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Scorecard Chris Tremain unleashes a slog sweep•Getty Images

A century for the fast bowler Chris Tremain delivered a major first-innings lead for Victoria over Western Australia on day two of the Sheffield Shield match in Alice Springs.In reply to the Warriors’ measly 146 in the first innings, the Bushrangers slipped to 7 for 184 when Seb Gotch was out to David Moody, one of his five wickets. However Tremain, who had never previously made a first-class fifty let alone a hundred, formed a key stand of 108 with James Pattinson to grow the Bushrangers’ lead.Four sixes punctuated the innings, which ended when Tremain was last out for 111. Jason Behrendorff claimed three wickets for the Warriors, who reached 0 for 29 at the close.

Mushfiqur Rahim has already made a sound start to his new role in the Bangladesh team: that of just a batsman. Coincidentally, it has come at a time of personal joy. On the day after the Chittagong Test, his wife Jannatul Kifayat gave birth to their first child.Ahead of their training session at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Monday, Mushfiqur treated everyone to sweets. The 92 first-innings runs in Chittagong must have added to his joy as it was an important contribution to the team, while also giving him a personal boost.In December, BCB had ousted Mushfiqur as the Test captain (handing over the job to Shakib Al Hasan) after Bangladesh’s diabolical tour of South Africa where he also courted controversy by criticising the fast bowlers and suggesting that the team management gets away with losses while the players don’t. With Liton Das also being given a longer rope as the regular wicketkeeper, Mushfiqur’s job in the team became more condensed.Mushfiqur said that now he has to solely think as a batsman, and he is enjoying the new role. “There was always pressure but as a captain, I was an automatic choice,” Mushfiqur said. “Now as a top-order batsman, I have to perform. I tried to give my best in the last game. I was unlucky in the second innings, the ball wasn’t that great. I will keep trying, and get more runs in the next game.”I had three jobs and now I have one job. I always try to perform my responsibilities to the best of my ability. I scored while being the captain and wicketkeeper and I even got out for a duck. I have to face whatever comes in front of me, and go forward. I am enjoying it.”Mushfiqur said that he misses at least one side of wicketkeeping, which allowed him to have a closer look at the pitch. But, otherwise, he believes Liton is in it for the long haul. “I always enjoy fielding. Keeping wicket of course gives you a better perspective, especially about the wicket,” he said. “But I am happy. Liton is batting and keeping well and I think he can give serve Bangladesh cricket for eight to 10 years.”Although Shakib had inherited his job, Mahmudullah was the captain in the first Test that Mushfiqur has played after losing his captaincy because of Shakib’s injury. Mushfiqur said that Mahmudullah is a kind of captain who chooses to lead by example.”I liked his captaincy,” Mushfiqur said. “He has been a good captain at the domestic level including the BPL. He tries to lead by example with his performance. He says what he believes in, which also inspires me. The team is really looking forward to playing under him in Dhaka.”

Ben Stokes is set to join up with his team-mates in New Zealand and could resume his England career in the coming weeks after he pleaded not guilty to a charge of affray over an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September. His case was referred to Bristol Crown Court, with a first hearing set for March 12.Although Stokes will not currently be considered for the T20 triangular series involving New Zealand and Australia, he is set to depart the UK on Wednesday. The ECB released a statement saying that he would link up with the team in Hamilton, where England play New Zealand on Sunday.”Having entered his plea at Bristol Magistrates’ Court today, Ben Stokes will now travel to New Zealand to join the England squad,” an ECB spokesperson said. “He departs tomorrow, Wednesday 14 February, and will arrive on Friday 16 February, ready to train with England team-mates in Hamilton.”Any decision to include him in upcoming matches will be made by head coach Trevor Bayliss and the England management team. He is not currently being considered for the ongoing international T20 tri-series.”ECB fully respects his right to defend himself in court and any obligations he has within the legal process will always take precedence over England commitments. It has been confirmed that he will not be required to return to the UK for the first hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Monday 12 March.”Stokes arrived at the Magistrates’ Court in the city shortly before 10am, to be met by a scrum of cameras and reporters. Stokes spoke in court only to confirm his name, address and enter his plea on the basis of self-defence or the defence of another. Two other men charged with the same offence, Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali, also entered not-guilty pleas on the same basis. All were offered unconditional bail.Having played no part in the Ashes, Stokes has now been cleared to represent England but a comeback in New Zealand during the tri-series was deferred by his need to appear at the Magistrates’ Court. He was named in England’s squads for the one-day series with New Zealand, which starts on February 25, as well as the subsequent Tests, on March 22-26 and March 30-April 3.He is also expected to play in the IPL, which begins in early April, after being bought for GBP1.37m by Rajasthan Royals in last month’s auction.Stokes was charged with affray last month, having not been considered for selection during England’s tour of Australia while police investigated the Bristol incident. He was arrested in the early hours of September 25 on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm; his England team-mate Alex Hales was also present and is likely to be called as a witness as the trial.After the announcement by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Stokes tweeted his intention to defend himself: “I am keen to have an opportunity to clear my name but, on advice, the appropriate time to do this is when the case comes to trial. The CPS’ decision to charge me, as well as Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale, at least means that my account of what happened that night can come out in court and be made public.”Affray is an each-way offence – meaning it can be tried either at Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court – with a maximum possible prison sentence of three years.

