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Group A

Asim Kamal: chipped in with 50 with the bat © Getty Images

Karachi’s new pace-bowling sensation Sohail Khan created a Pakistan first-class record, ending with a match-haul of 16 wickets on the third day of Sui Southern Gas Company‘s tenth round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship encounter against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in Karachi.Already the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing competition, the 23-year-old Malakand-born Sohail captured a career-best 9 for 109. Added to his equally splendid figures of 7 for 80 in WAPDA’s first innings, Sohail completed 16 for 189 in the match. It beat the earlier record set by Fazal Mahmood (15 for 76) for Punjab against Pakistan Combined Services in Lahore during the 1956-57 season.In what must rank as one of the most sensational entries into first-class cricket, Sohail, who made his debut as recently as October, has now captured 65 wickets at just 18.43 runs apiece. He has taken five in an innings on eight occasions and 10 in a match twice.In spite of Sohail’s heroics, WAPDA compiled 353 runs yesterday, leaving SSGC to make 328 runs to achieve an outright victory. There were several resolute batting displays in the WAPDA innings: Nawaz Sardar, who struck 18 fours and a six, missed a maiden first-class hundred by two runs. Along with skipper Aamer Sajjad (40), Nawaz helped add 80 runs for the fourth wicket. Bilal Khilji (80) and Sunny Irshad (75) then joined together for fine 146-run association for the sixth wicket. However, the last five WAPDA wickets added only a further 19.Neither team might have done enough for a final slot though one thing is clear: third-placed WAPDA will not make it to the top of the 11-team Group A ranking.Leaders Habib Bank Limited (HBL) took another step towards qualifying for the tournament final on the third day of their tenth round, Group A Quaid-e-Azam Trophy against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). They took a crucial 44-run first innings lead in the match against NBP Sports Complex Stadium in Karachi.Thanks to a fine 137-run fourth-wicket partnership between Aftab Khan and Khaqan Arsal, Habib Bank responded with 341 against National Bank’s 297 all out. The 23-year-old Khaqan, who brought up his third first-class century, remained unbeaten till the end with 109, a knock involving 16 fours.Aftab cracked a 210-ball 80 in a little over four-and-a-half hours. Skipper Hasan Raza perished for a rare duck as did Salman Qadir, but a 42-run seventh-wicket partnership between wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat and Khaqan allowed Habib Bank to gain the lead. By the close of play, with opener Nasir Jamshed having made an unbeaten 58, National Bank gained a slender edge of 42 runs with nine wickets in hand.Habib Bank are in a must-win situation here. A draw will take their points tally to 66 after nine matches. National Bank will then still have two more games to go and the full points from two wins will keep them in contention for the final.After having dominated Sialkot for much of the first two days, Lahore Ravi were in some trouble, on the third day of their tenth round match, at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground in Lahore.Sialkot, who had restricted Lahore’s lead to 77 after being shot out for a pathetic 88, recovered to score 288 runs in their second innings. Needing 212 to win, Lahore Ravi were 177 for 7 by the close of play, needing 35 more to wrap up the win.For Sialkot, skipper Ayub Dogar hit a splendid century, a 240-ball 124 that included 15 fours and two sixes. Lahore pace bowler Waqas Ahmed, meanwhile, continued with his excellent display in the match taking 6 for 70, ending with 10 for 118 in the match. Medium-pacer Mohammad Ali Bhutta continued his devastating form, ending with 4 for 54 in the second innings, adding to his 5 for 38 in the first.Multan scored 446 runs in their first innings, taking a 111-run lead over Hyderabad in the Multan Cricket Stadium. A double-hundred by their left-handed opener Usman Tariq, who’s knock contained 20 fours and five sixes, formed the bedrock of the Multan innings.Centuries by Asif Iqbal and Zahoor Elahi allowed Pakistan Customs to compile 338 runs against Karachi Whites at the National Stadium. In reply, Karachi managed to reach 154 for 4 at close, still 184 runs in deficit. Iqbal scored his second first-class century and his highest individual score after batting for over five hours and hitting 13 fours. With Elahi, he added 159 runs for the fourth wicket. For Karachi, Khalid Latif continued his impressive form with the bat and scored 42 while Asim Kamal is still unbeaten on 47.

