Tom Westley and Mark Stoneman will have three Championship matches to further their Ashes case, while Dawid Malan will play two following the T20I against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-20173:14

Dobell: England still don’t know their best XI for Ashes tour

Stuart Broad will have a scan on the heel problem which troubled him during the Lord’s Test before a decision is taken on whether he will play again this season, but James Anderson won’t take the field again until the Ashes tour having been rested from Lancashire’s remaining County Championship fixtures.Broad has previously had issues with the fat pad in his heel, most seriously on the tour of India in 2012-13, and missed the pink-ball round of County Championship matches earlier this season with the problem recurring before the Test series against South Africa. However, he was able to play a full part in the seven Test matches against them and West Indies.He left the field briefly on the opening day of the final Test against West Indies but was able to bowl when called upon by Joe Root throughout the match. Overall, the 2017 season was Broad’s least productive home summer since his first full season in 2008 as he claimed 20 wickets at 33.90, although he did move into second on England’s all-time list ahead of Ian Botham.His new-ball partner, Anderson, who climbed to No. 1 in the world rankings on Sunday, certainly won’t bowl another competitive delivery until early November when England begin their warm-up matches in Australia. He completed a memorable performance at Lord’s with a career-best 7 for 42 having claimed his 500th Test wicket on the second evening when he bowled Kraigg Brathwaite.Among other players who have been on Test duty for England, the batsmen sweating on their places for the Ashes tour will get further chances to impress the selectors over the closing weeks of the season. Tom Westley is available for all Essex’s remaining matches as they aim to clinch the County Championship – something they could do this week against Warwickshire if Lancashire slip up – while Mark Stoneman will play Surrey’s remaining fixtures.Dawid Malan, who made two half-centuries against West Indies after a tough start in the South Africa series, will miss this week’s Championship match against Hampshire as he is in the England T20 squad but will be available for Middlesex’s final two matches.Legspinner Mason Crane, who is tipped for a place on the Ashes tour, will hope for the opportunity to get a significant number of overs under his belt for Hampshire in the closing weeks of the season. He was part of the England squad throughout the West Indies series but his chances of a debut at Lord’s were scuppered by seam-friendly conditions and the 1-1 scoreline.Warwickshire, who are trying to stave off relegation, have the boost of Chris Woakes’ availability against Essex before he joins up with the ODI squad. Having been left out of the one-day squad, Steven Finn and Mark Wood will be able to further their Ashes ambitions with Middlesex and Durham respectively. Middlesex will also have Toby Roland-Jones for all their remaining matches.The Ashes squad is due to be named after the end of the final round of Championship matches on September 28.

Royal London, the title sponsors of English one-day cricket, have extended their deal with the ECB for a further two years

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Oct-2017Royal London, the title sponsors of English one-day cricket, have extended their deal with the ECB for a further two years.The partnership, which encompasses England men’s and women’s domestic and international one-day cricket, will now be extended until the end of the 2019 season.The marquee fixtures in that period will include a five-match one-day series against Australia and a three-match series against India next summer, as England’s men build towards the World Cup in 2019.The announcement is a boost for the ECB’s commercial department, who suffered a setback earlier this year when Investec, the title sponsors of English Test cricket, activated a break clause with four years remaining on their £40 million ten-year deal.”It’s exciting that Royal London want to extend their relationship with cricket still further – building on the successful partnership we’ve forged together over the past four years,” said Sanjay Patel, the ECB’s commercial director.”With the England’s men’s one-day team victorious in all three one-day series last summer, the England women’s team winning the ICC Women’s World Cup and the Royal London One-Day Cup serving up a memorable Lord’s final, the 50-Over format continues to enjoy a significant media profile and offer valuable brand exposure.Emma Hill, Group Head of Brand and Sponsorship, Royal London said: “Our initial partnership with the ECB began at an important time in the company’s history as we re-launched the Royal London brand.”Owing to a very successful four years of cricket sponsorship, we’re thrilled to be committing to the sport for another two years as we continue on our brand building journey. Like cricket, we’re a brand steeped in rich heritage and tradition and we’re excited about what we can achieve in partnership together over the next two years.”

