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‘Origin of leak not from ICC’

: The ICC commended Brendon McCullum two years ago – and continues to do so today – for his brave, courageous and principled stand against corruption in cricket. The ICC also understood and shared his dismay at the leak of his confidential statement, which prompted a thorough and detailed investigation by the ICC. While the probe proved that the origin of the leak was not from within the ICC, it failed to establish beyond doubt the actual source. Nevertheless, the ICC has already put strong measures in place to ensure this type of incident is never repeated.
In 2014 (and unrelated to the leak of confidential information), a comprehensive review of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit was carried out to review its processes, functions and resources. The review was conducted by the ICC’s Integrity Working Party (IWP), which included independent corruption experts. All the recommendations of the IWP were reviewed and adopted by the ICC Board during the 2015 ICC Annual Conference in Barbados.
Every event or incident provides an organisation with opportunities to review its structures and measure its operations against best practice. This is exactly what the ICC has done in this particular case – it believes the outcome has been processes, procedures and resources which have been further bolstered and strengthened.
The ICC reconfirms that it is doing absolutely everything in its power to fight the threat of corruption in the sport and will continue to do so. It also reaffirms its commitment to gain and retain the complete trust of cricketers, and to work in close cooperation with all stakeholders in cricket.

Ravi Sawani, the former general manager of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), has questioned the remarks made by the former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, who termed the approach of the anti-corruption watchdog “casual”.Delivering the MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture at Lord’s on Monday, McCullum, who gave match-fixing evidence against his former team-mate Chris Cairns at Southwark Crown Court in London last year, said he felt the ACSU’s evidence-gathering had to be “much more thorough, more professional”.In his testimony during Cairns’ perjury trial, McCullum had said that, on the eve of New Zealand’s first match of the 2011 World Cup, he and Daniel Vettori, then captain, had gone to the hotel room of the ACSU representative John Rhodes to report the approaches that Cairns had allegedly made in 2008, when McCullum was playing the inaugural season of the IPL in India. McCullum recollected Rhodes taking notes but not recording their conversation.According to McCullum, Rhodes said his notes would “probably end up” at the bottom of the file. “When I made my first statement to the ICC, my impression was that it would be put in the bottom draw and never see the light of day again. No attempt was made to elicit a full and comprehensive statement from me on that occasion,” McCullum told the audience at the lecture.Cairns, who retired from international cricket in 2006, had been part of the un-sanctioned Indian Cricket League in 2008, the tournament which gave rise to the allegations of which he was subsequently acquitted. However, Sawani said the ACSU could not have used McCullum’s statement against Cairns since the ICL did not fall under the ICC umbrella.”We could not have used any part of what McCullum had told us against Chris Cairns in any manner because Chris Cairns was not under the ICC jurisdiction at that moment,” Sawani told ESPNcricinfo.”He [Cairns] was accused of doing something when he was part of the ICL operations. As per the ACSU code Cairns had not done anything in any ICC-controlled match so there was no necessity for us to prosecute Chris Cairns. Also, because we had taken a decision not to prosecute McCullum for the delay in reporting an approach, there was no requirement for recording McCullum’s statement in a detailed manner.”After speaking to Rhodes, McCullum made detailed statements to the ACSU and the Metropolitan Police in London in 2014. The Metropolitan Police, McCullum said, was “streets ahead in terms of professionalism” compared to the ACSU. Sawani, however, disagreed with McCullum.”The Met Police recorded his statement to criminally prosecute Chris Cairns and his lawyer [who was also acquitted] for certain offences as per the English law and obviously they went into great details as to what happened and exactly what was the cause of the statement that he had made and what happened thereafter,” Sawani said. “It had to be evidence recorded as per the procedure prescribed in English criminal law and then used during criminal proceedings.”According to Sawani, the ACSU took a well-deliberated decision not to punish McCullum for his failure to report the approach three years after Cairns allegedly made it.”I took that decision that no action need be taken against Brendon McCullum,” Sawani said. “McCullum was stating something three years late about an incident. No action was taken even though technically it was an offence. The player himself had come forward to report an approach about which we were not aware and it would have been stupid on our part to punish him for that.”Later in 2014, McCullum’s second statement to the ICC was leaked in the . McCullum said he still did not know how his statement had found its way into the paper, and if anyone had been held accountable.”To report an approach and to give evidence requires considerable courage – players deserve much better,” McCullum said. “How can the game’s governing body expect players to co-operate with it when it is then responsible for leaking confidential statements to the media?”However, Sawani denied that anyone within the ACSU would have divulged any details to an outsider, adding that there were others present in the room each time McCullum recorded a statement.”McCullum himself admitted this,” Sawani said, “when he said ‘I had told other people about Cairns’ approaches – one of them was my captain and friend, Dan Vettori’. There were many possibilities. The truth is out there somewhere and only Ed Hawkins [Daily Mail reporter] can say from where he sourced extracts of that statement.”

