Only once have they moved out of the first round, but plenty of the squad have had stints in the WBBL

Firdose Moonda19-Feb-2020OverviewSouth Africa continue to tread water between the top tier of T20I teams and the more middling performers and this tournament could be used as a yardstick to measure their progress. On paper, they have all the ingredients of a strong T20I outfit: big-hitters like Laura Wolvaardt and innings builders like Mignon du Preez, fast-bowlers like Shabnim Ismail and consistent containers like Masabata Klaas and they even have a mystery spinner in Suné Luus. But at this event, their level of skill will be secondary to their ability to deal with pressure, and they should now have the experience to handle it well. Six of the 15-member squad have been on the international stage for more than 10 years and four others for more than five. The rest of the group form a strong succession line which bodes well for this competition and they will want the results to reflect that.SquadDané van Niekerk (capt), Chloe Tryon, Trisha Chetty, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Nadine de Klerk, Lizelle Lee, Suné Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Mignon du Preez, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nondumiso Shangase, Laura WolvaardtGroup fixturesFebruary 23: England, WACA
February 28: Thailand, Canberra
March 1: Pakistan, Sydney Showground
March 3: West Indies, Sydney ShowgroundT20 World Cup historySouth Africa have made first-round exits in all but one of the six previous editions of the tournament. They reached the 2014 semi-final in Dhaka, where they lost to England. Notably, they did not win a match in the first two tournaments they attended, and have only been victorious in eight of 23 T20 World Cup matches, a winning percentage of just over a third.Form guideSeries wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the six months after the last T20 World Cup demonstrated the team’s ability to bounce back but defeats to India and, most recently, New Zealand highlighted the gulf between the top teams and the rest.Key playersIt’s difficult to look past South Africa’s all-time highest T20 run-scorer Dané van Niekerk and their leading wicket-taker in the format, Shabnim Ismail when highlighting players who the team will rely on, but they will need other contributors. Opener Lizelle Lee will go into the tournament with high expectations after finishing fifth on the Women’s Big Bash League run-charts, , which includes a century and four fifties for the Melbourne Stars, while allrounder Suné Luus‘ legspin could prove an x-factor. Luus took 6 for 45 against New Zealand in their recent ODI Hamilton carried South Africa to a series sweep.What would be a success at the tournament?South Africa are targeting the 2021 50-over World Cup for glory so they may be willing to settle for something less in the event. The ICC’s rankings puts them sixth, which suggests that getting out of the group, which includes higher-ranked England and West Indies, will be tough but there’s a powerful motivation for them to punch above their weight. The coaching staff’s contracts end in April and a top-four finish would be a long way to seeing them retained.

The South Africa-born batsman, who has enjoyed a prolific run for Wellington, will become eligible on August 28