Group B

Making their debut in the competition this season, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) became the first team to qualify for the tournament final when, on the third day of their tenth round, they easily defeated Lahore Shalimar by ten wickets in the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.After having gained a first innings lead of 135, SNGPL bowled out the opposition for a modest 206. This left them just 72 runs to win, which they attained without loss in a matter of 7.1 overs.With 63 points from nine matches, and a game in hand, SNGPL have raced ahead of second-placed Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the Group B table. PIA have their last match coming up and, with only 48 points in their kitty, don’t have a chance of making the final.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited rattled up a big first-innings lead of 327 over Karachi Blues, on the third day of their tenth round, Group B Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex Ground No.1 in Karachi.Opening batsman Afaq Rahim’s unbeaten 205, his second double-hundred of the tournament following his career-best 275 against Quetta last month, was a record-breaking milestone. It was the 100th double century achieved by any batsman in the 50 editions of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.The 22-year-old Afaq, from Mirpur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, had already reached his career’s seventh hundred with his 107 on Friday afternoon. He batted just a minute over 10 hours in an innings that comprised 450 balls with the help of 24 fours. Afaq added 232 vital runs with Wajahatulla Wasti, who cracked his 15th first-class hundred with the help of 13 fours and three sixes.Having bowled the Blues out for 188 on the opening day, ZTBL reached a massive 515 for five yesterday before skipper Wasti declared. By the close of play, Karachi Blues had lost two wickets — both to medium-fast Kashif Dawood, the five-wicket hero in the first innings – while adding 51. They still need another 277 to avoid an innings defeat.This match is really of no importance in the context of the teams getting to the final. ZTBL are placed fifth in the 11-team Group B ranking with 27 points from nine matches. They are making their last appearance in the pool round. The Blues are down at No.9, just above Abbottabad and Quetta, with just 12 points from eight matches.At the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, the hosts, took the first innings lead against Quetta. Ameer Khan missed a century, managing a 170-ball 92, but had done well to help his team to the lead. Quetta responded with 237 for 4 in their second innings, mainly through an unbroken 96-run fifth-wicket stand between opener Shoaib Khan (95) and Jalat Khan (46), and are now 199 ahead with six wickets intact.Rawalpindi took a 60-run lead over Peshawar at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar, after compiling 316 in reply to the hosts’ 256. Youngster Usman Saeed (94) missed his hundred by six runs. Peshawar erased 45 runs off the lead while losing one wicket in their second innings by the end of the day.The left-handed Saeed Anwar attained the 12th century of his first-class career, as he made 107 runs in the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) score of 356 for 7 against Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The two teams had earlier forfeited their respective first innings after the opening day on Thursday had been completely washed out. The highlight of the innings was Saaed’s 151-runs stand with Bazid Khan (78).

Confusion over the match between India and Pakistan Legends sides, originally revealed by Cricinfo on October 18, appears to have been slightly eased with the announcement at the weekend that the game is set to take place on March 3 at the 60,000-capacity Rogers Centre in Toronto.Ben Sennik, the president of the Canadian Cricket Association, confirmed the game was going ahead at a press conference in Toronto. He said that the event has the full support of the Canadian board and added he anticipated a sell-out crowd. “We should make it a point to be part of this event to show our support for Cricket in Canada,” he concluded.S Madan Lal, the former India Test player who is managing the Indian side, insisted that the game was being taken very seriously and that two well-balanced teams were being brought to Toronto. Players such as Ajay Jadeja, Venkatesh Prasad, Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar were among those who would play.There was, however, no mention of Mohammad Azharuddin who was originally announced as the captain of the Indian side.

Justice Ahmed Ebrahim , the Zimbabwe Cricket vice-chairman, said Wednesday’s follow-up crisis meeting should find a lasting resolution to the meltdown blighting the game in the country.”When you have a crisis situation, you have to take action, and those are the sort of decisions we may have to make,” Ebrahim said. “I am very worried about what is happening. That is one of the reasons I called for this crisis meeting. Since the first meeting was held on Monday some circumstances have changed. So we are meeting tomorrow for these issues to be discussed and decisions to be taken on what the board should do.”I am concerned about our international well-being, and the very least of what came out of the Monday meeting is a significant commitment from the players to serve the country. I regard the players as the core product in our effort to have the game survive in this country. I am very much confident that the quality we have in these players is very much good enough to compete on the international stage.”Justice Ebrahim’s comments comes in the wake of Zimbabwe’s national team players making a resolution at the Monday meeting that they still had their hearts behind Zimbabwe cricket. “I am very pleased to indicate that that the national team captain [Tatenda Taibu] and the players’ representatives indicated their total commitment, and recognition of their responsibilities to the game of cricket in this country. The players that are present in the country would participate in squad training in preparation for our future commitments.”Ebrahim, a retired Supreme Court judge, also spoke of the departure of Taibu to play domestic cricket in Bangladesh, saying it was a positive move for the former national skipper. “I think it’s very good that Tatenda has been given an opportunity to play in Bangladesh,” he said. “He is one of our national heroes, but he also has a tremendous following in the international arena, especially in Bangladesh, where he scored his maiden Test century.”The stakeholders meetings, which were called partly because of the 11th-hour cancellation of the board meeting which was due to be held last Saturday, also tasked Ebrahim to resolve the problems existing in the provinces, especially the infighting in Mashonaland that has impacted heavily on the national set-up in Zimbabwe.

