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A half-century from Aaron Jones was followed by a searing spell of fast bowling from Man of the Match Ali Khan as USA men’s team defeated Kenya for the first time in history, to win by a whopping 154 runs, vaulting past Oman to the top of the WCL Division Three tournament table by virtue of a superior net run-rate.Prior to Monday, USA had been bowled out by Kenya in three previous losses in one-day cricket for totals of 162, 32 and most recently 63 in just 18.3 overs at Abu Dhabi last December. Kenya sent USA in at the toss hoping to do more of the same but USA capitalized on poor fielding from the opposition for the second match in a row to build up a commanding total of 254.Kenya gave away more than 100 runs in missed chances in the field to let USA off the hook. Monank Patel, who survived a missed run-out chance on the third ball of USA’s win over Uganda to make 107, was dropped on a return chance by Elijah Otieno in the third over on 9 and went on to make 25.An even more costly let-off was given to Steven Taylor, who should have been run-out for 12 at 69 for 2 but captain Shem Ngoche’s throw from 15 yards at midwicket missed by a whisker, and he went on to make 41 off 34 balls.However, the biggest reprieve of the day was given to Jones. The Barbados-based batsman had been out edging behind a cut for 4 against Uganda and gave a carbon-copy chance on 14, but on this occasion Kenya wicketkeeper Irfan Karim could not hang on.Jones battled through the rest of Ngoche’s spell, reaching 34 off 99 balls before slogging Dhiren Gondaria’s part-time spin for six over long-on for his first boundary. It began a stirring flurry in which Jones struck 35 off his next 19 balls, including two more sixes over long-on.USA were 182 for 4 after 44 overs before Hayden Walsh Jr provided a similar burst, hitting a pair of sixes and fours down the ground in the 45th off Rakep Patel to spark a sequence of 63 runs in four overs, taking USA past 200. A belated Kenya fightback resulted in USA bowled out by the final ball, though 254 was more than enough to defend behind their dynamic pace attack led by Khan.The Ohio fast bowler, who surged to stardom through the Global T20 Canada and CPL this summer, overwhelmed Kenya in his opening six-over spell. He started by inducing an edge behind from Narendra Patel, followed by a cunning inswinger that trapped Karim leg before without offering a shot and finally a top-edge to mid-on by Alex Obanda for three wickets in the Powerplay.At the opposite end, captain Saurabh Netravalkar claimed two wickets with disciplined lines and by the end of the ninth over Kenya were 21 for 5 from which they never recovered. They were eventually bowled out for 96 in just 26 overs.Aritra Dutta and Arjun Mutreja’s 140-run opening partnership in just 23 overs after being sent in at the toss gave Singapore a dominant position that they never relinquished in a 94-run win over Denmark on Monday at the Oman Cricket Academy.Dutta made just 23 runs in three matches on his 50-over debut during the Asia Cup Qualifier in Malaysia this August and followed up his 38 against Oman in Singapore’s opening match at Division Three with another impressive effort to top score with 87, including nine fours and three sixes.Denmark did not help matters by missing three chances in the field early in their innings as Singapore’s opening pair continued to heap pressure on their bowling unit. Offspinner Anique Uddin finally broke the partnership with his first ball in the 24th over to deny Dutta a century and claimed Mutreja for 57 six overs later caught at deep midwicket.Fellow spinners Saif Ahmad (3 for 46) and Nicolaj Laegsgaard (2 for 36) helped Denmark fight back further in the field as Singapore failed to last their full 50 overs, eventually being bowled out for 254.Amjad Mahboob took the first of his three wickets in the third over when Zameer Khan was beaten flicking across the line to be pinned lbw for 2. Captain Hamid Shah fought a lone battle from the top, making 85, and he was the ninth man out. He could only watch helplessly while legspinner Anantha Krishna decimated the middle-order with 4 for 37 as Denmark capitulated for 160 in 35.4 overs.

