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ScorecardKevin Pietersen top-scored for Surrey but ended up on the losing side•PA Photos

Middlesex pulled off a dramatic one-wicket victory over Surrey in the Friends Life t20 London derby with just a single ball to spare.Even though progression to the knockout phase of the FLt20 was impossible for both sides, a Friday night crowd of 15,000 at The Oval were treated to a battle royale. When Ollie Wilkin and Ollie Rayner came together with Middlesex, on 106 for 7, needing another 49 off 35 balls, the hosts appeared to be on course for their first win in seven games.But the eighth-wicket pair had other ideas, and when Wilkin lifted Zafar Ansari over long-on for six, the requirement had been shaved to 25 off 19 balls.The Panthers went into the final over needing just three but, with Gareth Batty taking a superb catch at mid-off to dismiss Rayner before running out Wilkin two balls later, Middlesex – with their last pair at the crease – were still three runs shy.Tim Murtagh scampered a single off the fourth ball leaving Tom Smith to settle the contest with a four to long-on.Earlier, having won the toss, Surrey posted 154 for 4, their highest T20 total of the season. Steven Davies and Kevin Pietersen got the hosts under way with an opening stand of 76. Pietersen launched Paul Stirling over long-on for six in the eighth over, but the pair were eventually parted when Davies, who made 37, was bowled by Smith in the 11th over.Four overs later, Pietersen, backing away, was caught behind for a run-a-ball 42, looking to force Dawid Malan through extra cover, although not before Jason Roy had brought the hundred up for Surrey with a straight six off Neil Dexter.Roy was joined by Gary Wilson and together they added 41 in just 28 balls for the third wicket. Roy deposited Malan in the pavilion for six and followed it up by launching Dexter into the middle tier of the OCS Stand but, attempting another big hit, he was then bowled by Steven Crook for a quickfire 40.With his side needing 155 to win, Dexter despatched the first three balls of Middlesex’s reply to the boundary for four. Chris Tremlett had Stirling caught at mid-off but with Crook clubbing Dirk Nannes for two successive sixes, the visitors raced to 50 in the third over.The loss of Crook, lofting to midwicket for 25, Adam Rossington, stumped without scoring, and Malan, bowled by Ansari for nine, checked Middlesex’s progress.When Dexter picked out Pietersen at midwicket off the bowling of Zander de Bruyn, to depart for a 34-ball 41, and John Simpson and Gareth Berg went to successive deliveries, the game appeared to be Surrey’s for the taking, but Middlesex eventually sneaked home.

Jonathan Trott feels the special tradition of Ashes matches will be diluted if contests between England and Australia continue to spill outside the regular tours.Australia arrive in the UK tomorrow for a five-match ODI series with England, starting on June 29. Trott warned against scheduling series outside Ashes years to protect the England-Australia rivalry.”It definitely needs looking after,” Trott told the “It mustn’t be overdone. You want it to be special. England used to play Australia at home every four years, it was in the books and people had years to look forward to it. Now, they were here two years ago, they’re here now and they’re here again next summer.”Australia’s last full Ashes tour was in 2009 but they played a five-match ODI series in 2010, which England won 3-2. The upcoming ODI series precedes the next Ashes tour by 12 months, meaning Australia will tour England four times in five seasons – something Trott feels could send a dangerous message to supporters.”You don’t want people to think: ‘I’m not going this year because I know they’re here next year’. Or next year, people not coming to the games because they saw England-Australia in 2012,” Trott said. “People might wonder what the point is, or they might think it’s too monotonous.”The public can sniff these things out and they know when it’s a little bit too much. We’ve seen what happened with the domestic Twenty20 competition, when they started throwing in tons of games and there was overkill. It was about right when there were only ten matches in the first round.”The scheduling of this ODI series is the first part of a bilateral arrangement between the ECB and Cricket Australia. England will tour Australia for an ODI series in January 2015 to warm-up for that year’s World Cup, which is being staged in Australia and New Zealand in February and March – a move hoped to improve England’s poor record at recent World Cups.While Trott maintains concerns about too many Ashes meetings, he understands why the ECB have taken steps to boost England’s World Cup hopes.”With England, everything has been about the Ashes, whereas Australia and the rest of the world have a balance,” Trott said. “It’s like in football, where European teams would put the World Cup ahead of the European Championships. In the past, maybe England were like that with the Ashes and our World Cup.”For England, it was always the Ashes, which we hadn’t won for 20 years before 2005. The attention to the World Cup — because we’ve now won the Ashes home and away — will be greater, and the tournament will be put on a higher pedestal. We set ourselves a target of being the No. 1-ranked Test team, and we achieved that, so now we set ourselves up to be top of the one-day rankings, too.”England begin their ODI series against Australia on June 29 at Lord’s, the tour concludes on July 10.