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2020Devon Conway, the South Africa-born batsman who plays for Wellington, will be eligible to represent New Zealand from August 28, the ICC has confirmed.Conway left Johannesburg in September 2017, at the age of 26, to try and forge a cricket career in New Zealand. He had played extensively at provincial level, the second tier of South African domestic cricket, but had struggled to make an impression in his sporadic appearances in top-tier franchise cricket.The move to New Zealand has been vastly productive as far as Conway’s batting returns go: in 17 first-class games for Wellington, he has scored 1598 runs at the stellar average of 72.63, with four hundreds including an unbeaten 327 against Canterbury last October, only the eighth triple-hundred scored in New Zealand.The extent of Conway’s appetite for runs can be gauged by the fact that he topped the run charts in all three domestic competitions in the 2019-20 season – the first-class Plunket Shield, the List A Ford Trophy, and the T20 Super Smash – and in two of the three tournaments in 2018-19. Conway’s stupendous 2019-20 run also coincided with Wellington bagging the Plunket Shield and Super Smash double.With those numbers behind him, Conway seems almost certain to join the likes of Grant Elliott and Neil Wagner as South-Africa-born-and-raised cricketers to play for New Zealand.”It’s really awesome to have that solid date, 28th of August, as a reminder to say that you’re pretty close,” Conway said in a media teleconference on Tuesday. “In saying that, it doesn’t guarantee selection. So I am pretty pretty happy to hear about that, but you’ve just got to keep working hard and hopefully get an opportunity to break into that Black Caps team, which is pretty awesome at the moment – you’ve got world-class players there, and it won’t be easy to get into that team.”The ICC has granted Conway an exceptional circumstance dispensation, which means he can play in tour games before his August 28 eligibility deadline, leaving him available for selection for New Zealand’s tour of Bangladesh, which is scheduled to start on August 12, or for New Zealand A’s tour of India, which is set to begin on August 15.The COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe and putting all cricket – and all sport – in suspension, however, means those dates only exist on paper for now.”Little bit mixed feelings at the moment,” Conway said. “Obviously really happy to hear the news about my eligibility, but then again, in saying that, with regards to what’s happening at the moment throughout the world, just puts [everything] in perspective.”Conway has not been able to bat during the lockdown that’s in place in New Zealand, with all training facilities shut, but he’s continued to work on his fitness.”I’m trying to do as much physical work as possible, as it allows me, but I also try and focus on doing some of those eye exercises that are quite important to me, and using skills like boxing to stay active – I’m enjoying that recently,” Conway said. “There’s not a lot that we can do, but as much as you can do, it’s important to do during this period.”

Rehab in lockdown has posed challenges but England seamer is on the mend

Valkerie Baynes22-May-2020Kate Cross heard the crack and felt the pain in her leg, but it’s where her mind went racing to next that was hardest to take. Suddenly, lying on the Sydney Showground Stadium turf, she saw the 2021 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and she wasn’t there.Cross, the England seamer, suffered a severe sprain and multiple torn ligaments in her right ankle when she landed on the boundary rope attempting a catch during the warm-up for her side’s final T20 World Cup group match, against West Indies in March.”My first thought was, ‘I’ve snapped my leg in two here’. I thought my shin was facing the wrong way and my foot was off on all sorts of angles so I then got myself into a big panic about it and I think made the whole situation worse because then I was screaming, ” Cross tells ESPNcricinfo.ALSO READ: England women could return to training in weeks“They gave me the green whistle [pain relief inhaler] in Oz, which is quite a big deal, and everyone saw the pictures and thought, ‘God she must have snapped her shin bone or something,’ but I think they gave me that to try and help me breathe because I think I got into a bit of a panic attack about what was going on.”My brain immediately went to the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand and I thought, ‘That’s it, i’m not going to play in this, it’s going to be that bad an injury.’ When I was laying on the floor, that’s where I got to, in the space of probably 20 seconds. Obviously I’m really lucky that it’s nothing as serious as that.”It will likely be another five to six months before her ankle is completely pain free, plenty of time before England are scheduled to begin their 50-over world title defence in New Zealand in February. But it is telling just how much Cross wants it that her first thought upon suffering the injury was that it might all be taken away – again.Kate Cross receives treatment after injuring her leg during the warm up ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match between England and West Indies•Getty Images

