Kane Richardson believes the Power Surge fielding restrictions, which were introduced in the BBL this season, could have a place at the T20I level, but from a selfish point of view will be happy if that moment waits until he retires.

The Surge regulations modified the traditional six-over powerplay into a two-over block that could be taken by the batting side any time from the 11th over onwards, leaving just four at the beginning of the innings. It was generally viewed as the most successful of the three innovations tried in the BBL and did bring a new dynamic with innings both losing and gaining momentum in the two overs.

Richardson was the third-most expensive bowler in the Surge (bowlers who operated during it in at least five innings), going at 12.11 - 109 runs off 54 balls - and picked up just two wickets, and admitted he enjoyed it more as a spectator, but could see the value it brought to the game.

"It's a good discussion. I enjoyed watching it as a fan," he said. "There was games I didn't particularly enjoy bowling in it, but as a fan it made games interesting where you thought the game was decided, especially in the second innings then teams would catch up.

"Think Trent [Woodhill] and the BBL did a really good job with that, whether or not it goes to international cricket I'm not sure. It probably has a place to be fair, I think it was successful this year and guys who found a niche in the team in the middle-order, who can play that role really well and vice-versa with the ball, were almost first picks.

"It's interesting, it's tactical, it's good to watch, so there's nothing but positives for that. But as a bowler, if we could probably steer clear of it at international and IPL level until I'm maybe too old to be playing I'll happily sit back in my old rocking chair and watch."

Richardson won't have to concern himself with the Surge over the next few weeks in New Zealand where he will be one of the more experienced members of an Australia attack without some key names, who were due to be in South Africa for the now-postponed Test series.

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are certain starters in Australia's first-choice T20I side with Josh Hazlewood also in the mix, while Sean Abbott would be another option and Richardson believes there are others outside of the two squads who would be worthy of selection.

"You look at a pool of ten or so bowlers, it does seem like there is a big group of players who could play in that World Cup," he said. "There's guys back home who could easily have been picked in this team - Wes Agar had a great Big Bash, Nathan Ellis was impressive again - so there's almost a group of 20 bowlers to pick from.

"It's great for Australian cricket because in T20 cricket if you have a good bowling attack you are a very good chance of winning. Even yesterday at training, bowling alongside some of these guys, we all do it a bit differently, there's a separate indemnity to each person so it's great to be around. If I was an Australian selector I'd be pretty excited about what lies ahead."

Richardson missed the tail-end of the BBL with the Melbourne Renegades because of a quad injury but is now fully recovered. He did not face India in the white-ball matches during the summer having opted to stay at home with his new-born son.

Umesh Yadav has been drafted into India's Test squad for the Ahmedabad leg of the England series, replacing Shardul Thakur, who has been released to play for Mumbai in the domestic 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. Yadav, who will undergo a fitness assessment at the NCA before linking up with the Virat Kohli-led squad, is returning to competitive cricket after recovering from the calf injury he picked up during the Boxing Day Test against Australia.

If cleared, Yadav will join the fast-bowling group comprising Ishant Sharma, who is one short of 100 Test appearances, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill's presence in the squad might serve as an indication that the forearm injury that didn't allow him to take the field on the fourth day of the second Test isn't too serious. As such, India have a stand-by in the form of Mayank Agarwal, who is the third opener. And KL Rahul, who was drafted in for the second Test as a batting reserve, has retained his place.

Two members in India's squad - Bumrah and Axar Patel - could potentially feature in front of their home supporters at the revamped Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera. A third Gujarat cricketer, Priyank Panchal, who was part of the reserves, has been released to play in the domestic 50-over competition alongside fellow opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and Thakur. Quicks Sandeep Warrier, Avesh Khan and Ankit Rajpoot, and spin twins K Gowtham and Saurabh Kumar now complete the net-bowlers' contingent, while wicketkeeper KS Bharat and legspinner Rahul Chahar are stand-bys.

Hardik Pandya, who hasn't played Tests since September 2018, is slowly progressing to bowling at full tilt after recovering from a shoulder surgery, which has forced him play much of his cricket in recent times as a specialist batsman.