Edgbaston, Dubai, Sharjah, Christchurch, Hamilton, and now Melbourne: Pakistan’s rise to the No. 1 Test spot and subsequent fall has been punctuated by a series of spectacular batting collapses.On the final day at the MCG, on a still-pristine pitch on which Australia had added 159 runs in the morning in under 30 overs, Pakistan lost their last eight wickets for 100 runs. That sealed their 11th successive Test defeat in Australia and, with it, a chance to go to Sydney with the series still alive.Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, had his own future on his mind, but he struggled to explain how his side ended up losing a Test which they had begun by declaring on 443 by an innings and 18 runs.Pakistan had to bat out a minimum of 67 overs when they began their second innings in a Test in which three days were almost half lost to rain.”There is no explanation,” he said. “Once you are under pressure, from a position when you score [443] in the first innings and are dominating the game, then on the last day you are saving the Test, that pressure sometimes does things like that. And it was sheer pressure. Full credit to Australia, the way they batted and put us under pressure.”Though he acknowledged his side’s batting in pressure situations “is not what it should be”, he did also point towards the limitations of a bowling attack that twice wilted under pressure from Australia’s batsmen.The first time was on the third day when, after a tight opening spell, David Warner and Usman Khawaja rattled along at such speed that they punctured whatever momentum Pakistan had built from Brisbane and their first innings here.Then, on a final day which began with Australia 22 ahead and six wickets down, Pakistan allowed the lead to balloon to 181 half an hour before lunch.”Those two sessions took the game away from us almost,” he said. “From a winning position, you are on the back foot. We just gave the momentum back to Australia. They were a bit lucky they played well, took their chances, and after that we were in no position to attack.”Even today, in the morning session, we could’ve taken a couple of wickets. [Mitchell] Starc played well and that was a big blow for us. If we had taken one more wicket, wrapped the tail up, maybe 50-60 runs deficit, it could have been easy for us to handle the situation.”The taking of wickets has been a particular problem. When Steven Smith declared today, it was the sixth time in the last five Tests Pakistan have played in Australia that the hosts have had the luxury of declaring.Yasir Shah conceded over 200 runs in an innings for the second time this year, continuing a tour in which he has bowled mostly to fields set for run-saving, rather than wicket-taking.”I think as a bowling unit, we couldn’t put pressure,” Misbah said. “When the opposition is playing well and you’re not bowling well, then it is difficult to implement any sort of plan, any sort of strategy. That has been happening to us.”Yasir is a bit low on confidence at the moment. That sometimes doesn’t give you control as a captain. When you have no control, you struggle with your strategies. And it looks to those sitting outside, watching, what’s going on? That’s where I think everything went wrong for us in this Test.”

Durham are hoping to complete the signing of Imad Wasim as an overseas player in the NatWest T20 Blast. Imad, who is currently rated as the best T20 bowler in international cricket, will join for five matches before departing for the Caribbean Premier League.Imad, who was born in Swansea, made his international debut in 2015 and was recently a member of the Pakistan team that won the Champions Trophy, playing in every game at the tournament.He has impressed with his left-arm spin in the Pakistan Super League, as well as during stints at the CPL, and will bring something extra to a thin Durham squad, who have lost two from two in the competition so far. Tom Latham, their main overseas signing, is currently out of action with a foot injury.Imad’s signing is subject to him receiving a work permit.

