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South Africa captain AB de Villiers has expressed his disappointment at the “soft dismissals” from his batsmen that let Australia back into the contest in the fourth match of the tri-series in St Kitts. Chasing 289 for victory South Africa appeared to be cruising at the 25-over mark, when they had 137 for 1, but the innings fizzled out and they were dismissed for 252 in the 48th over.All of the top five batsmen made starts but none made it past the 60s. Hashim Amla drove straight to cover for 60, Faf du Plessis sliced one to point for 63, de Villiers was bowled when Josh Hazlewood found some reverse swing and JP Duminy pulled Adam Zampa tamely to deep midwicket, leaving too much work for South Africa’s long tail.”Lots of our dismissals were soft dismissals tonight, including my own,” de Villiers said. “Those things are bad decisions at the wrong time. It’s not really something you can work on. It’s just something we have to fix in the next game with a better mindset … The wicket played pretty well throughout the game. We’ve got no excuse, we just didn’t bat well enough.”With the ball reversing, Australia had little trouble running through the South African lower order, collecting the last seven wickets for 42 runs in 10 overs. It was a tame end for South Africa after they enjoyed a 105-run stand between Amla and du Plessis. Playing his first game back from a finger injury, du Plessis was pleased with his touch but not with how he departed.”We pretty much controlled the game in that second innings for about 80% of the time, with myself and Hashim and then myself and AB,” du Plessis said. “To be honest, I thought that when myself and AB were batting it was pretty much in our hands. We felt in control.”Obviously we knew Australia had to get wickets to get back in the game and they did that with some good bowling from Starcy at the tail-enders there. But I think we can point the finger straight back at ourselves – some pretty poor shots to give them wickets to get them back in the game.”Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa each picked up three wickets, but the difference in the match was the 109 scored by David Warner earlier in the day. He was the only man from either team who really capitalised on a start, and du Plessis said if one of South Africa’s set batsmen had stayed in until the end, the result would have been different.”It’s one guy saying ‘I’m going to win the game today’ and putting his hand up,” du Plessis said. “If you look at the best players in the world, it’s guys that can do that more consistently, someone like Virat Kohli at the moment who is winning a lot of games of cricket for his country. Today we had three batsmen – myself, Hashim and AB – who could have done that.”It was notable, though, that the South African bowlers found virtually no reverse swing but Starc and Hazlewood got the ball to move just enough later in the day, enticing a few mistakes from South Africa’s batsmen. Zampa also kept his head towards the end of the match and finished with 3 for 52 from his 10 overs.”It’s always hard to start against a ball that’s reversing when you’ve got someone like Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood coming in at you,” Australia’s captain Steven Smith said. “I thought those guys did a terrific job when the ball started to go. I think we got five wickets in six overs at one point and that obviously turned the game.”[Zampa] was good. I put him under a bit of pressure at the end there as well. I bowled him a few overs where they could have hit a few to these small straight boundaries. But he held his nerve nicely. He changed his pace, mixed it up, bowled some googlies and he’s come a long way.”

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said that future BCB press conferences will be invitation-only events after four journalists were initially refused entry at a briefing at his office on Wednesday.The BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus had on Tuesday informed some reporters of the board president’s press conference. On Wednesday morning, reporters present in Mirpur were told that the press conference will be held at the president’s office, located 9 kms to the south of the stadium, at 2.30pm.But while entering the office, journalists from leading newspapers and , news website and news channel were barred from entering the press conference. The reporters were later asked to come in 14 minutes after the briefing started.”The issue is not with anyone in particular,” Hassan said. “The time is sensitive in Bangladesh, and Bangladesh cricket is within Bangladesh. One false interpretation, a negative news will damage our cricket. We don’t want to be part of it.”Anybody can write anything. We are open. We don’t want a different explanation to a comment we make which will hurt our cricket. I don’t want anyone to blame me for it. For now, we can be a little selective.”The BCB had, on June 25, said in a press release that “only invited individuals/organisations will be eligible to attend BCB media conferences”. Since then, however, the BCB had not issued any invitation to the media for the daily press briefings at its Mirpur headquarters where journalists had general venue access. sports editor Utpal Shuvro said that barring of journalists from entering a BCB press briefing was unprecedented and was worried by the development.”When I first heard what had happened, I was surprised,” Shuvro said. “I am disappointed and worried as well. has had a small role to play in the rise of Bangladesh cricket. We have never intended any damage to the game.”We love cricket and our team. We are journalists so there will be times when people won’t agree with what we write.”The board president’s message wasn’t clear about the four organisations. I don’t know if we are banned or it was an oversight from their side. It has certainly never happened before in sports in Bangladesh.”