Cross missed England’s victorious 2017 World Cup campaign amid a two-year absence from the international scene, during which time she grappled with anxiety and depression.”Seeing the girls win the trophy in 2017 and missing out on that squad and having to sit in the crowd whilst the girls played in front of 25,000 people and lifted a World Cup on home soil, that was heartbreaking for me but at the same time it was one of the best days that I’ve been involved in cricket,” Cross says.”I remember thinking on that day, ‘Right, 2021, that’s going to be my year and I’m going to push really hard to get into that squad.’ I think that’s why when I had the injury my first thought went to the World Cup. It certainly showed me how important that World Cup is for me.”Cross enjoyed a fruitful 2019, forming a key part of England’s one-day attack alongside Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole in away series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan and a home summer against West Indies and Australia. While she was part of the T20 World Cup squad in Australia, she did not play a match in the tournament.”In terms of confidence, last summer gave me such a boost because I realised that I could be part of that team and help them win,” Cross says. “So hopefully that 2021 World Cup would be something that I could really thrive in.”Cross admits that the Covid-19 crisis has changed her outlook somewhat so that a return to any form of cricket in a safe environment would be welcome. There is no guarantee the World Cup will go ahead in light of the pandemic, and while Cross has let go some of the anxiety she felt over cricket’s uncertain near future, she admits the current lockdown has been tough.But there have been upsides, including the help of friends like former England team-mate Alex Hartley, temporarily moving back in with her parents and being able to find a focus in her ankle rehab.”Honestly, some of my worst days that I’ve had in probably two years have happened in the last eight weeks, particularly around when I wasn’t seeing any progress with my ankle and I was getting really fed up with that,” Cross says. “This is where Hartley was really good for me because I had a day where I think I stayed in bed pretty much all day and I must have watched, I think it was 10 episodes of on Netflix back-to-back.”I just said to her, ‘I’ve written today off, I’ve had a shocker.’ She said, ‘Look, you would probably have this day if we weren’t in lockdown, it’s fine to have these days, just don’t let those days become a habit, don’t then have the same day the following day, make sure you get up and go for a walk or whatever.'”So I’ve found that when I’ve had a bad day, then the next day I’ve been a bit more motivated because I’ve not wanted to fall into the trap of getting into those bad habits.”Cross spoke openly about her mental health struggles after returning to the England side in a one-dayer against New Zealand in July 2018. And, as difficult as it can be to revisit the topic at times, she is glad she put it out there.”I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to talk about it because I knew as soon as I’d done it, there was no taking it back,” she says. “I’m a talker anyway but I just thought, if I’ve got the ability to do something as powerful as helping one person get through a bad week or stop them from doing something silly, whatever it could have been, then I couldn’t believe that I didn’t want to do that interview.”It’s made me almost feel like it was worth going through what I went through because it’s just normal, everyone goes through it and everyone I speak to has said as soon as they started talking about what they were going through, things started changing. It just goes to show the power of talking.”

Spinner cites change in Kolpak regulations for ending hopes of qualifying for England

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2020Simon Harmer believes that his hopes of qualifying to play Test cricket for England are over, but has not ruled out the possibility of a return to the South African set-up, after starring once again for Essex with 14 wickets against Surrey at Chelmsford.Harmer, 31, overcame an abductor strain to lift Essex clear at the top of the Bob Willis Trophy South Group, returning second-innings figures of 8 for 64 to complete a 169-run victory on the final afternoon.It was the third time in his first-class career that he has claimed 14 or more wickets in a match, a feat that no bowler has achieved since the Kent spinner, Derek Underwood, between 1967 and 1983.He has now claimed 230 wickets at 20.01 in his four seasons at Essex, including 18 five-wicket hauls and four ten-fors, but speaking after the match, he acknowledged that the UK’s impending exit from the European Union, and the changes to the Kolpak ruling that that will entail, have effectively ended his chances of qualifying to play for England.”I think so,” he said. “With the Kolpak ruling changing, as far as I know with clarity, the Kolpaks will fall away at the end of the year when England leaves the EU and therefore the door closes.”I have explored trying to get onto a different visa so that I can have more rights, in terms of buying property and a whole load of other things but I got a very stern no from Alan Fordham at the ECB. As far as I am concerned there is no future there.”Harmer played five Tests for South Africa in 2015 before joining the country’s exodus into the ranks of county cricket. However, with his status set to change to that of an overseas player from 2021 onwards, when all counties will be permitted two such registrations, there is still the outside prospect of him being reunited with his former countrymen.ALSO READ: Simon Harmer interview: ‘If you say English wickets don’t take spin in April, I want to prove you wrong’“It is a difficult question to answer,” he said. “There is a lot happening back in South Africa and I don’t know what the feeling is back home.”As far as I’m concerned, my main focus is with my employer which is Essex. I don’t look too far ahead and just try to do as well as I possibly can.”If other things happen and fall into place then what will be will be. I can only focus on myself, my own performances, on Essex and trying to contribute as I can to winning as many trophies as I possibly can. As a professional cricketer that’s what it all boils down to.”Harmer has already been an integral part of two County Championship victories in the space of three years, and last season he captained Essex’s T20 side to a thrilling final-ball victory against Worcestershire in the T20 Blast final, and even hit the winning runs.”There are a lot of teams with a lot of players that don’t win trophies and I think we are in a very special place as a team and I think we need to capitalise on that,” he said.”It is a once-in-a-generation thing and I think there is something very special brewing here at Essex with the players who are coming through with the players we already have. I think we can really be a dominant force in county cricket for a long time to come. That is my focus and I am quite excited about being a part of that and the rest of the noise is just noise.”Nevertheless, with South African cricket in a state of flux at the moment, Harmer said he would welcome the chance to sit down with CSA’s director of cricket Graeme Smith, and find out once and for all whether he has a chance of representing his country again.”Yeah, I think there needs to be an open-door policy from both sides and there needs to be commitment from both sides,” he said. “There is quite a bit that needs to happen but I am all for having discussions but for now it is a long way off.”There is a lot happening back home in South Africa to do with coronavirus. When is cricket going to get going again etc? I try to keep things short term and try and take care of the now. If you are doing the right things then perhaps bigger things might happen.”I am a believer in positive energy and putting positive energy into the universe, so whatever is meant to be will be.”

