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Brisbane Heat captain Jess Jonassen did her best to keep the chase alive after rain but there was too much to do

Alex Malcolm01-Dec-2024An all-round masterclass from Hayley Matthews helped Melbourne Renegades break their WBBL title-drought in a nail-biting rain-affected final against Brisbane Heat at the MCG.Matthews made 69 off 61, took 2 for 24 with the ball and claimed a critical catch to continue her extraordinary record in T20 finals and guide the struggling franchise claim their first championship just a season after finishing last. Heat’s finals heartbreak continued after losing last year’s decider by three runs at Adelaide Oval.A sloppy fielding effort saw Heat concede 141 for 9 when they could have reduced Renegades to 76 for 5 after 12 overs. A top-order collapse either side of a rain delay then saw them needing 61 from 30 with five wickets in hand. Jess Jonassen nearly pulled off the impossible, smashing 44 not out from 28 balls but Heat still fell short. Five of Renegades’ six bowlers chipped in with wickets while Wareham was the most economical, conceding just 12 runs from two overs.

Renegades rocked by early rust

After qualifying for the final, Renegades had to wait eight days between matches and the rust showed early. Courtney Webb slapped a pull shot straight to midwicket and Sophie Molineux sliced a cut shot to backward point. Deandra Dottin was run out in dozy circumstances, without facing a ball, to sum up Renegades’ sleepy start. Dottin was jogging through for a single to deep midwicket when she got her bat stuck in the turf on the popping crease as she slid it to make her ground and her foot did not touch down before Georgia Redmayne broke the stumps. It left Renegades 23 for 3 in the fifth over and in real danger of capitulating despite Heat’s bowling not looking overly threatening on a pretty good surface.

Cool-headed Hayley holds firm

Matthews remained unflustered. She was not striking the ball cleanly, struggling to 6 off 15 at one point. But two boundaries in the sixth over off the legspin of Grace Parsons helped her find some rhythm. Wareham was an important foil in a steadying 41-run stand. Wareham struck three boundaries in her run-a-ball 21 before holing out to long-on off Parsons. The legspinner should have had another straight away when Stalenberg skied her to deep midwicket, but Charli Knott dropped the chance diving forward. It proved a key moment.Instead of being 76 for 5 after 12 overs, Renegades took the power surge after just four-down. Matthews stepped up, thumping Shikha Pandey for three boundaries in the over. Jonassen then opted for spin in six of the last seven overs, with the exception of one from Lucy Hamilton. It worked to some degree, as Renegades scored just 50 from 42 balls, but it was odd to see Nicola Hancock bowl just one over in the final after being Heat’s star in last year’s decider with 3 for 23. Heat did take a wicket in each of the last five overs. Hamilton was the pick of the bowlers with 1 for 19 from her four including the dangerous Nicole Faltum. But Matthews was able to club three boundaries in the last three overs, all from the offspin of Knott.Jess Jonassen did her best to keep Brisbane Heat in the chase•Getty Images

Horror Heat start compounded by rain

Grace Harris held the key in the chase, and the decision to open with Charis Bekker’s left-arm orthodox proved a masterstroke for Renegades. Harris holed out trying to loft over mid-on for a second ball duck. Jemimah Rodrigues miscued Milly Illingworth to cover in the next over as Heat fell to 11 for 2 before a critical rain shower came after 3.2 overs. Rain had been forecast for some point in the afternoon and had been a factor in Heat’s decision to bowl first. But no one was sure how long the shower would last and how it would impact the chase.The rain lasted long enough to knock off eight overs but Heat’s poor start meant Duckworth-Lewis-Stern set them 98 to win off 12 overs with only eight wickets in hand and one power surge over to use. Renegades continued the trial by spin after the rain and Heat were doused. Molineux bagged the key wicket of Redmayne before Matthews added to her finals aura with two wickets in two balls, including Laura Harris for a first ball duck, to leave Heat 37 for 5 needing 61 from 30 balls.

