Stokes remains IPL drawcard, but questions abound

The news that Ben Stokes has been charged with affray, in the wake of his arrest in Bristol in September, has raised more questions than answers ahead of the IPL auction which takes place in Bengaluru on January 27-28, with the eight franchises seeking urgent clarity about his availability for this year's tournament.

Stokes made a box-office debut in the IPL last year, finishing as the Most Valuable Player after helping Rising Pune Supergiants to the final. Pune had fiercely bid for Stokes, paying him a record INR 14.5 crore (approx. US $2.16 million in 2017) and the Durham and England allrounder proved he was well worth the big money with consistent performances.

However, in the wake of the CPS verdict, there are no immediate guarantees that he will be back for a second season. "We need a level of certainty in case he is not available after he is bought at the auction," an owner of a franchise that has finished IPL runner-up more than once told ESPNcricinfo. "We need to know the degree of control IPL will have on his availability.

"We will seek to understand what happens now: what is the process? What will be happen if there is one eventuality or another?"

Assuming he is provided with a no-objection certificate (NOC) to play in the IPL - and Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, has already indicated that the board will not stand in his way - Stokes will be one of the 36 top players who will kick off the auction, having listed his base price at the maximum of INR 2 crore (USD 315,000). He is understood to be a target for most of the eight franchises, which are busy doing mock auction exercises with less than a fortnight to go until the event.

Clarity is also sought for a scenario in which Stokes is bought at the auction, but later has to withdraw from the tournament due to the trial. Currently, the IPL only allows replacements if a player is ruled out through injury, whereupon that replacement is paid on a pro-rata basis.

"If he is not available, will there be a replacement and what would it mean for the franchise?" said the owner. "What would availability mean in this case because there are extraneous circumstances?"


Ben Stokes is off to celebrate after dismissing Kane Williamson BCCI
The ECB is expected to convene in the next 48 hours to consider Stokes' England availability while sub judice. At present, there is no date fixed for the trial, which the authorities have already indicated could last for six months or more.

"We have to see what stance the ECB takes," a director from another prominent franchise said. "The charge has just come out, so it is too early to decide, but we are definitely bothered about the outcome of the trial.

"We need see the implications. They have said clearly it might go for six months. So assuming the trial extends beyond the IPL, as it is expected to, then there is a lot of uncertainty. Also you never know his mental state, you can't just come and play with freedom if the trial is in the backdrop."


Nevertheless, Stokes' aura has not diminished despite his absence from top-level cricket in the past three months, with few players capable of matching his world-class allround attributes. According to a chief executive officer at one of the franchises, which has a strong purse going into the auction, several teams are expected to "go all out" to secure his services, and it would not be a surprise if the player ended up as the most expensive buy for the second year running.

"The only question we want to know is about whether he is available full time or not," said the official.

However, some caveats remain for a player who will have been sidelined for the best part of six months by the time the 2018 IPL gets underway on April 4.

"You look for certainty on the cricketing front," the franchise owner said. "You will also look at what does it mean for his character. It will require now greater understanding of Ben Stokes as a team player. As a franchise we always look for players who will put the team before himself. Will he take this as a challenge and come out all guns blazing or will it affect him in any other way?"

Olivier, Ngidi added to South Africa squad for second Test

South Africa have added the fast bowling duo of Duanne Olivier and uncapped 21-year-old Lungi Ngidi to their squad for the second Test against India later this week. The changes came into place after Dale Steyn picked up a heel injury in the Cape Town Test that ruled him out of the series.

Olivier has played five Tests - all of them in 2017 - and Ngidi made his international debut in a T20I against Sri Lanka last year but is yet to play the other two formats at the international stage.

Olivier last played Tests in September-October against Bangladesh when he took five wickets in four innings before representing Knights in T20 and one-day cricket. He had made his Test debut against Sri Lanka a year ago in Johannesburg where he took five wickets in the match but has not been able to establish himself as a regular member of the side against strong competition. He also struggled with a knee injury this season, which kept him out of some domestic games.

Ngidi, on the other hand, has played three T20Is in which he has collected six wickets with an impressive economy rate of 5.50. He played all those matches against Sri Lanka last year in January, and took 4 for 19 in Johannesburg. He was part of the ODI squad but withdrew with an abdominal muscle injury. He was then part of the South African A side that toured England where he suffered a back injury. It took Ngidi four months to recover and he has only played one first-class match since comeback and took nine wickets for 83 in the game, signaling his readiness for more game-time.

Since then he has featured in domestic matches for Titans that featured his best T20 figures of 4 for 14 against Warriors in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.