Matt Renshaw’s hold onto an opening spot for Australia looks shakier by the day after he made another low score for Queensland and then saw his national captain Steven Smith occupy his first-slip position

Daniel Brettig13-Nov-2017Getty Images

Matt Renshaw’s hold onto an opening spot for Australia looks shakier by the day after he made another low score for Queensland. He also saw his national captain Steven Smith occupy for New South Wales the first slip position which the 21-year-old had occupied solidly over his first 10 Tests.In making a start before edging a typically precise Trent Copeland delivery behind to Peter Nevill, Renshaw added 16 to a recent red-ball sequence of scores that reads 45, 5, 4, 22, 17, 16, 1 and 19 since the first Test in Bangladesh. Such has been the debate around his place, with the Western Australia coach Justin Langer piling on the pressure among others, that Renshaw’s opening partner David Warner advised him to “steer clear of the newspapers”.”I want him to score runs this week. He has been under a bit of pressure this week, there has been a bit of talk in the media,” Warner said about Renshaw before the game. “You have to keep putting the numbers on the board. As a youngster, I would be steering clear of newspapers this week.”However, there was an even more tangible sign of shifting opinions when Renshaw walked out to bat. Smith, who typically fields at second slip whenever Copeland is in the NSW Shield XI and did so most recently in the opening round against South Australia, had swapped from second to first for this match, his last before the Gabba Test. The move indicated Smith felt a need to prepare for a different role from the one he generally fills as captain of Australia, and an indicator the selectors may be about to jettison Renshaw.More certainty was provided by the No. 3 Usman Khawaja, dropped in Bangladesh but in sturdy touch, while providing the spinal contribution of a Queensland innings that otherwise struggled for traction on a well-grassed Allan Border Field pitch that offered seam movement and the odd bit of variable bounce.Khawaja’s duel with Nathan Lyon was particularly arresting, while Copeland and Doug Bollinger also made the ball move around. NSW also found it difficult when they batted in the evening session, losing Nic Maddinson, Warner and then Smith in the final over of the day to a ball that leapt at him from Jack Wildermuth and was taken at short leg. Smith indicated the ball may have hit the arm rather than bat.

Chris Woakes claimed four wickets as England closed in on victory but there were again concerns about the vulnerability of the tourists’ top order

George Dobell in Adelaide10-Nov-20170:41

An (unofficial) appeal from the ECB

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEngland are doing everything by the book at the start of their tour of Australia. Unfortunately, the book is .Not read it? It’s a Hemingway short story about a couple stranded while on safari in Africa. The man has sustained a leg injury that has turned gangrenous and they both know help won’t arrive in time to save him. His last moments are spent observing the howls of the approaching vultures and hyenas. It’s not full of belly laughs.The mood on this England tour is starting to feel similarly gloomy. The loss of Ben Stokes might, in time, be considered the fatal blow. But the succession of injuries to a high number of seamers who might have found themselves in the side has further debilitated the team. Meanwhile Mitchell Starc and co are howling in the distance, hungry for meat.

James Anderson on…

England’s collapse “It’s not ideal is it? Hopefully we’re getting it out of the way before the Test series starts but that’s something we’ve got to look at and probably have a chat about after the game. Why it happened and what we could have done differently to stop it happening. And stop it happening again.”
Bairstow’s half-century “Brilliant. Jonny does that really well. When the team needs runs, he’s the guy who stands up more often than not. I thought Mason [Crane] batted really well with him as well. That was an absolutely crucial partnership and hopefully that’s a sign of things to come from Jonny.”
Woakes’ bowling “He’s got better and better every spell he’s bowled. I thought today he was brilliant. He deserved his four wickets and could have had more. He was back to his absolute best.”
Missing next game? “Potentially, yes. The other bowlers we have here looking towards that first Test – with Jake’s fitness and things like that – some bowlers could get too much bowling. We don’t want them tired going into that first Test. Stuart [Broad] will play next week.”

