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Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd have been rested for the Nepal series, while Shimron Hetmyer had made himself unavailable

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2025The West Indies team management is looking to expand the bowlers’ pool ahead of the T20 World Cup early next year in India and Sri Lanka.Their next T20I assignment is against Nepal at the end of this month for which the selectors have picked five uncapped players, including legspinner Zishan Motara, left-arm quick Ramon Simmonds and legspin-bowling allrounder Navin Bidaisee, apart from batters Ackeem Auguste and Karima Gore, who played international cricket for USA until 2021 but is yet to get his West Indies cap.They have also picked a support staff heavily stacked with former bowlers to accompany the 15-man squad to Sharjah, with Rayon Griffith as the head coach, Ottis Gibson as fast-bowling consultant, and Nikita Miller and Jerome Taylor as assistant coaches.Related

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“The tour of Nepal is quite strategic for us,” CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe said in a press meet. “We have recognised that probably over the last few years, our bowling has been a little bit of the Achilles’ heel in our white-ball team. So we have tried to bolster the support for the bowling group.”After touring the UAE, West Indies will tour Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in October and then fly to New Zealand for five T20Is and three ODIs.Full-time head coach Daren Sammy explained that some of the first-choice players like Gudakesh Motie, the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing CPL, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd had been rested for the games in Nepal to manage their workloads. Except Shimron Hetmyer, who blew hot and blew cold this CPL and was unavailable for the tour.Ottis Gibson’s presence raises the profile of the West Indies support staff•Getty Images

“If you look at the workload of these guys, Rovman for sure, he has been battling a wrist injury that prevented him from playing in the Pakistan series,” Sammy said. “I mean, he pushed it through this CPL. He requested a time off for him to further look at it. Motie and Shepherd, because of their workload over the last few months, we gave them a time off for that. Sherfane was also [rested] because of his workload.”Hetmyer also requested that he was unavailable for that Nepal trip. So again, like I said, it’s not always a bed of roses. Some things we don’t see, but it’s always a challenge. I’ve said that when I call somebody and tell them, ‘you’ve been selected for some of the series’, and I have to ask to everyone, do you accept the selection to play for West Indies? It’s something that I must do because we don’t own the players. We could only select from what’s available to us. Hettie has been one of our promising, talented players from the Under-19 level. However, the scope of things that now… we could only select and hope guys accept this selection. But he’s always available for selection from our side.”Sammy further said that the selectors and coaches also looked at the performers from the inaugural Breakout League – a new T20 league launched earlier this year to spot talent from across the Caribbean – and the CPL to pick fresh players for the upcoming T20Is.Nathan Edward is a rare left-arm quick in West Indies cricket•ICC/Getty Images

“You look at the Breakout [League] and again, I will emphasise the need for continued avenues for us to showcase and unearth talent,” he said. “And the Breakout, maybe some people were against it because it was a T20 format, but if you see this year, the amount of players that came through – Bidaisee was one of them that came through and show his skillset in the Breakout. And, he reminds me of Samuel Badree, who probably could bowl in the powerplay, bowl in the middle, very consistent around that good-length area that brings challenges to batsmen.”And two areas that I’ve spoken about in our bowling department in T20s is the need for a wristspinner. And every single team I could remember in World Cup T20 cricket, has had a left-arm seamer. Just the angle they bring and the difficulty, especially in the back-end of an innings, or whether the ability to swing. I don’t think in the history of West Indies cricket we’ve actually even had two left-arm seamers playing together, much less three. And we also, from the Breakout, you see a young Nathan Edward, who’s been quite quality as well. So again, you put that and you’re hoping that one or two will graduate so quickly that they could be into the senior team.”We gave Jediah [Blades] the exposure, but the way Ramon Simmonds has been bowling in all phases of the game gives me, and I’m pretty sure the selection group, confidence. It makes us excited about the prospects, the promise he’s shown. And then to top that, having somebody like an Ottis Gibson working with them, it’s a win-win situation for us. And hopefully that experience that they will gain or learn from getting the skillsets and the technical aspects of fast bowling or seam bowling from Ottis on that short trip could be a step…”Matthew Forde was still not fit to be considered for selection after he dislocated his shoulder in August, which made him miss the ODIs against Pakistan. CWI is, however, hoping he will be “up and running again” by the Bangladesh series.

