Cleaver and Mitchell put on unbroken 86-run stand to make sure the day ended with honours even

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2020Dane Cleaver once again proved a thorn in India A’s side, scoring a dogged, unbeaten 46 to make sure honours were even at the end of day one of the second four-day fixture in Lincoln.After choosing to bat, New Zealand A were in danger of falling away at 190 for 5, but Cleaver, fresh off his rearguard 196 in the previous game, dug in. He received good support from Daryl Mitchell, who is back in the A team after the T20Is for the senior team against India.Significantly for the Indians, New Zealand A kept R Ashwin wicketless in 22 overs – not ideal preparation for the offspinner, it would seem, ahead of the two-Test series that begins on February 21.New Zealand A would be disappointed that none of their top order carried on after getting starts – the top four all got into double-digits before falling, with only Glenn Phillips getting to a half-century.Phillips was caught behind on 65, one of two quick strikes by pacer Avesh Khan. Earlier in the day, Mohammed Siraj had struck twice and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem had opener Will Young edging behind – one of three catches to KS Bharat – but that was the extent of the visitors’ success on the day. Cleaver and Mitchell went to stumps having put on 86 runs together.

ESPNcricinfo understands there are still inquiries pending against Malik beyond allegations of match-fixing in 2000

Umar Farooq24-Apr-2020A movement appears to have begun urging the PCB to reintegrate Saleem Malik, the former batsman and captain who was banned for life in 2000 after being found guilty of attempting to fix a Test in Justice Qayyum’s report. It has gained prominence with support from Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saqlain Mushtaq and has now ignited a discussion about Malik’s suitability for a return to the fold. ESPNcricinfo understands, however, that there are still inquiries pending against Malik beyond the allegations that formed the basis of his role in the Qayyum report.These inquiries are related to a sting operation in England conducted by Mazhar Mehmood, the same journalist who broke the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that resulted in three Pakistani cricketers – Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif – going to jail. The PCB had intended to open a file based on that information eight years ago and called upon Malik for clarification but he never responded. Although Malik had volunteered to clear his name when the PCB set up an integrity commission in the wake of the 2010 spot-fixing saga, he is yet to adhere to the summons based on the Mehmood sting.”There were outstanding and serious questions with regard to his [Malik’s] integrity,” Tafazzul Rizvi, PCB legal attorney, told ESPNcricinfo. “He was given a transcript to clarify but he never returned even after repeated calls.”Malik’s cricketing career was ultimately sullied by the match-fixing scandals. In a judicial inquiry – that began in 1998 and continued for 13 months – he was found guilty of bribing Australian cricketers Shane Warne and Mark Waugh to lose the 1994-95 Karachi Test. Malik was fined Rs 1 million and banned for life in 2000, but eight years later his sentence was overturned by a Lahore sessions court, allowing him theoretically to return to the fold.That led briefly to a farcical situation when Malik said he had accepted as position as coach at the National Cricket Academy, only for the PCB to deny any such appointment had been made the next day.ALSO READ: Come to Think of it: Have we forgotten Saleem Malik, the batsman?Since then, Malik has kept his distance from the game – until now. In a video message released to media the 57-year old Malik requested the PCB to consider him for any coaching job, citing examples of recent cricketers who have made their way back into the system after completing their sentence.”I see there are a lot of cricketers saying good things about my batting, fielding and captaincy,” Malik said on seeking a second innings in cricket. “Since 2008, when the honourable court lifted my ban, I had tried to get a coaching job but was never considered. In recent years, Mohammad Amir went on to play for Pakistan; Salman Butt, [Mohammad] Asif [are] playing domestic cricket [and] even Sharjeel Khan went on to play PSL. So I request the PCB, if I am of any use for them, please consider me. I wish I [will] be able to serve Pakistan in any shape whatever I can do in my capacity. Whatever skill I have, I can pass on it to youngsters.”Despite the ban, Malik remains highly-regarded for his cricket knowledge among contemporaries. Rashid Latif, a key whistleblower in the first wave of match-fixing, has spoken well of Malik as a player, though did caution against the reintegration of someone found guilty of corruption. Both Inzamam and Mushtaq, who also feature in the Qayyum report, believe that Malik should be pardoned and allowed to serve Pakistan cricket again.Coaching vacancies have opened up as the PCB restructures the NCA, but ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB hasn’t shown any interest in taking up Malik’s offer.

