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A few weeks ago, Ed Pollock was such a peripheral part of Birmingham’s plans that the club’s director of sport, Ashley Giles, admits he hadnever seen him play.But, just six weeks after making his first team debut for the club, Pollock has booked Birmingham’s place in the final of the NatWestBlast with a rapid half-century that set the platform for an 11-run victory over Glamorgan.Pollock, a 22-year-old graduate of Durham MCCU and Shrewsbury School, scored every one of the first 39 balls of the Birmingham innings andwent on to register a 23-ball half century. It was his third half-century in eight T20 innings and provided further vindication of the decision to prefer Pollock and co. to players of international experience such as Ian Bell and William Porterfield.For this was a victory built largely on the boldness and athleticism of Birmingham’s young side. With six men in the side aged 24 or under,Birmingham defended their total with some outstanding fielding and some impressive pace bowling from Olly Stone, who exceeded 90 mph andhurried even Glamorgan’s most experienced batsmen.Four of Pollock’s first deliveries were struck for six with a slog-sweep for six off Colin Ingram followed by successive heaves backover Mike Hogan’s head and a flick over square-leg off Marchant de Lange. When de Lange pitched short, Pollock pulled with power and bythe time Birmingham brought up their 50, Dominic Sibley had provided just three of the runs.While Birmingham lost their way a little after Pollock’s departure – they lost three for 36 in the six overs after the powerplay – GrantElliott and Colin de Grandhomme ensured the early impetus was not lost with a stand of 46 for the fifth-wicket.Ed Pollock gave Birmingham a blistering start•Getty Images

Still, Glamorgan could feel well satisfied with their effort in the field. They clawed their way back into the game after Pollock’s earlyblast with Craig Meschede especially impressive in a four-over spell full of control and variation. Birmingham’s final total of 175 wasprobably no better than par on what appears to be an excellent surface for batsmen.Just as important as Pollock’s half-century was Birmingham’s catching at the start of the Glamorgan reply. Sam Hain clung on to anoutstanding catch – running round the mid-wicket boundary, he threw himself into a diving catch and, after seeing the ball bobble out ofhis grasp for a moment, somehow managed to cling on with his left hand – to account for Aneurin Donald, before Grant Elliott held on to anequally brilliant effort – running back from mid-on, he dived full-length and held on to the ball inches off the turf – to dismiss the dangerous Colin Ingram.It was a key moment. Of the 17 times Ingram has faced 20 balls or more in this competition over the last two years, Glamorgan have only lostthree times. With David Miller falling almost immediately, edging an attempted drive, Glamorgan were 39 for 3 with their most dangerousbatsmen gone.While Jacques Rudolph, who made an accomplished 65 in his last match before retirement, and Graham Wagg kept Glamorgan in the game, another outstanding piece of fielding byAaron Thomason ended their sixth-wicket stand of 50. Fielding a drive from Wagg off his own bowling, Thomason – a 20-year-old all-rounderwho has impressed with his composure as much as his all-round skills this season – had the presence of mind to flick the ball back towardsthe non-striker’s end where Rudolph was out of his ground. It all but ended Glamorgan’s realistic hopes of reaching the T20 domestic finalfor the first time.With Jeetan Patel typically frugal – his second over cost just one run – and Olly Stone offering notably sharp pace that consistentlyexceeded 90 mph, even Andrew Salter’s late assault (he took 14 off the first three balls of the final over bowled by Woakes before he wascaught on the long-on boundary as two fielders dangerously converged) was not enough.

The PCB’s new Board of Governors (BoG) has picked the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s direct nominee Najam Sethi as board chairman for the next three years. Sethi was unanimously elected from within the 10-member BoG as no other member of the BoG filed nomination papers for the post.Sethi’s chances of taking over as chairman were very high after he was named on the PCB’s BoG on July 8 by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif – who was later disqualified by the country’s Supreme Court – as one of two direct nominees along with Ariff Ejaz, a prominent corporate figure. According to the PCB constitution, the chairman has to be elected from among those persons on the BoG.

