, league officials confirmed that Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Chris Jordan and Dawid Malan would be playing and were due to arrive in Lahore early Sunday morning – the delay in confirmation was due to the wait for Jordan’s clearance from the ECB. Their fifth foreign player, England allrounder Samit Patel, has not been given an NOC by his county Nottinghamshire, and will not travel to Lahore. In the squad are also two emerging Afghanistan players.The PCB has been firm on playing the final in Lahore – despite a spate of bombings rocking the city and other parts of the country too last month – as it sees the match as an opportunity to show that it is safe for international cricket to return to Pakistan. Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are the only international teams to play in Pakistan since the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in March 2009. The Zimbabwe series in 2015 was not incident free, with a bomb blast occurring during the second ODI 800 metres away from the stadium and killing two people.Among the security measures in check this time are three layers of security checks, some as far as two kilometres away from the ground, a new range of scanning and CCTV equipment, and the deployment of over 10,000 security personnel including Pakistan’s paramilitary force, the Rangers.*18.40 GMT – This story was updated with confirmation from the PSL about the status of Peshawar’s overseas players

The two Under-19 Tests between India and England originally supposed to be held in Tamil Nadu have been relocated to Nagpur.

India Under-19 ODI squad

Heramb Parab, Het Patel, Himanshu Rana, Ayush Jamwal, Vivekanand Tiwary, Prithvi Shaw, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Harvik Desai, Rahul Desraj Chahar, Kamlesh Singh Nagarkoti, Salman Khan, Priyam Garg, Shiva Singh, Yash Thakur, Mayank Rawat, Rohan Kunnumal, Ishan Porel

The four-day matches, starting on February 13 and 21, will follow five youth ODIs in Mumbai. Wankhede stadium will host the first, fourth and fifth 50-over matches on January 30, February 6 and February 8 while the Cricket Club of India will host the remaining games on February 1 and 3.The confusion around this tour began two weeks ago when the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, which was meant to host the two youth Tests, expressed its inability to do so because of “domestic programs”.On January 7, the TNCA had sent a letter to the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri asking to be excused from hosting duties. “We have a heavy backlog of matches because of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and the Vardah cyclone,” RA Palani, the joint-secretary and interim caretaker of the TNCA, was quoted as saying in the .”We have to conduct the TNCA first division matches, lower division games and inter-university matches. We need grounds to hold our own matches. At a time like this, it will be extremely hard for us to take the responsibility for two under-19 Tests.”It is learnt the BCCI had checked with the Vidarbha Cricket Association last week about whether they would be ready to host the matches and had received a favourable reply immediately. Both youth Tests will take place at the VCA stadium in Nagpur.

AB de Villiers has stepped down as South Africa’s Test captain with immediate effect and has been ruled out of the three Tests against Sri Lanka as he continues to recover from elbow surgery. De Villiers endorsed his stand-in, Faf du Plessis, to take over permanently and the CSA board have confirmed du Plessis’ appointment.”The interests of the team must always outweigh the interests of any individual, including me,” de Villiers said. “It was a fantastic honour for me to be asked to captain the Test side but I have missed two series and I am still in doubt for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. Following the squad’s outstanding performances in Australia, it is clearly in the greater interests of the team that Faf du Plessis should be confirmed as the permanent Test captain.”De Villiers has been out of action since the Caribbean Premier League in July and was expected to be fit for the Sri Lanka Tests but still needs another three to four weeks before being declared fully fit. He will target the ODIs later in January, a format in which he remains captain, for a comeback.De Villiers had surgery on his left elbow in early October, after initially adopting a conservative approach to recovery, and his surgeon was aiming for a three-month rehabilitation period. De Villiers tried to push that forward and was even talking about a comeback in November’s Adelaide Test but only had his first net session last Tuesday. He has been practicing with his franchise, Titans, and had hoped to turn out for them in the ongoing domestic T20 competition but CSA’s medical committee did not give him clearance to play. He has also been instructed not to play in Friday’s final.”AB’s left elbow is much improved but is still regaining the last few degrees of straightening. Fitness to play requires full range of elbow movement and this may take another 3-4 weeks to achieve,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said.AB de Villiers needs another three to four weeks to recover completely after undergoing surgery on his left elbow•Associated Press