The main issue is the relentless stream of injuries. England are currently awaiting the results of a scan on Jake Ball’s injured right ankle. The suspicion at this stage is the injury – perhaps minor ligament damage – is not tour-ending but may keep him out of action for another week or so.With that in mind, there is talk of sending for more cover. One of the bowlers with the Lions, who are due to arrive in Australia on November 15, could well be asked to fly a few days early and join the Ashes squad on a short-term basis ahead of the warm-up match in Townsville. But while Tom Helm has declared himself fit, he only bowled off his full run for the first time at Loughborough on Thursday and England have concerns about his readiness.With Mark Wood (heel/ankle) also not deemed fully fit – both will travel with the Lions but do not appear to be in the reckoning for a call to the full England squad – the options are becoming more limited by the moment.As a result, it seems England will look to youth to help them out. George Garton, a 20-year-old with nine first-class matches behind him, is one candidate, while 19-year-old Josh Tongue, a veteran of 15 first-class matches, is another. Both are blessed with pace – they would be the quickest bowlers in the England party – and Garton, with his left-arm, whippy action, has bowled at the England squad several times in the nets. They would not become permanent members of the Ashes tour party, just provide some cover in Townsville.Liam Plunkett is currently playing in Bangladesh and may not be considered for that reason. But should Ball’s injury be worse than feared – or should anyone else suffer an injury – Plunkett will come into the equation.With so many injuries around the squad, there may be a temptation to look at the conditioning – or the technique – of the bowlers. And in the long-term, no doubt, there are issues to consider in terms of the stress fractures, in particular. But the injuries suffered on this tour – a bowler landing badly in delivery (Ball) or twisting his knee while batting (Steven Finn) – are simply bad luck.As if all this wasn’t trying enough, England suffered a batting collapse on the third day in Adelaide. After a solid start, they lost 7 for 47, which included going from 121 for 3 to 124 for 7, as an inexperienced Cricket Australia XI gave them some uncomfortable moments.These things happen, of course. With the floodlights on for much of an unusually humid day, the ball nipped around more than at any stage of the game and batting was not straightforward. England still have more than enough to win this match – particularly having retaliated by reducing the CA XI to 25 for 7 under lights and requesting the extra half hour in pushing for a three-day victory.But these games aren’t really about the result. They are about finding form ahead of the Test series. And, with their batting in particular, England look ominously fragile.Most worrying is the form of Alastair Cook. Cook has endured fallow patches before, of course, and in the grand scheme of things this run of low scores – he hasn’t made 35 for six first-class innings – amounts to very little. He has earned an extended spell of patience and there is reasonable confidence he will turn things around.His innings of 32 here was his highest since a double-century against West Indies at Edgbaston in August and the third-highest score of a day on which the ball dominated. But it would be wrong to interpret that as something of a return to form. He was beaten like a snare drum, survived several huge leg before shouts and an edge between the keeper and third slip. He scored only one from his first 23 deliveries and his first boundary came from his 72nd ball.A man with a vast number of Test runs currently looks as uncomfortable at the crease as a cow asked to knit a jumper. While skiing. In the dark. Underwater. Backwards.James Vince is a bit of a concern, too. He plays some lovely strokes, certainly, but there are so many vulnerabilities – so many ways to get him out – that the decision to bat him at No. 3 in the Test series looks a huge risk. Here, with the ball nipping around, he survived several very good leg-before calls before he was beaten on the inside edge as he attempted to drive one that would could have been best negated with a defensive bat. Darren Lehmann, watching from the home dressing room, will have noted all this with interest.Chris Woakes was immediately among the wickets•Getty Images