Former South Africa batter Faf du Plessis has opted not to put his name in the IPL 2026 auction, choosing instead to play the Pakistan Super League (PSL).”After 14 seasons in the IPL, I’ve decided not to put my name into the auction this year. It’s a big decision, and one that comes with a lot of gratitude when I look back,” du Plessis wrote in a statement on his social media handles.”This league has been a massive part of my journey. I’ve been lucky to play with world-class teammates, for amazing franchises, and in front of fans whose passion is like nothing else. India has given me friendships, lessons, and memories that have shaped me as a cricketer and as a person.”Related

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Du Plessis, who has 154 IPL appearances, did not rule out a return to the competition in the future.”Fourteen years is a long time, and I’m proud of what this chapter has meant to me. India has a special place in my heart, and this certainly isn’t goodbye – you’ll see me again,” he said.”This year, I’ve chosen to take on a new challenge and will be playing in the upcoming PSL season,” du Plessis said. “It’s an exciting step for me – a chance to experience something new, to grow as a player, and to embrace a league filled with incredible talent and energy. A new country. A new environment. A new challenge. I’m looking forward to the Pakistan hospitality.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In IPL 2025, du Plessis made 202 runs from nine games for Delhi Capitals, and even captained the team in two games when their regular captain Axar Patel was injured. However, he was released by the franchise ahead of the auction.Overall, du Plessis is the fourth-highest run-scorer among overseas players in the IPL. Apart from DC, he has played for Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rising Pune Supergiants, winning the title twice with CSK.Du Plessis has played in the PSL before, making six appearances between 2019 and 2021 for Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.While the IPL season will be played between March and May, it overlaps with the PSL, which is scheduled between April and May.

Usman Khawaja has declared himself 100% fit ahead of the third Test in Adelaide but conceded whether he earns a recall is out of his hands.Khawaja missed the second Test in Brisbane after not recovering from the back spasms he suffered in Perth, saying that while he may have been able to push through had the game been later in the series it was too much of a risk early in the contest.Related

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“Obviously hope to play,” he told reporters in Adelaide, where Ashes resumes on December 17. “I don’t really know. Obviously, it’s not my decision. The older I’ve got, the more comfortable I’ve got with things that I can control and things that I haven’t. I feel really good in terms of I’m ready to go. The rest of it is not in my control. So, yeah, we’ll see what happens.”I’m feeling 100%. So unless something else [happens], but I felt 100% before Perth, too. It’s just one of those things. I’ve done everything. That’s why I was training all last week. I was just doing rehab, which sucks because when you get injured, you have to do more, right.”I’ve had a fair bit of load, but it’s obviously what I wanted to just get as much as possible and I’m running at 100% again and again. So everything’s feeling pretty good again.”Usman Khawaja: I can bat anywhere•AFP/Getty Images