The four-Test series is currently tied at 1-1 after two games, both in Chennai. England won the first Test by 227 runs, and India bounced back to win the second by 317 runs.

The result of the next two Tests are of great significance not just for the ongoing series, but the race to take on New Zealand in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship at Lord's in June. Both the teams are trying to get past Australia's points percentage of 69.17. India need to win the series, by any margin, so a win and a draw (or two wins) serve them fine. The loss in the second Test, meanwhile, has hurt England, because they can only make the final if they won both the remaining Tests. Australia are in with a shot too - they would be hoping England don't win both the remaining Tests; a 1-1 or 2-2 draw or a 2-1 England win work great for them.

The third Test of the ongoing series, a pink-ball affair, will start on February 24, and the final one on March 4.

There has been a sense of excitement and buzz among the New Zealand public around Kyle Jamieson's potential IPL call-up after he headlined the international home summer both with ball and bat. The 6'8" quick made his T20I debut against West Indies in November 2020 and proceeded to bag 27 wickets in four Tests at a sensational average of 12.25 to go with 131 runs at a batting average of 66.50.

Gary Stead, the current New Zealand head coach who has overseen Jamieson's rise from Canterbury, reckoned last month that Jamieson will be on the radar of the New Zealand coaches in the IPL.

A day before the IPL 2021 auction, however, Jamieson played down the hype after returning to the New Zealand nets at the Bay Oval in the lead-up to the five-T20I series against Australia, which will kick off on February 22.

"To be fair, I haven't paid too much attention to it and for me I've been focused on what I can control here and I think things will pan out the way they are going to tomorrow night - whether that means I get picked up and go great and if not there's still a lot of cricket to be played across the winter," Jamieson said. "I try not to pay too much attention. Things like that tend to take care of themselves."

Jamieson hasn't played competitive cricket in India previously, but he's looking forward to picking up new tricks and becoming a well-rounded bowler if he gets an IPL gig.

"That experience, if it comes, I'm not sure what's going to happen, but it's certainly a different experience and a lot of new learnings to come from," he said. "The probably most exciting thing is that when you get to play in these different environments, there's a lot of learning and ways to upskill and try to add strings to your bow."

While allrounder Jimmy Neesham, who is also in the auction after being released by the Punjab franchise, said that his New Zealand team-mates are "really excited" for Jamieson, he won't be up in the night to watch the auction unfold.

"I think I won't be watching and a couple of young guys who are in the auction for the first couple times will probably watch - these are things that you can't really control," Neesham said. "So, I'll wake up in the morning - what is it Friday morning our time? - and will see what has happened. The focus currently is certainly on playing as well as I can for New Zealand - that's sort of down the track a little bit."

Devon Conway, who won the Super Smash title with Neesham on Saturday, isn't too fussed about the auction either.

"It was a wild shot, really, my agent thought it was a good idea to get my name in the conversations," Conway had said after winning the domestic T20 title last week. "You know, I think, my understanding is that it's a small auction and for me to get into the sort of first little cut to where I am around is pretty awesome. But, I'm not really thinking too far ahead. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't it's just pretty cool to go through the process of applying and putting your name in the hat."

Finn Allen, Conway's opening partner at Wellington Firebirds, is part of the IPL shortlist as well, having dominated the Super Smash with his down-the-track biffs and audacious switch-hits, including one off New Zealand's premier spinner Mitchell Santner. Allen emerged as the top scorer in this season's Super Smash with 512 runs in 11 innings at an average of 56.88 and strike rate of 193.93. The golden run vaulted him into the T20I squad, although only as cover for Martin Guptill who is nursing a hamstring injury. Has Allen done enough to force his way into the IPL as well?

"For me, there are no expectations," Allen had told ESPNcricinfo a day out of the Super Smash final. "It's kind of always been that way for me - I'm just going out there and enjoying what I am doing. Just trying to win the title for Wellington, and if more than that comes out of it, it would be awesome. Obviously going to the IPL would be pretty amazing - that's almost my dream for a long time now, so yeah hopefully get lucky and get picked up. But, obviously no expectations, and if it doesn't happen, there's always the future."

Joe Root has apologised to Moeen Ali for comments made in a press conference following England's defeat in the second Test against India.