The ECB has appointed Heather Knight as captain of the England women’s team in all three formats. Knight takes over from Charlotte Edwards, who announced her international retirement in May. Her first assignment as captain is the home ODI and T20 series against Pakistan, which begins on June 20.Knight, a right-hand batsman who also bowls offspin, has played five Tests, 55 ODIs and 33 T20Is since her international debut in 2010. She was Edwards’ vice-captain from 2014 till the World T20 in March-April. She has captained Hobart Hurricanes in the Women’s Big Bash League and is set to lead Western Storm in the inaugural Women’s Super League T20 tournament in England.”I’m hugely proud and honoured to be named England captain and can’t wait to face the challenges ahead,” Knight said. “It’s a fresh, exciting time for the team and I’m looking forward to seeing how we can develop together at the start of this new era for England women’s cricket. All our focus is now on what we have to come, starting with the Pakistan series this summer.”It will be no easy task to follow the remarkable success and impact that Charlotte Edwards enjoyed at the helm of the England team over the last ten years – she has been a wonderful servant to the game, an inspirational leader and truly world-class player.”She is a true cricketing legend and it has been a privilege to share a dressing room with her for the first six years of my England career. But I am excited by the challenge and will look to utilise the incredible platform that Lottie has laid to ensure that the England women’s team continues to grow and develop.”With the retirements of Edwards and Lydia Greenway, plus the current unavailability of Sarah Taylor – who is not expected to be back for the Pakistan series – Knight will have a key role to play in the new-look batting order as well as the captaincy duties.”It’s a lot easier to captain when you are scoring runs and taking wickets,” she said. “Of course there will be that pressure on me to step up, but the rest of the girls will help me. It’s something I’ve dealt with before and think I’ve done okay with it.”I’ll always be one to try and lead from the front. By actions rather than words. I’ll try to trust my players and create the environment where they can lead themselves.”Mark Robinson, the England head coach, described Knight as “stubborn” and said it was her single-mindedness which helped him make up his mind that she would be the correct appointment. He also confirmed that Knight would have a “major” role in selection.”We have an outstanding individual in Heather who is stubborn, she has her own opinion which is absolutely how it should be, she’s comfortable in her own skin and they are great qualities for a captain,” he said. “She is a very good player now but has the potential to be outstanding. There’s something a little bit different about her and that’s what you want captains to be. The ability to command a room.”Robinson also defended the decision to remove Edwards as captain and tell her she wasn’t in his plans for the season ahead which ultimately led her to retire from international cricket. He was in no doubt that Edwards would have still scored runs in the upcoming series against Pakistan then Sri Lanka but believed the team would not have learned anything new ahead of the World Cup in England next year.”The easy thing is to do nothing. I love Lottie, you can’t help but love Lottie, and you know you will get a lot of flack – it won’t be a popular decision,” he said. “That was maybe a reason not to have done something but I wouldn’t have been true to myself. I would have been hiding. We had to give Heather and the team the best chance of growing into a World Cup.”But it’s not even about the next World Cup, that might be too soon for this team. It might not be, we will certainly have the ambition to win it, but it’s about putting things in place to give the team the best chance of long-term success. We have to stop making short-term decisions.”

