Australia

At the meeting of the IBC Board, the commercial subsidiary of the ICC, windows for the next three ICC men’s events were also agreed to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19.

 The windows for the Men’s events are:

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October – November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022

ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in India October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023

The IBC Board agreed to continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation and assess all the information available in order to make a considered decision on future hosts to ensure the sport is able to stage safe and successful global events in 2021 and 2022.

The IBC Board will also continue to evaluate the situation in relation to being able to stage the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand in February next year. In the meantime, planning for this event continues as scheduled.

“We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport,” said ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney.

“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world.

“Our members now have the clarity they need around event windows to enable them to reschedule lost bilateral and domestic cricket. Moving the Men’s Cricket World Cup to a later window is a critical element of this and gives us a better chance of maintaining the integrity of the qualification process. This additional time will be used to reschedule games that might be lost because of the pandemic ensuring qualification can be decided on the field of play.

“Throughout this process, we have worked closely with our key stakeholders including governments, Members, broadcasters, partners and medical experts to enable us to reach a collective decision for the good of the game and our fans. I would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment to a safe return to cricket.”

Australia wrapped up the series with comfortable back-to-back victories but saw their hopes of a 3-0 sweep dashed by an improved performance from India, who were boosted by batting first after Virat Kohli won the toss.

That allowed a sublime unbeaten partnership of 150 between Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to lay down a marker, setting the hosts a target of 303.

Aaron Finch (75) and Glenn Maxwell (59) did not lack ambition in pursuit of that total, but India - led by Shardul Thakur (3-51) and Jasprit Bumrah (2-43) - protected their lead, bowling Australia out for 289 to get up and running ahead of the Twenty20 International series starting later in the week.

It had initially looked as though this could be another comfortable outing for Australia as wickets fell around Kohli and the captain was then stopped short on 63 following a successful review.

Kohli, who became the fastest man to 12,000 ODI runs on Wednesday, was caught behind off Josh Hazlewood, claiming the scalp of India's skipper for the third time in this series and the fourth time in his one-day career - a tally only bettered by four other bowlers.

It meant Kohli will finish a calendar year without an ODI century for the first time since 2008 - his debut year - but Pandya (92 not out) and Jadeja (66 no) picked up the slack.

They combined for 12 fours and four maximums to accelerate India to 302-5 and belatedly pose Australia a serious question.

David Warner had set the tone with the bat in the second ODI but missed out with injury here, meaning Marnus Labuschagne moved up to open and made only seven before playing onto his stumps from debutant T Natarajan - India's first powerplay wicket of the series.

Steve Smith, the outstanding centurion last time out, could only muster the same total, too, after sending Thakur through to KL Rahul.

Heavy lifting from Finch kept Australia on course, but attempts to maintain this momentum were disrupted by a further two telling Jadeja contributions.

Shikhar Dhawan caught at the second attempt at long-on as Finch tried to launch the all-rounder over the fence, before Jadeja stooped for a brilliant take himself off new boy Cameron Green (21).

Maxwell's big hitting - his four sixes including one that landed on the roof and another booming reverse sweep - took the result down to the wire, but his departure to a Bumrah yorker left Australia's tailenders with too much to do.

Pant was unbeaten on 89 as India remarkably chased down 328 to beat Australia by three wickets at the Gabba, sealing a 2-1 series triumph as they retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

It ended Australia's 31-match unbeaten run at the venue as the tourists pulled off one of the all-time great Test victories, leaving Pant thrilled.

"This is one of the biggest moments of my life now, and I'm happy that all the support staff and all my team-mates supported me even when I wasn't playing," he said during an on-field presentation.

"It's been a dream series. The team management always backs me and tells me, you are a match-winner and you have to go win the match for the team.

"I keep thinking every day that I want to win matches for India, and I did it today. It was a fifth-day pitch and the ball was turning a bit. I thought I have to be disciplined with my shot selection."

Ajinkya Rahane was almost lost for words to sum up his feelings, having come in as stand-in captain after Virat Kohli returned home to attend the birth of his child.

"It really means a lot to us. I don't know how to describe this victory. I'm just proud of all the boys, each and every individual," said Rahane, who contributed a brisk 24 from 22 balls in the final innings.

"We just wanted to give our best, not to think about the result. When I went in, conversation between me and [Cheteshwar] Pujara was Puji to bat normal and me to go for my shots, because we knew Rishabh and Mayank [Agarwal] were there.

"Credit to Pujara, the way he handled the pressure was magnificent, and Rishabh was brilliant in the end."

Having bowled India out for 36 to win the opening Test, Australia were left to rue a series that slipped from their grasp.