Leicestershire have confirmed the appointment of Michael Carberry as captain and Tom Smith as second XI coach.Carberry, who joined the club towards the end of the 2017 season, replaces Mark Cosgrove as captain and will lead in all three formats. Leicestershire failed to win a Championship match in 2017 and finished bottom of the division two table.While Carberry may feel he has some questions to answer about his own form – he averaged just 17.42 in the County Championship for Hampshire and Leicestershire in 2017 – he has vast experience from a career that has seen him represent England in all three formats and win four limited-overs trophies with Hampshire.Despite his own health problems and advancing years (he is 37), Carberry has also remained impressively fit and is seen as the sort of role-model cricketer than can inspire Leicestershire’s younger players.Cosgrove, who was easily the club’s highest run-scorer in the Championship in 2017, will continue at Leicestershire as a player.Smith, meanwhile, returns to a club he represented on-loan in 2008. Having seen an impressive career as an all-rounder curtailed by injury – Smith was part of the Lancashire side that won the County Championship in 2011 and was appointed the club captain ahead of the 2015 season – he has had coaching spells with Lancashire’s academy, Lancashire Thunder and England Women. He is 32.The appointment completes a transformation of the club’s coaching staff over recent months which has also seen Paul Nixon appointed as head coach, Matt Mason appointed as bowling coach and John Sadler appointed as assistant coach.”This is an exciting opportunity for me at Leicestershire and it is great to be working alongside Nico [Paul Nixon], John Sadler, Matt Mason and all of the coaching staff,” Smith said. “I enjoyed my time here as a player alongside Nico so it was an easy decision to make. I’m really looking forward to being part of a fresh coaching team at the Foxes and can’t wait to get started.””Tom is a brilliant bloke who I had the pleasure of playing alongside here,” Nixon said. “He was a top-class cricketer who was highly skilled across all formats. Tom was named as captain of Lancashire at a young age which shows his pedigree.”He has since upskilled his coaching CV with work at Lancashire both in the men’s and women’s game and has also been working with the England Women team. We’re delighted to have Tom on board with us.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAsela Gunaratne continued his good form in international cricket•Getty Images

Australia’s “best of the Big Bash League” took Sri Lanka to the final ball. The hosts and their three debutants fought to the finish against the visitors in front of a raucous crowd at the MCG, but a win offered Sri Lanka the chance to wrap up the series at Kardinia Park on Sunday.The Perth Scorchers’ Andrew Tye was left with six runs to defend from the final over, and one from the final ball. Chamara Kapugedara surveyed the ring field then punched the winning boundary through the covers to secure the result. His composure ensured Sri Lanka finished in the ascendant after looking the more likely victors throughout their chase, largely due to a boundary count that outstripped the hosts, 21 to 13.None of Australia’s batsmen were able to go on to substantial scores after Upul Tharanga sent them in to bat, as a spongy pitch and disciplined Sri Lankan bowling denied them the ability to find a domineering rhythm. Sri Lanka’s pursuit was then given the desired fast start by Dilshan Munaweera after Tharanga was dismissed in the first over, and Asela Gunaratne’s nimble half-century guided the tourists to within sight of victory in front of 42,511 spectators, many of them barracking for Sri Lanka.Gunaratne also made a brief but notable contribution with the ball, goading the captain Aaron Finch into a skier after he had appeared the man most likely to produce a truly damaging tally for Australia. The dismissal came two balls after Finch had hammered the biggest six of the night, and 10 runs after Michael Klinger’s long delayed international debut was ended.Lasith Malinga, making his own return from a long absence, bowled tidily and scooped a couple of late wickets, while Seekkuge Prasanna gave up a mere 23 runs from four overs that featured 10 dot balls and should have been rewarded with the wicket of Travis Head – dropped badly by Tharanga at point.Tharanga’s night did not improve when he opened the batting, as he received a perfectly pitched ball going across him from Pat Cummins in the first over and offered a thin edge through to Tim Paine behind the stumps. While the Australians celebrated this wicket with some gusto, they were soon haring about the MCG outfield as Munaweera and Niroshan Dickwella went to work.Their partnership ensured the run rate was not going to be much of an issue, compelling Finch and his bowlers to chase wickets and consequentially offer more scoring opportunities. Adam Zampa delivered his usual handy spell and deserved his two wickets, but oddly Finch did not try his other spin options until introducing Ashton Turner with only a modest equation required.Dilshan Munaweera’s six fours in his quick innings rallied Sri Lanka till the halfway mark•Cricket Australia