De Villiers’ unavailability means he would not have captained South Africa since he was named permanent Test captain in February, after taking over from Hashim Amla in the middle of the home series against England. South Africa lost one Test and won one under de Villiers. In his absence, du Plessis led the team to a 1-0 Test series win over New Zealand, a 5-0 ODI whitewash over Australia at home and a 2-1 Test series win in Australia and was widely praised for his leadership skills.Despite calls for him to stay on, du Plessis remained committed to being a deputy and said he was “100% behind” de Villiers, who also enjoyed the support of the convener of selectors Linda Zondi and premier fast bowler Dale Steyn. Both were quoted in these pages as saying they believed de Villiers was the man for the job, although they noted that du Plessis could not be ignored.But du Plessis is also under scrutiny because he too may be unavailable for the first Test against Sri Lanka, depending on the outcome of his ball-tampering appeal. Du Plessis was found guilty of breaching the code of conduct in relation to changing the condition of the ball after being caught shining the ball with saliva that also come into contact with a mint during the Hobart Test. He was fined 100% of his match fee but escaped a suspension. He is appealing the verdict and runs the risk of a one-match ban at the judicial commissioner’s discretion.The odds appear stacked against du Plessis after the MCC Committee meeting in Mumbai, where it was decided the body would not recommend any changes to the ball-tampering law, believed it to be clear despite CSA’s assertion that the definition of “artificial substance” needed clarity and John Stephenson, MCC’s head of cricket, who sat during du Plessis’ original hearing, said he had “flagrantly contravened the law”. ESPNcricinfo has learned that du Plessis has no intention of withdrawing the appeal. The hearing will take place on December 19, a week before the Test.In de Villiers’ absence, South Africa will also be looking for a reserve batsman. Rilee Rossouw traveled in that capacity to Australia but cannot be considered because he is nursing a foot injury that will sideline him for up to six weeks. Omphile Ramela, who will captain a South African Invitation XI against the touring Sri Lankans, could come into contention. Alternatively, the former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Aiden Markram, who has been in fine form for Titans, may be considered.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMohammad Mithun’s 44-ball 62 contained six fours and two sixes•Raton Gomes

Offspinner Sohag Gazi struck twice with the new ball, and defended 19 off a frenetic last over, which included two run-outs and a wicket, to give Rangpur Riders their third win in BPL 2016-17. The result took Rangpur to six points, and helped them draw level with Barisal Bulls and Khulna Titans.The match swung from one end to another, before Gazi sealed the deal. Chasing 176, Barisal lost Dilshan Munaweera off the first ball, and soon became 48 for 3. But Jeevan Mendis and Nadif Chowdhury brought their team back into the game with a 74-run stand for the fourth wicket. Just as they threatened to cut loose, Nadif holed out to deep cover in the 16th over off Shahid Afridi.Mendis, having made 57 in his first BPL appearance this season, fell to the scoreboard pressure in the 18th over. The caught-behind decision was a dubious one, with replays showing no signs of an edge. Thisara Perera, however, gave Barisal hope by blasting Afridi for a huge six over long-on, where he was dropped the previous ball by Rubel Hossain. The equation was reduced to 29 off the last two overs.Rubel’s first ball of the 19th over – a full toss – was dispatched over square leg for a six, but he fought back with the wickets of Rayad Emrit and Abu Hider off successive balls. He ultimately gave away ten runs in that over, leaving Thisara and Kamrul Islam Rabbi needing 20 off the final over.Rabbi was run-out off the first ball, before Taijul Isam slammed Gazi over long-on for a six. But the bowler had him stumped off the next ball, Mohammad Shahzad completing his fifth dismissal, the most by a wicketkeeper in an innings in the BPL. Barisal’s innings ended in the next ball when Arafat Sunny did a Jonty Rhodes, running in and diving into the stumps to run Al-Amin out.Earlier, Gazi had impressed with the new ball too. He took a wicket in his first over for the third match in a row, this time Munaweera getting caught down the leg side for a duck. Gazi then dismissed Shahriar Nafees for 12. When Mushfiqur Rahim was undone by Liam Dawson, Barisal stumbled to 48 for 3. Then Mendis and Nadif joined forces to revive the chase.Nadif, playing his first innings in this season’s BPL, slammed Sachitra Senanayake for three sixes in the 14th over, which eventually yielded 24 runs. Mendis, who was reprieved on 42 by Arafat Sunny at deep square leg, went onto make his second T20 fifty, but it wasn’t enough.Having opted to bowl, Barisal dismissed Rangpur’s openers in five overs. Soumya Sarkar was the first to go, when Mushfiqur effected a cunning stumping, after he had hit Al-Amin Hossain for three consecutive fours. Shahzad did not last too long either, falling to a catch to short third man.Mohammad Mithun, though, hit rhythm with three boundaries in four balls, including a cover drive and a slog sweep. He dominated a 78-run stand for the third wicket with Dawson, who scored 46 off 36 balls, including three fours and a six.Mithun’s sixes came when he whipped Rabi over square leg and then blasted Mendis over cover. His knock ended when he was bowled by Thisara’s slower delivery for 62 in the 15th over. Afridi then smacked two sixes and a four in his 10-ball 22. Once he holed out to point off Thisara at the start of the 18th over, Rangpur added only 16 runs in 2.5 overs, but it didn’t cost them in the end.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:14