Jonassen almost pulls off a miracle

Heat’s captain almost did it. Boundaries in each of the next two overs keep them within touching distance of the alarming required rate before she opted to take the surge with 43 needed from 18. Molineux opted to bowl just the second over of pace for the innings and Dottin got clobbered. Two length balls on the pads sailed to midwicket for six and four respectively. Jonassen lofted the next over cover for two more as Renegades fans started to get nervous.But a mistake from Lauren Winfield-Hill off the next delivery proved costly. Jonassen wanted a second run to deep midwicket to retain the strike, Winfield-Hill denied her. The English import miscued the next to Matthews at mid-off to fall for 3 off 5. Hancock then faced a dot and the equation was 30 off 12. Matthews bowled two long hops that were both smashed to the fence but was able to close out the over without any more damage. Molineux returned to bowl the last with Heat needing an unlikely 19. She gave up just 11 including a consolation six off the last ball, sealing Renegades’ first WBBL title.

Along with 90s from Shan Masood and Ben Cox, Foxes dominate Kent attack

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay16-Sep-2025Kent 17 for 0 trail Leicestershire 459 for 7 dec (Patel 114, Cox 93, Masood 90, Hill 54) by 442 runsA fine century from Rishi Patel, along with 90s from Shan Masood and Ben Cox, saw Leicestershire secure maximum batting bonus points and left them the verge of securing the Division Two title as they dominated a callow Kent attack after being put into bat at the UptonSteel County Ground.Beginning the match 25 points clear of second-placed Glamorgan, the Foxes could not have hoped for a better second day of this Rothesay County Championship match after the first was entirely lost to the weather.It made for a chastening first-class debut for 19-year-old all-rounder Corey Flintoff – one of a remarkable five teenagers in the Kent side – who, with father Andrew watching, bowled 15 wicket-less overs for 91 runs, though he did take a catch.Kent openers Harry Finch and Ben Dawkins survived a difficult nine overs before the light closed in.After the loss of the entire first day to the strong winds that made handling the covers too dangerous to undertake, it was a relief to see the ground ready for play from the start.Flintoff, the second son of former England allrounder Andrew to be embarking on a career as a professional cricketer, following in the footsteps of brother Rocky, took his place in what must surely have been the youngest slip cordon ever formed in county cricket, all three slips and gully being in their teens.They were in the game early, when Jaydn Denly at second slip dropped a straightforward chance given by Sol Budinger off the bowling of Joey Evison. To make matters worse, Denly left the field with illness soon afterwards, while Evison’s feelings will not have improved when Budinger casually swung an in-swinger over the midwicket boundary for six. The Kent allrounder had his revenge soon afterwards however, when Budinger again edged to second slip and this time Flintoff held on.Patel, however, looked in good touch from the start. The 27-year-old has struggled for consistency this season after missing the early weeks with a thumb injury, but has recently shown signs of finding the form which saw him called into an England Lions training camp, and he took full toll on the regular loose deliveries from the visiting attack.There were plenty of testing balls too, and George Garrett produced a beauty to square up and bowl Ian Holland, but a score of 151 for 2 off 30 overs at lunch told its own story. Having hit ten boundaries in going to his half-century, Patel hit another ten in going to three figures, his second Championship century of the season, shortly after lunch.Kent were already looking down the barrel, but Patel played too soon at an Ekansh Singh delivery and got a leading edge that looped to mid-on, a maiden first-class wicket for the 19-year-old, and Lewis Hill, having registered his seventh half-century of the season, slashed a wide short ball from Michael Cohen straight to point.When Steve Eskinazi, who never settled, went leg before to Evison, Leicestershire were in danger of wasting their flying start, but the elegant Masood was calmness personified, and he found lively support from Cox. Together they added 161 for the sixth wicket and both seemed certain to reach three figures, but Garrett, bowling with the new ball, pushed one across Masood to find an edge which carried to slip before Grant Stewart took a fine leaping catch at mid-on to dismiss Cox off the bowling of Evison.