Captain Tim Paine conceded India deserved their success and urged his own team to look forward to the challenges ahead.

He said: "Absolutely disappointed.

"We came here to win the Test and win the series, it's been a bit of a trend that we were found wanting in the key moments and completely outplayed by a tough Indian side that fully deserves the win.

"I think there's lots of things we'll look back at, but what's done is done. We need to look forward now, there's a big series in South Africa coming up, we've been outplayed by the better side in this series."

Cummins’ side are on a roll since losing against tournament hosts India and their opponents on Thursday, winning their remaining seven group-stage matches to storm into yet another semi-final.

South Africa might have prevailed in Lucknow and in an ODI series between the teams in September, but Australia have significantly more experience than the Proteas in the knockouts of a major tournament.

Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were part of the 2015 trophy-winning campaign as well as the T20 World Cup triumph two years ago.

The Australia captain said: “What helps us is we’ve got a lot of guys that have been in this situation before that have won one-day World Cup, T20 World Cup, various other tournaments in big moments.

“You can draw on that in the middle of the contest. Obviously you start from scratch every time you play. They’re a team we’ve played quite a lot and know quite well.

“But this week it’s probably going to be quite different to say the South African series that we just played against them a couple of months ago.”

Australia memorably knocked out South Africa at the same stage in 1999 at Edgbaston, where a tied match went the way of Steve Waugh’s side because they finished higher in the group stage on net run-rate.

The finale is one of the most replayed of all-time as Allan Donald was chaotically run out, despite South Africa still having two balls in which to get the solitary run they needed for victory.

Cummins said: “It’s kind of folklore, isn’t it? I’ve seen that replay heaps of times, you hear the stories.”

Australia have steadily grown in confidence in India, emboldened by Maxwell’s rescue act against Afghanistan as his 201 not out secured a dramatic win and was widely hailed as the best ODI knock ever.

Marsh ensured a seventh straight victory with an unbeaten 177 against Bangladesh, so Australia will head into their Eden Gardens showdown with plenty of optimism.

Cummins added: “As a team you grow an extra leg because you feel like you can win a match from anywhere and having someone like Maxi in your team is just a complete luxury. He’s a superstar, he’s a freak.”

A flashpoint occurred on the eve of lunch on day five when Jonny Bairstow was dismissed in controversial fashion, after Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey threw the ball at the stumps at the conclusion of Cameron Green’s over.

Bairstow had already left his crease to speak with Ben Stokes under the impression it was a dead ball with the over finished but was given out and it saw the Lord’s crowd respond with hostility towards the tourists.

Boos greeted the Australians when they left the pitch at lunch and television cameras picked up an exchange in the Long Room between MCC members and both Usman Khawaja and David Warner.

The MCC later apologised for the incident and Cricket Australia revealed an investigation is under way but Cummins does not want the tradition of walking past the members to end.

“The crowd certainly made themselves known, in the Long Room and also out there,” Cummins reflected after Australia won by 43 runs to move 2-0 up in the series.

“I think they were just quite aggressive and abusive towards some of our players, which yeah I know the MCC were not too happy with.

“The MCC came and apologised for the behaviour of some of the members and some of them might lose their membership over the way they behaved.

“Other than that one time, they were fantastic all week. The members here are normally fantastic, really welcoming.

“Something special about playing at Lord’s is you feel like you are at a really special place surrounded by people who have a love for the game. I quite like the tradition.

“I don’t think it hurts any more than normal. I think just standards that are held by the members are maybe a bit different to what you expect from certain members of the crowd at Edgbaston.

“To quote (Steve) Smithy, it felt like a normal day.”

Cummins did not see the alleged physical contract which a Cricket Australia spokesperson referenced.

“Australian management has requested the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) investigate several incidents involving spectators in the members’ area during lunch on day five of the Lord’s Test,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.

“It is alleged players and staff from the Australian team were verbally abused, with some being physically contacted, as they made their way to lunch through the members’ area.”

England captain Stokes was not asked specifically about the exchange in the Long Room, but did enjoy hearing the Lord’s crowd, known as one of the most politest sporting venues in the world, boo the tourists’ for most of day five.

“It was pretty mad wasn’t it,” Stokes admitted.

“It wasn’t until I got out and went on the balcony to watch the remaining half an hour, I thought I had never heard Lord’s like this.

“At the back end of the Test match it reminded me of the World Cup Final in 2019.

“It was good to see Lord’s, a ground that has not got a reputation for atmosphere or noise, like that. Today was one of the days where Lord’s showed up.”