Members present at the BoG meeting where Sethi was elected

Najam Sethi, Ariff Ejaz, Muzamil Hussain (WAPDA), Nauman Dar (HBL), Miftah Ismail (Sui Southern Gas), Mansoor Masood Khan (UBL), Murad Ismail (Quetta), Muhammad Numan Butt (Sialkot), Nadeem Ahmed (Lahore), Amjad Ali Khan (IPC, non-voting member). The FATA representative was not present at the meeting.

The previous three-year tenure ended when chairman Shaharyar Khan resigned, aged 83, citing personal and health reasons. Ejaz will be his replacement on the BoG, with representatives from the Lahore regions, Quetta, Sialkot, FATA, Peshawar, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Among the other four members, Water and Power Development Authority and United Bank Limited will retain their seats while Habib Bank Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited have replaced Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and National Bank of Pakistan.”I want to thank the new board of governors who have elected me unanimously today,” Sethi said, after being elected. “It’s a big responsibility on me and with their cooperation we will move forward. Secondly, I want to thank Shaharyar Khan also. It was a very good journey along with him. Lots of people thought there will be a gulf between us, but it never happened and he was a gracious and wonderful man to work with.”There are challenges but the main target is to make domestic cricket much stronger and keep tapping into the talent. The other major issue is that our all hard work will go in vain if we are not able to bring international cricket back to the country. Moreover, I am disappointed with [Pakistan’s progress in] women’s cricket. There are few good ideas and we will look to implement some reforms. We have done a lot of work and doing much more to make this possible .. lots of people are disappointed and I request them to show some patience. There are security issues. One day we decide that a team will come and then something happens. Over the next 2-3 months you will hear some good announcements.”This is Sethi’s second term in charge after the long battle over the leadership of the PCB between Zaka Ashraf and Sethi, which ended in May 2014; there had been multiple leadership changes in the PCB, after Ashraf became the first elected PCB chairman in May 2013.The Islamabad High Court termed those elections “dubious”, and Sethi was put in charge by the government. Ashraf and Sethi were then alternately reappointed and sacked from the post several times, before Sethi eventually filed a written statement before the court that he will not contest elections for the chairman’s post.Sethi, however, remained on the PCB’s BoG and head of the Executive Committee (ExCo) to control cricket affairs in Pakistan. In that period, Sethi was involved in the day-to-day functioning of the PCB and became an influential board member with signing authority. Although the PCB did not reveal the ExCo’s functions, it is understood that the committee holds significant influence in the board.Apart from the ExCo, five other committees – cricket, domestic, HR, Audit, Game Development – were formed with the previous BoG members dissolved with immediate effect. The new committees will be formed with newly inducted members on the Board in due course though Sethi confirmed that the ExCo would disband once and for all during his term as chairman.The entire national coaching staff will remain in charge, he said, with physiotherapist Shaun Hayes the only member whose contract will not be renewed. He will be released with the PCB paying him his salary for the remaining three months of his current contract. The national selection committee led by Inzamam ul Haq will stay in place along with National Cricket Academy director Mudassar Nazar.Sethi, 69, a former caretaker chief minister of Punjab, comes from a journalism background. He has also been a driving force behind the Pakistan Super League.