Hosts flounder in pursuit of 164 to finish 88 short – the largest margin of victory in the history of The Hundred

ECB Media17-Aug-2025London Spirit 164 for 6 (Chathli 69, Harris 34, Arlott 3-25) beat Birmingham Phoenix 76 (Lamb 23, Gray 2-13, Dean 2-16) by 88 runsA cracking partnership of 47 from just 21 balls between Spirit’s breakout opener Kira Chathli and the megastar Grace Harris took the game away from Phoenix, who floundered badly in pursuit of 164, losing three wickets inside the first 33 balls to eventually finish 88 short – the largest margin of victory in the history of The Hundred.The result propels Spirit to joint-top of the table with a slightly superior run rate to Southern Brave, and leaves the Phoenix down and virtually out, on just four points from five matches.The hosts will be disappointed with their campaign. Just a single tournament half-century, to Emma Lamb, and little to show for the efforts of their Australian pair, the great Ellyse Perry and the national team’s new star opener, Georgia Voll.Both made single-figure scores here as Phoenix stuttered up top against some disciplined new-ball bowling from Spirit’s left-arm spinner Bex Tyson and the rejuvenated Issy Wong, who yet again burnished her credentials as one of the best young seamers in the English game.Reigning champions Spirit, under Charlie Dean, who bowled beautifully to pick up two wickets including that of England team-mate Amy Jones, are again building at just the right time.Chathli in particular has been a revelation. Her 35-ball 69, containing 13 fours, is her most impressive knock to date in the tournament, while Harris is the heartbeat of their middle order, a woman in the form of her life who’s now plundered 199 tournament runs this term at a ferocious strike rate of 180. Her knock today may have occupied just 15 balls, but she still planted four of them over the rope.They needed it too, after losing Georgia Redmayne and Cordelia Griffith in the powerplay and then Charli Knott soon after, the impressive Phoenix seamer Em Arlott picking up three more wickets to draw level, on 10, with Lauren Bell as the most prolific wicket-taker of the tournament so far.Chathli, named the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “In The Hundred that’s definitely my best performance to date. They bowled really well up top – as did our bowlers as well – but the key is to give yourself a few balls, and after that it got a little easier.”We just focus on what do really well as a team, which is to play positive cricket and there’s no doubt in my mind that every member of our team backs each other to deliver their skill.”

Wood from bats used by the two players have been made into the new trophy

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Nov-2024New Zealand and England will compete for The Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, honoring the legacies of the late Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe.The trophy, made from wood sourced from a bat from each player, in collaboration with NZC, ECB and the families of each player, will be unveiled on Thursday morning in Christchurch ahead of the start of the three-match series. The trophy was designed by David Ngawati of Mahu Creative, who also designed the Tangiwai Shield for New Zealand’s Test series with South Africa.Both Crowe and Thorpe enjoyed hugely successful Test careers. Crowe, regarded as New Zealand’s finest batter, averaged 45.36 with 17 centuries. Thorpe, who tragically passed in August, averaged 44.66 with 16 hundreds.The bats gifted by the two families to create the trophy carry special meaning for these two sides. Crowe’s was the Gunn and Moore with which he scored his century at Lord’s 1994. Thorpe’s Kookaburra was the one used for back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand in 1997.Crowe and Thorpe went on to become mentors for latter generations, including members of both squad who will compete for this three-match series.”It is absolutely an honour,” said Joe Root, who worked closely with Thorpe during his time as a batting coach with the ECB. “What a great man. For me personally, to have someone who you watched growing up and took a lot from, then to get the opportunity to work with him as a coach. The amount he put into to my game, to have the opportunity to play for something with his name on it is really quite special and a nice way to remember his legacy and a player.”It’s a side that he had a lot of success against, a brilliant double hundred. He told us many times about that innings here in Christchurch [an unbeaten 200 in 2002], normally over a glass of sauvignon blanc.”It’s a really fitting way to remember two of England and New Zealand’s great players. How both sides play represents how they played the game pretty well. I expect a really exciting series, like the previous one was. It will be a really fitting way to remember two brilliant players.”In a statement released on Tuesday, NZC CEO Scott Weenink added: “Today’s generation of players are standing on the shoulders of those who went before them, players like Graham and Martin. It’s good that we recognise this and respect their legacy. Both those players were seriously good batsmen who understood the game intimately – they commanded respect wherever they went.”ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: “Martin and Graham are two legends of the game, and it is fitting that Test series between our two men’s sides will now be contested in their name.”It’s heart-breaking to have lost both men so early, but by honouring them in this way I hope we can help ensure the memories and legacies of two of our nations’ finest cricketers live on long into the future.”The Crowe-Thorpe Trophy will be unveiled by Deb Crowe (Martin’s sister) and former England Test captain Michael Atherton at the Hagley Oval ahead on the national anthems on Thursday.