The series was to be played in June as part of the World Test Championship cycle

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2020The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket Australia (CA) have mutually agreed to postpone the two-Test series that was scheduled for June, due to the persisting Covid-19 threat. The boards took the decision with the welfare of their players and communities in mind, and will work together to find a suitable date to play the series once the situation becomes clearer.The series was to be played between June 11 and June 23 in Chattogram and Dhaka, and is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. It becomes the third WTC series to affected after the Sri Lanka-England series scheduled for March, and the second Test of Bangladesh’s staggered tour of Pakistan, which was scheduled to begin on April 5.BCB CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said, “This is understandably disappointing for players and fans of both sides. However, in the current global scenario of the Covid-19 outbreak and considering the nature of the health emergency, the BCB and CA are in agreement that this is the most sensible and practical decision. We hope that the situation will improve soon and we are able to hold this series at a convenient time in the near future. To that end, the BCB will continue to work closely with CA with whom we share a history of support and cooperation.”The series is among two WTC series that are scheduled for June, with England scheduled to host West Indies around the same time. It was also to be Australia’s first visit to Bangladesh since their 1-1 series draw in 2017 – and, in fact, their first meeting in a bilateral setting since that one. Australia had, in 2018, called off hosting Bangladesh for two Tests and three ODIs because broadcasters were understood to have been uninterested in televising the series in the middle of the football season.”Postponing the tour is regrettable,” CA chief Kevin Roberts said through a statement, “but I would like to thank the Bangladesh Cricket Board for the open, honest and responsible discussions that led us to this mutually-agreed position. The health of our people and communities is the number one priority for both Boards and that is reflected in the action we have taken in postponing the two Test matches. As we know, the global cricket calendar is very busy but we will do everything we can to honour our commitment to Bangladesh and will continue to work with the BCB on an agreed date.”Australia are currently second in the WTC table with 296 points, having won two of their three series, while Bangladesh sit at the bottom, in ninth place with no points after one completed series.

The PCB may change their current policy of requiring players return two negative tests before being cleared to travel to England

Danyal Rasool25-Jun-2020The PCB may be willing to reconsider their recently stated policy that players who tested positive in Covid-19 testing must return two subsequent negative tests before departing for England to play three Tests and three T20Is. ESPNcricinfo understands the head of the PCB medical department Dr. Sohail Saleem is consulting with a variety of sporting and medical experts to decide whether those players who did test positive could potentially leave for England after returning one negative test.This could have implications for up to the ten Pakistan players and one member of the support staff who returned positive tests for Covid-19 earlier this week, though all of them were asymptomatic. They will all undergo a second round of tests on Friday. Should they test negative, the PCB had planned to conduct tests a third time on June 29th, to comply with their stated policy of ensuring players tested negative twice before being cleared for travel.That, however, would have ruled all ten players out of travelling to England on a charter flight arranged by the ECB on June 28th, regardless of how they tested on June 26th. If, however, the PCB, who termed this “a fluid situation”, determine one negative test meant the players were safe to travel, then everyone who tests negative in the second round – including all those who tested positive earlier in the week – would be on track to be on the plane to Manchester on Sunday.Either way, this means Mohammad Hafeez will undergo a third round of testing in just under a week. The day after he was found positive for Covid-19 by the PCB, he took another test in his personal capacity from a separate laboratory, and it came back negative.The PCB, however, will only take into account tests conducted at the medical facility it is working with – Shaukat Khanum hospital. That means should Hafeez test negative for the virus on Friday, it will count as one negative test, and not two, which the PCB’s recently stated standard operating procedures deemed necessary for safe travel. If those standard operating procedures do not change after all, he will be ineligible to board that charter flight, and will instead have to undergo yet another round of testing on June 29th.Five reserve players were called up as cover and tested for the virus on Thursday, with the results expected on Saturday. Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Musa and Rohail Nazir have all undergone tests, as has masseur Mohammad Imran.Nazir, the PCB announced, was called up as a back-up wicketkeeper after Pakistan’s first choice Mohammad Rizwan tested positive for Covid-19. Rizwan was, according to the PCB CEO Wasim Khan, the only one of the ten whose result had implications for the Test leg of Pakistan’s tour of England, which will be played before the three-match T20I series.On Thursday, the 18 players who tested negative, as well as 11 support staff personnel, underwent a second round of tests. Should all of them return negative tests once more, they will be cleared to depart for England on June 28 according to schedule.