The Bullring’s four-storey stands ‘leer over events in the middle’© Neil Lane/Cricinfo

Looking down across Johannesburg from the top of the Wanderers stadium, it can feel as though you are situated at the highest point of the highveld. Though the city itself is as unprepossessing as they come – a loose alliance of hilltop settlements, lured here in the last century by the prospect of gold, and loitering ever since – from the birds’-eye view of the fourth-storey press-box, it is possible to appreciate the subtler side to the city.Everywhere you look, there are trees, which comes as something of a surprise to the uninitiated. Apparently, in that respect, Jo’burg is the greenest city in the whole of southern Africa, but it is only when you reach a high enough elevation to see across the security fences that you grow to appreciate that fact.As you stare down the length of the Wanderers pitch, your line of vision takes you through the twin floodlights of the imposing Centenary Stand, which wraps itself around the northern end of the ground, and off into the distance, over and beyond the adjoining Wanderers golf club, and all the way to the tip of the Sandton City shopping and hotel complex. It is here that the teams are based for this final fortnight of the series, and the roof of the main tower is clearly visible, as it pokes through the canopy like Cleopatra’s Needle.For more than 74 years, the Wanderers Club has provided the focal point of Johannesburg’s sporting aspirations, whether they be cricket or golf – which between them dominate the district of Illovo, where the club is based – or tennis, squash and bowls, which can also be found tucked away in the back streets. But tragically, in October last year, the clubhouse itself was entirely gutted by fire. It began in the kitchens and spread through the ventilation ducts, and by the time it had incinerated the venerable wooden rafters, there was little that could rescue three-quarters of a century of tradition.A vast section of the roof collapsed, taking with it the club’s imposing clock-tower, and as a match between South Africa A and New Zealand continued unawares down the road, the devastated members were left to salvage what they could of a mass of sporting memorabilia. Among the trophies, photographs and cricketana lost forever was the bat with which Graeme Pollock scored 274 against Australia in 1966-67, which to this day is ranked among the finest innings of all time.The stadium itself is a fair way removed from the clubhouse, however, and if you arrive late at the ground on a matchday, you soon discover that the Wanderers lives up to its name. It is a veritable hike from from the car-park to the ground, although for the morning stroll, at least, it is downhill all the way. Upon arrival, you then take a further plunge into the basin of the ground itself, which is entered through an imposing gateway that sports a banner declaring the Wanderers to be “our battleground”.It is unequivocal stuff, and when play takes place in front of 20,000 fans, as was the case on the Saturday of this match, the ground certainly takes on a gladiatorial feel. It is universally known as “The Bullring”, a nickname that is amply backed up by the sheer scale of the stands at either end. These are four storeys vertical, and leer over the events in the middle with such intrusiveness that the slightest whisper is echoed and amplified as it bounces between them. But never mind careless whispers – the throaty roar that greeted Herschelle Gibbs’s hundred came close to matching the din created by the South African Airways fly-past that launched the World Cup final here in March 2003.For all the imposing splendour of the main stands, however, perhaps the finest seats in the ground are those at midwicket. On the one side, there is the grassy bank in front of the pavilion, with its preponderance of beach towels and umbrellas, and of course, the ubiquitous bikinis. The players are shielded from all this by a neatly trimmed hedge, which marks the boundary of their viewing area and stands in stark aesthetic contrast to the intimidating perspex tunnel through which they must walk to reach the boundary’s edge.The opposite side of the ground is served by a magnificently rickety wooden stand, so steep that, at this rarefied altitude, anyone who gallops up it too quickly can require an oxygen mask by the time they reach the summit. On the first day of the match, this entire area was claimed by a local primary-school outing, not that any of them had any qualms about scurrying up and down the benches all day long. In fact, while Andrew Strauss and Robert Key were rattling along in that afternoon session, the majority of the kids found that the safety netting beneath the stand was of far greater entertainment, as they slipped through the slats and turned the Bullring into their very own adventure playground.