ScorecardAlex Wakely will be confident of a final-day victory•Getty Images

Centuries from Alex Wakely and Rob Keogh gave Northamptonshire an excellent chance to pick up a fifth victory in the Specsavers County Championship. They set Leicestershire 394 to win at Wantage Road but the visitors survived for 16 overs under the lights until the close of day three at 9.57pm, reaching 44 for 0.Both Wakely and Keogh made their first Championship centuries of the season as Northants quickly built up a big lead. They declared in perfect time with the skies dark enough to encourage the pink ball to swing but unlike on the first evening where the hosts took four wickets, they failed to find a breakthrough as Paul Horton and on-loan Surrey batsman Arun Harinath got through a very tricky period, several edges falling short of the slips cordon and strong lbw appeals from Richard Gleeson against Harinath and Azharullah against Horton turned down.Until the wicketless final hour, it was a perfect day for Northants. After a three hour delay due to a wet outfield, Wakely and Keogh resumed with their side 60 for 3 and the game still in the balance. But Leicestershire couldn’t swing the ball and didn’t bowl accurately enough to even contain Northants – 146 runs came in 28 overs before tea.Wakely suggested Northants would look to be positive before the start of play and was true to his word. He made half-centuries in the second innings of Northants’ previous two matches and here went past fifty again in 55 balls with five fours – only after being put down by Harinath at point on 44.He looked in excellent touch – rocking back to pull Dieter Klein over midwicket and lifting Rob Sayer’s off spin over long-on for six. A fierce cut against Matt Pillans raced to the cover point boundary to raise a century in 108 balls. Wakely was eventually caught at short third man for 112 trying to reserve sweep Sayer.With Keogh, Wakely shared 171 for the fourth wicket – a partnership that took the game away from Leicestershire, who bizarrely only used their strike bowler Klein for seven overs in the second innings.Keogh’s day began with a clip to fine leg for four and he played the shot of the match – a gorgeous extra-cover drive off Clint McKay – on his way to just a second Championship fifty of the season in 77 balls with seven fours.He then skipped down the pitch to lift Sayer over mid-off before sweeping the same bowler for another boundary in front of square. He took tea 70 not out and after the break was forced to work the bowling around against a defensive field, eventually going through to his seventh first-class century in 136 balls – a very pleasant innings and much-needed after a poor first half of the Championship season.

ScorecardThe spectators who had waited four hours before play started were rewarded for their patience as they saw Derbyshire dismissed for 160 in 44.2 overs, and leave Glamorgan 212 to win. They faced six overs and with the final ball of the day – and without a run on the board – Jeevan Mendis trapped Jacques Rudolph leg before.Derbyshire meanwhile will be quietly confident of winning only their first championship game since beating Leicestershire in September 2015, as the ball is turning, with Mendis and the 16-year-old off spinner, Hamidullah Qadri, capable of troubling the Glamorgan batsmen.Resuming at 2 for 0, Derbyshire lost both nightwatchmen in Marchant De Lange’s first two overs. Tom Taylor was bowled by the fourth ball of the day, before Tony Palladino was caught at cover point from a leading edge. Billy Godleman, who had batted 43 overs for his 34 in the first innings, counter attacked effectively to score 27 from 22 balls, before he became De Lange’s third victim when he parried a lifting ball to gully.Andrew Salter was introduced when De Lange was rested, and despite being swept for four by Wayne Madsen from successive balls, Salter got his revenge when Madsen prodded to short leg.Luis Reece held the innings together with a fluent half century which included eight boundaries, but Derbyshire then lost 4 wickets for 16 runs. Graham Wagg removed Gary Wilson and Alex Hughes, while Salter, obtaining enough turn to trouble the batsmen, also took two wickets, including Reece for 55. After a breezy knock from Mendis, the innings ended with Timm Van Der Gugten taking the final two wickets in successive overs.Luis Reece battled to give Derbyshire a rare chance of victory•Getty Images

The BCCI is likely to retain Anil Kumble as coach for India’s tour of the West Indies immediately after the ongoing Champions Trophy. Kumble will be given the contract extension if the cricket advisory committee (CAC) fails to pick India’s next coach before then.The decision was taken by the Committee of Administrators (CoA), after consulting BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary and chief executive officer Rahul Johri on Monday.”In case there is a delay in taking a decision (by the CAC) we will request Anil Kumble to cover the West Indies tour also,” Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. Rai said the BCCI would check whether Kumble was “happy” to continue until the West Indies tour, which starts on June 23. India are scheduled to travel to the Caribbean from London on June 22, for five ODIs and one T20 international.Kumble was appointed India coach in June last year and was given a one-year contract, which ends after the Champions Trophy. Last month, the BCCI decided to invite fresh applications for the position after being made aware of the players’ reported unhappiness with Kumble’s man-management skills.Kumble was on the shortlist of six candidates and remained the first choice of the CAC, which comprises Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. Though the BCCI was in favour of appointing the new coach on a two-year contract until the 2019 World Cup, the CAC said that it did not want to take a hasty decision. The CAC’s first option, as previously reported, was to try and patch up differences between the India captain Virat Kohli and Kumble.