A spokesperson for the MCC read: “The Long Room is unique in world cricket and the great privilege of players passing through the pavilion is very special.

“After this morning’s play, emotions were running high, and words were unfortunately exchanged with some of the Australian team, by a small number of members.

“We have unreservedly apologised to the Australian team and will deal with any member who has not maintained the standard we expect through our disciplinary processes.

“It was not necessary to eject anyone from the ground and I am pleased to say that there was no repeat of this as the players resumed the field for this afternoon’s session.”

Cummins sat out the 2023 tournament to focus on international cricket but became even hotter property after leading his side to the World Test Championship and last month’s 50-over World Cup on Indian soil.

Four teams vied for the fast bowler’s signature and Sunrisers Hyderabad ended up paying 20.5 crore rupees, eclipsing the previous high of 18.5 crore (£1.77m) Punjab Kings paid for English all-rounder Sam Curran last year.

Cummins, 30, had entered with a base price of just under £200,000 and saw the bidding war up his fee by a factor of 10.

Sunrisers had plenty of budget to play with having released Brook after one season of a £1.3m deal, with the Yorkshireman picking up a healthy but much-reduced payday with the Capitals.

He hit one superb century in his first IPL campaign but was otherwise badly short of runs with just 190 in 11 matches.

Woakes was later drafted for just under £400,000 by Punjab, joining his England team-mates Curran and Liam Livingstone.

Sunrisers also splurged on Cummins’ fellow Australian Travis Head, who capped a stellar year with a match-winning 137 in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. He cost around £645,000 (6.8 crore) as he returned to the tournament for the first time since 2017.

West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell was the first player to go under the hammer at the event in Dubai and fetched a surprisingly lavish £700,000 bid from Rajasthan Royals, while New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell scooped the biggest cheque of his career when he went to Chennai Super Kings for £1.3million.

CSK also signed Mitchell’s fellow Kiwi Rachin Ravindra, the breakout star of the World Cup, for a modest £170,000.

The shadow of the famous 2005 Test between the old rivals had loomed large over this final day but where England edged that one in a dramatic two-run win, Cummins exorcised some of those ghosts as he ushered the tourists home amid unbearable pressure.

Cummins made an outstanding, unbeaten 44 as he led a match-winning stand of 55 with number 10 Nathan Lyon, who clung on for 16 not out. Between them they ensured Australia successfully completed their second highest chase in England conditions, reaching a target of 281 that had seemed beyond them less than an hour earlier.

Stokes looked to have dealt the decisive blow when he landed the key wicket of Usman Khawaja, defying the aches and pains of his chronic knee problems to dismiss the man who seemed to hold the result in his hands.

But the England skipper’s Midas touch evaded him when he leapt to pluck an outrageous one-handed catch out of the sky, only for the ball to slip through his fingers as he fell to earth. Lyon, on two at the time, was able to breathe again and kept his captain company until the climax.

The end came in agonising fashion at 7.20pm – 80 minutes after the scheduled close due to morning rain – when Cummins steered the ball to deep third and a sprawling Harry Brook parried the ball for four.

Cummins will be sidelined for six weeks after injuring his non-bowling hand when diving in the outfield on the opening day of the last Ashes Test at the Kia Oval earlier last month.

He was able to play a full part in the last four days in a 49-run defeat to England that saw a thrilling, seesaw series finish all-square at 2-2, with Australia retaining the urn as holders.

Cummins will miss three T20s in South Africa from 30 August to September 3, with Mitch Marsh stepping in as skipper, but is set to return for the five-match ODI leg of the tour from September 7-17.

Cummins, who has only captained two ODIs since succeeding Aaron Finch last October, will lead Australia on to World Cup hosts India for three warm-up matches between September 22-27.

Australia then begin their World Cup campaign against India in Chennai on October 8.

“Pat has an undisplaced fracture of his left radius which requires six weeks rehabilitation,” said Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey.

“We expect him to join the squad during the South African ODI Series. We view a period of enforced rest for Pat as a positive ahead of this important World Cup campaign.

“There are still a number of games he could play before the World Cup which is more than enough for him to have a strong preparation.”

Labuschagne has featured in Australia’s last nine ODIs and 30 since making his debut in January 2020 but he has a modest career average of 31.37 with just one century.

That dips to just 22.30 in his last 14 ODI innings with a disappointing strike-rate of 69.87, which has led to Labuschagne being axed from the set-up.

The uncapped duo of leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha and all-rounder Aaron Hardie have been included in an 18-strong squad, which Australia will trim down to a provisional 15 in September before the World Cup.

Glenn Maxwell will miss the ODI series against South Africa due to paternity leave but is set to rejoin the Australia squad for the three-match series in India.

