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'Williamson best No. 3 in the world' – McMillan

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Tom Latham needs to “go back to basics” to try and escape his lean run of form, according to New Zealand batting coach Craig McMillan, after making a “poor decision” in the second innings in Wellington.Latham is set to retain his place in the squad for the final Test against South Africa in a season which has nose-dived for him since the one-day series against Australia – which coincided with him being given the wicketkeeping gloves. He has made scores of 10, 8 and 6 in the two Tests which follow his one-day run of 4, 7, 0, 0, 2 and 0 after a productive earlier part of the summer which included career-bests in both ODIs (137 v Bangladesh) and Tests (177 v Bangladesh).His overall Test record remains solid, with an average of 38.64, and his average opening the innings is the fifth highest among New Zealand batsman to have done it in 20 Tests.He was dismissed twice by Morne Morkel in Wellington. In the first innings, he edged a good delivery, angled across him, to slip but in the second tried to drive ball and gave a catch to gully.”Tom’s obviously going through a tough patch but we know what a quality player he is, and has been for a number of years,” McMillan said. “He’s got six test hundreds and bats in perhaps the toughest position in the order, and has done well for a long period for us.”It’s about him getting back to basics. One of his decisions was poor, to drive when it wasn’t full enough to drive, and he acknowledged that. We need to get him back to making those good decisions and everything else will flow from there.”The knock-on effect of having an opener bereft of confidence against a high-quality attack is regularly exposing the No. 3 early in an innings. However, McMillan believes New Zealand have “the best in the world” in captain Kane Williamson.”I think he’s the best No. 3 in the world,” McMillan said. “The reality is that when you bat at No. 3 you can be an opener, new-ball bowlers are fresh in difficult conditions. Kane is very mentally strong around that, it’s a position he enjoys so I don’t see any point at all in tweaking that.”The longest he has been able to wait to bat this season is 16.1 overs when Latham and Jeet Raval added 54 against Bangladesh in Wellington. While Raval has enhanced his reputation against South Africa with two half-centuries, the hope that a return to red-ball cricket would revive Latham after his one-day struggles has yet to come to fruition.’When you bat at No. 3 you can be an opener, new-ball bowlers are fresh in difficult conditions. Kane is mentally strong around that’ – Craig McMillan•Getty Images

In Dunedin, Williamson strode out in the sixth over. In Wellington, the seventh and fifth. In the first Test, he scored one of the finest hundreds of his career – which lifted him to No. 2 in the Test rankings – but at the Basin Reserve completed his lowest return when he has batted twice in a Test. It was one game, for one of New Zealand’s finest batsmen, but could not have come at a more inopportune moment with Ross Taylor missing.Taylor may return for Hamilton, although it sounded unlikely on Sunday with McMillan saying he would not be rushed if not fully fit, but there is no thought being given to trying to allow Williamson some breathing space in the batting order.Williamson’s record at No. 3 certainly stands up to scrutiny. He has played 90 of his 109 innings at No. 3 since 2011, and has scored 4346 runs at 53.65: he is the ninth-most prolific No. 3 of all time.Despite New Zealand’s rapid slide to defeat, there were some encouraging signs that the batting burden does not always have to sit on Williamson and Taylor. Henry Nicholls scored a maiden Test century and then Raval made a gutsy 80 when he fought through a period of rapid short-pitched bowling from Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.”I thought it was a really good hundred. He’s been building to that for a while,” McMillan said. “We’ve known he’s had that short of performance in him. He’s works really hard, has a lot of strong traits, and I thought that was the best we’ve seen him bat in terms of decision making, showing good intent. That’s really encouraging. There were a couple of positives, I know a lot of the talk is around the negatives and that’s understandable after a day like yesterday, but I thought Jeet Raval played really well too.”

