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India batter had signed for county in 2023 only to win recall for World Test Championship final

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2024India batter Ajinkya Rahane has signed to play the second half of the county season with Leicestershire. He will be available for the club’s One-Day Cup campaign as well as five County Championship matches.Rahane, 36, had agreed to join Leicestershire last summer before winning a recall to India’s Test team for the World Test Championship final. He then went on the Test tour of the West Indies and subsequently did not play for the county in 2023.”We are thrilled to welcome someone of Ajinkya’s quality to Leicestershire,” Claude Henderson, Leicestershire’s director of cricket, said. “It was unfortunate that Ajinkya’s schedule didn’t quite work with ours last year, but it’s a massive boost to have secured his services for the business end of this season.”He holds immense experience and vital leadership qualities, which will be hugely beneficial to the team alongside his run-scoring ability. Ajinkya’s arrival also presents a fantastic opportunity for our batters to learn from one of the game’s best.”Rahane played both of India’s Tests in the Caribbean last July but has not featured since. He has scored more than 13,000 runs in first-class cricket, at an average of 45.76, and another 6475 at 39.72 in List A.His arrival in mid-July will cover for the expected departure of South Africa allrounder Wiaan Mulder on international duty, and help strengthen Leicestershire’s defence of the One-Day Cup that they memorably lifted last September.Rahane said: “I’m really excited to have another opportunity to come to Leicestershire. I’ve built a strong rapport with Claude and [head coach] Alfonso [Thomas], and I’m looking forward to playing for the club this summer.”I followed the team’s results last year and was very impressed with what I saw. I’m hoping to enjoy my cricket and contribute to more success for the club this season.”

Superb spin exhibition by Sophie Ecclestone had threatened to derail Storm innings

ECB Reporters Network27-Apr-2024Western Storm clinched their first win in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy after defeating Thunder by 66 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.An unbeaten 76 by Sophie Luff capped an excellent fightback by Western Storm who made 252 for 6 from their 50 overs after a superb exhibition of spin bowling by Sophie Ecclestone had threatened to derail their innings.England spinner Ecclestone took 3 wickets for 16 runs off her 10 overs, but three good partnerships rescued the Storm who added 162 runs from their final 30 overs to post a challenging score.That proved to be enough as Thunder subsided to 186 all out off 42.4 overs with Sophia Smale and Chloe Skelton taking three wickets apiece.Related

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Western Storm struck an early blow as the Thunder set off in pursuit of 253 when Seren Smale cut a short delivery from Lauren Filer to Dani Gibson at cover for 9.Emma Lamb and Katie Mack rebuilt with a positive 62-run partnership off 69 balls with Mack launching Amanda-Jade Wellington for consecutive sixes at the start of the leg spinner’s second over.Wellington hit back with two big wickets, bowling Mack for 28 and Lamb for 38 to have Thunder 85 for 3 at the start of the 19th over. That quickly became 104 for 6 after 25 overs as three wickets fell for six runs in a disastrous spell for Thunder.Off-spinner Skelton had Fi Morris caught behind for 16, then bowled Naomi Dattani first ball followed by Alex Griffiths finding an edge from Ecclestone that was well taken by wicketkeeper Nat Wraith standing up.Skipper Ellie Threlkeld and Kate Cross rallied Thunder with a partnership of 69 off 83 balls. Cross hit a six off Skelton in making a patient 36 until bowled by left-arm spinner Smale. Threlkeld departed for 32 when lbw sweeping at Skelton two balls later to leave the hosts 173 for 8 in the 40th over.Smale wrapped things up with the wickets of Mahika Gaur and Phoebe Graham for 10 to seal a convincing victory.Storm made an excellent start after being put in to bat with Griffiths and Smale posting a second consecutive fifty opening partnership in the face of some disciplined bowling by England duo Cross and Gaur.Griffiths had accelerated the scoring but was bowled for 24 after aiming a wild slog at Ecclestone. That was the first of three wickets to fall for nine runs in 17 balls with Smale, who had been fortunate to survive a run out chance when on 4, bowled for 23 by Ecclestone after playing back and beaten by a turning delivery, while Fran Wilson chipped Graham to Dattani at mid-on for 7.Gibson hit three boundaries off her first seven deliveries but had no answer to a quicker, turning delivery from Ecclestone to be bowled for 16 with the fourth wicket falling on 80 at the end of the 19th over.Storm fought back splendidly from that point, with captain Luff and Wraith mounting a determined alliance of 70 across 17 overs to counter the control exerted by the Thunder spinners with Ecclestone to the fore.Wraith hit the first six of the match off Hannah Jones before falling to a great catch by Ecclestone at mid-on off Graham for 38.But Luff found great support from Niamh Holland, who contributed a useful 22 off 24 balls in a 46-run partnership, and Wellington who made a rapid unbeaten 31 off 19 balls over the closing overs.Luff, who reached her fifty from 82 balls, became the glue that held the innings together, initially consolidating after coming to the crease in the 15th over before providing the late acceleration as Storm added 83 from the last ten overs to set a target that proved to be more than enough.