Sri Lanka fast bowler Shaminda Eranga has been reported for a suspect action following the second Test against England in Chester-le-Street.Eranga must have his action tested at an ICC accredited centre within 14 days – Loughborough University in England is his closest option – but can continue bowling until the result of that test is known.The Chester-le-Street Test was umpired by Aleem Dar and S Ravi, with Andy Pycroft as match referee. This is the first time Eranga’s action has been called into question – in his 18th Test. If it is found to be illegal, he will be barred from bowling in international cricket until he remodels his action and has it cleared at an ICC accredited centre.Losing Eranga could be a big blow to an already depleted Sri Lankan attack on a what is shaping up to be a disastrous tour of England. They had already lost first-choice quicks Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera to injury, and are 2-0 down in the three-Test series, suffering heavy defeats. Eranga, however, has not been effective in the series so far, picking up just one wicket in 47 overs across three innings.

Mohammed Shami has been named in a strong Bengal squad for the start of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Shami will be partnered by Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel in the pace department, with the squad captained by opener Abhimanyu Easwaran.Bengal had earlier named Anustup Majumdar as captain. But the late change is understood to have been made in consultation with Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain who recently took charge as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).Shami hasn’t played for India since featuring in the Champions Trophy in early March. Asked of his omission from the squad for the West Indies Tests, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had highlighted Shami’s lack of match time as one of the reasons.Related

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• Akash Deep: I was wondering 'how do I survive five Tests?'

So far, since the end of IPL 2025 in June, Shami has featured in just one first-class game, for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. In that game, he sent down 34 overs across the two innings, picking up one wicket. In the second innings of that match, Shami didn’t bowl much on the final day in a game East Zone lost after conceding a big first-innings lead.The Ranji season is also an opportunity for Akash Deep and Mukesh to get back on the Test selection radar ahead of the South Africa series starting November 14.Akash Deep was part of the England tour in the summer, where he featured in three of the five Tests and starred with a ten-wicket haul in India’s win in Birmingham. However, since his return from England, Akash Deep has had to undergo rehab for a back injury that ruled him out of the Duleep Trophy. He has since passed a fitness test but was not picked in the squad for the ongoing series against West Indies.Mukesh was part of the India A tour of England in the summer, where he picked up three wickets in his only outing. He bowled in just one innings in the Duleep Trophy opener for East Zone before being examined for a hamstring injury. He has since cleared his fitness tests at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.Bengal open their campaign against Uttarakhand at Eden Gardens on October 15. They are placed in Group C, with Assam, Services, Tripura, Railways, Haryana and Gujarat as the other teams.

Big picture – Can Sri Lanka continue to play like ‘defending champions’?

Prior to Sri Lanka’s tournament opener against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup, Charith Asalanka had reminded people that his team was, indeed, the defending T20 Asia Cup champions. A fact not strictly inaccurate but one that might have raised a few eyebrows when put in context: Sri Lanka’s form in major tournaments in the three years since that momentous victory has been less than stellar.But for Asalanka, the psychological boost that it had provided was something he was sure would spur his side on. And so it proved to be against Bangladesh on Saturday, when whatever confidence or motivation was being derived was on total display – they dominated a contest that was expected to be much more closely fought, and quite frankly looked every bit the champions.Related