India are looking to be well-prepared for the Champions Trophy, Asia Cup and T20 World Cup

Hemant Brar11-Oct-20242:39

Ten Doeschate: ‘We don’t give opportunities; the guys earn opportunities’

The Indian team is trying to “push the limits” of what they can do. According to assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, they are doing this in order to be well-prepared for the challenges in the next 18 months: the Champions Trophy, Asia Cup and T20 World Cup.With Rohit Sharma as captain and Rahul Dravid as coach, India had shed their safety-first approach with bat in limited-overs cricket. It paid dividends when they finished as the runners-up of the 2023 ODI World Cup and the winners of the 2024 T20 World Cup.Now Suryakumar Yadav has replaced Rohit as T20I captain and Gautam Gambhir has taken over as coach, but the template has remained the same. In the first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior, India chased down 128 in 11.5 overs. Then, batting first in Delhi, they found themselves on 41 for 3 inside the powerplay. But Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh only momentarily took their foot off the pedal and powered India to 221 for 9.”Hundred per cent,” ten Doeschate said, when asked if playing fearless cricket was part of the team philosophy. “I think it has shown in the way we have played. The Test match in Kanpur is a great example.”Related

• Can Bangladesh bid Mahmudullah farewell with a win?

• Reddy arrives with a bang and a 'promise of more'

• What will life after Big Five be like for Bangladesh in T20Is?

• Taskin urges BCB to prepare better pitches at home

In that second Test in Kanpur, rain and a wet outfield allowed only 35 overs across the first three days. But India’s attacking approach with the bat meant they won with more than one session to spare.”We are trying to push the limits of what we can do as a team,” ten Doeschate said. “We have obviously got the quality to do it. And then it’s about giving the players the belief to do it in a safe space, that if it’s not going to go right, it’s also okay. And even if you look back at the first two games, someone like Sanju [Samson] getting a quick start in the first game in Gwalior, it would have been easy for him to knock it around and just get a 50-60 not out. But you can see he was trying to push the boundary. He knows the state of the game, and the messaging has been pretty consistent with that.”We want the guys to expand their game. We want to move cricket forward, like it’s going with the times. And we want to be prepared for the big crunch moments that are coming up in the next 18 months.”Gautam Gambhir oversees India’s training session in Hyderabad•PTI

Another change since Gambhir became the coach has been the push to make as many players in the side bowl. In the second T20I, despite Hardik Pandya not rolling his arm over, India used seven bowlers, with each picking up at least one wicket.”You see the way the game is going, it’s very rare that all five bowlers, or even six bowlers, are going to go well on a given day,” ten Doeschate said. “So it’s nice to have options. Ideally, you want them to bowl a little bit more, but someone like Hardik not bowling in the last game, it’s just a testament to the depth of the bowling in the team.”India fielded the same XI in the first two T20Is. But now with the series sealed, they are likely to try their bench strength.”That was always the plan,” ten Doeschate said. “Obviously, there’s a nice depth in the squad – a lot of guys have the IPL experience. We are trying to expose as many guys as we can to international experience with what we have coming up. So someone like Harshit Rana, we are keen to give a game to. Obviously, Tilak [Varma] came into the squad a bit later. Jitesh [Sharma] is there as well. We want to give Sanju another chance. So there are options.”The third and final T20I will be played in Hyderabad, where the average run rate in IPL 2024 was 10.54. But ten Doeschate said India would not blindly trust the data.”Certainly the data and the evidence is around that [a high-scoring game]. But a little bit like when we got to Delhi the other day, you don’t want to read too much into the data. We probably feel that those first three wickets we lost was maybe because of going a little too hard. The wicket was a little bit sticky.”So we will have a look at this wicket. We are aware of the high-scoring nature of this pitch during the IPL but also we are five months away from the IPL now. So conditions could change as well. Fingers crossed, it’s a high-scoring game and a quality game.”

Captain Niki Prasad wants to make sure team “stays on top” after a dominant display in Malaysia where India cruised unbeaten to a second Women’s U-19 World Cup title

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2025″Coming at the start of the tournament, I think I mentioned one thing that we are here to dominate, we are here to make sure that India stays on top.”Those were the words of India captain Niki Prasad after she led India to a second consecutive Women’s Under-19 World Cup title in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. And dominate is what India did throughout the tournament, winning all their games and not letting any team score more against them than the 113 for 8 that England made in the semi-finals.India had chased in four of the six games before the final, and they won all those matches comfortably, never losing more than two wickets. After South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the title bout, India just replicated the template that served them so well through the competition, their spinners playing a pivotal role in getting the opposition out for 82.Related

