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ScorecardFly from London to Bogota. Watch 14 episodes of House of Cards. Listen to all of the Beatles albums. These are many ways to occupy 756 minutes of time. Or, if you are Rory Burns, you can just bat at The Oval.”You’ve gotta stay out there Rory,” bellowed a spectator in the crowd as Burns walked off 25 minutes before lunch on the final day. Burns had just made the small matter of 219 undefeated runs, an unbroken thread throughout Surrey’s first innings. And yet, because his teammates had all been dismissed with Surrey still 16 shy of averting the follow on, Burns was still compelled to return to the field ten minutes later, to make sure the match was saved.It was, even more than a cricketing challenge, a test of endurance. At the time, Burns had been on the field – either as captain or batsman – for every moment of four sweltering, stuffy days at The Oval. Burns needed every ounce of fitness to manage his physical fatigue. Yet, perhaps even greater was the risk of mental fatigue: the need to sustain his same processes, the same impeccable judgement of each individual delivery, and maintain the same equanimity after every ball.”I’m pretty tired. Four days on your feet would take it out of anyone,” he said. “But when you’re fighting to save a game it’s far more a mental task than a physical task. It was more what was going on between my ears, and trying to replicate and be consistent in the process of how I was going about my batting.”On and on, he did just that. From the second evening, when he had the burden of opening Surrey’s response to the fifth largest total in Hampshire’s history, through copious menacing spells from Kyle Abbott, with both new ball and a reverse-swinging old one, a wild third day burst from Fidel Edwards, a marathon bowl for Mason Crane and then Abbott’s final, futile spell at the start of Surrey’s second innings: Burns withstood them all.Far from seeming depleted in the second innings, Burns actually produced his most fluent batting of the match, driving exquisitely and flicking the ball sumptuously through midwicket. And then, suddenly and incongruously, it was all over. After 1375 minutes unbroken on the field in the match, Burns received a looping offspinner well outside leg stump. It ricocheted off his pad, and unknowingly deflected off the wicketkeeper’s pads onto his stumps. A dream died: that Burns would manage the staggering feat of being undefeated throughout this game, and being on the pitch throughout.Still, the umpires and opposition players were united in applause as Burns, laughing in bemusement at the absurdity of his dismissal, finally left the field, just 29 minutes shy of being a continuous presence in this County Championship game. All recognised an extraordinary feat. Burns had batted for 535 balls in the match, making 287 runs for once out. Most importantly, Surrey’s stand-in captain had, through sheer force of will, saved this match. In a month and a day their Championship summer recommences; Burns’ extraordinary feat will survive much longer.Rory Burns was indefatigable•PA Photos

“I think that is the best I’ve ever played,” he said. “I just simplified it. I just tried to stay in my box and watch the ball. It sounds stupid, but that’s basically what I was thinking because how the game was set up was that we had to bat seven sessions to try and get ourselves to safety.”I somehow managed to keep going. I managed to narrow my focus down and was thinking about balls rather than the context of the game.” In so doing he had secured the maiden double century of his career, brought up when he glided Crane through midwicket just after noon – a shot, like so many he played, of wonderful timing and precise placement.The extent of Burns’ achievement was unbecoming of a farcical end, with Surrey briefly using the opportunity for some T20 practice ahead of the start of the Blast against an exhausted Hampshire. Both knew that, if Surrey went into the lead, it would mean they could declare – and the match could end 10 minutes earlier. And so, at ten to five, the players shook hands and finally relief came from this dour, spirit-sapping pitch, enough to send everyone – well, all except Burns – comatose.