“This side has been extremely impressive for several years in limited overs cricket,” added Bailey. “There is an enormous amount of skill and experience in the group which you need in a World Cup.”

Australian ODI squad: P Cummins (captain), S Abbott, A Agar, A Carey, N Ellis, C Green, A Hardie, J Hazlewood, T Head, J Inglis, M Marsh, G Maxwell, T Sangha, S Smith, M Starc, M Stoinis, D Warner, A Zampa.

Cummins’ side succeeded New Zealand as the top red-ball team on the planet as they stormed to a 209-run victory over India at the Oval, but with just five days to go before the first Test against old rivals England, he was already casting his mind towards the next big challenge.

The 30-year-old boasts a glittering CV and has now become a three-format world champion, having previously won the ODI and T20 World Cups in 2015 and 2021, but skippering his country to their first series win over England in over two decades is a prize that potentially awaits over the next six weeks.

“Whether we like it or not, Ashes series tend to define eras and teams,” he said after leading his side’s celebrations the Oval – the same ground where either he or Ben Stokes will be lifting the urn at the end of July.

“An Ashes (in England) is bloody hard to win. It’s been 20-odd years so it’s not going to be easy. If we win, that is legacy-defining stuff.

“But we’ll savour this win too. We played some awesome cricket for two years and being there at the end holding the trophy feels well deserved. Our preparation has been for six matches over here, it’s one big tour with two huge titles to play for so it’s good to tick the first one off.”

England have been spending the last few days on a team-bonding trip in Scotland, mixing the occasional practice session at St Andrews University with plenty of golf, and after five hard days in the field now is the time for Australia to let their hair down too.

They may not have long to bask in their achievement, but with temperatures hitting 30 degrees in London on Sunday, Cummins has an idea of how to make the most of it.

“I think we’ll sit around in the changing rooms for a while and then we’ll find a nice sunny English beer garden somewhere this afternoon to sit back and celebrate,” he said.

“It’s been an amazing two years and we’ve had this final in the diary for a while. It’s been something that we’ve been building up for so it’s something we’re going to savour.

“I know we’ve got a big series but we can worry about that in a couple days’ time. You only get a few of these moments in your career where you can sit back, acknowledge a pretty special achievement and this is one of these times.”

When the dust settles, Cummins will need to confront a tricky selection conundrum. He all but confirmed that Scott Boland had made himself undroppable for Edgbaston, with the seamer outstanding against India and responsible for the decisive double strike that accounted for Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja on day five.

With Josh Hazlewood now passed fit for the Ashes opener, it appears a straight shootout between him and Mitchell Starc.

“Scotty was fantastic, he’s now my favourite player,” Cummins said.

“He keeps finding another level, doesn’t he? He was just our best bowler all game. He held it together, he didn’t go for many runs and to get two big wickets in an over is just reward for how well he bowled.

“For sure, Scotty has a huge role to play in the Ashes.”

For India skipper Rohit Sharma, there was disappointment. He had set his sights on going one better after India’s defeat to New Zealand in the inaugural final two years ago, and leading his country to their first global title since 2013.

He suggested a full series rather than a one-off match should be considered to crown the next champions, though the international fixture calendar is unlikely to allow for that in its present form.

“I would love that, but is there time?” he asked.

“In a big event like this, you need to have fair opportunities for both teams. A three-match series would be nice but it’s about finding a window.

“You work hard for two years and have only one shot at it. Test cricket is all about finding a rhythm and momentum.”

India have beaten all comers on home soil over the past seven weeks, cheered on by passionate local support in every city they have visited.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the biggest cricket ground on the planet, will be teeming with blue shirts on Sunday and they will all be barracking for the same result.

When Pakistan played India at the same venue earlier in the competition, their team director Mickey Arthur pointed out that the lack of away fans meant “it didn’t seem like an ICC event, it seemed like a BCCI event” but Cummins insists Australia must not be daunted by the numbers game.

Instead, he wants them to savour the opportunity of ruining the partisan atmosphere.

“I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow,” he said.

“Every part of a final, even in the lead-up, there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed. You’ve got to be up for it, you’ve got to love it and just know whatever happens it’s fine. You just want to finish the day with no regrets.

“We play over here in India a lot so the noise is not something new. I think on this scale it’s probably bigger than we would have experienced before but it’s not something totally foreign to what we’ve had before. Everyone deals with it slightly differently, you’ll see Davey [Warner] probably dancing and winning the crowd over and other guys just staying in their own bubble, but it should be good.”

