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D’Arcy Short can transform himself from an explosive T20 batsman into a Test player in a similar vein to David Warner, according to Hobart Hurricanes captain, George Bailey.Speaking after the Hurricanes’ BBL final defeat by Adelaide Strikers, Bailey praised Short’s technique and said he had the ability to change gears to suit the longer form of the game.”Absolutely. I think what you’re seeing with all these young guys is that technically they’re all fine, it’s as much a mindset as anything,” said Bailey. “That ability to change your mindset and your tempo when you go through the different formats. I think that took Davey a little time to work out but the best players across all formats, their biggest skill is their ability to change tempo, change their mindset and D’Arcy’s got that.”In four-day cricket he’s probably still trying to find it a little bit, but if he gets an extended run in a four-day team he’ll be phenomenal.”To say Short has had a breakthrough summer is an understatement. He was named player of the BBL, bagged a lucrative IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals and forced his way into the Australian T20 side thanks to his explosive batting and handy left-arm wrist spin. Along with Travis Head and Hurricanes team-mate Alex Carey, Short endured a manic 48 hours, during which he flew back and forth across Australia to make his international debut against New Zealand in Sydney before scoring 68 in his side’s 25-run loss to the Strikers.”It’s been a rollercoaster two months, really,” said Short. “But definitely the last 24 hours have been out of control and definitely one I’ll remember, that’s for sure.”It’s definitely beyond what I thought. I just wanted to be consistent really and always contribute to the team and hopefully get us off to a good start and get us into a winning position.”That’s all I was trying to do every game and it worked out.”While Short will return to the Australian camp for the T20I tri-series against England and New Zealand, he hoped his BBL batting exploits – he was the tournament’s highest run-scorer by some margin with 572 runs – will help him get a run in the final rounds of the Sheffield Shield and he admitted that, despite his short form success, a Test berth remained the ultimate prize.”Look I’m just going one step at a time at the moment,” Short said. “I’ll play this Aussie series and hopefully go on and aspire to play Test cricket and move on from there. But it’s definitely a goal to play Test cricket, that’s for sure.””I was playing Shield cricket before the BBL started as a bowler. Hopefully I can go back and play as a batter as well as bowling.”I’ll just have to wait and see when I go back after two or three games with the Aussie stuff at the back end of February and go from there but hopefully I’m playing.”I’d like to bat top six if I could but I’ll bat anywhere at the moment, as long as I’m playing.”

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County Championship round-up: Yorkshire crumble against Essex

After all the fun of the fair that Twenty20 brings, Championship cricket returned, like the sensible soul at the house party who starts washing up at 4am, having rolled the last revellers into their cabs home. If there is one man who still had his wits about him after a month on the short-form sauce, it was Chris Nash who waited till the start of August to score his first Championship hundred of the season.Invariably, as the white ball makes way for the red, there is talk of “Twenty20 hangovers”: of batsmen and bowlers stuck in limited-overs mode, chastised for not being able to flick a switch from one format to the other, like the droids they are treated as. How else to explain the absurd run-in both sides have had to this fixture.Worcestershire arrived off the back of a professional Friday night win in Birmingham and a day-time shellacking at the hands of Northants on Saturday. Sussex were hosting Surrey on Thursday before a Friday night in Canterbury. Silly season doesn’t get much sillier.Yet, through all the hours on the road, as those at home turn slowly into strangers, Nash has been able to find form that has proved elusive for most of the summer. After a rest last Monday following defeat to Somerset, he struck 64 on Thursday, took Kent to the cleaners with 73 on Friday, arrived in Worcester on Saturday and compiled his 23rd first-class hundred on Sunday. While it does not bear much resemblance to Craig David’s “Seven Days” – Craig famously chilled on Sunday – there was a familiar rhythm and base to Nash’s innings that hinted at a longer return to fluid type.”I’ve seen more of you than I have of my wife,” said Nash as he was approached by the BBC Radio Sussex commentator, alluding to the frenetic schedule and his more-than-welcome purple patch. Prior to this 118, Nash was averaging 17.08 from 12 innings at the top of the order. Naturally, the knock came as a relief: “It’s a really nice feeling. I’ve worked really hard in four-day cricket and it just hasn’t happened this year. That’s how it goes sometimes.”It’s hard coming from T20 games where you’re basically playing every day. It’s nice to come in here and bat long as well, actually. It was nice to change the gears, get myself in and go big.”The crucial part of his 202-ball stay came in the morning when Nash was informed by Sussex captain Ben Brown that he would bat at five, having spent most of the season as opener. Former Leicestershire batsman Angus Robson, taken on by Sussex to play second-team cricket, was asked to open up on his first-team debut, after his registration was processed on Thursday (he made the XI in place of Luke Wright, out with a bad back).Chris Nash made his first century of the Championship season•Getty Images