When Upul Tharanga first toured England a decade ago, he opened the batting with such devastating élan that he amassed 347 runs at 69.40 in Sri Lanka’s 5-0 whitewash. Five years later, he scored an unbeaten century against the same opponents to complete a ruthless 10-wicket victory in the World Cup quarter-final.This time around, however, rather than furrowing his brow to face down the new ball, Tharanga has been asked to do a job down the order, coming in at No. 7 against England after brief appearances at No. 8 and No. 9 in Ireland. It seems an odd job for a 31-year-old who has played as an opener in 156 of his 185 ODIs to date but it is one that Tharanga says he is happy to do.”I’ve done it before, for 10-15 games, in Australia and Sri Lanka. So it is not something new to me,” he said before the fourth match of the series, at The Kia Oval. “Most of my career I have batted as a top-order batsman but it is good, I am enjoying it. It is up to the management, what they need from me. At the moment, they need me to bat in the middle order, so I’m happy to help the team. Lots of players are new players, so we have to give them experience and advice also.”With Sri Lanka still looking to rebuild their one-day side after the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene last year, it seems that Tharanga has been identified as the man to provide some nous in the latter part of the innings. A flowing, if inconsistent, strokeplayer, he has had to try and learn a few new tricks in order to fill the brief, and innings of 53 not out off 49 balls and 40 off 33 at Edgbaston and Bristol respectively have hinted at promise without quite banishing the suspicion he might be better utilised.The half-century was his first significant score for Sri Lanka since making 174 not out (opening the batting) against India in Kingston almost three years ago. The selectors lost patience with him again soon after, with nine more appearances accruing haphazardly across 2014 and 2015, and Tharanga now appears willing to fulfil whatever role is required of him in order to continue a career that has reaped 13 ODI hundreds – more than any Englishman.”If I bat from the 30th over, I think I can play my normal game. If I go in for the last few overs, obviously I have to change my game. In the nets I’m trying different things,” he said.”As a cricketer, I always want to play for my country. In the last few years, I am in and out of the team. So I am happy to be here. The last domestic season, I did well, so that’s why I got the opportunity – even batting six-seven. So I’m happy to do something for my country.”Tharanga’s success in the first-class Premier League tournament, in which he scored 803 runs at 61.76, came while batting in the top order, as did his impressive performances more recently in the Dhaka Premier League. But with Tillakaratne Dilshan absent from the tour of England, Sri Lanka have preferred Kusal Perera and Danushka Gunathilaka as openers, followed by another international greenhorn in Kusal Mendis at No. 3.Tharanga’s advice for how Sri Lanka could put England under greater pressure in the final two ODIs was for someone higher up to go on to a match-defining score – though it was delivered sincerely, without any sense of implied criticism. Sri Lanka have yet to beat England across three Tests and three ODIs but could still turn around and win the series. “As a batting unit, we need to concentrate, put on big partnerships and big scores,” he said.”I came for the one-day tournament and, as a team, I think we are in really good shape. Even though we lost the game, I think our batsmen are doing really well – we only need a big score. The last few games, everyone got 40, 50. That’s why we are getting 250-260. As a batting unit we need someone in the top four to get a big score. If we can get that we can get 300. The bowlers are going a good job, the wickets are good for batting. We someone to get a big score.”

Montu Datta, the match referee of the halted Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club v Abahani Limited DPL Super League match, has said that he has not submitted his report to the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, the BCB standing committee that runs the tournament. He said that he only sent them an email containing his version of the events that transpired on June 12.The match was halted on Sunday when on-field umpires Gazi Sohel and Tanvir Ahmed walked off the field citing “illness” as the reason, after the Abahani players and fans protested when umpire Tanvir adjudged Raqibul Hasan not out following an appeal for stumping in the 16th over of Doleshwar’s innings. The umpires consulted with Datta and subsequently left the field. The match was not played on the reserve day, Monday.CCDM’s Dhaka Premier League coordinator Amin Khan had claimed on Monday that Datta had submitted his report which effectively postponed the game as it was not held on the reserve day too. Amin said that Datta only mentioned that the umpires cited illness as the reason to not conduct the match and did not write anything about any team, players or supporters using abusive language or threatening the umpires.But Datta said the match referee’s report is based on the umpires’ report which has not been submitted to him yet. He further said that both reports had to be submitted only after the match was completed.”How can I submit my match report before the game is completed?” Datta said. “Until the match is completed you cannot really propose any action against anyone. You cannot take anyone to task without a hearing and if we had completed the match today [Monday] we could have followed the steps required to implement our verdict.”What I gave [to the CCDM] wasn’t a report. I sent them an email telling them what had happened on Sunday. At the time of sending them the mail, the umpires hadn’t even submitted their report. How can a match referee prepare his report when the umpires haven’t given theirs?”Datta also said that his report would also include what the umpires had written about Tamim Iqbal, who was seen arguing with Sohel after the stumping appeal.