With Joe Root trapped by one that nipped back and Craig Overton falling for a pair on his maiden England appearance – 00verton, the wags were calling him – England were grateful for an eighth-wicket stand of 66 between Jonny Bairstow and Mason Crane. Bairstow’s dominance was no surprise, bringing up his 50 with a six and generally looking in control of things, but Crane was admirably defiant and showed, again, the character that the England management so respect.Rather deliciously, his innings ended when he was caught Short. Simon Milenko, no more than medium-pace but nipping the ball around and maintaining a nagging line and length, finished with the third five-wicket haul of his career to follow a first-innings half-century.There was some better news for England. Mark Stoneman, unfussy and assured, made his third half-century of the tour in as many innings, Moeen Ali returned to bowling without reporting any adverse consequences and James Anderson was confirmed as the team’s vice-captain for the series. Or at least until Stokes returns, anyway.Most of all, Chris Woakes seems to have found his rhythm. In a super opening burst, Woakes claimed 4 for 12 as he exploited the helpful conditions and a tentative batting line-up with hard hands. The record for the lowest first-class score on the ground – Western Australia’s 41 against South Australia in the 1989-90 season – appeared to be in danger for a while.Woakes’ form could be a vital part of this Ashes series. If he can gain movement and bowl at the pace he managed in his magical series against Pakistan in 2016, he will prove a real threat. If not, England will be hugely over-reliant on Anderson and Stuart Broad. Here he looked sharp and menacing and, with Overton and Anderson nagging away outside off stump like a late tax return, a green-looking CA side were fortunate to take the game into the final day.But the success of the bowling shouldn’t mask the flaws in the batting. The hyenas are licking their lips.

A gift of a pair of signed wicketkeeping gloves belonging to his late father has been a happier Ashes moment for Jonny Bairstow

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2017Jonny Bairstow has found release from a troubled Ashes tour thanks to a kindhearted gesture from an Australian cricket fan who won a pair of autographed wicketkeeping gloves owned by Bairstow’s father nearly 40 years ago.Andrew Johns was a small boy when he won the gloves in an Adelaide quiz because he knew that David Bairstow was England’s reserve wicketkeeper on the 1978-79 Ashes tour.Now he has presented them to Jonny as a memento of a tour in which he has followed in the footsteps of his late father.Mr Johns tracked down Bairstow on Instagram and spent half-an-hour or more chatting with him early one morning in the England team’s Adelaide hotel.Bairstow has had a tough time in Australia, still to make a major contribution with the bat and derided for his “headbutt” greeting to Cameron Bancroft in a Perth bar soon after England’s tour party touched down in Australia.He expressed delight at “a fantastic gesture” – leaving Mr Johns to tell that Bairstow, far from being a threat to life and limb, is “a ripping bloke”, and causing fans to take to Twitter to praise “a fabulous and heartwarming story”.”He was quite emotional to receive the gloves, it was really lovely,” Johns told ABC Radio. “I just lost my father this year in June — he was 83, but had a great life — and I know if someone gave something to me that belonged to my father I’d want it, and that’s what I wanted to do for Jonny.”He’s a ripping bloke. My dad used to say if you ever meet a Yorkshireman he’s as close to an Australian as you’ll get, down to earth with a laugh and a beer and tell you how it is, and he’s exactly all of those.”Meanwhile, during a series characterised by ill will, one simple gesture might be said to have discovered the true spirit of the Ashes.