Khawaja, who turns 39 next week, went through multiple gym, running and net sessions before, during and since the Gabba Test. He added that he was being extra careful about how much he does on the day he flies into venues, conceding he had felt sore after a delayed six-hour flight to Perth, although insisted the much-talked about rounds of golf had not been a factor. “I’ve always been a professional,” he said.In Khawaja’s absence, Travis Head and Jake Weatherald have combined to produce two impressive stands: the chase in Perth where they added 75 and the first innings in Brisbane where their 77-run partnership put England on the back foot on the second day.But Khawaja backed himself to have a game that could adjust to various tempos, citing his Sheffield Shield form where he had a strike-rate of 62.34 in three matches which puts him just outside the top 10 from those with 200 runs this season.”I’ve got gears when I want them,” he said. “You’ve got to find a way to be consistent for a long period of time, not just over a game or two. So I’ve always been conscious of that. I can go out there and play more shots and I think I’ve been scoring pretty [quickly]. So sometimes the game and the situation dictates that [and] the wickets dictate that. I think I just play the game, what’s in front of me.The option remains for Khawaja to return in the middle order where he batted on his Test comeback in 2022. “I’ve always done really well batting at four or five,” he said. “Normally people that open aren’t as attuned to No. 5 as opening because they’re not as good playing spin. But I’ve proven I’m one of the best players to spin in Australia. So, that’s never been the issue. So I can bat anywhere.”Usman Khawaja did pull up in time for Brisbane, but is ready for Adelaide•Getty Images

Khawaja also joked he was somewhat unconvinced by talk that Head, who flayed an astonishing century in Perth, had “lobbied” to open the batting. “I think Travis said he’d been quietly lobbying. It was more a case of Heady always said, ‘If you need me to open, I’ll open’,” he said.”I had a joke with [Andrew McDonald about it], I was like, ‘Quietly lobbying – that’s one of the quietest lobbyings I’ve heard’, and he had a giggle too and was like, ‘Yeah’. Heady’s a team player, he’ll always open if they need him to open, but it’s not like he was at the back knocking on doors saying, ‘I want to open’.”Khawaja, who has one hundred in his last 45 Test innings and averages 31.84 since the 2023 Ashes, said talk around his position “doesn’t really faze me” although when pressed on whether any of the commentary about him has an effect, he admitted it was impossible to be completely unaware.”Certain things probably do, certain things probably don’t,” he said. “I genuinely don’t read it. I probably get more from vibes and what other people tell me. It’s not like I’m going out and reading the actual thing, it’s the vibe. And some things sometimes just pop up, you can’t hide from it. But yes, certain things do, certain things don’t, but I just don’t see the relevance in talking about it. I just don’t see the point.”As much as people sometimes want to have a crack at me, I love playing for Australia. I’m still very committed. Every game I take the same way as I took 10 years ago. I train hard, I do everything right. For me, it’s more about just being a professional. People can have opinions, that’s absolutely no worries to me. I can’t really sit down and worry about what other people think, especially outside of the squad.”In terms of his future, Khawaja said that “I’m not here to hang around” but added the most important aspect to him was knowing he was still wanted in the team. “I could have retired two years ago,” he said. “I could have retired at any time. But I’m still valued by the team. I’m still asked to be here, to play. So I’m here.”I’m always mindful of the future, too. I always have been. I’m not here to hang around. I’m just here to enjoy my cricket. As long as I’m valued, I’m here. I’m doing my job. And I’ve done quite well over the last few years.”

Shreyas Iyer, the new Punjab Kings captain, has expressed his intention to bat at No. 3 during IPL 2025. Iyer recently proved to be India’s point of difference at No. 4 during their unbeaten run to the Champions Trophy title in Dubai and earlier in IPL 2024, when he captained Kolkata Knight Riders to the title, he had primarily batted at the same position. Occasionally, he had also slid down to No. 5 or No. 6 to suit the needs of KKR last season.”We already know that IPL is an integral part of Indian cricket. And If I would want to mark myself at some position in T20, it would be No. 3,” Iyer said at a press conference. “And that’s what I’m focusing at. I wouldn’t say that we are planning and thinking about what number I will be batting.”This time I’m quite clear about that position. And I’m going to be focusing on that number. As long as the coach approves of me.”Related