An Australia supporter has been jailed for seven days for indecent exposure, and fined 3000 rupees (approx. USD $21) for intoxication, after he streaked naked at Pallekele Stadium on Tuesday evening.Alex James vaulted over two sets of metal barriers and made his way to the middle of the ground fully clothed, after rain had stopped play on the first day, before beginning to pose near the venue’s covered square. With no police or security personnel in the vicinity at the time, James then proceeded to remove his clothes and made a brief nude jaunt, which featured a dive on the rubberised tarpaulin covers.Upon seeing a policeman approach him, James then collected his clothing, scaled the barriers, and was seen high-fiving other Australia supporters on the bank. He was later arrested, taken to the police station, and was sentenced by the Kandy Additional Magistrate on Wednesday.Streaking is virtually non-existent at Sri Lankan sports venues, and public nudity deemed offensive, especially in the vicinity of children. Indecent exposure carries a maximum penalty of three months.

Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has revealed that he contemplated quitting as the team’s coach in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal in 2010, in which three of the team’s players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – received jail sentences and lengthy bans from the game. Speaking on the sixth episode of , to be aired on Friday on Sony ESPN, Waqar admitted the experience was “sickening” for the entire team.”We all were very upset with the whole episode and everyone was down and out, and we couldn’t really play the next day,” Waqar said. “I still remember… the late Yawar Saeed was the manager, and he was very upset and we couldn’t do anything and it was very, very ugly.”Even at one stage, I thought ‘that’s it, do I really want to work, do I really want to carry on with this whole thing?’ I went back and I spoke to my family and I couldn’t really leave the team at the time. I went back and thought about it and I wanted to back these guys. It’s not their fault, it’s maybe one or two who have done it, but the rest, they don’t deserve all this and if I leave now, it’s going to get worse. Then, Misbah [ul-Haq] took over [as captain] and things started sort of rolling better and we did extremely well after that.”Recalling his conversation with Amir after his infamous no-ball in the Lord’s Test, Waqar said he expressed bewilderment at how much Amir had overstepped. “Look, when the whole thing happened, we were in a very good situation,” Waqar said. “That was the first morning of the Test match and they were five down when the whole thing happened, and they came out and then I sort of asked him [Amir] ‘what the hell was that, there were couple of no-balls, and not the small no-balls, they were like a huge no-balls’.”That was more surprising for me [because he didn’t have a history of bowling no-balls]. Salman Butt, of course, jumped in and he said, ‘I told him to do it because Jonathan Trott was batting, and he said he was coming down the track and I thought of [asking him to] just bang in a couple short, don’t worry about the no-ball.'”This is the answer I got from the captain, and, of course, from the bowler, and I bought it. Any coach, if you ask him if this is a tactic or captain tells you that this is a tactic, you will say, ‘yeah, okay, fair enough’.”Waqar said he felt especially let down by Butt, who was the team’s captain then, but sympathised with Amir’s position. “Amir was very, very down and why I feel for him is that because he was only like 17 then or 18, very young and from a very humble background, very poor background,” he said. “Someone who has been asked to do certain things for, you know, such a big amount, that’s how I take it.”Amir’s reintegration into the side met with resistance from the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, but Waqar said he, and even Butt and Asif, deserved a second chance. “It was a mistake and every human being… we are here, we make mistakes and we get punished for that and then the society and the culture give them that room again to come and be himself again,” he said. “He [Amir] could have achieved what even I didn’t or even Wasim didn’t achieve.”He suffered a lot for five years, and my religion also says that if someone has done something and has been punished and the entire society has punished him for all these years, he deserves a chance. And, the same way, I feel that Salman Butt deserves a chance, Mohammad Asif deserves a chance. They have been through all the punishment they deserve.”Waqar resigned as coach in April following Pakistan’s dismal showing at the Asia Cup and World T20. His second tenure as coach ended in messy