Khalid Latif and Shahzaib Hasan could be facing more charges for breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code.ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB might have found fresh leads in the ongoing investigation into the allegations of corruption surrounding the second season of the PSL. The board issued fresh notices against the players, who are already provisionally suspended, on Monday, asking them to appear for interviews before its Security and Vigilance Department. Latif was asked to appear on April 26, and Hasan on April 27.”In furtherance of its fight against corruption in the game of cricket the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Security and Vigilance Department has today issued fresh Notices of Demand to Cricketers Khalid Latif and Shahzaib Hassan,” PCB said in a statement. “These Notices of Demand have been issued under Article 4.3 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code and require both Cricketers to appear before the PCB Security and Vigilance Department for interviews relating to investigations into possible further breaches of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code.”Article 4.3, as well as requiring the players to be interviewed, allows the PCB to seek any information it believes to be relevant to the case, including access to personal records such as bank statements and phone records.Latif has already been charged with six breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code during the PSL in February. He was provisionally suspended for alleged misdemeanours and was sent home from the tournament. He has already challenged those charges and is set to be heard before a three-man tribunal on May 5. He will now, however, appear in this separate investigation on April 26.Latif challenged the status of the tribunal in the Lahore High Court during his hearing last week but the writ petition was shot down by the court. His lawyer subsequently decided to appear before the tribunal under protest.Shahzaib was charged for allegedly failing to report a suspect approach in time and in full detail, and also for allegedly inducing players in corruption. He was charged with breaching three major clauses of the PCB’s anti-corruption code and is scheduled to appear before the tribunal on April 21. He will now have to appear again on April 27.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details2:34

Chappell: First thought Kuldeep’s selection was gutsy

Kuldeep Yadav’s left-arm wristspin gave this series yet another unexpected twist, trumping the far more consistent theme of the Australian captain Steven Smith’s batting excellence, as India enjoyed the better of the first day of the decisive fourth Test in Dharamsala.Having reached lunch at a domineering 131 for 1, Australia gave up their last nine wickets for a mere 169, all on a surface that showed itself to be by a distance the most evenly paced of the series. That they did so was down largely to Kuldeep, who was given a key role immediately upon the afternoon’s resumption by the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and responded with a delectable spell that turned the direction of the day.Though Smith motored to his third century of the series – one of only six visiting batsmen to score that many in India – he was left without significant top-order support, and of the rest only Matthew Wade was able to endure for any protracted period. A good indicator of the different nature of play in Dharamsala was that the innings went by without a single recourse to the DRS, in sharp contrast to earlier matches. The new ball in Australian hands looms large as a key to the match.An irony of Kuldeep’s display was that he had come into the side in place of Virat Kohli, who was reduced to drinks duties after concluding that his strained right shoulder was not going to be 100% fit for this match, the last of the Test season. Turning the ball sharply both ways while maintaining an immaculate length and line, Kuldeep recalled the problems created for Australia by another left-arm wristspinner in Sri Lanka last year – Lakshan Sandakan.The Dharamsala pitch offered pace and bounce for both fast men and spinners to exploit, and it was the fresher fingers of Kuldeep that were best able to take full advantage rather than either Ravindra Jadeja or R Ashwin. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who replaced Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav had both found new-ball movement before Smith took control of proceedings with some help from David Warner.After Rahane lost the toss, Bhuvneshwar’s first ball of the match swerved away from Warner at drivable length. Warner chased it and edged, but the chance was grassed when Karun Nair could get only one hand to it. That incident was a necessary stroke of luck Warner needed after a largely barren series, and after Matt Renshaw was beaten and bowled by a Umesh delivery that straightened down the line, he and Smith were quickly into stride by using the extra pace and bounce offered up by Dharamsala’s hard pitch and thinner atmosphere.1:19

