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.”

Sri Lanka are back playing a Test at The Oval for the first time since 1998

Alan Gardner05-Sep-20240:35

Ollie Pope excited to see ‘massive’ Josh Hull debut for England

Big picture: Sri Lanka return to scene of 1998 triumph

To The Oval, traditional venue for the final Test of the English summer – although not, by any means, the final international commitment for England’s men, who go straight into eight white-ball fixtures against Australia off the back of Sri Lanka’s visit (the first T20I takes place 24 hours after the scheduled fifth day of the Test).For now, the focus remains on Test cricket – even if Brendon McCullum’s mind may start to wander following news he will soon take charge of England’s white-ball fortunes as well – and the aim of completing a first summer sweep since 2004. Twenty years ago, Michael Vaughan’s team dispatched New Zealand and West Indies for a 7-0 scoreline, providing momentum that fueled them into the following year’s Ashes campaign; McCullum and Ben Stokes, currently watching on from the sidelines as he recuperates from a torn hamstring, will hope something similar can play out ahead of marque series against India (at home) and Australia (away) in 2025.England’s reboot, having lost 4-1 in India at the start of the year, has gone smoothly thus far, despite the limited challenge provided by West Indies and Sri Lanka. Gus Atkinson has emerged as the star of a post-Broaderson attack, with 33 wickets in five appearances – to go with a maiden hundred at Lord’s last week – while Jamie Smith has nailed down the wicketkeeper’s spot. With the Sri Lanka series secured, McCullum has decided to throw in another promising tyro, with 6ft 7in Leicestershire left-armer Josh Hull emerging from left-field for an unexpected debut.Related

• Hull call sign of times as England make their point of difference

• De Silva: First-innings runs are what's crucial to victory

• Switch Hit: Baz Supremacy and Root maths

• 6ft 7in Hull handed England Test debut

• Hull, England's left-armer from left-field, prepares for shock Test debut

All this may well be with the 2025-26 Ashes in mind – and who wouldn’t want a giant southpaw who can hit 90mph to bowl down under? – but Hull has already had success against Sri Lanka, taking five wickets for England Lions during the series warm-up, and England have once again reasoned that raw first-class statistics (16 wickets at 62.75) only tell part of the story.The final Test of the home season is also a final chance for Ollie Pope to improve his average as Test captain – that is assuming Stokes is fit to take the reins again in Pakistan next month. Pope has so far managed 30 runs in four innings, with his dismissals ranging from eyebrow-raising to hair-raising. Leading England to three wins from three would certainly tick a box, but runs under the belt might have more long-term significance.For Sri Lanka, a first multi-match Test tour at the height of the English summer has not lived up to expectations – although the same might be said of the English summer, with the weather again likely to be underwhelming in London this week. There were flashes of resistance at Lord’s, Asitha Fernando and Kamindu Mendis once again showing their promise while the senior trio of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva held up England with fourth-innings fifties.They would certainly have hoped for more than to be fighting for pride at this stage, but two first-innings collapses have left them with too much to do – while Dhananjaya’s decision to bowl at Lord’s threw an inexperienced bowling attack under the bus. A return to south London for their first Test since famously winning at The Oval in 1998 should help raise spirits. If further motivation is needed, Sri Lanka have played four previous three-Test series in England and never been whitewashed.Ollie Pope will continue to deputise for Ben Stokes•Getty Images

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Sri Lanka LLWWW

In the spotlight: Josh Hull and Asitha Fernando

He might be blotting out the spotlight, so tall is Josh Hull. The 20-year-old only emerged on the county scene last summer, notably bowling the final over as Leicestershire sealed the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a two-run win over Hampshire, and his rise this term has been meteoric. A couple of outings in the Hundred showed he had put on pace, nudging the speed gun up to 89mph, while success in the Lions game counted for more with England than a County Championship record of two wickets at 182.50. He is set to become only the second left-arm seamer to play Tests for England since Ryan Sidebottom in 2010.Despite Atkinson’s stellar performances and England’s dominance generally, the leading wicket-taker in the series is Sri Lankan. Asitha Fernando has 14 scalps at 20.14, already second only to Muthiah Muralidaran for Sri Lanka in England, and his lion-hearted efforts have kept the home batters honest. Asitha got himself on the honours board with a five-for at Lord’s – matching Rumesh Ratnayake’s effort from 1991 – but would no doubt love to help his team end the tour on a winning note. With Sri Lanka banking on pace at The Oval, his skills with conventional and reverse-swing will be vital if can post a score.