“We should appreciate the players for throwing themselves in the den without being exposed to these conditions,” Pakistan’s Test captain said

Danyal Rasool27-Jan-2025Pakistan captain Shan Masood said he expected the team to continue their recent experiment of heavily turning tracks at home, and that they would be replicated across domestic cricket as well. After falling to a 120-run defeat at home against West Indies that levelled the series 1-1 and confirmed Pakistan’s position at the bottom of the current World Test Championship cycle, Masood maintained there were “encouraging signs” that Pakistan would seek to build on.”Domestic cricket will be played like this,” he said. “We’ve already talked about this. The more we’ll play the better we’ll get at it. We’ve shown encouraging signs. After the four matches, we’ve won three in these conditions. We dominated the first hour of the first day which could have swung the match in our favour. It’s just about winning those key moments and ensuring we’re consistent with these conditions domestically and internationally.”Since Pakistan lost the first Test against England on a flat wicket in Multan, they have reverted to producing tracks that break up and spin from the first day, rendering fast bowling almost redundant. The last four home Tests have seen Pakistan take 80 wickets, with just one falling to a seam bowler. Fingerspinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali have dominated the bowling attack, taking 70 of the 80 wickets, and frequently opening the bowling attack in each innings. It has turned around Pakistan’s straggling home form, allowing them to beat England 2-1 at home and easing to a victory in the first Test against West Indies. This Test, however, the visiting spinners turned the script around on them, with left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican of West Indies walking away with both the Player-of-the-Match and Series awards.Related

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“It’s a game of all stakeholders. We should appreciate the players for throwing themselves in the den without being exposed to these conditions. We know we haven’t played domestic cricket in these conditions. In some ways, it’s a kind of bravery to expose ourselves to these conditions. We practiced, but this is new for us. But we need to replicate this in domestic cricket, give our batters exposure so we play in these conditions and get runs in them. In the fourth innings, anything over 150 is a competitive score, where spinners will always have the edge.”An unavoidable outcome of such surfaces is the outsized role the toss plays. All four times, the side winning the toss has batted first, walking away with victory three times. While Pakistan were able to flip that script against England in the series-decider, West Indies’ win once more demonstrated the way these pitches can slant a game in favour of the side bowling last.Mohammad Rizwan was bowled by Jomel Warrican, who took the match and series honours•AFP/Getty Images

However, it didn’t appear that way when Pakistan bowled in the first hour, having reduced West Indies to 54 for 8, and letting that situation slip through their fingers frustrated Masood most of all. “We didn’t get the result we wanted. The positive thing was when you field first and you know the fourth innings will be difficult. So you try to restrict the opposition in the first innings. We bowled brilliantly for the first eight wickets. But we’ve talked about the first innings batting and bowling combining to do well, so you have the advantage in the third and fourth innings. If you look at our batting and bowling, and the mistakes we made collectively, that was a crucial time because their last two wickets cost us dear.”Then, with the bat, we went from 119 for 4 to 154 all out. When these collapses happen and the other side puts on partnerships, they can set you back. If we’d got them out early and got a 100-run lead, the Test match would be completely different. With Test matches on these pitches, you can’t wait to make a move, because things are decided on day one, and that is where you can win or lose matches.”This is the end of a cycle, an unhappy one for Pakistan, and for its leader. Pakistan have lost nine of their last 12 matches, all five away from home and four of seven at home. Despite starting off with a crushing away win in Sri Lanka, they have finished bottom of the WTC table, and do not play another Test for nearly nine months.Masood acknowledged Pakistan had fallen short of expectations, but did not believe the side required a complete overhaul, pointing out fine margins made the difference in this Test, and could be worked on.”The tail not getting wickets is an area of concern, and we need to finish off sides quicker,” Masood said, echoing his frustrations in South Africa, where the last two wickets adding too many runs cost them dear in the first Test at Centurion. “Against Australia, who have the best tail in the world, we got them out cheaply, but not here, or against Bangladesh or South Africa.”Batters have been proactive, but we need more contributions. You may not get hundreds here but 30s and 40s contribute to the winning conditions. Kraigg Brathwaite was an ideal example. He took the game on. One batter will need to step up in these conditions especially when the ball is new.”It’s not about holding someone responsible. This isn’t an accountability bureau. This is a team effort. Our mistake as a team was the first two innings. That was what set us back, and gave the opposition a degree of freedom. If we had a 100-run lead, I do not think they’d have been able to play in the way they did. We need to understand the direction of matches will be decided very quickly, as early as day one.”

England captain named Player of the Match after putting himself through 24 overs in India’s second innings at Lord’s

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-20252:32

Stokes: I was going to decide when I stop bowling

Ben Stokes, England’s captain, admitted he had taken himself to some “dark places” with his bowling workloads but said “nothing was stopping” him as he embarked on two lengthy spells to help drag his side to a 22-run victory over India on the final day at Lord’s.Stokes was named Player of the Match after taking five wickets across 44 overs – the third-most he has bowled in a Test, and the most since 2019 – to go with innings of 44 and 33 with the bat, as well as the crucial run-out of Rishabh Pant in India’s first innings.On the third evening, he received an instruction from England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, to call it quits after a seven-over spell, with the team management still wary about protecting Stokes’ fitness after hamstring surgery over the winter.Related