Steven Smith: highest average for a captain v India

Smith wasted little time to get moving, capitalising on any errors in line or length and at one point miscuing a hook at Umesh, so eager was he to get after the bowling. On another day the ball might have plopped into the gloves of Wriddhiman Saha, but here it fell safely.Warner was a little more sluggish after that early chance, covering up in defence to ensure he did not miss any of Bhuvneshwar’s inswingers, and on one occasion cuffing a boundary over the slips when trying to avoid a short ball. The arrival of spin helped Warner build momentum, as the Dharamsala surface offered the odd bit of spin but otherwise played in a friendly fashion in the morning session.Kuldeep was called upon for a pair of overs before the lunch interval, but he too was struck for boundaries as Smith and Warner set a highly promising platform for the tourists.Rahane and his bowlers reset their plans during the interval, focusing on greater economy while encouraging Kuldeep to maintain a full length and test Australia’s batsmen on the drive. Warner seemed preoccupied with trying to cut or force off the back foot, and in trying to do so from a delivery well pitched up, he succeeded only in edging to slip.Shaun Marsh, so stubborn in the second innings in Ranchi, flicked limply at an Umesh delivery and was taken down the leg side cheaply, before Peter Handscomb was out to a lovely piece of bowling from Kuldeep. The ball was tossed up and slower, drifting enough to drag Handscomb’s bat away from his pad and then breaking back through the gap to splay the stumps.Glenn Maxwell thought himself capable of muscling Kuldeep out of the attack and managed one lofted boundary, but he too was unable to be sure of which way the ball was turning. Two balls after reaching the rope, he went back to what he thought was a stock ball and instead found himself beaten and bowled by a googly.Smith’s earlier rapid scoring had slowed, and it was a subdued celebration on reaching three figures. He seemed likely to shepherd Matthew Wade to the tea break, but with five minutes to go edged an Ashwin drifter to slip, the ball after Wade had sneaked a bye from a ball that turned expansively.Pat Cummins, Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon all offered momentary support to Wade, who played sensibly to ensure the visitors at least reached the 300 mark. But Kuldeep’s return to the attack accounted for Cummins, before O’Keefe was run-out by the substitute fielder Shreyas Iyer, who many had expected to be playing in place of Kohli. Needing to win the match to claim the series, India’s selectors had instead gambled on the extra bowler – Kuldeep’s wiles offered the richest of rewards.

ScorecardDuckett scored a double-hundred in Lions colours last summer, but found his trial by spin to be a tougher proposition•Getty Images