Team news: Hull to debut, SL go all pace

England announced on Wednesday that Hull would debut, coming into the XI for Matthew Potts. The Oval Test will likely be Dan Lawrence’s final opportunity to impress as stand-in opener ahead of the return of Zak Crawley.England: 1 Dan Lawrence, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Olly Stone, 10 Shoaib Bashir, 11 Josh HullSri Lanka warm up – literally and figuratively – at The Oval•PA Photos/Getty Images

Sri Lanka have opted for a rare four-man pace attack, given what they expect from the pitch (see below), meaning Prabath Jayasuriya makes way. They have also rejigged the top order (again), with Kusal Mendis back in the side at No. 3, Pathum Nissanka opening and Nishan Madushka sitting out. Angelo Mathews has only bowled a handful of times in Tests since 2017 but was going through his paces in the nets at The Oval, with a view to making up Jayasuriya’s overs alongside Dhananjaya and Kamindu.Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Milan Rathnayake, 9 Lahiru Kumara, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Asitha Fernando

Pitch and conditions: Autumn weather sets in

The Oval has not been the place to bowl spin this season, with only 26 wickets falling to slow bowlers in six County Championship matches – compared to 173 taken by pace, where Surrey’s seam-and-swing merchant Dan Worrall leads the way. With wet weather in the build-up and a forecast for showers throughout – Monday looks particularly bleak – the conditions will be a long way from those in which Murali’s Sri Lanka dominated England 26 years ago.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka have a 100% win rate in Tests at The Oval, having beaten England emphatically on their only previous visit – Sanath Jayasuriya’s 213 helping the visitors comfortably overhaul a total of 445 before Muralidaran took 9 for 65 to set up a 10-wicket win.
• Joe Root overtook Alastair Cook’s Test centuries record for England at Lord’s, and is now only 95 runs behind overall. He needs 24 runs to pass Kumar Sangakkara in sixth on the all-time list, with Cook next in his sights.
• Root also took his 200th catch in the field and can close in on the top two, Mahela Jayawardene (205) and Rahul Dravid (210).
• Atkinson will break the record for most wickets by an England seamer in a home summer – currently jointly held by SF Barnes, Alec Bedser and James Anderson – if he takes seven in the match.
• Karunaratne overtook Jayasuriya at Lord’s to become Sri Lanka’s fourth-highest Test run-scorer; he needs 10 more runs to reach 7000 in the format.
  

  Quotes

  “Six foot heaps, bowls left-arm, ranges in pace from 80 to 90 miles an hour. Swings it, not too dissimilar to the likes of Jimmy Anderson. He’s 20 years of age, good farming stock. It’s not a huge gamble, is it?”
  
  Brendon McCullum on England’s latest surprise selection“We need to score big runs and that’s the biggest fault that we had in the first two Tests. Most of our batters who had got starts didn’t convert. Joe Root is a good example, he converted the starts into hundreds. Others batted around him. One of us need to do that and if that happens we need to get 320 mark in the first innings.”
  
  Dhananjaya de Silva on how his side can improve

Each franchise will have a purse of INR 120 crore, an increment of INR 20 crore from the last time, to build a squad for IPL 2025

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Sep-2024The IPL franchises can retain up to six players each for the 2025 season, the right-to-match (RTM) option is back for the mega auction, and the Impact Player rule will remain in place till the 2027 season. That aside, the auction purse has been increased by INR 20 crore and is now INR 120 crore (US$ 14.3 million approx.). These were among the most significant decisions announced by the IPL governing council on Saturday.Each franchise can retain a maximum of six players via a combination of retention and the RTM option. “It is at the discretion of the IPL franchise to choose their combination for retentions and RTMs,” the IPL release said. “The six retentions/RTMs can have a maximum of five capped players (Indian and overseas) and a maximum of two uncapped [Indians] players.”