Ganguly: Kohli’s challenge to keep England under 550

AB de Villiers. Hashim Amla. Kane Williamson. Mighty fine batsmen who have been cut to size by a combination of India spinners and pitches since the start of the last season in India. In his first innings in India since this pitch revolution, the resurgence of R Ashwin and the emergence of Ravindra Jadeja, Joe Root scored the first century by a batsman visiting India since Michael Clarke in February 2013. Moeen Ali ended the day one short of another.The two added 179 – the longest and highest partnership by a visiting team since the start of the 2015-16 season – to restore England from a tricky 102 for 3 as they became the first visiting time to score 300 in the last 20 innings in India.England will hope Root has set the tone for yet another series. Since his recall in 2014, he has scored 200 not out, 154 not out, 83, 98, 134, 85, 24, 0, 48, 40, and now 124 in his first innings of the series. Moeen brought a touch of maturity to go with his usual grace. The duo hardly put a foot wrong after lunch, but the role of the toss cannot be overstated. This was the first time in Virat Kohli’s captaincy that India had lost a toss at home where the changing pitches have made the toss crucial. If watching at home, Williamson must be wondering why he didn’t have this luck. His England counterpart, Alastair Cook, went on to enjoy more luck before two overs were bowled than Williamson had in the whole series.Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli dropped Cook once each off the opening bowlers. Expecting low bounce the cordon had crept closer at the start of the match. The first one perhaps went too fast to Rahane at gully, the second reached Kohli on the full only because he was well in but it didn’t stick. To make it worse for India, M Vijay dropped a sitter at first slip, reprieving the 19-year-old debutant Haseeb Hameed, who otherwise looked like a solid old-fashioned opener who didn’t mind the new fashion of cutting in the air when the ball was short.Having missed three catches by the time England’s openers had reached 24, India had lost a chance to cancel out some of the toss disadvantage, but Cook and Hameed didn’t go on to hurt India too much. To the first ball after drinks, Cook fell to Jadeja. Hameed fell to Ashwin after a 29-run stand with Root. Both had used the ploy to get outside the line of off to face balls breaking back in. Cook fell to one that turned past the inside edge, and Hameed to a change of angle. From round the wicket, Ashwin trapped him with an offbreak that didn’t turn as much as expected. Ben Duckett chanced his arm, hit three boundaries and fell to what turned out to be the last ball before lunch.The non-striker’s role in both of the first two dismissals left a lot to be desired. Hameed discouraged Cook from reviewing when the ball was headed down leg, and Root made Hameed review a dead plumb lbw. That was perhaps the only absolute error Root made before he finally fell in dramatic circumstances in the final session. He was in silken touch, batting on a first-day pitch and without scoreboard pressure. In two balls, in the 23rd over, he displayed his mastery with two drives. Ashwin, who was not shy of asking the batsmen to drive, pitched the first ball up but not right up. At the last moment in that drive, Root used his wrists a little to open the face and beat cover slightly to his left. The next ball was a touch fuller, and he unfurled an orthodox cover drive to beat the same man to his right.2:21