India 523 and 233 for 6 (Dravid 72*) beat Australia 556 and 196 by 4 wickets
Scorecard

Rahul Dravid took India all the way © Getty Images

Rahul Dravid turned in his second heroic innings of the match, as India etched out a magnificent four-wicket victory at the Adelaide Oval to go 1-0 up in the four-Test series – their first win in Australia since their triumph at Melbourne in 1980-81. Following up his 233 in the first innings, Dravid remained undefeated on 72 – and hit the winning runs, a cut off Stuart MacGill – as India nailed their target of 230 just after tea on the final day.In the end, the win came easily enough, with VVS Laxman providing the impetus to the innings with a breezy 32 of 34 balls, but for much of the day, it was a struggle, as the Australians fought all the way despite being severely hampered by injuries to two of their bowlers. Jason Gillespie walked off with a groin strain midway through his tenth over, while Brad Williams showed plenty of heart in bowling despite an injured left shoulder.In an intense and tension-filled morning session, the Australian bowlers came at the Indians with plenty of fire. Williams gave Dravid a thorough working-over, and was desperately unlucky not to nail him: Adam Gilchrist dropped the chance after Dravid edged a delivery which pitched perfectly in the corridor. Dravid was on 9 then, and India, who had already lost Akash Chopra early, trapped in front by Gillespie for 20 (47 for 1), would have been 73 for 2.The second wicket did fall soon after, but it was Virender Sehwag who fell, after making an uncharacteristically restrained 47, from 81 balls. With the runs drying up, Sehwag charged down the pitch to MacGill, missed, and was comfortably stumped (79 for 2).Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid took India to lunch, and well past it, with a 70-run stand. After missing out in his first two innings of the series, Tendulkar was far more assured this time around. He started off with a paddle-sweep off MacGill for four, then unleashed some confident drives and pulls whenever the bowlers erred in length. Williams came back for a second spell, and, despite bowling at a reduced pace of about 130 kmph, tested both batsmen with his reverse-swing. The partnership threatened to shut Australia out of the match when MacGill, who had until then bowled mostly from round the wicket, changed angle, and struck. Tendulkar failed to read a straighter one which pitched on middle-and-leg, shouldered arms, and was trapped in front for 37 (149 for 3).When Sourav Ganguly departed soon after, scooping a drive off Andy Bichel to Simon Katich at point for 12 (170 for 4), India needed a further 60, and Australia were back in the contest.Laxman changed the momentum of the match in a flash, taking full toll of the loose balls that MacGill threw up. Dravid had missed out on a couple of full tosses earlier, but Laxman made every bad ball count, caressing drives through cover and midwicket, and then cutting a short delivery to the point fence, as three fours came from a MacGill over.Dravid grew in confidence too, dispatching a long-hop from MacGill through cover, as the pair added 51 in quick time. Laxman played a shot too many and was dismissed soon after tea, mistiming a hoick off Katich to Bichel (221 for 5), but by then, with victory only nine runs away, the issue had already been decided. Parthiv Patel contrived to delay the moment, when he was bowled round his legs by Katich, but that only allowed, fittingly, Ajit Agarkar and Dravid – India’s heroes in this Test – to be together when the winning runs were hit.

New Zealand seem almost certain to complete their postponed tour of Pakistan between April 20 and May 18 now that Pakistan authorities have received a government assurance of safe passage for the New Zealanders out of Pakistan in the event of any problems.New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden aborted the planned tour in September last year in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.At the time he said NZC would fulfil its obligations to complete the tour when the environment was safer.In discussion with the Pakistan Cricket Board recently, he sought an assurance of safe-keeping for the New Zealanders on the tour, a commitment that has been achieved with the assistance of the Pakistan Government.New Zealand will play three Tests and three One-Day Internationals at Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.However, Snedden said arrangements had not yet been finalised. He has not yet received the Government assurance from the PCB and the tour has not been discussed by the board of New Zealand Cricket.But it will be on the agenda when the board meets in Christchurch on Wednesday of next week, before the first New Zealand-England ODI at Jade Stadium.Snedden said it would mean the New Zealand team faced a very tough schedule.The Test series with England ends on April 3. New Zealand then travel to Sharjah to play in the annual tournament there. From Sharjah they travel to Pakistan, and soon after returning they are due to travel to the West Indies although the tour itinerary has not yet been released.”I have talked to the players about it and they are not averse to touring Pakistan. They just want me to be satisfied about security issues,” he said.