• G Trisha excels with bat and ball as India become back-to-back Under-19 champions

India then chased down the target in 11.2 overs, with G Trisha – who also returned figures of 3 for 15 with the ball – scoring an unbeaten 44.”We are definitely going to create this legacy of winning ICC trophies, winning a lot of trophies for India,” Prasad said at the post-match presentation ceremony.Prasad had to put behind her the disappointment of not making the squad for the previous Under-19 World Cup, which India won under the captaincy of Shafali Verma in 2023, but she’s soaking it all in now.”I think I’m feeling really happy that I am right here standing, making sure that India stays on top. And it’s obviously a special moment that we’re playing the World Cup and doing this for India,” she said.India lost the toss and were asked to bowl. Prasad said India drew from their experience bowling first in most of their matches in the competition.”I think all of us just tried to stay calm and down-to-earth and just stick to doing what our job is,” she said.G Trisha poses with her medal after taking India to the Under-19 World Cup glory•Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“I think if we would have won the toss we would have definitely chosen batting but you know throughout the tournament we’ve been bowling well and we’ve been bowling first [more] so nevertheless we just wanted to go out there and show what we can do.”Trisha, who was named Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, dedicated the latter award to her father, who was in the audience.”Because of him I started playing cricket. I don’t think without him I would have been here,” said Trisha, who was also part of the team in 2023.While she played in the middle order in 2023, Trisha was pushed up to open this time around, and she ended up topping the run charts with 309 runs from seven matches with an average of 77.25. No other batter reached the 200-run mark. Her strike rate of 147.14 was also the best in the tournament.Trisha, who said she idolises Mithali Raj, has been working on her power game in recent times and credited India’s batting coach Apoorva S Desaii for giving her role clarity before the competition.”So we’ve been working on [my power game] since a while. For this tournament our batting coach Apoorva sir he has kept telling ‘you are going to open the innings and make sure you’re ready for it’,” Trisha said.Apart from her heroics with the bat, Trisha also returned seven wickets from the six games she bowled in.Parunika Sisodia struck in her first over of the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup final•Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

India’s left-arm spin trio ‘like a family’

One of the major factors in India’s domination was their trio of left-arm spinners Vaishnavi Sharma, Aayushi Shukla and Parunika Sisodia, who were three of the four highest wicket-takers in the competition.While Vaishnavi topped the charts with 17 strikes, Shukla and Sisodia were not far behind with 14 and 10 wickets respectively.According to them, the three are close and have developed a great understanding between themselves.”I guess back in the room in the hotel, what all three we talk about is nothing related to our bowling,” Sisodia said after India’s win. “All our bowling just came and, you know, in the game coming on we just enjoyed ourselves.”We keep telling each other a little bit of, you know, what the batters are doing, helping each other [on the field].”At this point, I guess, we are just, you know, eye contacting and we are understanding each other now.”With all of them being left-arm spinners, is there competition or does this fact not affect them?”We are like the best friends,” Sisodia was quick to respond, with emphasis on the “best”. Vaishnavi, who was too overcome with emotion to speak a few minutes earlier was quick to interject: “We are like family actually. We all are family.”Asked about their plans for the future, Sisodia said: “I guess all of us… I mean, not just us [three] but the whole team, we all want to just go ahead and, you know, never look back from here.”Wicketkeeper and opener G Kamalini, who was animatedly photobombing the interview, then came in and summed up the feelings of the team in a line in Tamil: ” [We have lifted the World Cup].”

PNG gave West Indies a near-scare in their opening game and will hope to go one better against a demoralised New Zealand side

Sruthi Ravindranath16-Jun-20242:12

Time for NZ to give Ish Sodhi a go?