Root, the England captain, appeared to suggest Moeen had unilaterally decided to leave the tour with two Tests of the series remaining.

"Moeen has chosen to go home," Root said at the time. "It's obviously been a very tricky tour for him. As mentioned at the start, if players feel like they need to get out of the bubble, then that's been an option. With Moeen it wasn't more asking if he wanted to stay, it was a decision he had chosen."

In truth, Moeen's break from the tour had been arranged by the selectors several weeks previously and was consistent with the team management's policy of giving all their all-format players a break from the bio-bubble at some stage on the trip. Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood have all had similar breaks.

Root's comments sparked something of a backlash across the media. Although some defended Moeen, others latched onto the words to express their dissatisfaction on the incorrect assumption that he had left the tour on something of a whim having been recalled just a week previously.

Realising he had expressed himself somewhat clumsily, Root sought out Moeen when the team returned to the hotel after the game on Tuesday. He explained that he had not expressed himself clearly and reiterated Moeen's value to the team. He also clarified his support for the rotation policy and his appreciation of the need for players to balance their family lives alongside their professional commitments.

Moeen is understood to have accepted the apology and departs the tour on good terms with the team, its captain and coaches. He returns to India at the end of the month as part of England's T20I squad and retains hopes of being picked up in the IPL auction.

A further clarification on the matter is anticipated from the England team management later on Wednesday.

Gerard Pique and Antoine Griezmann's frustration boiled over into an on-pitch argument as Barcelona were beaten 4-1 by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Pique, making his first appearance since injuring his knee ligaments in November, screamed at his teammates to "keep the f------ ball longer" as they prepared to defend a corner. Griezmann responded by telling him to calm down.

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"F------ hell, Grizi," Pique shot back. "No. M-----------. We're suffering. We've been [pinned] back for five minutes. F------ hell, we're running like crazy."

Griezmann replied: "Don't shout at me, m-----------! I am suffering as well and I am running like crazy."

Britain's Alfie Hewett narrowly missed out on a first Australian Open wheelchair singles title as he lost to Joachim Gerard in the final.

Hewett had won the doubles title with compatriot Gordon Reid on Tuesday.

"I am really proud of not tanking at six love, four love down so I am proud of myself for that comeback and for making it a final," Hewett said.

"It's been a long five weeks and I am ready to go home now."

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has lodged a formal complaint with the ICC over Cricket Australia's (CA) decision to indefinitely postpone next month's three-Test series. Last week, CSA wrote to both the ICC and CA expressing its dissatisfaction at the tour being pushed back, also asking for means of redress after CA cited an "unacceptable" level of Covid-19 risk in South Africa as the reason for not travelling. But now, CSA has escalated the matter and asked for it to be heard at the ICC's dispute-resolution council.

In a letter sent by acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki, seen by ESPNcricinfo, CSA is invoking both the World Test Championship (WTC) and the FTP agreement terms in search of points on the WTC table, as well as financial compensation from CA. It has asked the ICC to look into whether CA's cancellation amounts to acceptable or unacceptable non-compliance as per the WTC terms, bearing in mind that the series cannot be rescheduled before the end of the WTC window, which is April 30, 2021. It also wants the ICC to obtain a report on the health situation in South Africa to determine if Australia breached the terms by not travelling.

According to the ICC's FTP agreement, which has been in place since 2004, member countries are obliged to fulfil their fixtures unless there are circumstances which prevent them from doing so, including government instruction. In 2007, when the Australian government instructed their men's team not to tour Zimbabwe on political grounds, the ICC adjudged that decision to be acceptable non-compliance. Similarly, in 2008, the ICC found that India's decision not to tour Pakistan on government advice constituted acceptable non-compliance. Neither Australia nor India faced sanctions at that time.

CA has maintained that its decision not to travel to South Africa on this occasion was made on "overwhelming" medical advice.

Moseki cited a clause from WTC competition terms that calls for independent experts to determine whether the health risks are severe enough to prevent Australia from touring, and asked for those experts to come from within South Africa. "It would seem inappropriate to appoint a health and safety consultant outside of South Africa given that such an expert consultant would be unlikely to properly and accurately comprehend the Covid-19 related risks within South Africa and how they may be adequately managed," Moseki wrote. "Given the nature of the pandemic, it will inevitably require location-specific advice."