LSG head coach Langer felt dropped catches “really killed us in the end”

Abhimanyu Bose18-May-20244:26

Langer: IPL has same pressure as World Cup

Lucknow Super Giants’ win over Mumbai Indians in their last game of the season was not enough to take them to the playoffs, but it was the kind of performance their captain KL Rahul wanted more of throughout the season.LSG finished on 14 points and occupied sixth spot on table – level with fourth-placed Chennai Super Kings, who still have a game to play on Saturday – but their net run rate of -0.667 was not enough to push them into the top four.”At the beginning of the season, I really felt that we had a strong team and had most bases covered,” Rahul said after the game. “[We had] a couple of injuries obviously, which happens every season to every team, but those injuries and the guys that went away really dented us a little bit, and we didn’t play well enough collectively.Related

• Hardik banned for MI's slow over rate, will miss first game next season

• Boucher admits off-field noise may have 'clouded' Hardik after MI finish at bottom

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• Pooran-inspired win fails to take LSG into the playoffs

“When the bowlers had a good game, the batters wouldn’t have a good game. We just didn’t come together as much as we would have wanted to.”Rahul’s comments were echoed by LSG head coach Justin Langer, who said they wanted to try a few new tricks in their last game, and that included opening with Devdutt Padikkal in place of Quinton de Kock. But the Padikkal move did not pay off – he was trapped lbw for a golden duck by Nuwan Thushara – and LSG soon found themselves in a familiar position of losing early wickets.They were 69 for 3 in the tenth over but Nicholas Pooran’s whirlwind 29-ball 75 revivied them. It also helped Rahul accelerate from 29 off 28 to finish on 55 off 41 and took the side to 214.LSG had come into the season with a reputation for defending totals, and they lived up to it the first three times they batted first. However, their bowling took a hit in the second half of the competition, with injuries to key bowlers like Mohsin Khan and Mayank Yadav, and they struggled to defend totals.But in Mumbai, even after the hosts enjoyed an 88-run opening stand in 8.4 overs, their bowling unit came together to effectively blunt the opposition by the 15th over. Naman Dhir, batting at No. 7, gave them a scare with a 28-ball 62 not out, but LSG got through.Langer acknowledged that they missed the services of Mayank and Mohsin, but felt that their sloppy fielding “really killed us in the end”.”I think dropped catches cost us,” Langer said at the post-game press conference. “If you go back to the Delhi game at home, we dropped [Jake] Fraser-McGurk on 17 [24] off Marcus Stoinis. And I think he hit 26 [21] runs off the next over and it really kickstarted his whole season. I saw a stat today that we’ve dropped a lot of catches. We’ve probably got the best fielding coach in the world [Jonty Rhodes] and we dropped some catches. And often it’s [something] as simple as that to [decide] the outcome of the season.”We missed Mayank, he was huge. Mohsin [Khan] had quite a sore back for some of the tournament. But I think dropped catches is the thing that really killed us in the end.”But against MI, LSG held on to all their chances – five catches taken on the field. Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi took a brilliant catch each to send Dewald Brevis and Suryakumar Yadav, respectively, packing.”Today was a really good performance,” Rahul said. “This is the kind of game we wanted to play more where batters are scoring, and bowlers are doing their job. Unfortunately, we didn’t do that, so we find ourselves here.”