Junaid Khan, the Pakistan left-arm fast bowler, has received a no-objection certificate from the PCB, paving the way for his return to Lancashire for this season’s Friends Life t20.The decision was delayed as PCB wanted to ensure that the seamer had fully recovered from his patella (knee cap) injury. The PCB has released the bowler just for the Twenty20 tournament, to manage his workload and make sure he remains in the best shape for Pakistan’s forthcoming tours. He was cleared after appearing in a two-day fitness test and will be applying for his UK visa next week.Junaid sustained a fracture of the patella during the Twenty20-leg of Pakistan’s series against England in UAE in February and has been out of action since then. Junaid, 22, debuted for Pakistan in April 2011 but his fledgling career has been hurt by injuries in the last few months. Junaid was selected for the England series after he had recovered from the abdominal tear he picked during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year, which ruled him out for six weeks.Pakistan’s next international assignment is a full series in Sri Lanka followed by the ‘home’ series against Australia, also to be played in Sri Lanka, before the ICC World Twenty20.Apart from his promising international career, Junaid excelled on county debut in last year’s Friends Life t20, taking 12 wickets in eight games for Lancashire at an economy-rate of 6.00.Recruited last season on the recommendation of Wasim Akram, Junaid made a big impact on the FLt20 and helped Lancashire reach finals for the first time in four years, only to miss the climax of the competition after being selected for Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe.”Junaid showed last season his ability to win a game from almost any situation,” Peter Moores, the Lancashire head coach, said. “His strength at bowling in Powerplays and at the end of the innings in one-day cricket adds another dimension to the squad and it will be great to have him back.”Edited by Devashish Fuloria

England will visit four new international venues on their tour of India either side of Christmas. Pune, Ranchi, Rajkot and Dharamsala will all hold ODIs for the first time.The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, which has hosted several IPL matches, has already been approved by the ICC as an international venue but the three other stadiums are awaiting approval: the Subrata Roy Stadium in Pune, the Khandheri Cricket Ground in Rajkot and the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi.England play four Tests against India in November and December at Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur before two T20s, one of which will be staged at Pune with Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala staging an ODI each for the five-match series.Before England tour, India begin their home season with a two-Test series against New Zealand in August, followed by two T20s. Each of the four venues chosen for that series are located in southern India, as a result of the monsoon season being at its peak in the rest of the country. The Tests will be held in Hyderabad and Bangalore, the T20 matches in Chennai and Visakhapatnam.The home season concludes with a four-Test series against Australia between February and March 2013.

Lonwabo Tsotsobe has become embroiled in his second off-season debacle in as many years. Last season, Tsotsobe angered Essex when he posted a comment on Twitter calling his stint there “the worst two months of my life”, and was released from his contract after five weeks. This time, he has angered his home franchise, the Warriors, leaving them without warning for the Durban-based Dolphins.Tsotsobe’s switch to the Dolphins was announced on Friday when chief executive Jesse Chellan confirmed that Tsotsobe opted to play for them in the 2012-13 season and not the Warriors, where he has spent his entire career. Although Tsotsobe did not break any agreement with his home franchise, because he is a nationally contracted player and can nominate which team he wants to represent in accordance with CSA’s policy, ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Warriors were unhappy with Tsotsobe’s conduct.They claim to have made numerous attempts to contact the left-arm bowler to discuss his future and iron out details, only to be met with no response. “He is a professional cricketer and he must do what he wants but we are not happy with the way that it happened,” a source close to the Warriors said.Tsotsobe joins former Lions seamer Craig Alexander at the Dolphins, and will beef up a bowling contingent that has lost the now retired Friedel de Wet. The quick, who is also a horticulturalist, played two Test matches for South Africa but has struggled with persistent back injuries throughout his career. “Lopsy [Tsotsobe] will add a great deal of value to our team,” Chellan said. “Even though we know he will not be available a lot of the time because of national commitments, he will help [develop] some of our young fast bowlers [like] Mtokozisi Shezi and Kyle Abbot.”Other movements at the Dolphins include the signing of Lions’ batsman Jonathan Vandiar, who is originally from Kwa-Zulu Natal, to replace Loots Bosman. Bosman lost his national contract at the beginning of April and was not offered