South Africa has passed the second-wave peak of the coronavirus pandemic, and although the country remains on level-3 lockdown (with level-5 being the most strict) restrictions were eased on February 1, the day before Australia announced their decision to pull out. South Africa's infection rate is falling, although it is still recording more than 1,000 positive cases of Covid-19 each day in the last few days compared to Australia, which is registering cases in single digits daily.

India opener Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and allrounder R Ashwin all made significant gains in the ICC Test Player Rankings for batsmen, following the hosts' 317-run victory against England in Chennai.

Sharma, whose 161 in the first innings gave India the early advantage, jumped nine places to 14th on the list, his best since November 2019 when he was 10th. Ashwin's century in the second innings, meanwhile, lifted him 14 places to 81st in the batting list, while his eight-wicket match haul - including a five-for in the first innings - meant he occupied the seventh position in the bowlers rankings, just three points behind Stuart Broad at sixth.

Pant, who has struck at least one fifty in each of his last four Tests, was also rewarded for the rich vein of form with a career-best 11th rank in the batting list. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who marked his Test debut with a five-wicket haul in the second innings, entered the bowlers rankings in the 68th place.

For England, Jack Leach was the only player to make any notable jump, gaining six places to reach the 31st position in the bowlers rankings. Ben Stokes, who made a paltry return of just 26 across both innings in Chennai, lost his top spot in the Test Allrounder Rankings, falling to third behind Jason Holder and Ravindra Jadeja.

Meanwhile, West Indies, who sealed a memorable series win against Bangladesh, saw several of their players get a boost in the rankings, most notably offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall, whose nine-wicket match haul in the second Test in Dhaka put him in the top 50 among bowlers for the first time in his career.

Among the Bangladesh batsmen, Tamim Iqbal (32nd) and Liton Das (54th) were the only two to make any step up in the rankings, while left-arm spinner Taijul Islam gained five places to take the 22nd position on the bowlers list.

Australian cricket would join other sports looking to private equity investment, and the kind of commercial arrangement it maintained in the first 15 years after the World Series Cricket revolution, under one of several models being widely discussed in industry circles as administrators begin to think about the game's next strategic moves.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that private ownership of BBL clubs is just one of numerous private investment options currently being discussed, as administrators keep an especially close eye on events across the Tasman and the prospective involvement of Silver Lake in the commercial affairs of New Zealand Rugby.

That model, whereby Silver Lake - an American technology investment firm currently managing funds worth about US$60 billion - has reportedly bid around A$450 million for a 15% stake in a new and separate entity to run the commercial affairs of NZR and the showpiece All Blacks brand, would be a 21st century version of the arrangement struck in 1979.

Back then, Kerry Packer bought not just broadcast rights but essentially the entire commercial wing of the Australian Cricket Board, leaving decisions around how the game was sold in the hands of his company PBL marketing until 1994. PBL Marketing's approach wrought enormous change to the game and its commercialisation, albeit on onerously cheap terms for Packer as the Board of the day, led by Sir Donald Bradman, had little understanding of broadcast rights value derived from advertising.

The ACB reclaimed control of its own broadcast rights and marketing destiny 27 years ago, around the same time that the value of both areas began to climb sharply, leading to more than two decades of continuous success in the game's commercial fortunes. The players have been among the greatest beneficiaries of this period.

The third scenario that has been discussed, at least informally at state and CA board levels, would be for the commercial functions of the BBL to be farmed out in a similar manner to an entity separate to the governing body and sold in part to private equity. These types of arrangements would bring an additional injection of capital to Australian cricket at a time when Covid-19 and the current dispute with the free-to-air broadcaster Seven West Media have brought hitherto unseen pressure to bear, but also bring new ideas to the game's administration.

Any kind of move to a model where private equity takes a stake in CA's commercial operations, in return for an upfront payment likely to be comfortably beyond the A$500 million range, would be bound to stir a major debate across the game and its followers, but is now closer to a serious discussion than at any time in the past decade or more. One of the chief concerns likely to be raised would be whether Australian cricket, having gone in an ever more commercial direction over the past 40 years, could improve its trajectory by moving still further that way.