Taylor keen to leave many injuries behind

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It’s only March but Ross Taylor has come up with a resolution for next year – or maybe just next season – already. “I think I am going to start [keeping count of] how many games I can play without getting injured,” Taylor joked during a stint on the , SkyTV’s daily tea-time interview slot, during the fourth day’s play between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton. “Calf, hammies, side-strains, fingers, bones. It’s just disappointing that it’s South Africa I have missed a few times.”Taylor has missed some part of the last three series against South Africa, the first in the aftermath of the captaincy debacle in 2012-13, the second a limited-overs series in 2015 following surgery after a groin injury sustained in Zimbabwe, and now the last two Tests in this series, after tearing a calf in the first.Although Taylor admitted that not having to front up to “Morkel and Rabada is probably not a bad thing,” he said he would like to play as much as he can in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, which is being touted as the swansong of his career. His most recent injury has served to spur him on to ensure he gets there. “I just need motivation when things aren’t going well, when you get a bit tired of day-in, day-out cricket, just a nice little reminder to say why you play this game. Hopefully I can get through that.”For now, Taylor has declared himself 85-90% fit and should be available to play the Champions Trophy and the triangular tournament in Ireland, also featuring Bangladesh, which precedes the ICC event. New Zealand will be without their IPL players for that tri-series, which will make Taylor’s presence even more important and he hopes he can play a role in mentoring some of the younger players. “You want to expose young players to get the depth in the squad that we are comfortable with,” he said. “[So] we have 20 players at any time that can be very competitive against any side in the world.”One thing he may not be teaching them is to copy his signature celebration of sticking his tongue out on reaching a century. “I did it when I was youngster growing up – I got a cheeky hundred, I was dropped a couple of times and then I got a cheeky hundred so I did it. When my daughter was growing up, she was 2 or 3, she said, ‘Daddy, can you get a hundred for me and poke your tongue out?’ So that’s what I do now,” he said.Taylor has had the chance to do that in two ODIs and a Test this summer, which is not his best tally but has contributed to what he regards as an overall period of good progress for the team. “It has been a great summer,” he said. “Regardless of what happens [in this Test], it has been a successful summer. We retained the Chappell-Hadlee and got some convincing results against Pakistan and Bangladesh. We could finish off the summer really well with a Test victory here and we’ve seen some young players coming through and some veterans stepping up.”The highlight, though, has been the way Kane Williamson has stepped up to the captaincy. Since taking on the job in July last year, Williamson has scored 1079 runs at an average of 59.94 which includes four Test hundreds. He has also become the fastest New Zealander to 5,000 runs and equalled Martin Crowe’s century haul, and Taylor believes there’s no limit to what he can achieve.”He is only 26. He is in fantastic form and he scored a great hundred here. Add into it how the team played in Wellington, going into a must-win match and having to step up at a crucial time, to get a century here – every one starts talking about how many he is going to get,” Taylor said. “He could go down as our best batsman.”

Voges announces international retirement

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Adam Voges has indicated that his days as an international cricketer are over. A day before he is scheduled to lead the Prime Minister’s XI against the visiting Sri Lankans in Canberra, Voges said it would be his last game against an international team.”This will be it for me,” Voges said. “I’m certainly looking forward to getting out there and playing this game. I’ve had an amazing couple of years with Australia with the Test team and I’ve loved every minute of it.”I see this as a last opportunity to play against an international team and I’m certainly looking forward to that.”Voges, 37, has not played a Test match since suffering a concussion during Western Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in November. Having failed in the first two Tests against South Africa, this game served as a chance to score runs and keep himself in the reckoning for the third Test. Peter Handscomb took Voges’ spot at No. 5, scored a half-century on Test debut, and has established himself as a first-choice member of Australia’s line-up.Voges, who won his Baggy Green in 2015, aged 35, became the oldest debut centurion when he scored an unbeaten 130 against West Indies in Dominica. He struggled through the Ashes tour of England that followed but kept his place in the side and went on to enjoy a storming 2015-16 season that fetched him a century against New Zealand at the WACA, an unbeaten 269 against West Indies in Hobart and another double-hundred in Wellington.His batting average, after the tour of New Zealand, stood at 95.50 after 15 Tests. It fell to 61.87 after sub-par series against Sri Lanka away and South Africa at home, but he ends his career, nonetheless, with the second-highest average – behind only Don Bradman – among all batsmen with a minimum of 20 Tests.Voges’ stint in the Test side was the second half of a two-part international career. Between February 2007 and November 2013, he played 38 limited-overs games, scoring 870 ODI runs at 45.78 and 139 T20I runs at 46.33.

