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New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel claimed his first five-wicket haul for new county Glamorgan to help them close in on victory at home to Derbyshire.The Welsh County need another seven wickets on the final day to maintain the pressure on Middlesex in the race for the second promotion spot in Division Two.It took two sessions for them to take the remaining five wickets of the Derbyshire first innings, Anuj Dal top scoring with 92, Patel taking two catches to add to his five wickets.Not quite up to the Test record-equalling 10 wickets he managed with ball in hand for New Zealand in India, but still a massive contribution for his new county as they enforced the follow on. Derbyshire finished the day on 123 for 3.Glamorgan captain David Lloyd had talked about needing patience on this penultimate day and that was certainly the case through a wicketless morning session.Harry Came and Dal kept the scoreboard moving in reasonable comfort, without ever being able to relax on a wicket which was still offering something to the bowlers – albeit without pace.Glamorgan had to wait until after 1.20 before taking their first wicket, a smart catch by Patel low to his left off the bowling of Timm van der Gugten to ensure Came went for a well-made 64 in a partnership of 145.Alex Thomson fell cheaply to the bowling of Patel before van der Gugten claimed the crucial wicket of Dal, eight short of what would have been a well-deserved century.The all rounder was probably the pick of the Derbyshire bowling as well as their top scorer, taking his total runs scored from No. seven in the batting line-up to more than 900 this season.Derbyshire continued to show stubborn resistance as Patel took the rest of the wickets to claim 5 for 68, well supported by van der Gugten who took 3 for 37.Glamorgan had no hesitation in enforcing the follow on, Derbyshire trailing by 297, but more importantly leaving four sessions to take the 10 wickets needed for victory.Australian Michael Hogan led Glamorgan onto the field after tea for his last innings at the home of Glamorgan cricket after a decade with the club.First-innings half-centurion Luis Reece fell caught behind off James Harris, but captain Billy Godleman led the way following his first-innings duck.Brooke Guest was undone by a beauty from van der Gugten which jagged back between bat and pad to hit the top of off.Godleman had a bit of luck when he was dropped by Lloyd at slip for 38, but it did not cost Glamorgan’s skipper too dear as his opposite number fell for 40, lbw to van der Gugten, when close to his season’s top score of 43. Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy saw out the rest of the day.

Australia opener David Warner is in the top five of the ICC rankings for batters, moving one spot up to fifth following his match-winning 106 in the third ODI against England in Melbourne. Steven Smith, who accumulated 195 runs in the three-match ODI series, which Australia won 3-0, moved up three places to seventh position in the format, which he also previously held in January 2017.Warner played a crucial role at the top of the order, scoring 208 runs across three matches which included a half-century and a century, which earned him the Player-of-the-Series award. Smith, meanwhile, scored 80* and 94 in the first two matches.Australia’s bowlers also gained in rankings following the series. Fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who finished with five wickets in two matches, including a 4 for 47 in the second ODI, went up four places to No. 4, while legspinner Adam Zampa, who picked 11 wickets in three games, moved eight places up to seventh.Travis Head, who put up a record-breaking 269-run opening partnership with Warner and scored a career-best 152 in the third ODI, moved 12 spots up to No. 30.Devon Conway scored a half-century in the third T20I against India•Getty Images

In the men’s T20I rankings, New Zealand opener Devon Conway’s 59 off 49 balls in the tied third match of the series against India pushed him one slot up to third position. He went past Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who is 10 rating points behind him. Also moving up the rankings list were Glenn Phillips (up one place to seventh among batters) and Tim Southee (two places up to joint-14th among bowlers).Among Indians to have gained in the latest rankings update were bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (two places up to 11th), Arshdeep Singh (one place up to 21st) and Yuzvendra Chahal (eight places up to 40th)India batter Suryakumar Yadav consolidated his position at the top of the rankings after his 111 not out off 51 balls in the second match. He gained 31 rating points from the series and is on 890 rating points, 54 ahead of Pakistan’s Mohammed Rizwan who’s at No. 2.

