#england-test-cricket

#england-test-cricket

They have reminded me of some of the students who have passed through the school where I teach: they get into the upper sixths and they're first-team cricketers, the big boys, very confident, dominating the team, playing good cricket, think they've cracked the code. Then they have a gap year and go travelling, and suddenly they realise there's a whole world out there, that life can be tough and things can be done differently.

England have doubled down on Shoaib Bashir's status as their No 1 spinner despite omitting their two-year project from the third Test in Adelaide and watching Will Jacks struggle in his place. Speaking after the close of play on day three, at which point Australia were closing in on an unassailable 3-0 series lead, England's assistant coach Jeetan Patel said Bashir had been sacrificed to prop up a struggling batting lineup.