Wiese joins Sussex on three-year Kolpak deal

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Sussex have confirmed the signing of South Africa allrounder David Wiese on a three-year Kolpak deal as he becomes the latest player to end his international career.Wiese, whose move follows the recent high-profile signings by Hampshire of Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw, will join the county in June, which leaves him a window to play in the IPL should he secure another deal having been released by Royal Challengers Bangalore. He previously played for Sussex in 2016 when he took six wickets in four T20 Blast matches – albeit with an economy above 10 an over – made one Royal London Cup appearance and claimed 19 wickets at 24.00 in six Championship outings.When Cricket South Africa named their T20 squad to face Sri Lanka later on Monday, they confirmed Wiese had been an original selection but was withdrawn after confirming his Kolpak move.”I would like to thank Cricket South Africa for giving me the opportunity of fulfilling my lifelong dream of representing my country in the sport I love,” Wiese said. “I am very excited to be joining Sussex on a long-term deal. I thoroughly enjoyed my stint with the club last year and it made my decision so much easier when offered to return. Sussex is an extremely ambitious club and I look forward to being part of their future.”Wiese made 26 limited-overs appearances for South Africa – he has a career-best of 5 for 23 in T20Is – without ever being seen as a regular. He has played at the IPL and CPL and remains an important part of the Titans’ team but, at 31, and with the amount of young talent coming through, an international future was unlikely. He will join batsman Stiaan van Zyl, who signed for Sussex in November, at Hove.”We are thrilled to have David joining us at Sussex,” Mark Davis, the head coach, said. “He is an extremely accomplished all-round cricketer who is effective in all formats and will bring great experience and skill to our group.”He will add significantly to our white-ball team with his bowling and powerful batting at the death and has already shown his potential last season in the longer format. His experience will be invaluable to our young developing team.”Vernon Philander will also have a spell with the club as an overseas player before South Africa’s tour of England.

Imtiaz Ahmed dies aged 88

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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Imtiaz Ahmed has died in Lahore, five days short of his 89th birthday. He was Pakistan’s oldest living Test cricketer and had been suffering from a chest infection.Imtiaz played 41 Tests for Pakistan between 1952 and 1962, and captained in four of those matches towards the end of his career. He made 2079 runs at an average of 29, and took 77 catches and effected 16 stumpings. His career-best score of 209 came against New Zealand in Lahore in 1955.He was an integral member of Pakistan’s first official Test side, led by Abdul Hafeez Kardar to India. He played the first three Tests as a batsman but took over the gloves from Hanif Mohammad in the fourth Test in Chennai, and kept wicket for the rest of his international career until his last appearance at The Oval in 1962.Imtiaz’s first-class career ran from 1944-45 to 1972-73, having made his debut as a 16-year-old for Northern India before partition. He played 180 games, scored 10391 runs with a best score of 300 not out, took 322 catches, and effected 82 stumpings.In 1960, Imtiaz received the presidential pride of performance award, and later in life he was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for his services to the Pakistan Air force; he retired as a wing commander after 27 years spent mainly in administrative roles.After has playing career, Imtiaz had served as a Pakistan selector for 13 years and was the head of the selection committee between 1976 and 1978. He then took up a coaching role and spent nearly a decade developing Under-19 cricketers. His last assignment was with the department that handles women’s cricket in Pakistan, where he served as an advisor for three years from 2005 to 2008.

Bancroft finds form in Townsville

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ScorecardCameron Bancroft finished the day on 88 not out (file photo)•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Western Australia opener Cameron Bancroft returned to form with an unbeaten 88 on the second day against Queensland in Townsville. The Warriors finished the day on 3 for 186, with Hilton Cartwright on 26 and Bancroft within sight of his first first-class century in nine months – a period during which he has played Sheffield Shield, county cricket and for Australia A.The morning began with the Bulls on 6 for 327 and they lost their last four wickets for 95 runs, with allrounder Jack Wildermuth adding only 4 to his overnight score before he was lbw to Simon Mackin for 93. Michael Neser managed 68 and there was some support from the lower order as the total was pushed along to 422.Bancroft and Jon Wells put on 85 for the first wicket before Wells was stumped by Chris Hartley off Mitch Swepson for 46, and Michael Klinger then fell to Swepson for 9. Axed Test allrounder Mitchell Marsh failed to grab his opportunity at the crease, caught behind off Neser for 14, before Cartwright joined Bancroft for the rest of the day.The Warriors will also be without fast bowler Jason Behrendorff for the rest of the match after he was diagnosed a stress fracture in his left fibula. Behrendorff bowled only 12 overs in the Queensland first innings.