a deal with the Dolphins. He has failed to find form after reconstructive knee surgery two seasons ago.Dolphins have also lost Pakistan-born legspinner Imran Tahir, after two seasons, to the Lions. “Imran is a quality cricket and his loss will affect us,” Chellan said. “We have a gap to fill in the spin department and we may look to sign an overseas professional.”Tahir will be the first-choice slow bowler at Lions, despite their swelling spin ranks – Aaron Phangiso, Dale Deeb and Eddie Leie have all put on notable performances in the past season. “We may want to play the additional spinner when we can,” Cassim Docrat, Lions chief executive said. Lions have long struggled to find or produce quality quicks, which may have prompted the move to tweakers. They have, however, also acquired the services of Hardus Viljoen, who opened the bowling with Marchant de Lange at Easterns.Dolphins are also on the hunt for a new coach after Graham Ford left mid-season when he was appointed Sri Lanka head coach. Lance Klusener stood in as interim coach and is unlikely to take the job full time. The position has been advertised and applications close on April 20 with Chellan hopeful of announcing the successful candidate at the end of May.The other franchise looking for a new coach is Cape Cobras, following Richard Pybus’ unexpected resignation at the end of the season. Pybus won the one-day cup with the franchise in the 2011-12 season, but rumoured player unhappiness caused his exit. Andre Odendaal, chief executive, said the advertisement for the post went out this week and franchise is targeting the month of July to announce a successor.Cobras have not had any big movers in the player list but failed to offer former national star Herschelle Gibbs a contract. It marks the first time the batsman has been out of contract in South Africa in 21 years. Gibbs had retired from first-class cricket but continued to represent Cobras in limited-overs forms of the game. Recently, he has plied his trade in various Twenty20 leagues around the world, including Australia’s Big Bash, the BPL and IPL, and has not always been available for Cobras.Nonetheless, Odendaal said they would welcome his participation on an ad hoc basis. “We will speak to him and his agent when he comes back from India and would love him to play for us if he is fit and available,” Odendaal said. “We understand that he has been making use of Twenty20 leagues, but he is an institution of Newlands and we would still want to see him play here.”Cobras are not short of batsmen though. They have contracted Qassim Adams, a left-hander who played for the seventh franchise Impi in the MiWay T20 Challenge. Adams has been prolific for Western Province, scoring over 1000 runs in the 2011-12 season at an average of 52.94. Cobras also welcome back quick bowler Monde Zondeki, who has been without a contract for two seasons and has had regular stress fractures but is now fit.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTillakaratne Dilshan hits ten fours in his 106•Getty Images

Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan took full toll of a wayward Australia as Sri Lanka forced a third triangular series final in Adelaide. Chasing 272, the visitors galloped to the target with 5.4 overs to spare, benefiting greatly from a rollicking start when the first three overs reaped 30 runs.Dilshan alternated between the brazen and the cheeky, crashing 10 fours and also being struck on the helmet when he attempted his patented Dil-scoop. The captain Jayawardene was more cultured, but outpaced his partner in a princely innings that would have ended in the second over if not for a Clint McKay no-ball.Such indiscipline summed up Australia’s predicament, having struck a horrid patch of form in the field midway through the first final in Brisbane and then being unable to rise above it in Adelaide. The captain Michael Clarke is also in the unenviable position of carrying a left hamstring problem perilously close to the start of the West Indies tour, due to begin almost immediately after the third final.Clarke had done his best to give his side a decent total. His 117 in Australia’s 6 for 271 was the fastest of his limited-overs career and the second of his ODI captaincy. David Warner was more circumspect, but his chanceless 100 demonstrated a range of concentration and focus reserved for the best of batsmen. Famed as a boundary hitter, Warner reached the rope only four times in his innings and cleared it only once, but the value of his effort was reflected in a final total far greater than seemed possible at the innings’ midpoint.Matthew Wade departed early to the spin of Dilshan, who opened the bowling and completed a tidy 10 overs, before Shane Watson played a chancy innings in which he was grassed twice. Each dropped catch fell off the bowling of Farveez Maharoof, who ultimately ran out Australia’s vice-captain with a direct hit in his follow through. Lasith Malinga was the tightest of Sri Lanka’s bowlers and deserved his three wickets.Two more catches would go down off Clarke’s bat later in the innings, while Jayawardene raged against a delayed no-ball call at the height of his opposite number’s innings. Debating the point angrily with both umpires after Maharoof had strayed above waist height with a