Match details

New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
June 17, Tarouba, 10.30am local time

Big picture: New Zealand look to end with a bang

Is it one last time for New Zealand’s golden generation in T20Is? They only have three players under 30 in their side. None of their senior batters have come to the fore in the tournament so far. Trent Boult, well, has been Trent Boult-ing, but he’s confirmed this will be his last T20 World Cup.Though Kane Williamson believes it may not be the end of the road yet for many seniors, New Zealand bowing out of the tournament early will make them rethink the future.Related

• New Zealand's decade of excellence unravels in a hurry

• Spotlight on NZ transition after Boult confirms this will be his last T20 World Cup

• 'He timed it beautifully and got his match-up' – Williamson and Powell laud Rutherford

They did come together to show their prowess against Uganda in the last game, rolling them over for 40. Though all of their bowlers made a mark, their batting unit, one of their biggest letdowns this tournament, did not get much time in the middle. The win also came a bit too late, their fate already sealed: they will not be heading to the knockout stage of a men’s World Cup for the first time since 2014.Papua New Guinea, meanwhile, will be exiting with different emotions. They gave co-hosts West Indies a near-scare in the first game. Their spinners bowled superbly in that game. Their fast-bowling unit has been impressive. This will be the first time these teams come up against each other. Can PNG’s bowlers challenge New Zealand’s demoralised batting unit?Alei Nao has been a bright spot for Papua New Guinea•ICC via Getty Images

Form guide

New Zealand WLLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
PNG LLLLW

In the spotlight: Glenn Phillips and Alei Nao

No New Zealand player is among the top 40 run-scorers at this year’s T20 World Cup. At No. 43 is Glenn Phillips with 58 runs in two innings. He top scored with a run-a-ball 18 against the unplayable Afghanistan bowling unit in the first game and followed it up with 40 against West Indies. He came in at No. 6 and counterattacked, hitting three fours and two sixes in his 33-ball stay, after yet another top-order collapse but his knock went in vain. He’s been one of the positives in New Zealand’s dull tournament.Alei Nao has been the pick of the bowlers for PNG. The 30-year old seamer struck with his very first delivery at this T20 World Cup, removing West Indies’ Johnson Charles for a duck in Providence. He has been excellent for PNG with the new ball and has taken a wicket in the powerplay in all three games. Nao has taken four wickets at an economy of 5.10 so far.

Team news: No major changes

PNG brought in left-arm quick Semo Kamea for Charles Amini in the last game against Afghanistan. Both teams are likely to go with the same playing XI barring any injury concerns.New Zealand possible XI: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent BoultIt’s been a disappointing T20 World Cup for Kane Williamson and New Zealand•ICC/Getty Images

Papua New Guinea possible XI: 1 Assad Vala (capt), 2 Tony Ura, 3 Sese Bau, 4 Lega Siaka, 5 Hiri Hiri, 6 Kiplin Doriga (wk), 7 Chad Soper, 8 Norman Vanua, 9 Alei Nao, 10 John Kariko, 11 Semo Kamea

Pitch and conditions: Batters beware

The pitches at the Brian Lara Stadium have not been too conducive to batting. The fast bowlers have had a bit of help with the new ball, while the spinners have found some turn. It is expected to be partly cloudy in the morning, and thunderstorms can be expected in spots throughout the day.

Stats that matter: NZ’s batting woes

• New Zealand have the best economy rate of 4.22 in the powerplay in the T20 World Cup 2024
• PNG have scored at a run rate of 5.22 this tournament, the third-lowest behind Uganda and Sri Lanka
• New Zealand have the second-lowest batting average (12.60) among Full Member nations at this T20 World Cup behind Ireland

Pant could not keep wicket for the rest of the Lord’s Test after suffering an injury on the first day

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2025

Rishabh Pant suffered a finger injury on the first day of the Lord’s Test•Getty Images

Rishabh Pant “should be fine” in time for the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford from July 23 after scans revealed “no major injury” to the index finger of his left hand, according to India captain Shubman Gill.Pant is the second-highest run-scorer in the series, with 425 in six innings at an average of 70.83.He was struck on the index finger of his left hand while attempting to collect a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah down the leg side during the 34th over of England’s first innings in the Lord’s Test. He was in considerable pain and needed treatment from the physio that caused a long break in play. Though he finished that over, he could not continue keeping wicket, and was replaced behind the stumps by Dhruv Jurel for the rest of the Test.Related

• Gill 'extremely proud' of India's lower-order fight

Pant, however, came out to bat at No. 5 in both of India’s innings at Lord’s. He scored 74 off 112 balls in the first innings, and 9 off 12 in the second. However, there were moments during both innings where he was in discomfort due to the injury and had to take the injured bottom hand off the bat as he connected with the ball.This was most apparent during India’s chase of 193 on the final day, when Pant walked out to bat with India needing another 135 to win with six wickets in hand. He was not at ease facing the pace of Jofra Archer, frequently releasing his bottom hand from the bat handle.Pant became the first wicket to fall on day five when he lost his off stump to Archer while trying to defend, and India went on to fall short of the target by 22 runs to go 2-1 down in the five-Test series.It is unlikely that Pant will be allowed a keeping substitute for the same injury during the next Test at Old Trafford so he will need to be fully fit going into that fixture.