While India’s host status and irresistible run of results – 10 straight wins including a straightforward six-wicket success over Australia at the start of the group stage on October 8 – makes them favourites, their opponents boast the better pedigree.

Australia are five-time winners of the biggest prize in the one-day game, thrashing India by 134 runs when they met in the 2003 final in Johannesburg, and Cummins is one of several survivors from the triumphant 2015 team.

“We were all kids not too long ago, watching some of those great teams win the 1999, 2003, 2007 World Cups and that’s the opportunity ahead of us tomorrow, which is really exciting,” he said.

“To be captain would be an absolute privilege to lift the trophy with these great bunch of blokes. It’d be awesome and in terms of the pinnacle, I think it is right up there. It’s got the longest history of a world event where all the teams compete and you only get a shot at it every four years.

“So even if you have a long career, you might only play in two of these events – 2015 is still a career highlight for me, so I think tomorrow if we win, that might pip it.”

Australia have no injury concerns in their 15-man squad and could go in unchanged following their tight semi-final win over South Africa. All-rounder Marcus Stoinis could come into consideration as an extra bowling option, with Marnus Labuschagne the only specialist batter looking over his shoulder.

Three months have passed since the tightly-fought Test series between the sides ended 2-2 at the Kia Oval, with tensions running high over the course of the summer.

A handful of Australian players have since made fun of claims that England won a ‘moral victory’ after being denied a decisive win by the Old Trafford weather. Cummins, meanwhile, could barely suppress laughter when asked to comment on England’s struggles at this tournament.

He adopted a better poker face on the eve of their reunion in Ahmedabad but, with his side marching towards the semi-finals and England one more defeat away from officially crashing out, Cummins is happy to see his players embrace their emotions.

“(The Ashes) was a couple of months ago. It’s done. It’s a new game, new tournament, but I always think a healthy amount of rivalry is good,” he said.

“Especially so for our playing group. We’re quite a chilled, calm group, so sometimes when we get a little bit more fired up, I actually don’t think it’s too bad a thing.

“I mean it’s an old rivalry so yeah, you’re not going to lie, if they beat us I know it’s probably just that little bit sweeter than beating other teams. And the same for us, with their history and how well they’ve done in white-ball cricket. It would be a great win.”

That was as far as Cummins was willing to go in terms of needling the opposition, refusing to be revved up by Joe Root’s suggestion that England boast a better XI despite the teams’ vastly differing fortunes in India.

“I mean yeah, of course he’d say that. We would say the same about our team, so I wouldn’t read too much into it,” he said.

“I’ve played in many other games against England over the years. Even growing up, you watch it and you hear about it. There’s always banter before any game. So, I think you’re immune to it. You know that cricket speaks for itself.

“Everything else is just preamble and noise to a game that everyone’s really excited about.”

Australia have been damaged by the loss of two key all-rounders ahead of the match, Glenn Maxwell recovering from concussion after falling off a golf buggy and Mitch Marsh returning home for personal reasons.

Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green are on hand to fill the gaps, with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne set to climb up one place in the batting order.

New South Wales reported 30 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, leading to other Australian states closing their borders to Sydney and other parts of the state.

Australia won the first Test against India by eight wickets on Saturday, and the third game of the series is not due to begin at the SCG until January 7.

CA is still planning for the Test to go ahead as scheduled in Sydney, but it is assessing the situation.

"The third Vodafone Test is more than two and a half weeks away, which provides us with time to assess the evolving public health situation on the northern beaches of Sydney," CA interim chief executive Nick Hockley said in a statement.

"We have made no changes to our schedule and our preference remains to play the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"Cricket Australia has developed a solid track record of delivery throughout this most challenging of summers and will continue to make appropriate and proportionate decisions in consultation with our biosecurity team, governments, state and territory associations, the Australian Cricketers' Association, our partners and venues.

"CA has prepared for the possibility of COVID-19 hotspots and state border closures over the course of the summer and the protocols that we have put in place have been effective in ensuring the safety and success of the men's and women's domestic and international programs to date.

"It was less than a month ago that South Australians were contending with an outbreak of the virus in Adelaide and we have just completed a brilliant first Vodafone Test at the Adelaide Oval. We faced similar issues in relation to the Melbourne Cricket Ground playing host to the Boxing Day Test and we are now less than a week away from welcoming back Victorian crowds after a difficult year for the state.

"We will continue to work closely with all relevant parties to make the right decisions in the appropriate timeframes."

The second Test of the series between Australia and India is due to begin at the MCG on Boxing Day.

Warne died at the age of 52 in March after suffering a suspected heart attack while on holiday in his villa on the Thai island of Koh Samui.