Another dismal batting display from team that has forgotten how to win

Paul Edwards at Trent Bridge11-Aug-2020
The haze at Trent Bridge this morning reminded one or two spectators of Amritsar in the era when MCC played North Zone on tours that were adventures rich and strange. This match also possessed its mysteries, of course, and it was really not until early afternoon that one could discern its clear course. Then Yorkshire’s bowlers seemed to take wickets in almost every over they delivered and a final day we thought might be a tense affair became anything but.Needing 188 to record their first four-day victory since June 2018, Nottinghamshire got barely halfway to their target. A week after Derbyshire had chased down 365 on this ground, Steven Mullaney’s side collapsed to 97 all out, losing their last seven wickets for 36 runs in 13.1 overs. When it isn’t Fynn Hudson-Prentice, it’s Jordan Thompson. When it isn’t Michael Cohen, it’s Jack Shutt. When it isn’t someone, it’s someone else.Much might be made of the fact that the fourth innings of this match was played on an eighth-day pitch, Nottinghamshire having opted to use the strip on which they had lost to Derbyshire. But that argument really does not account for the home side’s collapse. Far more persuasive explanations are the excellence of Yorkshire’s bowling – all five members of the attack took wickets – and the mental fragility of batsmen, some of whom may not be able to recall the last time they played in a side that successfully overhauled a total in a first-class match.The achievement of Yorkshire’s bowlers was particularly commendable given that both Ben Coad and Matthew Fisher were unable to play in this game because of injury. Neither will appear in Saturday’s match against Derbyshire, who lead Yorkshire by four points at the top of the North Group. In their absence Duanne Olivier took three wickets and led the attack with aggression and accuracy while Thompson completed a very fine all-round game by returning figures of 3 for 6.And the heart was gladdened by the success of Shutt, who expunged any memory of his spell on Sunday by having Peter Trego leg before wicket with his fourth ball and completing the win when Samit Patel obligingly chipped him to Dawid Malan at midwicket. They were Shutt’s maiden first-class wickets and there seems no doubt he will recall this match fondly, both for his successes and for his response to adversity.Such, of course, was Nottinghamshire’s broad intention at the start of play and the morning began particularly well for the home side, who took the last three Yorkshire wickets for the addition of only 19 runs. Carter bagged a couple, both courtesy of catches at slip by Mullaney, but the Notts skipper may have been more pleased that his side needed fewer than 200 to win. Another 40 or so runs, so we thought, would have made the target trickier and seized something of a psychological advantage. Not too many folk suspected that the task was already tricky enough for batsmen who seem riddled with self-doubt.Yet even as it was, the odds were six to five and pick ’em at lunch when Nottinghamshire were 46 for 3, the third batsman dismissed being Ben Duckett, who fended Olivier into the gully, where Malan took a good diving catch. That dismissal was important because it tilted the match a shade Yorkshire’s way and because Duckett had been batting busily and well, taking only 22 balls over his 19 runs. The wickets of the openers were also significant, though. Chris Nash was leg before to Olivier for 11, albeit the batsman had a good case the ball was missing leg, and Haseeb Hameed fell to Dominic Leech for the second time in the match when an attempted leg glance only tickled the ball to Jonny Bairstow.Fifteen minutes after lunch Joe Clarke played too early at Olivier and gave the bowler a low return catch. That left the home side on 61 for four and Nottinghamshire’s plight was then epitomised by the downfall of their warriors. Almost immediately Mullaney fenced limply at a ball from Steven Patterson and Tom Moores lost his middle and leg stumps when trying to drive a delivery from Thompson that snaked back in to him. That was Thompson’s third ball of the innings and similarly swift triumphs awaited Shutt, who ended the innings with 2 for 14 from 3.2 overs.After the match Patterson talked warmly about the achievements of cricketers like Thompson, Shutt and Leech, who have only a handful of first-class matches between them. The skipper rightly stressed the importance of trusting the players one selects rather than leaving them to watch their colleagues play cricket. A different task of leadership awaits Mullaney and Peter Moores after their side’s two defeats in the Bob Willis Trophy. But there is little time available for wound-licking. Lancashire visit Trent Bridge on Saturday.