Turner’s offbreaks were rewarded by a smart Paine stumping to end Gunaratne’s innings just when he appeared to be coasting home, before a debatable lbw verdict against Milinda Siriwardana closed the gap between the teams. In the end, Kapugedara was left needing a single from the final delivery, an assignment he made light work of with a steely drive for four.Klinger, Turner and Billy Stanlake were all named for their first T20 appearances for Australia but there was no room for Ben Dunk and only three specialist batsmen selected – Finch, Head and Klinger. The visitors included the left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, who was so effective against Australia in the Test series in Sri Lanka last year.Malinga kicked off the evening with his first ball in a full international since February last year, and also bowled the first ball faced by Klinger in an international match no fewer than 19 years after his state debut. The pitch was a little on the sluggish side, but Klinger and the acting captain Finch made a decent start with a smattering of boundaries and hustling between the wickets.They had 76 on the board by the time Klinger tried to tug a Sandakan googly to the leg side and was pouched by Malinga via the resultant top edge. Finch had his eye on a big score as leader, but after depositing Gunaratne’s first ball well into the Great Southern Stand he tried to repeat the trick two balls later against an offcutter and popped another high catch.From there the innings was a sequence of fits and starts, as Head, Moises Henriques, Turner and James Faulkner all offered cameo contributions. However, Prasanna’s spell was particularly tidy, Sri Lanka did well to keep the boundary count down – only seven fours and four sixes in total – and two wickets in successive balls for Malinga in his final over also served to aid the tourists’ ultimately winning cause.

Few would have predicted a decider at Lord’s after the thrashing at Edgbaston but West Indies captain Jason Holder believes the confidence born out of their performance at Headingley could lift his side to victory in a “momentous” match.Only two members of this West Indies squad – Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel – have played a Test at the home of cricket, adding to the sense of occasion for Holder’s men.”It’s obviously a momentous game for everybody,” Holder said, speaking at Lord’s on the eve of the match. “Especially in our group. A number of us are playing our first Test match here at Lord’s, our first series in England. There’s a lot to play for, and our guys are really up for it.”West Indies haven’t won a Test series in England for 29 years but go into the final match having beaten their opponents in two of their last three Tests (going back to Barbados in 2015). Victory at Headingley was West Indies’ first in England in 17 years and further history beckons.It is a rare challenge for Holder, still relatively callow in his captaincy. In some ways, his side has already surpassed expectations and inspired hope for the future. Should they acquit themselves well at Lord’s, no matter the result, they will have gained the respect of many who perhaps underestimated their qualities. But they would gain so much more with victory.”It would be great to win the series in England, but there’s a process towards going about that,” Holder said. “We can’t focus on the end result.”Our focus is our process. I spoke about consistency a lot on this tour, and that’s the main objective for me. Once we’re consistent and do the small things well, that end result should be more or less in our favour.”There have been unforeseen and unfortunate distractions in the build-up to the final Test. Bowling coach Roddy Estwick has returned to Barbados after the death of his mother and in his absence former Middlesex, Sussex and Yorkshire swing bowler Paul Hutchison has temporarily stepped into the role. Holder hopes Hutchison’s local knowledge will prove invaluable.Shai Hope chats with Brian Lara during West Indies training•Getty Images

“We’ve tried to get as much information as possible coming into this game,” Holder said. “We’ve got the luxury of having an outsider, Paul Hutchison, give us some tips about how to bowl here at Lord’s. He’s had some experience of bowling here at Lord’s.”There’s a lot of talk about the slope and such and we’ve studied it and had a chance to formulate some plans about how we go it. But cricket is always played on the day. You may be faced with different dilemmas and you just have to adjust and cope with it. That’s the nature of professional sport.”The threat of devastation from Hurricane Irma throughout the Caribbean has also loomed large in the thoughts of the players, particularly for Antiguan Alzarri Joseph, whose island was originally feared to be in the direct path of the storm.”I understand it hasn’t done major damage to Antigua, where Alzarri is from,” Holder said. “It’s gone further up north. We just hope the islands it is going to affect, the people prepare well and hopefully they are not hurt too badly.”We send our prayers back home, we have everybody back home in our thoughts and prayers. There’s not much we can do from here but sit and pray and wish them all the best.”West Indies declined to name a team before the toss, deciding to take another look at the pitch. It will, no doubt, have surprised them to see it displaying odd markings, known as ‘fairy rings’, caused by fungus spores below the turf. One perfect ring sits just short of a length for batsmen at the Pavilion End – perfectly positioned as a ‘bullseye’ for short balls coming from the Nursery End.But who will bowl them for West Indies remains unclear. It could be the case that Devendra Bishoo misses out on the final Test – he bowled 31 overs at Headingley, compared to the 44 bowled by Roston Chase – giving West Indies the option of including an extra seamer. Miguel Cummins and Joseph played in the first Test at Edgbaston while Raymon Reifer was particularly impressive in the nets at Lord’s on Wednesday.But whoever walks out at Lord’s will have the opportunity to create their own history, the challenge put to them by their coach, Stuart Law, at the start of the series. Some have already done so, with Shai Hope becoming the first batsman to score two centuries in a first-class match at Headingley. But, for a team which – more than any other international side – seems to have the ghosts of the past constantly hovering, making history at Lord’s would quieten talk of past legends and garner hope that last week’s victory was no false dawn.”It has done a lot,” Holder said of the Headingley win. “The first game, pretty much everybody wrote us off. Our heads were a bit down after how we got defeated in the first Test match.”To pick ourselves back up and come back and respond how we did at Headingley was remarkable. It’s obviously given us some new life. We’ve got a chance to win this series so we are going out in this last Test match to win it.”