Both Olivier and Ngidi are currently playing in the domestic one-day cup and will compete with allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo for one spot in the final XI, with conditions on the Highveld set to suit an attack of four seamers. However, with India's bowlers challenging South Africa, they may opt to include a seventh specialist batsman in the XI and all of Olivier, Ngidi, Morris or Phehlukwayo could be benched.

The second Test starts on January 13 in Centurion.

Squad for second Test: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

Scorchers regain top spot with Klinger's 83

Perth Scorchers 4 for 170 (Klinger 83, Turner 45, Sams 2-25) beat Sydney Sixers 4 for 167 (Silk 45, Willey 2-30) by six wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Michael Klinger's composure ensured Perth Scorchers broke fresh ground with the highest successful chase in their history, to consign the Sydney Sixers to a fourth consecutive defeat and vault over Adelaide Strikers to the top of the Big Bash League table. The hosts had appeared to be in considerable trouble when they staggered to 2 for 35 after the Powerplay following the Sixers' total of 167, but Klinger refused to panic, and took the Scorchers home with help from Ashton Turner and a cameo from the debutant Tim David.

The Sixers made a decent fist of their innings after being sent in, as the makeshift opener Peter Nevill, Jordan Silk and Sam Billings were particularly effective. But there was grim news for Steve O'Keefe when he suffered a suspected serious leg injury in the field, robbing the captain Johan Botha of one of his most economical options. The Sixers are now on the brink of an early elimination from the tournament.


Michael Klinger flicks into the leg side Getty Images
Accidental opener

Daniel Hughes has accompanied Jason Roy to the middle in both the Sixers' matches so far, but a muscle strain in the warm-ups meant that the left-hander was ruled out and replaced at the top by Peter Nevill. Not a noted power hitter, Nevill instead likes to use the pace on the ball, and another swift WACA surface gave him his chance.

Helpful, too, was Jhye Richardson, who offered up some generous width early in his spell, including one no ball that Nevill cut cleanly to the backward point boundary. The subsequent free hit was fuller and sliced through the same region to the boundary. Altogether, Nevill would get five fours in an innings that covered not only for Hughes but also for Roy's exit to a contentious lbw decision - the ball appeared to have pitched outside leg stump before rapping his front leg.

Even contributions

The Scorchers pride themselves on possessing a mean bowling and fielding unit, one that is very capable of taking wickets through economy, but also through penetration. This night, however, the Sixers were able to gain a foothold in the match by establishing partnerships throughout their innings. Once Nic Maddinson followed Nevill back to the pavilion for another handy score, Silk and Billings were able to pull together a stand of 56 in 39 deliveries, before Silk and Ben Dwarshuis hustled 30 more off the final 13 balls of the innings.

A curious subplot of the Scorchers' approach was the captain Adam Voges' choice to bowl himself alongside James Muirhead to split the duties of the hosts' fifth bowler. Muirhead has been on a rocky journey since representing Australia in 2014, and started this season in the St Kilda second-grade team in Melbourne Premier cricket. Muirhead, however, bowled well in his two overs at the WACA Ground but a hamstring strain forced Voges to bowl the remaining two. The Sixers captain conceded 23 off those 12 balls, but Muirhead can expect a full four-over stint next time out.

Injury upsets Sixers

To say O'Keefe has an benighted record with injury would be to understate his misfortune over the years, never more so than the hamstring strain he suffered midway through the Kandy Test against Sri Lanka in 2016 when he had looked like Australia's most dangerous bowler. He had bowled three tidy overs for 20 runs in Perth when he slipped at short fine leg, felt a "crack" and immediately sought treatment in the dressing rooms, never to return. A fracture is suspected.

The injury gave the Sixers captain Botha a difficult choice in terms of finding the extra over, and his choice of a like-for-like option in the shape of Maddinson's occasional left-arm spinners was to be punished for 14 runs by Turner and Klinger. Botha himself elected to only bowl one over for the night, as Klinger steadily carried the game away from the visitors.

Klinger comes through


It had been a matter of serious doubt whether Klinger would play any part at all for the Scorchers this season after finding out that his wife, Cindy, had been diagnosed with cancer. But he has so far been available for all fixtures and demonstrated a rare level of composure and skill to guide the Scorchers' chase of a larger total than what they have commonly needed to.

Starting steadily, Klinger rolled into gear with a pair of boundaries through the off side from the bowling of Dwarshuis in the fourth over of the chase, but did not panic as the Scorchers managed only a modest 2 for 35 from the Powerplay. Showcasing the skills built over nearly 20 years in first-class ranks, he scored freely around the ground, and with a hat-trick of boundaries from Sean Abbott in the 18th over, Klinger appeared to have settled the matter.

