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In Case You Missed It: England, New Zealand look for gains, PSL begins again

Our best content from the week gone by

No matter who loses the England-New Zealand Test series, it's a win for the fans who thronged Edgbaston after lockdown restrictions were eased  •  PA Images via Getty Images

No matter who loses the England-New Zealand Test series, it's a win for the fans who thronged Edgbaston after lockdown restrictions were eased  •  PA Images via Getty Images

With the first Test ending in a draw, it's Edgbaston or bust for England and New Zealand to claim the series. In St Lucia, South Africa skittled West Indies for 97 in the first innings, but can their batters set up a formidable-enough score? The PSL's second leg has only just taken off and Rashid Khan already has a five-for. We've jumped feet first into a full week of cricket, so catch up on all that you may have missed.
How the PSL teams stack up ahead of the second leg of the 2021 season
The second leg of the PSL has kicked off and here's how the six teams look after the two mini replacement drafts. And in an uncertain time, Danyal Rasool finds one unshakeable certainty - that teams that win the toss will opt to chase, and the chasing side will likely win a majority of the games.
England hold out for draw with Dom Sibley's unbeaten fifty
The first Test petered out into a draw despite New Zealand's enterprising declaration after a third-day washout, but England looked outmatched for much of the first Test. Alan Gardner says New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will have plenty to be happy about in his team's performance despite the thwarted push for victory. George Dobell has six takeaways for England from the first Test - including an impressive, and eventually tarnished, showing by debutant Ollie Robinson.
Ollie Robinson suspended from all international cricket
It should have been a dream start for Ollie Robinson, to pick up seven wickets on debut at Lord's, but racist, misogynistic tweets by the seamer from 2012-13 resurfaced in the wake of his debut, prompting the ECB to suspend him while a disciplinary investigation is conducted. Robinson remained unavailable for the second Test. George Dobell sees this as an opportunity for the ECB to create real change in English cricket through enlightenment and engagement, while David Hopps says time is of the essence if the ECB is to resolve this without it becoming a political cricket ball.
Nervousness, goosebumps, a dream - Keegan Petersen ready for Test debut
Firdose Moonda talks to the middle-order batter singled out by Test captain Dean Elgar as the player to watch in the West Indies Tests. But Moonda says the dip in the team's Test fortunes also coincides with Kagiso Rabada's slump in form.
How did India build their world-beating bench strength? They have a system
For long, its population made the country's talent pool notionally the world's largest. Now India has methods to identify and develop that talent to the fullest. Sidharth Monga goes behind the machine.
England have the fast bowlers to win in Australia. Do they have the captaincy?
Ian Chappell is looking ahead to the Ashes. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Ben Stokes and Co make for a formidable line-up, but Joe Root doesn't quite have the leadership skills to match, he says.
Deconstructing Babar Azam, the T20 batter
Gaurav Sundararaman crunches some hard numbers and says Azam will most likely score 50 runs off around 37 balls every second match he bats.
Who is the best slip catcher in the game today?
This is far from a golden era of slip catching, but there are still some players who make a habit of taking stunners in the cordon. ESPNcricinfo writers picked their favourites of the current lot.
25 Questions with Tom Banton: Butter chicken or steak-and-kidney pie?
The England batter picks the toughest bowler to face on the circuit today and tells us which team-mate sucks at Call of Duty in this round of 25 Questions.
When an India team with eight debutants beat a top England side
In 2014, a team of mostly greenhorns took on England Women in a Test and won. As India and England women prepare to face off in a Test after seven years, the players involved in that unlikely win look back.
Sophie Devine on stepping away from cricket: 'I just knew I couldn't do a job'
Andrew McGlashan speaks to the allrounder who is now back with the New Zealand squad and has no plans to ditch the captaincy.