South Africa opener Hashim Amla has been rested for the final ODI against Bangladesh on Sunday. He has been replaced in the squad by Aiden Markram.Amla, 34, was given a break after he scored a century in each of the two Tests against Bangladesh, and 110 not out and 85 in the first two ODIs of the three-match series. South Africa won the Tests 2-0 and have already taken a series-winning 2-0 lead in the ODIs.Markram, 23, had made his Test debut in the two-match series against Bangladesh, scoring 97, 15 and 143 in his first three innings. He then made 82 for a Cricket South Africa XI in a 50-over warm-up game against Bangladesh, and is now set to make his limited-overs debut for South Africa in the third ODI at Buffalo Park in East London.

Brisbane Heat captain Brendon McCullum has said Hobart Hurricanes captain George Bailey “missed an opportunity” to uphold the spirit of the game following a bizarre obstructing-the-field incident during a BBL clash at the Gabba.Batsman Alex Ross was given out obstructing the field at a critical point in the Heat’s chase of 180. Needing 49 runs from 19 balls, Ross pulled the ball to deep midwicket and looked to return for a second run. Jofra Archer fired a throw wide of the stumps at the striker’s end and hit Ross as he was sliding to make his ground. The ball eventually ricocheted onto the stumps off Ross.The Hurricanes initially appealed thinking he might have been run-out. Replays then showed he had made his ground but they also indicated he had veered off his line. Ross appeared to veer away from the ball to avoid being hit rather than get intentionally into the line of the ball to block the throw but the third umpire gave him out obstructing the field.Law 37.1 says a batsman is out obstructing the field “if he wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.”McCullum held long and animated discussions with both the umpires and Bailey after the end of the match. While he disagreed with the third umpire’s decision, he aimed his ire not at the them but at Bailey and the Hurricanes for not calling Ross back.”Firstly, I don’t believe it was the right decision,” McCullum said post-match.”We’re not righteous about our stance on spirit of the game. But I think every now and then you get an opportunity to stand up for the spirit of the game. Tonight, I think the Hurricanes and George (Bailey) missed an opportunity.”Bailey felt he had done nothing wrong and told broadcasters, , post-match that he had simply asked the question of the umpires and left the decision up to them.McCullum said he and Bailey did not budge from their opposing views during their tense conversation.”We were debating the philosophical merits of one another’s points,” McCullum said.”Whatever the rules are, to be honest I don’t really care what the rules are. To me that’s one of those grey areas about the definition of that rule, just like a Mankad is a grey area as well in terms of the rules that we have.”But to me it also falls into the spirit of the game and that was what I was making the point to George and he’s quite entitled to do differently.”As we say we’re not righteous about our stance. But I’m also going to be truthful about it and say that I think he missed an opportunity tonight. And perhaps in time, sometimes these opportunities are more important than the two points at play. I think he missed one of those tonight.”I think (Ross) was trying to veer away from the ball. If you do check the laws it’s about wilfully obstructing the field. Again, none of that matters because to me it is a grey rule. When it’s grey, then it comes into the definition of the spirit of the game.”They are quite entitled to do what they want. But I just get the feeling, speaking from experience that this is an opportunity that he, in time, will perhaps live to wish he had made the other choice.”I did the Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture a couple of years ago and I openly admitted my own mistakes about not adhering to what was a great opportunity to, I guess, hold the spirit of cricket up where it needs to sit.”Look, that’s the way we want to play the game. Other teams don’t have to play like that. I think we’ll certainly endear ourselves to a select group of fans for the way we play and you can judge the others how you want.”McCullum did state that he felt the Hurricanes deserved to win the game because they had played the better cricket.The two teams are set to meet again in at Blundstone Arena in Hobart on Monday.