Retention slabs for IPL 2025

In case a franchise wants to retain five capped players, the following amounts will be deducted from the purse:

• For the first three retentions: INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, and INR 11 crore
• For the next two: INR 18 crore and INR 14 croreAs for the uncapped players, the IPL has stuck with INR 4 crore, as was the case in the 2021 mega auction. This means a franchise retaining five capped players and one uncapped before the auction will lose INR 79 crore from the overall purse of INR 120 crore, and will go into the auction with just INR 41 crore. If a franchise retains four capped and two uncapped players, it will lose INR 69 crore from its purse.The total salary cap will now consist of the auction purse, incremental performance pay and match fees. In 2024, the total salary cap (auction purse + incremental performance pay) was INR 110 crore. It will be INR 146 crore in 2025, INR 151 crore in 2026, and INR 157 crore in 2027.
  

  Impact Player not going away

  Despite objections from franchises and concerns from high-profile players such as Rohit Sharma that the Impact Player rule could be detrimental to the development of allrounders, the IPL has decided to retain it for the next three seasons, up to 2027.Related

  • IPL retention: How many players can a team keep? And at what cost?

  • SRH set to retain Klaasen, Cummins, Abhishek

  • BCCI scraps Impact Player rule in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s

  • IPL retention FAQs: What is the modified RTM rule? Has the auction purse increased?

  • October 31 set as deadline for IPL teams to finalise retentions

  Since its introduction in the 2023 season, the rule has stirred wide debate over whether it is indeed beneficial to Indian cricket, which was the original motive, or whether it could be hurting the development of allrounders. That was one of the points the IPL discussed with the franchises during a meeting on July 31, which was attended by several team owners and team principals. While there was no unanimous nod to the rule, the majority was in favour of it being retained.Nine of the ten highest totals in IPL history have been recorded since the Impact Player rule, which allows a team to sub out a first-XI player and field a specialist batter or bowler depending on the match situation. The IPL believes the rule has enhanced the product by creating spectacles and is good from the spectators’ point of view, too.

  RTM card – final bidder to get extra opportunity

  The RTM option gives a franchise the chance to buy back a player during the auction by matching the highest bid made for the player by another franchise once the bidding is over. It was previously used in the 2017 mega auction but was discarded ahead of the 2022 mega auction.The IPL has decided to reintroduce it after at least three franchises argued in its favour. It is understood that the owners of Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad said they wanted seven to eight RTMs. However, players have generally not been in favour of the RTM option because they feel they don’t get the fair price as a result.To advance the cause of the players, the IPL has now modified the rule. It now reads: “The highest bidder will be given one final opportunity to raise their bid for a player before the team holding the RTM card can exercise their right. For example, if Team 1 holds the RTM for Player X and Team 2 has placed the highest bid of INR 6 crore, then Team 1 will be first asked if they will exercise RTM, if Team 1 agrees, then Team 2 will have the chance to increase their bid. If Team 2 raises their bid to INR 9 crore, then Team 1 can use the RTM and acquire Player X for INR 9 crore. If Team 2 chooses not to raise the bid and keeps it at INR 6 crore, Team 1 can use the RTM and get Player X for INR 6 crore.”

  Injury replacements and player loans

  Till IPL 2024, franchises had to seek a replacement for an injured player their seventh match of the season. From IPL 2025, teams can seek replacements till up to the 12th match in the league phase.The IPL has also decided to “reinstate” the player loan process, which can only be activated during the season. However, the rule has never been used to date.

  Rule change allows CSK to retain ‘uncapped’ Dhoni

  During a broader discussion on uncapped players, the IPL informed the franchises that it was reviving the rule it had started in 2008 but scrapped in 2021 – that of allowing Indian players who had retired from international cricket at least five years before the relevant season to go into the auction as uncapped players.”A capped Indian player will become uncapped if he has, in the five calendar years preceding the year in which the relevant season is held, not played in the starting XI in international cricket and does not have a central contract with BCCI,” the release said. “This will be applicable for Indian players only.”This gives Chennai Super Kings the option of retaining their former captain MS Dhoni, whose last international match was at the 2019 ODI World Cup, as an uncapped player. Ahead of the 2022 mega auction, CSK had retained Dhoni as their second player for INR 12 crore. If they are to retain him now as an uncapped player, they can do so with INR 4 crore.