Jonny Bairstow’s relentless pursuit of a Champions Trophy starting berth has fallen, officially, on deaf ears, after it was confirmed by Eoin Morgan, England’s ODI captain, that the out-of-form Jason Roy will be backed to the hilt in the forthcoming Champions Trophy – even if his barren run of form continues in Thursday’s tournament opener against Bangladesh at The Oval.Roy, whose career-best 162 against Sri Lanka came on his Surrey home ground in June 2016, has misplaced his mojo in recent months. He is in the midst of a run of four single-figure scores in his last five ODI innings, and has a top score of 44 in all competitions this season, including a short-lived stint with Gujarat Lions in the IPL.Bairstow, by contrast, has been in ragingly belligerent form for both Yorkshire and England, on the rare occasions he’s been able to muscle his way into the starting XI. He started his season with a career-best 174 against Durham in the Royal London Cup, and has made three fifties in his last four England innings, including a turbo-charged 72 from 44 balls against Ireland, and a pride-salvaging 51 against South Africa at Lord’s earlier this week after the top order had slumped to 20 for 6.Morgan, however, will not be swayed on the subject, arguing with some justification that England’s opening partnership of Roy and Alex Hales has been one of the central planks of their white-ball renaissance since the 2015 World Cup, and that to disrupt that now would send precisely the wrong message to an otherwise settled, confident and in-form unit.”The decision remains the same throughout the tournament,” Morgan told reporters at The Oval, on the eve of the tournament opener against Bangladesh. “Jason Roy is part of our strong opening partnership with Alex Hales. He’ll definitely play.”If we want our players to play cagily or without freedom, yes, we would change things and probably half of us wouldn’t be here. So backing it up with selection and the way that we want to play, you know, Jason really epitomises the way that we play; the aggression in which he plays, he always plays for the team, and he plays in a manner that is dictated by that. He’s a very important part of our side.”Jonny will miss out unfortunately. It’s been the case like that for the last couple of years. He’s been very good when he’s come in, but each and every one of us within the batting department has had ups and downs over the years. And one of the strongest parts of reinforcing the way that we play, and the freedom in which we play with, is backing that up with selection.”Off to a flyer: Jason Roy is charged with giving England a fast start with the bat•AFP

Bairstow’s mood was not improved during England’s morning training session, when he took a painful blow to the hand during a catching drill and was forced to leave the field for an ice pack. Thankfully there was no lasting damage, but even if there had been, it would have had insultingly little impact on England’s plans for the Bangladesh encounter, with Morgan also confirming that Ben Stokes is set to play as a batsman only if his dodgy left knee is unable to withstand the rigours of bowling.”Ben Stokes has had a little bowl today. We will see how he pulls up tomorrow to see how much he will bowl. But I certainly see him bowling,” Morgan said. “It’s a very strange injury in that it’s only in his delivery stride that he feels the pain. So if given he couldn’t bowl, I still think he’d make great contributions with the bat and in the field.”Morgan’s determination to show faith in his first-choice XI was arguably reinforced by the events in their most recent ODI performance – when a batting side that had been piling up 300-plus scores for fun was shredded by South Africa’s seamers on a lively but not unplayable Lord’s surface. After slumping to six down in the space of five overs, Morgan admitted that a pre-tournament reality check wasn’t necessarily a terrible thing.”If you’re looking for positives out of it, absolutely. It certainly was a wake-up call in the fact that you need to be able to adapt in different circumstances,” he said. “When you play against one of the better sides in the world, you can be susceptible to things like that happening in given conditions.”Thursday’s opponents are not used to being clumped among the “better sides” in the world. And yet, there is no danger of England being anything less than on their guard for the visit of a Bangladesh team who got the better of them at both the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, when their stunning victory at Adelaide delivered the coup de grace to the most miserable campaign yet in England’s sorry history of ICC failure.”Probably, since then, we’ve been on a huge upward curve,” said Morgan, “and we’ve been tremendously lucky in the fact that we’ve had a group of players that have bought into a way of playing and enjoyed it, and executed extremely well.”We need to bring our ‘A Game’ if we’re going to win this trophy. If at the end of it, we are holding the trophy, I think we’ll have played really well.”

Match facts

Sunrisers Hyderabad v Gujarat Lions
Hyderabad, April 9, 2017
Start time 1600 local (1030 GMT)

Head to head

Sunrisers have won all three matches played between the two teams so far.

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs
Gujarat Lions lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by ten wickets

In the news

After the 10-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, when five of six bowlers used went at more than 10 an over, James Faulkner or Andrew Tye is likely to make the Lions XI. Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja are still unavailable due to injuries.Sunrisers, who thumped Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener, will miss the services of left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman for the second match in a row. But coach Tom Moody said he is “more than likely” to be available for their first away game of the season, against Mumbai Indians, on April 12.

The likely XIs

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Moises Henriques, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Ben Cutting, 7 Naman Ojha (wk) , 8 Bipul Sharma, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Ashish NehraGujarat Lions: 1 Brendon McCullum, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Suresh Raina (capt), 4 Aaron Finch, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 James Faulkner, 7 Shubham Agarwal/ Akshdeep Nath , 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Pradeep Sangwan/Basil Thampi, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Shadab Jakati/ Shivil Kaushik