A career-best 178 not out from John Kent earned KwaZulu-Natal the draw to keep alive their play-offs hopes against the Eastern Province Jumbos in the SuperSport Series match which ended at Kingsmead on Monday.The 21-year-old’s near eight-hour rearguard action – during which he added 209 runs with the last five wickets – left the Jumbos facing an impossible run chase having earlier enforced the follow-on.When Kent finally ran out of partners, the Jumbos were left with the daunting equation of having to make 207 from 36 overs.They began as if they were seriously attempting the challenge – making 35 off the first five overs – but as soon as soon as wickets began to tumble with three going down in the space of three overs, they were happy to accept the offer of bad light.The draw means the rock bottom Dolphins can still qualify for the Super Eights against Border at Kingsmead in the final round of matches this weekend. A victory for the Jumbos would have ended their interest.And for that they have to thank Kent. He faced 359 balls and hit 26 fours inhis watchful stay after coming to the wicket on Sunday afternoon at 33 for two and having seen all the main batsmen back in the pavilion at 173 for five.He resumed on Monday morning on 65 not out and took his sixth wicket partnership with Errol Stewart to 57 before the latter became Wayne Murray’seighth wicket-keeping victim in the match.If the Jumbos expected that to be the key to unlock the door for them theywere sadly mistaken as the Bastow went on to share three more time consumingpartnerships.He put on 36 for the seventh wicket with Gulam Bodi before the latter wasfarcically run out when he failed to make his ground at the non-striker’send after the batsmen had collided in mid-pitch.But Kent continued serenely putting on 72 in an hour and a half with EldineBaptiste and a further 43 in an hour for the last wicket with John Bastow.Only Gary Gilder – who lasted just three balls before being castled byNantie Hayward – adhered to the Jumbos’ script.Justin Kemp finished with five for 69 in the innings but with the Dolphinsproving unexpectedly resilient the Jumbos had to settle for the draw.

An investigation is to take place into the World T20 Qualifier match between Afghanistan and Hong Kong played in Dublin on Tuesday.ESPNcricinfo understands that the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) noticed unusual betting patterns on the game and is to speak to leading betting firms, including Betfair, in an attempt to gain a greater understanding of what occurred.News of the investigation may take some of the gloss off Hong Kong’s five-wicket victory in the first qualifying playoff, which booked them a place at the 2016 World T20 in India.The match has not eliminated Afghanistan, though. They play Papua New Guinea on Thursday in the third qualifying playoff.

Liverpool look set to pip Celtic to a move for young Derry City attacker Trent Kone-Doherty.

The Lowdown: Doak move

It appears as if the Hoops will lose the services of young winger Ben Doak, with Liverpool closing in on a move for the Scot.

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Doak is yet to pen professional terms with the Hoops and the Reds appear to have taken advantage of that. Reports have suggested that Celtic could receive just £150,000 in compensation for Doak, who has been attracted over the possibility of working under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

The Latest: Kone-Doherty update

The Irish Independent shared a story on Wednesday morning regarding another exciting attacker, Kone-Doherty.

They claimed that the 15-year-old previously spent time training with Celtic, however, it looks as if Liverpool are going to win the race for his services as well after making an ‘assertive’ six-figure compensation move.

The Verdict: Hoops sick of Liverpool…

Celtic chiefs may well be sick of the sight of Liverpool in 2022 following this update on Kone-Doherty. It is unsure if the Hoops were willing to offer the Irish youngster a pre-contract deal ahead of his 16th birthday, but they clearly rated the attacker highly in order to bring him over to Lennoxtown and train.

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Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as if Kone-Doherty will come in as a possible replacement for Doak, with the pair possibly now set to play alongside each other in the Reds’ academy next season.

In other news: ‘Worrying…’ – Sky Sports man claims ‘brilliant’ Celtic ace may now have suffered ‘bone damage’. 