Williams scored more than half of Zimbabwe’s first-innings total but the visitors still took a 167-run lead and ended day two 216 ahead

Himanshu Agrawal29-Jun-2025Since 2020, Zimbabwe have had ten individual hundreds in Tests. Sean Williams alone has scored five of those. One of those centuries came against South Africa in Bulawayo on Sunday, and formed the centerpiece of Zimbabwe’s innings.South Africa declared their first innings on their overnight score of 418 for 9, and in reply, Zimbabwe were struggling at 23 for 2. Williams walked in at No. 4, and Zimbabwe’s woes were further compounded when Brian Bennett walked back due to a delayed concussion. Bennett was struck on the helmet by a Kwena Maphaka short-of-a-length delivery and while he faced three more balls, he decided he couldn’t continue any further and walked off.Related

• Bennett walks off with concussion, Masvaure named replacement

From thereon, it was almost all about Williams. He found a little help from captain Craig Ervine, with the duo adding 91 runs. They got together with Zimbabwe 390 runs behind, and with Maphaka and debutant Codi Yusuf in good rhythm. Yusuf had Takudzwanashe Kaitano caught at backward short leg off his fifth ball in Tests, and Nick Welch edging behind to the wicketkeeper in his third over.Both of South Africa’s new-ball bowlers were extracting plenty of bounce and carry. South Africa may have opted to bowl on the second morning in anticipation of exactly that after they saw Zimbabwe’s quicks getting a lot of help from the surface in the first session on Saturday.Despite the early wickets and assistance for the seamers, Williams counterattacked. He got two early boundaries off Maphaka: one an outside edge flying past gully, and another a short-arm pull to deep-backward square leg. While Maphaka was taken for runs, Yusuf was much tighter: his in-between lengths drew the batters forward, and his line around the off stump checked the flow of runs.Zimbabwe however, ended the morning session without any further damage. Wiaan Mulder and Corbin Bosch replaced the new-ball bowlers, and continued to test the batters with accurate lines and lengths. Ervine was especially cautious, managing just nine runs off his first 44 balls. But he dispatched his second boundary when he cut hard at a short and wide delivery from Bosch in the 19th over, and that seemed to have injected some momentum into Zimbabwe’s innings.Sean Williams and Craig Ervine steadied Zimbabwe with a 91-run stand•Zimbabwe Cricket

Both Ervine and Williams found success by punching or slashing the ball behind – and in front of – square on the off side. Zimbabwe were chipping away with that partnership before Keshav Maharaj made things happen. He beat Williams after tossing one up at him in the 24th over, and could have had him stumped on 40 had Kyle Verreynne not fumbled on the first attempt.After lunch, with the ball turning into him, Williams decided to use the sweep against Maharaj. One of those attempts saw the ball pop up off his forearm, and just behind the slip fielder. Finally, it was Maharaj who broke through. Ervine skipped down the pitch to Maharaj, who floated one full and wide of off. Ervine, on 36, missed, and this time Verreynne flicked the bails off in time.Thereafter, it was all about the remaining batters playing a supporting role for Williams. Wessly Madhevere confidently swung Maharaj for six over long-on early in his innings, with the South Africa captain being attacked by Williams as well. Williams faced 52 balls from the left-arm spinner and scored 43 runs – a strike rate of 82.69 – including five boundaries.Twice Williams advanced down the pitch to convert potential length deliveries into full tosses, and heaved them away to the deep-midwicket boundary. Mulder trapped Madhevere for 15 in the 43rd over, but Williams remained firm. Four overs later, Williams got to his sixth Test hundred – the joint second-highest by a Zimbabwe batter – but next ball, saw Prince Masvaure, the concussion substitute for Bennett, edge Mulder behind.Wiaan Mulder finished with figures of 4 for 50•Zimbabwe Cricket

