New Zealand A have named a strong squad for the upcoming four-day matches against Australia A next month, including six players with international experience, as well as five who will have the chance to represent the A team for the first time.Tom Bruce will lead the side in both games, having last captained the team during the tour of India last year. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel and bowling allrounders Doug Bracewell and Scott Kuggeleijn are also in the squad. Kuggeleijn, however, will be available for only the second match as a replacement for Jacob Duffy, who is getting married. Allrounder Cole McConchie returns to the side after missing out on the India tour, while there were also places for opener Henry Cooper and wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher.The new names in the squad include Dean Foxcroft (Otago), Adithya Ashok (Auckland), Will O’Rourke (Canterbury), Mitch Hay (Canterbury) and Brett Randell (Central Stags).Ashok, the former New Zealand Under-19 legspinner, impressed in his first season of domestic red-ball cricket, having taken 15 wickets from three first-class matches so far. O’Rourke has been one of Canterbury’s standout bowlers in their Plunket Shield campaign, taking 19 first-class wickets.The South African-born Foxcroft is currently not eligible to represent New Zealand, but can play for the A team as national ‘A’ cricket is not subject to the ICC Eligibility Regulations. Foxcroft topped the run charts in the recent Super Smash, scoring 424 runs. He also recently scored his maiden hundred in first-class cricket, making 159 against Wellington.”This will be a big challenge against a very good Australia A team, and we look forward to a couple of really tough matches against quality opponents,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “This is a well-balanced squad and I’m sure that they’ll enjoy the experience. We certainly look forward to seeing who puts their hand up across the two matches.”NZC high-performance coaches Graeme Aldridge, Paul Wiseman and Bob Carter will be part of the team management for the games. Australia A arrive in New Zealand on March 29 ahead of the first match on April 1. Both matches will be held at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, marking the first tour of New Zealand by an Australia A side.New Zealand A squad: Tom Bruce (c), Adithya Ashok, Doug Bracewell, Henry Cooper, Jacob Duffy (Game 1 only), Dean Foxcroft, Cam Fletcher, Mitch Hay, Scott Kuggeleijn (Game 2 only), Cole McConchie, Robbie O’Donnell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Brett Randell, Sean Solia

South Africa are “obviously chuffed” to have qualified directly for the men’s ODI World Cup, to be played in India later this year, after spending the bulk of the World Cup Super League outside of the top eight. And they have the weather in Chelmsford to thank for it.With the no-result in the first of three ODIs between Ireland and Bangladesh on Tuesday, even if Ireland go on to claim the series, they cannot surpass South Africa in eighth place on the Super League points table. Ireland are guaranteed a ninth-place finish, though, and will compete in the ten-team qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, which runs from June 18 to July 9, and also includes former world champions West Indies and Sri Lanka.”We’re obviously chuffed to qualify directly because it makes life a lot simpler not having to go through the qualifying tournament,” Rob Walter, South Africa’s white-ball coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “But there would have been an upside to competing in the qualifier given the very quiet winter we have.”The men’s team last played ODI cricket against Netherlands on April 2 and have no matches scheduled until August 30, which amounts to almost five months of inaction after a redemptive summer, which ended with good results over England, West Indies and Netherlands, after chastening visits to Australia for the T20 World Cup and a Test series.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

South Africa returned empty-handed from both, but neither format mattered as much as ODIs. They started the year in 11th place on the Super League standings – well outside the automatic qualification zone – after series losses to Pakistan (2021 – home), Sri Lanka (2021 – away) and Bangladesh (2022 – home) and forfeiting a series in Australia (scheduled for January 2023) to allow their top cricketers to be available for the inaugural SA20 league.South Africa gave themselves the best chance of progressing to the World Cup with series wins over England and Netherlands, which lifted them into No. 8, but the final outcome was not in their hands, as they waited for the Ireland vs Bangladesh matches to take place.

