Warriorz’s fielding lapses of three dropped chances and misfields in the last over cost them the game after Lanning smashed 69

Vishal Dikshit19-Feb-2025The Delhi Capitals middle order stepped up for the first time in this WPL and didn’t squander the blazing start provided by their prolific opening pair of Shafali Verma and Meg Lanning to consign UP Warriorz to their second straight loss. Capitals’ seven-wicket win ended the Vadodara leg of the tournament with the chasing team winning all six games, before the action moves to Bengaluru, and then Lucknow and Mumbai.It was not all smooth and easy for Capitals though. Once Lanning fell for 69, they needed a tricky 48 off 32 on a pitch that was keeping low. The ever-dependable Marizanne Kapp tilted the game in their favour with consecutive fours off Sophie Ecclestone when the equation read 31 off 17 and Annabel Sutherland all but sealed the chase in the last over – off which they needed 11 – by handing similar treatment to Grace Harris. This was also the highest total chased by Capitals in WPL.Related

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• If the shoe fits: Chinelle Henry ready to step up for Alyssa Healy

Warriorz’s fielding lapses of three dropped chances and misfields in the last over cost them the game, after their own middle order was unable to capitalise on the rapid start given by Kiran Navgire’s 51 off 27.

Navgire’s big hits against the big names

Navgire put all the doubts around Warriorz’s inexperienced top order to bed by taking on the big names in Captilas’ attack. She got going from ball one, smacking Kapp for back-to-back fours with a pull and straight loft. In the next over she repeated the act by making room against Shikha Pandey’s inswingers with glorious drives. She upped the level further when she walloped Kapp and Jess Jonassen for two sixes and a one-bounce four all within the space of three balls to race to 35 off 13. With a straight six off Pandey at the start of the fifth over, Navgire brought up Warriorz’s fastest team fifty, off 25 balls, and then brought up her own fifty off 24 balls, the joint-fastest by a Warriorz batter.Kiran Navgire got UP Warriorz off to a flying start•WPL

Sutherland sends Warriorz ‘scrambling’

After starting this WPL with a three-for last week, Sutherland showed her bowling smarts again by sending down short balls with scrambled seams and the bigger boundary on the leg side. Both Vrinda Dinesh and Navgire couldn’t clear the rope and Warriorz went from 66 for 0 to 73 for 2.The Capitals spinners stepped up from the other end. Jonassen fired one outside off to have Tahlia McGrath stumped and Deepti Sharma suffered the same fate when she couldn’t connect against the drift and turn of offspinner Minnu Mani. In a matter of 23 balls, Warriotz had lost 4 for 16 that eventually cost them the match.

Henry shines on WPL debut

Warriorz were headed towards more misery when Harris miscued an offcutter for 12 and they were reeling at 118 for 5. But with five overs to go, it was WPL debutant Chinelle Henry who struck the big hits as Shweta Sehrawat also showed her hitting skills with 37 off 33. Henry, who had scored 61 in her last game at the same ground for West Indies, lifted Warriorz from 128 to 150 single-handedly by smashing Pandey all around the park for three sixes and a four in four balls for a 23-run 17th over. Capitals, however, bounced back to concede just 16 runs in the last three as Jonassen varied her pace and Arundhati Reddy and Kapp took the pace off.

Lanning and Shafali pepper the boundaries, again

That Lanning and Shafali brought up their second fifty stand in three games was nothing new in the WPL, but this time it was with Lanning looking far more confident. Following two scratchy innings, she led her team for nearly three-fourths of the chase with a solid 69 off 49 after Shafali’s 26 off 16 deflated UPW in the powerplay. Shafali punished Kranti Goud in the first over, Lanning dabbed Sophie Ecclestone for two fours in the second, they went after Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Goud together in the third and fifth, and with three fours off Henry’s two overs, Capitals had 59 in the powerplay and the batting pair had their tenth 50-plus opening stand in WPL, the most by a distance.Meg Lanning brought up a quick half-century•BCCI

Sutherland, Kapp see Capitals home after a stutter

Warriorz put down their first chance when Henry dropped Shafali on 25 at deep midwicket although it didn’t cost them much because the batter pulled again to Henry four balls later on 26. It became two wickets in five balls when Jemimah Rodrigues paddled to short fine leg for her third duck in WPL. Once the wickets slowed things down briefly, Lanning’s nifty footwork fetched her three fours in two overs to pull things back while a steady Sutherland kept going at run a ball.Once Ecclestone and Harris sent down two boundary-less overs to bring the equation from 57 off 42 to 47 off 30 along with the wicket of Lanning, Warriorz were clawing back in the game. But Eccelstone put down a sitter of Sutherland and Kapp reeled off boundaries with placement and power to bring Capitals back and she also got a life in the penultimate over.With 11 needed from six, Warriorz conceded two fours that could have been stopped in the outfield and McGrath failed to collect the ball at the bowler’s end from mid-on which could have led to a run-out but turned out to be the winning run.