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But he again pushed his body to the limit on Monday, resuming his over from the previous evening and bowling a further 9.2 overs during the morning, which included the wicket of India opener KL Rahul. He followed up with a ten-over spell after lunch, eventually dislodging Jasprit Bumrah after a dogged 35-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja for the ninth wicket, as England sought to confirm victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.The Lord’s Test was also the second of back-to-back matches, with just a three-day turnaround from India’s win at Edgbaston, where Stokes bowled 26 overs. In the first Test, at Headingley, he sent down 35 overs and spoke afterwards about how hard it was to recover.”I have taken myself to some pretty dark places before. Today was… but look, bowling to win a Test match, if that doesn’t get you excited, I don’t know what does,” he said, speaking to Sky Sports at the post-match presentation.”With what today was, what was on the line. Yesterday [Saturday] was a bit different. You know, there was still more cricket to be played. And, you know, pulled myself off there. I mean, to be honest, I was absolutely cooked [on day three] as well. But again, today, you know, game was on the line. Nothing was stopping me [carrying on].”Ben Stokes appeals for KL Rahul’s wicket•Getty Images

Although Stokes hinted at a return to form with the bat, Lord’s extended his run without a Test fifty to ten innings. He is now averaging 29.18 in 20 Tests since his last hundred, at Lord’s during the 2023 Ashes, but said that his ability to impact games with the ball meant he had little time to dwell on his batting returns.”I’m an allrounder. I get four opportunities in a Test match to be able to influence the game. And one of the great things about being an allrounder is that if one thing doesn’t quite click, you’ve got an opportunity with the other. And that’s how I look at it.”Obviously, I would like to be scoring more runs at the moment, but as soon as I’ve got my whites on out there on the field, all my thoughts flip over to bowling. And that’s the great thing about being an allrounder, that you don’t really have a chance to sort of worry about anything. And everyone knows, I’ll always put in as much as I possibly can.”Jofra Archer took two crucial wickets in his opening spell•Getty Images

Stokes offered particular praise for Jofra Archer, playing in his first Test since 2021. Archer claimed match figures of 5 for 105 in a display of sustained hostility that regularly pushed the speed gun above 90mph/145kph. On day five, six years on from his heroics in the ODI World Cup final, he made the first breakthrough with the key wicket of Pant, and Stokes said he had backed Archer to do something special.”Yeah, part of the reason I went with Jof this morning, six years ago now to the day. He played a major role and I had a feeling he’d do something special and crack the game open. A bit of discussion, Brydon [Carse] had an amazing spell [last night], but I had a gut feeling that Jof’s going to do something in his first game back.”Speaking afterwards to Sky, Archer said that the long periods he experienced in rehab due to back and elbow problems between 2021 and 2024 were made all the more worthwhile by the taste of victory at Lord’s.As well as his involvement in the World Cup final, when he bowled the Super Over as England’s men lifted the trophy for the first time, Archer made his Test debut on the ground during the 2019 Ashes. However, he had not played a Test since February 2021 before his comeback against India, enduring a four-year absence from red-ball cricket while road-testing his body in the limited-overs formats.0:55

Manjrekar: Stokes always makes things happen

“I only played one other Test at Lord’s, but you know, the last one was just as special as this one,” Archer said. “A lot of rehab, a lot of training, but it’s moments like this that make everything worth it.”I feel the hardest part is playing cricket for the last year-and-a-half and then still having training, talking about workloads, and ‘bowl today, don’t bowl tomorrow’, stuff like that. That would probably be the hardest part, because some days you think that you’re ready, but you never know if you’re ready or not until you do it. But the safer way is the best way. So I’m not too fussed. This surely, surely is worth it.”On day two, Archer struck with his third ball on returning to the Test side, having India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal caught at second slip, and celebrated by sprinting away to square leg, where he was enveloped by his team-mates.”Guess I was a little bit emotional,” he said. “It was a long journey. I can’t tell you the amount of keyboard warriors that I had to put up with for the last three to four years as well. I told myself that I was going to try my best not to be [emotional] and when [Jaiswal] nicked it, and it went to Brooky [Harry Brook], I think all of that just went through the window. The joy, the whole crowd, the Long Room yesterday, I’ve never seen it like that ever in my life. So it’s just moments like this that made the rehab all so much worth it.”Archer also revealed what was behind his send-off for Pant on the final day, having removed the batter’s off stump from the ground. “It wasn’t a proud moment,” he said. “I just told him to charge that. Honestly, this morning, I was struggling a little bit, the ball just kept coming out full. One of the full ones, he just charged, and it p****d me off a bit. When the [wicket] ball nipped down the slope, honestly I was so grateful for that.”