Compton: Moeen played his most mature innings yet

That Root was even being asked to beat the man at cover was a sign of the challenge India were facing. During the series against New Zealand, Ashwin hardly availed the services of a cover fielder. He often had just three men on the off side, sometimes even two. Now he needed a fourth man. The pitch was not turning as much as it had for him against New Zealand, and because there were no runs on the board he couldn’t afford to be driven too often.Ashwin bowled 18 overs on the trot either side of lunch, but couldn’t draw half a false stroke from Root after his two early wickets. Early after lunch the ball kept low twice, but he found Root watching it like a hawk. Moeen played one false stroke, on nought, jabbing at one after stepping out. This one fell short of short leg.At the other end India tried the pace of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, looking to break through with reverse swing available, which should encourage England. Root and Moeen were equal to it, not committing to shots early, and waiting for balls that were overpitched. Root drove Yadav beautifully to celebrate reaching his fifty. Amit Mishra, the extra bowler India played, kept offering the odd full toss without making an impression with his legbreaks.Against New Zealand and South Africa, India could afford to bowl with in-and-out fields because hitting the ball to even mid-on could be risky at times, but now with spread-out fields the two could pick the ones and twos easily. With Ashwin having to bowl so much, England could now pick on three men in the field: Gautam Gambhir, Mishra and Ashwin. To make it worse for India, Shami struggled with what at first looked like a hamstring issue but may have been cramps because he kept coming back.Whenever India looked to plug the singles, Moeen would dance down and loft the spinners over the infield, even Ashwin and against the turn. Root did it once too, hitting Jadeja over long-off for a six. That was almost a celebration of his hundred, but just before that he had a close call. With Root on 92, Yadav reversed one into his pad, catching him in front of middle, but the reviews returned the slightest of umpire’s calls to keep it with the on-field call of not-out. When Root reached hundred, off the 154th ball he faced, England were 222 for 3. Moeen had himself reached 54 by then.England were now in the mod to dominate a tiring attack. Fifty-eight runs came in the next 12 overs. The new ball was available now, but India chose to continue with the old reversing ball. A contentious dismissal followed: a return catch in which Yadav seemed to have lost control while throwing the ball up in celebration. Real-time replays suggested he hadn’t controlled, but the slow-motion stayed with the soft signal of out.In the 12.1 overs that led into stumps, Moeen and Ben Stokes, who had scored three ducks in three innings against India before this, put their heads down and made sure they didn’t give India any opening on a day they had dominated.