The left-arm quick first played for them in 2023 and then helped them to the Division Two title in 2024

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2024Jaydev Unadkat will continue his association with Sussex after extending his contract with them for the 2025 and 2026 County Championship seasons. He will be available for the final run-in in both seasons.”When I came to Hove last year, I wasn’t sure what was on offer in the County Championship and how would I adapt to it. But after a few games now, I can definitely say Hove is my home away from home and Good Old Sussex by The Sea has my heart,” Unadkat was quoted as saying in a release by the team.”Everyone at Hove is very pleased and excited that Jaydev [Unadkat] has signed a two-year extension and will be returning to the Club for the next two seasons,” Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said.”Jaydev’s quality on the pitch has been so evident for everyone else to see, but just as importantly his qualities as a person make him one of the most popular and nicest guys any team could wish for.”Unadkat first signed for Sussex in 2023, and took 11 wickets in three matches. He returned to the team in 2024 and took 22 wickets at an average of 14.40 in five games, helping Sussex win the Division Two title.Unadkat is currently leading Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy, which got underway on Friday.

Legspinner released from tour squad to manage workload ahead of busy rest of winter

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2024Jafer Chohan, the Yorkshire legspinner, is to return home from England’s white-ball tour of the Caribbean before he has had a chance to make his international debut, with the team management choosing instead to manage his workload ahead of the forthcoming Lions tour of South Africa.Chohan, 22, made history last month when he became the first graduate of the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) to be named in an England squad. Launched in 2021 by Dr Tom Brown, the academy aimed to remedy the under-representation of British South Asian players in the professional game, with Chohan’s opportunity with Yorkshire arising after he had been released by Middlesex as a 17-year-old in 2019.Chohan will not, however, be making the step-up to England international status just yet. Instead, he will fly home on Monday, with the rest of the squad relocating from Barbados to St Lucia, having last night taken a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20I series, following a comfortable seven-wicket win.In addition to the Lions tour, which takes place from November 20 to December 14 and will be Andrew Flintoff’s first outing as head coach, Chohan is also due to play for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, with that tournament commencing on December 15.Related

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His release from England’s white-ball squad is a reflection of the T20I team’s current success, as well as the wealth of spin options already available to Jos Buttler and Marcus Trescothick, the interim head coach.In addition to Adil Rashid, Chohan’s mentor at Yorkshire, with whom he has been working in the nets for the past fortnight, England also have Rehan Ahmed waiting in the wings as a back-up legspinner, plus Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Dan Mousley and Will Jacks in the current starting XI.Nevertheless, his fast-tracking into the England set-up remains a notable achievement, given the distance he has come since 2022, when he was playing National Counties cricket for Berkshire.”SACA helped me a hell of a lot,” he told ESPNcricinfo in the wake of his call-up. “I felt like my game was in a pretty good place, but there’s no real way in, once I got out of the system. It was really tough to think, ‘Okay, I want to become a pro cricketer, how can I actually do it?’ And SACA provided that opportunity for me.”

“I don’t think the players are mentally down. We give them lot of confidence,” says Sri Lanka’s batting coach

Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Dec-2024Comebacks can happen. Sri Lanka have proved that already this year, when having lost a Test at Lord’s by 190 runs, they surged back at The Oval to win by eight wickets.This, at least, is what Sri Lanka are trying to believe, having lost their first Test in South Africa by 233 runs.They can look back at other series-leveling come-from behind Test wins as well, such as in 2018, when they won in Barbados having lost in Port of Spain. Or even at home, when having gone down to Australia in the first Galle Test of 2022, they roared back in the second.Batting coach Thilina Kandamby feels there are enough players in the group who have tasted comeback success.Related

• South Africa and Sri Lanka look to keep their WTC final hopes alive

• Paterson, Maphaka or Muthusamy? SA face selection conundrum amid injuries

• Injured Coetzee ruled out of second Sri Lanka Test and all-format Pakistan series