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Iyer will reunite with coach Ponting after the pair had some success at Delhi Capitals, helping them make the playoffs from 2019 to 2021, including the final in 2020. PBKS splurged INR 26.75 crore (USD 3.18 million approx) on Iyer, making him the second-most expensive player at an IPL auction.”If you look back at the auction, I think it was pretty clear to everyone who I wanted as my captain,” Ponting said. “And we got what we wanted. I was desperate to work with Shreyas again. We had a great working relationship at Delhi over a long period of time. He’s one of the best players that I’ve worked with. He’s a great human being. He’s an IPL-winning captain. You couldn’t ask for much more.”We’ve got the best leader that we could possibly hope for. And we’ve had a lot of great times and success together. I think we understand each other really well. As you know, the captain-coach relationship in any team is vital.”In IPL 2024, PBKS had managed to win just one of their seven home games across Mullanpur and Dharamsala, and finished second from bottom. Ponting is hoping to remedy that and find ways to win at home this season.”What I understand is that if you are not winning at home, you are not winning the IPL,” Ponting said. “It’s one of the main reasons that I’m sitting here now. I wanted a really strong coaching challenge. And we’ve got that. But there’s no pressure on us. What have we got to lose?”We’re going to go out and play a really dynamic and entertaining brand of cricket. And I know we’ve got the players that can do that.”

Doubts have emerged over Matt Henry’s availability for the Champions Trophy final, owing to the shoulder injury he picked up during the semi-final in Lahore.Henry, the highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far, had hurt his shoulder while taking the catch to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen, but returned to bowl two overs late in the match against South Africa. He was also seen diving in the field after he came back.Mitchell Santner had been optimistic about Henry’s availability soon after the match on Wednesday. But head coach Gary Stead has now said that Henry’s fitness status was “unknown” a little more than 48 hours ahead of the final.Related

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“I guess the positive thing from our perspective is he got back out there to bowl,” Stead said. “We’ve had some scans and stuff done on him, and we’re going to give him every chance to be playing in this match.”[But it’s] still a little bit unknown at this stage.”Henry has ten wickets at an average of 16.70 at this Champions Trophy. Five of those wickets came in the group match against India in Dubai, their opponents and the venue for the final.”He’s obviously pretty sore just from landing on the point of his shoulder,” Stead said. “Hopefully he will be okay.”If Henry cannot play, New Zealand have right-arm seamer Jacob Duffy in their squad. Duffy has not played any of New Zealand’s four matches in the tournament, but did have an outing against Pakistan in the pre-tournament tri-series that had been played there. He took 1 for 48 in seven overs in that game.

Allrounder Sophie Molineux has been ruled out of the multiformat Ashes series due to a knee injury that will require surgery while captain Alyssa Healy remains unsure whether she will keep wicket due to her ongoing knee problem.Molineux, a left-arm spinner, managed a knee issue through the WBBL, where she captained Melbourne Renegades to a maiden title, and the problem flared again after the ODI series against India. Molineux was ruled out of the recent trip to New Zealand and now faces a further spell on the sidelines.”Sophie Molineux will undergo left knee surgery next month, following that we will provide further updates on an anticipated return date,” team physiotherapist Kate Beerworth said.Related