At the last T20I World Cup 12 months ago, Shan Masood was doing commentary work with ESPNcricinfo. Two months ago, he had never played a T20I for Pakistan.Yet, immediately after Pakistan’s five-wicket loss to England in the T20 World Cup final, he was the one sent out to the MCG press area to try and make sense of a dispiriting evening for Pakistan after finishing as their top scorer in the game. After a middle-order stutter, he had built up a 36-run stand off 25 balls with Shadab Khan, laying the groundwork for a big finish, before both fell in the space of six balls and Pakistan’s innings melted away.Masood considered himself and Shadab responsible for the wheels coming off the innings. “When Babar and I were batting, we built a very good platform and then lost two wickets” Masood said. “We recovered that with Shadab and myself and then I don’t think we finished well and I think me and Shadab hold ourselves accountable for not staying there.Related

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“There were stages, especially with the bat where we could have finished the innings really well. Personally, I take blame for it. I thought that we’re aiming for 170 and having looked at how the innings ended, maybe we could have used with a batsman staying until the end and getting us to 155-160 which looked very good on a pitch that did something.”The pitch continued to “do something”, as Masood said, right through the second innings. Shaheen Shah Afridi shaped one in that cleaned up Alex Hales in the first over, while Naseem Shah repeatedly beat both the left and right handers’ outside edges in a sensational, albeit luckless, spell.”With the ball, we were bowling some really really good deliveries, some very good spells, but maybe we also gave a few runs away too many early on which we could have done without,” he said. “At the end in that crucial period where we lost Shaheen, we could have done with his two overs at the end.”We’re a bit disappointed. We couldn’t seal it in the crucial moments. England were very good in those crucial moments. I thought they came at us both with the bat and the ball.”Haris Rauf ended up with figures of 2 for 23 and was particularly fearsome early on, ensuring Phil Salt and Jos Buttler had been dismissed before the powerplay was out. The spell was central to Pakistan managing to make a low target as hairy as they did for England, though Rauf rued the lack of another 15 runs or so to defend.”We were short a few runs, but as a bowling unit, we stuck to our plans,” Rauf said. “They played well and deserved to win. We had control of the match until the Shaheen injury. Ben Stokes was quite lucky and kept missing the outside edge, but we did think Shaheen not being able to bowl out make a difference. I’ve played a lot of cricket at the MCG and everyone knows scoring runs here is tricky; the boundaries are big. If we had 150 on the total, that would have posed more questions to them. But we bowled well to take it so close.”A campaign that had begun with two final-ball losses ended with a defeat in the final game for Pakistan. Four wins and three defeats might not necessarily be runner-up form, but Masood pointed out the nature of the wins and losses revealed a more insightful picture of Pakistan’s campaign.Shan Masood made a 28-ball 38 in the T20 World Cup final•Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“I think we can sum it up with the wins and losses. I think the games that we have won, we’ve won them pretty comfortably. And the good sign always is that when you lose, you lose close games. So you realise that those things are in your own hands. The three games we lost to India, Zimbabwe and even the final there were opportunities where we could have closed out those games.”You make mistakes, not just when you lose you also make mistakes when you win. So I think the side is very good at doing that. The side is very good at holding itself accountable. We played the World Cup semi-final last year, lost a close semi final, played the Asia Cup final and the World Cup final. The next step this young team has to take is finishing out games, finishing out close moments. The way Babar is leading this team, the leadership group in Shadab and Rizwan and this management, I’ve got no doubts that with future World Cups coming this side will be a constant threat and amongst the top teams.”Masood was key to Pakistan’s charge through the early middle overs, most notably when he took 16 off Liam Livingston’s only over to leave Pakistan in a relatively dominant position at 84 for 2 in 11 overs. It’s been quite the journey from a Test match specialist and a T20 novice to Pakistan’s central hope in a World Cup final.”Funnily enough, I was watching the last World Cup with ESPNcricinfo doing some commentary work,” he said. “Life can change but I think personally in my life there’ve been huge lessons which has allowed me to be freer, enjoy the game more and be the best version of myself. I’ll never be satisfied with what I do. There are things that I want to improve in my game and hopefully I’ll keep working on them and keep growing as a player.”