The home side piled up a massive 431 for 2 then Cooper Connolly bagged figures of 5 for 22 as South Africa collapse to a record defeat

Firdose Moonda24-Aug-2025

Cameron Green made his maiden ODI hundred from just 47 balls•Getty Images

Centuries from Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and a maiden ODI hundred from Cameron Green, off just 47 balls, took Australia to their second-highest ODI total, behind their 434 for 4 against South Africa 19 years ago.But there was no repeat of that match, as South Africa were bowled out for 155 and slumped to their heaviest defeat by runs by 276 runs to finish the series 2-1 winners. The consolation win meant that Australia’s record of never being whitewashed in an ODI series at home intact and completed their second-biggest ODI victory.While Australia’s seamers found movement under lights to blunt South Africa, the second innings belonged to Cooper Connolly. At 22 years and two days old, he became the youngest Australia to take a five-for in ODIs and the first Australian to do so since March 2023. He also finished with the best figures by an Australian spinner in the format.Related

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All three matches in the series have been won by the team batting first, and all by big margins. In Mackay, it was noticeable how much more the ball did under lights and that difference in conditions prompted Marsh to bat first for the first time in 22 tosses. He would have been even happier with the way Australia responded to his call.After being bowled out for under 200 in the first two matches of the series, Australia showed they meant business when Marsh and Head shared in Australia’s fourth-highest opening stand of 250. They batted together for 34.1 overs which still left plenty of time for Green to score the second-fastest ODI hundred for Australia after Glenn Maxwell. In the process, Australia also became only the second side in which the top three all scored centuries in an ODI innings.The other team to have achieved that feat was South Africa against West Indies, a decade ago at altitude in Johannesburg. Australia’s trio of hundreds came on the Queensland coast, on a used but flat pitch, and against a weakened South African attack.With Kagiso Rabada out of the series with an ankle injury and Lungi Ngidi rested, South Africa lacked discipline upfront and struggled to rein Australia in at any stage. Kwena Maphaka, playing in just his third ODI, gave away 73 runs in six overs, Wiaan Mulder was at his most expensive with 93 runs scored off his seven overs and only Keshav Maharaj conceded at under six runs an over.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Maphaka and Mulder took the new balls against an Australian pair who showed no mercy. When they raced to 41 without loss after four overs, returning captain Temba Bavuma had to introduce spin early. While Maharaj and Aiden Markram’s first overs were boundary-less, the pause in power hitting was only temporary.Head brought up fifty off 32 balls and at that point had scored twice as many runs as Marsh, and only faced 10 more balls. It looked as though Head would race to a hundred before Marsh reached fifty but the Australian captain got there when he drove Corbin Bosch square off his 50th delivery.Head’s hundred came off 80 balls, with a single from Muthusamy and his signature helmet-on-bat celebration, fitting of the significance of the moment. Head last scored an international century 25 innings ago in all formats.The Head-Marsh partnership grew to 200 by the 28th over, and was Australia’s first double-century stand since the 2023 World Cup, when Maxwell went wild in their victory over Afghanistan. Six overs later, their stand reached 250 as Head took 19 runs off Markram. With 150 and beyond in his sights, it seemed Head could do no wrong but he couldn’t clear long-off against Maharaj.Travis Head celebrates his 80-ball century•Getty Images

In the over after his dismissal, Marsh reached his hundred, from 105 balls. He was also set for more but top-edged a slog-sweep off Muthusamy and Ryan Rickelton ran from behind the stumps to square leg to take the catch.Australia promoted Green ahead of Marnus Labuschagne and gave him a licence to thrill. By the time Maphaka was brought back in the 43rd over, Green had his eye in. He brought up fifty off 28 deliveries when he hit Maphaka over midwicket for six, in an over that cost 20. Maphaka’s day got worse when he dropped Carey on 29.Green then launched a magnificent assault on Muthusamy and sent him for a hat-trick of sixes to enter the 80s having declined a single to retain the strike. Twin sixes off Mulder put him on the brink and then Green reached his hundred with two off Bosch. He finished unbeaten on 118.Carey iced the cake by reaching his 13th ODI half-century off 37 balls. The third-wicket stand between Green and Carey was worth 164 off 13.3 overs, at a scoring rate of 12.14 and Australia added 126 runs off the last 10 overs.Faced with a daunting target, South Africa’s start was always going to determine how things went and it was badly. Markram’s struggles outside the off stump remain and he nicked Sean Abbott to second slip in the second over. Rickelton has also had a difficult tour and handed Connolly a catch at midwicket to depart for 11.Cooper Connolly celebrates removing Dewald Brevis•Getty Images