He is still recovering from an ankle injury picked up in January and remains a doubt for the white-ball tour of New Zealand after the Champions Trophy

Danyal Rasool07-Feb-2025Pakistan opening batter Saim Ayub has been confirmed out for at least another five weeks owing to injury; he continues his rehabilitation from the ankle injury he sustained in South Africa in January. It further confirms that he will not be available for the Champions Trophy, which runs until March 9, and the extent of his involvement in Pakistan’s white-ball series in New Zealand after that remains uncertain.A PCB statement said Ayub was “progressing well in his right ankle fracture injury”. He remains in England, where he will complete the remainder of his rehabilitation, and has been ruled out for 10 weeks from the time of his injury, which he picked up while fielding in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town five weeks ago.Ayub had to be stretchered off the pitch in just the seventh over of the match, when Ryan Rickelton edged a delivery through the slips, sending Ayub off on a chase to deep third alongside Aamer Jamal. Jamal pulled it back in as Ayub stood poised to be the relay fielder, but lost his balance and twisted his ankle. He went down immediately and appeared in anguish holding the lower part of his leg as the physio rushed on.Related

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Despite prolonged treatment outside the boundary line, Ayub was unable to put any weight on his right ankle, and appeared to be in tears as he was placed on to a stretcher and taken off. He was later seen on crutches in the medical booth.The PCB initially said he would be ruled out for six weeks, which offered some hope of his availability for the Champions Trophy, which Pakistan host. Last week the board announced the squad for the tournament, with Ayub absent from it.A week after the Champions Trophy final, Pakistan embark upon an eight-match white-ball tour of New Zealand, playing five T20Is and three ODIs between 16 March and 5 April. The Pakistan Super League starts on 8 April.

Pakistan’s first-class cricket is set to return to a model featuring both regions and departments

Umar Farooq24-Jan-2023The Pakistan Cricket Board has invited the country’s private and government departments besides three military institutes to be part of the domestic circuit. The PCB has initiated a restructuring of domestic cricket, and a return to the 16-team hybrid first-class model featuring both regions and departments.The PCB has already abolished the previous six-team model after the completion of the 2022-23 season in the first week of January.”The Pakistan Cricket Board has formally written to 27 leading departments, seeking their interest in participating in the PCB Domestic Cricket Season 2023-24, which will start in August,” the PCB confirmed through a press release. “In the letters, the PCB has not only invited the departments to confirm their participation in the upcoming season at their earliest convenience [which] can help them prepare the season’s calendar but has also encouraged them to set up strong cricket sides, assuring them maximum coverage and publicity through the traditional and new media.”Related

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In the new structure, eight regional teams and eight department teams will play in the premier first-class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Every season, the regional and department teams finishing bottom get relegated and two toppers (one region and one department) from the Grade 2 tournament will be promoted. Although the 2023-24 season effectively starts in August, the Pakistan government had given the new head of the PCB, Najam Sethi, 120 days (starting from December 21, 2022) to reset the set-up and go back to the 2014 constitution.Racing against time, the PCB management committee is making every effort to return to the previous model, reviving the 97 districts that make up the 16 regions. There are around 3200 clubs already functioning across the country and are the major feeders of players into the regional system.The Pakistan government recently removed Ramiz Raja and his Board by revoking the 2019 constitution the PCB was operating under and brought back Najam Sethi to head the management committee, giving it full executive powers to work on reviving the constitution of 2014. Aside from the changes in the board and its structure, that constitution will also bring back department sides into the domestic circuit – they had been removed in 2019 after former Pakistan captain Imran Khan became the Prime Minister of the country (the PM automatically becomes the PCB’s patron).Umar Gul and Misbah-ul-Haq were among prominent voices calling for department cricket to be reinstated•Getty Images

Even though the PCB has reached out to the departments, it’s not clear if the departments are willing to revive their teams in the current economic climate. There might not be much appetite for such organisations to hire a squad of cricketers. A number of department sides had shut down their sporting operations even before Imran’s changes, with Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and United Bank Limited (UBL) among the prominent ones to do so.PM Shahbaz Sharif, the PCB’s current patron-in-chief, had already issued a directive in October last year to all 18 government departments/institutes to restore the governance of their sports structure in Pakistan and restart the financing of sports departments. The pick-up on that has been slow – ESPNcricinfo understands that Ramiz Raja as chairman had written to private banks to ask about reviving their teams but they had shown little interest. Various government departments are dependent on government budgets and haven’t allocated a budget since the PM’s notification.Several government departments that function autonomously – such as State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Sui National Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), Sui Southern Gas (SSG), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) – can easily allocate funds though it’s unclear if they see it as a priority. The PCB’s letter is an attempt to know their intentions. It is understood that not all 27 departments will be willing to return but the PCB requires at least 16 in the system under its proposed domestic structure. PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars are among the private teams willing to launch a team in the Grade 2 set-up to complement their player hunt program.According to the 2014 constitution, the Board of Governors (BoG) will have ten members including four regional representatives (the top four teams from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy), four representatives of service organisations (the top four department teams) and two members to be nominated according to the patron’s discretion. To form a Board the PCB also needs to have an active domestic circuit.The abolition of departments in 2019 led to resentment in the cricketing community of Pakistan. A group of former board members and cricketers including Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Gul have been urging the government to revert to the previous domestic structure that included departmental teams such as Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), SNGPL and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The model introduced on the insistence of Imran led to a large number of players losing their livelihoods from their employment with departments.