Planning for World Cup already on, Rob Walter confirms

Walter confirmed that Cricket South Africa had put in place “two plans based on either eventuality” to execute: one if a trip to Zimbabwe was necessary, and another if South Africa held on to eighth place. The first of those would have necessitated Walter’s return from his home in New Zealand earlier than planned and seen a return to action for top players shortly after the end of the IPL on May 28. Now, they will only be called on later in the winter. The second plan has already begun, with a camp at the high-performance centre in Pretoria from Tuesday.Related

• Bangladesh find a home away from home to breathe life into Ireland's series in exile

• De Zorzi, Petersen among eight Test players in SA A squad

• IPL teams and international stars in informal discussions

• South Africa and Australia to contest five-match ODI series

“What we have now is the chance to spend some quality time outside of competition getting ourselves ready for a marquee event,” Walter said. “We have a number of camps planned throughout the winter in the lead up to the Australia series which obviously forms our final preparation for the World Cup. There is also the ‘A’ side tour to Sri Lanka, so we have tried to ensure significant skill development opportunities and time in the middle from a competitive point of view.”South Africa A, captained by Tony de Zorzi and with eight Test caps, will play three one-day matches and two four-day games against Sri Lanka A next month. The white-ball fixtures were pencilled in on Sri Lanka’s request, to ready themselves for the qualifying tournament in June. Gerald Coetzee and Tristan Stubbs, who earned ODI caps this year, are both in the touring party, and could put themselves into consideration for the World Cup squad.The bulk of players who will be involved in the ODI plans are involved at the IPL. Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell and Sisanda Magala have all played, while Lungi Ngidi is also at the tournament, though he has not got a game. South Africa also have players at the Hundred and CPL over the winter and CSA will monitor their performances throughout this time.”All players have an individual analysis highlighting strengths and specific areas of focus in the period,” Walter said. “This is all planned alongside our players’ involvement in the different leagues that continue on through the winter.”

Decision taken with a view to managing their workloads ahead of the all-format series against India starting July 12

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2023

Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph will leave the ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe early with an eye on keeping them fresh for the month-long, all-format series at home against India in July-August.”Jason and Alzarri are two of our leading bowlers in all formats,” Desmond Haynes, lead selector for the West Indies men’s team, said in a statement. “We have a full schedule for the upcoming series against India, where we begin the new ICC World Test Championship, then followed by the ODIs and the five T20Is. Therefore, we had dialogue, and it was felt the best move at this time is to have two of our leading bowlers return early from Zimbabwe.”Legspinner Yannic Cariah had earlier been withdrawn from the tournament after suffering a facial injury in training, which required surgery. With Holder and Joseph returning, the squad is left with just 13 players, but no replacements have been named yet.Related

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'Can't just wake up one morning and be a great team'

The series against India starts with the first of two Tests in Roseau on July 12, followed by the second Test in Port of Spain from July 20. This will be followed by three ODIs and five T20Is, the last of which will be played in Lauderhill in the USA on August 13.West Indies’ chances of qualifying for the ODI World Cup, to be played in October-November in India, crashed when they lost a Super Six game to Scotland in the qualifying tournament in Harare on July 1. That came after defeats to Zimbabwe and Netherlands in the group stages, leaving West Indies – the champions in the first two editions in 1975 and 1979 – with no chance of making the cut. It will be the first ODI World Cup without them.They still have games against Oman, who are out of the qualification race too, and Sri Lanka, who have already qualified, on July 5 and July 7, respectively.West Indies haven’t named their squads for the series against India, but Holder and Joseph are expected to figure prominently in them. At the Zimbabwe tournament, Holder contributed with both bat and ball, scoring 144 runs from five innings at an average of 36, and picking up six wickets at an average of 35.33. Joseph, meanwhile, has been their most successful bowler, picking up eight wickets in five games so far at an average of 32.11.