On slow surfaces, New Zealand suspected they would rely on spinners to win the series in Zimbabwe but did they think one of those would be Martin Guptill?”We thought maybe he has been practicing a bit when no one has been watching, because we don’t see him bowl too much in the nets,” Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain, joked afterwards. “The wicket was suited to [spin] but to be able to put the ball in consistent areas and spin it hard as a part-time offie is something that’s fantastic to see and another string to his bow.”In an unexpected coup, Guptill bowled a seven-over spell in which he found more turn than either of New Zealand’s specialist spinners. He ended up with the same number of wickets as Ish Sodhi – three – and the best bowling average of the series to give New Zealand a left-field option as they head to South Africa for two Tests.Unlike the Queens Sports Club surface in Bulawayo, Kingsmead and SuperSport Park are unlikely to require two specialist spinners, which means the balance of New Zealand’s attack could change. With the pace duo of Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry in reserve, as well as offspinner Mark Craig, they have plenty of options, especially as neither Sodhi nor Mitchell Santner threatened over consistent periods.Yet, Williamson was pleased with the way his spinners came through after the seamers and the batsmen set the match up in the three previous innings. “We could tell the wicket was deteriorating. It was a little bit slower than the first surface and it was breaking up,” he assessed. “We were fortunate that the wicket was extremely tough to bat on today.”It was nice to see our seamers out in the yards on a surface that did not offer a huge amount lot but also the spinners to take control in that last innings. That’s always what you want to see in a Test match, the spinners taking control at the end.”Neil Wagner’s ability to extract bounce from a flat pitch and find reverse swing later on was the other big positive for New Zealand. Yet, for all the focus there was on the bowlers, it was a batsman who many thought should have been Man of the Series. Ross Taylor racked up 364 runs without being dismissed. His two centuries formed the spine of New Zealand’s total of over 500 in each match but it was his unbeaten 67 in the second innings of the second Test that impressed his captain most.”Ross had an unbelievable series. We knew when it was our opportunity to bat, big runs had to be scored to give our spinners and bowlers a lot of overs to try and let the wicket deteriorate and he was a huge part of that,” he said. “To not to be dismissed, maybe he is in that space where he is playing within himself. He got a couple of fantastic hundred but also that knock that he played in the second innings where we needed to score at a quicker rate to give ourselves enough time to bowl Zimbabwe out. He showed his class as a player to go through the gears and give us an opportunity. It was such a selfless innings.”With Taylor, Tom Latham, BJ Watling and Williamson himself reaching three figures, New Zealand’s line-up is, as the captain said, operating “clinically,” which will be crucial when they get to South Africa. They consider themselves a better side than the one that played there in 2013 and are hopeful they can build on the results from Zimbabwe.”We’re always looking to improve, with each game,” Williamson said. “You still have bad days but hopefully there are a few less of them. Hopefully with our drive to improve, we like to think we have become a better side than before.”

ScorecardOllie Pope made 78 as England Under-19s racked up 500•Getty Images

England Under-19s dominated with the bat on the second day of their match against Sri Lanka, declaring at 500-9 and then making inroads with the ball as the tourists moved to 96 for 2 at stumps.After rain delayed start to the day, play finally got underway at 1.40pm with Worcestershire’s Olly Westbury looking to build on his overnight score of 157. But he fell short of his double-century by just four runs after being caught at first slip by Avishka Fernando from a slow Damitha Silva delivery. His four-session stay at the crease saw him face 379 balls, hitting 16 fours and one six.Wicketkeeper Ollie Pope who started the day on 9 was caught by Lahiru Kumara for 78 after a wild swing at Daniel, quickly followed by two balls later by Durham’s Josh Coughlin, caught by Avishka Fernando for 14.Sri Lanka spent a second day frustrated in the field, with their best efforts coming after Aaron Beard and George Panayi were run out from direct hits off Fernando and Rashmika Dilshan.After England declared at tea at 500 for 9, Warwickshire’s George Panayi struck first with the ball for England, luring Pathum Nissanka into a nick to the wicketkeeper Pope for just 5. Dilan Jayalath then gave Surrey spinner Amar Virdi England’s second wicket when he hit the ball into the hands of a diving Panayi on 23.”I was a bit disappointed not to get 100, but I knew we were going to declare about 15 minutes later so gave it a good go,” Pope said. “We got two big wickets, with both their openers out, and we knew this wicket was going to be tough because it is pretty flat. Luckily we got an early wicket but then they started to build a partnership.”We knew before we came out that we would have to work hard for every wicket as we knew they wouldn’t just roll over. It was a pretty tough day for me. Normally I get a bit of time to put my feet up between batting and keeping, so today has been really tiring.”We can’t play for the weather tomorrow, but we will be aiming to get 4 or 5 wickets by lunch so if the rain doesn’t come we can bowl them out by the end of the day.”The tourists regrouped with a flurry of boundaries to finish the day, as captain Charith Asalanka moved past a half-century. But with more rain forecast, England will need to take early wickets on Thursday to force home their advantage and give themselves a chance of victory.