Mulder got his third when he had Tafadzwa Tsiga balloon a leading edge to point in the 49th over. Yusuf bagged his third wicket soon after when Wellington Masakadza got a faint tickle behind to Verreynne. At that stage, Zimbabwe were 217 for 7, still two runs short of avoiding the follow-on. But Williams comfortably got them past that mark in the company of Vincent Masekesa, who blocked and dabbed much to South Africa’s frustration.Williams’ stay ended at 137 when Maharaj had him stumped for Verreynne’s fifth dismissal of the innings. Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga added only two more runs from that point, as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 251, leaving South Africa 167 runs ahead in the first innings.Despite falling behind by a huge margin, Zimbabwe hit back early. Chivanga had Matthew Breetzke edging to gully for 1 in the second over, but Tony de Zorzi and Mulder kept South Africa on track. They survived the evening despite some help for the Zimbabwe seamers, and took the score to 49 and the lead to 216 without any further damage.

Ben Compton and Tawanda Muyeye reach close unscathed after Hampshire enforce follow-on

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2024Kent battled hard to save their Division One status after being forced to follow on by Hampshire, on a rain-affected third day in the County Championship at Canterbury.The hosts could be relegated by the end of this round of fixtures, but they reached the close 70 without loss in their second innings, still 126 behind, with Tawanda Muyeye unbeaten on 46 and Ben Compton 24 not out.Torrential rain fell during an already truncated evening session and play was eventually abandoned for the day at 5.26pm. Earlier, Kyle Abbott took 5 for 46 as Kent were dismissed for 207 in their first innings, Compton their highest scorer with 51.Kent began day three on 64 for 5, still 339 runs behind Hampshire’s first innings score of 403, but Compton and Harry Finch survived for the first 90 minutes of an extended morning session, aided by some sub-optimal slip fielding. Toby Albert dropped Compton twice, on 24 and 32, the first when he couldn’t hang on to a difficult slip catch off Abbott, the second a more routine head-high chance offered by James Fuller.Albert finally snared Compton at the third attempt when Abbott found his edge with the first delivery after he had switched to the Nackington Road End. In his next over, Abbott had Finch caught behind for 44, before Liam Dawson bowled Charlie Stobo for 10.Kyle Abbott claimed a five-wicket haul•Getty Images

Matt Parkinson was out soon after lunch, caught behind off Brad Wheal for four, but the last-wicket pair of George Garrett and Jas Singh proved a nuisance, particularly after James Vince dropped the former when he was on 17, again in the slips.Singh passed his previous best first-class score of 14, before he was removed by the new ball, lbw to Abbas for 18, leaving his partner stranded on 27.With 45 overs remaining in the day Hampshire immediately announced they were enforcing the follow on, but a whiff of farce arrived when Muyeye hit the penultimate ball before tea for a six into the gardens on the Old Dover Road side of the ground. Hampshire were unhappy with the replacement and four of their fielders, the twelfth man and a coach climbed awkwardly over the fence to look for the original, finally finding it after seven minutes.Shortly after the resumption the potential importance of those seven minutes was magnified when the rain arrived and a total of nine overs were lost. When play resumed at 5.05pm it was already raining again, the groundstaff were already holding the covers and Compton faced down three balls from Abbas before they gave up and went off again.

The second-string side will play two four-day matches in total, apart from three one-day matches against Pakistan A