The upcoming Boxing Day Test between Australia and South Africa will be the first played at Warne's home ground, the MCG, since his passing.

Cricket Australia announced a range of tributes in honour of the beloved Victorian, with fans encouraged to wear floppy hats and zinc, like the leg spinner did during his playing career.

Players from both sides will wear floppy hats during the pre-game ceremony, while Warne's cap number 350 will be painted square of the wicket throughout the match.

Warne made many memories on the hallowed MCG turf including his Test hat-trick and 700th Test wicket.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said: "Shane is an icon to cricket fans globally for the greatness of his cricketing achievements, his charisma and his infectious enthusiasm for the game. His place as a legend of Australian and world sport is assured. Whilst we continue to mourn his passing, it is fitting that we honour Shane at his beloved Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

"Shane became recognisable not only through his genius and mastery of the art of leg spin, but also his floppy hat and zinc, so we encourage fans to remember Shane by wearing their own floppy hat and zinc to day one of the Boxing Day Test.

"I know I speak for the whole cricket community in saying that our thoughts continue to be with Shane's family and friends and particularly his children Brooke, Jackson and Summer."

He does admit, however, that there are limitations to what they are able to do and when.

The West Indies – two-time T20 World Champions – lost the just concluded five-game series 3-2 to South Africa primarily because the team consistently failed to chase modest totals despite the presence of a number of power hitters in its batting lineup. Statistics showed that while they have out-hit their opponents with sixes and fours, it is in the rotating of the strike that the team is weakest allowing as many as eight overs per match in ‘dot balls’.

Pollard believes the situation could become a concern, especially when it seems that the players are not able to deliver in situations when they are unable to blast balls to or over the boundary.

“Actually, the results will show what they actually do under pressure,” Pollard said in a pre-series press conference on Thursday, “then we as individuals will have to take stock and decide what happens next. At the minute, we admit, yes, we are struggling. Yes, we are not great at rotating the strike but what we can do is just try to improve in that aspect of it, and it can become a concern.

“We concede that, yes, that is what it is and we try to improve every time.”

However, there are limitations to how much time the team spends trying to address the problem as there is often little time available to work on fixing the issue before and during series.

“Before the series we have time, we might get open nets,” he explained.

“We got some open nets in Grenada (prior to the South Africa series), which was fantastic. So we were able to work on our manoeuvring game, rotating the strike in a couple of sessions, whereas no boundaries we’re just looking to rotating the ball, so we had that opportunity.”

He explained further that once a series begins there is hardly any time available for the players to work on situations that might pop up once the matches begin.

“When you play a series or in-between a series, you play two games back-to-back, you have one-day rest, you play another game and you have one-day rest, the toll it takes on the body of the individual is very high,” he said.

“How much can you actually work, from a practical perspective, to get it right; and to also get an open net in order to get it done, because within the confinements of the nets, how much assistance can you get? So sometimes between series, it is very difficult for that to take place.

“With that being said, the most at times we can do is have conversations, the most at times, is show guys visuals of what we expect and what they do in these scenarios and when we do get the opportunity, we try to work on it as much as possible.

“Like yesterday (Wednesday), we didn’t get an open net but we got a net where we can rotate the strike, we were looking for singles, we were looking for gaps, not necessarily power hitting and if you do that, if you hit a six or a boundary, there are consequences so that’s the only way.

“So when we get the opportunity to do it, we do it, the other times we just have to speak about it and hope that it resonates with the guys and hope that when we get onto the field, it works.”

The first match in the five-match T20 series bowls off this evening at 7:30 pm (6:30 in Jamaica) at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia.

Ponting was taken to hospital after suffering chest pains while he was commentating for Channel 7 on the third day of Australia's first Test against West Indies at Optus Stadium.

The legendary 47-year-old was back at work on Saturday, when he expressed his gratitude to his ex-Australia team-mate Justin Langer and those who gave him the best possible hospital treatment in Perth.

He told Channel 7: "I probably scared a lot of people yesterday and had a scary moment for myself. I was sitting in the comms box halfway through the stint and got a couple of really short and sharp pains to my chest.

"I tried to stretch it out and get rid of it, and probably didn't want to give too much away when I was on air. I had a couple of those incidents, got through the stint and went to walk to the back of the commentary box and got lightheaded and dizzy and grabbed the bench.

"I mentioned to JL [Langer] on the way out, who was commentating with me, that I had had these pains in my chest and Chris Jones [executive producer] heard me and just reacted straight away and got me out of there.

"Ten or 15 minutes later, I was in the hospital getting the best treatment that I possibly could. I feel great this morning, I am all shiny and new this morning.