circumstances after he submitted a scathing report in which he slammed Shahid Afridi’s style of captaincy and was critical of the PCB’s decision of not giving him a say in the selection process, and the report was made public. Asked if he saw himself returning to a role with the Pakistan set-up, Waqar said both he and the PCB needed some time away from each other.”I think we both need to step away from each other,” he said. “The cricket board also needs a little bit of space from me because I’ve spoken a lot about it and I have spoken out of hurt because I feel that things need to change. If things won’t change, we will be crying in maybe couple of years’ time. So, maybe see how it goes in the next year or so and then decide, but I’m always around the game anyway.”Watch at 9.30pm IST on Fridays, and the repeat at 12pm on Sundays, on SONY ESPN

Former Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris has been appointed Australia’s bowling coach for the team’s upcoming ODI tour of South Africa. He joins head coach Darren Lehmann and assistant coach David Saker in Australia’s coaching staff.Harris, who retired from cricket in July 2015, is currently assistant coach of the National Performance Squad in the A-team quadrangular series in Australia. He also served as the Under-19 Cricket Australia XI coach last season.”It’s great experience to learn from David Saker and Darren Lehmann,” Harris said of the appointment. “I’m really just going to sit back and watch and learn.”Eventually I’d like to work my way to the top and become a [full-time] bowling coach of the Australian team one day. Just like playing, you have to earn your stripes and learn the ropes.”Harris took 113 wickets in 27 Tests and 44 wickets in 21 ODIs for Australia, in an injury-plagued career. Eventually injury ended his career, a recurring right-knee problem forcing him to retire at the age of 35.Lehmann welcomed the addition of Harris to the coaching staff. “I’m excited to have Ryan on board,” he said. “It’s a win-win having two experienced coaches in Ryan and David Saker being able to nurture our young group, particularly the up-and-coming bowlers joining, and we expect a positive response both on and off the field.”On the tour of South Africa, which kicks off on September 27, Australia are scheduled to play a one-off ODI against Ireland and a five-match series against the hosts.

Bangladesh have made six changes to their squad for the first Test against England at Chittagong, starting on October 20, with the batsman Sabbir Rahman a notable inclusion following his performances in the ODI series earlier this month.Rahman, who has played 29 ODIs and 26 T20Is but has yet to make his Test debut, made 49 from 46 in the third ODI at Chittagong, having been fined 20 percent of his match fee for his run-in with England’s stand-in captain, Jos Buttler, in the previous match in Dhaka.He is one of four uncapped players in the 14-man squad, alongside the former Under-19 captain, Mehedi Hasan, and Kamrul Islam Rabbi – a right-arm seamer – and Nurul Hasan, a wicketkeeper-batsman.The seamer, Shafiul Islam, and the offspinner, Shuvagata Hom, complete the revamped squad.Those who have been excluded from Bangladesh’s last Test squad, for the home series against South Africa in July 2015, are Nasir Hossain, Jubair Hossain, Rubel Hossain, while Liton Das, Mohammad Shahid and Mustafizur Rahman are all sidelined through injury.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that they considered the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury pitch and England’s batting line-up when picking the specialist bowlers.”We have taken two pace bowlers taking into account that Chittagong offers a flat pitch,” Minhajul said. “We retained Shuvagata to tackle England’s left-handed batsmen. We also took [Mehedi Hasan] Miraz as a specialist offspinner as we believe he has much to offer since his performance at the U19 level. We have taken [Kamrul Islam] Rabbi because he has done well in first-class tournaments. He has ability to bowl fast with the old ball.”Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who is also part of the revamped selection committee, was excited by inclusions of Sabbir and Nurul.”We will try to fit in Sabbir in the XI. Having a lot of options is a good headache to have. [Nurul Hasan] Sohan is one of the best wicketkeepers in the country,” he said.Bangladesh’s Test squad Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Tamim Iqbal (vice-capt), Imrul Kayes, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan , Mahmudullah, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Mehedi Hasan, Sabbir Rahman, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nurul Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Shuvagata Hom.