New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell rues the “small moments” that slipped away from their grasp in the first Test in Mount Maunganui, but insists that there isn’t a gulf between his team and England.”If you looked into that third innings, I think we had them six down for 230-240 – I’m not sure of the exact numbers – but if we had taken a couple of quick wickets, the game could have been a lot different,” Mitchell said after arriving in Wellington for the second Test.”So, for us, it’s actually not too far away. It’s sticking true to who we are as Kiwis and Blackcaps, and what’s worked for us for a number of years now. Yeah, we are missing a couple of small moments now, which is disappointing, but we also know that’s the nature of Test cricket, and it’s not always going to go your way, and it can be a bloody hard game at times. But we also know we are not too far away.”Related

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One of those small moments was New Zealand allowing England get away to 374 in their second innings after they were 237 for 6. England’s innings had threatened to spiral out of control when Joe Root fell to the reverse sweep for the second time in the Test at the stroke of tea on day three. But a composed half-century from Ben Foakes, and swift cameos from captain Ben Stokes and No. 9 Ollie Robinson powered England that far.Stuart Broad then tore through New Zealand’s top order under the Mount Maunganui floodlights to put the fourth-innings chase of 394 well beyond the hosts’ reach.New Zealand coach Gary Stead lamented New Zealand’s inability to throw the sucker-punch during that passage of play, which changed the mood and tempo of the game.”I thought there were times through this Test we did that really, really well,” Stead said. “I think in that second innings when they were 230 [237] for 6, if we could’ve bowled them out in the next hour, then we bat [for] a good period of time in the daylight as well with the softer ball. They are the little variables that affected us in this Test match, but looking forward to the challenge that’s ahead because we know that’s a big challenge.”Matt Henry is in, and Jacob Duffy is out for the second Test at the Basin Reserve•Getty Images

New Zealand suffered a big blow ahead of the Wellington Test, with Kyle Jamieson ruled out for another three to four months with a suspected recurrence of a back injury. So far, they have also resisted the urge to recall Trent Boult, who has handed back his New Zealand central contract, with Stead backing the current group to bounce back against England.”They [England] are obviously playing very, very good cricket,” Stead said. “I think they’ve won 10-11 of their last 12 Tests, and they’re on a bit of a roll and playing with some real confidence. I don’t think it’s unfair to say we’re probably lacking a little bit of that confidence at the moment because you don’t get the results.”But I can assure you that the faith is still with the group of these guys. We believe that these are our best cricketers, and we’re going to put everything behind them to make sure we can go out there in Wellington and really some throw punches back at England as well.”New Zealand, however, will be boosted by the return of Matt Henry, who has linked up with the squad after his partner Holly gave birth to their daughter last week. Henry is set to directly slot into the XI at the Basin Reserve in place of either Scott Kuggeleijn or Blair Tickner.”He’s obviously a seasoned bowler in international cricket now,” Mitchell said of Henry. “It’s awesome that he has just had the birth of his little girl, and I know he’ll be excited to come and join this group and hopefully take some wickets, which will be awesome. And yeah, I’m sure he’ll be pretty proud to do that with his little girl watching on TV.”Matty is my domestic team-mate at Canterbury as well, so it’s always nice having him in this group. He’s a fierce competitor, he will keep running in for you, he’ll do the job. Look forward to having him back. I think we will all do our job and see what happens.”Reserve seamer Jacob Duffy and legspinner Ish Sodhi have been released from the Test squad for the four-day Plunket Shield competition that will resume this week.

Henry looking forward to ‘taking it’ to England in Wellington

Henry is the top wicket-taker in the Plunket Shield this season, with 23 strikes in three games at an average of 11.69. But injury sidelined him from the ODIs in Pakistan and India. Having been passed fit, Henry is now looking forward to returning to action in front of a sell-out crowd at the Basin Reserve.”Not ideal with the injury – torn knee and everything,” Henry said. “So, it has been a bit of a rehab for the last few weeks. But it has been good; kind of ones of those ones where you look forward to playing some cricket. No better place to do it than the Basin.”Always well-supported here in Wellington. The Basin always has a great crowd and to hear it sold out for the first three days is amazing, and playing against England… the style of cricket they’ve been playing is an exciting one to watch as well. It has been cool to watch them play in that first game, and I’m sure everyone has learnt a lot from that first game as well and look forward to taking it to them come Friday.”The weather could play spoilsport in Wellington, with showers and strong winds predicted on the first day.