Though Klinger was to be dismissed in the penultimate over - when trying to hoist Daniel Sams into the crowd beyond wide long-on - Klinger was able to watch as Voges and the debutant David eked out the winning runs - none more vital than David's straight six from Sams' final delivery when 15 runs were still required from seven. When Abbott started the final over with five wides, the Scorchers were all but home, and the Sixers all but out of contention. Voges then finished it off with a top-edged six over Nevill to move back to first.

Which has been India's best pace-bowling contingent?

India go into their upcoming series against South Africa with four seamers who have had a fair amount of success in Test cricket. Even their fifth option, Jasprit Bumrah, who has not played a Test, is already an established name in the shorter formats. This gives them a depth in fast bowling that few India squads have had. Shami, Umesh, Ishant and Bhuvneshwar were all part of the setup when India went on four tours in 2014, but they were only sporadically successful. Each has developed since then. The one question facing this attack is whether there is a clear leader of the pack.

Javagal Srinath spent most of his career waiting for a support cast to back up his fiery pace. Towards the end of it, he went to South Africa with his old partner Venkatesh Prasad and three young quicks who had all shown they could zip it around in ODIs. Ajit Agarkar had broken Dennis Lillee's record to become the fastest to 50 wickets in ODIs, while Zaheer had put the world on notice with his yorker to bowl Steve Waugh in the 2000 Champions Trophy. Unfortunately, none of the young quicks stepped up, and Srinath was again left waging a lone battle.

India had three dangerous quicks going into their 2010-11 series in South Africa, which was billed as the battle for the No.1 ICC ranking. Zaheer Khan had established himself as one of the best in the world, Ishant Sharma was in one of the best phases of his career, and Sreesanth had been impactful on tours. The downside was that beyond that, there were two newbies. So, when Zaheer was out injured for the first Test, Jaidev Unadkat had to make his international debut and looked insipid against South Africa's batting. With Zaheer back, India managed to win the second Test and level the series.

India went Down Under in 2003-04 with three talented left-armers. Two, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, had already generated excitement with consistent performances in ODIs - they had taken India to a World Cup final in South Africa - and flashes of brilliance in Tests. The third, Irfan Pathan, was untested but already being touted for big things. Ajit Agarkar provided the experience, having travelled to Australia before, while L Balaji was an unknown quantity. It was Agarkar who shone in the end, bowling India to a victory in Adelaide.

This attack will be remembered for delivering India a first series win in England for two decades, but on paper, it looked quite inexperienced. Zaheer Khan's career had, until then, been patchy, with injuries and dips in form keeping him from being a fixture in the Test side. Sreesanth had impressed in South Africa, but was just eight Tests old; RP Singh had never played a Test outside Asia; and Ranadeb Bose had not played any international cricket - he never did, as it turned out. What the attack did have, though, was pace and raw potential.

TN coach admits to being aware of Vijay injury

Tamil Nadu coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has admitted to being aware of M Vijay's injury that kept him out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Mumbai in Chennai on Thursday. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) had subsequently left Vijay out of the squad for the remaining games after he had "failed to report" to the ground citing "shoulder pain".

The TNCA had also stated in a press release that the state body, selection committee and the team physio were unaware of Vijay's injury.

Kanitkar, however, acknowledged the possibility of a "communication gap", and said Vijay had informed him of his unavailability on the morning of the match. He also said the team wasn't caught unawares. "Vijay had told me on the morning of the match that he wouldn't be able to play," reports quoted Kanitkar as saying at the end of the Tamil Nadu-Madhya Pradesh match on Friday. "I think there was some communication gap with the association. I knew about it before coming to the ground. I also already knew who to replace him with. It wasn't a surprise because we were prepared for it.

"Even during the Ranji Trophy match against Tripura earlier this season, he opted out on the morning of the match with a neck sprain. But on that occasion he came to the ground to get it treated. I know Vijay has always played with commitment for the state."

A top TNCA official, however, confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the association's decision to replace Vijay with young batsman Pradosh Ranjan Paul remained unchanged and that "the matter was closed." The TNCA official had said on Friday that Vijay had informed the Tamil Nadu coach at about 7.30am on the day of the match. The TNCA was upset by Vijay's last-minute withdrawal and had generally been unhappy with his "attitude" over a period of time.

Although the TNCA official had confirmed there wasn't any disciplinary action initiated against Vijay, he said that going forward national players wouldn't be allowed to pick and choose matches once they had confirmed their availability for a tournament. He further said the issue was likely to come up for discussion at an executive committee meeting of the TNCA.