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One of the key issues for Australia to resolve ahead of the Ashes will be whether Healy is able to keep wicket having handed the gloves to Beth Mooney in New Zealand. Healy has been included in the Governor-General’s XI squad for a 50-over warm-up game against England on January 9 at North Sydney Oval which she said would be good test for her knee.”That’ll be a great opportunity for me to take the gloves for a little bit and see how everything’s progressing,” Healy told reporters at the MCG. “I can’t really give you any more information than that. It’s kind of play it by ear at the moment to see how everything pulls up.”But I did thoroughly enjoy running around the field in New Zealand. So if that’s the option and is less disruptive to our side, then that could be the way moving forward. But the aim is to take the gloves and hopefully I can do that.”Having an angry joint in there and flaring that up, and knowing the really tight schedule with the Ashes as well, probably managing that and not wanting to blow it up too much that it’s going to affect my ability to play at all. So that’ll be the real test, I think, in the next 10 days, moving into the series as to how that pulls up, how it responds to keeping again, and we’ll just assess as we go.”Georgia Voll, who made a stunning start to her international career against India, with 173 runs in three ODIs including a century, has been included for the one-day and T20I series which form the first two parts of the Ashes. Grace Harris will join for the T20Is at the SCG, Canberra and Adelaide.”It was pleasing to see Alyssa Healy return to action against New Zealand and looked in good touch, along with a number of batters continuing their strong form on from the recent series against India,” national selector Shawn Flegler said.”Whilst Georgia Voll didn’t play against New Zealand, she’s made a brilliant start to her international career and will be a strong option with the bat if required in her debut Ashes series. The bowling group provides plenty of variety which will be important against a strong England batting line up.”A squad for the day-night Test at the MCG in late January will be named in the coming weeks.”I think you look at the way we’ve probably shaped up in Test cricket over the last couple of seasons, it’s looked a little bit different to what we’ve done in the white-ball format,” Healy said. “So there is some reasoning as to why that Test squad hasn’t been announced, and we’ll probably look at that over the next few weeks, just to see where all the bowlers in the domestic cricket are at and their loads and how they’re going to prepare for a Test match.”Knowing it’s pink ball, knowing it swings a little bit more, and what the conditions are going to be like, I think there’s a few players around the country at the moment that could stick their hand up for a baggy green which I think is really exciting.”The Ashes starts with the first ODI at North Sydney on January 12 followed by matches at Junction Oval in Melbourne and Hobart.Meanwhile, legspinner Georgia Wareham has also been called into the Governor-General’s XI squad in place of fast bowler Darcie Brown to give Wareham more game time ahead of the Ashes having only featured in one of Australia’s last six ODIs where she wasn’t required to bat or bowl.

Australia ODI and T20I squad for Women’s Ashes

Alyssa Healy (capt), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

Greg Barclay, the outgoing chair of the ICC, has acknowledged the game he governed for four years is “a mess” and has warned of more challenging times ahead as he gives way to Jay Shah. In an interview with the , Barclay, who had two two-year terms at the helm from 2020, also cautioned Shah against taking the game “under the yoke of India”.Barclay stepped down on December 1, in the midst of an ongoing crisis over the Champions Trophy venues, and he admitted there was so much cricket being played that he had lost track of who was playing whom. In his tenure, three more major franchise-based T20 leagues cropped up, in the USA, the UAE and South Africa, further cramming an already packed calendar. He blamed the members’ self-interest for the situation.”I reckon, gee, I’m at the apex of the game and I can’t tell you who’s playing around the world. In fact, I didn’t realise that Sri Lanka were in South Africa until I read about Marco Jansen’s seven wickets this morning,” Barclay said. “So we’ve lost perspective. It’s not great for the game at all. It’s a mess. The calendar is incredibly congested and self-interest is such that it’s almost impossible to untangle all of that, because no one’s going to give up their content.”Related