Unfortunately for Robson, he only lasted three balls – one of two ducks, along with Harry Finch, as Worcestershire reduced the visitors to 7 for 2 in the fourth over. Nash’s arrival, after Stiaan van Zyl fell to make it 49 for 3, was the beginning of a solid partnership of 97 between himself and Luke Wells.Perhaps the moment that turned the day was at 71 for 3, when Daryl Mitchell dropped Wells at second slip. The left-hander had just 32 to his name and went on to make 85 before offering Mitchell another chance which he duly clung on to, off the bowling of George Rhodes. Wells’ sombre exit spoke less of a tricky period negotiated and more of a hundred spurned. By then, Nash was at ease and determined to motor on for the good of his team and his future in the engine room.At lunch, when Nash was on 19, his captain made him a promise: “If you get 110, you can stay at five.” Who knows if Brown was bluffing, but it had the desired effect on the 34-year-old. The shots started to come out, notably that front-foot pull to midwicket and beyond which has been as much as a Hove staple as deckchairs and ice cream.Fittingly, it was a crisply struck pull for four off debutant Pat Brown – expensive on his maiden first-class outing – that took Nash to his hundred, from 175 balls. Relieved, he threw both hands in the air, before holding out five fingers to the packed balcony in front of the away dressing room, channeling the spirit of Nasser Hussain at Lord’s, albeit with a smile and fewer expletives. “When I got my hundred I knew I’d kinda done the hard bit and I had 10 more to get,” Nash said. He eventually finished on 118, lbw to a low-bouncing delivery from Joe Leach, with Sussex in greater shakes at 298 for 6.”After the month of Twenty20, I really needed it,” Nash said of an innings he hopes will be the start of a strong end to the red-ball summer and a spot in the batting line-up he has always craved. “I got in this morning and I was pretty knackered after the last couple of weeks and it gave me a little bit of breathing space and I really enjoyed it. I love batting in the middle order.”Chris Jordan built on Nash’s good work – together, they put on 118 – by moving to his 98-ball half-century with a picture-perfect extra cover-drive for his fifth boundary. He was unbeaten at the close, all set to continue Sussex’s push towards a score of 350 which they reckon will have them “in the game”. A game that already looks like it is slipping from Worcestershire’s grasp.

Karun Nair prepares to sweep•Associated Press

Karun Nair’s century delayed the inevitable for India Green as they lost to India Red by 170 runs in the Duleep Trophy opener at Lucknow’s Ekana International Stadium on Sunday.India Green, in pursuit of 474, were bowled out for 303 in the final session on the fourth day, with Karn Sharma, the legspinner, taking six wickets and finishing with his first-ever ten-for. Siddarth Kaul, the fast bowler, had four wickets, including that of top-scorer Nair, also the captain, for 120.Resuming on 98 for 2, India Green lost R Samarth early, after he’d added just 13 to his overnight 46. Ankit Bawne then became the first of Kaul’s four wickets when he was bowled for 17 shortly before the first session ended.Nair, meanwhile, battled on and forged a 49-run stand with Parthiv Patel, before Karn struck again. Parthiv, who became the 48th Indian to go past 10,000 first-class runs in the first innings, was caught by Rahul Singh for 26. At that stage, India Green were reduced to 213 for 5.Nair, who during the course of the day’s play was named captain of the India A team to play two four-day fixtures against New Zealand A, brought up his 10th first-class century, but his dismissal to break a 62-run stand with Mayank Dagar, who made 45, hastened India Green’s exit. Their inability to build on two strong partnerships during the course of the day eventually proved costly.India Red take on the Suresh Raina-led India Blue in the second fixture at Green Park in Kanpur on September 13.