Stats that matter

• Sunrisers are the only side Lions are yet to beat in the IPL. In 2016, Lions scored at a run-rate of 7.05 against Sunrisers, which is considerably lower than the 8.34 they have managed across all their matches against all other teams.
• In the last eight matches at Rajiv Gandhi International stadium, fast bowlers have picked up 66 wickets at 27.39 with an economy rate of 7.82. By contrast spin has yielded only 10 wickets at 54.3 with an economy rate of 7.72.
• Bhuvneshwar Kumar boasts the best figures against Lions: eight wickets for 84 runs with an average of 10.50. He has also won two Man of the Match awards in three games against Lions. Against all other teams, across 74 matches in the IPL, he has only two more such awards.
• Among the 20 bowlers who have bowled more than 30 balls to David Warner in the IPL, Dhawal Kulkarni is the only one to have conceded less than five an over.
• Kulkarni averaged 16.12 against left-handers and Bhuvneshwar 17.57 against right-handers in IPL 2016, which gives each team an excellent option at the top.
• Lions joined Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals as one of four teams to be beaten by 10 wickets in the IPL twice. In nine seasons of the tournament so far, there have been only 10 such one-sided matches. Lions’ first such loss was against Sunrisers in 2016 and their latest was against Knight Riders on Friday.

ScorecardPat Cummins dismissed Sam Raphael and Jake Lehmann on the first day•Getty Images

Pat Cummins claimed two wickets for New South Wales in his first Sheffield Shield appearance since 2011 but Callum Ferguson held South Australia’s first innings together on a rain-blighted opening day at the SCG.Overcast skies and a green-tinged pitch expected to spin later made it a tricky decision at the toss and, after South Australia captain Travis Head chose to bat, Trent Copeland was quickly into rhythm to claim Jake Weatherald lbw in the second over of the morning.Cummins followed up by defeating Sam Raphael, and when Copeland accounted for Head, the Redbacks were in some trouble. However Ferguson formed a series of useful stands with Jake Lehmann, Tom Cooper and finally the wicketkeeper Alex Carey to frustrate the Blues, even as Cummins added a second wicket to his day.The English legspinner Mason Crane deceived Cooper to fetch a wicket on his debut for NSW. The hosts must win the match outright to remain in contention for the Shield final.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:17

Highlights – Peshawar edge out Lahore

In a nutshellPeshawar Zalmi limped over the line against the Lahore Qalandars in one of the more extraordinary contests in franchise T20 history. After skittling Lahore for 59 in 10.2 overs – the second-shortest innings in the format’s history – Peshawar found a hole and then promptly dug themselves into it, going from 47 for 3 to 51 for 7 as the most straightforward of run chases suddenly turned complicated in large part due to a brilliant spell by Yasir Shah. From there, Wahab Riaz and Chris Jordan forged a priceless nine-run partnership to ensure that Peshawar secured two points.Matches are often lost between the ears, but Lahore seemed to lose this one overcompensating in reaction to a scathing post-match presentation from their captain Brendon McCullum two days earlier, who criticised his team for being “too timid” in their chase against Quetta on Friday. McCullum said he would prefer to see his batsmen caught on the boundary than being bowled or dismissed lbw.They took his advice to heart, swinging from ball one. McCullum practiced what he preached, being caught at deep midwicket for a duck in the first over. The Qalandars continued to swing from the hip as they fell to 9 for 3 in two overs and then 27 for 4 inside of four overs, and an approach that started off as aggressive began to look asinine. As they fell for what was by some distance the lowest score ever in the PSL – the second lowest is 111 – they looked headed for embarrassment. Yet with this being a Pakistani competition, it was never going to be that simple.Where the match was wonIt would be churlish to say Peshawar didn’t bowl well. After all, they shot the opposition out for 59. But they didn’t appear to do anything exceptional. They simply didn’t need to as they watched Lahore continue to go after shots that were never on, not learning from each subsequent dismissal. Peshawar were outstanding in the field, though, taking every chance that came their way, both in the deep and behind the wicket. Their throwing was accurate too, highlighted by a direct hit from Chris Jordan to run out Sohail Tanvir from midwicket.The men that won itEoin Morgan, invaluable in Peshawar’s chase against Karachi with an unbeaten 80 on Friday, found himself playing an equally crucial role in a much smaller chase today. He might be known on the T20 circuit for his explosive shotmaking, but just like he had against Karachi, came in to settle his side’s nerves by scoring 23 in 26 balls to take his side within touching distance. He was unlucky to be given out when he was, Aleem Dar judging Morgan to have inside edged a ball to short leg when there seemed to be only pad involved.Legspin masterclassIt is a mark of how extraordinary Yasir’s bowling must have been for the Man of the Match award to go to a player from the side bowled out for 59. Building on a spell from teammate Sunil Narine, who extracted more turn than has been seen in the PSL so far, Yasir bowled an unrelentingly aggressive spell, making Peshawar work for every one of their 60 runs. It was legspin at its finest: attacking, accurate, fearless and effective. His figures of 4-0-7-4 did not flatter him in the slightest.Moment of the matchWhile Lahore’s batting strategy seemed somewhat peculiar throughout, the daftness reached its lowest point when Tanvir decided to risk a single to midwicket at 53 for 6 in the ninth over, where Peshawar’s best fielder Jordan was stationed. He didn’t run in a straight line, and didn’t attempt to drag his bat in either. Not that any of that would have made a difference. Jordan’s bullseye throw meant that even the third umpire didn’t need to be disturbed. Nine balls later, the innings came to a close when, in hindsight, batting out a few more overs could have made all the difference.Where they standPeshawar now have two wins from three and top the table with four points thanks to a better net run rate than Quetta Gladiators, though Quetta have a game in hand. Lahore, with one win in three, sit in third place level on points with Islamabad United but ahead on net run rate.