If Ben Duckett was looking for an immediate pick-me-up on the England Lions tour of Sri Lanka after his disheartening time in India, he discovered that life can sometimes be less accommodating than that. The teething problems against high-quality spin that abruptly stilled his Test career were again in evidence as Sri Lanka A strolled the first of five one-day matches.Sri Lanka’s 47-run win on a DLS calculation came in mildly farcical circumstances when play was suspended for bad light with England nine-down and still 60 short with five overs remaining. Vikum Sanjaya bowled a bouncer at the Lions’ last man, Josh Poysden, the light meters came out and that was that. It was a predictably unsatisfying end after no overs had been removed when the match had started half-an-hour late after overnight rain.Whether Duckett breaks into the Champions Trophy squad this summer will not entirely depend on his fate over the next 10 days or so – England in June does not bear too much relation to the challenges on subcontinent pitches and he has too much natural talent to be subdued for long – but England will want to see evidence on this tour that he has suffered no lasting effects from his exposure against Ashwin and co.Instead, first up was an uncomfortable reminder of his India issues. This time the off-break bowler was Danushka Gunathilaka, who might not have Ashwin’s reputation – indeed, he has five international wickets in 21 appearances – but who unpicked the Northants’ left-hander efficiently enough. Duckett was 17 when he advanced down the line of leg stump to strike Gunathilaka over the off side only to be stumped by a distance.England have given him every chance to get into one-day mode, omitting him from the four-day leg of the tour as if to stress that they want his rehabilitation to come with a strong one-day bias. They want the Lions players to feel the scrutiny, despite the tiny crowds, and even after one game he will know what they mean.It was Duckett’s prodigious form for the Lions last summer, backed by heavy run-making for Northants, which catapulted him into England reckoning. Four innings brought 448 runs at an average of 224, including an unbeaten 220 against Sri Lanka A in Canterbury. Not that Sri Lanka were likely to suffer any ill effects from those memories with only Thisara Perera, a veteran in A-team terms at 27, surviving from that XI.The presence not just of Thisara Perera, but Kusal Perera too, amplified the difference in experience between the two sides. Sri Lanka had 10 players with international experience, the Perera twosome accounting for more than half of their 400-plus caps. The Lions could point only to a handful of caps for Duckett and the captain, Keaton Jennings, all of them won in recent months.Jennings habitually got out when set in the two four-day matches, so his adept 64 from 70 balls to underpin England’s pursuit of 290 in 48 overs represented an improvement. A top-edged sweep against the round-arm offspin of Shehan Jayasuriya caused his downfall, the first of four Lions wickets to fall for 15 runs in 28 balls and, at 133 for 7, effectively sealed their fate.Sri Lanka’s winning margin was trimmed thanks to a defiant eighth-wicket stand of 73 in 11 overs between Liam Livingstone, who was on the back of two hundreds in a match in Pallekele, and Craig Overton, who had done little else than sit and watch them. Overton’s first match of the tour was an impressive one: an unbeaten 60 from 45 balls – his first List A half-century – plus two top-order wickets in Sri Lanka A’s 278 for 7, an innings ended 11 balls early because of rain. As a youngster, he was a batsman who bowled and to be carded at No 9 here is something that should cause him to aspire to better things.With Sri Lanka A fielding seven left-handers in the top eight, the Lions were grateful not just for Overton’s lead with the ball but also for Livingstone’s sound stint of offspin, only 28 conceded in a spell that allowed little width and, after he dismissed Sandun Weerakkody in his final over, caught at the wicket, rounded off with two legspinners to the incoming right-hander.But the Lions’ seam attack lacked variety, James Fuller had an off-day and Poysden dropped his legspinners repeatedly short and suffered as a consequence. Half-centuries from the openers Kusal Perera and Gunathilaka in an opening stand of 123, plus a hard-hitting unbeaten 56 off 35 balls from Thisara Perera, gave Sri Lanka A dominance they never relinqushed.Outplayed in England last summer, they are a different proposition here. Duckett is not alone in recognising that.

“Decent stick I’ve got, I’ll put that one on ice until next time,” Martin Guptill said about the bat that helped him pile up his series-levelling unbeaten 180 against South Africa.It was a performance he rated as probably his best ODI innings, which would put it ahead of his 237 in the World Cup quarter-final against West Indies, because it came off the back of a month on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. That was a sentiment supported by his captain Kane Williamson who termed it a “world-class” innings.Guptill had only begun netting a week ago, and the session the day before the fourth ODI was the highest intensity he had trained at since injuring his hamstring before the one-off T20I against South Africa, which followed a previous hamstring strain during the home Chappell-Hadlee series. In all, Guptill has only batted three times in 2017, twice for New Zealand and once for Auckland: his scores 112, 61 and 180 not out.He had spoken before this match of hoping that he could regain the rhythm he had earlier in the season. The outcome was a magnificent display of clean hitting which included 11 sixes and left him with New Zealand’s three highest scores in 50-over cricket.”It’s pretty up there, possibly No.1. I’m reasonably happy with how today went without a lot of preparation,” he said. “It was difficult to bat all round, two-paced, turning, slower balls gripping, it wasn’t easy, and I wanted to create a good partnership. I did that reasonably well and fortunately I was able to get a few out of the middle.”He had immediately jumped in an ice bath after the match and said his hamstrings were “a bit tight” but nothing that wasn’t to be expected.The two camps differed somewhat on how the conditions panned out with AB de Villiers believing the surface eased, starting at the back end of South Africa’s innings when they scored 100 off the last eight overs, but Williamson supported Guptill’s view that it remained a tricky pitch throughout.”I said to Martin when he came off, that’s probably his best, and he’s done it a few times to be fair so there are a few tight comparisons,” Williamson said. “In a chasing effort on what wasn’t an easy surface and to hit the ball the way he did and play with the freedom we know he can and do something special against the best team in the world was a special, world-class effort.”In a chase of 280, Guptill inside-edged his first ball from Kagiso Rabada past the stumps, played out a maiden from Wayne Parnell in the second over and was 2 off 10 balls when he connected with a stinging pull shot off the left-arm quick for the first of his sixes. The splits for his fifties were 38 balls, 44 and 41 with his last 30 runs taking 15 deliveries.”I wanted to give myself a chance really, have a look at what it was doing,” he said. “I got a few away and developed a strike rate early at the top and carried it through.”Guptill’s innings continued an upturn in his fortunes against South Africa. In the previous one-day series between the teams, Guptill scored his first hundred against them in the second match in Potchefstroom having had a previous best of 58 from 12 innings at an average of 14.50. In the space of three innings, the average against South Africa has lifted to 35.92.”I’ve always rated him as a player, he’s had to work through a few things,” de Villiers said. “I was always hoping this day would never come, where he’s figured out his game, playing it nice and late and he’s moving well. I could sit here for quite some time and talk about that knock. It was a very special innings.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:50

Coverdale: Warner must feel in better space than a month ago

Rain cleared in Sydney for the second time in as many days to allow further progression of the SCG Test but Pakistan will require a world record cloudburst of strokes to prevent Australia advancing to a third victory from as many matches in the series on Saturday.A firecracker of an innings by David Warner and handsome hands from Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja helped the hosts set Pakistan a distant 465 to win after Younis Khan’s excellent rearguard dissuaded the hosts from enforcing the follow-on. The wicket of an aggressive Sharjeel Khan gave Smith an opening before the close.The entirety of the first session was lost for the second time in as many days, but Smith’s team made up for lost time by rattling off 241 in a mere 32 overs. Warner was certainly not in the mood to linger, hammering 55 from 27 balls to put Pakistan immediately on the back foot. He took particular toll on Yasir Shah, taking one over for 22.Smith and Khawaja followed up with plenty of telling blows of their own to stretch the lead, with the captain ultimately closing the innings with 16 overs left in the day and another 98 on day five. Sharjeel’s attacking instincts were given brief vent but his time in the middle on debut was ended when he flicked without due care and attention to Warner, lurking at midwicket.Earlier, Yasir had lasted more than an hour in the company of Younis to ensure Smith needed to call upon Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood more than he would have preferred if he were to send Pakistan back in. Hazlewood finished an exemplary display with four wickets, the last of which a sharp reverse swinger to bowl Imran Khan for a duck.Australia had one glimmer of hope to end Pakistan’s innings quickly when play got under way, as Starc coaxed an outside edge from Younis’ bat. However, Matthew Wade, back on the field having missed most of day three due to illness, was unable to hold onto the edge as he dived to his right.By the time Hazlewood found Yasir’s edge, 44 runs had been wiped off the deficit and Younis had gone well past 150. Australia will be without Matt Renshaw, ruled out of the match due to the symptoms of concussion after being struck twice in the helmet in the first three days.Khawaja duly walked out with Warner, and was in a great spot for a spectator as Australia’s vice-captain fired shots to all parts and briefly threatened the world record for fastest Test hundred as a follow-up to his century before lunch on day one of this match.In the end Warner got a fraction ahead of himself, bowled when aiming an ugly smear at Wahab Riaz, but he earned a second standing ovation of the Test and allowed Khawaja and Smith to carry on comfortably in his wake – the captain ended the session with a thumping six into the SCG Members.The runs continued to flow after tea, Smith moving along at a scarcely slower pace than Warner had set, and he was surprised to be given out when the third umpire Ian Gould detected the merest touch on the glove down the leg side when he tried to sweep Yasir. There was time for some flourish from Peter Handscomb before the declaration arrived, leaving Australia with plenty of time to chase a clean sweep of the series.