In the next over, Bavuma, whose approach was aggressive as he reached 19 off 10 balls, advanced on Abbott, swung and chopped on. By the nine over, Tristan Stubbs was also dismissed, caught at cover off Xavier Bartlett. From 50 for 4, 431 was a world away.Tony de Zorzi and Dewald Brevis shared in South Africa’s best partnership but de Zorzi played a poor shot and was caught at midwicket when he tried to pull Connolly over the inner ring. Brevis looked the best of the South Africans, especially with his two sixes off Adam Zampa, but holed out to long-off on 49 to give Connolly a second wicket.His next two came courtesy of spectacular catching by Labuschagne at long-on. He caught Wiaan Mulder low off the turf running in, and Bosch when he dived full length and avoided the boundary rope.While Connolly had the fielders to thank for his earlier wickets, his fifth came through a clever piece of bowling. He drew Maharaj forward with a flighted ball, beat him as he slogged across the line and Josh Inglis did the rest. Zampa took the final wicket in the 25th over, as South Africa were bowled out with more than half their overs remaining.

A round-up of the third day’s action from the fifth round of matches from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009

Group A

Pakistan Customs stitched up a comfortable win, their first of the season, over Lahore Shalimar at Muridke. They began the third day with a lead of 181 and could only add a single run to that this morning, but by keeping Lahore Shalimar to 244 they allowed themselves an easy chase. Mohammad Iftikhar, the right-arm medium-pacer, struck twice early and then down the order to apply the pressure and the only batsman to reply was Sohail Idrees. Idrees batted 158 deliveries for an unbeaten 104, which contributed 59% of the total. However, it could ultimately only help set a target of 63, which was knocked off in 7.3 overs despite the loss of the openers.Zarai Tarqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) dominated the first half of the day, thanks to Kashif Daud’s six wickets, but a batting collapse handed the momentum right back to Habib Bank Limited(HBL) at the Marghzar Cricket Ground. From an overnight lead of 122, ZTBL added a further 117 to their score as Daud ran down the order for a career-best 6 for 72. The captain Hasan Raza’s 33 and an unbeaten 36 from Mohammad Aslam at No. 9 could yet prove to be crucial given the situation at stumps. Set a target of 240, ZTBL slipped to 91 for 5 with Sarmad Anwar taking three wickets.In Rawalpindi, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) finished a fine day’s work needing another 70 runs to win with eight wickets in hand. That this was the result was down to their work in the field, when they dismissed Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) for 180 after their own innings came down for 293. No major partnerships were allowed to flourish as four of the five bowlers used restricted KRL. There was just one half-century, from Ali Khan, and despite losing two before stumps, including the opener Naeemuddin for a first-ball duck, SNGPL are in prime position to achieve their fourth win in a row.Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) didn’t buckle under a weight of runs – not yet, at least – and held out for another day against National Bank of Pakistan in Faisalabad. From an overnight 274 for 2, NBP declared at 441 for 5 with Rashid Riaz (63*), Mansoor Amjad (45) and Qaiser Abbas (38) piling on the misery for SSGC. Trailing by 259, SSGC replied with a steady second innings to ensure NBP will have to work a little harder on the final day. There were no substantial contributions but SSGC reached 143 for 6, leaving NBP four wickets to take for their third win of the season.An interesting tussle between Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) at the Gaddafi Stadium ended with the latter chasing 262 with ten wickets. PIA began the third day with a lead of 55 and extended it to 279 thanks to key roles at the top and down the order. Rafatullah Mohmand (48) and Adil Nisar (61) added 106 for the opening wicket but suffered a wobble after they and Jahangir Mirza (52) fell. However, the last five wickets rallied to add 129 and that set PIA a tough target. In the 2.3 overs left in the day they knocked off 17 of those.

Group B

Young fast bowler Mohammad Rameez capped an outstanding match by adding a career-best 8 for 27 to five in the first innings, helping table-toppers Rawalpindi beat Peshawar by 75 runs at the National Ground. Rameez was unstoppable with the new ball and utterly flummoxed Peshawar for a paltry 77. It was a stunning turnaround from Rawalpindi who, after being forced to follow on after making just 81, were carried to 334 thanks to Usman Saeed (79) and Zahid Mansoor (81). The pair rallied the top order confidently and a couple key hands down the order helped set Peshawar a target of 153. They didn’t even get near, with
Rameez slicing them apart amazingly. Rawalpindi have won four from four.A tidy outing in the field set up a nine-wicket win for Sialkot over Quetta at the Jinnah Stadium. Kamran Younis carried from an overnight 147 to 182 and the wicketkeeper Ahmed Butt made 94 to help the score to 354 even as Arun Lal took four more to finish with 7 for 87 against a lack of support. Then Quetta folded for 156 in 39 overs to Sialkot’s seam attack, and a target of 16 was easily achieved.Faisalabad, despite making 309, were forced to follow on by Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground. The pressure of trying to get near Islamabad’s first innings of 485 told as no big stands were formed; the 84 for the second wicket was the best Faisalabad managed. Imran Ali battled with 73 from the top but received little support and Faisalabad needed 52 from Mohammad Salman and an unbeaten 39 from Zulqarnain at No.10 prop up the scorecard. Shehzad Azam (4 for 121) and Nasrullah Khan (3 for 96) shared seven wickets. Following-on, Faisalabad were 0 for no loss at the close.Chasing 316, Multan finished day three on 99 for 3 against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium. Multan only added nine to their first-innings total in the morning, after which Rizwan Haider and Zulfiqar Babar ran through Karachi Blues to dismiss them for 167. The duo struck all down the order and didn’t allow the opposition to dominate; there were no half-centuries while Shahzaib Hasan (42), Asad Shafiq (32) and Tanvir Ahmed (33) were cut off after they got starts. Shahzaid finished with 5 for 74 and Babar 4 for 43. Multan lost a couple wickets early on but were steadied by the No. 3 Rameez Alam’s unbeaten 58.Lahore Ravi replied well to Hyderabad’s 377, thanks to the opener and captain Kashif Siddiq’s 121 at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Siddiq, who resumed on 70, saw his side slipped from 114 for 2 to 149 for 6 but found assistance from the lower order. Waqas Ahmed (33), Mohammad Irshad (65)and Adbul Ghaffar (27*) were superb in getting the score up to 348. In their second innings Hyderabad finished the day on 61 for 3, a lead of 90.

Captain says the league will help players fine-tune their game and improve their fitness in the free window after the tournament

Vishal Dikshit05-Feb-2025India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes the upcoming WPL will “play a very big role” in the lead up to the home ODI World Cup later this year, as the T20 league will help the India players fine-tune their game and “raise” their fitness levels in the free window after the tournament. This year’s World Cup will be the first time Harmanpreet will lead India in the 50-over tournament.The five-team WPL will run from February 14 to March 15 across four cities in India for 20 league matches and two knockout games. The India players will then have a gap of over three months before they head to England for five T20Is and three ODIs. They will then have another gap for nearly two months. As per the FTP, their next assignment will be of three homes ODIs against world champions Australia in late September and then the 50-over World Cup at home in October.Related

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Some of the India players are nursing injuries and could also use the WPL to regain and prove their match fitness.”I think this WPL is going to play a very big role because this year we have ODI World Cup,” Harmanpreet said at a press conference in Mumbai. “After the WPL, we have a very good window where we can work on our fitness and raise our fitness level. I think that gap will really help us to work really hard on ourselves.”India had failed to make the semi-finals in the last ODI World Cup, in early 2022 in New Zealand, under the captaincy of Mithali Raj.Harmanpreet was asked about India’s busy schedule at the turn of the year when they played back-to-back series against Australia (away), West Indies (home), and Ireland (home) and if that might have played a role in players having to manage their workload.Harmanpreet herself sat out of two of the three T20Is against West Indies followed by the three ODIs against Ireland. India also played all those series, after the T20 World Cup, without the injured Pooja Vastrakar whose fitness is being monitored by Mumbai Indians for her participation in the WPL. Some other players such as Yastika Bhatia, Shreyanka Patil and Priya Punia had also missed the West Indies games in December because of injuries, and have not played since then. Like Harmanpreet, India had also rested their lead fast bowler Renuka Singh for the Ireland ODIs last month.”See, as a cricketer, we really want our schedule to be packed and injuries are something which is part of the game and sometimes these are not under your control,” Harmanpreet said. “But as a cricketer, we don’t want to miss any tournament. But really happy [with] the way we are getting our schedule really packed and playing back-to-back cricket and that is something as a player, as a captain I’m enjoying. And good to see the last series went really well.”A few young players got opportunity and they did really well, played very impressive cricket. This season and this year is going to be very exciting because [of the] home World Cup and then we have really exciting cricket in front of us after the WPL. Hopefully we gel well as a team and do what a team requires and play some good cricket.”

A scorching spell from Starc restricted the visitors to 203, but Rauf nearly stole the game away

Alex Malcolm04-Nov-2024It was the full Pakistan experience at the MCG, a ground where they have so much great history. They were hopeless, then thrilling, then hopeless, then thrilling. And then Australia won, without much conviction. But they did what they do thanks to a sizzling spell from Mitchell Starc and yet another nerveless chasing masterclass from the ice-cool captain Pat Cummins in the face of what looked like a match-winning three-wicket haul from Haris Rauf, heroics with bat and ball from Naseem Shah and some crafty captaincy from new skipper Mohammad Rizwan.The 25,831-strong crowd looked sparse in the gargantuan MCG. But it sounded like 100,000, and it felt like it was in Lahore, as Pakistan fans drowned out the locals to help keep their side in the game. But there was only so much they could do, as Pakistan found a way to lose despite being on the brink of one of the great ODI heists.Chasing just 204 after Starc took 3 for 33 from 10 overs, including three maidens, Australia slumped from 139 for 3, after Steven Smith and Josh Inglis were in control, to 155 for 7 on the back of Rauf’s raucous burst. That became 185 for 8 when Sean Abbott was run out, after he had nearly run out Cummins. But skipper held firm, as he had at Edgbaston, Mumbai, Kolkata and Christchurch over the past 18 months.Related

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His 32 not out won’t go down as his most memorable, but it was the equal of any of his best innings in Australian colours. It was vindication too for his decision to have laser eye surgery in the winter to fix his vision, and some extensive batting work in Sydney with Australian batting consultant and well renown coach Trent Woodhill.Australia’s chase began poorly with the new opening duo of Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk both falling inside the first four overs.Fraser-McGurk’s 16 was particularly frantic. But Smith was calm and settled into a stereotypical groove. Any fears on his Test form could well be allayed given how well he handled some excellent fast bowling on a quick pitch.Australia could have been 55 for 3 when Inglis was dropped by Irfan Khan at gully. Naseem got one to rear from a length and catch the edge but Irfan could not hang on flying high to his right.That looked like it might have been the last chance. Barring an edge between the keeper and wide slip trying to glide a ball, Inglis was imperious. Coach Jason Gillespie’s four years coaching against Inglis in Australian domestic cricket had not translated to his four-pronged pace attack avoiding dropping short to the West Australian. It cost them three sixes and two fours.Haris Rauf burst through Australia’s middle order•AFP

After an 85-run stand, Smith made an uncharacteristic error. He slashed a cut off Rauf straight to backward point to be out for 44.Pakistan’s insistence on going short to Inglis paid off when he nailed another pull shot off Shaheen only to see Irfan run a long way to hang on to an outstanding catch in the deep.Rauf, a Melbourne Stars favourite, then had the Pakistan fans in raptures as he cranked up the speed and Australia lost 3 for 0. Labuschagne top edged to deep third, undone by extra bounce. Maxwell nicked the next ball to Rizwan and Australia were 139 for 6.Aaron Hardie and Abbott steadied briefly but it was fleeting. Hardie fell trying to back away and cut a ball from Mohammad Hasnain that hit the top of middle.Enter the skipper for another salvage job. It was unconventional as it always is. He was bombed with short balls. But he keep scoring and kept surviving. Abbott was run out when Cummins pushed for a third. But he was there at the end yet again when the winning runs were scored to break the hearts of all those who don’t bleed green and gold.Earlier, Australia set up the win with the ball. Most of Pakistan’s batters, with the exception of Babar Azam who made a classy 37 off 44, were exposed on a fast and bouncy MCG pitch after being sent in having come straight from the low spinning Test pitches of Multan and Rawalpindi last month. Rizwan top scored with 44 off 71 balls while Naseem made an outstanding 40 off 39 with four sixes from No. 9 to ensure Australia was at least chasing more than 200.Starc and Cummins, fresh and in rhythm ahead of a big summer, put on a show in front of a very pro-Pakistan crowd. Starc’s 140kph thunderbolts accounted for Saim Ayub on debut and Abdullah Shafique.The pair were opening the batting in ODI cricket for the first time after averaging just 8 as a pair in 12 Test innings together. Their international average dropped to 7.61 when Ayub chopped on trying to drive on the up.Shafique looked like he was batting in a Test match. He defended, ducked and weaved on his way to 12 from 26 before failing to get his bat out of the way of a rising delivery from Starc wide of off as he tried to sway inside it.Mitchell Starc removed Pakistan’s openers•Getty Images

Babar and Rizwan settled but never accelerated. Babar looked in fine touch but felt the pinch of the slow-moving scoreboard. He tried to create a scoring option off the back foot to Adam Zampa but picked the wrong length and lost his off stump.Cummins welcomed Kamran Ghulam to Australia with a brute of a delivery. The whites of his eyes popped as Cummins’ 142.7kph bouncer reared at his throat. He got his hands up in time but could only glove it to Inglis.Rizwan’s sluggish rearguard began to pick up steam when he hooked Starc into the stands at fine leg. But he fell to Labuschagne trying to sweep a wide legbreak only to get a top edge onto his helmet that popped up to Inglis.Some late hitting from Naseem, Shaheen Afridi, and Irfan Khan, in the mould of the man who had presented his debut cap in Wasim Akram, lifted Pakistan from a dire position at 117 for 6 to 203.Naseem and Shaheen showed the type of intent that Pakistan’s top order could have used, launching five sixes between them after the entire top seven had contributed one, before Shaheen was castled by Starc for 24 off 19.Naseem feasted on spin, launching Zampa into the stands twice and Maxwell once. But Naseem also launched Sean Abbott over deep midwicket. He holed out to mid-off to end the innings. Had he batted until the end, it might have been enough.