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.

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.

The opener will head to India with Australia A next month before a crucial month of Sheffield Shield cricket that will determine his short-term Test prospects

Andrew McGlashan19-Aug-20250:27

Konstas gone for duck as tough Caribbean tour ends

Sam Konstas is fully aware he faces a “massive” run of Sheffield Shield matches early in the season if he is to retain his Test place for the start of the Ashes but is focused on shutting out much of the talk and trusting his inner circle.Konstas endured a torrid series against West Indies where he made 50 runs in six innings albeit in challenging conditions where the top orders of both teams found life tough. They were his first Tests since bursting into the side against India last season, but he is now back in the pack as far as selection goes to face England in November.He has resumed training with New South Wales having taken a break after the tour and will return to playing on the four-day leg of the Australia A tour of India next month. That trip has a longer lens from the selectors – Australia have a five-Test tour in early 2027 – so while runs won’t hurt Konstas’ shorter-term ambitions, of most relevance will be what he’s able to do in the early rounds of the Shield in October.Related

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“It’s massive, it’s going to be a big four games and I expect that,” Konstas said on the day a new four-year deal with Sydney Thunder in the BBL was announced that will keep him at the club until 2029. “But for me, [it’s about] just being in the present moment, don’t get too fixated about the outcome and just be very process-driven in those games. Not getting too fazed about what other people say, and obviously have that inner circle that I trust.”For me it’s just trying to best prepare, and then obviously trusting what I think is right in that current moment,” Konstas added. “It was my first time playing in the West Indies, and first time facing those bowlers. They bowled well and hopefully I can build from that experience.”Adopting the right mindset, training hard, not leaving any regrets. For me, that’s the big thing, just the way I prepare, and especially with the people that I trust, having honest conversations with them when necessary and leaving it to that.”Jack Edwards, the New South Wales captain who will also be part of the Australia A tour, has been training alongside Konstas in recent weeks”He definitely doesn’t hold onto it [the tour] for too long,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s great to have him around. He’s working extremely hard at his game as he always does, hitting a mountain of balls…such a young man, he’s definitely going to have a long career for Australia.”Konstas spoke of leaning on Steven Smith and David Warner, his captain at Thunder, for advice. “I’m very lucky to be working with the best in the world,” he said.Picked for Australia after just 11 first-class matches, it’s been acknowledged by the coaching staff that Konstas has been doing a lot of his developing at the top level although there is a belief in the set-up that the setbacks in West Indies won’t do long-term harm.”I’m still learning about my game and finding what works in different conditions,” he said. “Understanding the situations, when to soak up pressure [and] when to attack the game.”That’s where Warner has been a valuable sounding board for him. “I just like his mindset, to be honest,” Konstas said. “He takes the game on and he’s very aggressive. He’s always trying to dictate terms in the way he likes to.”Still only 19 – he turns 20 early in October – Konstas is trying to keep a level head. “As an athlete, you’re going to go through failures and successes, but I tell you, build from those failures and become a better person and cricketer.”

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.

Forty players listed at the maximum base price of INR 2 crore; Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi the only Indians among them

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-20258:03

Will KKR go all-out to get Cameron Green in?

A total of 359 players are set to feature in the IPL 2026 mini-auction on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. Of these, 40 players have listed themselves for the maximum base price of INR 2 crore, with Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi the only Indians among them.Cameron Green, who is tipped to become the most expensive buy, has listed himself as a batter and will appear in the first set. Devon Conway, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller and Prithvi Shaw are the others in that set.Quinton de Kock, Dunith Wellalage, and George Linde, who were not part of the longlist, have been included in the final list.Related

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Of the 359 players shortlisted, 244 are Indian and 115 from overseas. The auction will commence with a full round of capped players. The order will be batters, allrounders, wicketkeepers, fast bowlers and spinners, followed by a full round of uncapped players. The accelerated process will begin after player No. 70 and will cover the rest of the players. The franchises will then be asked to submit the names of the unsold players from the overall list for further accelerated rounds.A total of 77 slots are available to be filled at the auction, including 31 for overseas players. Kolkata Knight Riders have the biggest purse of INR 64.30 crore and also have 13 slots left to fill, including six overseas slots. Chennai Super Kings are the next with INR 43.4 crores. They have nine slots vacant.