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The ECB has overhauled its central contract system to give greater support to its growing list of white-ball specialists, with the list of contracted players for the year 2016-17 split into two pools for Test and limited-overs cricket.With the twin objectives of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup looming on the horizon, and bearing in mind the vastly improved performances from England’s limited-overs players, who reached the final of the World T20 in India earlier this year, the ECB has set about elevating the standing of the shorter forms of the game.

England central contracts 2016-17

Test contracts Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)
White-ball contracts Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Liam Plunkett (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), David Willey (Yorkshire)
Increment Contract Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)

The new list of contracted players for the 12 months from October 1 includes 10 names on the list of Test contracts, and 11 for limited-overs cricket, including four players – the batsman, Joe Root, and the allrounders Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali – who feature in both.Under the new structure, players in all formats will receive a ‘ranking’ based on their performances on the pitch, as well as a number of other factors, including off-field contribution, fielding and fitness. Those rankings will then correlate with the players’ level of remuneration.In addition to central contracts, selectors can award a limited number of increment contracts, based on the regularity of appearances from players outside of the contracted lists. At present, Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance is the only recipient of such a deal for the next 12 months.”We believe the restructure of the central contract system will recognise the increased focus of the shorter format and the importance that we place on this as we continue our progress towards hosting the 2019 World Cup,” the director of England cricket, Andrew Strauss, said.”It is undeniable that the introduction of central contracts in 2002 has greatly benefited the fortunes of the England Test team. During this period the team has consistently performed well against the other Test nations around the world. We hope that continues over the next few years.”The international game is evolving rapidly, and we have to keep pace with developments on the field. Our game-wide strategy sets out the objective of creating balance between the formats, and this is reflected by the restructure of central contracts. Ultimately, we are fully committed to developing world-class players in both red- and white-ball cricket to aid the goal of becoming the world’s number one team.”In addition to Woakes, who has been rewarded for a breakthrough season in Test cricket, the other notable inclusion in the list of Test players is Jonny Bairstow, who established himself as England’s first-choice wicketkeeper with 753 runs in the course of England’s home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, at an average of 75.30.Ian Bell, who was dropped from England’s Test team ahead of last winter’s tour of South Africa, slips off the list, while Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler, who were both centrally contracted under the old format in 2015-16, are now included in the white-ball list only. While players on the Test list are paid solely by the ECB, those on limited-overs deals will receive a supplement on top of their county contract.

NatWest will become the major ECB sponsor from next year, taking over the branding of the various teams which are currently under the Waitrose deal that will finish early in 2017, alongside its current sponsorships which include the T20 Blast and the CricketForce volunteering scheme.The bank has been heavily involved in English cricket since 1980 and the new four-year deal will take them beyond 40 years of association with the sport which began with the domestic 60-over NatWest Trophy.The shirt part of the deal – which includes all England teams – begins at the start of the busiest international summer which includes the Champions Trophy, Women’s World Cup, full tours by South Africa and West Indies and a visit by Ireland at the start of the season.David Wheldon, the chief marketing officer at NatWest, said: “Ever since we first established the NatWest Trophy in conjunction with the ECB in 1980, cricket has been ingrained in the DNA of NatWest and I am delighted that we will be re-invigorating this partnership by becoming the ECB’s first ever Principal Partner.”NatWest are also currently the title sponsors of the T20 Blast and that will continue for 2017 which was the final year of a four-year agreement that began in 2014.There is extensive debate about the future shape of England’s domestic T20 with a recent report saying that a new, franchise-based tournament could begin as early as 2018.One suggestion is that it could be played in conjunction with an 18-team county T20 that would retain its position mainly on Friday nights which has proved successful for some counties in boosting attendances.

Of the 103.2 overs India have bowled to West Indies so far in the Antigua Test, 34 have been maidens. Umesh Yadav, who took four wickets in the first innings to help India enforce the follow-on, said bowling maidens has been a central part of their plans for the tour, given the predominance of slow pitches in the Caribbean.”When we came to the ground and saw the wicket, we realised we won’t get wickets where the ball will seam or swing,” Umesh said, at the end of the third day’s play. “We knew the conditions would be pretty hard, especially because it was going to be hot as well.”The main thing we planned was to bowl as many maidens as possible, and not give easy boundaries. Whether it’s the coach [Anil Kumble] or Virat [Kohli, the captain], the whole team sits and discusses the same thing, that it won’t be easy to take 20 wickets, and so it becomes very important to plan. And it can’t end there. If it’s said in the meeting that we have to bowl maidens, then we have to bowl maidens, because we know we won’t take 20 wickets otherwise.”India’s bowlers, according to Umesh, made a conscious effort to not relax after their batsmen had piled up 566 in the first innings. “We don’t look at it like we have 566,” he said. “We look at it like we have only made 350, and the earlier we bowl them out, the better it is for us in the second innings. Our effort was that, if we got them out by the end of today, we would have two more days to bowl them out again.”India went into the Test with three genuine fast bowlers, and five frontline bowlers in all, and Umesh praised the chemistry among them.”We always give that kind of confidence to each other, always we are pushing [each other],” he said. “Whenever things are a little difficult, we need to push our friend or team-mate a little bit, and lift them. When we see, for example, that [Mohammed] Shami is bowling very well but he’s not getting wickets, my job is, I go to him and say, “Shami, you’re bowling very well, keep going.” Because I know that if someone is bowling well from one end, then it helps the person at the second end, so if we don’t plan and bowl as a combination, it becomes difficult for us. Main thing is, you push each other and complement each other, and recognise that, “yeah, it’s not my day today [to take wickets], it’s your day”.Shami, playing his first Test in over a year-and-a-half after returning from a long-term knee injury, also took four wickets in West Indies’ first innings. Umesh said the team never doubted whether Shami would come back successfully.”There was no doubt about it, because he’s a natural bowler. We never thought he’ll struggle. If he struggled, it was only until he had recovered from his injury. No one has to tell him, bowl here, bowl like this. He’s a smart bowler, he’s got everything – outswing, inswing, bouncers.”

BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said that the board is going to investigate allegations of unfair practices during this season’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.Umpiring standards have been repeatedly questioned by all quarters during this year’s league. At a crucial stage in the Abahani Limited-Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club match, umpire Rezwan Parvez gave Taskin Ahmed not out although he was at least 12 inches outside the crease when Farhad Reza broke the stumps. Abahani needed 10 runs off three balls before that incident and went on to win the match. In the Abahani-Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi match, a questionable no-ball call was not made despite the full-toss going above the batsman’s waist in the last over of the chase.In the Kalabagan Krira Chakra-Legends of Rupganj match, Rupganj were not awarded six runs despite an overthrow following the completion of two runs. Rupganj also alleged that the umpires called off that game soon after rain stopped and did not wait too long for the Fatullah ground to dry, with Kalabagan winning through the D/L method. Two days later, the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, the BCB standing committee that runs the tournament, suspended Rupganj captain Mosharraf Hossain and wicketkeeper Mohammad Mithun for arguing with the umpires during the same game.Allegations of favouritism were also leveled towards the CCDM, after Gazi Group Cricketers’ last-round match against Victoria Sporting Club was deferred by a day. The CCDM, citing “unavoidable circumstances”, broke the pattern in which three matches were held on every match day.Gazi Group were on ten points before that match while Mohammedan Sporting Club, Kalabagan Krira Chakra and Prime Bank Cricket Club were on 12 points each. The one-day delay gave Gazi Group the advantage of knowing the equation to qualify to the Super League, but they ultimately lost to Victoria and failed to make it to the next phase. Kalabagan Krira Chakra lodged an official complaint by saying that the CCDM favoured Gazi Group because the club’s owner Gazi Golam Murtoza is also the chairman of CCDM.BCB chief Hassan said that he will ask the CCDM to furnish an answer about the change in the match date as well as the wet pitch in BKSP. He announced that such problems would not arise in the Super League phase.”We will officially ask for what happened with the Gazi match timing change,” Hassan said. “They will have to provide an answer. But the result wasn’t in their favour. No team went into the Super League with the benefit from umpires. Kalabagan Krira Chakra’s [Nazmul Karim] Tinku is the head of the umpiring committee but his team didn’t go to the Super League.”I will take action if there’s a specific instance where a certain team benefited by an umpiring decision. But the Super League is yet to start so we are still in discussion to ensure these things aren’t repeated. These are all abnormal incidents. I have no doubt that these are motivated. Otherwise why would they complain to the ICC that cricket in Bangladesh is getting destroyed, and that matches are fixed here? They are trying hard to suspend Bangladesh from international cricket, it seems.”Even though Hassan didn’t specify who he was referring to as “they”, the ICC denied receiving any complaint regarding the Dhaka Premier League, saying that it doesn’t have the jurisdiction to interfere in domestic matters of a member country.Hassan said that the Abahani run-out incident had no bearing on the result of the game, because Mosaddek Hossain struck Farhad for a six and a four off the next two balls. He also said that Abahani don’t get the support of the umpires.”The second one is the one where the wicket was wet, so we will investigate that game,” he said. “Allegations have come about umpiring in Abahani matches. Since it went up to the ICC with photos being sent to them, we need to take it seriously. I saw that a run-out was not given. But there was no relation between that run-out and the result. It would have been seven [sic] wickets instead of six [sic].”They won with a six and four off the last two balls. Abahani in fact lost two games off the last ball. So if they got support of the umpires, they wouldn’t have lost those matches. They were on the brink of relegation two seasons ago.”

M Vijay, the India opener, has kept his place in the squad for the final two Tests against Australia. He had picked up an injury to his left shoulder while fielding in Pune and had to miss the Bengaluru Test, but with a week left until the start of the next one in Ranchi, he appears to have time to recover and become the 29th Indian to 50 Test caps.