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Consistency, however, has been Sri Lanka’s Achilles’ heel, and against Hong Kong on Monday, they have a chance to build up a head of steam ahead of their final group game against Afghanistan.As for Hong Kong, two defeats already means they are out of the qualification reckoning, but they will no doubt want to bow out on a high note. And who better against the “defending champions”?While this Sri Lankan side seems to be ironing out weaknesses, their middle order is still on the soft side. Kamil Mishara has added some much-needed aggression, but in general there is still a heavy reliance on the opening pair of Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka. Get them early and who knows what’s possible.Against both Afghanistan and Bangladesh, seamers Ayush Shukla and Ateeq Iqbal showed they can pick up wickets in the powerplay. Where the Hong Kong bowling struggled was in limiting scoring through the middle overs – a period Sri Lanka’s batters have been known to struggle. That heavy collapse against Zimbabwe just three games ago has also served to highlight this Sri Lanka batting line-up’s propensity to unravel, and with the pitch expected to be on the slower side, the stage is as set as can be for a low-scoring contest.But to be clear, Sri Lanka are overwhelming favourites and, considering their clinical performance against Bangladesh, are also right on top of their game. It’s an uphill task for Hong Kong whichever way you slice it, though not impossible.Ayush Shukla has shown he can pick up wickets early on•Getty Images

Form guide

Sri Lanka WWLWL
Hong Kong LLLWW

In the spotlight: Ehsan Khan and Wanindu Hasaranga

If Hong Kong are to pull off an upset, their best path will be to limit Sri Lanka’s batting. While there are plenty of dangerous batters in the Sri Lanka line-up, their sometimes brittle middle order has no less than four left-hand batters – Kamil Mishara, Kusal Perera, Asalanka and Kamindu Mendis. With offspinner Ehsan Khan being Hong Kong’s most prolific wicket-taker – 128 wickets in 94 innings at an economy rate of 6.29 – the match-ups are tailor-made.Wanindu Hasaranga didn’t look like he had missed a step on his return to the side against Bangladesh. His googly caused chaos as he ended with figures of 2 for 25, and it might have been more had heavy bails not been used with Jaker Ali surviving one that grazed his off stump. On a surface where spin has been at the forefront, it would take a special effort from Hong Kong to keep Hasaranga from adding to his 133 T20I wickets.Does Maheesh Theekshana fit into Sri Lanka’s “full-strength” side?•Getty Images

Team news: Will Maheesh Theekshana return?

Hong Kong are likely to be unchanged, but with this being their final match of the tournament, it would be unsurprising to see some bench players get a game.Hong Kong (probable): 1 Zeeshan Ali (wk), 2 Anshuman Rath, 3 Babar Hayat, 4 Nizakat Khan, 5 Kalhan Challu, 6 Kinchit Shah, 7 Yasim Murtaza (capt), 8 Aizaz Khan, 9 Ayush Shukla, 10 Ateeq Iqbal, 11 Ehsan KhanSri Lanka have stated that they will go with a full-strength side, which means there are unlikely to be any changes in the batting unit. On the bowling front, there could be a return for Maheesh Theekshana as the pitch is likely to aid spin.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamil Mishara, 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Thushara

Pitch and conditions: Spin, what else?

The pitch in Dubai hasn’t necessarily proved conducive to high scores over the past year, with spinners generally finding conditions to their liking. For example, of the 17 wickets to fall in the Oman vs Pakistan game, nine fell to spin, while pace-off deliveries were regularly employed by the seamers.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first match between Sri Lanka and Hong Kong in any format in international cricket.
• The side batting first has won seven of the last ten T20Is played in Dubai.
• Sri Lanka last played in Dubai in 2022, in the final of the Asia Cup that they won.
• Nissanka’s 902 runs are the most by a player from a Full-Member nation in T20Is since the start of 2024.

Quotes

“We don’t want to take any chances. In this format, everybody is tough to beat. We will go with our full-strength side.”

