All posts by csb10.top

Rangpur Riders have been in top form for a second week in a row in BPL 2024-25, stretching their winning run to seven out of seven to get to within striking distance of the playoffs. And they have made it fun – both their wins in the Sylhet leg over the past week have been last-over affairs, one of them a last-baller.Against Fortune Barishal, their captain Nurul Hasan smashed 30 runs in the last over off Kyle Mayers for a three-wicket win. Then it was the turn of their fielders and bowlers to make a late turnaround against Khulna Tigers, as they picked up three wickets in the last over, bowled by Mohammad Saifuddin, to win by eight runs.Like Rangpur, Chittagong Kings also won both their outings in Sylhet, beating Dhaka Capitals and Sylhet Strikers quite comfortably. Dhaka and Sylhet also opened their accounts in the competition, while Durbar Rajshahi also won one game in the Sylhet leg.

Best batter – Usman Khan

Nurul’s heist against Barishal was one of many batting highlights of the past week.Zakir Hasan and Usman Khan struck two half-centuries each. Litton Das scored a 73 and his maiden T20 century, a 125 not out, with Tanzid Hasan scoring 108 alongside Litton in that game against Rajshahi as the two put on 241 for the first wicket.Unfortunately for Litton, the sudden burst in form came a tad late as he was dropped from Bangladesh’s Champions Trophy squad – he scored the century in the evening after the squad had been announced in the afternoon.Usman Khan has been key to Chittagong Kings’ recent success•Chittagong Kings

Usman dominated the powerplay in both of Chittagong’s wins, putting together good partnerships as well in the process. Coming into the week after slamming 123 in 62 balls in Chittagong’s 105-run win over Rajshahi, Usman hit 55 in 33 balls against Dhaka and then 53 in 35 balls against Sylhet, when they won by 30 runs. Indeed, his form, and that of the other batters like Graham Clark and Haider Ali and Shamim Hossain has been central to Chittagong’s recent surge.

Best bowler – Mohammad Saifuddin

There were no big hauls by any of the bowlers this week, but plenty of them made telling contributions.Khaled Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim did well in Chittagong’s two wins. Akif Javed also bowled a match-winning spell, taking three wickets in Rangpur’s win over Khulna. Rahkeem Cornwall, meanwhile, was the only spinner to take a three-for this week, setting up Sylhet’s win over Dhaka.The performance that stood out, though, was Saifuddin’s superb last over against Khulna. Khulna needed 12 runs off the six balls, and though they were six down at the start of the over, were favourites to pull it off.Saifuddin stuck to yorkers, started the over with two dot balls, then bowled a wide, but then Rangpur got three wickets in three balls as panic set in the Khulna camp. Mohammad Nawaz and Nasum Ahmed were run out off consecutive balls, and Saifuddin then got rid of Abu Hider, before giving away one run off the final ball.Litton Das has found form, but not soon enough to get in the Champions Trophy squad•Dhaka Capitals

Unusual plays

Nurul became only the second batter to hit 30 runs in the last over of a T20 match, and the 30 runs Rangpur got ranked third in the list of most runs scored off the last over of a men’s T20 game.Sabbir Rahman, meanwhile, scored his first BPL half-century in five years, hitting 82 not out off 33 balls with nine sixes and three fours. But it wasn’t enough as Chittagong won that game against Dhaka.Litton scored his first T20 century in his 227th match in the format.

Tale of the table

Rangpur are the clear leaders. Chittagong have been the surprise package, now in second position with six points from four games. Barishal, who came into the tournament as one of the favourites, are in third place, also with six points but they have played one game more than Chittagong. Khulna, Sylhet and Rajshahi will have to battle hard for the fourth playoffs spot, but Dhaka, with one win in seven matches, will have to make a big, late charge to be in with a chance.

Shafali Verma smashed a 115-ball 197 for Haryana in the quarter-final of the senior women’s One-Day Trophy against Bengal in Rajkot. She hit 22 fours and 11 sixes in her innings as Haryana posted 389 for 5.But Bengal pulled off the chase with five wickets and five balls to spare. This is by far the highest successful chase in women’s List A cricket. The previous record was 309 by Northern Districts against Canterbury in 2019.Almost every Bengal batter contributed to the cause. Openers Dhara Gujjar (69 off 49) and Sasthi Mondal (52 off 29) provided a start of 100 in 9.1 overs. After that, Tanusree Sarkar led the way with 113 off 83 balls. Once Sarkar was dismissed, Priyanka Bala took over and saw the team home with an unbeaten 88 off 81 balls. Earlier, Sarkar had picked up 3 for 56 with the ball.For Shafali, it was her second hundred in the ongoing competition, having opened the tournament with a 98-ball 139 against Uttar Pradesh. In seven innings, Shafali scored 527 runs at an average of 75.28 and a strike rate of 152.31.Shafali Verma is doing her best to make a comeback in the Indian team•ACC

Shafali’s rich run of form comes at a time when she has been left out of India’s white-ball squads. She was dropped from the ODI squad for the Australia tour, having scored only 108 runs in six ODIs at an average of 18 this year. Despite her strong start to the women’s one-day tournament, Shafali was left out of the squad for the ODIs against West Indies as well.In her absence, India have struggled to find a stable opening partner for Smriti Mandhana. In Australia, where they lost 3-0, they trialled Priya Punia and Richa Ghosh. While it seemed as though the move to promote Ghosh in the second ODI was due to an injury to Punia, the wicketkeeper-batter confirmed at a press conference that she had been in line to open even before the game.Related

• Shafali dropped for Australia ODIs

• Reddy dropped; Kashyap, Bist, Rawal get maiden call-ups for WI series

Against West Indies on Sunday, India had another new opening combination with Delhi’s Pratika Rawal partnering Mandhana. Rawal made a patient 40 in a 110-run opening stand as India secured a massive victory.Shafali’s most recent outing for India was during the home ODIs against New Zealand in October, when she made 56 runs in three innings. She was in poor form during the T20 World Cup in UAE – 97 runs in four innings – where India made a group-stage exit.When Harmanpreet Kaur was asked about a number of senior players missing from the squad prior to the series against West Indies, she had said it could only be answered by the “right person,” a reference to the selection committee. “Because I can only talk about the team that’s here, and what things we can do to win this series. I think regarding Shafali, or any other player, [it’s] better to ask the right persons.”A few weeks prior, Harmanpreet had said how Shafali was crucial to India’s plans. “She [Shafali] is a very important player for us and has done exceptionally well for the country,” she had said ahead of their series opener against Australia in Brisbane. “We are looking forward to seeing her get back into her zone and perform well for the team.”

Georgia Plimmer skipped down the pitch and hammered Sugandika Kumari over mid-off where Chamari Athapaththu leapt and thrust her hand above her head in vain, the ball racing to the boundary.The next time Plimmer advanced to such great effect she placed the ball just short of mid-off where Athapaththu was nutmegged in a clumsy attempt to get to the bounce and Sri Lanka were punished by another four.They were among just four boundaries for Plimmer who used her feet well, whether travelling to meet the pitch of the ball and dispatch it down the ground or using her crease to create space and access the off side en route to 53, her equal career-best score, at a strike rate of 120.45. It was her second half-century in T20Is and the first of this World Cup in Sharjah, which has proved a difficult ground for batters with its low bounce and vast, slow outfield.Related

• What do New Zealand need to qualify for the semi-finals?

• Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr star in vital win for New Zealand

And this was just the innings New Zealand had been seeking form her.Plimmer arrived in England for a bilateral series in June and July amid some excitement from the White Ferns. That didn’t abate when she opened with 29, second only to Brooke Halliday’s fighting fifty, in a heavy loss for New Zealand in the first ODI. But it was to be the pinnacle of an otherwise disappointing tour for Plimmer, who only reached double figures once more – in the second T20I – as New Zealand lost both series 3-0.She hinted at this innings last month in scoring 53 against Australia in the third T20I in Brisbane as both teams put the finishing touches on their World Cup preparations.Here, a 49-run opening stand with Suzie Bates laid the foundation for New Zealand’s second win from three matches and a 46-run partnership with Amelia Kerr, who had taken 2 for 13 to restrict Sri Lanka to 115 for 5, all but saw the White Ferns home. Sophie Devine, the captain, ended it with the only six of the match, muscling Sugandika Kumari over cow corner.”I wanted to back my skills,” Plimmer said upon receiving the Player of the Match award. “I had good conversations with the coaches and the senior players, and just wanted to play my brand. It’s a pretty special group we have. We are clear on how we want to play, trying to put our best foot forward. We have had a tough six months but to come out here and put together wins, it gives us huge confidence.”Devine was delighted by Plimmer’s gumption, which was particularly impressive at a venue where batters have had to learn the hard way how to get in, stay in and accumulate runs.”Georgia Plimmer was outstanding,” Devine told the post-match presentation. “Super proud of the youngster coming out and sticking to her strengths. She’s copped a fair bit of criticism which as a captain is hard to see because you see the work she has been putting in. She had a great knock against Australia in Australia and to see her grow, you’ve got to remember she’s only 20, and if she continues to do what she did today she has a bright future.”This was also more like the Chamari Athapaththu the tournament had been waiting for but even a sense of too little, too late fizzled out when she fell for a 41-ball 35.Athapaththu’s failure to reach double figures at the tournament until now had only highlighted Sri Lanka’s reliance on her – she scored just 10 runs across their first three matches, by which point their campaign was over.On Saturday she scored five fours including two in Leigh Kasperek’s first over of the tournament, threaded through cover point and punched through the covers again. But when she dragged on off Kerr in the 14th over, Sri Lanka lost all momentum.With their tournament over even before this match, Sri Lanka coach Rumesh Ratnayake said his team was on a mission to ensure they performed better next time.”Everybody expected us to be, not the top dog, but the top underdog, so to speak,” he said. “We were in this group where we had some very strong teams and we wanted to win those games but I think the expectation, as much as the world had that expectation, it got to the team.”In the last 48 hours to 60-72 hours, we were trying to work it out, what really went wrong. That’s a work in progress and that’s the thing which we have to work out for the future, so that this will not happen again.”

When Dan Mousley walked out to bat on his ODI debut in Antigua, he was playing his first List A match in three years.And one million pounds to whoever in the audience knows which team his previous game was for. Because it was obviously, clearly, never-in-doubtedly for Burgher Recreation Club against Nugegoda Sports and Welfare in Sri Lanka’s 2021 domestic competition .A series of broken fingers meant he had been short of cricket, so a 20-year-old Mousley approached a coach at the Warwickshire Academy with connections to Sri Lanka and asked if he could get a game. A few weeks later he was off to Colombo.Mousley has never been one to do things the usual way. A point he is now proving with his one-of-a-kind “offspin”.Related

• Jafer Chohan leaves England tour to prepare for Lions, Big Bash

• Rihanna has to wait, it's family time for Salt and Bethell

• Buttler powers England to 2-0 series lead vs WI

Bowling 116kph/72mph yorkers off three steps, his first international wicket was secured with his signature move. Right-arm, round the wicket, fast, straight, out. Rovman Powell the victim.No one in the world bowls like Mousley does. According to CricViz, he is the fastest spin bowler since ball tracking records began in 2006. And by miles.The second fastest spinner on record, Manimaran Siddharth, averages 99kph/61.5mph. Mousley averages 109kph/68mph. The fastest he has been clocked is 132kph/82mph during the Hundred, but even he accepts that may be a juiced reading.”We’ll take it anyway,” he jokes.His speed has always been part of his style. But compared to when he was younger and encouraged to slow down, now he is being encouraged to lean into it.”I don’t know where he’s got it from,” England captain Jos Buttler said of Mousley, who was entrusted with the final over of West Indies’ innings on Sunday. “As a captain, it’s unique. Everyone will see him now and so they’ll come up with plans. But his character is one of his biggest attributes and to deliver a bit of unique skill and give us a point of difference is fantastic.”While Mousley is new to the international scene, he wouldn’t have been to Powell. Mousley’s fast spin/seamers first rose to national attention during the Hundred when he delivered a triple-wicket final set of ten to snatch victory for Birmingham Phoenix against Trent Rockets. In the Rockets team that day was Powell himself.Mousley will be a fascinating case study of whether this is the future appearing in front of our eyes, or a fad that’ll soon be understood by batters and launched into orbit.With T20 scores always on the up, some commentators, including Sourav Ganguly, have called upon bowlers to step-up and up-skill. New challenges have to be presented to players and Mousley is presenting one.If you wanted to be cruel, you could make the case that Mousley’s bowling is, by traditional aesthetics, bad. In the warm-ups, when other spinners are hammering the tea towel that’s been draped on a length, he is spraying it at pace in various different directions. There is no spin on the ball as it is released, instead he has flipped his fingers round and bowled what’s pretty much a standard seamer.But, as former England offspinner Gareth Batty once told ESPNcricinfo, there is “no place for your traditional ball in T20 cricket”.”Any player that is not trying to get better and diversify is a sitting duck,” he added.Mousley is not a one-trick pony either, with eight first-class wickets at an average of 38.37, he is capable of bowling in a traditional manner with a traditional skillset. But if you’re bowling to Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran, pretty offies aren’t going to get you very far.In short, rather than attempting to always bowl wicket-taking deliveries, he is trying to bowl the ball that is hardest to hit for six.”I’m just trying to use the conditions,” says Mousley, who has played the majority of his T20 cricket at Edgbaston, which often has one long side and one short. “I know I bowl a lot of yorkers, but I try and use the dimensions and try to use the wind as much as I can.”Batters are honed on a lifetime of responding to certain cues. It is why left-handed bowlers feel faster than right-handed bowlers because batters don’t have the same level of muscle memory hard-wired into their body. And it’s this lack of familiarity which Mousley feeds off. Stick the ball in his hand and give him a ten yard run-up and he’s a 70mph seamer who’d go the distance. But off three paces and from round the wicket? No-one has seen that before. Batters are concert pianists that have been trained within an inch of their life; Mousley is asking them to play jazz.”It started off because people say offspinners can’t bowl at right-handers,” Mousley says.”But I don’t believe in that, I made it clear at Warwickshire I didn’t believe in that and then ended up getting a bit of confidence. It went from there. It’s a different skill, it’s probably not traditional offspin but it’s one of those things which I’ve just learnt to bring into my favour. It’s okay to be different as a bowler.”And if there’s one thing Mousley’s bowling is, it’s exactly that.

Harry Brook will captain England for the first time during their five-match ODI series against Australia, with Jos Buttler ruled out for the rest of the summer with a calf injury sustained in July. Buttler’s injury has also given a lifeline to Liam Livingstone, who has been recalled to the 50-over side after initially being left out.Brook has been groomed as a future England captain for many years, having captained at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. He deputised as Yorkshire captain for four matches in the T20 Blast in 2022 and led Northern Superchargers in the Hundred this year, winning five out of the six completed matches he oversaw as they narrowly missed out on the knockout stages.Related

• 'Just do it' – Brook to trust his instincts on England captaincy debut

• England remain cautious over Jofra Archer's workload for Australia ODIs

• Rain forces England-Australia T20I decider to be abandoned

• Liam Livingstone embraces veteran status and targets ODI comeback

• Brook wears deputy tag lightly but greater responsibility beckons

He was also Ollie Pope’s vice-captain throughout England’s recent 2-1 Test series win over Sri Lanka, with the team’s management keen to develop long-term leadership options. Phil Salt has captained in the ongoing T20I series, which is level at 1-1 ahead of Sunday afternoon’s rain-threatened decider in Manchester.”It’s going to be a great opportunity for Brooky to be the captain,” Buttler said. “He is a pretty laid-back character, but I think he has everything in line. He is a really good thinker about it… I’m sure he’ll do that his own way, and he’ll get a feel for those moments [in games]. That’s what we’re encouraging everyone as a side – whether that’s a player or a captain – is to try and identify those moments that you think can go a long way to you winning the game and going for it and committing to it.”But Buttler’s prolonged absence is cause for concern, given his recent history of calf issues. He missed most of a series against Sri Lanka in 2021 due to a tear, and was ruled out of England’s seven-match T20I tour to Pakistan the following year with a strain which briefly threatened his participation in the 2022 World Cup.Brook led Northern Superchargers in the men’s Hundred this summer•PA Photos/Getty Images

He has not played any cricket since England’s elimination from June’s T20 World Cup, when they were beaten by India in the semi-finals: he initially targeted a return in the T20 Blast quarter-finals, but suffered a setback in his rehabilitation while running. Buttler has been with England’s squad throughout this week’s T20I series against Australia and will target a return on November’s Caribbean tour.”It’s a bit slower than hoped,” Buttler said of his recovery. “I’m going to be missing the ODI series as well, so that’s a shame. But at my age, just got to make sure I get it right. It’s obviously a shame to miss some cricket and stuff, but I just want to get it right. There’s lots to look forward to in the future.”Injuries force you to stop and take a different perspective and it’s nice to be around the guys, getting to know some new faces and seeing what they’re all about; trying to share my ideas and listen to theirs and how they operate and building those relationships, which are obviously really important.”Buttler also confirmed that he would not have kept wicket if he had been fit for the T20Is, after discussions with England’s incoming coach Brendon McCullum. “Having spoken to Baz about it, he stumbled across it with injury preventing him from keeping wicket, but then he really enjoyed being next to the bowler at mid-off,” Buttler explained.”I’ll see how the calf holds up to running around in the outfield, or we might have a slip in for a long time,” he joked. “But, yeah, I’m very open to those kind of things. I just want what’s best for the team: what’s best for the team is going to be me being the best captain I can be, and if I have to move from behind the wickets to do that then so be it.”Livingstone’s return to the squad comes after his impressive performances in the first two T20Is. He has taken five wickets in six overs with his leg breaks and hit 87 off 47 to win Friday night’s game in Cardiff. He admitted on Wednesday night that he was nonplussed by his initial absence from the ODI squad, after top-scoring in England’s defeat at the Utilita Bowl.England have also confirmed that Josh Hull will play no part in the ODI series, after sustaining a minor quad injury on Test debut at The Oval last week. A team spokesperson suggested that his absence is only precautionary, and that his participation in October’s three-match Test tour to Pakistan is not under threat.The five-match ODI series starts at Trent Bridge on Thursday and runs until September 29.England ODI squad: Harry Brook (capt), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, John Turner.

England players will miss the latter stages of the WBBL, due to a clash with their tour of South Africa.To avoid a repetition of the situation which occurred earlier this year, when the end of the WPL overlapped with England Women’s arrival in New Zealand for a bilateral series, causing players to have to choose between club and country, the ECB has told players that they are expected in South Africa, if selected, on certain dates regardless of any overlap with WBBL games.The ECB informed players and their agents of the requirements before they entered the WBBL draft, which was held last weekend.”If a player is selected in the T20 squad, we’re expecting them into South Africa on November 17 and if they’re named in the ODI squad we’re expecting them into South Africa on the 27th,” Jonathan Finch, Director of England Women’s Cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s been reflected in everyone’s availability when they’ve gone into the draft.”This year’s WBBL starts on October 27 and there will be 11 regular-season matches remaining out of a total of 40 from November 17 before the knockout stages. England are due to play the first of three T20Is in South Africa on November 24, followed by three ODIs from December 4 and a Test starting on December 15.England had seven players signed in the WBBL draft, with Danni Wyatt-Hodge joining Hobart Hurricanes, Sophie Ecclestone retained by Sydney Sixers, and Heather Knight retained by Sydney Thunder, all at platinum level, worth up to $A110,000 (£56,000) depending on availability.Alice Capsey will join Melbourne Renegades from cross-town rivals Stars and Amy Jones returns to Perth Scorchers, both on gold $A90,000 (£46,000) deals. Hollie Armitage and Georgia Adams, who will both tour Ireland from this week while England’s senior squad prepares for next month’s T20 World Cup, joined the Sixers and Thunder respectively in the bronze price bracket for $A40,000 (£20,000).Sophie Ecclestone has been retained by Sydney Sixers for this year’s WBBL•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

The ECB took similar stance during last year’s WBBL with Bess Heath and Danielle Gibson both missing the final to join England’s squad in Mumbai for a T20I series against India starting four days later.The WPL announced their 2024 fixtures in January with the March 17 final falling two days before England’s first of five T20Is in New Zealand on March 19. New Zealand Cricket had confirmed the tour schedule, which also included three ODIs, the previous July and turned down an ECB request to move the dates.Knight, England’s captain, and seam bowler Lauren Bell opted out of their WPL deals to join the New Zealand tour from the outset, while Nat Sciver-Brunt, Wyatt-Hodge, Capsey and Ecclestone linked up with the squad for the fourth and fifth T20Is. Armitage, meanwhile, earned her only England cap to date in the third T20I before she and Linsey Smith made way for the WPL contingent.With the current Women’s Future Tours Program ending in 2025 and the next edition being worked on now, Finch is confident major clashes can be avoided in future.”What we have to get better at is having indicative dates when the tournaments are taking place,” he said. “That’s difficult because you’ve got broadcast complexities and all that kind of thing, but I think if we can get that pretty much nailed on, we shouldn’t have that problem.”I’ve got a responsibility to England and we think that’s fair – five or seven days out from a start of a tour – to come in, really focus in on what we’re trying to do from that tour and go from there.”Now where we’re looking at our FTP for after the next 50-over World Cup and I think everyone is sensitive to not wanting to have any clashes. Even if we don’t have the exact dates of the WBBL for instance, or the WPL, we have some indication of when they are so we can work out what that looks like.”Related

• Bates signs with Hobart Hurricanes as overseas replacement

• Kate Cross vows to lead England her way

• Heather Knight: Dani Gibson's 'bravery' elevates her T20 World Cup credentials

• Knight wants England to be ready for empty grounds at Women's T20 World Cup

• Draft takeaways: Adelaide Strikers' Mandhana bargain; and who is Jafer Chohan?

A problem national boards have faced is that the WPL in particular offers leading players a chance to make life-changing amounts of money for the first time in their careers. Sciver-Brunt was the joint-highest-earning overseas player in the inaugural WPL player auction when she went to Mumbai Indians for £320,000.Finch conceded that denying a player the chance to earn that sort of salary, especially later in their careers, was difficult. As a result, there would be some scope for discussion with players on an individual basis, and he said bringing England Women’s international match fees into line with those of their male counterparts also went some way towards easing the tension.”You know when you sign a central contract that you’re signing a contract that says, ‘my main focus is England,’ so that’s the starting point,” he said. “It’s not an exact science, things change – workloads over a period of time – as to whether we would want to have players exposed to that depending on what the lead-up looks like, but when you sign a central contract, that’s what you’re buying into.”I think we’re still in a space where we can manipulate or cultivate times of the year where it’s not going to have a massive impact.”The ECB is also in talks with the England Women’s Player Partnership, which has a number of current players on its committee, about introducing multi-year central contracts, which Finch said would give some players a greater level of security while protecting the ECB’s resources.”You’ve got a welfare perspective for players so the thing that was sticking out for the New Zealand one was I wasn’t willing for a player to get on a plane at the end of their competition, fly in and play within 24 hours,” he said.”People might say, ‘that’s not your choice to make.’ Well, I think it is. We’ve got a responsibility to ensure that we’re not asking too much of them and that’s why we put that period of time leading into a series. Not only does it give you time to get the players up and running for that series, it also allows you to build in a bit of decompression time if you need to. That’s something that I’m quite strong on.”The panacea will be that our players are available without worrying about whether they’re available for the whole tournament or not. I’m never going to take that [case-by-case discussion] away but we’re hopeful that we won’t get to that point.”

Australia’s selectors are taking a long-term view with pace bowlers Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson to try and ensure they can put injury problems behind them.Morris, the Western Australia quick who made his ODI debut last season against West Indies having also been part of the Test squad, is working his way through another rehab from a stress injury of his back which has prevented him playing during the winter. It is a repeat of what happened after the 2022-23 season when he was ruled out of the Ashes tour.Related

• Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson set for domestic returns with WA

• Morris hopeful of early Shield return despite 'frustrating' injury issues

• Connolly earns Australia call-up; Fraser-McGurk included for Scotland, England tour

• Bartlett's stunning start in ODIs adds to Australia's pace options

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

Morris had earlier suffered a side strain in his second ODI appearance which curtailed his summer. He had been due to appear for Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket before post-season scans showed a hot spot in his back and he wasn’t considered for the tour of Scotland and England.”Lance is still working through his return to play and getting himself right recovering from that stress fracture of the back,” national selector George Bailey said. “Know he’s progressing well, he’s feeling good, he’s starting to get to that point where he wants some cricket and think he’s going to get a hell of a lot of it over the summer and that will be really exciting to see him back.”Felt a little bit like with him, that we wanted to set him up for success in the long term as opposed to pushing that too early then potentially risking what we think is something that could be really exciting across this summer and beyond.”Richardson, who is “fit and firing” according to Bailey, made one appearance for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024 after another disrupted domestic season where he suffered a side strain during the BBL having just been recalled to the ODI squad. He last appeared for Australia against Sri Lanka in mid-2022.Both Morris and Richardson were given Cricket Australia central contracts earlier this year.Lance Morris made his ODI debut earlier this year before injury struck•Getty Images

“Jhye is in a similar boat,” Bailey said. “He’s fit and firing now, and again looking for match opportunities. I think he’ll get opportunities again across the summer. For both [him and Morris] I think it’s getting through the season fit and then hopefully maximising the amount of cricket they play. Some of that will be domestic, hopefully there will be some international opportunities [and] Australia A opportunities, then I think we set them up for success in the long term.”The durability of Australia’s big three quicks – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins – has meant limited changes to the Test pace attack in recent times beyond the appearance of Scott Boland when one of them has been sidelined. They have also featured regularly in the ODI and T20 World Cups across the last nine months although have been rotated a little more outside of those events.Cummins will miss the entire UK tour so he can work on conditioning ahead of the home summer. Starc will skip the T20Is before returning for the ODIs while Hazlewood features in both squads. Emerging quicks Xavier Bartlett and Spencer Johnson are in the T20I group alongside Nathan Ellis who can expect greater opportunity. Sean Abbott, who played one game at the ODI World Cup, is in the 50-over squad alongside Ellis, Hazlewood and Starc.Jhye Richardson has battled various injuries•Getty Images

Whether Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins can get through the whole five-Test series against India later this year will likely again be a debate and the selectors have factored those workloads into their planning.”As far as the fast bowling group goes, think we’ve got a pretty exciting bunch there that we haven’t had the opportunity to get a lot of games into across the formats predominantly because we’ve had a highly successful and robust senior group of fast bowlers,” Bailey said.”Clearly some of the decisions made around this series is around priortising and getting guys right for what will be a really big summer and for some guys this is an opportunity to get a little bit more work into what they are going to need to be ready for that.”Victoria and Melbourne Renegades allrounder Will Sutherland was another not considered for the latest squads after suffering another back stress fracture late last season. He had also made his ODI debut against West Indies in February.

Surrey 340 for 5 (Lawrence 91*, Smith 86, Sibley 76, Foakes 52) vs Worcestershire It was normal service resumed for leaders and champions Surrey on day one of the Vitality County Championship match with Worcestershire at ‘Visit Worcestershire New Road.’Surrey had suffered an innings-and-278-runs defeat against Hampshire in their previous Championship fixture at the Utilita Bowl ahead of the Blast in contrast to their previous four-day form.But fifties from Dom Sibley and Jamie Smith laid the foundations before Dan Lawrence and Ben Foakes increased the tempo during the final session during a stand of 131 in 35 overs.Foakes fell just before the close – to a fourth catch for Adam Hose – but Lawrence remained undefeated on 91 from 126 balls.It was Surrey’s first visit to New Road since they lifted the 2018 title on the ground and they are well placed to post a formidable total on the second day.Worcestershire captain, Brett D’Oliveira, was side-lined with a shoulder problem and Jake Libby skippered the side.Pace trio Joe Leach, Ben Gibbon and Yadvinder Singh, who all played in last month’s encounter at the Kia Oval, were ruled out through injury.Ethan Brookes, Tom Taylor and on loan Somerset spinner, Shoaib Bashir, all made their Championship debut for the home side.Taylor’s younger brother, James Taylor, made his first Championship appearance for Surrey since April 2022.Surrey were put in on a rock hard looking pitch and quickly lost skipper Rory Burns.Tom Taylor took the new ball and struck with the third ball of the morning as Burns turned a delivery straight to Bashir at mid wicket.Ollie Pope looked in good form and cover drove Taylor for four and used his feet to turn on loan Essex seamer Ben Allison to the midwicket boundary. But he then gave Allison the charge and nicked through to Adam Hose at first slip.Allison, signed because of injuries to Joe Leach, Ben Gibbon and Yadvinder Singh, bowled an excellent opening spell of 7-3-10-1.But Sibley was in excellent touch, straight driving and cover-driving Adam Finch for boundaries, and coming down the wicket to hit Bashir down the ground for four after he came into the attack.Smith also took advantage of over-pitched deliveries from Finch to collective successive boundaries and the 100 came up in just 27.2 overs.Allison bowled another probing post-lunch spell and Sibley edged just short of second slip.Waite again also asked questions of both batters but Sibley and Smith were determined and reached their respective fifties off 108 and 103 balls respectively. The stand was worth 149 in 40 overs when Bashir broke it as Sibley picked out Hose at short midwicket.Smith departed in a similar manner with again Hose the catcher after Finch came into the attack.Lawrence and Foakes upped the tempo during the final session after playing themselves in up until tea.Foakes pulled Bashir for a maximum over wide long-on before having a let off on 31 when dropped at deep midwicket off Finch.Lawrence cut Brookes for four to reach a 66-ball fifty and Foakes went to the same landmark from 104 deliveries.But Finch broke the stand after the second new ball had been taken when Foakes (52) fell to a low catch diving to his right at first slip by Hose.

Temba Bavuma will be back to lead South Africa’s ODI side as they seek to square the series in India but has not confirmed where he will bat while the team continues to tinker with top-order combinations.Bavuma missed the opening match with illness, where South Africa stuck to their new(ish) combination of Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, with Quinton de Kock at No.3. With the series on the line, they may look to return to the more successful and experienced combination of de Kock and Bavuma at the top, especially given their record. While Markram and Rickelton have opened together in just seven innings, and scored 306 runs at 43.71, de Kock and Bavuma have been South Africa’s second-most prolific opening pair since 2016 with over 1,000 runs together from 19 innings at 56.42, and would appear the better choice.On the eve of match two, Bavuma was non-committal about where he stood in the line-up. “Where I fit in, generally being in that top three, I’m easy whichever way is best for the team, as long as I’m still contributing,” Bavuma said in Raipur, where he also had a long net session, confirming his return to health. “At the moment, it’s about creating depth. There is versatility in that guys who generally bat at the top of their order have used in the middle. In this team, a guy like Matthew Breetzke, who generally sees himself at the top in one-day cricket, but he’s doing that job more than well now at No.4 A guy like Tony (de Zorzi) – he’s getting that opportunity to bat at five.”Related

• South Africa hope to cross the line in Raipur after Ranchi thriller

• South Africa find reason for ODI optimism despite top-order tangles

In the absence of Heinrich Klaasen (retired), Tristan Stubbs (dropped) and David Miller (not in this ODI squad), South Africa have effectively created a top five out of five different opening batters with Dewald Brevis in at six. The only reserve batter is Rubin Hermann (also a top three batter for the bulk of his List A career) and Bavuma explained their reasoning for stacking the squad with top-order players.”Going back to South Africa, there’s always that element of batsmanship that you need. I know there’s a big craze about guys hitting sixes in the middle order, but you need a little bit of batsmanship. A guy like Tony, he has the characteristics.,” Bavuma said. “I guess now it’s just to keep putting on the performances to justify why he should do that.”De Zorzi has played 21 ODIs for South Africa, scored 688 runs and averages 36.21. He has a strike-rate below 100 and though he is strong against spin, is seen more as someone who can build an innings and rotate strike rather than a big-hitter. It’s that type of player South Africa think they will need, not only in the subcontinent but as they build their resources for the home ODI World Cup in 2027.The tournament is just less than two years away but South Africa will only play, according to the FTP, nine ODIs after this series, all at home. That could change especially as the FTP only runs to April 2027 and the World Cup will be held in October but the time to experiment is now, which is exactly what South Africa are doing.”Every game we play now is a big lead up opportunity. It’s about filling in the gaps with guys who have left,” Bavuma said. “Especially from a resource point of view, we want to make sure if we do have a situation where one of our main bowlers is out that we do have young guys to step in. We’re seeing guys like Nandre Burger, they are putting up their hands. So creating depth and then seeing where guys can be filling in those roles.”Bavuma feels Matthew Breetzke is pulling his weight and more at No.4•BCCI

With Kagiso Rabada out of the series. Burger led the attack in the first match with support from three other seamers: Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen. South Africa also have Lungi Ngidi, who is certain to play a role at some stage, in the squad, but for now, seem to be leaning more towards allrounders. Bosch and Jansen were both crucial in South Africa’s attempt to chase 350 in Ranchi and could keep their places as the series goes on. Jansen, in particular, has had a coming of age tour of India, and has made himself central to South Africa’s XI in all formats. Expect to see much more of him in this series.”I don’t know where the rankings sit but I’m sure Marco Jansen in any one of those formats will definitely be in the top 10. His contributions with the bat, with the ball, sometimes even both, have been immense to our success. Marco is still a young guy but he’s had a lot of international cricket that is under his belt and he’s only growing into his own and he’s becoming a lot more comfortable in his skin.”Currently, Jansen, who scored 93 and took seven wickets in the Guwahati Test, is sixth on the ICC’s Test allrounder rankings but 35th on the ODI list. His returns in Ranchi, where he scored a 39-ball 70 and took 2 for 76, could be the start of his climb up the charts.

Oval Invincibles, the most successful franchise in the Hundred, will be rebranded as MI London from 2026 onwards, after Surrey and Reliance Industries Limited concluded their protracted negotiations in the wake of this year’s equity sale.The name change brings the men’s and women’s teams in line with the rest of the Ambani family’s Mumbai Indians stable which, in addition to its flagship team in the IPL, includes MI Cape Town in the SA20, MI Emirates in the ILT20, MI New York in Major League Cricket, and Mumbai Indians women’s team in the WPL.The announcement marks the last of the eight deals that emerged from the ECB’s sale of equity stakes in the Hundred earlier this year, and comes almost five months after the first six of these were tied up. Reliance secured a 49 per cent stake in Oval Invincibles, having valued the franchise at £123 million – the second most expensive behind the Lord’s-based London Spirit, at £295 million.The delay in the announcement reflects a reluctance at Surrey to relinquish a brand identity that had tied the teams to their home ground at the Kia Oval, and which had delivered five titles in as many years of the competition – with the women completing back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, before the men sealed their third win in as many years this summer, in their victory over Trent Rockets at Lord’s.However, Surrey chairman Oli Slipper acknowledged the strength of the MI brand in confirming the team’s rebranding, with its haul of 13 titles across competitions in the 17 years, including five IPL titles and at least one in every other competition in which it has competed.Akash Ambani, Mumbai Indians co-owner, chats to Jordan Cox after Oval Invincibles’ victory in the Hundred final•Philip Brown/Getty Images

“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with the Reliance team over our partnership in the Hundred franchise team,” Slipper said. “Reliance bring a significant depth of cricket and business expertise and have had great success with their franchise teams in India and around the world – there’s no doubt that they are here to win. They are passionate cricket people and together we will continue the success of our two teams.”We have worked very closely with Reliance over the name of the new team and believe that MI London will give us the best opportunity to build the fanbase at home and across the world. We also believe that the team brand will help to grow the commercial value of our franchise, in turn boosting investment into the long-term sustainable growth of Surrey and of cricket in our community.”Mrs Nita M. Ambani, co-owner of Mumbai Indians, said: “We are delighted to welcome MI London into the #OneFamily and take the MI legacy to new frontiers. London holds a special place in the heart of cricket, and we are honoured to be part of its rich heritage. Together with Surrey, we look forward to nurturing young talent, engaging diverse communities, and uniting fans through their shared love of the game.”Mr Akash Ambani added: “We are happy to welcome MI London into the #OneFamily, marking a new chapter in our journey of uniting cricket fans, nurturing talent, and growing the game across continents. The Invincibles’ winning record and spirit of excellence perfectly embody the MI ethos of passion, resilience, and teamwork. Building on our shared passion for cricket, we look forward to collaborating with our partners at Surrey CCC and building on the legacy of The Hundred’s most successful team.”The eight partnerships combined represent a valuation for the teams of over £975 million, with over £500 million is now set to be invested into English and Welsh cricket. This includes a £50 million commitment to grassroots cricket, with the remainder set to be distributed to professional counties.Vikram Banerjee, Managing Director, The Hundred, said: “It’s an exciting moment to now have all eight deals complete. The world-leading partners we now have on board will help us take The Hundred to the next level and establish it as the unmissable summer event.”We’re already working closely together as we aim to make the 2026 season of The Hundred the best yet. It’s also an important moment for the whole of the game in England and Wales, unlocking significant investment to support the game at every level.”