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Barclay said he hoped Shah would be able to leverage India’s stature take the game out of the mess it was in. “I think he’s got a great opportunity to use what he’s got in his background to help India take the game to another level, but without making it sort of under the yoke of India as well,” Barclay said. “We’re really lucky to have India, they’re a massive contributor to the game across all the measures, but one country having that amount of power and influence does distort a whole lot of other outcomes, which is not necessarily helpful in terms of that global growth.”Jay has the ability to bring India into the international fold even more. There are a number of things that India could do to help unite and grow the game, including commercially helping to pool off-shore rights, using their teams to give opportunity to smaller Full Members and emerging countries, using their clout to open new territories and markets, collaborating closely with the ICC to help benefit members, as examples.”Barclay also warned of an impending financial readjustment the game might be forced to make, in the shape of its next media and commercial rights deal. The current rights deal is the most lucrative the ICC has signed, worth over US$3 billion. The bulk of that value has come from the Indian market where Disney-Star* hold the rights to broadcast ICC events until 2027. That has resulted in revenue distributions to Full Members of a size they have never seen before, and it has become particularly important for members such as the PCB, NZC, CWI, SLC and CSA for whom annual ICC revenue makes up a significant chunk of their total earnings.Barclay said the deals were ultimately “way in excess” of the actual value and that there will be, in time, a correction.”At some point, it is going to correct,” he said. “It’s a market. Is it going to be a sharp, severe correction? Or is it going to be a long, slow one? Or maybe there’s going to be an alternative broadcaster that comes to the market? But people have been saying that for 10 years now. New Zealand cricket had a deal with Amazon, but it didn’t work, so I don’t think they’re going to be the white knight that everybody is anticipating. I just think what we’ve got in front of us is what we’ve got.”I know that when we did our current deal it was way in excess of what the valuations we got before we went to market. We got £2.4 billion just out of India. The next biggest one is UK Sky. They did an eight-year deal, which was £237 million, so that’s 10% of the India deal for double the length of time. So if we go back to what the original projection was of £800 million it more than halves ICC revenue. It could even be less than that. There’s no discernible replacement for that at the moment.”One of the prominent issues that marked Barclay’s time was the Afghanistan Cricket Board not being allowed by the country’s Taliban government to field a women’s team. Fielding a women’s team and programme is a central tenet of Full Membership and despite calls to suspend membership, Barclay said the ICC had been right in not sanctioning Afghanistan’s membership status.Greg Barclay cautioned Jay Shah against taking the game “under the yoke of India”•Associated Press

“It is not the Afghanistan board’s fault. They used to have women’s cricket. I think our approach has been right,” he said. “It would be easy to kick Afghanistan out, but their board haven’t done anything wrong. They’re just working under a decree and a series of laws that says this is what you have to do. I don’t think it would make a jot of difference to the ruling party there to kick them out.”Maybe I’m a little naïve, but I think cricket is such a force for good there, and it brings a lot of joy to a lot of people. It is better to leave it there and hope that it can foster a bit of a change.”Instead, Barclay did point to the double standards of boards – such as Cricket Australia – that have cancelled multiple bilateral series with the Afghanistan men’s team as a sanction, but has played them at ICC events. “If you really want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup. Sure, it might cost you a semi-final place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle.”*

Jason Gillespie, the former Australia cricketer who recently quit as Pakistan’s head coach in Test cricket, said on Monday that he stepped down after being “completely and utterly blindsided” by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).Gillespie, whose contract was set to expire in 2026, resigned last week and he expressed his frustration over the lack of communication, which led him to feel that the Pakistan Cricket Board no longer wanted him in the role.Related

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“There were certainly challenges. I went into the job eyes wide open, I want to make that really clear. I knew that, you know, Pakistan had cycled through a number of coaches in a pretty short space of time,” Gillespie told “The straw that broke the camel’s back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer. I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have a high-performance coach.”As ESPNcricinfo originally reported, the PCB first did not renew the contract of Tim Nielsen, who was brought in on the recommendation of the Gillespie, as the high performance coach of the team. This had prompted Gillespie to have doubts about his own future.”Tim Nielsen was told that his services were no longer required and I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that,” Gillespie said. “And I just thought after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was probably the moment where I thought, ‘Well, I’m not really sure if they actually want me to do this job or not.'”Adding to Gillespie’s frustration was the fact that the feedback given to him regarding Nielsen and the team’s performance was positive.”I developed a really close relationship with the Test captain, Shan Masood, and felt we were certainly going in the right direction and things were going really well,” he said. “All the feedback that I’d got or the feedback the PCB got was just how effective, you know, Tim had been in his role as well and the players were getting a lot out of him.”Gillespie guided Pakistan to a 2-1 win against England in October, after losing the first match by an innings and 47 runs. However, after the loss in the first Test, he was informed that a new selection panel would be introduced, and he would not be a part of it.He felt his role as head coach was diminished and even suggested that he often didn’t know the team lineup until the day before a match. This lack of clarity and communication only deepened his frustration with the PCB’s handling of his position.”I felt I was basically hitting catches and that was about it on the morning of a game,” he said. “You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors, for instance, knowing what the team is as head coach well before the game, or before at least the day before the game.Aaqib Javed is the interim Test coach for Pakistan for the series in South Africa. He is also the interim coach of both white-ball sides after Gary Kirsten resigned in October.

Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood said Babar Azam’s “break” from the Test squad will end up benefitting rather than harming him. Babar was omitted from the Pakistan squad for the last two Tests against England, which Pakistan won to claim the series 2-1, after a prolonged lean patch.”I think he’s one of the best batsmen in the world. I’m nobody to [say he doesn’t have] a future,” Masood told the radio programme. “He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket. He’s always there or thereabouts in the rankings. Sometimes, people need a break.”Pakistan have been swift to indicate Babar has not entered a period of international wilderness, calling him up for Pakistan’s twin white-ball series against Australia. It starts with a three-match ODI series – Pakistan’s first since their disappointing World Cup campaign that saw Babar reluctantly quit as captain. Pakistan have gone so long without playing a 50-over international that in the time since, Babar was reappointed white-ball leader and quit once more, all without having led the side in the format.Related

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• Rizwan announced white-ball captain; Babar, Afridi, Naseem return for Australia tour

• Gillespie frustrated by lack of clear communication in role as Pakistan coach

But, in the clearest signal yet that Babar’s absence from Pakistan’s Test side will be temporary, Masood said he expected him to “come back a stronger player”. Babar has not scored a half-century in Test cricket in 18 innings stretching back to late 2022, Pakistan’s next Test series is in South Africa, an opposition he has had some happy Test memories against. South Africa were Pakistan’s first opposition when Babar became Test captain as he led his side to a 2-0 series victory. In 2018, his assault on Dale Steyn in a blistering counterattacking innings at SuperSport Park was widely seen as Babar’s Test coming-of-age.”I think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he’ll come back a stronger player,” Masood said. “There’s no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He’s played a lot of cricket and gone through a lot, and he’ll always be one of the main batsmen to play for Pakistan.”Masood was less willing to be drawn in on the specifics of what his role entails. After the PCB appointed a new selection committee following a chastening innings defeat in the first Test against England, the captain – as well as the head coach Jason Gillespie – were removed from the selection panel. Gillespie called himself a “matchday strategist” in the press conference that followed, and said it “wasn’t what I’d originally signed up for”. The change also applied to white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, who resigned earlier this week.Masood said he had a good relationship with the incoming selectors, insisting he wanted to focus on the team instead of focusing on where individual credit should be apportioned. “People in Pakistan are quick to give success to individuals,” he said. “To make one person a hero. I think it’s always going to be a collective thing. I’d rather pass credit onto everyone else; it was a collective decision. When we sat down together in our first meeting, we were on the same page. We said ‘we need to take 20 wickets, how do we take 20 wickets?'”We thought playing on a used pitch, playing three spinners – that, we thought, would benefit us greatly. I’ve worked with three different setups in my tenure so far. My first series in Australia was different, the Bangladesh series was different, and then we’ve had this group of people that were involved in selection and leadership. I’ve been on the same page with them so far. At the end of the day, it’s about Pakistan cricket, and we’re very fortunate that the entire collective came together.”There were less consequential, if more combustible, issues at hand, too. Moments after the Pakistan captain struck the winning six, he sat down for an interview with the host broadcaster, which involved a few awkward exchanges with commentator Ramiz Raja, with Raja querying Masood clumsily about how he had led the side to six consecutive defeats. A trimmed version of the exchange went viral, with much criticism for Raja, who later posted a video clarifying the intent behind his questions.”There are no hard feelings from my side,” Masood laughed. “I’ve always been an open book in front of the media and tried to conduct myself in the best possible way. People have every right to ask questions however they want. I want to give the best account of myself and for my character to be reflected the way I am. I’m good at taking constructive criticism and I’m also good at filtering stuff out.”