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEngland have won an ODI at the Westpac, but it was a desperately close-run thing. After five failed attempts, most of them involving plenty of heartache, they all but succumbed to a sixth thanks to a wonderful century from Kane Williamson, which reignited New Zealand’s run-chase after their middle order had collapsed to Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali.Williamson and the in-form Mitchell Santner revived the chase with a stand of 96 in 21 overs after New Zealand lost 5 for 23 to tumble from a rock-solid 80 for 1 to 103 for 6. They entered the last five overs needing 36 but, in a crucial intervention, Chris Woakes got his fingertips on a straight drive from Williamson, sending the ball into the non-striker’s stumps with Santner short.The arrival of a new batsman gave England renewed intent. Tim Southee wasn’t allowed to settle before pulled to deep square leg and though Williamson reached his century of 133 balls, 15 off the final over proved tantalisingly out of reach. With 13 required from four, Williamson pulled Woakes over the leg side for a huge six, but Woakes then adjusted his length, went full, and refused to give up any more boundaries – Williamson picked out mid-off against a full toss with the penultimate delivery, then swung and missed at the last ball.The pitches at this ground have been a talking point all season. Trent Boult’s first ball of the match disturbed the surface, some deliveries climbed from a length, others squatted and there was considerable turn. It did, though, produce an absorbing finish.England battled to reach 234, bowled out off the final ball of the innings, and it was spin that put them back on top. Woakes had removed Martin Guptill early, chipping a catch to mid-on as driving continued to be difficult, but Colin Munro – living a charmed life – and Williamson took New Zealand to 80 for 1 in the 18th over.Rashid broke through in his second over, a googly encouraging Munro to chip towards cover where Ben Stokes sprang to his left to hold a superb mid-air catch. Then it was over to Moeen. His first delivery was a huge full toss deposited over midwicket by Williamson, but he soon settled. A skittish Mark Chapman played a poor stroke to find point and Tom Latham was lbw first ball after England correctly called for a review.In Rashid’s next over, Henry Nicholls’ poor series continued when he was completely flummoxed by Rashid’s leg-break and used up New Zealand’s review in the process – though he hadn’t nicked the ball that ended up at slip, he had been struck plumb in front. When consolidation was required to try and get the innings back on track, Colin de Grandhomme lost his senses and lofted Moeen to long-on. It was poor batting, and highlighted the hole left by Ross Taylor’s absence through injury.The match was almost sealed in the 28th over when Santner flicked a low full toss towards Roy at midwicket, who dived forward but wasn’t sure he had taken it cleanly. It went upstairs, with the soft signal of not out, and the replays showed enough doubt for Santner to survive.From there, Williamson and Santner calmly went about their work, seeing out the spinners, although Santner may have been caught at slip on 10 if one had been placed. Moeen bowled his ten on the bounce and Rashid returned late when Eoin Morgan was hunting for a breakthrough. In the end they needed a touch of fortune from Woakes’ fingertips.England reined in their attacking instincts with the bat and ultimately were rewarded for not having aimed too high, although they could have reached 250. They did not score more than 39 in a 10-over block until the 30-40 segment of the innings. The beginning of the Eoin Morgan-Ben Stokes stand brought 13 runs from 46 balls in a period of rare comatose batting from his team, yet their eventual tally of 71 gave the innings a base.On the ground where he skittled England with 7 for 33 at the 2015 World Cup, Southee was soon operating with three slips. He swung the ball nicely but this time there were no early scalps for him. Instead, the opening breakthrough went to Boult when Jason Roy edged a lifting delivery, which disturbed the surface, to the lone slip.Joe Root, as he does so often, timed the ball sweetly from the off and was starting to dominate with back-to-back sweeps off Santner when he tried to club de Grandhomme through the leg side and miscued to mid-on. Jonny Bairstow was then comprehensively defeated by a googly – although more by the drift than the spin – from Ish Sodhi, who had been included ahead of Lockie Ferguson, to leave England 68 for 3 in the 17th over.De Grandhomme was miserly with his medium-pace dobbers and Williamson would also utilise Munro for eight overs instead of returning to Santner who bowled just two in the innings. The shackles were briefly broken by Morgan when he slog-swept Sodhi for six, but after the 25th over went for 11 the next three brought the same amount and he later clumped Munro down the ground as Stokes continued to battle in a manner rarely seen in any format. Finally, off his 53rd ball, Stokes found the boundary when he sent Boult over the off side.The partnership was broken on the stroke of drinks when Southee speared one through Morgan’s defences then Stokes, eyeing an acceleration at the start of the last 10 overs, picked out long-off against Sodhi, where Munro took a well-judged catch. Stokes’ final tally of 39 off 73 balls was very reminiscent of his laboured innings in Cardiff during the Champions Trophy semi-final where he made 34 off 64 balls without a boundary.Jos Buttler had briefly threatened something special when he took Sodhi for consecutive boundaries then played a wonderful, skimming drive over cover for six but Sodhi struck back with the penultimate ball of his spell when Buttler thin-edged another drive. The last four wickets fell for 19, but in the end England had just enough. Spare a thought for Williamson though.