Mohammad Isam30-Jul-2024Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque will play for Bangladesh A in their first four-day match in Pakistan next month. The second-string side will play two four-day matches in total, apart from three one-day matches against Pakistan A. The games will run concurrently with the Bangladesh senior men’s Test tour of Pakistan, which begins on August 21.The entire series will be played in Islamabad, with the first four-dayer to be held from August 10. Apart from Mushfiqur and Mominul, the selectors have also picked Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Nayeem Hasan and Hasan Mahmud for the first game. Mushfiqur missed Bangladesh’s previous Test series against Sri Lanka due to a broken thumb, while Mominul, Joy, Zakir and Mahmud played in that series. Nayeem is also a Test specialist.These six players will be replaced for the second game from August 17. Mohammad Naim, Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, Jaker Ali, Towhid Hridoy and Mohammad Saifuddin take their places.Shahadat Hossain, Mahidul Islam and Mosaddek Hossain are three other batters who have been picked for both four-day matches, meaning that they are unlikely to be in the Test side against Pakistan. Among the bowlers, left-arm spinners Hasan Murad and Tanvir Islam, and fast bowlers Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rejaur Rahman Raja and Ruyel Miah will play both games.This will be the first time that a Bangladesh A side will play first-class matches since the 2003-04 season, when they participated in the PCB Patron’s Trophy. Bangladesh A will depart for Islamabad on August 6.Bangladesh A team for first four-day game: Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shahadat Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahidul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Hasan Murad, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Ruyel MiahBangladesh A team for second four-day game: Anamul Haque, Mohammad Naim, Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, Shahadat Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Jaker Ali, Towhid Hridoy, Mahidul Islam, Hasan Murad, Tanvir Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Ruyel MiahBangladesh A team for one-day series: Anamul Haque, Mohammad Naim, Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, Towhid Hridoy, Mahidul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Jaker Ali, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Tanvir Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Ruyel MiahTour scheduleAugust 10-13: First four-day matchAugust 17-20: Second four-day matchAugust 23, 25 and 27: Three one-day matches

Runs on board could be critical as home side opt for two spinners on same surface as Essex loss

ECB Reporters Network12-Apr-2024Choosing to start a second game on the same pitch they used for their opening match at Trent Bridge last week, Nottinghamshire included two spinners in their line-up and unsurprisingly batted when winning the toss on the first day of their Vitality County Championship meeting with Worcestershire.With Joe Clarke going towards a second hundred in three innings, an increasingly rampant third-wicket stand of 133 included an onslaught of 41 from the first six overs after lunch that seized the afternoon initiative.Ben Slater, however, fell for 70 before Clarke, one of three home players appearing against his old club, advanced to 105 until caught behind 25 minutes after tea but Worcestershire could not quite regain the balance by a close with Nottinghamshire at 305 for six.New Zealander Nathan Smith returned three for 62 overall whilst fellow overseas signing, Barbadian Jason Holder, proved tight if wicketless. Pleasingly it was 20-year old Josh Baker’s left-arm spin that finally removed Clarke, who had so savaged him earlier.It had been an anxious start for the home side on the surface that had seen them bowled out for 80 and lose to Essex just four days earlier. Both openers were gone by the eighth over as Nathan Smith, Worcestershire’s new import this year, struck twice in his opening 19 balls.The Kiwi hit Haseeb Hameed’s middle and leg stumps with a full one when the home captain, beaten on the outside edge but losing balance aiming to leg, fell for eleven and Ben Duckett, out for nine, soon touched a defensive edge to the wicket keeper. Just before lunch, Slater, on 40, survived a sharp low chance to short leg off Baker.During the onrush of fours and sixes that followed on resumption, Slater edged a drive at the same bowler on 53 that flashed between keeper and slip, neither of them moving. Though four men were latterly placed on the boundary for Clarke, he accelerated from 16 to 68 in just 48 balls before throttling back.Slater, caught behind, fell flicking at a ball down the legside from Adam Finch and Smith returned for a second spell in which the South African, Matt Montgomery, driving, was taken at first slip for eleven. But tea found Nottinghamshire at 223 for four, Clarke on a tantalising 98 not out.His century, with three sixes, came up from the second delivery of the evening off 168 balls but first Jack Haynes, another former Worcester man, for 15 and then Clarke himself, top-edging his cut behind for 105, fell in four overs. The new ball was taken as soon as it became available, 35 minutes later, without breaking through as the seventh-wicket reached an unbroken 67.Lyndon James was 39 at the close with Calvin Harrison, South African born but New Zealand raised, on a resolute 25 from fully 82 balls at the other end. His leg spin gained appreciable turn in the previous game against Essex and, on what will be a six-day old pitch on Saturday, could yet prove influential with the left-arm spin in tandem of Liam Patterson-White, selected for the first time since last May.