• Sri Lanka show up with the bat, but there's no forgiving 42 all out

• SA enter new era with renewed hope of emulating the glory days

“We have a very experienced unit, and they have been in situations like this before,” Kandamby said. “We have given comebacks before as well. I don’t think the players are mentally down. We give them lot of confidence.”We started off in a similar fashion in England this year. We came from behind to win a game. We have identified that and we need to be at our best from day one.”Just as in that England series, Sri Lanka’s top order struggled substantially against the moving ball, crashing to a calamitous 42 not out in the first innings. Kandamby said the “options we took were wrong”, particularly the damp surface offered plenty to the bowlers in the first innings.Since that match, however, Sri Lanka have taken every opportunity to train. They’d rocked up to Kingsmead on what would have been day five of the first Test for a long session, and will also train the two days ahead of the Gqeberha Test, with Monday having been their travel day.”We had a chat, and the key here is to see off the new ball. There is no point being too aggressive, but we do have to put the loose balls away. Once we get past the first hour, it gets a lot easier.”Sri Lanka had also been at a significant advantage in Durban, as South Africa allrounder Wiaan Mulder had fractured his right hand while batting, and as such was unable to bowl. And yet, having collapsed inside 14 overs for their lowest Test total, Sri Lanka were in no place to capitalise on this advantage.”It’s so disappointing really – South Africa were one bowler short, and we should have made most of it,” Kandamby said. “Even with Marco Jansen we didn’t force him to a second spell. But the good thing is, we were a lot more organised in the second innings. If we’d batted the whole day in the first innings, it could have been very different.”The major positive for Sri Lanka, perhaps is that unlike for South Africa, there are no serious injury concerns for their bowlers. They’d had to bowl more than 150 overs in the first three days of the Test, but will have had five days potential recovery before the second Test starts. Although privately, some bowlers had expressed annoyance at having to bowl again so soon after dismissing South Africa for 191, at the time, they just got on with the job, Kandamby said.”Hats off to the bowlers. After one and half hours they had to go out and bowl again. They were not bitter. They just took on the challenge.”

With Burger, Williams and Nortje also injured, SA may need to dig deep into their reserves to fill a fast-bowling position for the Champions Trophy

Firdose Moonda17-Jan-2025 • Updated on 19-Jan-2025South Africa’s bowling stocks have taken another hit after Gerald Coetzee, who was expected to be named as Anrich Nortje’s replacement in the the Champions Trophy squad, missed Joburg Super Kings’ match against Pretoria Capitals with a hamstring injury on Thursday and was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the SA20 on SundayCSA, however, said Coetzee “remains in contention for selection” for the Champions Trophy and that a decision on his inclusion would be made in the first week of February. The deadline for submitting the final squads to the ICC is February 11.Coetzee had played JSK’s previous match against Durban’s Super Giants at Kingsmead, which was his first competitive game since the Test against Sri Lanka in Durban, where he injured his groin. He was ruled out of the rest of the international summer, after he had come back from a hip niggle and a 12-week conditioning block. He did not play any cricket between a game at the MLC in July (his only one in the competition) and a domestic match for the Titans in October. Then, he appeared fitter and faster than before, playing in all four of South Africa’s T20I fixtures against India, and took 4 for 85 in the first Test against Sri Lanka before he was ruled out again.Related

• Ryan Rickelton, the new showstopper at Newlands

• Jury's out on South Africa's Champions Trophy picks as SA20 provides selection pointers

• Rassie van der Dussen consciously evolves his white-ball game amid injury scare

• Back injury rules Nortje out of Champions Trophy

It was confirmed by South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter that Coetzee had been in line for a Champions Trophy place but left out in favour of the more experienced Nortje. With Nortje sidelined with a back problem and Coetzee now injured as well, Walter, who is the sole selector of the team, will have to mine the depths of the reserves.With Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder already in the squad, Walter could look to 18-year old tearaway Kwena Maphaka or South Africa’s most recent ODI cap, Corbin Bosch, if he is looking for pace or may have to move away from that entirely. Death-bowling specialist Ottneil Baartman is another option with almost everyone else in contention currently injured.Nandre Burger will not return to action this summer after suffering a lower-back stress fracture while Lizaad Williams is recovering from knee surgery. Daryn Dupavillon, who was playing for Pretoria Capitals, is also ruled out of the SA20 with a hamstring concern.Dupavillon is the eighth seamer to be injured this summer. The others were Ngidi (groin), Coetzee, Mulder (broken finger), Nortje (broken toe, then back), Williams, Baartman and Burger. Barring Burger, Nortje, Williams and now, Coetzee, the others have returned to action.