Musakanda, Mumba among new faces in Zimbabwe's tri-series squad

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Batsman Tarisai Musakanda and fast bowler Carl Mumba – both uncapped in ODIs – have been included in Zimbabwe’s 16-man squad for the forthcoming home tri-series against Sri Lanka and West Indies. Musakanda and Mumba are among five players who have come into Zimbabwe’s ODI squad after missing the side’s previous ODI assignment, a home series against India in June.The other key names returning to the squad are Brian Chari, Tinashe Panyangara and Chris Mpofu. Both Chari and Mpofu last played an ODI in 2015, while Panyangara was picked after recovering from a back injury that forced him to miss the ODIs against India and the two-Test series against New Zealand.

Zimbabwe squad for tri-series

Graeme Cremer (capt), Brian Chari, Tarisai Musakanda, Carl Mumba, Chris Mpofu, Hamilton Masakadza, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Sean Williams, Peter Moor, Donald Tiripano, Tinashe Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, Tendai Chisoro, Elton Chigumbura
In: Brian Chari, Tarisai Musakanda, Carl Mumba, Chris Mpofu, Tinashe Panyangara, Malcolm Waller
Out: Tendai Chatara, Neville Madziva, Timycen Maruma, Wellington Masakadza, Tawanda Mupariwa, Richmond Mutumbami, Taurai Muzarabani, Vusi Sibanda

Chari, an opening batsman, has played just five Tests and four ODIs in his nascent international career. He scored 80 against Sri Lanka in the second Test, which finished the day before the ODI squad was announced. Mumba, who made his international debut in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka, has taken eight wickets in two Tests at 37.25. Musakanda has not played any international cricket, but has performed consistently in recent outings for Zimbabwe A and Zimbabwe Development XI.Meanwhile, top-order batsman Vusi Sibanda was left out of the squad. Sibanda scored a half-century in the ODIs against India, but was in indifferent form during Zimbabwe A’s List A fixtures against Pakistan A in September-October. Wicketkeeper Richmond Mutumbami has also been omitted, which means Peter Moor will likely be entrusted with the gloves, despite his patchy showing behind the stumps in the Tests against Sri Lanka.Six other players who were part of the ODI squad against India – Tendai Chatara, Neville Madziva, Timycen Maruma, Wellington Masakadza, Tawanda Mupariwa and Taurai Muzarabani – have also been left out.The tri-series starts from November 14, with the first match between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka in Harare. The final will be played in Bulawayo on November 27.

Azam's third ton in a row leads Pakistan to 3-0

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:59

By the Numbers: Pakistan repeat whitewash against WI

Babar Azam became the third Pakistan player – and eighth overall – to score three consecutive ODI centuries as he top-scored with a 106-ball 117 in Pakistan’s commanding 136-run victory over West Indies in Abu Dhabi. The win completed Pakistan’s 3-0 sweep of the ODI series and enabled them to displace West Indies at No. 8 in the ODI rankings.Azam put on a run-a-ball 147 for the second wicket with captain Azhar Ali, who scored a century of his own to become the only Pakistan player to score three hundreds as ODI captain. The top-order hundreds formed the backbone of Pakistan’s total of 308 for 6, a score that looked beyond West Indies almost from the start of their scratchy, plodding reply.

We still have to improve finishing an innings – Azhar

Having climbed to No. 8 on the ICC ODI rankings, Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has asked his team to brace for a more challenging period as they try to secure a qualification for the 2019 World Cup. Pakistan need to be among the top eight sides by September 30, 2017 to gain automatic qualification into the World Cup. If they fail to make the cut, they will have to play a Qualifier in April 2018.
“Our last seven-eight limited-overs games have been fantastic and our confidence has increased, specially of the younger players in the side,” he said. “You can see the hunger in them to perform and this will help us move forward in the format. There is still a year for the World Cup qualification. There will be a lot of challenges. Our job isn’t done yet because to qualify for the World Cup we will have to win more series and matches.”
Azhar said the team had begun showing improvements and potential during the ODI series in England, which they lost by 4-1. He said the biggest area where Pakistan’s batting needed to improve was finishing an innings and scoring well in the slog overs.
“One aspect we want to improve upon is finishing the innings,” he said. “Finishing an innings well is very important, regardless of how you have started an innings. I think if we can improve that then we can score bigger totals and consistently score more than 300.”

