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Fans wishing to listen to commercial-free, ball-by-ball radio coverage of the Ashes series at the venue will need to bring their own radios after Cricket Australia froze out the ABC and the BBC from the three-channel earpieces sold and distributed at each ground.The commercial networks Channel Nine, BT Sport and Triple M are the networks included on the earpieces, which have been part of the at-ground experience in Ashes Tests since 2010-11. In recent summers the earpieces have generally been tuned to take coverage from Nine, the ABC and Fairfax radio.The choice of broadcasters, omitting the two leading radio providers with long histories of covering the game in Australia and England, raised numerous eyebrows during the first Test of the series in Brisbane.It was initially thought that CA may rotate the networks used on the earpieces on a match-by-match basis this series, in part to acknowledge the bigger-than-usual array of coverage options available for the Ashes and its wider-than-ever attendant following.However ESPNcricinfo has learned that Nine, BT and Triple M will retain their places on the device throughout all the remaining Tests in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, with the only likelihood of change to be for the limited-overs matches that follow the Ashes.”We have five broadcasters and three channels,” a CA spokesman said. “The Nine Network is allocated one because it engages with the largest audience (8 million Australians watched the Brisbane broadcast), and BT provides English fans at the match with the English commentary.”This year we are rotating the third slot to be fair to our radio broadcasters: the ABC and Macquarie have each had a channel for a number of years, when we had just the one TV broadcast, and this year it is Triple M’s turn.”In its strategy document released earlier this year, CA stated that its goal for followers of the game is that: “We will give fans what they want and grow the Big Bash.”This summer is the last of the existing domestic broadcast rights deals with Nine for international cricket and the Ten Network for the BBL and WBBL, which were signed in 2013 and worth A$590 million over five years. Formal negotiations are expected to begin in the new year, following Ten’s successful acquisition by the American broadcasting giant CBS.

Joe Root, the England captain, feels the side is better prepared for the level of aggression they may encounter in the Ashes than they were four years ago.Root dismissed the talk that England feared the Australian bowling attack as “a load of rubbish” and urged Australia to “bring it on.” But he did accept the England side beaten 5-0 in 2013-14 might have allowed the pre-series talk – and the extent of the hostility the team faced when they reached the first Test – to take them by surprise.”There’s been a lot of talk,” Root said. “Some of it exciting and some of it a load of rubbish. Especially from some of the Aussie players.

England XI for Townsville warm-up:

Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (capt), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, Mason Crane.

“Last time that caught us out, but I think we are a bit wiser this time. It’s making sure we are absolutely prepared for any scenario and absolutely ready for that first game, whatever they do throw at us. We expect it to be hostile. We expect it to be a very loud and rowdy atmosphere at the Gabba. We are in a good place and ready for that. We have got our heads round what to expect.”Fear is not the right word [to describe England’s attitude]. Respect probably is. They have a lot of quality in their attack, but we have lots of quality in our side too.”Root was particularly bemused by the suggestion that he was going to be targeted by the opposition bowlers, and suggested he would leave the pre-series chatter to Australia.”I’ve heard a lot of chat about targeting me, in particular,” he said. “That’s always the talk.”From our point of view, we’ll be targeting every single one of them – we won’t be singling any one out. To win a Test you’ve got to take 20 wickets. But you want that competitive element to it. And those little in-house rivalries. It should be a great series. They’ve got some great players within their squad. And good characters, as well, which, I’m sure will make for great viewing.”I try not to do too much talking. That’s more for them to worry about. The more you say the more it can backfire on you. We will go about things our way.”Root did admit, however, that he wanted England’s batsmen to take the opportunity to score “big hundreds” in the warm-up match in Townsville. Accepting that batting collapses had been a regular feature of their cricket in recent times, he conceded it remained a work in progress.”That’s one of the things we want to get out of this game: guys going on and making big hundreds,” Root said. “It’s something we’re going to have to have throughout the five Tests.”We are always chatting about how we can prevent those clusters of wickets falling. You want to prevent it. As a batting side, we have discussed it and there have been a few occasions in the summer where it hasn’t quite gone to plan. There are always areas you want to work on and improve. That’s one we’ve made a conscious effort to try and rectify and hopefully we won’t have to think about it too much over the next few weeks.”Getty Images