full toss, Jayawardene lost his cool. His fury would be far more controlled when the reply began.A second-over edge behind by Jayawardene was cancelled out by McKay’s overstep, typical of the abject way in which Australia’s bowlers began their defence of a less than watertight total. Brett Lee gave up three wides on the way to conceding 12 from the opening over, and James Pattinson’s first two overs were taken for 22 despite an abundance of away swing.No fewer than 11 of the first 30 runs were handed to Sri Lanka via the extras column, as Australia’s bowlers maintained the poorly form they had demonstrated in the latter overs in Brisbane. Clarke had taken the field despite his injury, but his presence did not make much of a difference.Jayawardene and Dilshan did not get too frantic after the start they were given, and slipped into comfortable gears that involved regular singles and the odd boundary whenever the bowlers strayed in search of a first wicket. Australia’s mid-innings options were milked for regular runs, Xavier Doherty’s first five costing 37.Dilshan was first to pass 50, and Jayawardene soon followed. Australia’s frustration grew when Asad Rauf refused a concerted appeal for caught behind from Dilshan on 77, as replays revealed a substantial edge that Wade gathered while keeping up to Watson.Jayawardene’s sparkling stay was ended by a hint of Pattinson reverse swing and a clear lbw, but Dilshan went on to his second century of the tournament before Dinesh Chandimal and Kumar Sangakkara guided the visitors home.Clarke had little hesitation batting upon winning the toss, but the early overs were slow going. Jayawardene’s imaginative use of Dilshan added to the openers’ uncertainty, and Wade’s impatience proved terminal when he swung at a ball not quite short enough for the stroke and was bowled.Watson’s innings was halting, and he was dropped by Dilshan in the fielding circle then by Rangana Herath on the long-off boundary – the latter unable to complete an equivalent of his spectacular outfield take in the first final. However Maharoof was not discouraged by the missed chances, and when Watson was 15 he gathered and swivelled from Warner’s offside bunt to throw down the stumps and find a diving Watson comfortably short. Clarke helped to build some greater momentum in the company of Warner, who was less conspicuous than he had been at the Gabba.The pair accumulated steadily, adding a little more impetus with the batting Powerplay, and continuing to benefit from profligate fielding from the tourists. Clarke was turfed on 71 and 77, the second chance falling to Malinga, who managed only to palm the chance over the rope for six.It set the scene for an explosive over, in which Clarke took Maharoof for six, four, six, four – the last a high full toss swung behind square leg. Initially the umpires did not call it a no-ball, but on reflection Bruce Oxenford raised his arm to hand Australia an extra run and another delivery. Jayawardene was incensed by the delayed call, arguing at length with both officials in a manner that suggested more of the incident would be heard later.Clarke had blazed past Warner despite the opener having a 23-run start, and he was first to reach his century with a flick through square leg. Though he had made plenty of useful contributions in the interim, it was Clarke’s first ODI century since his first innings as the fully-fledged captain, against Bangladesh in Dhaka in April 2011.Warner’s hundred arrived in the next over, an effort of composure and also courage after his groin complaint in Brisbane. He skied a catch without adding another run, leaving an increasingly restricted Clarke to guide the hosts to a total rather less substantial than was ultimately needed.

Chris Tremlett is facing a lengthy break from the game after specialists decided his back injury requires surgery. He will now miss England’s tour to Sri Lanka at the end of March.After experiencing a recurrence of back pain bowling in the first Test in Dubai, Tremlett flew home from England’s tour of the UAE last week. He had not played since July when he was forced out of the Test series against India with the same problem. He subsequently underwent a long period of rest and recuperation but the strain of bowling in a match situation appears to have exacerbated the injury.Tremlett will hope to regain his fitness with Surrey ahead of the start of England’s home season against West Indies in May.He said on Twitter that he had seen a specialist and may face three months on the sidelines: “Scans reveal a bulging disc and may require a little clean up. Hopefully back playing mid to end of April.”Until injury intervened, Tremlett had enjoyed a fine return to Test cricket. Recalled to the team ahead of the third Test of the 2010-11 Ashes, Tremlett took 36 wickets in his next seven Tests including 17 in three Tests against Australia.But now aged 30 this new setback will renew concerns over whether his 6ft 7in frame can withstand the rigours of fast bowling in Test cricket.England have decided against calling up a replacement for Tremlett to their Test squad in the UAE. He was the second bowler forced to return home after Tim Bresnan, who underwent elbow surgery at the start of December. Bresnan has subsequently started bowling again in Yorkshire.