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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• Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf back in Pakistan squad for CT25

• PCB chief says Gaddafi Stadium will be ready for Feb 7 inauguration

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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.

England went to lunch on 83 for 2

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2025

Jasprit Bumrah in action•Getty Images

Nitish Kumar Reddy removed both England openers in his first over but the hosts escaped the first session only two wickets down after choosing to bat first at Lord’s. Reddy struck twice in four balls after Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley scraped through the first hour unscathed. Ollie Pope and Joe Root then led England’s recovery with an unbroken stand of 39 before lunch.Duckett was repeatedly struck on his body in a probing first spell from Jasprit Bumrah, who replaced Prasidh Krishna in India’s only change from the side that won at Edgbaston last week. But England reached the drinks break at 39 for 0, despite a frenetic start from Crawley which featured four boundaries – one via the outside edge – and several plays-and-misses.Reddy’s double-strike opened up both ends for India. His first wicket was a freebie, a long-hop down the leg side which Duckett under-edged through to Rishabh Pant on the pull, but his second was a beauty. He angled the ball into Crawley, then found late movement away off the seam to take the outside edge, as India sensed an opportunity.Pope was dropped between those two wickets, edging his first ball – a full outswinger – to gully, where Shubman Gill could not hold onto a tough, low chance, diving to his right. But after his early life, he grew in confidence alongside Root, and they saw off Bumrah’s third spell to reach the lunch interval at 83 for 2.Ben Stokes’ decision to bat first on winning the toss – for the third time in a row – was met with cheers at Lord’s, after bowling first had backfired at Edgbaston. Gill admitted he was “a bit confused” about what he would have done but said that he would have leaned towards bowling in the belief that the only assistance from the pitch would come early on the first day.

They needed less than half an hour on the fourth morning to take the last four Bangladesh wickets

Madushka Balasuriya28-Jun-2025Sri Lanka needed just 28 minutes on the fourth morning to pick up the final four Bangladesh wickets, and with it wrap up a win by an innings and 78 runs. It was Sri Lanka’s ninth innings-victory over Bangladesh, which gave them the series 1-0 and also some crucial World Test Championship points.Prabath Jayasuriya did the bulk of the damage – with some handy assists from wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, who had been off the field the previous day nursing a sore shoulder – picking up figures of 5 for 56, his 12th five-wicket haul in Tests.It took just three deliveries into his first over of the day for Jayasuriya to take Litton Das’ edge on the forward defence, with Kusal holding on to a sharp chance. Then in his next over, he had Nayeem Hasan attempting to drive one tossed up on off, only for it to dip and rip past him. Nayeem, who had slid his back foot out of the crease in the process, was unable to get back before Kusal flicked the bails off.Jayasuriya completed his five-for pouching a return catch to his right, as Taijul Islam got a leading edge looking to work one through midwicket. Tharindu Ratnayake got in on the act then, trapping Ebadot Hossain in front of middle the very next over, as Bangladesh folded 34 balls into the morning session.Related

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• Shanto: Not batting well in first innings 'major reason we lost'

• How captain Dhananjaya is turning Sri Lanka into an image of himself

• The Taijul light shines bright on Bangladesh's day of gloom

It was Jayasuriya’s best against Bangladesh, a welcome return for Sri Lanka’s lead spinner who had gone wicketless in the first innings, and struck just once in Galle.In total, nine wickets fell in the innings to spin, with Tharindu and Dhananjaya de Silva sharing two apiece to go with Jayasuriya’s five. Bangladesh though will no doubt feel this was a game they lost control of in the first innings itself, when a sub-par batting effort – followed by some loose bowling – allowed Sri Lanka to take a commanding grip of proceedings.While the spinners wrapped things up for the hosts, it was Pathum Nissanka that was named Player of the Match for his match-winning 158 off 254 deliveries. Nissanka also clinched the Player of the Series award following his 187 in the first Test.