Former England captain believes senior seamer is bowling better than ever at age of 34

George Dobell27-Jul-2020Stuart Broad is currently bowling as well as at any time in his career, according to former England captain, Andrew Strauss.Broad will go into the final day of the Test series against West Indies requiring one more wicket to become just the seventh man – and fourth seamer – in history to claim 500 Test wickets.But while Broad is now aged 34 and has been omitted from the team several times in recent months, Strauss believes his competitive spirit has pushed him to new heights over the last year or two. Determined to prove he is still worth his place in England’s first-choice team, Broad has produced several incisive spells, including a burst of 3 for 1 in the second Test that revived a game that appeared to be heading towards a draw, then eight wickets so far in the third – featuring a run of six in seven overs across two innings – which has given England an opportunity to win the series.”I honestly don’t believe Stuart Broad has bowled much better than this,” Strauss said from Emirates Old Trafford on Monday, where rain washed out the fourth day’s play. “There were a couple of years where perhaps he lost his wrist a bit and it was hard work for him bowling to right-handers. But in this series he seems to be equally potent against left- and right-handers.”But when we look at all of his attributes. you can talk about his height and pace; it’s actually his competitiveness and we have seen this year. He is at his best when he has something to prove. He’s had the bit between his teeth in these last two Test matches and that has served him particularly well over the course of his career.”ALSO READ: Openers prove old virtues can work for new EnglandStrauss’s words are largely supported by the statistics. Not only is Broad England’s leading wicket-taker in this series – he’s taken his 14 wickets at a cost of just 10.50 apiece – but he was also his side’s leading wicket-taker in the Ashes and the series against South Africa. Over the last 12 months, his 62 Test wickets have cost 20.58 each.While Strauss, who is currently chair of the ECB’s cricket committee, admits he didn’t predict quite such success when he first saw Broad, he was confident he had the qualities to enjoy a “long-term England career.””I remember the first time I played with him was in an England Lions game,” Strauss said. “He was very young at the time. Probably 20 years of age and fast making a reputation for himself in the county game.”And I remember a T20 finals day where he bowled brilliantly at Ronnie Irani. There was obvious talent and he was comfortable on the big stage and delivering under pressure.”When I saw him it was clear he had most of the assets you needed as a fast bowler: quick enough at 80-85 mph, obviously a lot of height and an ability to swing ball away from right-hander. He also had real knack of getting wickets with not great balls which was a good knack to have.”But there have been so many bowlers whose star has shone for a year or two then either they have been worked out or their confidence has deserted them and they’ve been cast aside.”I don’t think anyone could have predicted he would take 500 Test wickets, but I do think people thought he had the potential to have a long-term England career.”Although Strauss welcomes the emergence of other viable bowling options for England, he suggested it would be an error to move on from either Broad or James Anderson prematurely.”We write them off at our peril,” Strauss said. “So let’s not be in a hurry to pension them off, because they have both got a lot more to offer England. We need to savour and appreciate and enjoy every time that those two bowl together in an England shirt.”At the same time, it’s really healthy there’s competition for places and some of these young guys are putting their hands up and showing they are ready to play international cricket. From a selector’s points of view, it is a great position to be in.”Meanwhile, the Ruth Strauss Foundation announced that donations during the game had surpassed £650,000. The foundation was set up by Strauss in memory of his wife who died from a rare form of cancer. Strauss thanked the “entire cricket family” for its support and said he was “blown away” by the amount of money raised in such a challenging economic environment.Anyone wanting to donate should visit: www.ruthstraussfoundation.com

Match squelching towards a draw despite teasing with enthralling contest early on fourth day