A solid batting performance was the backbone of Central Districts’ 28-run win over Otago which took them to the top of the HRV Cup table. The weather had frustrated CD in their previous two outings but with the rains finally relenting, they pulled off a victory that pushed them two points above three second-placed teams.Each of CD’s top six reached double-digits as they piled on 170 after winning the toss at the Saxton Oval in Nelson. Peter Ingram made the most meaty contribution, a 30-ball 42, and Doug Bracewell was the most aggressive, slamming two sixes in a 12-ball 27.Otago’s chase got off to a poor start as two of their players with international experience, captain Brendon McCullum and Neil Broom, were dismissed within the third over. Adam Milne, the highly rated 19-year-old fast bowler who was playing only his second game of the tournament due to injury problems, was the most successful of the bowlers, taking three wickets as Otago’s batsmen struggled to make big contributions – six of them reached double digits, but fell before reaching 20.

Just over a week ago, Australia were bowled out for 47. It was an indignity that had not been suffered by men in the baggy green in more than a century. They lost the Cape Town Test before lunch on the third afternoon. The bright future that beckoned Michael Clarke’s side after their series victory in Sri Lanka seemed to have been extinguished. It was standing-room only in the last-chance saloon.Early on Sunday, things didn’t look much better. Australia trailed by 209 and South Africa had seven wickets in hand. At 1-0 up, they could bat like Bill Lawry and still take the series. In a previous era, Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath might have taken the ball and forced the match in a different direction. In more recent times, winning from such a poor position has been next to impossible.Few spectators expected a gettable chase. But a six-wicket haul from the teenager Pat Cummins set up a target of 310, and half-centuries from the under-pressure Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin, as well as the rookie Usman Khawaja, set up Australia’s win. Mitchell Johnson, whose bowling has been poor and makes him no certainty for the first Test of the home summer against New Zealand, got Australia home along with Cummins.Last week, Clarke bemoaned a loss that was as painful as any he had experienced. The contrast could hardly have been more apparent after Australia’s two-wicket win, the highest successful chase ever achieved at the Wanderers, and a victory that concluded in fading light late on the fifth afternoon.”I didn’t score many runs in this Test match but it feels like I just got my first double hundred for Australia, I couldn’t be happier,” Clarke said. “This is one of my greatest Test matches, no doubt. A big part of that is the way we got beaten in Cape Town. To be able to fight back and the rollercoaster throughout the Tests, the light, the weather, the chasing, the record last-innings total, for so many reasons it’s one of my most special Test matches and I’ll remember it for a long time.”Winning from any position was a hallmark of the great Australia sides of the past. Clarke’s side is not great, but this victory will give them confidence. Young men like Cummins, Khawaja, Phillip Hughes and Nathan Lyon might just begin to believe that they are never beaten. The challenge is not to fall backwards.Late in 2008, Graeme Smith’s side chased down 414 at the WACA to beat Australia, and although they won the series, within four months they had lost to Australia at home as their self-belief waned. Australia’s next series is against New Zealand, and that will be followed by a tough four-Test battle against India.”I think it will certainly help, we will continue to grow in confidence,” Clarke said. “I said after Sri Lanka we would bring confidence into this series because of our success there and I hope we do the same; take momentum into the Australian summer. There will be some challenges that lie ahead and we’ve already seen that in Sri Lanka and on this tour, but we’re getting better.”Not that it wasn’t a nervous time for Australia as the chase came down to the wire. Clarke was bowled early on the final day, the victim of a fine ball from Vernon Philander, but also through a significant gap between bat and pad. When Ponting fell for 62, Australia still needed 145 runs with five wickets in hand. Clarke had been nervous the previous day; he was even jumpier on Monday.”I started counting the runs down from 190 [required] yesterday,” Clarke said. “I was next in the batting, I was walking back and forth while the boys were batting, they would get a single and I would say ‘189 more of those, Huss’, ‘188 more of those, Huss’. When I came here today I thought we were in a really good position. I thought the way Usman and Ricky batted the night before was outstanding.”They played really positive cricket so I was confident we could win the game today. I would have liked Ricky and I to have spent more time out in the middle but that’s the way it goes. A lot of credit goes to our middle order batting in tough overcast conditions with a bit of rain around. We managed to hang in there and the youngster [Cummins] decided as he did in the one-day series to finish it off with ease.”As a result, Australia will fly home without having lost the series in any format on this trip. It is an outcome that has left Clarke proud and buoyant. “We drew the Twenty20 series, we’ve won the one-day series and now we have drawn the Test series against a fantastic opposition in their own backyard,” he said. “We should be so proud of that. That’s an amazing performance by Australian cricket in my opinion.”