South Africa’s former captain Dane van Niekerk is “definitely not part,” of their plans for the upcoming World Cup despite coming out of retirement and being included in an ongoing pre-tournament training camp. National coach Mandla Mashimbyi confirmed that van Niekerk will only be considered for future series “when she ticks all the boxes.”That means van Niekerk, who is 32, may not play at another 50-over World Cup after missing out in 2022 as she recovered from a broken ankle. She has appeared in three previous editions and led South Africa in 2017, where they suffered a semi-final defeat to England. She has also played in seven T20 World Cups but did not feature in the home event in 2023 after failing to meet Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) fitness requirements. It was then that she announced her retirement from international cricket.Van Niekerk has since come back to domestic competition, u-turned on her international retirement and was called up to a 20-player squad for a week-long camp in Durban ahead of South Africa’s World Cup squad selection. But her name will not be among the final fifteen that will be announced next week. “She’s just part of the bigger or broader base of players that we’re trying to bring into our environment,” Mashimbyi said. “She’s definitely not part of this World Cup. She’s not going.”Related

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So why was van Niekerk brought into a squad specifically put together, “in preparation for the upcoming Pakistan tour and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 held in India and Sri Lanka,” according to a CSA press release? To see what she needs to do in order to get back in.”We wanted to bring her in and actually expose her to the environment so that she can understand what the expectations are,” Mashimbyi said. “Hopefully she can carry on from here onwards and really understand how she wants to go about things. And then one day when she gets a call up, you know, she can come in and have an impact immediately.”Strictly monitored running times are no longer part of the expectations, which will come as a relief to van Niekerk who was left out of the 2023 T20 World Cup squad because she could not run two kilometres in under 9:30. Now, CSA leaves selection to the coach and convener’s discretion but there is still an implicit understanding that fitness standards need to be at a high level and van Niekerk knows it. “I’ve seen the standards in the last two years. I’ve been in and around the team, commentating and even though I was really not involved I knew how the team was evolving when it comes to the physical sides of things,” she said. “There’s a massive difference from two years ago. The players have evolved, got stronger, smarter you can really see the work ethic around the group as well.”Van Niekerk, who plays for Western Province but does not have any franchise deals at the moment, conceded that she still has some work to do to catch up. “I know I’m probably not where everyone’s at at the moment. I understand where I need to be for the team. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I definitely wouldn’t have gone through all of this if I’m not willing to put that in,” she said. “This is almost a baseline for me to really gauge where I’m at when it comes to the physical side, when it comes to the skill side, and all those things. Hopefully, I can have a clearer view after this camp. I’d know with the conversations we’ve had where I need to be in the next few months.”While she will not be part of the action over September and October, van Niekerk may be eyeing a home comeback later this year. After the Women’s World Cup, the South Africa’s women’s team’s series against Ireland and Pakistan will headline the international summer as the men only host West Indies for five T20Is next year. The women’s team will play at all the country’s big grounds including Newlands, the Wanderers and van Niekerk’s home venue – St George’s Park – where she has never played an international. That will be followed by preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup, which both her and Mashimbyi may also have in their sights for her future.Mashimbyi acknowledged that it would be “false of us to not think that Dane is an important cog in the bigger scheme of things,” because of her experience. “She’s captained the team. She’s played for a long time, and she was successful in doing that. Bringing a player like that back into the environment for me was a no-brainer,” he said.But he also made it clear that she won’t receive any special treatment based on that history. “She’s like any other player now. You know, she needs to work her way up again. She needs to earn a place as well.”

Big picture: SL will look to guard against complacency

The only way from here is up. Just a bad day at the office. A freak occurrence. The only important result is the next one.These are probably some of the self-soothing platitudes those in the Bangladesh camp might be telling themselves after their calamitous display with the bat in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. Seven wickets for five runs, from 100 for 1 to 105 for 8 – a simple fact that there is no hiding from. But for that self-soothing to truly take effect, they might need to pick themselves off the mat, take a cold and hard look at their performance, and maybe understand that there was more good than bad.Or rather, understand that on most days, the bad will never be quite . After all, they had restricted a fairly robust Sri Lanka batting line-up to just 244 – a score that needed yet another rescue act from captain cool Charith Asalanka to attain, and one that seemed at least 40 runs below par. Then with the bat, Tanzid Hasan, during his 61-ball 62, made the surface look what it was: a bit sticky but any demons firmly in slumber.Related