Steven Smith also spoke about the importance of keeping Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins together when the Ashes were up for grabs

Daniel Brettig in Sydney08-Jan-20181:45

Lyon’s run-out at the Gabba changed series – Smith

Cameron Bancroft will be pitted against Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and perhaps Dale Steyn in South Africa during the looming Test series in March, if the Australia captain Steven Smith’s words are anything to go by.Despite struggling over the course of his first Ashes series, notably showing evidence of technical trouble in the region of his off stump, Bancroft is highly regarded by the Australian team set-up after spending six weeks in camp. This is partly for his high work ethic and eagerness to improve, and also for an off-beat personality summed up when he had Smith in stitches when describing his pre-series altercation with Jonny Bairstow in the aftermath of the Gabba Test.Given all these attributes, the 25-year-old Bancroft has won Smith’s support ahead of the selectors’ discussions about who should travel to South Africa. As if to remind them of the player discarded to make room for Bancroft, the Queensland opener Matt Renshaw is set to play in England’s 50-over warm-up match before the ODI series, but Smith gave no indication of wanting to change back to another opening partner for David Warner.”He’s worked hard and he probably hasn’t scored as many runs as he would have liked throughout this series,” Smith said. “But he’s a good young player, he’s a great character and he’s got a terrific work ethic. The more he plays, he’s going to continue to improve and get better. If the selectors keep the faith – I hope they do – it will only be good for him and good for the group.”Smith had plenty of praise for his team after wrapping up a 4-0 series victory over England to regain the Ashes, and pinpointed Nathan Lyon’s direct hit to run out James Vince on the first day of the series in Brisbane as pivotal to the overall outcome. “The moment that changed the whole series was Nathan Lyon and the run out [of James Vince] at the Gabba,” Smith said. “That was such a huge moment in the series. Those sort of plays can change the series. I certainly think that was a series-changing moment.”I think all the bowlers did an exceptional job. Lyon got a lot of rewards throughout the series and bowled exceptionally well. I was looking yesterday when we were out on the field it came up with all the wickets this series the bowlers had got, each one of them had over 20. It showed the guys have bowled together as a group, bowled in partnerships and for one another and helped us take the 80 wickets that we needed to win the four Test matches. Nathan’s been exceptional with that as well. His consistency has been outstanding.”Pat Cummins was hostile after lunch•Getty Images

As for the ability of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins to remain fit for the matches that mattered at the front end of the series, Smith spoke warmly about how the team’s support and medical staff had mapped out plans to have the “big three” pacemen at their best. “They’ve done it so well throughout this series. It’s been nice to have those three guys playing together,” he said.”So much went in to ensure those guys were right for this series. A lot of credit has to be given to the support staff, medical staff and all of that for getting it all right and coming together the way it did. It’s nice to have those options available. All those guys bowl a little bit different to each other but all bowl really good pace. In Australia that works really well, it’s been great.”Having started the Ashes by laughing alongside Bancroft, Smith had also generated plenty of mirth by how he reacted to Shaun Marsh’s spontaneous decision to try to hug his brother Mitchell Marsh upon completing a hundred rather than finish a second run. The resulting near-run out made Smith briefly apoplectic, but he could laugh about it in the afterglow of the Sydney victory, while also acknowledging how much the Marsh brothers had contributed to the scoreline.”Looking back, it was quite funny,” Smith said. “When I’m watching or when I’m playing I’m sort of always in the moment. Watching the ball not going to the fence and seeing them start to hug in the middle just seemed a little bit bizarre. I just wanted them to get back in their ground and not get run out. Shaun came in the rooms after and I said ‘what happened there?’. He goes ‘I just wanted to hug him, I didn’t care about anything else, I just wanted to hug him’. It was a strange moment but a pretty special moment for the two brothers.””Everyone has had a role to play and had some impact on this series. You see the two Marsh boys…Shaun throughout the whole series and Mitch in the last three Test matches … have been magnificent. All the guys have had an impact in the series and that’s what has been so special about it. It hasn’t just been one or two guys stepping up and doing the job. You can’t really win an Ashes series when that’s the case, so it’s been good that so many different people have stood up at different times to help us win the series.”As for the future, Smith has previously stated his goal of winning the Ashes away from home, something no Australian team has done since 2001. He was unsure of whether or not the current team should be favoured to win next time around, but did indicate that he felt keeping a young team together over time would help all of its members to gain in strength and confidence.”A lot can change between now and then. That’s still a long time away. But this team has been magnificent this series, the cricket we’ve played has been great,” Smith said. “I think the more we play together the more we’re going to get better as a group. We’ve just got to keep getting better and improving as a team. England in 2019 is a long way away but it is a real challenge for us as well and a bucket list for mine to win an Ashes series in England.”I think it’s different obviously to playing with a Kookaburra here. It can move around consistently at times. I think everyone is vulnerable to a moving ball. It’s about just trying to find a way to have a solid defence and a game plan that can work in those conditions. Over the next couple of years guys are going to continue to develop and get that game plan in place.””It’s a tough tour, going to England, it’s a great place to play and a difficult place for any team travelling. England play incredibly well at home. I don’t know who would be favourites. But I now do look forward to going over there in 2019.”