England have made no attempt to hide their Test team with their selection for the Townsville game which starts on Wednesday. The same top six that featured in Adelaide will play once more – James Vince will bat at No. 3 in Brisbane and Dawid Malan at No. 5 – while Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad return – at No. 7 and No. 10 respectively. Chris Woakes and Craig Overton have been granted their wish for another match ahead of the series. Mason Crane, too, retains his place.That means no opportunity for Tom Curran or George Garton in sight at the moment. So while England hope to arrive at Brisbane with their first choice XI having had an optimum amount of cricket, they have left themselves no margin for error should one of their first-choice seamers suffer an injury on the morning of the Test. In that case, it could lead to a situation where either Curran (who has not had a competitive bowl on the tour) or Jake Ball (who has bowled just 22 first-class deliveries on the tour and is currently nursing strained ankle ligaments) will have to play.Ball, at least, appears to be progressing nicely. He is expected to return to running on Wednesday.Anderson also missed training on Tuesday due to sickness. It is not understood to be serious and he was not going to play in the Townsville match anyway.While rain curtailed training in Townsville on Tuesday – bad luck as it has rained only a couple of times in the last year or two here – the current long-range forecast suggest the first Test could also be rain-affected. England, however, had a brief opportunity to look at the surface to be used in the match. Contrary to pre-tour hopes, they now expect it to be relatively slow.

Despite resistance from the MCC and its cricket committee, the ICC Board on Friday approved a “trial” of four-day Test cricket, with South Africa and Zimbabwe playing the first official game of the new format on Boxing Day. The trial is scheduled to run through until the 2019 World Cup, although participation in it is not mandatory.This decision was taken in Auckland, where the ICC had also given an in-principle agreement to a Test championship to bring context back into the world game. While most of those matches will take place over five days, ICC chief executive David Richardson felt the four-day format can be quite helpful to the lower-ranked nations and the two newest Full Members Afghanistan and Ireland.”The trial starts immediately, probably with the first one Zimbabwe playing South Africa from Boxing Day in South Africa,” Richardson said. “And that trial will run up until the Cricket World Cup in 2019. The trial won’t be compulsory; it will be by arrangement between participating teams in a particular series. So, whoever wants to play it can play it.”The real value is, teams like Ireland and Afghanistan, even Zimbabwe who have not been at their best. They will be able to explore the opportunity of playing four-day Test matches. Teams visiting, for example, South Africa, might be more likely to play Zimbabwe in a four-day Test than they would in a five-day Test. So, I think it has a number of advantages.”Despite two new countries coming into the fold a mere four months ago, skeptics, including the broadcasters, continue to question the health of Test format. The general feeling is that there is a vast difference in skill between the teams in the top half of the Test table and those towards the bottom for the cricket to be compelling. However, the ICC felt four-day Tests could bring back the lost fervour.”Innovation is absolutely fundamental to the future of the game,” David Peever, chairman of Cricket Australia and a heavyweight on the ICC board, said. “So the (Test) League is part of that, day-night Test cricket is part of that, pink balls, all of that stuff. All the changes that are being made are really important. Trialling four-day cricket in this way is very sensible. What many fans want to see is a result, and a result in a shorter number of days. So, I think the trial is really important and you never know if the trial is successful, as we expect it will be.”It’s probably then a good feed-in to the future, to a programme, and how that’s carried out, because we’ll be in a position then, for more points to be able to be accumulated through wins rather than draws. That will then make the contest and the decisions that captains and sides make more interesting. So, I think the trial is really, really important, and we’ve got to keep this change sensibly going, not at a fast rate, but a rate that we and the fans can all absorb, and the players can absorb, to make sure we continue to have Test cricket as relevant to our fans.”According to a member director present during the Auckland meetings, both the decision-making bodies at ICC – the Chief Executives’ Committee and the Board – strongly favoured trialling four-day Tests. The director said that without a trial the ICC would not know the “ramifications” for it to determine a long-term view. However, he pointed out for the trial to prove successful, the right set of playing conditions had to be developed. That responsibility now rests with the ICC Cricket Committee, led by former India captain Anil Kumble.”It is important to develop a criteria for it – until now you’ve been talking playing conditions, whether it will be 100 overs, half an hour more, or less,” the director said. “But the Cricket Committee has not said under what criteria can it (four-day Tests) be played. For instance, if it is between a team ranked first, or the difference in rankings is at least 4 places, plus a difference in ratings of 20 points, a combination of the two will give you the conditions, the criteria under which a four-day Test can be played if both parties agree. Not everyone can just go ahead.”