Nida Dar has been named Pakistan’s all-format captain a month after Bismah Maroof quit the role following the team’s group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February. The PCB has also confirmed the recruitment of Mark Coles as head coach, with Saleem Jaffar serving as the head of the women’s selection committee.Dar, 36, is the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20Is with 126 wickets from 130 games. She has also scored 1687 runs in the format at a strike rate of 100.95. In ODIs, she has 91 wickets and 1535 runs from 99 games.”It is a huge responsibility, and I am excited to lead the team in the upcoming events,” Dar said. “I want to thank the PCB for entrusting me with this responsibility and will do my best to take the team forward.Related

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“I also want to thank Bismah Maroof for her services as the captain of the team. She has done a fantastic job, and I hope to continue her legacy and lead the team with the same passion and commitment. The upcoming season of women’s cricket is going to be a tough one. But we are fortunate to have some young exciting talent in our pool of players, which I am confident will significantly improve during the course and also help the side to produce strong performances.”As a captain, my objective remains to inspire and mentor these young players to become quality cricketers. I will be extremely satisfied and content if we first break and then cement our place in the upper half of the ICC Women’s Championship before slowly working our way into the top-three.”Coles, meanwhile, will return in the role he left in 2019 over family commitments. He was Pakistan’s head coach from 2017 to 2019 and had a relatively successful stint, leading the side to seven wins in 16 ODIs – including a first-ever series victory over West Indies in 2019 – and 12 wins in 30 T20Is.Coles will arrive in Pakistan in May on a two-year contract, and the current coaching staff – Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Jaffar (bowling coach) and Mohtashim Rasheed (fielding coach) – will work with him. Jaffar will also head the selection panel, which includes Asmavia Iqbal, Marina Iqbal and Mohtashim Rasheed.”I am grateful to the PCB for giving me yet another opportunity to work with the talented Pakistan Women’s team,” Coles said. “It has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of players and I look forward to the exciting times ahead as we aim to improve our previous performances and achievements. We have a lot of potential in the team, and I look forward to helping the players give their best and achieve success on the international stage.”Over an 11-month period from August 2023 to July 2024, Pakistan will play 15 ODIs, which are part of the ongoing ICC Women’s Championship, and 17 T20Is.Pakistan Women’s upcoming bilateral series:
Aug-Sep 2023 – vs South Africa (three ODIs & three T20Is at home)
Oct-Nov 2023 – vs Bangladesh (three ODIs & three T20Is away)
Nov-Dec 2023 – vs New Zealand (three ODIs & three T20Is away)
Feb 2024 – vs West Indies (three ODIs & five T20Is at home)
Jul 2024 – vs England (three ODIs & three T20Is away)