The margin of victory could have been even bigger had Pakistan’s middle- and lower-order batsmen fully capitalised on the strong launchpad provided by Azam and Azhar. Pakistan had moved to 232 for 2 by the time their partnership had been broken in the 39th over; they added just 76 runs thereafter, as successive batsmen struggled to find their timing on a slowing wicket and against an older ball. The last ten overs of Pakistan’s innings yielded only two boundaries, one of which was possible only thanks to a lazy misfield by Evin Lewis at deep backward square.But if the end of Pakistan’s innings appeared anti-climactic, it was still lively compared to the dreary run-chase that followed. Showing an inability to rotate the strike, against pace and spin alike, West Indies’ batsmen got stuck and never approached the run rate required to mount a genuine challenge. By the end of the 30th over, West Indies had soaked up 112 dot balls – as many as Pakistan had faced in their entire innings – and were wallowing in the gloom of impending defeat with the score 119 for 5. Their limp effort continued thereafter as the match drifted towards its inevitable conclusion.On a flat pitch that became slower and more sluggish over time, the best time for batting was at the very start. Having won the toss, Pakistan batted first – for the third time in a row – and made the most of the good conditions early on, racing along to 36 off the first four overs. Opening bowlers Azarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel clocked up speeds in excess of 140 kph – Gabriel hit the late 140s several times – but could not quite find the control to match. Sharjeel Khan was characteristically strong square of the wicket, while Azhar showed nice touch, flicking through midwicket, driving down the ground and playing a commanding cut past backward square.The introduction of Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder slowed the tempo of Pakistan’s innings somewhat, before Sunil Narine and Sulieman Benn helped West Indies regain a greater measure of control, stifling the batsmen with their lack of pace and disciplined lines. Benn was rewarded in his second over when Sharjeel lost patience and hit a well-flighted delivery straight to Joseph at long-on.Babar Azam and Azhar Ali added 147 for the second wicket•Getty Images

With the spinners continuing to exert the squeeze, Azhar and Azam meandered along, bringing up the team’s 100 in the 20th over. But as the partnership got going, the runs began to flow again. Once Azam was set, he found the gaps with increasing ease. Azhar used the sweep and slog-sweep with great effectiveness against Benn. Pakistan’s second 100 runs came off just 83 balls.It was Holder who ended their partnership when Azhar, batting on 101, played a tired heave across the line of a slower ball that clipped the top of off stump. Shoaib Malik was dismissed by Narine next over as West Indies began to pull things back for the second time in the innings, just when Pakistan would have wanted to push on. Azam picked up ones and twos as he approached his century, but, with only three wickets down, Pakistan would have wanted rather more than that.Azam departed off the last ball of the 46th over, looking to paddle-sweep a yorker-length ball from Kieron Pollard, only to find his leg stump disturbed. Pakistan were 280 for 4 with four overs remaining. They added another 28, but the late charge towards which they had been building never actually materialised.It didn’t need to. West Indies’ openers, Lewis and Kraigg Brathwaite, started steadily, putting on 45 off 56 balls before Lewis, on ODI debut, was bowled around his legs by Sohail Khan. That partnership turned out to be the biggest of West Indies’ innings, as wickets fell regularly thereafter. A 42-run sixth-wicket partnership between Holder and Denesh Ramdin was the only other stand of substance, but it came after the match was all but lost. Once Imad Wasim broke that stand, the end came quickly, with the last five wickets falling for the addition of just 13 runs.

Gayle to play for Chittagong Vikings in BPL 2016-17

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Chris Gayle has signed up to play five matches in the Bangladesh Premier League 2016-17 for Chittagong Vikings, and will be available for the latter half of the tournament that begins on November 4 in Dhaka. Gayle, who played for Barisal Bulls in the 2015-16 edition, is among the 31 foreign players signed up by the seven franchises before the players’ draft scheduled for September 30.Apart from Gayle, Chittagong, who finished as the bottom-ranked team in 2015-16, have signed four other foreign players – Dwayne Smith, Shoaib Malik (played for Comilla Victorians last season), Chaturanga de Silva and Mohammad Nabi (from Rangpur Riders).