Steven Patterson and Jack Brooks took three wickets each to help Yorkshire secure their Division One place for another year on the first day of their last Specsavers County Championship match of the season.Yorkshire started the day knowing that a six-point swing with Somerset would finally allay any lingering fears they had of joining Warwickshire in Division Two next season. When Somerset collapsed to 236 all out at Taunton against Middlesex, and lost batting points in the process, Yorkshire knew that a decent bowling display at Chelmsford would ensure their safety.There was a similar sigh in the Essex ranks that it was announced Tom Westley had suffered no more than bruising to his right thumb when rapped on the glove trying to fend off one that reared up unexpectedly from Patterson. The ball looped to second slip, but the Essex No 3 did not hang around to wait for the umpire’s raised finger.Never has a batsman dashed quite so quickly from the scene of his demise. Westley barely broke stride as he bounded up the pavilion steps straight into the physio’s room. With England’s party for the Ashes due to be named on Wednesday morning, the sizeable Chelmsford crowd awaited news of the injury. Westley went for a precautionary X-ray that showed no break; he will bat in the second innings.It was the first of Patterson’s three wickets. Later he would dismiss both Ryan ten Doeschate and James Foster after the sixth-wicket pair that lifted Essex from the depths of 80 for five. That the county champions would take one batting point for their 227 all out was largely due to some lusty late hitting by Neil Wagner and Simon Harmer, who recorded his maiden fifty for Essex.The day started half-an-hour late and ended with 24 overs unbowled because of combination of drizzle and bad light. Varun Chopra made up for lost time, taking 10 runs off Brooks’s first over. He found the pitch sufficiently slow that he was moving several yards down the wicket before the bowler was in his delivery stride. He connected with one from Patterson which sailed so far over long leg that there was a delay while another ball was found.Nick Browne settled into characteristic studiously mode. He took 18 balls to get off the mark before denting Coad’s parsimonious start with an imperious straight-drive to the boundary. Coad gained his reward, however, when he had Chopra, on 28, hanging his bat outside offstump to give Alex Lees the catch at first slip.Westley cover-drove Patterson gloriously for one of three boundaries in his 13 before the same bowler caused him his discomfort.Westley’s departure precipitated a collapse with four wickets in the 11 overs that preceded lunch as the pitch suddenly became spiteful and Essex fell from 63 for one. Dan Lawrence, centurion in the morale-boosting victory at Hampshire last week, was third to go, playing across one from Brooks for eight.Browne, having faced 92 balls, became Coad’s second victim when he played down the wrong line and was bowled for 29, and Ravi Bopara was trapped plumb to Brooks in similar fashion to Lawrence for just for one.Ten Doeschate and Foster set about post-lunch reparations with a stand of 55 in 16 overs that was full of typical sharp singles and some lusty blows. Foster swept Coad effortlessly for six, but the ball after lofting Patterson straight past the bowler for a one-bounce four, the veteran pair were separated.Foster attempted to hammer Patterson over the midwicket boundary but failed to clear Kraigg Brathwaite stationed there for that eventuality, and departed for 25. Ten Doesechate followed seven runs later, nicking behind to give Patterson his third scalp. The Essex captain had faced 50 balls for his 30.Wagner weighed in with a crucial 44 at Southampton, and he carried on in the same vein. He bounced down the wicket and arced Coad over midwicket for six before his big-hitting came to a premature end when he miscued to mid-off to give Brooks a third wicket. The eight-wicket stand with Harmer was worth 41 in nine overs.Harmer was also nimble on his feet to drive spinner Karl Carver through mid-on for four and his eighth boundary, a straight-drive off Patterson, took him to his maiden fifty for Essex from 63 balls. He finally went lbw sweeping at Carver for 64. Jamie Porter’s contribution to a ninth-wicket stand of 39 was a single, and he was last man out when heaving Carver to long-off.