The group stage is almost complete with India looking to make it nine from nine against Netherlands

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-20236:27

Finch: Marsh and Smith’s form are good signs for Australia

—Fixtures | Squads | Points table | Tournament Index

Top Story: Marsh’s 177* powers Australia to seventh straight win

Australia’s aversion to chasing has disappeared ahead of a semi-final with old foes South Africa after a statement innings of 177 not out from Mitchell Marsh at No.3 helped his side cruise to their second-successive record World Cup chase against Bangladesh in Pune, running down 307 with eight wickets and 32 balls to spare.Marsh made his highest ODI score and his first century at first drop, thumping 177 off 132 balls with 17 fours and nine sixes in brutal fashion.Australia had only chased more than 300 once in the last four years, but the rejigged batting line-up finally clicked with Steven Smith making an untroubled, unbeaten 63 at No.4 and sharing in a 175-run stand to guide Australia to their seventh straight win of the tournament.Click here to read the full report

Match analysis: Marsh owns the No. 3 spot with monstrous hitting

Australia head into the semi-finals high on confidence•Getty Images

Australia’s World Cup campaign has resembled a balls-in-a-maze puzzle. From catches going down in the first two matches, to Steven Smith having to adjust to a new role, to his vertigo, to Glenn Maxwell’s concussion on a golf course, Australia just haven’t been able to get all the balls in the innermost circle.One concern must have been how Mitchell Marsh, a big part of their plan to frontload their batting, didn’t quite respond immediately to moving down to No. 3 midway in the tournament. Against Bangladesh, in the final league match of the tournament, Marsh ticked that box with an innings full of power and intent that must sound a warning bugle for their opponents in the coming week.Read the full piece from Sid Monga

Match report: Stokes and Willey fashion a last hurrah for England

Fifty six of Ben Stokes’ 84 runs came in boundaries•ICC/Getty Images

England’s soon-to-be-deposed world champions bade farewell to the 2023 World Cup with a glimpse of their former domineering selves, as they marched to an emphatic 93-run win over Pakistan at Eden Gardens. The result means that Babar Azam’s men are officially out of semi-final contention.David Willey marked the final appearance of his international career with a sparky all-round display that included his 100th and final ODI wicket, and after Ben Stokes had underpinned an imposing total of 337 for 9 with his second forceful outing in quick succession, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid turned the screw on a spin-friendly surface to snuff out any pretence of a contest with four wickets between them.

Must Watch: Steve Harmison on Jos Buttler

2:12

Harmison: Buttler has to take ownership for the future

News headlines

• Ben Stokes says he will decide whether to re-enter ODI retirement after undergoing knee surgery, in a post-script to England’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
• Babar Azam is still learning as captain, and deserves to be backed. This is what Pakistan’s director of cricket Mickey Arthur said, after wrapping up an underwhelming World Cup campaign with a 93-run loss to England.
• Temba Bavuma has “showed an improvement overnight” from the hamstring strain that hampered him during South Africa’s World Cup match against Afghanistan on Friday.