He had played two first class matches for Maharashtra, and been the fitness trainer of senior and age-group teams

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2020Former Maharashtra Ranji player Shekhar Gawli has died after falling in a 250-feet-deep gorge in Maharashtra”s Nashik district, reported on Wednesday.Gawli, 45, played two first class matches for Maharashtra in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had gone for trekking in the Western Ghat mountains of Igatpuri hill station in Nashik along with some of his friends on Tuesday evening.”His body was found at around 10am on Wednesday. The body will be handed over to the family members after post-mortem,” an official from the Igatpuri police station told PTI.Gawli was a right-hand batsman and a legspinner. He was currently the fitness trainer for the Maharashtra Under-23 team, and had been in the same role with the senior team the previous season. The Maharashtra Cricket Association secretary, Riyaz Bagwan, expressed his sadness at Gawli’s demise, particularly given that Gawli’s father had also died recently.”We at Maharashtra Cricket Association are saddened to hear the news about Shekhar,” Bagwan told . “His family was already going through a tough phase since Shekhar had lost his father just two weeks ago. He had brought in a lot of cricketing experience to our team with his efficient level of training and coaching.”

Financial pressures may persuade clubs to resume action taken at start of season

George Dobell27-Sep-2020Staff at several first-class counties are expected to be put back on furlough at the end of this week.ESPNcricinfo understands that several of those counties not involved in the knock-out stages of the T20 Blast will put a proportion of their staff – including players – back on furlough in October. This could include the Essex and Somerset teams which have been contesting the Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord’s in recent days.The government’s furlough scheme was set up to counter the financial challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has seen the government take responsibility for paying employees, allowing businesses to survive without laying off staff. The scheme ends at the end of October.All but Lancashire and Surrey put their players on furlough at the start of the summer when it became apparent that the season would be delayed. While some counties topped up the government’s furlough amount – which was originally capped at around £2500 a month – others did not. Current legislation means the government will be expected to pay 70 percent of employees’ monthly salary up to a maximum of £2,187, with the employer required to top up another 10 percent.Other county employees, including groundstaff and administration teams, are also expected to be put back on furlough at several clubs.Teams involved in the knock-out stages of the T20 Blast will have to wait to make a claim. The quarter-finals are due to be played on October 1 with Finals Day on October 3.It is understood the players at counties due to be furloughed have not yet been notified of the intention.