Gerhard Erasmus followed up his final-over heroics from a day earlier to partner Craig Williams for a 95-run sixth-wicket stand that set up Namibia’s 17-run win

The Report by Peter Della Penna13-Feb-2018ICC/Sportsfile

Batsman Gerhard Erasmus followed up his final-over heroics from 24 hours earlier with his second consecutive half-century, teaming with allrounder Craig Williams for a 95-run sixth-wicket stand as Namibia handed Canada their first loss of the tournament, by 17 runs at United Cricket Field.At a ground that has been a bowler’s paradise in the opening hour of play, Canada won the toss and unsurprisingly sent the hosts in. But they struggled to break through, as Stephan Baard and Lohan Louwrens survived the Powerplay with a 47-run opening stand. Navneet Dhaliwal, whose part-time medium pace ripped apart Kenya on Sunday, struck twice in the 12th over to bring Canada back.But Williams produced Namibia’s highest score of the tournament – 82 off 89 balls – before departing in the 48th over. Erasmus had been with him for much of the way, and once again took Namibia into the last over to forge a commanding total of 268.Ruvindu Gunasekera, the tournament’s top-scorer with 207 runs, continued his stellar run with another half-century. Dhanuka Pathirana and Dhaliwal steered the chase after Gunasekera’s departure, and with 87 to win with 10 overs to go and seven wickets in hand, Canada were favorites, given the United’s short boundaries.But left-arm medium pacers JJ Smit and Jan Frylinck bowled sensational spells to rip out Canada’s middle order. The pair bowled eight of the final ten overs and took four wickets. They were at their best in the final 12 balls. With 28 needed to win, Smit conceded six singles in the 49th. Frylinck began the final over conceding just two singles over the first three balls, effectively clinching victory.

Adam Milne and Marcus Stoinis will join Kent for the Vitality Blast, following the capture of Matt Henry only 24 hours earlier

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2018Kent have announced the signings of New Zealand quick Adam Milne and Australian allrounder Marcus Stoinis for their Twenty20 campaign, making it three overseas signings in 24 hours following the capture of another Kiwi pace bowler, Matt Henry.Milne will return to The Spitfire Ground after an impressive debut T20 season for Kent. He took a club record 5 for 11 against Somerset last summer and topped the bowling averages with 15 wickets at 12.46, conceding just 7.23 runs an over. He will rejoin the Spitfires for the 2018 Vitality Blast, which starts in early July.”We were really disappointed to come out on the wrong end of so many close matches last summer,” he said. “With such a talented squad, we’ll be looking to make amends.”Director of cricket Paul Downton said: “Adam had an excellent first season at Kent so we’re delighted to secure his services again for 2018. Bowlers of Adam’s pace and skill are rare and we believe he can be a match-winner for us in this format.”Kent have also signed Stoinis for this summer’s T20 competition. Stoinis played five matches for Kent’s second XI in 2012 and will be available for the last nine of the 14 games of the group stage.A destructive middle-order batsman and medium-fast bowler, Stoinis has gone on to play for Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League and Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League in Australia. It will be his first experience of county cricket.Henry will be available for the first seven Specsavers County Championship matches and the Royal London One-Day Cup.He has county experience in the last two years at Worcestershire and Derbyshire and has played two seasons in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings.Pace bowling has been a weakness for Kent in recent seasons and that has been exacerbated by the loss of Matt Coles to the champions Essex which leaves Henry with an important role to play.