"I think the bottom line is, the fact that I was willing to share it with JL and the fact that your mate looks after you, I think as people of our age, we are a little reluctant to share much or talk about our health.

"I think that is a good learning curve for me yesterday, especially with what has happened in the last 12-18 months to really close people around us.

"My little mate looked after me and got me down there and I'm back, shiny and new this morning."

Khawaja was a notable absentee when Cricket Australia announced its list of centrally contracted players last month.

The 33-year-old batsman has not played for his country since the drawn Ashes series in England last year and Marnus Labuschagne has looked very much at home at number three.

Former Australia captain Ponting thinks we may have seen the last of Khawaja in the longest format, despite the left-hander saying he believes he is among the top six batsmen in the country.

Ponting told ABC Grandstand: "I honestly think now he's going to find it difficult [to regain his place] and I feel for him.

"I love Usman Khawaja, I got really close to him over the last 10 years since he made his debut and I talk to him quite regularly.

"I've always felt he's a very good player and we probably never saw the absolute best of him at international cricket.

"We saw glimpses of it, and dribs and drabs, but not the consistently good player I thought he could have been for Australia."

The news of Langer's exit as Australia coach was confirmed by his management team DSEG and followed a lengthy meeting with CA late on Friday.

Ponting is a former a team-mate and long-time friend of Langer, and the Australia great criticised the way both he and former captain Tim Paine – who resigned just three weeks out from the Ashes amid the emergence of an investigation four years ago over explicit messages sent to a female co-worker -– have been treated by CA.

Speaking to ABC Radio, Ponting said: ""It is a really sad day as far as Australian cricket is concerned and if you look back it has been a really poor six months on the whole in the way that Cricket Australia has handled some of the better people in the Australian cricket - Justin Langer and Tim Paine - and I think it's been almost embarrassing the way they have handled those two cases.

"He mustn't have had the full backing of the board. Me knowing Justin the way that I do, he was very keen to continue in the role, as he should have been after what's been the best coaching period of his international career having just won the T20 World Cup and then the 4-0 result in the Ashes.

"It seems like a very strange time for a coach to be departing. Reading the tea leaves it sounds like a few - and as he [Langer] says to me a small group in the playing group and a couple of other staff around the team - haven't entirely loved the way he has gone about it.

"That's been enough to force a man who has put his life and heart and soul into Australian cricket and done a sensational job at turning around the culture and the way the Australian team has been looked at in the last few years to push him out of the job." 

Only John Buchanan has a better winning record among Australia coaches than Langer since 1985 when they began employing full-time head coaches.

Langer oversaw an Ashes drubbing of England in his final Test series, which followed immediately from T20 World Cup glory in the United Arab Emirates.

However, the latter triumph is said to have stemmed from a player-driven environment with Langer having agreed to take a more hands-off approach after receiving criticism following a home defeat to India in the 2020-21 Test series and subsequent white-ball losses to West Indies and Bangladesh.

Langer's intensity away from the pitch has been an apparent point of contention among some of the playing squad.

Ponting was asked whether Test skipper Pat Cummins was part of the dissenters and if he found that disappointing, to which he replied: "Justin is a great mate of mine and I know how passionate he is about the Australian coaching job.

"He wanted to continue on and be the best coach and have the best cricket team in the world.

"I think Pat also has been put in a difficult situation as captain, if it's not just him and it is other players coming to him and letting him know that maybe they think Justin is not the right man then that puts Pat in a difficult position as well.

"If he had got on the front foot and endorsed Justin they would not have been in a position to move him on.

"I am close to Justin, we are like brothers but I have not got too heavily involved in this, as much as giving him a pat on the back and put an arm around him here and there, there was no way I could change the way this was heading.

"What's happened today I've felt was coming for quite a while, even looking back before the T20 World Cup there was a lot of speculation there."

Warner plundered his way to 200 from 255 deliveries in the Boxing Day Test, which was his 100th appearance for his country in the format, as Australia dismantled South Africa by an innings and 182 runs.

That knock came at the end of a difficult 2022 for the opening batter, who had scored only two half-centuries in his previous 19 innings.

The 36-year-old was included in Australia's squad for their tour of India, but managed just 26 runs in three visits to the crease before suffering concussion and subsequently withdrawing.

Former Australia captain Ponting thinks the perfect opportunity for Warner to bow out was at the end of the South Africa series, with his home ground in Sydney hosting the final match.

Ponting told the ICC Review podcast: "Look, I was on radio a couple of days ago, back here in Australia, and I thought the absolute best time for Davey to retire, if he was thinking about it at all, was after the Sydney Test match here in Australia.