The Report by Valkerie Baynes16-Aug-2020More rain sent the second Test squelching towards a damp-squib draw, made even more disappointing by the fact that the small amount of play possible on day four teased at an enthralling contest.Despite squeezing in 10.2 overs of compelling cricket – more than on the washed-out third day – the players left the field after an hour as the rain arrived, remaining so heavy that stumps was called shortly before 4pm with the outfield too wet to even attempt a mopping-up operation.While play was allowed, England claimed the one wicket they needed to wrap up Pakistan’s first innings and lost one of their own when Rory Burns fell to Shaheen Shah Afridi on the fourth ball of the reply.Pakistan resumed on 223 for 9 with Mohammad Rizwan unbeaten on 60 and Naseem Shah not out 1.Rizwan came out swinging but failed to connect with James Anderson’s first ball. He scored a four in each of Anderson’s next two overs, the first charging down the pitch and getting a thick outside edge to an intended straight hit that sailed over gully’s head, the second a more controlled jab through backward point.But he fell a short time later, having added 12 to his overnight score, when he shovelled the ball to Zak Crawley at cover to give Stuart Broad his fourth wicket.Afridi made the early breakthrough for Pakistan, dismissing Burns for a four-ball duck. He almost had a wicket first ball but Burns’ nick to Asad Shafiq at second slip didn’t quite carry. Shafiq gobbled up the catch a short time later though, to send Burns on his way and put England at 0 for 1 in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings 236.Dom Sibley and Crawley both wore body blows from Mohammad Abbas who, like Afridi, was finding sublime movement to keep the batsmen under intense scrutiny before the weather had the final say for the fourth day in a row.

Smith will be landing in the UAE on Thursday; franchise still confident he will be ready for their first game on September 22

Daniel Brettig17-Sep-2020Steven Smith was still experiencing concussion symptoms as he was ruled out of all three ODIs against England, and will need to recover fully before returning to action in the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals, whom he also captains.Smith is supposed to land in the UAE on Thursday evening, with Royals playing their first match on September 22. ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchise remains confident Smith will be available for that game, against Chennai Super Kings in Sharjah.A “dog thrower” short ball from the Australian team assistant coach Trent Woodhill had struck Smith on the side of the helmet in training ahead of the first ODI at Old Trafford, and though he passed initial tests, Smith showed signs of a later onset concussion in the subsequent days.This was consistent with Smith’s experience during last year’s Ashes series, when he was hit on the side of the head below the helmet by Jofra Archer at Lord’s and was initially cleared to return to the middle to complete his innings.But when he felt poorly the following day, Smith was ruled out of the Test and substituted on day five by Marnus Labuschagne before also missing the Headingley Test three days later. It was not until the fourth game at Old Trafford that Smith was fit to resume.This time around, the short limited-overs tour of the UK left much lesser time for Smith to recover, and after he struggled physically following running and net sessions ahead of the final ODI, he was ruled out by medical staff and left to only watch the decider. Australia’s captain Aaron Finch described Smith as feeling “groggy” before the game, and though CA’s sports science division has grown its knowledge of concussion enormously in recent years, there remains much to learn.ALSO READ: Australians in the IPL: ESPNcricinfo’s one-stop guide“Steve is making progress and working with our medical team through the concussion protocols required to return to play,” CA’s head of sports science Alex Kountouris said. “Unfortunately, he was not ready to play the final ODI against England. We are working collaboratively with his IPL franchise on his return to play from here once he arrives in the UAE.”The conservative management of Steve through this injury is consistent with our approach to put the player’s welfare first, as we did with him during the Ashes last year. That says a lot about the environment within our Australian teams. We are striving to create environments where players trust that our medical team will always put their welfare first and therefore speak openly with them, whether this is about concussion, other injuries or mental health.”Cricket Australia has strict protocols when it comes to head impacts and concussions and, as we’ve seen over the last 12 months, we’re not willing to compromise on those. We have done a lot of research over the last few years to better understand head impacts and concussions specific to cricket, and that has helped up in how we manage our players. We place the welfare of the player before the game because we strongly believe that is what’s best for the player.”In the UAE, Smith’s progress will be monitored by the medical staff and also the Royals’ head coach Andrew McDonald, who is also Justin Langer’s senior assistant with Australia when he is not fulfilling a pair of pre-existing contracts in overseas leagues.All parties will be careful to ensure Smith is at his physical and mental best for the home summer, where he will rejoin battle against India after missing the 2018-19 series due to a CA-imposed ban for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

National recall can wait, “I think I should keep my focus on the IPL right now”

Sruthi Ravindranath29-Sep-20201:22

Virat Kohli’s advice to Samson: ‘Give it everything you have’