ScorecardAssociated Press

Ishant Sharma’s decision to bowl first and the subsequent early dismissals of Uttar Pradesh’s openers in the first session belied a flat pitch at the Palam Ground, where a late surge from Delhi was neutralised by a lower-order counterattack that saw UP finish on 270 for 8. Suresh Raina made 10.Twenty-one-year-old No. 3 Mohammad Saif, playing in his first match of the season, walked in in the eighth over after Navdeep Saini had dismissed Almas Shaukat. The left-hander was UP’s most assured batsman, using a solid defence to first see off the new ball and then survive a short-ball barrage from Ishant and Kulwant Khejroliya; once set, he scored mostly off boundaries – 14 fours and a six, or 62 of his 82 runs – without being decidedly aggressive.In the company of Akshdeep Nath (59), who retained the No. 4 spot ahead of Raina, Saif steered a large part of the first session and almost all of the second, before a recurring forearm cramp forced him to retire hurt shortly after the pair had brought up their century stand. Saif returned later in the day with UP five down and started cashing in on the straight boundary. He couldn’t see the day through, however, running himself out as he skipped to avoid a throw from cover.Nath was the more aggressive partner in the third-wicket stand, particularly against the spinners, routinely stepping down the track to clear mid-on and mid-off. His methods offered Delhi two chances. In the first session, he nicked an attempted cut against Ishant, but first slip couldn’t hold on. He was then put down at mid-on by Ishant himself – an aerial flick was met by a lazy one-handed grab.The second reprieve wouldn’t cost too much. Ishant straightened one in the corridor in the next over, inducing an edge from Nath that carried to Rishabh Pant.Raina was a picture of focus as he spent time in the nets during the lunch break, but the fluency deserted him in the middle. In his 24-ball stay, Raina hit two fours – one courtesy a misfield at mid-off, one a sliced square drive with minimal footwork. The rest of his stay was anxious and he eventually fell to one that kept low as he pushed on the back foot against Milind Kumar’s offspin.Delhi seemed to be making up for their poor over rate – they bowled only 84 overs despite the half-hour extension – by cutting through UP’s lower order quickly after Raina had fallen. But wicketkeeper-batsman Upendra Yadav (48*) hauled back the momentum as he dominated eighth- and ninth-wicket stands worth a combined 53 to take UP to stumps.