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In truth, this was simply something that happens in sport every once so often, where one team performs at a level well above average, and another plunges to new depths of mediocrity; Sri Lanka were electric in the field, while some Bangladesh batters missed straight deliveries. That is the barebones reality.So while Bangladesh might do well not to dwell too much on their performance, Sri Lanka would do similarly well not to get carried away. The emphatic nature of the end result obscured some less-than-illustrious batting from the top order, while their bowling – particularly from the seamers – lacked the menace and tenacity of their Bangladesh counterparts.Sri Lanka may also wonder why the promised seamer- and-batter-friendly surface in Colombo never transpired. They had stacked their side with three seamers, but by the end of the game, both of Kamindu Mendis’ arms were getting more of a workout than any of Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando or Eshan Malinga.Bangladesh, too, had opted for three seamers, and it will be interesting to see if both sides persevere with that strategy. But in any eventuality, a reversion to the mean for one – or both – of these sides, might mean that the second ODI on Saturday might just end up being the close contest the first had promised for long periods, before veering off the rails so dramatically.Jaker Ali took on Sri Lanka’s bowling in the first game•AFP/Getty Images

Recent form

Sri Lanka WWWWL
Bangladesh LLLLLLIn the spotlight: Kamindu Mendis and Jaker AliOn the fourth ball Kamindu Mendis faced in the first ODI on Wednesday, he looked to drive Taskin Ahmed on the up, only to end up chipping a simple catch to mid-off. Fast forward a few hours, and off the fourth delivery he bowled, Kamindu snuck one through Towhid Hridoy’s defences before proceeding to grab two more wickets to instigate Bangladesh’s collapse. Those three wickets also came courtesy both arms, and considering the action he was imparting on the ball, it seems Kamindu has been working on his bowling a little more as of late. In a format where versatility is so crucial, Kamindu’s increasing ability to impact in every area of the game could prove invaluable.During his knock of 51 from 64 balls, with just the tail for company, Jaker Ali may have, for a fleeting moment, thought about achieving an impossible chase. In the end, he fell short, but for the hour or so that he was out in the middle, Sri Lanka – despite being so close to victory – couldn’t rest easy. But in taking on the bowling as comfortably as he did, Jaker once again showcased his ability to take hold of a game regardless of match state. For Bangladesh, the goal now should be to give him a platform to not just pull the side out of the mire, but also propel their innings to the types of totals modern ODIs demand.Dunith Wellalage could come in for Milan Rathnayake in the second ODI•AFP/Getty Images

Team news

Sri Lanka are likely to go with same XI, though Dunith Wellalage could come in for Milan Rathnayake if the pitch looks to support spin similar to the first game.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Nishan Madushka, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Kamindu Mendis, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Milan Rathnayake/Dunith Wellalage, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Eshan Malinga, 11 Asitha FernandoRishad Hossain missed the first ODI with fever, and could be back in contention. If so, he might replace Tanvir Islam, who seemed to be struggling with his calf.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Parvez Hossain, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Litton Das (wk), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mehidy Hasan Miraz (capt), 7 Jaker Ali, 8 Tanzim Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanvir Islam/Rishad Hossain, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Periods of rain are anticipated across the day, so we could expect some stoppages. As for the pitch, after an early period where Bangladesh’s seamers prospered in the first ODI, by the end, it had begun to revert to a more traditional Khettarama surface – though it was still far from being unplayable. However, there seems to be a concerted effort to make surfaces more batting-friendly, so batting first could once more seem to the play.Among active players, Taskin Ahmed has the most wickets in ODIs between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh•Associated Press

Stats and trivia

• Of Asalanka’s five ODI hundreds, four have required him to come out to bat inside the first 15 overs.
• Sri Lanka have never lost to Bangladesh in 11 ODIs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
• Wanindu Hasaranga is one run away from 1000 in ODIs. Whenever he scores that, he’ll become the 11th Sri Lankan to achieve the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in the format, having got to the latter landmark in the first ODI.
• Taskin Ahmed’s 26 wickets are the most by an active bowler in ODIs between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. That is also the third-highest after Lasith Malinga (27) and Muthiah Muralidaran (31).

Quote

“We were building a good partnership. We were a bit unfortunate because they took a brilliant catch, and then the run-out happened. That was a turning point. If we could have added 30-40 more runs, the match would have been much easier.”