Rob Key has pledged to investigate England players’ conduct during their mid-Ashes break in Noosa and described drinking heavily as “completely unacceptable” for an international cricket team.England travelled to Noosa, the affluent resort town on the Queensland coast, after their eight-wicket defeat in the second Test at the Gabba for a four-night stay which the team stressed was a “mid-series break” rather than a “holiday”. Brendon McCullum, the trip’s architect, said it was “excellent” and would allow England to head into the third Test feeling fresh.Key, England’s managing director, did not travel to Noosa and said that he believed his players had been “very well behaved”. But reports since their subsequent 82-run defeat in Adelaide have compared the trip to a stag do, and Key said at the MCG on Tuesday that he will “look into what happened” to determine whether any further action is required.Related

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“If there’s things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively then of course we’ll be looking into that,” Key said. “Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I’d expect to see at any stage, and it would be a fault not to look into what happened there. But from everything that I’ve heard so far, they were very well behaved.”I’ve read what’s been written in the last day or so, and if it goes into where they’re drinking lots and it’s a stag do, all that type of stuff, that’s completely unacceptable. I’m not a drinker. I think a drinking culture doesn’t help anyone in any stretch whatsoever.”I have no issue with the Noosa trip if it was to get away and just throw your phone away, down tools, go on the beach… Everything that I’ve heard so far is that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn’t go out late, had the odd drink. I don’t mind that. If it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned… There’s lots of people there that might disagree with that, but that’s what we’ll find out.”Key also revealed that Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook had been warned by team management before the series, after they were filmed drinking at a bar the night before England’s third ODI in New Zealand. He said the incident had been a “wake-up call” for the scrutiny that the squad would come under in Australia, which he denied England had underestimated.”I don’t mind players having a glass of wine over dinner. Anything more than that I think is ridiculous, really,” Key said. “There wasn’t any formal action… I didn’t feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones.”Key also confirmed that England had turned down the opportunity to play a warm-up match against Australian opposition in Adelaide ahead of the first Test, reasoning that they would have more control over a warm-up match involving England Lions at Lilac Hill, a club ground in Perth.Jacob Bethell looks set to come into the side for the fourth Test•Getty Images

“I don’t necessarily believe that had we just gone and played there then we’d now be 3-0 up in the Ashes,” he said. “Even with that, we’ve still got to get more out of our players… You’ve got to look at yourselves as a set up, I think. If your players are playing to their potential and they’re getting beat, that’s fine. But in this series so far, we haven’t done that.”He conceded that England have stripped back their support staff too far, leaving the set-up without a fielding coach for this tour. “When we started, I looked at the huddle on the first day at Lord’s [against New Zealand in June 2022] and there were 38 people in there… We wanted to strip all of that back and go, ‘Right, we want the messaging to come from just a few people’.”I don’t think the argument is to bring in loads of specialist coaches… [But] there’s probably a few spots where we’re weak in terms of our set-up at the moment, where we’ve stripped it back too much and there’s probably a few places we need to start bringing in some of that resource again.”Key described McCullum – whose contract he extended last year – as a “bloody good coach” and backed him to continue despite England’s heavy series defeat, and said that his own future as managing director is in the hands of the ECB’s board.Brendon McCullum and Rob Key look on at training•Getty Images

“The decision really for the ECB will be whether or not they want to rip it up and start again, or whether they want to evolve and whether we’re the right people to do that. Clearly, I believe that Brendon… He’s an excellent coach. His record is very good. This is only the third [Test] series we’ve lost in four years. His win record [25 out of 44 Tests as coach] is very good as well.”Clearly, we’ve mucked up on the big occasions, whether that was the home Ashes series, whether that was last summer against India… The big ones have eluded us. There’s been some brilliant moments along the way. I still feel like there’s plenty of life in this whole thing now, but we have to evolve. We have to make sure that we’re doing things better.”Key also implied that England had made a mistake by backing Ollie Pope as their No. 3 ahead of Bethell, saying: “You start looking at some of the decisions that we’ve made and think, ‘Should we have made a change there much sooner?’ I don’t think that’s right to speculate on who those people are at the moment, but they’re the things that you look at.”Bethell looks set to play in the fourth Test at the MCG on Boxing Day, and Key described him as an “incredible talent” with the potential to become a “world-class” batter. “I have no issue with him being able to go out and play a match-winning innings in the Ashes for us.”