Tom Harrison, the chief executive of the ECB, has given the clearest indication yet that Ben Stokes could be back in England’s plans sooner rather than later, after admitting that the board was keen to “rehabilitate reputations on the field” in the wake of Stokes’ arrest in Bristol in September.With just over a fortnight to go until the first Test at Brisbane on November 23, Harrison conceded that the ECB had been forced into a “holding pattern” as it awaits news as to whether Stokes will be charged by Avon and Somerset Police for his alleged actions outside Mbargo nightclub on September 25.And though a board spokesman sought to downplay rumours, emanating from the Australian media, that a police update could come as soon as Wednesday, it seems increasingly clear that England are refusing to discount a recall for their star allrounder, who was made unavailable for selection after appearing to be caught on camera throwing punches at two men in a street brawl.”What happened was wrong, there’s no question about that,” said Harrison, speaking at the Deltatre Sport Industry Breakfast Club in London. “You don’t want to see your sport in that position and there are consequences of that. We’re in a holding pattern at the minute.”There’s a process with the police and then a disciplinary process. As you’ll appreciate, these things take time and that’s the pattern we’re in at the moment.”The question of Stokes’ availability has been made ever more pressing for England’s tour party following confirmation that his designated replacement, Steven Finn, has been ruled out of the rest of the tour after sustaining a knee injury.Finn suffered a tear to his left knee cartilage while batting on the first day of middle practice, and was unable to recover despite an injection. England have called up Tom Curran as a replacement but, along with the impending arrival of the England Lions squad to shadow the senior squad, there is still a need for clarity as they formulate their Ashes plans.With an internal ECB disciplinary process underway, but taking its lead from the police investigation, further reports suggest that – should Stokes escape police charges – he could be facing a two-Test suspension, which would make him available for the third Test at Perth, starting on December 14. However, Harrison refused to be drawn on any timeframes.”It’s complicated,” Harrison said. “We can’t go into any kind of detail about police matters, but there are serious issues that the game has to face and we have to get it right.”We have to get that balance between censure and support absolutely right. I think cricket’s response to this will show the value of the game in the best light.”Having been through a difficult moment, I think we’ll see the very best of cricket come out. We are blessed with a group of outstanding characters in the men and women’s game. They are great ambassadors for the game and this is very much an isolated incident and an aberration.”I think we will quickly recover to a place where the game is seen as doing its best to rehabilitate reputations on the field, and try to get Ben and Alex [Hales] back to a place where fans are really behind them, trying to do what they do best.”

The pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium has been rated “below average” by the ICC for its performance in the second Test between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. As a result, the Mirpur ground has received one demerit point, which will remain on its record for a five-year period.If the venue reaches a total of five demerit points during the five-year period, it will be suspended from hosting any international cricket for 12 months.Before, during and after the Test match, the pitch received a lot of flak for being too dry and spin-friendly. Sri Lanka crushed Bangladesh by 215 runs in a contest in which the highest team total was 226. Spinners took 30 of the 38 wickets that fell to the bowlers, with both sides fielding just one seamer each.In his remarks, match referee David Boon, who gave the rating, said: “From day one, there was evidence of the ball breaking the pitch surface, which resulted in uneven bounce throughout the match, along with inconsistent turn, which was even excessive at times. This pitch produced a contest that was too heavily skewed in favour of the bowlers, and didn’t give the batsmen a fair chance to display their skills.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

It has been a particularly chastening time for the BCB, with the Chittagong pitch for the first Test also receiving a below-average rating from Boon. That game produced the second-highest match aggregate – 1533 runs – in Bangladesh, and the lowest wicket count – 24 – in matches lasting 2000 or more balls.Last September, the Shere Bangla National Stadium received a ‘below average’ rating from the ICC for the pitch for the Bangladesh-Australia Test at the venue, and a “poor” rating for its outfield.