Sanju Samson has wowed the IPL-watching public with his power-hitting this season. The secret to his form, Samson has revealed, is a conversation with Virat Kohli while at the gym, one that has changed the 25-year-old Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batsman’s attitude towards his game.”[I had] one amazing experience when I was in the Indian team,” Samson, who has so far hit a 32-all 74 and a 42-ball 85, said in a press interaction. “I was in the gym training with Virat . I keep asking him why he puts so much energy into fitness, I keep asking him a lot of different questions. Then he asked me, ‘Sanju how many years you are going to be playing?’ And I said, ‘I’m 25 now so for ten years or so.’ He told me, ‘Then give everything to these ten years and you can have your favourite food from Kerala after that, but you won’t be able to play cricket after these ten years so why don’t you give whatever you have in these ten years?’ALSO READ: Strength-building and ‘soul-searching’ give Samson a second wind“That changed the perspective of my dedication to cricket. I was really happy to hear that from him.”Samson’s first India call-up came in 2015, but he fell off the national radar soon after. He was on the fringes of national selection subsequently, and earned a recall after a gap of nearly five years for the T20Is against Sri Lanka and New Zealand earlier this year. But he made single-digit scores in the three chances he got.”May be, maybe not, I’m not sure,” Samson said of his India prospects after the latest round of good IPL scores. “The only thing I know is that I’m in good form and I’m winning matches for my team and that’s what I’m preparing for throughout my career.”Only dream is to win matches for any team I play for. I think that’s what is happening right now. I think I should keep my focus on the IPL right now.”The range of Samson’s hitting has drawn praise from many quarters, and along with that some have likened his ability to clear the boundary at will to that of MS Dhoni.”No one can play like him and no one should try to play like him,” Samson said of the comparison. “It’s not at all easy to play like MS Dhoni, or think to play like MS Dhoni, so we need to leave that aside. He’s one of the best finishers to play this wonderful game.”I never think of playing like MS Dhoni. What I love to be is like myself, understand what is Sanju Samson.”

He ends a nearly 20-year career during which he was of the world’s premier white-ball allrounders

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2020Shane Watson has announced his retirement from all cricket, bringing an end to a nearly 20-year career during which he was of the world’s premier white-ball allrounders. Watson had already retired from international cricket in March 2016, and had only been playing in overseas T20 leagues since his retirement from the Big Bash League (BBL) last year.Now he has confirmed that the IPL game between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders in Dubai on October 29 was his last game at senior level. Watson made 14 to close out a season in which he scored 299 runs for the Super Kings at an average of 29.90 and a strike rate of 121.05.”It all started out as a dream, as a young kid, saying to my mum as I watched a Test match as a five-year-old, ‘I wanna play cricket for Australia.’ And now as I officially announce my retirement from all cricket, I feel crazily lucky to have lived out my dream, and then some,” Watson said on his YouTube channel . “It really does feel like the right time. Knowing that I’ve played my last game of cricket, ever, for my beloved CSK, who’ve been so incredibly good to me over the last three years. To think that I’m finishing up my playing days as a 39-year-old after all of my injury setbacks that I’ve had along the way, I feel so ridiculously fortunate.”Shane Watson clips one to fine-leg•BCCI

Watson’s international record is immense. He is somewhat underrated as a Test cricketer given an excellent record for an allrounder who often opened the batting: 3731 runs at 35.19, including four hundreds, and 75 wickets at 33.68, including three five-wicket hauls.But it’s as a white-ball cricketer that he’ll be best remembered. In ODIs, he scored 5757 runs at 40.54 and a strike rate of 90.44, and made nine hundreds, in addition to taking 168 wickets at 31.79. He was part of two World-Cup winning Australia sides, in 2007 and 2015, and was a powerhouse performer in the Champions Trophy, winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the finals of both the 2006 and 2009 tournaments.In T20Is he made 1462 runs at a strike rate of 145.32, and took 48 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 7.65. He was the Player of the Series in the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka, where he topped the run charts with 249 at a strike rate of 150.00, and finished second on the wickets charts with 11, while conceding 7.33 runs per over. He remains one of only eight allrounders to have achieved the double of 10,000 runs and 250 wickets across the three international formats, which is a remarkable achievement given that his career was often interrupted by injuries that, over time, brought down his bowling workload considerably.Watson has been a mainstay in T20 leagues around the world ever since winning the Player of the Tournament award in the inaugural IPL season in 2008, when his all-round contributions – 472 runs at a strike rate of 151.76, and 17 wickets and an economy rate of 7.07 – powered the Rajasthan Royals to the title. After playing 78 games for the Royals from 2008 to 2015, he played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore for two seasons before being signed up by the Chennai Super Kings in 2018.He ended that season with one of the most famous innings of his franchise career, an unbeaten 57-ball 117 that helped the Super Kings cruise through a chase of 179 and win their third IPL title.Apart from the BBL and the IPL, Watson has also been a regular presence in the Pakistan Super League, the Bangladesh Premier League and the Caribbean Premier League.

