Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.

Nelson said, “I was playing cricket.”

Nelson said that he had been playing cricket.

The correct answer is: Nelson said that he had been playing cricket.

The other options are incorrect:

• "Nelson said that he was playing cricket." is incorrect because the verb tense is incorrect.
• "Nelson said I was playing cricket." is incorrect because the pronoun is incorrect.
• "Nelson said that he had been playing cricket." is the correct answer.