East Zone completed an innings win over North Zone in the final round of matches to win the trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2023Khaled Ahmed was the standout performer for East Zone, as he completed an 11-wicket match haul to take East to victory in Sylhet. The 11 wickets made it a chart-topping 18 wickets for Khaled in just two games in the BCL, well ahead of second-placed Abu Hider of Central Zone, who returned 12 wickets in three games.After East won the toss and opted to field, Rejaur Rahman Raja and Khaled returned identical figures of 4 for 40 in the first North innings to bowl them out for 108, with Abdullah Al Mamun’s 26 the best individual effort for North. East’s reply was led by Mominul Haque, who scored 117 in just under four hours, and Parvez Hossain Emon, whose 90 came in 200 balls in over four hours of batting. Shahadat Hossain also chipped in with a quick 56.Behind by 244 runs, North needed a stronger batting display, but after a steady start from Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Sabbir Hossain, which took them to 43 by the eighth over, it started to go downhill. Abu Jayed picked up the first wicket, of Joy, and it was over to Khaled after that to run through the batting with returns of 7 for 50. Rejaur took his match tally to six with the wickets of Pritom Kumar and North captain Akbar Ali.East, who had earlier beaten Central by seven wickets after drawing their opener against South Zone, finished on 20 points, double that of second-placed Central.A dramatic batting collapse in their second innings cost South a chance to make a match of it against Central, who needed to chase just 16 runs in the fourth innings after South only managed 49, having conceded a 34-run first-innings lead.Asked to bat, South put up 214, with good hands from Moin Khan (75) and Fazle Mahmud (46), as Shohidul Islam, Hider and Shuvagata Hom all got among the wickets.Central’s batting effort wasn’t much better, but good enough to get them a lead, as they scored 248. Naeem Islam led the way with a 181-ball 89, while Mahidul Islam Ankon scored 66.But there was almost no resistance from South in their second innings. Opener Prantik Nawrose Nabil batted ten balls before going off, and the procession was on. Hider picked up four, Shohidul three, and Salauddin Sakil two. Mohammad Naim then proceeded to knock off the required runs in just one over.

Hampshire have signed Michael Neser, the Australian seamer, for their first eight T20 Blast games of the season. He will also be available as cover for Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas for a handful of County Championship fixtures.Nathan Ellis, Neser’s compatriot, has been a revelation for Hampshire over the past two seasons and spearheaded their attack during their title-winning run in 2022. But a clash with the T20 World Cup means he is unlikely to be available this summer, leading director of cricket Giles White to turn to Neser, who is not in Australia’s T20 plans.”Nathan had a very positive impact on the team and we are confident that Michael will do the same,” White said. “He adds quality across the disciplines and formats – he also comes with an excellent reputation as a team-oriented player. He has good experience of English conditions and hopefully he can hit the ground running.”Neser, who played for Glamorgan last year, took 12 wickets for Brisbane Heat as they won the Big Bash League earlier this month. He also contributed in the field, taking a series of spectacular catches in the deep, and with the bat, hitting a vital 64 not out in a win over Perth Scorchers to secure a home qualifying final.”I am very excited to have joined Hampshire Hawks for this year’s Vitality Blast and can’t wait to join up with the squad,” Neser said. “Utilita Bowl [Hampshire’s home] looks to be an amazing place to play cricket and hopefully I can contribute to more success on the pitch.” reported that Neser will be replaced by Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq for the second half of the Blast’s group stage, following the T20 World Cup.

England Test coach looking for team to refine method but says he and Stokes won’t change approach

Vithushan Ehantharajah10-Mar-20241:57

What did this series tell us about England’s batting?

Brendon McCullum admits India exposed flaws in England, forcing them to play “timid” cricket, and says refinement and some tough conversations will be on the agenda in the aftermath of their 4-1 defeat.The fact that this was the first series loss of McCullum’s reign did not lead the head coach to sugarcoat his assessment of how matters played out following England’s opening win in Hyderabad. Strong positions relinquished in the next three Tests culminated in the fifth at Dharamsala, where India stomped to an innings victory inside three days.England’s overall record with McCullum at the helm and Ben Stokes as captain now reads 14 wins out of 23, with eight defeats. Seven of those defeats have come in 13 matches since the start of 2023. Though losing to India was nothing to be ashamed of, given they are unbeaten in series since the start of 2013, McCullum conceded lessons needed to be learned to refine the overall approach, along with specific aspects to address once the dust has settled.Related

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“Sometimes, you can get away with things,” McCullum said. “But when you’re exposed the way we have been in the back end of this series in particular, it does require some pretty deep thinking and some adjustment to make sure we’re staying true to what we believe in.”If anything, we got more timid as the series went on, and that was because of the pressure that was applied to us by the Indian line-up, not just with the ball. With the bat, they put us under a tremendous amount of pressure, too.”There are some things where you can get a little bit of luck on your side and you paper over a couple of the cracks. When you are exposed in the way we have been here, you know that you have to get better in some areas. The next couple of months will be us working out that and making sure when we come to the summer we are a more refined version of what we are at the minute.”Of frustration for McCullum were the missed chances over the last seven weeks. The third Test in Rajkot, when India were 33 for 3 on day one and ended up with 445 before England lost 8 for 95, having been 224 for 2 in their first innings, is one “at the forefront” of his mind. Allowing India to recover from 177 for 7 on day two of the fourth in Ranchi is another, as the hosts narrowed what should have been a vast first-innings lead, eventually chasing down 192 to seal the series.”We were placed under a lot of pressure in those games, and we had our opportunities when we were in front of the game and we weren’t able to close it out. Whether that affected our approach a little bit and put some doubt in our minds that wasn’t there early in the series, I’m not really sure why at this point in time.”They probably outplayed us at the style of cricket that we want to play and made us start to retreat a little bit. So that’s something that we will have to change.”England suffered one final collapse on day three in Dharamsala•Associated Press

The notion the England set-up is too cushy was dismissed out of hand by McCullum, along with the suggestion that a relaxed team environment lent itself to a lack of ruthlessness both here and in last summer’s drawn Ashes. He stopped short of divulging whether tough conversations were had on this trip, insisting “they should remain private”, but insisted both he and Stokes have no truck for players coasting given the support and encouragement afforded to them.”We didn’t get where we’ve got to in life and in our careers without having some sort of hard edge,” he said. “For us, we judge the input, the enthusiasm, the energy and always giving to the team, and the want to develop as a player. Not to be content with being the player you are now.”Occasionally, as we all have in our lives, someone might have to give you a little nudge and say, ‘Do you think you’ve got it right here?’ In your own way, you might then recalibrate and put your energy into gear, but that’s just natural. That’s part of running a cricket team. It’s just like running a family. It’s no different.”McCullum was also reluctant to reveal the “couple of areas” that require his immediate focus but stated they will be a priority when he and Stokes reconvene after a break. The squad will fly home on Tuesday, with McCullum heading back to New Zealand before he begins “plotting” to rebuild the team from this setback. The next assignment is a three-Test home series against West Indies, which begins at Lord’s on July 10.One area is certain to be around personnel, particularly with the emergence of Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and Somerset offspinner Shoaib Bashir. The pair were the only two uncapped members of the touring party but finished as the leading wicket-takers, with 22 and 17 dismissals, respectively. Hartley’s tally, supplemented by 185 runs, had him second on the wicket-taking charts, four behind R Ashwin.Jack Leach, who left the tour with an injured left knee after just one appearance, has been Stokes’ No. 1 spinner. But the emergence of Hartley and Bashir means Leach now faces competition for his spot.”Jack will understand that himself,” McCullum said. “He will be proud of it, because he is a guy that invests in the team. Whilst he is desperate to be the number one spinner for England, he is also connected to try to help these other guys. He was the first person that rung Bash after he got selected and he was fantastic working along Tommy Hartley, along with Rehan Ahmed.”It’s a good place to be when you’ve got depth and different types of options. We’ve got to embrace that and there will be some challenging selections throughout the summer. That’s a good place to be. Rather than scrambling to find someone, we’ve got plenty of depth, so just need to make sure we get it right.”Another situation to negotiate is the wicketkeeper role, after Ben Foakes donned the gloves for the duration in India, having been usurped the previous summer by Jonny Bairstow. While Foakes was close to immaculate behind the stumps, taking 12 catches and effecting four stumpings, both he (205 runs at an average of 20.5) and Bairstow (238 at 23.8) underperformed as part of a misfiring middle order.While Bairstow, who brought up 100 caps in the fifth Test, could reprise the role he performed last summer, now may be the time to move on from the Yorkshireman and blood a new option, whether that is Ollie Robinson (Durham), Jamie Smith (Surrey) or James Rew (Somerset).”We’ve got time to be able to work out what we want moving forward,” answered McCullum when asked if Bairstow, Foakes or a new challenger will take the gloves this summer. “I don’t really need to go into that anymore.”I think Foakes has kept brilliantly here, and obviously Jonny had a decent series with the bat in the Ashes as well, so there are good options and we’ve just got to make sure we make the decision that we feel gives us the most amount of – I guess – weaponry to be able to ensure that we are able to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world and we’ll make that decision in time.”Ben Foakes had a good series with the gloves but could again find himself out of the picture at home•Associated Press

On the bowling front, McCullum singled out fast bowler Gus Atkinson, an unused member of the squad, for a debut this summer – “He’s got something that we need to take a good look at” – and Matthew Potts, who took 23 wickets in McCullum’s first six Tests and impressed for the Lions out in India with 20 dismissals at 16.95.McCullum has also challenged those outside the group to catch the attention of the selectors with big domestic performances, as he looks to broaden the net. As things stand, the only batter to have been dropped since McCullum took charge is Alex Lees.”It’s certainly not closed at all it’s just that at this stage these are the guys we believe are the best cricketers to win a series. You give them time for that plan to play out. If it doesn’t play out, of course, if someone is banging down the door you look at that. Certainly nothing is closed to anyone it’s just that you have to bang the door down.”As the first two years of McCullum’s tenure come to a close, the focus now is on the next phase of this project, which culminates in a home series against India, followed by the Ashes in Australia in 2025-26. Series against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand await this year for a group of players who have been backed to the hilt so far. And while changes are coming, McCullum wants to retain a lot of what has made England an engaging and watchable side after the previous lows of just one win in 17 before he came on the scene.”It would be foolish of us to throw away the good work we’ve done in search of something else over the next little while. The skipper and I have total conviction in our methods and we won’t backing away from that. We’ll be trying to refine that absolutely, but we won’t be backing down from the way we think this environment should run. We’ve just got to make sure we are getting the best out of people.”We didn’t get what we came for [in India]. But I think so much good is going to come out of this series; I really do. It’s given us an opportunity to take a step back and look at areas we need to improve and have the conviction in ourselves to ensure that we make those changes and drive the team forward.”

Wrexham have been warned, as they bid to become the No.1 team in Wales, that they are entering “one of the hardest leagues in world football”.

Run of three successive promotionsHollywood co-owners dreaming bigReady for Championship challengeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Three successive promotions, with the history books being rewritten along the way, have lifted the Red Dragons into the Championship. Dreams of one day reaching the Premier League continue to form at SToK Racecourse.

AdvertisementGetty/GOALTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have helped to fund an ambitious project that shows no sign of slowing down. Wrexham have been busy again in the summer transfer window, with recruitment records being smashed on a regular basis.

DID YOU KNOW?

Phil Parkinson is aware of the need to raise collective standards, despite all that he has achieved, with Wrexham now operating at a level above former top-flight performers Cardiff City and alongside Swansea.

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GettyWHAT PHELAN SAID

Quizzed on whether the Red Dragons can become top dogs in Wales, former Swans defender Terry Phelan – speaking in association with – told GOAL: “When ownership come in, they have a vision. Wrexham are a big club, let’s be honest. Wrexham are a massive club. Back in the day, Wrexham were competing with everybody – Micky Thomas was playing there, Joey Jones, Brian Flynn was there.

“You look at Wrexham, the owners have gone in there, seen the vision and put this vision together. They have gone out and splashed big money, so they are not afraid of spending. They are going in the right direction. They have a wonderful environment with the ground, the training facilities on the way, and what they want to do is attract players. You want to attract players because it’s a new project. I think they are selling the project very well.

“Yeah, it’s a different kettle of fish now, they are going to be playing in one of the hardest leagues in world football. That is a big statement. It is a hard league and we’ll see how they go.

“Swansea, bit of a yo-yo club. They have been there in the EPL, come down a little bit, but I think they will always be there or thereabouts. South vs North, there is a bit of distance there. The rivalry is more between Swansea and Cardiff, so I think Wrexham will just want to compete at the highest level and with the best teams.”

Navgire moved up the order from No. 6 after Vrinda injured her shoulder and smashed a quickfire 57

Valkerie Baynes28-Feb-2024A blistering half-century from Kiran Navgire and superb finishing by Grace Harris led UP Warriorz to their first victory of this WPL campaign – and it was a big one over an under-strength Mumbai Indians with 21 balls to spare.Moving up the order from No. 6 after Vrinda Dinesh injured her shoulder in a fielding mishap, Navgire smashed 57 off 31 balls and shared a 94-run opening stand with Alyssa Healy to set the Warriorz run chase off on what turned out to be an unassailable footing. Even when they lost three wickets for four runs in the space of ten balls, including two to Issy Wong in her first appearance of this year’s tournament, Warriorz could turn to Harris and Deepti Sharma, who shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand worth 65 to overhaul their target of 162, built on Hayley Matthews’ fifty.Warriorz opted to bowl first against a Mumbai side missing captain Harmanpreet Kaur to quadriceps soreness and pace bowler Shabnim Ismail to a “niggle” in Bengaluru. They overcame a sloppy fielding display to turn the tables in a replay of last year’s Eliminator, inflicting Mumbai’s first defeat of 2024.Navgire nails the chaseHealy started strongly, taking advantage of Pooja Vastrakar’s misfield at deep backward square leg for the first of back-to-back fours off Nat Sciver-Brunt in the opening over of the pursuit, the second heaved with authority over mid-on. From there though, it became the Navgire show as she raced to 26 off just 14 balls with six fours. Healy brought up the fifty partnership with four over cover off Sciver-Brunt and, after a straight six from Navgire off Saika Ishaque, Warriorz were 61 without loss at the end of the powerplay, well ahead of Mumbai at the corresponding point in their innings and the highest powerplay score of the season so far.Navgire could have been out for an already damaging 42 when she lofted Matthews down the ground, the ball bursting through the hands of Wong running round full-pelt from long-off, and sailing over the rope for six. She brought up her half-century off just 25 balls with another six immediately, over deep midwicket. But her stand with Healy was finally broken when Navgire was sucked in by an Amelia Kerr delivery on a length outside off which gripped and passed a rashly swung bat, Yastika Bhatia whipping off the bails. Still, Navgire’s innings was jaw-dropping and put her side in the perfect position to seal the victory. Harris stepped up with an excellent 37 not out from 17 balls, striking at 222.52. She was well supported by Deepti’s unbeaten 27 off 20.Hayley Matthews top-scored for Mumbai Indians with 55•BCCIMatthews shows her classMatthews rocked back and muscled Harris’s eighth delivery of the match over extra cover and, as the ball rolled to the boundary rope, the ball got rolling for Mumbai Indians. After Warriorz conceded just eight runs off the first three overs, they were all of a sudden under pressure as Bhatia joined in, smashing Anjali Sarvani – in the side for spinner Gouher Sultana – for three fours and a powerful six down the ground.Matthews, who already had to overturn a caught-behind dismissal off Harris on 6 when replays showed the ball was nowhere near the bat, should have been out for 23 when Poonam Khemnar put down a catch running in and diving from deep extra cover, also off Harris. It was a ragged fielding display by Warriorz, who missed numerous chances and cost themselves runs with overthrows and poor backing-up. Bhatia was looking dangerous when Harris had her caught at short midwicket moments later, ending a half-century opening stand.Matthews showed her quality, however, after two disappointing innings of 0 and 7. She was willing to sacrifice her wicket on 47 in a horrible mix-up with Sciver-Brunt, carrying on to the danger end after prodding a Sophie Ecclestone delivery to the off side and hesitating mid-run. But when the ball came back to Ecclestone, she decided to throw to wicketkeeper Healy and run out her England team-mate, meaning Matthews was safe and Sciver-Brunt was gone for a 14-ball 19. She raised her fifty off 44 balls and Vrinda hurt her right shoulder during a valiant high-speed dive in vain to save another Matthews boundary. Matthews fell for 55 a short time later, thanks to an excellent catch in the deep by Harris off Rajeshwari Gayakwad.Wong returnsWith four overs remaining, Kerr flicked into action, thrashing Gayakwad over the fence at deep midwicket and through backward square leg for four more. She reached 23 off 16 before Deepti pinned her on the boot as she looked to sweep a full ball fine. That brought in Wong, who enjoyed an excellent WPL season in 2023 but also lost her place in the England side amid issues with her run-up. In the Mumbai side for fellow quick Ismail, she got straight to work with the bat, smashing Deepti over mid-off for six on the first ball she faced. She ended unbeaten with 15 off six deliveries.With England Women’s and Warriorz coach Jon Lewis looking on, Wong was greeted by four fours in five balls from a rampaging Navgire, through the fielder at midwicket, over mid-off, back over Wong’s head and beyond midwicket, a wide making it 17 runs off her first over. Wong returned to the attack in the 11th over and she made things happen. She removed Tahlia McGrath cheaply via the DRS when ball-tracking showed she was pinned on the back pad in line with the top of leg stump. Two balls later, she had Healy caught at short third by Ishaque with a full ball outside off. Wong ended as Mumbai’s leading bowler with 2 for 30 from three overs.

Tottenham are reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi but face competition from Paris Saint-Germain.

• Tottenham eye Zabarnyi
• PSG are also interested
• Uncertainty over Romero's future

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Tottenham are ready to pay Bournemouth's €70 million (£60.5m) price tag for the centre-back. The report adds that PSG are still hopeful of signing the Ukraine international after having a €60m (£52m) bid rejected.

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• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Much of this may hinge on Romero's future. Atletico Madrid pulled out of a move for the Argentinian international, with Tottenham said to be holding out for £60m ($81m). It seems something may have to give if Spurs sign Zabarnyi, in addition to having Romero and Micky van de Ven in the centre-back department. Moreover, the Bournemouth man has 'prioritised' a PSG move so that may make matters more difficult.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The 23-year-old only joined Bournemouth from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2023, with the Cherries paying almost €23m (£20m) for the defender. Now, the 6ft 2in Ukrainian could go for more than triple that amount.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Zabarnyi's suitors have around six weeks to try and sign the Bournemouth star before the summer transfer window shuts. After losing Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, the Dorset outfit will do all they can to hold on to the centre-back.

Star overseas signing only bowls two overs as rain curtails debut

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network08-Apr-2024

Lancashire are hoping that “common sense prevails” in their discussions with Cricket Australia over Nathan Lyon’s availability, after his debut for the county against Surrey was heavily curtailed by the Manchester weather.Lyon initially signed for the whole season but was only made available for seven out of Lancashire’s first nine County Championship fixtures by CA. He was selected as one of two spinners, alongside Tom Hartley, for the opening match but his involvement was restricted to a first-ball duck and two wicketless overs.Asked if Lyon’s cameo would count as one of his seven permitted appearances, Lancashire coach Dale Benkenstein said: “I hope not. We have asked the question and hope common sense prevails. Two overs doesn’t constitute a match. But we are waiting to hear back from Cricket Australia.”Related

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Only 81.1 overs were possible across the four days at Emirates Old Trafford. The water table on the ground is very high and heavy overnight rain made the prospects of play on the final day slim even before a further morning shower. Umpires Peter Hartley and Paul Pollard carried out three inspections before finally pulling the plug at 2.15 pm.”It wasn’t ideal but there’s a few grounds [around the country] where it has been worse,” Benkenstein said. “At least we got some play. We got some positives out of it and there were a few areas in which we can do better.”Although there wasn’t a lot of cricket out in the middle, the nets have been great. Everybody’s managed to get a good bowl outside, and there has been a lot of batting in the nets on grass which helps us top up and get ready for the Hampshire game.”Surrey’s coach Gareth Batty praised the performances of Cameron Steel and Dan Lawrence, who took nine first-innings wickets between them. “I think both Cam and Dan are very skilled spinners but because we have a very good seam attack, the spinners don’t always get a go,” Batty said. “They got a go here and they were both quite magnificent.”Having bowled out Lancashire for 202 on Saturday , Surrey took 11 points from the game while Lancashire took eight points. Rory Burns’ team now return home to play Somerset at The Oval in a game starting on Friday while Lancashire’s next match is away at Hampshire, also on Friday.