Five rounds into the Ranji season, Abhinav Mukund is yet to have a failure. He has scored runs in all corners of India, against varied attacks of impressive pedigree. And it was more of the same as Tamil Nadu took on Gujarat at Motera. By stumps on the first day, Abhinav had powered to an unbeaten 150, guiding his team to an imposing 288 for 2. Given his good form and well-known appetite for big scores, one wouldn’t bet against him getting to his second double-hundred of the season on the second day.”I am happy with the effort, but would like to carry on and get a huge score tomorrow,” Abhinav told ESPNcricinfo. ” It was a flat wicket, but it did a bit in the morning session. The ball was swinging, and M Vijay got a really good ball in the first over. [Gujarat medium pacer] Ishwar Chaudhary was a constant threat since he got the ball to angle in and straighten.”Abhinav was backed up by S Badrinath, who shrugged off a long injury lay-off to produce a century that suggested he hasn’t lost the touch that made him the highest run-getter in 2010. Together the pair added 223 runs for the second wicket, batting through the bulk of the day.”It has always been great to bat with Badri,” Mukund said. “He talks a lot in the middle, and he mentions all the little important things that make a difference to your batting. He knows exactly what goes on during a big stand, he watches you closely from the other end and guides you well. In the last few years, we have developed this habit of sharing some big partnerships, and it was good to produce another one today.”Abhinav, like Badrinath and Vijay, began the season with plenty to prove, having lost favour with the India selectors, but has flourished under the challenge. Vijay, however, has endured a difficult season, making only 121 runs from seven innings. But Abhinav believes his opening partner hasn’t much luck this season.”He’s been working really hand, and things are definitely about to turn around soon for him,” Abhinav said. “He has got out to a couple of very good balls and also been run-out once. As an opener, you could miss out at times on easy tracks, after getting a difficult ball early. He has got only one start in four innings, but I am sure we will have a big partnership soon.”On paper, the Gujarat attack is probably the easiest Abhinav has encountered so far. The double-hundred against Haryana came under pressure, as TN were chasing the first-innings lead against an attack including Amit Mishra. Abhinav also made a match-winning 83 at Eden Gardens against a Bengal attack led by the in-form Ashok Dinda. But, personally, he rates the 99 he scored on a treacherous Ferozshah Kotla pitch against the challenging new-ball pairing of Ashish Nehra and Parvinder Awana as his best innings so far this season. During that effort, he was struck by a Pradeep Sangwan delivery that took off to hit his jaw, forcing him to retire hurt on 39. The blow made it diffcult to talk, but he was feeling comfortable enough to bat.”That 99 was special, since it came on a difficult track with a sore jaw. After getting hit, I was finding it difficult to see the ball, and the bounce was unpredictable. That will probably be up there with the best knocks I have played. Equally, in the Haryana game, I built on my century to get a double-ton which was quite satisfying since we were losing wickets at the other end.”The season has been a success on the personal front so far, and Abhinav isn’t letting the disappointment of missing the flight to Australia affect that. “When you’re not in the national team, it is disappointing, but it is very important to move on. I am thankful for the experience I got in England and West Indies. It definitely helps you, and you come back to domestic cricket as a much better batsman after spending time with guys who have over 10,000 runs. I have progressed as a batsman from those experiences and retain the hunger to score big runs.”Making a comeback is not on my hands, and I am not thinking about national selection now. My first goal is to keep doing well, and win the Ranji Trophy for my side.”