"He'd just played his 100th Test in Melbourne, and obviously got 200 in the first innings down there. And to bow out in front of his home crowd is obviously the way that every player would like to finish their careers.

"Who knows now that opportunity might not come around again for Davey, you know. That's nearly another 12 months away."

Australia will feature in this year's ICC Test Championship final at The Oval, and Ponting thinks Warner will play in that match if he is fit.

Indeed, Ponting says it could well act as an audition for the Ashes, which start at Edgbaston on June 16.

"They're probably going to have similar things to think about when they get to the UK because David's record in the UK is not as strong as it is in some other places around the world," said Ponting.

"I think his career deserves to finish the way he wants it to.

"Sort of not to be dropped or tapped on the shoulder in the middle of an overseas tour and have his career end in that way. That's why I just hope he can find it within himself to score a lot of runs between now and next summer."

Akeal Hosein (30-3) and Alzarri Joseph (39-3) were exceptional in reducing Australia to 45-6 before the tourists rallied to 187.

But the West Indies stumbled in their chase, slumping to 72-5 before Pooran (59* from 75) combined with Jason Holder (52) for a decisive 93-run sixth-wicket stand.

Player of the Match Pooran was crucially dropped by Moises Henriques off Adam Zampa on 26, before making his eighth ODI half-century.

Mitchell Starc, who finished with 26-3 from 10 overs, had dismissed Evin Lewis (1) and Darren Bravo (duck), before trapping Holder LBW but Pooran guided the hosts home.

Earlier, Australia struggled with the bat, with Hosein dismissing Henriques, stand-in captain Alex Carey and Ashton Turner in an excellent spell.

Matthew Wade (36) and Adam Zampa (36) rallied for Australia, before an excellent late cameo from second-gamer Wes Agar (41 from 36).

POLLARD HAILS 'SCRATCHY' POORAN

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said allowing Australia to reach 187 was disappointing but hailed Pooran's determination after a "scratchy" knock.

"What was good this time around was the fight by the guys, Nicholas Pooran getting that half-century and Jason Holder as well," Pollard said.

"Pooran has been looking like his old self again. He was a bit scratchy tonight but sometimes that's what you need in a game like this. You want someone to scrap and I think they both scrapped well for us to come through for a victory."

The West Indies avoided suffering back-to-back home defeats for the first time since August 2019.

Pooran's innings also took him past 1,000 ODI runs, becoming the 39th West Indian player to achieve the feat and the joint-third fastest for the side (Viv Richards – 21, Gordon Greenidge – 23, Ramnaresh Sarwan – 27).

AUSSIES STILL BULLISH AHEAD OF DECIDER

Australia are unbeaten in their past six ODI bilateral series (W4, D2) against West Indies and missed out on the opportunity to seal another victory but Carey remained bullish ahead of Monday's decider.

"Bring on game three," Carey said. "The batting group has a bit to prove to get a good score on the board for our quicks but our quicks and spinners are doing a great job."

The stand-in skipper bemoaned Australia's top-order batting, with none of the top six scoring more than 16.

"Obviously it doesn't help when you're five for not-a-lot," he said. "Wade and the bowlers did a great job to get us to a total and we were back in the game.

"We took some early wickets again and the belief was there. We created opportunities and we were in the game in the back end. Unfortunately we couldn't quite close it out and it proved we were 20 or 30 short."

Chasing 189-6 set by Australia, the West Indies lost by four runs as Russell turned down five opportunities to rotate the strike with Hayden Walsh Jr. He managed to hit the final delivery for six but by then victory was beyond the West Indies.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Pooran said Russell made the right decision.

“I thought, and the team thought, that was the best decision for the team. Andre batting six balls, that’s two hits. He is a six-hitter, if he had hit two sixes then everyone would say that’s the best decision. We backed him 100 per cent. We believe he did the right thing,” Pooran said.

Asked if it would not have been better to rotate the strike and reduce the ask as the number of balls dwindled, Pooran said it was not that simple.

“It’s easy to say we could have got four singles (from the first four balls of the over). When Russell takes a single off the first ball that means Hayden Walsh is on strike, so we need him to get a single, so it’s difficult,” he said.

“That’s why in the last over, it’s pressure. A lot of guys don’t know how to cope under pressure. He (Walsh) could have gotten out. Starc is a world-class bowler at the top of his game. He was getting the ball to reverse swing and our best hitter in the game right now is batting, so we back him 100 per cent to hit two boundaries or two sixes to carry us over the line. And we will do it again in the future.”

The West Indies will face Australia in the final match of the series on Saturday night.