England debate continues to bubble after Buttler’s shuffle down to No. 5

Matt Roller11-Nov-2020Jos Buttler has revealed that he instigated his move into the Rajasthan Royals middle order during the IPL after starting the tournament in his preferred role as an opener.After missing the first game of the season while in quarantine, Buttler reached double figures in six of his first seven innings at the top of the order, but only once managed to score more than 22, in an innings of 70 off 44 balls in a heavy defeat against eventual champions Mumbai Indians.But with Ben Stokes backed as an opener after his late arrival from New Zealand, and Robin Uthappa struggling for form in the middle order, Buttler told the Rajasthan management that he thought he should shift down into the position he filled for the bulk of his T20 career and has mastered in England’s 50-over team.”It actually probably came from myself saying I didn’t think our team had the right balance,” Buttler told Sky’s IPL Cricket Show. “I thought we were lacking a bit of experience in the middle, and I thought we were a bit top-heavy. [We were] losing games and it felt like there were a couple of games we didn’t quite close out when we were in good positions, and I felt like if we had had a bit more experience in that position, maybe we would have got over the line.”Rahul Tewatia had a great season for us with the bat, being a bit of a finisher, but I felt like a more experienced guy alongside him would have balanced our team a bit better. It was an offering, really, from myself to say: I haven’t had the runs I’d have liked at the top and I’m quite happy to move. I thought for our team, it looked a better balance having a more experienced player in the middle as well.”Buttler made 160 runs in five innings in the middle order, including a match-winning 70 not out in a successful chase against the Chennai Super Kings, but was ultimately unable to drag them into the playoff stage.Buttler’s batting position in England’s T20I team has been a talking point ever since he began to open on a regular basis in 2018, and that will only intensify as next year’s T20 World Cup comes closer into view.ALSO READ: Buttler plays opener and finisher to keep debate bubblingFollowing his promotion for Rajasthan against the Delhi Daredevils in May 2018, Buttler opened in 40 of his next 41 T20 innings, the exception being a single knock at No. 4 for Lancashire in the 2018 T20 Blast. During that period, only Aaron Finch could match him in scoring 1000 runs as an opener at an average of 40 and a strike rate above 150.Since the 2016 World T20 final, Buttler averages 40.83 and strikes at 151.96 as an opener in all T20 cricket, compared to 26.18 and 132.69 from No. 3-6. While almost every player has a better record at the top of the order, since the role allows them to bat for six overs with fielding restrictions in place, the contrast in Buttler’s is particularly stark.In an England shirt, he averages 51.00 at the top of the order with a strike rate of 157.73, but with a logjam of opening options and fewer middle-order specialists in contention, there remains a school of thought that he would be better used as a floater or a finisher.Jos Buttler range-hitting at the Ageas Bowl•Getty Images

On Wednesday, Buttler reiterated his view that opening is the best place to bat in T20, and he seems likely to continue in the role for England during their three-match T20I series in South Africa next month. He also said that there are still areas he felt he could improve in the role, most notably guarding against post-powerplay lulls when facing spin.”For myself, and actually for probably 90% of anyone who plays T20, [I] would say batting at the top of the order is the place to bat,” Buttler said. “It’s where you have the most balls, it’s where I feel I affect the game the most, and I feel like I’ve had more success at the top of the order and impacted more games in a positive way. I think it’s the best place to bat in T20 cricket, isn’t it?”I feel like I can really affect the game at the end of the innings as well, [so sometimes I] come through that opening bit and then go into a gear where I think ‘I’m going to wait now until the back end where I know I can do more damage’, or ‘I’m desperate to get to the back end’. But when you’re opening that isn’t particularly your job.”I find coming out of the powerplay sometimes as an opener, naturally the field spreads and a spinner may come on, the pace of the games changes and that can slow you down from quite a boundary-dominant phase of the game in the powerplay. The real learning for me is how to keep that intensity and be really role-specific. The ideal as an opener is to bat 20 overs, but there should be guys in your side who are tuned in to do the back end and your game allows you to really affect the front of the match.”If England did choose to use Buttler in the middle order, there would be no shortage of options to replace him at the top: nine of their 15-man squad for the series have opened the batting in the IPL at some stage in their career, while one of the other six, Dawid Malan, did so for England as recently as last winter.