Other red flags would concern the loss of total control of the business of cricket to owners and entities primarily concerned not with growing the game itself but growing their returns on investment in it. That difference of perspective is likely to cause many a flashpoint about the balance between crickets three formats, and spending in areas beneath the top level. Such conflicts are familiar to followers of other sports that have been heavily financed by private investors.

Silver Lake, for instance, have made long-term investments in UFC, the NBA's New York Knicks, the NHL's New York Rangers, and Manchester City, all sports and leagues far more steeped in private capital than anything in Australian sport, let alone cricket. Private ownership is best known in cricket through the prism of T20, and the extremely wealthy owners of IPL clubs in particular.

In Britain a report by Oakwell Sports, who advised private equity firm CVC on its investment into Premiership Rugby, suggested that the ECB's start-up costs for The Hundred would be significantly reduced if stakes in the teams were sold to investors by using a franchise model.

While there has been widespread hesitance about private investment in professional sport in Australia, it is a concept that has long been championed by the likes of the Australian Cricketers Association director Neil Maxwell, its chairman Greg Dyer and president Shane Watson, who told ESPNcricinfo this week that the broad concept needed to be re-examined more than a decade after CA first looked into the idea of selling minority stakes in the Melbourne Renegades and the Sydney Thunder prior to the launch of the BBL.

At the same time, more than a decade of increasingly corporatised thinking on the CA Board and its state association equivalents have left administrators looking ever more widely for fresh sources of cash to reinvest in the game. This is particularly so at a time when the previously exponential growth of broadcast rights value now appears finally to be plateauing after about 30 years of seldom going anywhere but up.

New Zealand Rugby's blueprint, currently being pitched to the game's many stakeholders, calls for the setup of a new subsidiary, CommercialCo, to be wholly responsible for maximising the value of rugby's commercial rights. In June last year, Rugby Australia confirmed similar discussions with another American private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, about their possible involvement in the annual Super Rugby competition.

"We've had good inbound interest from UK and American private equity firms and I'm very open to continuing those discussions at a Super Rugby level," the RA chief executive Hamish McLennan told the Sydney Morning Herald. "The time is right to have these discussions as we look to alternate funding mechanisms for the game. Anything I can do to free cash up to reinvest in grassroots rugby will be good for the game."

CA is on much firmer ground than its rugby equivalent, but strategic discussions about the next major growth opportunities for the game are only set to ramp up over the next year given that the governing body's own Australian Cricket Strategy runs from 2017 to 2022.

New Zealand Cricket will allow its cricketers to participate in the 2021 edition for as long as they need to, even if it means that some of them miss the end of the New Zealand home season and the first Test of the tour of England, at Lord's.

The dates for the IPL aren't out yet - likely to be in April-May - but the Lord's Test is scheduled to start on June 2, and it could be that a few major all-format players, like captain Kane Williamson and Trent Boult, fail to join the team in time if their teams make the IPL playoffs.

The situation won't be any different from England, whose leading multi-format cricketers, including Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler, might all miss that two-Test series.

Speaking to Stuff.co.nz NZC chief executive David White said, "NZC will take a pragmatic approach as these fixtures are a late addition to the schedule. We will work through the decision in conjunction with the players." The Tests in question - the second one is in Southampton - were announced only last month, and don't count towards the World Test Championship final, which New Zealand have already qualified for. That match will be played from June 18.

There's also a chance that, depending on when the IPL-bound players are asked to link up with their franchises, they miss the home white-ball series against Bangladesh, which run from March 20 to April 1. "We are still awaiting advice as to when the IPL will start and what the MIQ protocols will be - but will take a pragmatic approach in the event of any clash," White said.

As such, no New Zealand cricketer has ever missed a Test match because of the IPL, and there might not be a direct dates' clash in this case either, but things could get tricky because of the Covid-19 situation.

Apart from Williamson and Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Tim Seifert all have teams in the IPL already, and 20 other New Zealand cricketers have put their names in the hat for the auction, to be held in Chennai on Thursday. Keeping in mind travel restrictions, New Zealand will follow the new norm of sending an expanded squad to England in any case.