Mack's century marshals Australia A to victory in opening one-dayer

Katie Mack’s superbly-constructed 129 led Australia A to a four-wicket victory over India A which was more comprehensive that the final scoreline suggested in the first one-day match in Mackay.Mack’s hundred controlled the chase as she added 122 in 20 overs for the third wicket with captain Tahlia McGrath who continued the form she showed in the last two T20s with a brisk half-century.Mack took 106 balls to bring up her century and the innings ensured the home side was never under significant pressure. She added 50 for the first wicket with Maddy Darke and 65 for the second with Charli Knott before the latter was run out by a direct hit. Mack was yorked by Meghna Singh with five runs needed.”It swung a little bit early then died down,” Mack said. “Think the challenge was finding the boundaries on a bit of a slower wicket with not much pace on the ball so it was a bit of a slog with a lot of running, but I was super focused to make sure I made the most of the start. Got a couple of starts in the T20s so just wanted to make sure I capitalised today.”McGrath was given a life on 10 when Sayali Satghare dropped a return catch. She later appeared unhappy to be given out sweeping although by then the result was assured despite a flurry of late wickets which included two falling with the scores level.India A had earlier been put into bat and were soon under pressure as Nicola Hancock struck with the new ball, nipping one back through Shweta Sehrawat in the first over then having Priya Punia edging to slip.From 56 for 3 the innings was rebuilt by consecutive stands of 55, 52 and 68 all involving Raghvi Bist. Legspinner Grace Parsons again impressed, producing a sharp leg-break to remove Tejal Hasabnis for 53.Maitlan Brown closed out the innings well, ending Bist’s hopes of a century and then claiming three wickets in the final over.There are two more one-day games in Mackay on Friday and Sunday before a four-day match on the Gold Coast next week. Australia A won the T20 series 3-0.

Jhye Richardson included for Perth Scorchers' Top End trip

Jhye Richardson is in line to play his first game in Australia since January over the next few weeks after being included as part of Perth Scorchers’ squad for the Top End T20 tournament in Darwin.Richardson is the most notable inclusion in the Scorchers’ group which is largely made up of younger players on the fringes of the BBL and Western Australia sides plus some from the WA academy.Related

  • Stoinis and Agar lose CA deals while Bartlett earns full contract

  • Morris and Richardson backed for summer opportunities after injury challenges

Richardson, who was handed a Cricket Australia contract in March, has not played a game at home since injuring himself during the BBL. He made one appearance for Delhi Capitals in the IPL earlier this year.He has been part of an Australia training camp in Brisbane this week but was not considered for next month’s tour of Scotland and England with the selectors taking a longer-term view in the hope of him overcoming the injury issues which have hampered his international career. He had been in line for an ODI return against West Indies last season before picking up a side strain.”He’s fit and firing now, and again looking for match opportunities,” national selector George Bailey said last month. “I think he’ll get opportunities again across the summer.”Richardson will be joined in the squad by fellow quick Matt Kelly whose season was also ended early by injury. Batter Sam Fanning has been named captain while Baxter Holt, who moved to Western Australia from New South Wales, is also included.”We also see this tournament as an opportunity for Jhye and Kells [Matt Kelly] to find touch in a competitive environment,” stand-in coach Tim MacDonald said. “They didn’t play a lot of cricket last year but they’re a big part of what we do at the Scorchers and WA, so we’re looking forward to seeing both of them back in action.”The Top End competition also features Northern Territory Strike, Pakistan A, ACT, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars and a Bangladesh High Performance side.

King channels Warne as Rockets blast off at Headingley

Trent Rockets began their Hundred campaign in fine style, defeating Northern Superchargers by 20 runs at Headingley thanks to a superb performance from their spin arsenal.Chasing 124 on a dry surface, last year’s runners-up could only manage 103 all out in 97 balls, Australian legspinner Alana King starring with 2 for 17 including a beauty that Shane Warne would have been proud of to clean bowl Bess Heath.Lucy Higham top scored with 26 for the Superchargers, as King – in combination with fellow spinners Kirstie Gordon and Ash Gardner – turned the screw, Aussie seamer Heather Graham also impressing with 3 for 13.