Foreign players signed by franchises before the draft

  • Barisal Bulls: Dilshan Munaweera

  • Chittagong Vikings: Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shoaib Malik, Chaturanga de Silva, Mohammad Nabi

  • Comilla Victorians: Sohail Tanvir, Imad Wasim, Ashar Zaidi, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thisara Perera

  • Dhaka Dynamites: Kumar Sangakkara, Andre Russell, Mahela Jayawardene, Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, Ravi Bopara

  • Khulna Titans: Nicholas Pooran, Riki Wessels, Kevon Cooper, Mohammad Asghar, Benny Howell

  • Rajshahi: Darren Sammy, Mohammad Sami

  • Rangpur Riders: Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Shahzad, Dasun Shanaka, Gidron Pope, Richard Gleeson

Gayle had scored 139 runs in four matches for Barisal last season, while Nabi took seven wickets and scored 37 runs for Rangpur in seven matches. Smith had last played the tournament in 2013, while de Silva was the top wicket-taker in this year’s Dhaka Premier League one-day tournament.Ryan ten Doeschate, Grant Elliott, Ahmed Shehzad, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Herschelle Gibbs, Seekugge Prasanna, Jason Holder and Lendl Simons will enter the draft and have been placed in the A category for foreign players. Their salary cap is $70,000 while foreign players in categories B, C and D can earn up to $50,000, $40,000 and $30,000 respectively.Australian players Ben Hilfenhaus, Ben Laughlin, Tom Beaton and Evan Gulbis will also be a part of the draft. Thirty-six English players are part of the draft list, including James Vince, Liam Dawson, Jade Dernbach and Graham Onions.Defending champions Comilla Victorians have signed on Imad Wasim, Thisara Perera and Sohail Tanvir while retaining Ashar Zaidi and Nuwan Kulasekera. Imad, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, is set to make his first appearance in the Bangladesh Premier League, while Perera and Tanvir played for Rangpur Ryders and Sylhet Super Stars last season.Kumar Sangakkara will be joined by Mahela Jayawardene at Dhaka Dynamites. The franchise has also signed Andre Russell (from Comilla), Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis (from Barisal) and Ravi Bopara (from Sylhet).Rangpur have enlisted Shahid Afridi (from Sylhet), Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Mohammad Shahzad, Dasun Shanaka, 19-year-old West Indies batsman Gidron Pope and English pace bowler Richard Gleeson. This will be the first BPL appearance for the six new players in the Rangpur squad. Pope had impressed scouts in Bangladesh with his big-hitting abilities in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, where he scored 232 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 107.9.While Barisal have only signed up Dilshan Munaweera so far, Rajshahi have picked Darren Sammy and Mohammad Sami. Nicholas Pooran, Riki Wessels, Kevon Cooper, Mohammad Asghar and Benny Howell have been signed by Khulna Titans.

England's chance to be on top of the world again

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Match facts

August 11-15, 2016
Start time 11am (1000 GMT)3:46

‘England’s depth gives them edge’

Big Picture

Less than four weeks have passed since Pakistan wrapped up a rousing victory at Lord’s in the first Test, capped by a military-inspired set of press-ups in front of the pavilion, but they return to London with very little of that inspirational vim remaining. Trips to Manchester and Birmingham have resulted in two strength-sapping defeats and it is now England who are flexing their muscles ahead of the Oval encounter.From entering the series ranked fourth in the world, and thanks to Australia’s unexpected capitulation in Sri Lanka, England can suddenly see a shortcut to No. 1. That would require victory in the final Test and a 3-1 series scoreline (as well as West Indies to hold off India in one of their two remaining matches) but they are moving in the right direction regardless. In contrast to their tightly drilled ascent to No. 1 five years ago, England seem a little surprised to have found themselves wandering around the summit so soon – and Alastair Cook is sticking to his line that they have plenty to learn, whatever the rankings say.An improvement on their record in the final Test of a series is clearly the next matter to address. A draw at The Oval will be enough to give England all nine series trophies but a win would underline the sense of progress rather more emphatically. In recent times, England have finished off Test tours with defeats in Centurion, Sharjah and Barbados, while last summer they were beaten at The Oval and Headingley. Such flakiness is unbecoming of a side with aspirations to be the best in the world.Another reason to guard against complacency is Pakistan’s good record at The Oval. Putting aside the memory of their forfeiture in 2006 (a game in which they were well placed), Pakistan have secured several memorable wins in south London, including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis reverse-swinging their way through England in 1992 and victory on their most recent visit, six years ago. By contrast, since England clinched the 2009 Ashes on this ground, they have only beaten India (in 2011 and 2014), while suffering three defeats and a draw.Pakistan will always have Lord’s and this tour will be remembered for Misbah-ul-Haq’s hundred, the heroics of Yasir Shah and the return of Mohammad Amir. But they have a chance to leave with even better memories if they can pull it all together again back in the capital – not to mention an outside shot of reaching No. 1 themselves with a drawn series. The drill sergeants of Abbottabad, just like everyone else, will be watching keenly.

