Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) this week hosted a Cricket Bat Conference at Lord’s, which brought together key stakeholders in the game to discuss the future of bat-making in the sport, in response to what has been termed the ‘cricket bat emergency’ of a shortage of willow and spiralling prices.

Timber from trees in a nature reserve in Nottinghamshire has been harvested to produce cricket bats. The Farndon Willow Holt reserve, near Newark, has produced a crop of cricket bat willows which will be used by the world's oldest supplier of the product.

Str8bat, co-founded by Madhu Sudan, uses sensors fixed on cricket bats to improve batters' performance. The technology helps track metrics like bat speed and sweet spot, assisting both beginners and professionals in refining their skills.

Ajinkya Rahane batted for recently retired cricketers to be appointed as domestic selectors, having the mindset and approach to match the current pace of cricket. Rahane also weighed in that domestic cricket should be the preferred option for selection into the Indian team.

Australia captain Mitch Marsh won the toss Thursday and decided to bowl first against India in the second one-day cricket international at Adelaide Oval.