This season’s eliminator and second qualifier will be played at the MCA Stadium in Pune on May 23 and 25

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2018The IPL governing council has decided to allot two of this season’s playoff matches – the Eliminator and second Qualifier – to the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) in Pune. The games will be played at the MCA stadium in Gahunje on May 23 and 25.”For the play-off, there was a suggestion that since Rising Pune Supergiant (now defunct) were the runners-up last time, we should give first priority to Pune,” IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said after a governing council meeting on Friday. “If the stadium and the wicket is ready, the first priority would be given to Pune, if not, then we will consider Kolkata for the playoffs.”The eliminator and the second qualifier are usually held at the home venue of the previous-season’s runners-up, and by this logic Pune would have got the two games anyway. However, Rising Pune Supergiant, who lost last season’s final to Mumbai Indians, are no longer part of the tournament. Other state associations, including those of Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, had been pushing to host the games, and in a move to eliminate rival states from staking claim, MCA president Abhay Apte had sent an email to Shukla, stressing the “unwritten rule” that the previous year’s runners-up host the playoff games.

Australia’s home international schedule for 2018-19 includes maiden Tests at the Perth Stadium and Canberra’s Manuka Oval, and an international debut for Gold Coast

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Apr-2018India will most likely not play a day-night Test during their 2018-19 tour of Australia. Cricket Australia still hopes the first Test in Adelaide, which is scheduled to start on December 6, will be a pink-ball, day-night game, but ESPNcricinfo understands the BCCI is not in favour of the idea and has made its position clear to the Australian board.CA announced the schedule of Australia’s home summer on Monday without confirming a start time for the Adelaide Test. Since November 2015, Adelaide has hosted one day-night Test every year.”It is our preference that we play India in a day-night Test match in Adelaide, but we are still working through this detail and hope to have an answer on this in the coming weeks,” chief executive James Sutherland said.Women’s international cricket will bookend the summer, with Australia playing three T20Is against New Zealand in September-October – which leads into the women’s World T20 in the West Indies in November – and then a three-match ODI series against the same opponents in February-March. In between, the Australia men’s team will host a South African limited-overs tour in October-November, and full international tours by India and Sri Lanka that stretch from mid-November to early February.Australian Cricketers’ Association CEO Alistair Nicholson welcomed the increased scheduling of women’s cricket.”On the back of last years’ ground-breaking gender equitable MOU which the players fought for, it is right that our female team continues to get the exposure they deserve,” he said.”We have some of the best players in the world and I think the fans will appreciate the opportunity to see them on one of the biggest TV days of the year being AFL Grand Final night. Going forward the players are interested in exploring more long-form cricket opportunities, particularly after such a successful Ashes Test last year.”South Africa will play three ODIs from November 4 to 11, and a one-off T20 on November 17, which is the first ever international game at the Metricon Stadium in Gold Coast.India will begin their Australia tour with a three-match T20 series from November 21 to 25, and then play four Tests in Adelaide (December 6-10), Perth (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7). The newly built Perth Stadium will make its debut as a Test venue when it hosts the second Test.The Tests against India will be followed by three ODIs from January 12 to 18.Brisbane will host first Test against Sri Lanka, a confirmed day-night game, from January 24 to 28, and the Manuka Oval in Canberra – also a first-time Test venue – the second Test from February 1 to 5.CA has yet to confirm the dates of the domestic season, but it is likely to include an expanded Big Bash League season of 43 games. The 16-day gap between the fourth Test against India and the first Test against Sri Lanka – filled by only three ODIs – could give Australia’s international players a window to take part in as many BBL games as possible, while the tournament’s closing stages could be held after the end of the Test season.