Match preview

India vs Netherlands, Bengaluru (2pm IST; 8.30am GMT; 7.30pm AEDT)1:29

Dravid: Shreyas’ temperament stands out under pressure

They’ve been occasionally tested, but otherwise, India’s World Cup run has been nothing short of magical. Now on the day of the auspicious Indian festival of Diwali, they have a chance to gift their fans another dose of entertainment, and even though we know that anything can happen in sport, a defeat for the hosts is extremely unlikely.That’s because India have been absolutely dominant during their 8-0 run at this World Cup. Coming into their final league game, they face the least-fancied team of the tournament, Netherlands, even if they have performed better than expected. With a semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday their next big game, Sunday also offers India a chance to rest key personnel should there be a need for it.Full previewTeam newsIndia (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Kuldeep Yadav / R Ashwin, 9 Jasprit Bumrah / Prasidh Krishna, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajNetherlands (probable) 1 Max O’Dowd / Vikramjit Singh, 2 Wesley Barresi, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 5 Scott Edwards (capt), 6 Bas de Leede, 7 Teja Nidamanuru, 8 Logan van Beek, 9 Roelof van der Merwe, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Joe Weatherley’s 63 from 39 gives Hampshire a chance before Simon Harmer seals shortened chase

Alan Gardner15-Jul-2023Essex squeezed past defending champions Hampshire to reach the Vitality T20 Blast final via a rain-affected chase at Edgbaston. Simon Harmer, who hit the winning runs when Essex lifted the title in 2019, again applied the this time around as he drilled Nathan Ellis into the stands at long-on to complete a five-wicket victory.Having restricted Hampshire to 170 for 7 from 20 overs, Essex were then handed a revised target of 115 from 12 overs, following an extended delay for rain shortly after the start of their innings. Although Hampshire made quick inroads after the resumption to reduce Essex to 50 for 4 after 6.2, the arrival of Australia allrounder Daniel Sams brought a vital injection of power as he and Matt Critchley added 45 in 22 balls.Sams could not finish the job, well held on the boundary by Ross Whiteley, but despite Liam Dawson only conceding seven off the penultimate over to leave 13 needed from the last, Ellis – the hero in Hampshire’s dramatic victory a year ago – was hit for two sixes in three balls to end hopes of a defence.Hampshire’s innings had been a stop-start affair, held together by Joe Weatherley’s 63 off 39 balls. Spinners Critchley and Harmer picked up combined figures of 3 for 55 from their eight overs but a spirited finish from Weatherley and Benny Howell helped get Hampshire up to a par score.The rain delay took eight overs out of the Essex innings and seemed to tip the balance back towards the chasing side, with the requirement now 96 off 55 and the ball skidding around on a greasy outfield. They threatened to squander the advantage by losing 3 for 3 in the space of six ball, but Sams smashed three sixes in an innings of 29 from 17 to put them back on course for only a second Blast final appearance.Essex come out on top of DLS equation
Essex have based much of their approach to this year’s Blast on attacking come what may, so losing a wicket from the third ball of the innings would have been priced in. Adam Rossington’s flip off the hip went fine but Weatherley’s good day continued as he raced around the rope for a tumbling catch. But Essex’s start was scratchy as the clouds began to roll in, with Dan Lawrence dropped off a steepler by Dawson shortly before a heavy downpour took the players off for an hour with the score 19 for 1.The revised target left Essex needing to go at just above ten an over, and that had come down to 68 off 40 when James Fuller struck twice in the space of three balls: Michael Pepper caught at deep third off a wild hack and Lawrence edging a pull to the keeper. When Paul Walter was palpably lbw to John Turner in the next over, Essex were four down with the required rate climbing.”With wickets in hand and a smaller total, you would back yourself to get there,” Harmer said. “But in saying that when you lose wickets it’s tough to start again. You got to have your foot on the accelerator from ball one. So the way that guys like Critch and Dan Sams played, coming in there and striking from ball one was huge for us in the context of that chase.”Weatherley, meanwhile, described Hampshire as “bitterly disappointed” with the outcome. “With Duckworth-Lewis, it only takes is a couple of guys to hit a couple of sixes,” he said. “We still took wickets, if we hadn’t have done it would have looked a lot easier. It certainly feels unfair when they’ve got nine wickets in hand to get ten an over.”Hampshire start well, then stutter
Aaron Beard’s only over, the first of the Hampshire innings, went for 14 as both Ben McDermott and James Vince opened their accounts by whipping leg-side deliveries to the fence. McDermott then picked off Sams’ first two balls, the second via a domineering stride down the pitch before launching over long-off. An edged four wide of the keeper and two more off Sam Cook – one scooped over the head of short fine leg – took McDermott to 29 off 11 but he fell to his next delivery, pulling Cook straight to deep square leg.Hampshire at that point were 39 for 1 after three overs but Vince departed in the next over, chipping Shane Snater to mid-off, and Essex got a hold on the scoring to make it 55 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. The spinners then kept Hampshire in check, with Tom Prest, Dawson and Fuller all falling for middling scores and only five boundaries coming between the seventh and 16th overs.Weatherley, Howell add finishing touch
With wickets falling regularly, Weatherley had to take a circumspect approach, although he did hit one sweetly struck six down the ground off Harmer. Whiteley’s miscue off Walter left Hampshire 130 for 6 after 17, but the arrival of Howell added much-needed impetus at the death, as the seventh-wicket pair mirrored McDermott’s opening burst by lashing another 40 runs to the total. A wide full toss from Sams saw Weatherley bring up his fifty from from 34 balls, and the Hampshire No. 4 then spoiled an otherwise-decent penultimate over from Cook by going deep in his crease to slog-sweep a slower ball for six.Howell then helped plunder 14 off Sams’ closer, including a towering six over long-on the ball after being dropped by Snater, and although he was dismissed off the final delivery his 22 off 11 had given Hampshire something to bowl at. Thanks to the rain, however, and Sams late blows, it would not be quite enough.