Danni Wyatt smashed 40 off 20 balls as Charlotte Edwards Cup holders Southern Vipers began their defence with a six-wicket victory over South East Stars.Opening batter Wyatt plundered five fours and a pair of sixes to put Vipers on track in their pursuit of 170, the highest successful chase in Charlotte Edwards Cup history.Maia Bouchier impressed with a quick-fire 30 and Lauren Bell claimed 2 for 25 for Vipers, while Bryony Smith and Sophia Dunkley clocked thrilling half-centuries in front of the on-looking England head coach Jon Lewis, who is about to enter the throes of Women’s Ashes preparations. But Georgia Elwiss and Charlie Dean got Vipers over the line with seven balls to spare.Having been stuck in by Vipers, it was Dunkley that began the first-wicket blitz with a drilled boundary off her first ball but Smith soon took over. The Stars captain was brutal in her ball striking on a belting hard wicket with a quick outfield at the picturesque and friendly Falkland Cricket Club.The boundary was lined with about 400 spectators including 160 students from local schools – many of which used the net facilities and practised their cricket skills. They cheered on Smith as she rushed to her half-century in 26 balls with her 11th four.Vipers offered a series of chances: Dunkley was dropped on 35 and 36 while Linsey Smith couldn’t hold a Smith skier before thumping back-to-back sixes as 200 looked on the cards.The only way to part the openers was by their own misadventure, and that came when Alice Monaghan speared in a throw from deep square leg to run out Smith for 83. It ended a 134-run stand and sparked a slowdown which saw only 35 runs added and six wickets fall over the last six overs.Dunkley reached her maiden Charlotte Edwards Cup half-century, and 11th in T20s, in 42 balls but was soon caught behind giving herself room to cut.Paige Scholfield spooned to deep square leg before three wickets in the final over – Alice Davidson-Richards and Tash Farrant bowled by Bell and Kira Chathli run out to leave the visitors on 169.Like the Stars, the Vipers’ openers – Bouchier and Wyatt – tonked the ball around in the powerplay. Both had struck maximums before the end of the third over as their fifty stand arrived in 24 balls.Like Smith, Bouchier was run out in full flow – for an 18-ball 30, but Wyatt kicked into overdrive with an effortless hoick for a second six as the Vipers stormed to 79 for one off the powerplay.Australian Nicole Faltum was brilliantly caught at cover by Dunkley before Wyatt skewed to backward point for 40 as Stars dragged things back in the middle overs.Georgias Adams and Elwiss put Vipers in control again with a 48-run stand, but the former was the fourth batter to be run out with 29 runs still needed.The earlier heavy scoring had meant the rate was roughly a run-a-ball for the death and Elwiss and Dean carefully took their side to victory and condemned Stars to a second defeat in two matches.

Chris Wright, Leicestershire’s veteran seamer, will join Sussex from the start of the 2024 season on a two-year contract, with Lancashire allrounder Danny Lamb also making the move to the south coast.Wright, who turns 38 next month, has claimed 567 wickets at 32.30 in a 196-match first-class career that has spanned 20 seasons. His best innings figures of 7 for 53 came against Gloucestershire at Bristol in 2021.He will be available for all formats for Sussex, having picked up 174 domestic white-ball wickets in his career. This season, he has found a strong vein of form with the bat as well, averaging 56.8 in 10 innings in the County Championship. This includes twin scores of 66 not out and 40 not out in a memorable win against Yorkshire at Headingley.”I am delighted to be joining Sussex for the 2024 season and beyond,” Wright said. “I have long admired the club and am looking forward to contributing to its future success.”Speaking to Paul Farbrace [head coach] and having played against the team a number of times I am excited to be joining such a talented and ambitious group. Hopefully, I will take lots of wickets and provide some valuable experience to the team.”Farbrace added: “I’m delighted that Chris has committed the next two seasons to joining our project at Hove. He is a vastly experienced cricketer who will bring skill, experience, and a huge passion for the game.”Chris is someone I have admired for a long time, and his quality with the ball will be fantastic for our developing team and will help us to win matches.”Sussex will be the fifth county of Wright’s first-class career, following earlier stints at Essex and Middlesex, as well as a successful period at Warwickshire between 2011 and 2018, where he helped win the County Championship in 2012.Related

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Lamb, meanwhile, joins on a three-year deal. “I’m extremely excited for the opportunity,” he said. “A brilliant new challenge and one which I feel has come at the right stage in my career.”I’ve always enjoyed playing against Sussex and at Hove. I like what Sussex are about and the vision for the future with Paul Farbrace at the helm of a young ambitious squad. I can’t wait to get going and I look forward to contributing to the team in all formats.”Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s director of cricket, said: “Danny has found first-team opportunities limited over the last couple of years, so we completely understand the decision he’s made moving to Sussex. We wish him all the best for the next stage of his career.”A medium-paced allrounder, Lamb has an impressive record across formats but has struggled for game-time at Lancashire this year and has recently been playing for Gloucestershire on loan.