Earlier, Grace Scrivens was fast out of the blocks for the Rockets, showing her class with six boundaries in her 32 from 22 balls before picking out Linsey Smith to give Annabel Sutherland the breakthrough.Bryony Smith made 23 from 21 before becoming Sutherland’s second victim and Smith dismissed Gardner and Graham with consecutive deliveries to reduce the Rockets to 87 for 4.Nat Sciver-Brunt made an unbeaten 36 from 34 in a fine all-round display, later picking up two wickets, but was kept in check by an impressive performance in the field from the Superchargers, with Sutherland trapping Katie George lbw to finish with 3 for 14 and restrict the visitors to 123 for 5.They came up short with the bat, though, as the Rockets registered a commanding win.”It was nice to have a bit of turn and grip in the wicket,” King said. “We saw that the wicket did a lot in the first innings so we just had to keep our processes really simple. I love to have a pitch with a little bit of turn and I was happy to play my part.”It felt really nice out of the hand,” she said of the delivery which bowled Heath. “It’s a leg-spinner’s dream, so I’ll take that first pill. I’ve loved having Ash [Gardner] and HG [Graham] join the Rockets this year. We played three Aussies today and we loved getting the win.”

WPL 2026: two double-headers, final on a weekday

The 2026 Women’s Premier League (WPL) will have its final on a weekday (Thursday, February 5), and not over the weekend, for the first time, and feature two double-headers, both on Saturdays, after kicking off on January 9.The 28-day-long tournament will be played across two venues: Navi Mumbai, where India won the ODI World Cup in early November beating South Africa in the final, and Vadodara. The first 11 matches, including the two double-headers, will be played at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium, and the remaining 11 matches, including the eliminator on February 3 and the final will be played at Vadodara’s Kotambi Stadium.The dates and venues were confirmed by the WPL’s chairman, Jayesh George, on Thursday, the day of the WPL auction. All games bar the earlier fixture on the double-header days will be evening affairs.The week of the final is a busy one for multi-team competitions, with the men’s Under-19 World Cup finishing the day after the WPL final, on February 6, and the men’s T20 World Cup starting the following day, on February 7.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Apart from having a weekday final, this is the first time the WPL will be played in the January-February window. The first three seasons were played in February-March just before the start of the IPL. This will also be the first time the WPL will not clash with major international fixtures.Mumbai Indians (MI) are the defending champions of the WPL and have won two titles in three editions so far, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) the other past winners. Delhi Capitals (DC) have been runners-up in all three seasons. The other two teams, Gujarat Giants and UP Warriorz, have never made the title round.Ten days after the WPL ends, India will start an all-format tour of Australia, playing three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test from February 15 to March 9.

WPL 2026 schedule

Jan 9: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 10: UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 10: Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 11: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 12: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs UP Warriorz
Jan 13: Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 14: UP Warriorz vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 15: Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz
Jan 16: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Gujarat Giants
Jan 17: UP Warriorz vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 17: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Jan 19: Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 20: Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 22: Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz
Jan 24: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 26: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians
Jan 27: Gujarat Giants vs Delhi Capitals
Jan 29: UP Warriorz vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Jan 30: Gujarat Giants vs Mumbai Indians
Feb 1: Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
Feb 3: Eliminator
Feb 5: Final

McGrath seals Strikers' win, keeps Heat winless

Brisbane Heat are staring down the barrel of the first winless season in WBBL history, after falling to a six-wicket defeat to Adelaide Strikers at North Sydney Oval.After Heat managed 149 for 9 batting first on Sunday, Strikers chased it down with two balls to spare to keep their finals hopes firmly alive.Laura Wolvaardt anchored the innings with 49 off 45 balls in her last game before leaving for national duties, while opening partner Tammy Beaumont hit 64 from 40.The English opener was explosive, belting Nadine de Klerk over the midwicket and long-on ropes and also jumping down the deck and lifting Charlie Knott over long-off.And while Strikers almost looked like falling short in the chase when the equation got down to 14 from Knott’s final over, Ellie Johnston and Tahlia McGrath got them home.Related

  • Rodrigues to miss rest of WBBL for Brisbane Heat

After a poor stretch, where they lost three games in a row, Strikers now sit fourth but could be overtaken by the Sydney Sixers later on Sunday.Heat now look all but certain to collect their first wooden spoon in the competition’s 11-season history.Runners-up in the past two campaigns, Heat’s only point this summer has come from a washed-out game against the Sixers on Friday.Making matters worse for Heat will be the fact they lost Nicola Hancock to a hamstring injury, after she was stumped on the final ball of their innings.Heat are already without captain Jess Jonassen (shoulder) and first-round draft pick Jemimah Rodrigues for the rest of the season.Heat’s innings never really got going, with de Klerk (25 from 13) and Hancock (22 from 8) the only batters to really fire.McGrath took 3 for 27 for Strikers, while Elanor Larosa and Amanda-Jade Wellington took two wickets each.