Each of Namibia’s top eight batters fell for single-digit scores, after Supun Waduge hit an unbeaten 56

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2024A collective effort by Sri Lanka’s bowlers flattened Namibia for 56 in a chase of 134 in Kimberley. Left-arm spinner Vishwa Lahiru and medium-pacer Ruvishan Perera took three each as all of Namibia’s top eight batters fell for single-digit scores.After being put in, Sri Lanka got off to a slow start, losing Pulindu Perera for 3 in the seventh over. Fast bowler Zacheo Van Vuuren then caused a slide, taking the next four wickets to fall, and reducing Sri Lanka to 71 for 5 within the 20th over. But Sri Lanka’s No. 3 Supun Waduge then led the resistance, scoring an unbeaten 56 off 79, although he did not get much support at the other end. Johannes de Villiers took three lower-order wickets as Sri Lanka crumbled to 133 all out.In return, Namibia’s chase never took off. They could barely make any progress as the Sri Lanka bowlers not only struck regularly but also kept them from scoring runs. Namibia lost eight wickets for 25 runs within the 20th over. A rebuild was attempted by Peter-Daniel Blignaut and Hanro Badenhorst, who put up an 18-run partnership, but Perera ended that in the 26th over. Lahiru took the last wicket, as Namibia’s innings came to an end in 27 overs.A four-wicket haul from Isai Thorne, followed by an unbeaten fifty from Jewel Andrew, powered West Indies to their first win of the tournament, against Scotland in Potchefstroom.Batting first, Scotland began steadily, as the openers Jamie Dunk (57) and Adi Hegde (32) put up an 89-run stand. However, once Hegde fell in the 22nd over, Scotland struggled to put together meaningful partnerships, as Thorne rattled the team’s top and middle order on the way to finishing with 4 for 46. Alec Price at No.3 chipped in with 31, but only two other remaining batters managed double-digit scores, as Scotland were restricted to 205 for 9.West Indies lost wickets at regular intervals during the chase, but handy contributions from the captain Stephan Pascal (26), Jordan Johnson (24) and Mavendra Dindyal (29) kept them on track to overhauling the target. They were precariously placed at 111 for 5, but Andrew and Nathan Edward took the team home with an unbroken partnership of 95 runs. Andrew remained unbeaten on 64 off 60 balls, stroking eight fours, and was named Player of the Match.Ahmed Hassan struck twice early to dent Nepal’s sprightly start•Getty Images

Pakistan maintained their perfect start to the Under-19 World Cup, as Azan Awais’ unbeaten 63 powered the team to a five-wicket win against Nepal.Chasing a paltry 198, Pakistan were given an ideal start courtesy their openers Shamyl Hussain (37) and Shahzaib Khan (37), who added 80 in 21.2 overs. A string of quick wickets from Aakash Chand, including two in the same over, had Pakistan in a spot of bother at 104 for 4, but Awais, coming in at No.4, put together crucial partnerships with Ahmad Hassan and Haroon Arshad to take the team over the line inside 48 overs. Awais struck six fours during his 82-ball knock.Earlier, Nepal, opting to bat, had huffed and puffed their way to 197. Bipin Rawal was the team’s top scorer with 39, but he had little by way of support, as the team lost ground at regular intervals. Six different Pakistan bowlers were in amongst the wickets, and Arafat Minhas was the pick of the lot, ending with 3 for 23, while Umaid Shah and Hassan claimed two each.