Ashleigh Gardner sent down her arm ball, Amy Jones charged past and the ball bounced off Alyssa Healy’s battered hands, onto her chest then into the gloves, Australia’s tough-as-nails wicketkeeper whipping off the bails with a millimetre or two to spare as Jones was sent trudging back to the changing room. It handed Gardner her fifth of a stunning eight wickets for the innings after she had been pivotal in putting the tourists on top at Trent Bridge heading into the fifth and final day of an enthralling Women’s Ashes Test. It was also a turning point in this match which Australia won by 89 runs to claim four crucial points for the series.Healy pulled off the dismissal despite fractures to her left index finger and right ring finger, suffered during Australia’s warm-up match, and Gardner didn’t stop there, claiming 8 for 66 in the innings to end with 12 wickets for the match, the best Women’s Test return for Australia and second-best overall.Related

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Jones’s dismissal, for just 4, left Danni Wyatt as England’s only recognised batter, at the crease opposite Sophie Ecclestone with 117 runs still needed if they were to pull off the highest successful run chase in Women’s Test history. And while Wyatt reached her half-century on debut, it was not enough as she was the last wicket to fall – to none other than Gardner, lbw for 54. England may now have to win as many as five of the remaining six white-ball games if they are to claim the Ashes for the first time since 2013-14.Wyatt had kept the runs flowing steadily after resuming on 20 with England 116 for 5 and needing 152 more. She pounced on some width offered by Tahlia McGrath, driving to the rope through cover and punching Kim Garth past gully, then brought up her fifty whipping Gardner’s shorter delivery away for a single.Gardner had removed the threat of first-innings double-cenuturion Tammy Beaumont, captain Heather Knight and the dangerous Nat Sciver Brunt on Sunday evening in a stunning spell which yielded three wickets for nine runs in the space of 17 balls. And it was her impeccable lengths and line outside off stump that proved devastating on the last morning. She invited Kate Cross, the nightwatcher unbeaten on 5 overnight, to drive and she obliged but managed only to edge to Healy.Ecclestone, who had kept England in the contest with her 10 wickets for the match – made up of twin five-wicket hauls – fell lbw as Gardner switched to bowling round the wicket. The Australia allrounder then removed Lauren Filer for a duck with one that crashed into off stump before rapping Wyatt on the pad as she attempted to sweep. Gardner had taken 4 for 99 in England’s first innings, in which they conceded a lead of just 10 runs to Australia.The Australians had set England 268 to win – helped by half-centuries to Beth Mooney and Healy, who broke a string of three Test ducks – which would have surpassed England’s own record for the highest fourth-innings total of 245 for 9 during last year’s dramatic draw in Canberra. But Gardner ensured that wasn’t to be, as Australia broke a run of six draws in women’s Tests going back to 2015 in an excellent advertisement for playing over five days as opposed to four.

Tilak Varma has started his international career in fine fashion, clearly India’s best batter in the first two T20Is against West Indies on tricky pitches in Tarouba and Providence. India lost both games, but Tilak played his part well, with help from Rahul Dravid and Hardik Pandya.”I have been with Rahul sir since the Under-19 World Cup. He always says to follow your basics and spend as much time in the 22 yards between the wickets. He always says to enjoy your game as much as you can,” Tilak said at a press conference on Sunday. “When I was talking to Hardik also, he says the same thing, that you’ve done well in IPL and domestic, so this is the same thing you should do in international cricket. Follow your basics and enjoy your game.”On his international and T20I debut, Tilak made an instant impact, hitting sixes off the second and third deliveries that he faced.Related

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On Sunday, he went one better to bring up his maiden international half-century to help India post 152.”The wicket was on the slower side and slightly double-paced, and that’s why we thought that 150 or 160 would be a good score,” Tilak said of the second game, which West Indies won by two wickets with seven balls in hand. “I think we were ten runs short, other than that I thought we played well.”He also praised West Indies’ bowlers for making better use of the conditions than the Indians.”They were bowling really good,” he said. “When they bowled, they were using slower ones and hard lengths really well and they used the wind conditions really well.”For Tilak, the step up to international cricket can be linked directly to his performances in the IPL (though his List A average of 56.18 isn’t shabby either). In the IPL, playing for Mumbai Indians, he averaged 36.09 and had a strike rate of 131.02 for his 397 runs in 2022, and scored 343 runs at 42.88 and a strike rate of 164.11 in 2023.”Everyone knows that the two IPL seasons were my turning point. I am here because of my performances there,” he acknowledged. “So I am just playing with that confidence and going forward I want to continue what I’ve been doing.”In my first IPL season, he [Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai Indians captain] told me that I am an all-format player and that was a huge boost for me. That gave me a lot of confidence. He told me from then that I have to be consistent and for that I need to be disciplined off the field. So I take his guidance and have been following the things he has told me to do.”

Cheteshwar Pujara believes he still has a lot to offer India’s Test side, even though he confesses that being dropped has sometimes left him frustrated, battling self-doubt and nursing a bruised ego. The veteran of 103 Test caps last represented India at the World Test Championship final in June, and was not picked for the side’s tour of the West Indies, their first campaign of the new WTC cycle.”There have been ups and downs in the last few years and it tests you as a player because having played say more than 90 Test matches, when I got dropped, I still had to prove myself, I still had to prove that I belonged there. Its a different type of challenge,” Pujara told podcast on the sidelines of his county stint with Sussex. “Sometimes you do get frustrated, even if you have to prove yourself after 90 Tests and five-six thousand, whatever number of runs I had scored, its not easy.Related

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• Pujara – back to the grind, back to grinding bowlers down

“Sometimes it plays around with your ego. Having been successful at the international level for so many years, there are still doubts – are you good enough. And if you have to prove yourself again and again, [you wonder] whether it is worth it.”In the 2021-23 WTC cycle, Pujara was India’s second-highest run-scorer with 928 runs at an average of 32.00, just behind Virat Kohli’s 932 at 32.13. He scored 14 and 27 in the WTC final, and was left out in the aftermath of India’s defeat to Australia at The Oval, to the chagrin of some former cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar, who felt he was being made a ‘scapegoat.'”I keep telling myself that I know I belong there,” Pujara said. “I know that the kind of contributions I have made to Indian cricket, I still have a lot to contribute. I was given an interesting stat some time ago where I was told that whenever I have scored more than 70 or 80 runs for the Indian team, it is about 80% of the times India have gone on to win… or we haven’t lost that particular Test match. So I know if I score runs for the Indian team, most times we are on the winning side.”For the record, India have won 23 and lost just six of the 34 Test matches where Pujara has made at least one 70-plus score. For comparison, they have won 18 and lost 10 of the Tests in which Kohli has made 70-plus scores. This, of course, can be interpreted in a number of ways: run-scoring is often at its hardest in defeats, which tend to occur against strong bowling attacks and/or in challenging conditions.’When I score runs here, it gets noticed back home. That is not the reason why I play for Sussex. I play for Sussex because I enjoy playing cricket here’•Getty Images

Since being dropped for the second time in 18 months – he was also left out after the 2021-22 tour of South Africa – Pujara has been busy playing both red and white-ball cricket. Over recent weeks he has scored a second-innings 133 for West Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, and unbeaten centuries against Northants (106*) and Somerset (117*) in the One-Day Cup for Sussex. Pujara said he enjoys the domestic grind, and not just because his runs keep him in contention for Tests.”I enjoy playing cricket for Sussex, so when I score runs here, it gets noticed back home,” Pujara said. “That is not the reason why I play for Sussex. I play for Sussex because I enjoy playing cricket here. But the amount of runs I score here or in domestic cricket back home, it always helps me getting back into the team.”Pujara, India’s eighth-highest run-scorer in Tests, also said he was better off now framing his focus around his game rather than selection. He also said he doesn’t want to be “just another selfish cricketer” who bats for their spot, insteading striving to remain a key match-winner for India in Tests.”In my cricketing career, I have been put under pressure so many times where I’ve lost my spot in the team. But you just try and play for the team. You don’t try and play for your spot,” Pujara said. “I would keep it very simple because if you play for your spot, you’re just another selfish cricketer who is just being there in the playing XI, playing for the spot but not contributing to the team.”If I am not good enough contributing to the team, I am happy sitting at home rather than scoring. As an example, If I get out on 20 or 30 it is not that as a batsman you get out [on purpose], but if you score another 20-30 more and end up scoring a fifty and India doesn’t go on and win the Test match, is that going to be helpful for the India team? No.”It might be helpful for me as an individual but I never have that thought process. I am someone who will think that I should be good enough to win games for the India team. Not just try to survive and be part of the playing XI. If you want to be in the team, you should want to make a difference. Not just be in the team.”