In the lead up to the players’ draft for the inaugural T20 Global League, Cricket South Africa is in a tricky situation involving a few overseas players who have committed to play in the Bangladesh Premier League. With both tournaments set to run simultaneously in November-December, the CSA has stated that players who sign contracts will not be allowed to participate in any other tournament, and that the contracts will be binding.Chris Gayle (Rangpur), Fakhar Zaman (Comilla), Cameron Delport and Shahid Afridi (Dhaka), Darren Sammy (Rajshahi), Carlos Brathwaite, Junaid Khan and Dawid Malan (Khulna) are among several overseas players who are also in the T20 Global League draft. Some of these players have already signed contracts with their BPL franchises. ESPNcricinfo understands Afridi signed his contract with Dhaka in March this year while Delport signed his in July.In what could concern the BCB, a few players like Gayle have made their position clear: he is committed to the T20 Global League, where he is one of the icon players and will only play for Rangpur if the scheduling allows him, although the chances of that happening remain remote. Sammy, Gayle’s West Indies team-mate, has “agreed to play for the Rajshahi Kings”, according to the franchise.In a letter this week, Corrie van Zyl, the CSA general manager, has reminded players that they were entering into a “valid and binding” contract. “Kindly note that the agreement to enter the draft is a valid and binding contract entered into between you and Cricket South Africa, in terms of which you have agreed as follows,” van Zyl wrote on August 21. “[Players should not], directly or indirectly, enter into another agreement and/or arrangement subsequent to entering this agreement which would adversely affect his ability to perform his obligations under this Agreement or the Cricketer’s Playing Contract… [Players must] be available, subject to the provisions of any NOC, to participate in the full league edition period and will report to the team, unless otherwise agreed to in writing, on the commencement date of the league edition period.”Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the BCB CEO, said that the BPL franchises have every right to feel concerned. “We were aware that such an issue may come up since both tournaments are scheduled around the same time,” he said. “We will get in touch with Cricket South Africa soon. We have asked the BPL franchises for the list of cricketers. If the players say that they don’t know how their names went up in that [T20 Global draft] list, I think that’s a valid ground for the BPL franchises who have already signed them. But we will first contact CSA and then, depending on the response, think about the next course of action.”Kazi Inam Ahmed, the managing director of Khulna Titans, confirmed Malan and Junaid Khan’s signing was completed in March. Dhaka Dynamites CEO Obeid Nizam said that their players – Afridi and Delport – signed contracts a while back, and ideally there should not be any confusion. “We are concerned but we also have the legal agreement. They have told us that they have no problem to play for Dhaka in the BPL. I don’t know why this has suddenly come up since we signed them five-six months ago.”Haroon Lorgat, CSA’s chief executive, in a statement reiterated the commitment made by the players through having their names in the T20 Global League’s draft. “We have received signed confirmations from all the players who have availed themselves to participate in the draft and in the tournament later this year. These are binding commitments and therefore we do not wish to speculate on potential conflicts.”It is understood that the BCB is also concerned by the poor regulations in practice currently, with home boards openly directing players to play particular leagues or refusing them NOC for other tournaments. The board is also worried by the layers of agents that franchises have to deal with when signing a player these days.

Mickey Arthur has urged the Pakistan players to return to training from August 22, ahead of a full series against Sri Lanka in October. Pakistan have not played any cricket since the Champions Trophy, which they won in June, but Arthur believes four months without top-level cricket will not affect the side as they prepare for the new season. Since their return from the Champions Trophy, a few players have been on holiday while others, like captain Sarfraz Ahmed, are in the middle of county stints.”I’ve sent emails out to the players. They deserved everything they got after the Champions Trophy,” Arthur said. “It was a phenomenal achievement by all of them and I’m so proud of the way they fought back, their commitment, their work ethic – everything was outstanding, but it’s finished now, it’s gone, that’s done. We come back here for the camp from August 22.”Arthur made it clear that players will have to meet a “minimum standard” of fitness to be considered for selection. “There’s no comfort zone for anybody,” he said “The celebrations are now over, it’s now time to get back to work, get back to the hard work. We have had eight guys here over the last couple of days working extremely hard. We’re under no illusion that the Champions Trophy was just the start of the journey, we’ve got to keep pushing to keep getting better and better, and that we’ll only do with real hard work. There’s not going to be any hangover from the Champions Trophy, I can assure you that.”According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, Pakistan were scheduled to tour Bangladesh in August, but the tour was called off after talks between both boards failed. To counter the dry spell, the Pakistan Cricket Board has organised a conditioning camp, not just to enhance fitness levels of players but also help the team management identify players who can fill the void left by the retirements of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.Arthur believes competition for places should spur the contenders. “We can keep Azhar Ali opening the batting or we can move him to three. If we do that, we are looking for two opening batsmen,” he said. “Shan Masood started the last Test, Ahmed Shehzad was in the West indies but didn’t play in the last Test. Sami Aslam is playing particularly well at the moment, so there’s good competition for the opening spots.”If Azhar Ali bats at three, we’ve got Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam. We took Usman Salahuddin with us to the West Indies, he impressed with the way he worked and the way he trained. His technique was good. Haris Sohail has come back really well, he offers us left-arm spin, so we are looking for a fifth bowler and he becomes an option. Basically, we’ve got strength and depth. We’ve started moving into a position where we can play players and give them extended runs because we’ve got enough pushing through in order to keep our standards high, in order to do the job that’s required.”Arthur was also forthcoming on the controversy surrounding Umar Akmal. Umar had been axed from the Champions Trophy squad after failing two fitness Tests and was also omitted from the list of central contracts. “Umar Akmal failed several fitness tests, what do you want us to do?” he asked. “I would have thought if you’ve failed one or two you would never put yourself in that position again. Well he’s had several opportunities and hasn’t passed one, so that’s up to him.”We’ve got enough in order to move on without any player that doesn’t fit into our standards and requirements. All the balls are in his court (now), I can’t stand here and say anybody is excluded from playing for Pakistan, it’s up to him. What I do know is anybody coming into the team needs to have minimum standards.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJoe Root took a sharp catch at second slip to remove Keshav Maharaj•Getty Images

Faf du Plessis had cause to anticipate a satisfying return to the Test captaincy as South Africa took a potentially decisive first-innings lead of 130 midway into the final session of the second day of the second Investec Test at Trent Bridge. The birth of a son followed by the prospect of a Test victory to square the series: personal delight and professional satisfaction in quick succession.South Africa’s lead at the close of the second day was 205, for the loss of Heino Kuhn, unpicked by James Anderson at second slip. England do have the consolation of a sunny forecast for the fourth day, but historically Trent Bridge surfaces deteriorate more than average in this country so it is hard to conceive of an escape route.They have already lost one review, failing in a cockeyed attempt to win an lbw decision against Kuhn: a long way down the pitch, a new ball, impact high on the pad: there was not much to like. Anderson therefore joined Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad in failed reviews. At least Joe Root is spreading his largesse to all, but he has some reflecting to do.The panache of Root, a young captain eager to assert himself, provided England’s main sustenance as they mustered only 205 in awkward batting conditions, dismissed in only 51.5 overs as they trusted to enterprise and came up short. Only late in the innings could England be described as reckless, but at no point did they deserve to be termed resilient.Root has slipped down to No 4 this summer in his first summer as captain, but wherever he bats, he bears an onerous responsibility. His elegance, at least, made light of the challenge posed by South Africa’s attack as he required only 76 balls for his 78. He played with authority from the outset, before a misjudgement against Morne Morkel saw him edge to the wicketkeeper.The rest of England’s first innings had less to commend it as South Africa held sway on a pitch that had quickened since the opening day and with plentiful swing and seam on offer under overcast skies. Root’s Yorkshire team-mates Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow sought a response. But the openers failed and Root’s dismissal began a sequence in which the last seven wickets evaporated for 62 in 22.4 overs. Still, at least it ensured regular activity on a day when the over-rate was a pitiful 12.5 an hour.Morkel and Vernon Philander, South Africa’s new-ball pair, posed most of the threat and Morkel, in particular, was unfortunate to finish with only two wickets on a day when he was always an imposing figure. When they were obliged to turn to the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj, with a holding operation in mind, he came up trumps with the wickets of Stokes, for nought, and Bairstow shortly before tea. Chris Morris, lightly used after a short initial spell – short in both senses of the word – adorned his figures with three late wickets.Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings were rounded up in only 4.1 overs before lunch as it soon became apparent that South Africa’s 335 offered them the chance of a sizeable first-innings advantage.It took a review to remove Cook, with South Africa searching, initially at least, for an lbw as an inswinger from Philander flew off the pad to the wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. That mode of dismissal was ruled out by an inside nick, only for Cook to be dismissed courtesy of the keeper’s catch.Jennings fell to the next delivery, this time from Morkel, a peach of a ball from around the wicket which bounced and left the Durham left-hander. He had no cause to berate himself about getting out to that.The rest of the morning was a story of South African ill-discipline as Root and Ballance included 14 boundaries in an 83-run partnership spanning, in all, only 84 balls. Root produced some princely off-sides drives from the outset and had another Test fifty to his name by the interval. Ballance, who got off the mark with a fortunate edge wide of gully off Philander, offering hunched support, sitting deep in his crease with the suspicious air of a mole peering out of a mole hill.South Africa’s challenge was much more focused throughout the afternoon, although their back-up seamers carried limited potency before Morris’ late intervention. They achieved this, lest we forget, without Kagiso Rabada.Ballance, very much Root’s pick, has laboured to prove his worth. Once again, he got a start but failed to prosper. He perished in the second over after lunch, bowled by Philander as he deflected the ball loosely onto his pads. Bairstow, who lacked Root’s certainty, was more of a bellwether. He reached 45, but survived two hairy moments against Morkel on the way, the ball twice flying perilously close to his stumps off a play-and-miss that escaped for four byes and an inside edge. Another edge spared him when South Africa reviewed a refused lbw appeal by Philander.Maharaj then took a hand. Stokes fell for a 12-ball duck, his inside edge onto his pads, finally clutched at the second attempt, off his shoulder, by de Kock as he changed direction. There was a suspicion of helmet involved, which would have spared him, but after innumerable replays he was sent on his way.Maharaj also found a hint of turn to bowl Bairstow, bringing South Africa their fourth wicket in a productive session.England’s problems intensified after tea as three wickets fell within eight balls. Moeen Ali fell tamely to a pre-conceived plan, flapping a full ball from Morris out of the footholes to du Plessis at point. Broad received the cheers awarded to a local boy, but his innings are always hair-raising affairs and this one did not make it past the first ball as South Africa successfully reviewed Morris’ lbw appeal.Liam Dawson had managed to escape a fourth successive Test duck – Bob Holland, Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Asif hold the record with five – before overturning a caught behind decision against Morris, replays showing the ball had missed the bat by a distance. He did not make much use of his let-off, as he top-edged Maharaj to square leg.England’s increasingly tame affair came to a conclusion when Mark Wood deflected a rearing delivery from Morris to second slip.Earlier, James Anderson had demolished South Africa’s tail in a spell of 4 for 4 in only 20 deliveries to finish with 5 for 72, taking five in an innings for the 22nd time in his Test career.England had carped about the second new ball on the previous evening, and they managed to negotiate an immediate change on the second morning. The skies were grey, the floodlights were on and Anderson had a spring in his step, his 34 years falling off him with every delivery.The best of his wickets was Maharaj, for nought, outwitted by the inswinger/outswinger routine, his edge inviting Root to hold a flamboyant catch at second slip. He had provided a brief masterclass, but South Africa were to make good use of their own opportunity.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:09