Trent Rockets now in pole position to finish second, which would grant them a Finals spot if the Eliminator is washed out

ECB Media26-Aug-2025Manchester Originals 140 for 3 (Buttler 70, Ravindra 47*) beat Northern Superchargers 139 for 8 (Patel 42, Aspinwall 3-17) by seven wicketsWith the return of Sir James Anderson to the Manchester Originals’ line-up, there was an extra frisson at Headingley for the local derby as the Northern Superchargers looked to record eight wins from eight for the women and men at their northern fortress. Alas for Harry Brook’s side, although they will still be in the Eliminator at the Kia Oval on Saturday, it was not to be.Starting on the same points total as the Trent Rockets but with a significant deficit in net run rate, the Superchargers were looking for a big win to give themselves a decent chance of finishing second in the group stages.The Originals won the toss and chose to field, with Anderson bowling the first ten, and rapidly picking up his first and second wickets in The Hundred, accompanied by a broad grin. He then had Brook dropped in the deep before seeing England’s white-ball captain try his falling-over scoop, the ball merely dribbling a few feet from the bat, Brook ending up on his bottom and Anderson in stitches.Brook (20 off 20) was then caught off Scott Currie and Zak Crawley (17 off 17) holed out, and at 73 for 5 off 67 balls, the Originals were in the box seat.Enter the 40-year-old Samit Patel, three years younger than Anderson perhaps, but still very much a senior citizen in professional cricketing terms. When he was dismissed off the penultimate delivery, he had pummelled four fours and three sixes in his 19-ball 42 and, along with David Miller (30 off 22), given the Superchargers something to defend despite Tom Aspinwall’s impressive 3 for 17.The Superchargers’ opening pair of Jacob Duffy and Matthew Potts were tidy, Phil Salt (9 off 13) and Ben McKinney (6 off 8) struggling to break free but once they had gone, Jos Buttler and Rachin Ravindra (47* off 23) showed just why they are rated two of the best white-ball batters in the world, a thrilling partnership of 99 off 48 ensuring the Originals finished the competition on a high and consigning the Superchargers to a third-place group finish, barring a catastrophic defeat by the Rockets to the Phoenix tomorrow at Trent Bridge.Buttler was imperious, smiting seven fours and five sixes in his 37-ball 70 before being bowled by Adil Rashid, at which point only 10 were needed off 21 balls. Rashid conceded 39 from his 20, the most he has ever leaked in The Hundred, and successive boundaries from Ravindra sealed the deal with seven wickets and 16 balls to spare.Meerkat Match Hero Jos Buttler said: “The surface was a bit tricky, a bit slow. I thought we bowled exceptionally well apart from three or four balls and that allowed us to chase it down. We showed our best cricket in this last game when we were already out of the tournament, which is frustrating.”Overall, over the course of the tournament, we left a lot out there. In a couple of games, we failed to get over the line and we are where we deserve to be in the end. Tonight we showed what we are truly capable of as a team.”

Pakistan represents the majority of the additional names in the draft and includes Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq and Khushdil Shah

Andrew McGlashan24-Aug-2022Ross Taylor, Mohammad Hasnain and Will Smeed are among the final batch of players confirmed for the BBL draft on Sunday taking the total of number of registered players to 332.Hasnain, who is eligible for retention having played with Sydney Thunder last season, is one of two more players in the final group, which were received shortly before the nominations closed on Sunday. Fellow Pakistani Fakhar Zaman is the other having played one game for Brisbane Heat in the 2021-22 edition.Hasnain had his bowling action reported during last year’s competition but has since been cleared to resume bowling.Pakistan represents the majority of the additional names in the draft and includes Test opening pair Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq as well as middle-order white-ball hitter Khushdil Shah.Taylor, who is now retired from international cricket, could be an interesting option if a team is looking for an experienced batter as he does not have any conflicting deals at the moment.Smeed is the highly-rated young English batter who has a strike-rate of 146.23 from 52 T20 matches and he recently became the first player to hit a century in the men’s Hundred. He has already gained global interest and has an ILT20 deal with MI Emirates in January.Off the 332 players lined up for the draft, 28 are eligible for retention by clubs they played for last season. The first 12 players are part of the platinum list, which was announced on Monday, with the rest following in gold, silver and bronze categories.A maximum of 24 players will be signed during the draft with clubs needing to pick a minimum of two and maximum of three names.