Alzarri Joseph rested, Shepherd back in WI squad for Pakistan ODIs

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has been rested while allrounder Romario Shepherd is back in West Indies’ ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series at home against Pakistan. Alzarri, who had also been rested for the T20Is against Pakistan, will continue to have his workload being managed.Shepherd had last played ODI cricket in December 2024 and missed the ODI series against England and Ireland this year.Having been swept 3-0 by England in their most recent ODI series, West Indies, currently ranked tenth, are eyeing crucial points in their quest to secure direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup.”Pakistan presents a different test and challenge as we continue our push for automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup,” head coach Daren Sammy said in a statement. “The upcoming matches against teams like Pakistan, who are ranked higher, provide crucial opportunities to earn valuable ranking points to improve our standing ahead of the World Cup.”Related

  • Forde to miss Pakistan ODIs with dislocated shoulder

  • Pakistan and West Indies look to break out of their ODI funk

  • Fakhar ruled out of remainder of WI tour

  • Chase becomes first Full Member team batter to retire out in T20Is

In Alzarri’s absence, rookie left-arm seamer Jediah Blades has been picked in the squad. Blades, 23, has played just one ODI and four T20Is so far and is capable of swinging the new ball. The rest of the side has a familiar look.West Indies had recently lost the T20I series 2-1 to Pakistan but their ODI form at home is encouraging: they have won their last three series so far. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad will host all three matches against Pakistan on August 8, 10 and 12.

West Indies ODI squad

Shai Hope (capt), Jewel Andrew, Jediah Blades, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd

Rovman Powell ruled out of T20I series against Pakistan with wrist injury

Rovman Powell, the West Indies batter, was officially ruled out of the T20I series against Pakistan following the wrist injury he suffered during the preceding series against Australia. West Indies will not name a replacement.Powell, 32, sustained the injury while attempting a catch in the fourth T20I against Australia on July 26 in St Kitts. He did not feature in the fifth T20I against Australia following the injury, and neither was he part of the first T20I against Pakistan in Florida’s Lauderhill on July 31 that West Indies lost by 14 runs.West Indies and Pakistan face off again on August 2 and 4 in Lauderhill in the three-match T20I series. The two teams then fly to Tarouba in Trinidad & Tobago for a three-ODI series starting August 8. Powell is unlikely to feature in the West Indies ODI squad as he last played in the format in 2023.

India lose three wickets in second session as England rise

Tea Liam Dawson marked his comeback to Test cricket by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal with his seventh ball to help prise the opening day back open in Manchester.India’s openers batted through the morning session after being inserted but England struck three blows and kept the scoring rate below three an over in the afternoon to leave the fourth Test in the balance.KL Rahul became the fifth Indian player to reach 1,000 runs in England during the first session and played late throughout his innings. But he edged Chris Woakes to third slip for 46 while looking to punch down the ground, bringing an opening partnership of 94 in exactly 30 overs to an end.Jaiswal continued to frustrate England and reached his eighth 50-plus score in 16 innings against them after lunch, but fell soon before drinks. He battled his instincts for much of the morning session to soak up pressure in gloomy conditions, but then became the returning Dawson’s first victim since July 2017, edging to Harry Brook at slip for 58.It was the highlight of a superb spell from Dawson, who had 1 for 21 in seven overs at the tea interval and exerted the sort of control that the injured Shoaib Bashir, whom he replaced in England’s only change, struggled to in the first three Tests. He kept the recalled B Sai Sudharsan quiet, who was then dropped on 20 down the leg side by Jamie Smith off Ben Stokes.Stokes himself struck soon before the interval, pleading with Rod Tucker for an lbw decision – which eventually came – after striking Shubman Gill on the pad as he shouldered arms. Gill’s unsuccessful appeal meant that he has scored 16, 6 and 12 since his epic Edgbaston Test, and left England slightly ahead on day one.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus