He has already played two overseas T20 tournaments, as allowed by the PCB, for the July 2023 to July 2024 period

Mohammad Isam21-Jan-2024Pakistan batter Mohammad Haris has returned home after the PCB denied him a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in the Bangladesh Premier League.Haris was part of Chattogram Challengers’ squad but had already played in two overseas T20 tournaments for the July 2023 to July 2024 period, as allowed by the PCB. He featured in the Lanka Premier League and the Global T20 Canada in July-August last year. He played for B-Love Kandy and Surrey Jaguars, respectively, in these tournaments.Haris said that he had arrived in the country early to prepare for the tournament but later found out that the NOC would not be issued.”Thank you, Chattogram team management and the BCB for taking care of me and giving me this opportunity,” he said. “I also flew in on time to prepare myself to give some great games to my fans in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, my NOC was not issued. Hence, I will not play any games. I knew my team needed me. Hopefully, I will join them next year. I will definitely miss playing the BPL.”Chattogram Challengers beat Sylhet Strikers in their first match of the season, before losing to Khulna Tigers in the second game. The Chattogram franchise is yet to announce a replacement for Haris.

The No. 3 batter struck the fastest PSL 2024 century and deflated Kings in the first innings

Associated Press04-Mar-2024Usman Khan hit the fastest century so far in this season’s Pakistan Super League to lead Multan Sultans into the playoffs with a 20-run win over Karachi Kings on Sunday.The Sultans continued their dominant run, securing its sixth win in seven games. They top the standings with 12 points, while fifth-place Karachi has just two wins from six games.Pakistan-born Usman, who now plays for the United Arab Emirates, smashed 106 not out off 58 balls after reaching his ton in 56 deliveries. Captain Mohammad Rizwan contributed 58 in Multan’s imposing 189 for 3 after choosing to bat first.The Kings never looked a threat before reaching 169 for 7 in 20 overs and losing their third straight home game. Skipper Shan Masood got clean bowled for 36 off 29 balls by the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Usama Mir (2-29). Legspinner Mir stretched his wickets tally to 15. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who took 1 for 40, has 14.Usman and Rizwan exploited some wayward Kings bowling, sharing a second-wicket stand of 148 off 93 balls. Rizwan was caught at mid-off soon after completing his half-century before Usman reached his ton with a pulled six against Mir Hamza in the last over.The Kings’ overseas signings Tim Seifert (1) and James Vince (7) fell inside the batting powerplay.Shoaib Malik top-scored for his team with 38 before holing out at long off in the 12th over and the Kings had plenty of soft dismissals in the run-chase.

DC have just one win in five matches; LSG are coming into this contest having won their last three matches

Himanshu Agrawal11-Apr-20244:01

‘Nicholas Pooran can hit boundaries from wherever he bats’ – Deep Dasgupta

Big picture – Spin to win again?

Lucknow Super Giants started the season with a defeat, but have won three on the bounce since. Their most recent victory came against Gujarat Titans on a spin-friendly pitch at home. LSG’s spinners were central to that result – Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi and M Siddharth combined for figures of 10-0-48-4 to help defend 163 – and they could consider laying out a similar surface on Friday, especially against the visiting Delhi Capitals.Batting has been a struggle for the Capitals this season. Their collective average of 23.35 is the lowest among all teams, and they have had to deal with the absence of key players like Kuldeep Yadav and Mitchell Marsh due to injuries. So that doubles Capitals’ worries: a misfiring batting line-up on a potentially spin-friendly pitch, and Capitals have the second lowest batting average against spin (28.44) this season behind Kolkata Knight Riders.Unlike LSG, Capitals come into the contest having lost their previous two games and are at the bottom of the table with just one win in their first five matches. And they are still looking for their first win against LSG, having lost all three of their matches so far.

Form guide

LSG LWWW
DC LLWLL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Fast bowler Mayank Yadav had walked off the field after bowling one over in their last game, against Titans. LSG said he will have his workload managed over the coming week as a “precaution”, and head coach Justin Langer all but ruled him out of the next two games. LSG also continue to wait on the fitness of Mohsin, who had a sore hamstring and missed his side’s last two games.If both Mayank and Mohsin miss out against DC, LSG could play left-arm pacer Arshad Khan or right-arm quick Yudhvir Singh. They have two other overseas fast-bowling options in Matt Henry and Shamar Joseph.Probable XII: 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Yash Thakur, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Arshad Khan, 12 M SiddharthDelhi CapitalsRicky Ponting, the Capitals coach, is hopeful that Kuldeep and Mukesh Kumar will be available to play in Lucknow. Marsh, however, is still side-lined by injury.Probable XII: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 David Warner, 3 Abishek Porel, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Lalit Yadav, 8 Jhye Richardson, 9 Anrich Nortje, 10 Ishant Sharma, ,

In the spotlight – Nicholas Pooran and Tristan Stubbs

Nicholas Pooran is LSG’s top run-scorer so far this season – 178 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 169.52. He has been especially impactful in the death overs, where his six-hitting abilities takes his strike rate up to 180. Pooran has been dismissed only once so far this season, and holds the key to LSG getting a strong finish to their innings.Tristan Stubbs leads the run charts for Delhi•BCCI

Tristan Stubbs has been Capitals’ best batter this season. He is their top-scorer with 174 runs and has been particularly good against spin. His strike rate of 207 against the spinners is the highest for anyone who has faced at least 35 balls, so he will be key against LSG’s spinners on the day.

Stats that matter

• In the IPL, Quinton de Kock’s combined record against Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje, Axar Patel and Khaleel Ahmed stands at 193 runs at an average of 64.33. All four are expected to start for Capitals against LSG on Friday. Ishant, Nortje and Axar have got de Kock once each, with Khaleel yet to dismiss him.
• At 13.43, Nortje has the highest economy rate for any bowler to have bowled at least 90 balls this season. Umesh Yadav, second on the list, has conceded at 10.55 per over.
• Since 2022, LSG have won nine of their 18 home games, the third highest win-loss ratio among all teams. By contrast, DC have won only six out of 17 away games, the fewest by any team.
  

  Pitch and conditions

  It is expected to be hot and humid in Lucknow and Langer said they would play on a black-soil pitch against Capitals. That could mean another slow, spin-friendly surface, like the one on which LSG scored a convincing victory against Titans.

  Quotes

  “What I was most proud about the last game was that with Mayank coming out of the team after only one over, we had to find another way to win – and we were able to do that. So it shows we’ve got some depth in our squad.”
  “We are very aware that time is running out… We’ve got a lot of work to do. I absolutely have full trust in the players that we can win enough games from here.”

Sunrisers made 277, the highest ever total in IPL history, and Mumbai, just as incredibly, fell only 31 short

S Sudarshanan27-Mar-20241:43

Moody: Head set the tone, and Sunrisers just didn’t look back

Sixes were being hit for fun. Runs were flowing at a breakneck pace. You wouldn’t be blamed for thinking you were watching a video game. The carnage in Hyderabad resulted in an 11-year-old IPL record falling, RCB’s seemingly insurmountable total of 263 from 2013 falling by the wayside thanks to a breathtaking, collective show from the Sunrisers Hyderabad batters. They notched up the highest total in the 16-year history of the IPL – 277 for 3 – but then, just as incredibly, Mumbai Indians almost paid them back with the same coin, their batters coming out with a nothing-to-lose attitude. Eventually, they ran out of steam and finished on 246 for 5, the highest IPL total in a losing cause.Travis Head set the pace on the night, striking an 18-ball half-century, the fastest for SRH in the IPL. His record lasted roughly four overs, Abhishek Sharma slamming a 16-ball fifty to relegate him to No. 2. An hour after that, Heinrich Klaasen cut loose to seemingly bat MI out of the contest. But the sixes kept rolling off the Mumbai bats too, helping them keep up with the asking rate for most of the chase, eventually falling only 31 short.Related

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Never were more runs scored in a men’s T20 match (523). Never were most sixes hit in a men’s T20 (38). At the end of the close to four-hour six-fest, only two bowlers returned with an economy rate of under ten an over.

The perfect Head-start

Head, in for Marco Jansen, continued from where he had left off on his previous tour of India. He was off the mark with a four off IPL debutant Kwena Maphaka, the 17-year-old who played for South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year. Head was given a life when Tim David dropped him at mid-off off Hardik Pandya’s first ball. But there was no looking back from there.Head smacked two fours and two sixes in a 22-run Maphaka over before hitting two fours and a six off Gerald Coetzee in an over that went for 23 to end the powerplay. Head had scored 59 of the 81 SRH made in the first six overs. In his next over, though, Coetzee bowled a short and wide one, which the batter could only carve to deep backward point.

Abhishek shows his mettle

Head’s inclusion in the XI meant Abhishek had to move down the order, and he walked in at No. 3 after Mayank Agarwal fell in the fifth over. Abhishek got going with a pull off Coetzee and then meted out a special treatment to the legspin Piyush Chawla, hitting him for three sixes in an over. That helped SRH notch up their 100 in just seven overs, their second-fastest in the IPL.Abhishek also tore into Maphaka’s third over, hitting him for a sequence of 4, 6, 6, 4 to complete his fifty and snatch the record from Head. The key was how early he picked the length of the bowlers. He hit seven sixes in his 23-ball stay for 63 runs, before heaving a half-tracker that Chawla fired in seam-up at 112.8kph straight to deep midwicket.Heinrich Klaasen hit another rampaging half-century•AP Photo / Mahesh Kumar

Klaasen, Markram add finishing touches

With nine overs to go and two right-hand batters in the middle, Hardik Pandya sensed an opportunity to get left-arm spinner Shams Mulani in the game. That played into the hands of Klaasen, though, who is a spin-basher. In T20s since January 2022, no batter who has faced at least 500 balls had a higher strike rate against spin than Klaasen’s 174.38 before the start of the game.True to form, he smacked Mulani over long-off to get his rhythm going. Klaasen then hit a six each off Hardik and Jasprit Bumrah as SRH crossed 200 in the 15th over. Aiden Markram, at the other end, hit a six and a four but was happy to give the strike to his South Africa team-mate. Klaasen brought up his fifty off 22 balls, which was only the third quickest on the night.Klaasen hit two successive sixes in the last over bowled by Mulani to take Sunrisers past RCB’s record score. SRH added 63 in the last four overs to post the fourth-highest total in all men’s T20s.

Mumbai lose their fizz

Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan kicked off Mumbai’s reply in fine fashion. Rohit muscled Bhuvneshwar Kumar down the ground before hitting Jaydev Unadkat – brought in for T Natarajan, who had a niggle – for back-to-back sixes. Kishan meanwhile took 23 off Bhuvneshwar’s second over, hitting him for a four and three sixes. Kishan then slogged Shahbaz Ahmed to deep midwicket, but Rohit kept going.He whipped Pat Cummins’ second ball over midwicket before miscuing a pull to fall for 26 off just 12. Only twice in the IPL has Rohit scored more – 37 in April 2015 vs RCB, and 27 in May 2015 vs Chennai Super Kings – off the first 12 balls he faced.Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma also kept Mumbai abreast with the required rate. They found boundaries regularly, with Tilak leading the charge, and added 84 off 37 for the third wicket. But once they fell within 21 balls of each other, MI lost momentum. David managed to hit a few into the stands, but by then it was too late.

No final-day play possible in match that was blighted by the weather from the first day

ECB Reporters Network06-May-2024Middlesex 407 for 8 (Robson 162, du Plooy 131) drew with Leicestershire 306 (Handscomb 109, Bamber 4-68) Middlesex’s Vitality County Championship clash with Leicestershire ended in a damp squib of a draw with no play possible on the final day.The hosts led by 101 with two wickets left going into day four, but the rain which washed out the first day’s action returned with a vengeance early on the final morning drenching the outfield.Umpires Paul Baldwin and Robert White gave the ground every chance to recover, calling an early tea at 3:10pm following a 2:35pm inspection. However, further rain in the interim led to the abandonment at 3:25pm.
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The hosts earn 15 points to Leicestershire’s 12 leaving them both on 68 points, six shy of leaders Sussex. Middlesex however sit above the Foxes in the table on games won.Toby Roland-Jones, Middlesex’s captain, said: “It’s frustrating. We’ve lost two full days of a game we feel we’ve played pretty good cricket in and certainly the only reason we’ve ended up only 100 ahead is through I guess trying to fast forward things a little bit on that third evening.”When you find yourselves here with the way this place can dry and have two days where it hasn’t stopped raining is incredibly rare. Once you get that window here it can be pretty good to go in a couple of hours, so we’ve just been unlucky that’s not been the case.”The most important thing is we can be happy about the way we have gone about our cricket once more. Set 300 to try and hunt and get past, the guys went about it with great skill. That partnership between Robbo (Sam Robson) and Leus (Du Plooy) was obviously great to watch.”

England quick wants match practice before T20 World Cup after a long lay-off

Matt Roller29-May-2024With two washed-out games out of three in their series against Pakistan, England’s preparation for the T20 World Cup has been some way short of ideal. Mark Wood said they were “deflated” by Tuesday night’s abandonment and with less than a week until their opening match against Scotland in Barbados, his own fitness remains something of an unknown.Wood was due to replace the rested Jofra Archer in Cardiff and was hoping to “test out” his left knee after bowling off his full run-up in training, albeit with heavy strapping. He has not bowled in a competitive match since England’s fifth Test in India in early March, and has not played a T20 fixture since featuring for Lucknow Super Giants at the IPL over a year ago.While Wood believes it is “important” for him to get some match practice before flying to the Caribbean, the final match of the series at The Oval on Thursday is also under threat from the weather. England will fly out on Friday morning. “The lads were itching to get out at Cardiff,” Wood said. “I don’t want a repeat of that tomorrow: hopefully, the rain stays away and we get some practice ready for the World Cup.”Obviously, it’s not ideal when you schedule four games and we might only get one or two. It was great we got a run-out the other day [at Edgbaston]… that’s why these games are important. Yes, we have got experience, but warm-up games always give you a sense of different things you can tinker with; who’s in good form, who needs to work on other things.”Related

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The washouts have been particularly frustrating for England after the ECB decided to bring their players home early from the IPL, a move which caused some disquiet in India. Wood said the squad have still benefitted from spending time together, and specifically with psychologist David Young who has returned on a short-term basis.”It was great to have a session with David Young… it felt very similar to a session we had with him in 2019,” Wood said. “Jos [Buttler] spoke really well in that session about what we’re looking for as a team, and went over a few old things that strike hard with our team. Most teams around the world will say the same things, and Jos wants to get away from that and be really specific.”England’s build-up has been in stark contrast to their preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup, which they won, after playing seven T20Is in Pakistan and three more in Australia, one of which was a no-result due to rain. “Whatever preparation we get, that’s what we’re going to have to go with,” Wood said. “There were plenty of games before the last one, but who’s to say it won’t work the other way around?”You can look at both sides: some lads have been playing at the IPL, and they’re match-ready… the lads that haven’t, is there a freshness? At the IPL, you’re playing all the time: other lads have seen your tricks, they’ve seen what you’re doing. Of course, it’s different conditions, and you have to adapt. But in terms of fresh legs, I might be going into that tournament feeling fresh.”Wood on Jofra Archer: “I don’t see why we can’t play in the same team”•Getty Images

Wood arrived in India for last year’s 50-over World Cup short on match practice and struggled: he conceded 55 runs in five wicketless overs in England’s opening match against New Zealand, and finished the tournament with six wickets at 58.16. Perhaps that is why he is so keen to play at The Oval: “I was in a position to bowl quickly and test [my knee] out,” he said. “I’m really happy with where I’ve managed to get to, after a little bit of a speed bump.”He appears unlikely to start the tournament – England picked what they consider to be their strongest XI at Edgbaston – but recent experience suggests that they will have to dip into their squad. In Australia, 18 months ago, they were without five players through injury by the final, including Wood himself. “As a group, we’ve all got to be ready to go and not be caught cold,” he said.Wood believes he will have to be flexible if he does play: “In Twenty20, you’ve got to try to be able to bowl in all phases. I usually bowl one at the top, a couple in the middle and one at the end. I was really happy with how things went in Australia: I know it’s a different surface, but the last World Cup, I was pleased with how I came out there. I’ll be trying to repeat that.”He also believes that he can feature in the same side as the returning Jofra Archer, as he did during the 2019 50-over World Cup. “That’s a question for the management, but I’ve played with Jofra before and I don’t see it like ‘me or him’. I don’t see why we can’t play in the same team, but maybe it’s up to the management to manage our bodies and see how we get through the tournament.”

The opener made 81, while Rodrigues chipped in with a 15-ball unbeaten 28 to help India out-bat Nepal

Srinidhi Ramanujam23-Jul-2024

Shafali Verma blitzed her way to a 26-ball fifty•Getty Images

Shafali Verma’s career-best 81 and a disciplined bowling effort propelled India into the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 with an 82-run win over Nepal. With three wins from three games, India topped Group A. Pakistan, who defeated UAE earlier in the afternoon, were the second team to advance to the knockouts, with two wins out of three.Opting to bat first, the Smriti Mandhana-led India posted 178 for 3 thanks to Shafali’s breezy knock and a solid opening stand with D Hemalatha. It was an uphill task for Nepal, who don’t play under lights and, against an in-form bowling attack, they could only manage 96 for 9 in 20 overs.

Shafali blazes away but Hemalatha scratchy

With the semi-final spot almost in the bag, India rested their regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur and allrounder Pooja Vastrakar and gave some game time to S Sajana and Arundhati Reddy. There was also a change at the top of the order, with India promoting Hemalatha to open with Shafali. The openers took their time to assess the conditions and several loose deliveries went unpunished early on. But soon enough Shafali found her feet and accelerated. The same cannot be said of her opening partner on the day.D Hemalatha scored her T20I best of 47 in a 122-run opening stand with Shafali Verma•Getty Images

After an unbeaten 41 against Bangladesh in April in her comeback game, Hemalatha had crossed 30 only once in the next eight innings across ODIs and T20Is before Tuesday. This however was a golden opportunity for Hemalatha to cement her spot in the XI, batting against an Associate team on a slow surface. She did get a few good shots away thanks to a strong bottom hand, but in general struggled to find her timing in a 42-ball 47.Shafali, on the other hand, capitalised on the Nepal bowlers’ struggle to find the right line and length. She used her feet and wrist well to flick, hit straight drives down the ground, slog sweep to deep midwicket and, overall, played with good intent. India finished the powerplay on 50 for 0 and Shafali brought up her tenth T20I fifty in the eighth over, off just 26 balls. At the halfway stage, India were 91 for 0 and looked set to breach the 200-run mark again.

India finish strong despite a brief stutter

However, Nepal’s experienced left-arm spinner Sita Rana Magar pulled things back and removed Hemalatha and Shafali in the 14th and 16th over respectively. Shafali ended her knock with 12 fours and a six, and the duo’s 122-run partnership was the highest opening stand across editions of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup and the second-highest for any wicket.Sita Rana Magar was the pick of the Nepal bowlers•Getty Images

India’s scoring rate slowed down when the new batters came in but Jemimah Rodrigues’ clever batting, which fetched her five fours in her 15-ball 28 not out, helped India get close to 180. Sajana, like Hemalatha, also struggled in her 12-ball stay. Whether India persist with Hemalatha or give more opportunities to Sajana at No. 3 is something to keep an eye on, leading up to the T20 World Cup in October.

Reddy grabs her opportunity

An injury to Titas Sadhu opened the door for Reddy to get back with the Indian squad, following impressive performances in domestic cricket and the WPL. In the limited opportunities she has got since her comeback against South Africa last month, Reddy has stepped up to the challenge. Against Nepal, she delivered again, picking up 2 for 28 in her four overs. Having worked on her variations and the ability to swing the ball both ways in the last 12 to 15 months, Reddy struck off her fourth delivery, bowling opener Samjhana Khadka. She went for 11 runs in her second over, but fought back to dismiss Magar for a 22-ball 18 with a delivery that seamed back in to hit the middle stump.Nepal were rocked early in the chase, and never really recovered.

Southern Brave fall short after three wickets in seven balls derails chase

Matt Roller18-Aug-2024Saqib Mahmood put two years of injury hell behind him at Lord’s, winning the Hundred final for Oval Invincibles with a devastating spell of reverse-swing. With Southern Brave’s chase of 148 in the balance, Mahmood removed Leus du Plooy, Kieron Pollard and Laurie Evans to take 3 for 1 in seven balls, a timely reminder of his talents on the biggest stage in English domestic cricket.It meant the Hundred’s best team won their second successive title, as the Invincibles’ men of 2023-24 matched their women’s achievement of 2021-22 by retaining the trophy. That they had retained Mahmood despite him missing consecutive seasons with back stress fractures confirmed their success in building the clearest identity of any side in the men’s competition.They have not quite lived up to their moniker, but the Invincibles have lost only three games across the last two seasons. Sam Billings and Tom Moody, their captain and coach, have built their team around three allrounders – Will Jacks and the Curran brothers – in the top seven, giving them unrivalled balance.”Saqib Mahmood came and changed the game with that set of 10. That was a turning point,” Billings said. “It’s been a real team effort throughout, probably even better than last year… Your career goes past very quickly and these are the nights to really remember and cherish, as a group of mates as much as colleagues. Winning trophies is what it’s all about.”

Mahmood’s England reminder

The Invincibles can boast the Hundred’s most prolific spin attack, with 34 wickets between them this season after Adam Zampa, Nathan Sowter and Jacks snared four more in Sunday’s final, in front of a full house at Lord’s.Zampa made a crucial breakthrough in his second set of five, bowling Alex Davies with a googly for 35 off 23 following a bright start in the Powerplay. Having himself set the game up for the Invincibles with 37 off 22 balls, Jacks then roared in celebration after dismissing the season’s leading run-scorer in James Vince, bowled looking to hack leg-side.Will Jacks claimed the wicket of James Vince•Getty Images

But after Evans tucked into Zampa, slog-sweeping consecutive balls for four and six, the Brave needed a manageable 53 off 30 with seven wickets in hand. Du Plooy launched Mahmood past Dawid Malan’s sprawling dive at extra cover, but backed away to the following ball and lost his leg stump as Mahmood went full and straight.Mahmood had the old ball moving both ways and stayed on for a second consecutive set of five from the Nursery End after three dots to Pollard. Fresh from a breather at the strategic timeout, Mahmood went full and straight to smash Pollard on the knee roll, then had Evans chipping to short cover to leave the chase in disarray.With Australia touring in September for three T20Is and five ODIs, Mahmood’s impact will have nudged England’s selectors. He has not played international cricket since March 2023 and would not have featured in Sunday’s final if Spencer Johnson had been fit, but looked back towards his brilliant best.Chris Jordan, fresh from a match-winning hand in the ‘Super Five’ which decided Saturday’s eliminator, was the Brave’s final hope. When Zampa, the season’s joint-highest wicket-taker with 19, cleaned him up third-ball, the Invincibles’ name was on the trophy once again.Jordan Cox kept Oval Invincibles pressing towards a big total•Getty Images

Jacks sets Invincibles up

The Invincibles recovered from 34 for 5 during their comeback win over Manchester Originals in last year’s final, but made a serene start this time around thanks to Jacks. He raced to 31 off 14 balls with early sixes off Jofra Archer, Craig Overton and Akeal Hosein, and was then given a reprieve when Pollard dropped a straightforward chance at long-on.Archer, playing at Lord’s for the first time since his Test debut during the 2019 Ashes, looked sharp with the new ball, with Jacks top-edging a short ball into his helmet. He had Malan caught at deep midwicket for 7 and Tymal Mills removed his opening partner Jacks seven balls later for 37, his full toss slipping under the bat and crashing into middle and off stumps.Sam Curran and Jordan Cox added 46 for the third wicket, but Hosein then sparked a mini-collapse during a set of 10 consecutive balls delivered from different ends. Curran skied to cover, Billings played around a straight one, and Donovan Ferreira holed out to Pollard on the long-on boundary. When Cox top-edged Mills’ short ball through to Alex Davies, the Invincibles had lost 4 for 9.Tom Curran, the star of their 2023 triumph, crashed 24 off 11 balls to keep the innings moving – including one outrageous punch for six over extra cover off Archer – before falling to an excellent catch from James Coles at deep square leg, and Tom Lammonby added 16 from No. 8 in only his third innings of the season. Their 147 looked just above par – and so it proved.

The left-arm spinner lost her spot earlier this year and has been unable to find a way back in for the T20 World Cup

Andrew McGlashan26-Aug-2024Jess Jonassen has been given hope of forcing her way back into the Australia side after she was omitted from a World Cup squad for the first time where she has been available.Despite having 105 T20Is to her name, the writing was on the wall for Jonassen when she was left out of the squad to tour Bangladesh earlier this year and it was always going to be difficult to find her way back in amid a strong spin group that features Georgia Wareham, Sophie Molineux, Alana King and Ash Gardner.The only previous occasion that Jonassen has missed a World Cup was the 2013 ODI edition when she was ruled out through injury after originally being selected.Related

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• Brown fit for T20 WC as Australia prepare to 'unleash' pace duo

It is Molineux’s return to fitness after a couple of injury-hit seasons, alongside the selectors’ preference to have two legspinners in the squad, that played a big part in forcing Jonassen out. She lost her spot in the T20I team last summer after being given some heavy punishment by Hayley Matthews at North Sydney Oval and has not played an ODI since last July in Ireland.Jonassen took 11 wickets in seven matches for Delhi Capitals in the WPL earlier this year and is currently at the WCPL playing for Trinbago Knight Riders off the back of an impressive Hundred campaign which brought 12 wickets and 176 runs for Welsh Fire.”Hundred per cent, the path’s still there, the door is still wide open,” Australia captain Alyssa Healy said of Jonassen. “You look at her career and how it’s progressed, particularly over the past five or six years, she’s been in the squad, out of the squad, her and Sophie Molineux have sort of [gone] tit-for-tat along the way.”I’m disappointed for Jono myself. I have played a lot of cricket with her over the years and know exactly what she can contribute to the Australian team in big tournaments and how clutch she can be. I still see a big future for her in the Aussie side, there’s always a niggle or whatnot around [during] the summer, and she’ll still be around this summer no doubt.”Jonassen’s absence is another part of the subtle evolution of the Australia side over the last couple of years which has seen the retirement of Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning, although a senior core of Healy, Gardner, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt remains.The depth in Australian cricket is such that replacements have been close to hand and they are now starting to be given a greater role in the side. This upcoming World Cup will be a first for Phoebe Litchfield, who has a T20I strike rate of 161.86 after a breakout 2023-24 season in the middle order, while allrounder Annabel Sutherland is coming off a Player-of-the-Tournament performance in the Hundred.There is a chance that Tayla Vlaeminck could team up with fellow quick Darcie Brown•Getty Images

“We’ve seen a fair bit of change,” Healy said. “You even look at the last 12-18 months, the turnover we’ve had, we’ve lost over 700 games of experience. It’s got to come at some point in time, [but] fortunately there’s still a few of us old birds still floating around who can hopefully impart some wisdom on how to win tournaments. Think the youth in our group is really exciting and hopefully we can just help mentor or lead them in the right direction because think the youth in our squad is going to win this World Cup for us.”There is also a chance that Australia could field the pace duo of Darcie Brown and Tayla Vlaeminck in an XI together for the first time, either in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand in September, which provides preparation for the World Cup, or the tournament itself, although that will be dictated by conditions in the UAE.Even if it doesn’t happen over the next couple of months, it’s an enticing prospect for the Ashes, which will take place in January.”I’d love to see it,” Healy said of the two playing together. “We are so blessed with ample allrounders that I think we can play around a little bit with our fast-bowling attack. Think having those two in our side is huge point of difference, especially in [the] conditions potentially we are going to get, having real pace in your side is a real advantage.”We’ll have to wait and see what the make-ups of the side are but it’s really exciting for the future that those two are in the squad in together and hopefully we can get them firing at the same time.”

England suffer double blow with Duckett injury and Pope falling cheaply after stepping up to open

Alan Gardner08-Oct-2024Salman Agha became Pakistan’s third centurion to cement their dominant position in Multan, before a chaotic interlude in which England lost Ben Duckett to injury and their captain, Ollie Pope, for a duck left the touring side scrabbling for a foothold in the first match of the series.Duckett suffered a painful-looking blow to his left thumb taking the catch to dismiss Pakistan’s last man Abrar Ahmed – who had already been given two lives – meaning that when England began their innings midway through the evening session, it was with Pope walking out alongside Zak Crawley. Pope only lasted two balls, Aamer Jamal plucking a one-handed screamer at midwicket to further galvanise Pakistan and bring Joe Root, England’s designated No. 4, to the middle in the second over.The riposte, as it often does, came from Crawley, back in the side after missing the Sri Lanka series with a broken finger. He slashed his sixth ball, from Shaheen Afridi, to the boundary and did the same to Naseem in the following over, before taking Afridi for a brace of fours to end the seamer’s opening spell. That led to the early introduction of spin – and another statement of intent from Crawley, as Abrar’s first over went for 11.Crawley brought up England’s 50 in the 11th, hauling Abrar through the leg side, and he continued to go after Pakistan’s legspinner, who claimed 11 wickets as a debutant on the same ground against England two years ago. Two more fours down the ground left Abrar with opening figures of 4-0-31-0, before a ninth boundary, clipped through midwicket off Naseem, took Crawley to a 55-ball half-century.Beyond a trio of speculative lbw appeals, there was little to encourage Pakistan’s attack – as had been the case for England during 149 overs in the field – with Root slipstreaming Crawley to the close in an unbroken partnership worth 92. Although Duckett’s availability to bat later in the innings remained unclear, their position looked a little more secure.It was, nevertheless, a day in which Pakistan put a commanding stamp on proceedings. Saud Shakeel steered the innings during the first forays, quelling England’s mini-fightback from the first evening – with a little help from Naseem’s cameo at nightwatcher. Salman then set about driving home the advantage on the way to a 108-ball hundred, his third in Tests, as Pakistan reached a position from which they could hope to dictate the course of the match, even against Brendon McCullum’s Bazballers.England’s six bowlers all had something to show for their efforts, with Brydon Carse taking his first Test wickets and Jack Leach finishing with 3 for 160. They generally kept at it in the field, although there were signs that five-and-a-half sessions in the baking heat of Multan would take a toll, Jamie Smith missing a simple chance to stump Abrar and Gus Atkinson then dropping the No. 11 after he had skied a chance to midwicket.England chipped away with two wickets in each session, but Shakeel and Salman ensured Pakistan did not squander the firm foundation provided by centuries from Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique on day one. The innings progressed in fits and starts but Salman’s judicious assault on England’s spinners, in particular, helped maintain the hosts’ momentum.Salman was scoreless at lunch, but stroked the first ball after the break through the covers for four – bringing up the Pakistan 400 and signalling his own intentions. He came down the track in the same over to hit Leach through long-off, and was clearly in the mood to get the scoreboard clicking after Pakistan had added only 69 runs during the morning.His battle with Leach provided a compelling spectacle, as England’s most-experienced spinner was taken for four fours and two sixes in a four-over spell. But it almost went awry for Salman, with the first of his sixes coming perilously close to causing his dismissal: Chris Woakes thought he had done a good job as he backpedalled towards long-off, tossing the ball up as he went out of bounds to then return and complete the catch. But after lengthy deliberation and various replay angles, the third umpire, Chris Gaffaney, ruled that Woakes’ foot was in contact with the ground outside the rope as he claimed the ball a second time.Shakeel had been content to play second fiddle, even during his initial partnership with Naseem. He combined with Salman for another fifty stand but was undone by some sharp turn from Shoaib Bashir – a rare unplayable ball during a tough outing so far for the 20-year-old. Drifting into leg stump from round the wicket, Bashir found grip and then the outside edge, the ball deflecting off Shakeel’s back leg to Root at slip.Jamal fell cheaply to Carse but, with Afridi for company, that was the cue for Salman to emerge on another counter. Having moved to his fifty from 71 balls, he reverse-swept Bashir and then took him down the ground, before adding another brace of fours off Leach, followed by a single to bring up 500. In between, Pope added another burned review to the pile with an lbw appeal that was shown to have pitched outside leg.Pakistan were 515 for 8 at tea, with Salman resuming watchfully before hitting Leach over long-on to move into the 90s. He reached his hundred with a swept single, having scored 59 out of a ninth-wicket stand worth 85, at which point Afridi missed a slog at Leach to be bowled.England were beginning to look a little frazzled, and their problems had begun in the morning against the unlikely batting force of Naseem, who made his highest score in any format of the game – 33 from 81 balls – and held up a persevering attack for more than 90 minutes. His efforts, which included hitting three sixes during a stand of 64 alongside Shakeel, ensured that there would be no quick route back into the game for the tourists.With a ball only five overs old, England were hoping to get into the lower middle-order but found Naseem in resourceful – and impish – mood. He was not cowed after being hit on the helmet by Atkinson and went after Bashir and then Leach, the third of his sixes an audacious inside-to-out hit over extra cover. The stand passed 50 and Naseem was outscoring his senior partner by the time he finally became Carse’s maiden Test wicket, succumbing to a round-the-wicket barrage via an edge to leg slip.