Form guide

England: WWLDW (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pakistan: LLWWW

In the spotlight

Having struggled against Pakistan’s left-armers, Alex Hales finally produced a substantial contribution with the bat in the second innings at Edgbaston, putting on a vital century stand to help erase England’s deficit. However, he is still waiting for the defining, three-figure innings that will secure his tenure as Test opener for the near future. The final Test of the English summer is often the occasion for auditions but Hales – who has put faith in his technique – is hoping to shut the door on prospective top-order newcomers.As the tour has gone on, confidence in Pakistan’s batting has steadily eroded. The fortunes of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have been divergent but they have common cause to try and finish the series with heads and bats held high. Misbah has coped admirably with the conditions on his first Test experience of England but another defeat would doubtless trigger talk about his age and the captaincy; Younis, though four years younger, is also unlikely to be back again and, 15 years after his first tour here, is in need of an innings to stave of similar talk of retirement.

Team news

Alastair Cook said England were “hoping” to play the same team, which would mean Adil Rashid and Jake Ball missing out again. James Vince has recovered from a finger injury sustained attempting to take a catch at Edgbaston but won’t field in the slips.England (possible) 1 Alastair Cook (capt), 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 James Vince, 5 Gary Ballance, 6 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James AndersonMickey Arthur hinted at various options for Pakistan’s selection, with the need for a fifth bowler even more pressing in the second of back-to-back Tests. If Iftikhar Ahmed – who “bowls offspin and decently,” according to Arthur – wins a Test debut, he would likely come into the side at Mohammad Hafeez’s expense but bat in the middle order, with Azhar Ali asked to open. A rare four-Test series has increased the workload on Pakistan’s pace bowlers and there may also be changes to the attack.Pakistan (possible) 1 Mohammad Hafeez/Iftikhar Ahmed, 2 Sami Aslam, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Sohail Khan, 11 Rahat Ali/Wahab Riaz

Pitch and conditions

As before the Ashes Test at The Oval last year, a distinctly green-tinged pitch was on show (although that didn’t stop Australia from racking up 481 in an innings win) and Cook suggested it would be “suited to pace bowling”, with some turn later on. In Surrey’s last Championship match here, in June, spinners Zafar Ansari and Gareth Batty took 12 wickets between them. The forecast is for a warm finish to the week, which could facilitate the surface breaking up.

Stats and trivia

  • A 3-1 series win for England will send them top of the rankings, at least until the completion of India’s tour of the West Indies
  • Aside from forfeiting the 2006 Test at The Oval, Pakistan have not lost at the ground since 1967
  • Chris Woakes needs one more wicket to break James Anderson’s record of 23 for an England bowler in a Test series against Pakistan
  • Joe Root is 60 runs short of 4000 in Tests; if he gets there in his next innings, he will go level with Kevin Pietersen as 14th fastest overall

Quotes

“It would be a great achievement. We’ve just got to focus on playing good cricket, we’ve been consistent the last two games, up against it at times but played some consistent cricket – can we have that same hunger and determination in this game? If we can do that, we’ve got a good chance of winning.”
“In the third Test match, I believe it was some of our mistakes that let England come back into that game. After doing so much well, we were really in the game until the fourth day – even on the last day, until lunch, it was looking like a draw. So the team can do it but we need to combine those performances.”