Sam Billings, the Kent batsman whose technique against spin bowling is considered one of the best among England’s coming generation of batsmen, says he is flattered to have been talked up by Michael Vaughan as a potential reinforcement for the Test tour of India, but insists that he remains a work in progress in first-class cricket.Billings has been on the fringes of the one-day squad for several months without being able to secure a regular berth, but he gave an indication of his aptitude in Asian conditions in the ODI series against Bangladesh last month, when he was drafted in to open the batting in the series decider in Chittagong, and swept his way to a vital 62 from 69 balls in a stiff run-chase.”It was great to contribute,” said Billings during a Chance to Shine event in West London. “I should have got 120 not out to win the game but that’s life and I would have taken 60 at the start. To be involved in another series win in difficult conditions shows how far we are coming along as a group.”Everyone knew that Bangladesh had won their last six home series, including against India and South Africa, so it was no mean feat to win. People think it is only Bangladesh so you should just smack them around but, with Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes, they’ve got a seriously good side in their own conditions.”Bangladesh backed up that assertion in no uncertain terms in the subsequent Test series and, speaking in the aftermath of England’s shocking collapse in the second Test at Dhaka, Vaughan argued strongly for Billings’ inclusion for the five-Test series against India that gets underway in Rajkot next week – not least because, as a right-hander, he will be better placed to combat the offspin of India’s attack leader, Ravi Ashwin.”Obviously that is flattering,” Billings said, “Playing spin is one of my strengths. Manoeuvring the ball around and putting spinners under pressure is one of my strengths, but the guys who are there have done it regularly in first-class cricket and are there for a reason.”Billings had his moments in first-class cricket for Kent last season, most notably a career-best 171 against Gloucestershire in Bristol in August but, having missed the early weeks of the summer during his IPL stint with Delhi Daredevils, he played just seven Division Two matches and was unable to put together the weight of runs that earned Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed their call-ups.”Haseeb hasn’t had an opportunity yet, and to have a long run at it too,” he said. “These guys have done it over and over in first-class cricket. But any time England calls you just get on a plane and try and get the job done.”While the prospect of Billings joining the England squad remains, for the time being, a pundit’s pipedream, there is no diluting either his confidence or his eagerness to get involved if the chance should arise. And, having sampled the atmosphere of modern Indian cricket during his IPL stint, Billings believes he has been granted a fascinating insight into what it takes to succeed in conditions that previous generations might have regarded as alien.”The IPL was huge for that,” he said. “It is different to a Test match but the basics don’t change: your footwork is paramount.”I was very fortunate to work with Rahul Dravid in the IPL and pick his brains on playing spin. At some points we moved the stumps back and had the used crease to play with and he said, ‘if you can bat on that you can bat on anything’.”This is one of the reasons [Trevor] Bayliss and [Andrew] Strauss are pushing us to go over there. Yes it is T20 cricket but it is about the environment and learning how those guys go about it.”Billings’ grounding sounds somewhat counter to Alastair Cook’s assertion in the aftermath of the Dhaka defeat, that England’s batsmen were inexperienced in Asian conditions. And certainly, given the resources made available by the ECB on their recent Lions tours, and the coaching expertise that has been drafted in to prepare England’s next generation, the scale of the collapse in Dhaka – 10 wickets for 64 runs in 22.3 overs – was extreme.And if the talking point coming out of the Bangladesh tour is the vulnerability of England’s batsmen to the ball turning away from the bat – particularly the left-handers to the offspin of Mehedi Hasan – then Billings gives the impression that such a challenge shouldn’t have come as quite such a surprise, especially given the identity of two of the lead coaches in the Lions set-up.”Graham Thorpe and Andy Flower may be two left-handers, but they were great players of spin, especially against offspin with the turning away