Meanwhile, an injury-ridden Tamil Nadu side suffered another blow with captain Vijay Shankar ruled out of the Andhra game on Sunday. Offspinner Malolan Rangarajan has been added to the squad, which will now be captained by B Aparajith. Lead spinner R Ashwin, who picked up seven wickets from four games, is also set to miss the game. The official clarified Ashwin had sought permission of the TNCA in advance, and the association, in consultation with the selectors, granted his request.

England's over-reaction fuels the booze-cruise narrative

If there was one moment that summed up the hysteria currently surrounding the England squad, it came at the end of the warm-up game in Richardson Park when Moeen Ali was asked if "you and your team-mates will be able to stay away from pubs between now and Thursday".

You would think most reporters sent to cover such a game might know by now that Moeen is a practising Muslim and therefore appreciate that such a question might be considered pretty crass. As Moeen responded dryly: "I'm not much of a pub guy, to be honest."

But the moment did serve to highlight how the image of the England squad has long since separated from reality.

The reality of this England squad, containing as it does, such clean-cut young men as Alastair Cook, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood (another teetotaller) and Moeen (to name but four of many), is that they arrived in Australia with a single-minded determination to retain the Ashes. You're more likely to see them early in the morning running in the park than drinking in a bar late at night.

The image, however, is of a group of lads on a stag night for whom sessions in the field are a necessary evil in between sessions in the bar.

It's unfair and it's inaccurate. But it's the perception now. And once perceptions are set, they are harder to shift than red wine stains on cricket whites.

It's an image reinforced every time an England player behaves like a fool. Few people can seriously believe Jonny Bairstow or Ben Duckett committed serious indiscretions but, at a time of heightened sensitivity, their actions have provided ammunition for those who want to sustain the narrative that talks of a squad out of control or a team in an alcohol-fuelled crisis.

And it's an image reinforced every time anyone from either set-up is interviewed. The England management, knowing they can't be seen to minimise incidents that, deep down, most of them feel are trivial, inadvertently fan the flames when they talk of "unacceptable" behaviour or impose fines upon players for actions that, if they are honest, they saw every week of their own touring lives. Moeen, with the best of intentions, did the same on Sunday.

Duckett may well need to recalibrate his work-life balance but he is nothing worse than a good-natured halfwit who has been scapegoated by the ECB to show they mean business. A thousand former players - and at least one in the current team - are thinking 'There but for the grace of God...' A more senior, more valuable, player might well have been treated more leniently.

The Australia management, meanwhile, need only sigh and look serious. Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, played it magnificently over the weekend when, with the gravitas of a weapons inspector, he suggested the Duckett affair was "not funny", thereby passively giving credence to the theory that there is a serious problem at the heart of the England set-up.

England provide a glimmer of what might have been

Like the bit at the end of a gameshow where they wheel out a speedboat and say "Look what you could have won," England's cricket in the latter stages of the third day served only to show what might have been in this game.

To see England's eighth-wicket pair post the highest stand of the innings or see James Anderson and co pitching the new ball up and troubling batsmen, was to see how they should have played when the match was there to be shaped. Alanis Morissette would (wrongly) have called it ironic; England supporters might simply call it really bloody irritating. Even James Anderson admitted "there are some very frustrated players in that dressing room."

But maybe they're encouraged, too. For if we learned anything on the third day of this Test it was that England can compete. They are not up against the West Indies of the late 1970s or the Australia of the start of this century. They just have to play better.

That is not to demean Australia. In Steve Smith they have a batsman who may well be remembered as a great, while in David Warner and Nathan Lyon they have two other top-class cricketers. That seam attack deserves plenty of respect, too.

But if England are honest, they will reflect on their cricket in the first half of this game and admit they were not blown away as much as they let themselves down. Their bowling with the first new ball of the match and most of their batting was well below the required standard. As a consequence, they have allowed Australia a head-start that will surely prove decisive. To win after conceding a first-innings deficit of 215 - or win the series after going two down - would be close to miraculous.

Consider the dismissals of England's batsmen in their first innings here. Consider James Vince fencing at one he should, at that stage of his innings, have left 11 times out of 10. Consider Joe Root, drawn into a lavish drive and edging to the cordon, or Alastair Cook guiding one to slip off the face of his bat as if providing catching practice. These were soft, loose dismissals. And if three of the top four sell their wickets so cheaply, it is going to prove desperately tough to set a competitive total. "We didn't feel like we batted particularly well," Anderson said with feeling afterwards. "We should have got more runs."