India squad

Virat Kohli (capt), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, M Vijay, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav
Out: Hardik Pandya

Allrounder Hardik Pandya, who has shoulder troubles of his own, was the only player to be cut from the 16-man squad chosen at the start of the tour.Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami, who have recovered from protracted thigh and knee problems respectively, have played List A cricket over the past week but they are yet to prove their fitness over the course of a first-class match; that could perhaps be the reason they have not been picked here.Head coach Anil Kumble had stressed on a protocol by which first-choice picks could walk back into the XI after injury provided they play the same format in domestic cricket and prove their fitness. Rohit made 4 and 16 for Mumbai in one-day cricket while Shami picked up 0 for 36 for Bengal and practiced with the Indian team at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, though he mostly bowled off a short run-up.India retained Abhinav Mukund as the third opener despite his underwhelming returns in the second Test; he made 0 and 16 in his first international game in over five years. The extra opener is especially needed given the recent niggles for their top-order batsmen – apart from Vijay’s injury, Rahul’s left shoulder caused him some concern in Pune and Cheteshwar Pujara said he had to fight a sore neck during his match-winning 92 in Bengaluru.India’s bowling line-up was unchanged. Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuneshwar Kumar were the seamers. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, both No. 1 on the ICC rankings for Test bowlers, led the spin department which also includes offspinner Jayant Yadav and left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.The series is square at 1-1 and is set to resume on March 16 with the first Test ever to be played in Ranchi. Then Dharamsala makes its debut on March 25.

Big picture – Can India end rotten luck with the toss?

The last time India lost both the Test and ODI series as part of the same bilateral tour was in South Africa in 2021-22. At home, though, India haven’t lost both the series of a tour since Pakistan beat them 1-0 in Tests and 5-1 in ODIs in 1986-87.South Africa go into Vishakapatnam with a chance of achieving that rare double. It is evident by now that it could well come down to the toss. The dew anyway plays a big part in ODIs in India, which is now getting accentuated by use of only one ball from overs 34 to 50. The side bowling in the afternoon gets the advantage of using an older, softer ball, which gets nullified in the dew in the night. South Africa won the last ODI despite being 35 behind India at the 34-over mark, which is when the fielding side gets to choose one of the two balls to bowl the rest of the innings with.Given such a premium on the toss, India will be desperate that they finally win one after 20 straight losses. The last time India won a toss in ODIs was in the semi-final of the last World Cup, and we are already talking about combinations for the next World Cup.The teams will have no option but to maximise the new ball in the afternoon and go for an above-par total for the conditions they are batting in. And then maximise the new ball in the evening before it stops moving. India managed to do both of those things in Ranchi, but only one in Raipur. It will be interesting to see if South Africa have capability to do both, but for that India will have to win the toss.

Form guide

India: LWWLL
South Africa: WLLWLMarco Jansen is staking claims to becoming a genuine allrounder•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Virat Kohli and Marco Jansen

Virat Kohli has gone back to back with centuries 11 times in his career. He has converted one of those into a hat-trick. Three centuries in one week. One of them came at his favourite venue, Vishakapatnam, where he comes back with four ODI hundreds and one Test ton to his name. He averages 97.83 there in ODIs at better than a run a ball. He has also scored 299 Test runs there for three dismissals. The form that he seems to have hit, you won’t want to bet against another hat-trick of ODI hundreds.Marco Jansen, who is staking claims to becoming a genuine allrounder, will still want to do more in his core discipline of bowling than four wickets at an average of 34.75 and an economy rate of 6.95. If Nandre Burger doesn’t recover in time, he could get the new ball and look to play a role in controlling Kohli and Rohit Sharma.Related

• Shadowing the king: When Gaikwad matched Kohli shot for shot

• When South Africa and India went off the scale

• Gaikwad: 'I was pretty much confident' of batting at No. 4

Team news: Eyes on Burger, de Zorzi

India will have no reason to make any changes in the XI that has won one and narrowly lost the second despite losing both tosses. Especially after Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a hundred that almost matched Kohli shot for shot. Prasidh Krishna is going at 8.48 an over, but India don’t have a replacement bowler in the squad. And they won’t replace a specialist bowler with an allrounder.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 5 KL Rahul (capt. & wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Prasidh KrishnaSouth Africa had two players go down with hamstring injuries in the second ODI. Neither of them played any further role in the match. Hamstrings don’t heal this quickly so expect Burger and Tony de Zorzi to be replaced by Ottneil Baartman and Ryan Rickelton.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma (capt.), 4 Matthew Breetzke, 5 Ryan Rickelton, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Ottneil Baartman

Pitch and conditions

The last two ODIs represent the extreme of the conditions in Vishakapatnam. India went from scoring 387 against West Indies in December 2019 to being bowled out for 117 against Australia in March 2023. With no weather challenges in the pitch preparation, expect more of the former. The temperature should be warmer than Ranchi and Raipur, but still pleasant for cricket.

Stats and trivia

• Kumar Sangakkara holds the record for more centuries in consecutive ODI innings: four. A host of others, including Kohli, have managed three in a row.
• The last team to beat India in India despite losing the toss was South Africa in October 2022.