from the bat,” he said. “The basics don’t change, you have to get as close to the ball as possible or as far away from it as possible using the depth of the crease.”For me, I identified two years ago that left-arm spin was a really big area I needed to work on,” he said. “The ball going away or sliding on is generally more difficult for a batter when it is turning.”In the UAE last winter, he was able to pick the brains of New Zealand’s left-arm spinner, Daniel Vettori, who was drafted in as a consultant on the England Performance Programme. “We had a hybrid pitch that was ragging square. He was bowling at a good pace, it was seriously tough, and that’s when you work out what’s good for you.”As a consequence of the grounding that he and his fellow batsmen have been given, and given the experienced heads they can call upon during the India tour, Billings remains confident that England will find a means to battle back from their Dhaka ignominy and put up a fight in the coming weeks.”[Alastair] Cook, in his debut Test, got a hundred in India, so they’ve got no better bloke to pick the brains of – although, of course, he does it a different way. Stokesy [Ben Stokes] is still one of the younger lads, even though it feels he’s been around for years, and in terms of his game against spin, he’s come on leaps and bounds and will only get better. We’ll all get better, the more we are exposed to it.”It’s finding different ways all over the place. I’ve got no doubt there are some seriously good players of spin there. It’s a different kettle of fish against [Ravi] Jadeja and Ashwin, but it’s been great to have had these two Test matches. We got out unscathed – yeah we drew, I know we wanted to win – but we’ll go into the India tour with preparation time. I’ve got full faith in the boys and they are definitely good enough to win.”ECB will double its investment in cricket charity Chance to Shine, from 2017, to inspire millions of young people to play and learn through cricket. Visit chancetoshine.org

ScorecardAt 20, Matt Renshaw already has three first-class hundreds•Getty Images

Usman Khawaja scored a century to secure his Test place and young opener Matt Renshaw also impressed with a hundred, but incumbent Test opener Joe Burns failed on the first day of Queensland’s Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at the Gabba.Burns was one of the Test batsmen most in need of Shield runs, after he fell for 1 and 0 in Australia’s loss to South Africa in Hobart, where he was caught down leg side in the second innings. The same unfortunate fate befell him in Brisbane, where on 4 he tried to glance Kane Richardson only to see the South Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey dive to his left to complete a fine catch.Burns has been dropped from the Test side during Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka but was recalled to replace the injured Shaun Marsh in Hobart, having started the Shield season with 129. However, a pair of single-figure scores followed in Queensland’s next Shield game, and including the Test match his past five first-class scores now read: 4, 7, 1, 0 and 4.Should the selectors decide to cut Burns for the Adelaide Test, one of the candidates to replace him could be his team-mate Renshaw, who is only 20 but in this match brought up his third first-class century. An old-fashioned accumulator who views himself in the Alastair Cook mould, Renshaw played a fine opener’s innings, seeing off the swinging new ball before becoming more expansive.After the first hour of play, Renshaw had just 7 off 56 balls, but he played a valuable stabilising role as Khawaja scored more freely at the other end. His half-century took 137 deliveries, although he was able to attack the legspinner Adam Zampa and his scoring rate increased as the innings wore on. Playing his first Shield game of the season after recovering from a knee injury, Renshaw brought up his hundred off 190 balls, and he was caught on the boundary off Zampa for 108.Though not mentioned by coach Darren Lehmann as one of the four “safe” members of Australia’s Test XI, Khawaja was always unlikely to lose his place having managed 97 and 64 in the first two Tests. His century at the Gabba, an attractive 106 from 137 deliveries, ensured that he would remain part of the side.After Khawaja and Renshaw – who put on 184 for the second wicket – both fell, Marnus Labuschagne made 47, and by stumps Queensland were on 5 for 338, with Jack Wildermuth on 33 and Chris Hartley on 20. South Australia were without fast bowler Joe Mennie, who was rested after his Test debut, and Test aspirant Chadd Sayers went wicketless.