Sturdy Nottinghamshire seam bowler Luke Fletcher has been given the all-clear by his hospital consultant to resume full training next month – exactly six months after sustaining a serious head injury.Fletcher, one of the most crowd-pleasing figures on the county circuit, was hit by a return drive by Sam Hain in a televised T20 Blast game at Birmingham Bears.One of the most horrific injuries seen in the county game, it left him grateful to be alive.He is already back bowling the nets but will be able to take part in complete sessions, including batting, from January 8 when he expects to confirm that he has not suffered any lingering, deep-seated anxiety over the blow.Fletcher has spent his spare time taking a Level 3 coaching qualification as well as acting as an expert summariser on BBC Radio Nottingham. He will also return to driving, having ridden to Trent Bridge on his bike for much of the autumn.”It’s very pleasing to finally get the nod to start full training again,” said Fletcher. “I’ve felt pretty good throughout once things settled down, but it’s nice to get the official word that everything is OK.”It will be great to be able to play football again with the rest of the lads, face bowling in the nets and ease back into my programme.Luke Fletcher shows the after-effects of his head injury•Getty Images

“The consultant says he’s really happy with how things are looking. I have passed all the computer tests I have been doing at the hospital and there has been improvement since the injury back in July.”Fletcher has worked closely with Nottinghamshsire;s physiotherapist, James Pipe, who helped him from the field when the incident happened before accompanying him to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.Pipe is delighted with the way the player has bounced back from his injury, which forced him to miss the second half of a season in which Nottinghamshire won both limite4d-overs trophies and gained promotion to Division One of the County Championship.Pipe said: “How Fletch has reacted to the situation is a real testament to his professionalism and a mark of the man. He’s shown his physical as well as mental strength to come through this as he has done in what has been a difficult journey.”Throughout it all, he has been upbeat and stayed very positive, coming in with a smile on his face. He’s been the perfect patient.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad suffered a huge loss – their first-choice captain and best batsman David Warner was barred from playing the 2018 IPL because of the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa – but the franchise is confident his replacement, England’s Alex Hales, will succeed as an opener.”We strongly felt that he is of international quality, and being a right-hander, should be the perfect complement to left-handed Shikhar Dhawan,” Sunrisers coach Tom Moody said in Hyderabad. “So we opt to use him at the top of the order for a left-right combination.”And he’s recently dedicated to white-ball cricket. He’s fully committed to develop and grow as a white-ball cricketer, and that’s important to our philosophies as a management group. We believe in identifying talent prepared to grow as individual cricketers because we, obviously, as a franchise will grow with them.”Hales will have big shoes to fill. Warner led Sunrisers to the IPL title in 2016, with 848 runs – the second-highest tally in the season – at a strike-rate of over 150. Last season, he was the tournament’s top scorer as Sunrisers made the knockouts.Moody was confident the Sunrisers bench strength would make up for Warner’s absence. “Yes, Dave has been important for us the last couple of years, and he’s led the team well. He’s batted very well, but we feel that the players we have in our squad are capable of taking the opportunity.”Other teams have lost players to injuries too. We’re replacing a good captain in Warner, who was vice-captain of Australian team, with another international captain. There’s nothing we can do with what’s happened with Warner. We’ve moved on from that, so it’s probably a good opportunity for everyone else to move on.”PTI

Moody said the new Sunrisers captain Kane Williamson was an astute reader of the game. “Strategically, Kane’s very, very sound,” Moody said. “He played an important role for the Sunrisers over the last couple of years as an assistant, even though he was not a noted leader, named vice-captain or anything. He showed his leadership in support to Warner in the last few years, and clearly showed that not only is he a natural leader, but he’s someone who’s prepared to step up and stand out.”The upshot of Warner’s success at the top of the order, however, is that he took pressure off the rest. Sunrisers’ middle order has been strengthened this season with the additions of Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan.”There are four, five top-class batsmen in the line-up, which makes it a well-rounded unit,” VVS Laxman, the Sunrisers mentor, said. “It was a conscious effort going into the auction, because over the last two, three years we felt our middle order did not perform to expectations. Shikhar and Warner have been exceptional, and I’m sure Shikhar will continue his good run even this year. This year, we’ve got players who can do well in middle overs, and players who can finish games. We have the liberty of picking from four to five combinations in any given situation to take the field, which not many teams can boast of.”The Sunrisers bowling attack will be spearheaded by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who along with Warner were the only players retained by the franchise. Now, with Shakib Al Hasan, Billy Stanlake and Chris Jordan joining Bhuvneshwar and Rashid Khan, the Sunrisers bowling is stronger.”This time around, it is definite that we will be playing two spinners since Shakib Al Hasan will fit the bill as an allrounder,” Muttiah Muralitharan, the bowling coach, said. “The best part is that Shakib can bowl well in both Powerplay and death overs, while Rashid Khan has been a wicket-taking bowler for us last season. Maybe, we will switch roles between them as far as Powerplays and death overs are concerned.”