He has sustained a strain in his groin after five months of extensive rehabilitation of his back

Umar Farooq05-Nov-2020It took just 38.5 overs across three innings for Hasan Ali to break down once again after five months of extensive rehabilitation of his back. His attempt to restart his career was marred by yet another blow when he sustained a strain in his groin while playing for Central Punjab against Northern Punjab in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. As a result, Ali has been ruled out of the third round of the tournament.Ali is working with a physiotherapist in Karachi and has been advised at least a week’s rest before any further decision is made on his fitness. He is being continuously monitored and underwent an MRI scan to get more clarity about the severity of the injury. He has also reduced any further toil on his body and is doing only light training for now.Ali made himself available for competitive cricket after spending several months at the High Performance Centre in Lahore. He started the first-class season in the first round against Sindh at the National Stadium in Karachi, where he bowled a combined 32.3 overs while conceding 106 runs for three wickets. But during the second-round game against Northern Punjab, he lasted only 6.2 overs on the first day, and walked back in pain to not return again as his side lost the match by nine wickets.Ali’s career took a big blow last year after he suffered a back injury during the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Lahore, following which he underwent a seven-week rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy. He was declared fit for the final round of the tournament, only to suffer a fresh injury – a rib fracture in November 2019 – that ruled him out for a further six weeks.ALSO READ: The promise and the pain of Hasan AliAli has also continued to miss international cricket – he last represented Pakistan against India in the 2019 World Cup – but was declared fit to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year. He had an unimpressive outing with eight wickets in nine games with an economy rate of 8.59 for the Peshawar Zalmi before the tournament was put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic.Soon after the PSL stint, Ali had recurring back pain, and scans confirmed the problem in the back had flared up again, with symptoms similar to that of a lumbar herniated disk. Ali consulted an Australian doctor and avoided surgery on his back while continuing to work and train with a physiotherapist. He also lost his central contract last month, but will have his medical expenses covered by the PCB until recovering fully. Ali will also get additional financial assistance from the board’s welfare fund, a safety net reserved only for retired players in dire need.Despite the injury, Ali is likely to stay in Karachi and will be joining the Zalmi squad for the PSL playoffs starting November 14.

The left-arm spinner is leading wicket-taker in the domestic T20 competition

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2020Adelaide Strikers have completed their international signings for the BBL by bringing in English left-arm spinner Danny Briggs who is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the T20 Blast.Briggs, 29, has taken 172 wickets in English domestic T20 from 152 matches for Hampshire and Sussex with an economy rate of 7.16. He played seven T20Is for England but the last of those came in 2014.He has recently moved from Sussex to Warwickshire but built a strong association with Strikers coach Jason Gillespie at his former club.”Briggsy is a calm head; an experienced campaigner. He can bowl in every phase of a T20 game. He’s very versatile and very adaptable,” Gillespie said.”To have Briggsy to complement the leg spin of Rashid Khan, plus we’ve got the off-spin of Travis Head and Matt Short. We feel that Danny will add another dimension to our bowling attack should he get a surface that suits multiple spin options.”He is a fantastic guy. He’s very calm, a gun fielder but he also has that experienced head and he will crack in and do his job. He will fit in wonderfully well; the boys will enjoy his company.”Briggs joins Khan and Phil Salt, the Sussex batsman, as the Strikers’ overseas players with the trio all available for the full duration of the tournament.Current Strikers squad Danny Briggs (Eng), Travis Head, Rashid Khan (Afg), Michael Neser, Harry Nielsen, Matthew Renshaw, Phil Salt (Eng), Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Cameron Valente, Jake Weatherald, Jon Wells, Daniel Worrall

Psychologist to travel with team to Sri Lanka as part of focus on players’ mental wellbeing