CSA has added three players to their usual 18-member men’s contract list, bringing the total number of new deals to five for the 2017-18 season. Stephen Cook, Keshav Maharaj, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo and Tabraiz Shamsi were all awarded deals with Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw, who both signed Kolpak agreements with Hampshire the only two players from the 2016-17 period not on the list.In an important development, Quinton de Kock and Kagiso Rabada were awarded multi-year contracts, although CSA did not specify the duration of their deals. In the past two-year contracts were the longest awarded but CSA is seeking to give players greater certainty in the aftermath of the Kolpak-exodus which has seen seven recent internationals sign deals.

CSA central contracts

Men: Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Imran Tahir, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn
Women: Dané van Niekerk, Ayabonga Khaka, Suné Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Mignon du Preez, Shabnim Ismail, Trisha Chetty, Chloe Tryon, Lizelle Lee, Matshipi Marcia Letsoalo, Laura Wolvaardt, Masabata Klaas, Andrie Steyn, Moseline Daniels

When Abbott and Rossouw’s exit was confirmed in January, CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat said his organisation was considering various ways of keeping players in the South African system and longer-term contracts were one option.There were also no details on the type of contract awarded to AB de Villiers, who has opted out of Test cricket for most of 2017, or that of Dale Steyn, who will be out of action until at least June, as he recovers from a shoulder injury. Both players were on two-year deals last year.The only other player nursing a injury on the list is Morne Morkel, who has not played for South Africa since June last year but has been included in the Test squad for the upcoming series in New Zealand and is expected to make a comeback.CSA also award 14 women’s contracts and have made one change to their previous list. Batsman Laura Wolvaardt, who is just 17 and became South Africa’s youngest international centurion (male or female) when she scored 105 against Ireland in August 2016, was the only new inclusion while Dinesha Devnarain was left out. Sune Luus and Ayabonga Khaka were promoted to the top tier.