ScorecardMitchell Starc became the first bowler in nearly 40 years – and the first in Australia – to claim two hat-tricks in the same first-class match when he blasted out Western Australia’s last three batsmen to claim outright points for New South Wales against Western Australia at Hurstville Oval.Having gone wicketless in the second innings up to that point, Starc had Jason Behrendorff caught behind and then bowled David Moody with the last two balls of his 15th over, then returned to have Jon Wells caught at slip by the captain Steven Smith with the first ball of his 16th. This hat-trick followed another on day three of the Sheffield Shield match, when he had dismissed Behrendorff, Moody and Simon Mackin.Starc’s feat was the first instance since Amin Lakhani managed to do the same for a Combined XI against the Indian tourists in a match at Multan in 1978. Overall only seven other bowlers have taken two hat-tricks in the same match, and only one Australian T.J. Matthews doing so against South Africa at Manchester in 1912. Matthews’ feat is also the only time two hat-tricks have been taken by a bowler in the same Test match.Smith said that Starc’s old-ball angle from around the wicket and reversing the ball away was fiendishly difficult to deal with for any batsman. He also complimented Hazlewood for his excellent rhythm throughout his first match back from injury.”They’ve found it pretty hard for a long period of time, the shape that he gets, the angle that he creates when going so wide,” Smith said. “It’s difficult for batters, let alone tail-enders. To take two hat-tricks in a game … most people are lucky to take one in their career. They’re not easy to come by.Getty Images

“I thought [Hazlewood] bowled like an absolute genius, he’s a superstar. Starcy, I think, has probably taken a little more time to get going and get some rhythm. But the back end of today showed why he’s world-class. Patty Cummins has had a couple of good games as well. They’re up and going and bowling really well.”Starc and Cummins will rest from the final round of Shield matches before the first Ashes Test while Hazlewood will play against Queensland in Brisbane.The sheer destructive power of Starc to obliterate an opposing tail, which had also been on show in the Blues’ opening defeat of South Australia under lights at Adelaide Oval last week, meant that NSW always fancied their chances of winning on the final afternoon of the Shield match, despite a sparkling opening stand of 179 between Shaun Marsh and Cameron Bancroft, who carried his bat for 76 in the first innings then followed up with 86 on the final day.Both Marsh and Bancroft are contenders for Test spots in Australia’s Ashes middle order, and their exits were followed by less fruitful results for Hilton Cartwright, who had played as an allrounder in the most recent Test played by Australia, against Bangladesh in Chittagong. Dismissal by Pat Cummins gave Cartwright a pair for the match in what was a case of horrid timing as selectors deliberate over their options for the Gabba Test.Mitchell Marsh, the WA captain, also fell cheaply to Josh Hazlewood for the second time in the game, and from there it was a question of whether the Warriors could survive long enough to stave off defeat. Nathan Lyon gained a couple of vital – and contentious breakthroughs – winning an lbw verdict against Ashton Turner then having D’Arcy Short caught in close off what the umpire adjudged to be an inside-edge onto the pad.Wells and Behrendorff took WA into the final hour of the match, before Starc arrived to seal the visitors’ fate and his own lofty place in hat-trick history. England have been warned.