Alan Gardner01-Jan-2021England will have to “manage” the threat of Covid-19 as well as devote extra attention to physical and mental wellbeing on their three-month tour of the subcontinent, according to Test captain Joe Root – and that includes being ready for the possibility of players testing positive.England’s last two trips overseas have been aborted, in differing circumstances, due to issues related to the coronavirus. They will take a charter flight to Sri Lanka on Saturday after the touring party all returned negative Covid-19 tests. It marks the resumption of a tour that was postponed in March, when England returned home early as the pandemic escalated worldwide, ready to fulfil a two-Test commitment that will be followed by four more Tests in India, as well as ODI and T20I series.The resumption of life in biosecure environments comes a matter of weeks after the abandonment of England’s ODI series in South Africa. In Cape Town, what Root described as a “domino effect” of positive cases among the South Africa squad, staff at the team hotel, and then England’s party – albeit they were later determined to be false positives – led to the tour being called off on player welfare grounds.Related

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However, with Covid-19 becoming a fact of life – and amid concerns over more transmissible strains of the virus emerging in both the UK and South Africa – Root said the players would continue to be flexible and adaptable while putting their trust in England’s medical staff.”It’s a really dangerous virus and wherever we will be, we will be in contact with it in some shape or form,” he said. “The reality is, look around the rest of the world, Pakistan in New Zealand, teams have had to deal with cases on tour. That might be the case for us, if so we have to manage it as best as possible.”South Africa was a very unique situation, a different set of circumstances. It will be different again [in Sri Lanka and India], we’re as best prepared as we can for it and we’re fully aware of what we’re getting ourselves into. Fingers crossed everything goes well, we look after each other, adhere to the rules, stay as safe as possible and play some really good hard Test cricket.”I don’t think it [a positive test result] will end in an automatic end of the tour. They are decisions that have to be made by the medical staff and the people entrusted in making those decisions. I don’t think it’s a player decision even though guys have the opportunity to opt out if they don’t feel safe. All we’ve got to do is make sure we follow the guidelines as best as possible, if we do that we’ll give ourselves the best chance of that not being a situation. Albeit we know the protocols if something was to happen.”As part of the ECB’s increased commitment to looking after player wellbeing, which includes plans to appoint a dedicated staff member focused on mental health, the England squad will be accompanied by a psychologist in Sri Lanka. Dr James Bickley has been brought in from Changing Minds, an organisation that aims to “enhance wellbeing and sustain high performance”. His role is distinct from that of the team’s regular sports psychologist, David Young, who is unavailable for the tour.”There’s going to be a little bit of extra support for the players in terms of a psychologist in the ground at all times, making sure there’s someone to speak to,” Root said. “Everyone is very aware that if at any stage it becomes too much they are entitled to get out and that’s an important thing to remember. As players, as well, you have a responsibility to speak up, not just use the staff but the other guys around you as well. As captain that’s a big part of my role, to make sure people are comfortable in the environment, in a position to be at the top of their game and play Test cricket to the best of their ability.”It’s important they can say if they don’t feel they’re in the right space physically or mentally to go out and represent their country. Everyone is very aware of that.”England’s selectors have already signalled that they will look to manage the workload of their multi-format players over the coming months, with Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer rested for Sri Lanka, Rory Burns on paternity leave and Jos Buttler likely to miss a portion of the India tour. With six Tests scheduled in seven-and-a-half weeks, Root said he expected rotation to be a significant factor.”You look at the amount of cricket on this coming tour and it’s unrealistic for everyone to get through the whole thing. Rotation and rest is going to be an integral part of managing this next phase of games. Not only is the mental welfare of the players really important but physically being able to get through, with so many back-to-back games in those conditions, is going to be a big ask. We are going to have to be quite flexible and adaptable in terms of selection – which is going to create opportunities for people to stand up and stake a claim at certain times through this winter. It’s very exciting and another way we can develop as a squad, in terms of strength in depth.”Despite an acknowledgement of the bigger picture, Root added that England have not yet given up on forcing their way into contention for the World Test Championship final. They are currently in fourth, trailing Australia, India and New Zealand.”We know we are not totally best placed at the moment but we have a good opportunity to win games now. All we can do is look after those performances. We almost have to play out of our skin to get into that final but if that is the case then it means we are playing extremely well. Everyone wants to be part of a massive game at Lords against one of the other best teams in the world.”