Scorecard
Amid a confusing conclusion, Sydney Sixers pulled off the highest successful BBL chase at the SCG – hauling down Melbourne Renegades’ 170 with three balls to spare – to move a step closer to finals qualifications.Finch starvedAaron Finch spoke after Renegades’ defeat to Stars on Saturday about how he was frustrated to keep falling in the 20s and 30s. So, having won the toss and chosen to bat (just the third time that has happened this BBL) he will have been pleased to make 57, his second – and Renegades’ third – half-century of the season. Only problem is, he was starved of the strike when at his most dangerous – in the Powerplay. He faced just eight balls for 12 runs in the first six overs as Sunil Narine, and then Cameron White, were dismissed without making a huge impact.Finch grew into his innings, but with the field spread and the boundaries fairly long, he was unable to accelerate as he would have hoped. Indeed Renegades’ efforts to clear the ropes were not limited to their captain – they hit more twos – 18 – than they did fours and sixes – 17.Ferguson shows his worthMuch has been made of the fact that Australia used four No. 6 batsmen in their six Tests this summer. Well, two of them were on show – and looking in good touch – here. The forgotten man, Callum Ferguson, was perhaps lucky to be retained in the Renegades team ahead of Marcus Harris, but after a slow start he anchored the rest of the innings well. Renegades had gone ten overs without taking ten from an over, but Ferguson – know for his classical strokeplay – smote the first two balls of the 20th over from Sean Abbott into the Bill O’Reilly Stand, with the first travelling 108m, the second longest six of the tournament.Is there anything Aaron Finch can’t do?Opening batsman, captain, death bowler. Now, wicketkeeper. Finch has done the lot this season. Rainfall had made the ground wet and Peter Nevill was hit on the forehead by a skidding throw from the deep and – after a lengthy delay – was asked by the doctor to leave the field for a concussion test. Much to the enjoyment of his team-mates, Finch strapped on the gauntlets. Just an over later, Nevill was cleared to return, but the trick worked – Sixers had been cruising to their target before the incident, but a ball after Finch padded up, Michael Lumb sent Thisara Perera straight to Narine at short third man!Sixers chase – and that thrilling final overSixers’ chase went to the final over because the weight was spread and none of the top four capitalised on impressive starts. Openers Daniel Hughes and Michael Lumb set things up with a stand of 72. Then Nic Maddinson and Moises Henriques both got themselves in and got themselves out, with the former stumped off Narine and the latter picking out the man on the fence off the excellent Perera, whose variations and defensive bowling were outstanding in his first game for the Renegades.And so came the confusing final over, from which Sixers required nine. With Brad Haddin set – but not striking the ball well – James Pattinson found a dot ball. Haddin threw his hands at a shortand wide ball, and got four through point, then – with the umpire’s arm outstretched for a no-ball – scrambled two into the legside. Sixers needed two from three, and from the resultant free-hit, Haddin was brilliantly caught on the fence at long-on by Cooper, but they sprinted through for two. As the umpire incorrectly signalled six, and Finch called for him to check Cooper’s foot, neither team appeared to know the game was over. But after the game, Haddin explained the ingenious strategy he and Jordan Silk used, and made it clear they knew what was happening.”It wasn’t confusing for us!” said Haddin. “Silky just said to get it as high as I can off the free hit and we will run two, which would win us the game. I actually thought that Tom Cooper trod on the fence, but we knew exactly what we needed.”The Renegades were a bit more confused, however. Captain Finch said after the game, “I thought they needed three when Jimmy [Pattinson] bowled that last ball!”

Alastair Cook has said that the ECB needs to give serious consideration to employing a full-time spin-bowling coach for the national side after the punishment inflicted on the England attack in India.Cook observed how his spinners, specifically Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, had appeared more comfortable and confident when Saqlain Mushtaq was with the team as a spin-bowling consultant, a stay which ended after the third Test in Mohali and that had already been an extension on the original deal which had only covered the first Test in Rajkot.England have not had a full-time spin-bowling coach since Mushtaq Ahmed ended his tenure in 2014. Saqlain was first used by England last summer when he joined the squad during the Test series against Pakistan and he has made a favourable impression.”The coincidence when Saqlain was around and how much better we bowled as a group, that’s something the system or whoever needs to look at, in terms of our spinners,” Cook said.While Moeen struggled ever to really gain a foothold in the series with the ball, Rashid’s returns certainly back up Cook’s view. Rashid took 18 of his 23 wickets in the series during the three Tests when Saqlain was present. In those matches he averaged 28.67 while in the final two Tests he took five wickets at 69.England used six spin bowlers throughout the series: Moeen, Rashid, Zafar Ansari, Liam Dawson, Gareth Batty and Joe Root. Their combined returns across the five Tests amounted to 40 wickets at 48.10, which was second worst return for a group of English spinners in India, behind the 1992-93 side. On that tour, a 3-0 whitewash, India’s batsmen flayed the frontline combination of John Emburey, Phil Tufnell and Ian Salisbury to such an extent that Graeme Hick emerged as the leading spinner. Salisbury had begun the tour as a net bowler before being drafted into the Test side after Emburey and Tufnell had been treated with disdain in the warm-ups.Significantly, too, the class of 2016 also conceded runs at a higher rate – 3.55 an over – than on any previous tour of India, which meant Cook was unable to rely on them even for control during long days in the field. The lack of control from the spinners had also been exposed during the two Tests in Bangladesh, while there had been the same problem against Pakistan in the UAE last year when England’s quick bowlers had been outstanding but any pressure was released when the spinners bowled.”I think everyone can see we are suited to playing in seaming conditions,” Cook said. “There’s no point hiding behind that fact. These conditions have tested us to our limits and I really don’t want to be disrespectful to Mo and Adil but they are not as good as Ashwin and Jadeja yet. They haven’t quite got the control and consistency, certainly in the first innings when there’s not much happening.”Mo has done an amazing job for us over a long period in terms of becoming England’s No. 1 spinner. He’s two wickets away from 100 so he’s done amazing things and will only get better and better.”Without being disrespectful, without two gun, world-class spinners, winning in these conditions is going to be hard. In other conditions with our seamers and spinners, who are decent without being completely world-class, we’ll compete with anyone. But this is as hard as it gets for this side at the moment.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:19