Late heroics from Daniel Sams and a dazzling BBL debut from Sam Konstas ensured David Warner started his Sydney Thunder captaincy reign with a remarkable victory over Adelaide Strikers in Canberra.Chasing 183 in good batting conditions at Manuka Oval, Thunder appeared on track when Konstas smashed 56 off 27 balls at the top of the order. The 19-year-old became the youngest player in BBL history to hit a half-century and also made the fastest 50 in Thunder history.But Thunder fell away after Konstas’ dismissal and needed an unlikely 33 runs off the last two overs before Sams bludgeoned legspinner Lloyd Pope in a 19th over yielding 31 runs.Sams finished the game on the fourth ball of the last over with a boundary off allrounder Jamie Overton as Thunder ended a five-game losing streak to Strikers in stunning fashion.It was a heartbreaking result for new Strikers coach Tim Paine, who has replaced Jason Gillespie in the role.Related

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Konstas stars, Sams turns the matchAll eyes were on Thunder’s opening pair fusing an Australian cricket great and the country’s next big batting hope.In a sign of things to come, Konstas started with a boundary before Warner followed by reverse sweeping the spin of Matt Short. But Warner didn’t last long after a leading edge off seamer Henry Thornton was caught at extra cover.Thunder fans in the terraces collectively groaned before their spirits were soon raised when Konstas underlined why he’s such an exciting prospect. He executed a variety of audacious shots, including several scoops and a bludgeon over cover. His biggest blow was a huge strike off Thornton over deep midwicket that sailed into the crowd.Konstas, who received his Thunder cap from Warner, entered the record books when he reached his half-century before falling lbw to Fabian Allen.Thunder failed to regain the momentum and appeared to be petering out to a defeat. Sams had struggled initially and survived a caught behind appeal from Thornton with the not out decision upheld on review.Sams then rediscovered his big-hitting prowess in the nick of time with an assault on Pope, which included three sixes and three boundaries. He finished with 42 off 18 balls to snatch an improbable win for Thunder.Allen’s injury proves costly for Strikers West Indies’ Allen was recruited by Strikers to add to their allround depth. After he missed out with the bat, Allen’s left-arm spin proved invaluable when he dismissed Konstas.Allen bowled accurately in his two overs, conceding just 10 runs. But his BBL debut was soured when he injured his right hamstring after diving near the ropes down the ground in an effort to stop a boundary from Sam Billings.He limped off the field to leave Strikers’ attack shorthanded and his absence proved crucial. Allen probably would have bowled at the death with Short having to resort to Pope in a decision that backfired.Chris Green struck in each of his first three overs•Getty Images

Successful Ferguson debut; spin twins shineThere was a lot of excitement over pace recruit Lockie Ferguson, who made his BBL debut after rejecting a central contract with New Zealand Cricket. He bowled with trademark fire to finish with 3 for 24 from four overs, with all of his wicket-taking deliveries rattling the stumps. He was clearly the pick of the Thunder quicks.Chris Green and Tanveer Sangha also performed well and helped put Thunder in a strong position with a combined 5 for 54 from eight overs.Having given the leadership reins to Warner, Green can better focus on his offspin and he started the season superbly with the wickets of top-order batters Jake Weatherald, Chris Lynn and Harry Nielsen.Not a prodigious turner of the ball, Green cleverly slid the ball on and forced batters into errors, while legspinner Sangha dismissed Allen and Alex Ross as he mixed up his speeds to good effect.Weatherald justifies the faithWeatherald opened and he was preferred ahead of D’Arcy Short, who was at the top of Strikers’ order last season.Weatherald initially took a back seat to his captain Short, who smashed quick Nathan McAndrew through the covers for a first ball boundary. After struggling through the white-ball series against Pakistan, Short hoped to rediscover his form in a tournament where he won last season’s best player award.But Short’s desire to whack every delivery backfired when he was bowled in the second over by a sharp in-swinger from Ferguson in a rare BBL failure for him.Weatherald wasn’t rattled as he unfurled a counterattack with two sixes in three deliveries off McAndrew to ignite his innings. Entering the BBL after a strong start to the Sheffield Shield season, Weatherald’s confidence was evident with clean striking marked by a sweet sound that was music to his ears.His power and placement was impeccable as he raced to 40 but on his 19th delivery he holed out after miss-timing a slog sweep off Green as Strikers fell away.They slumped to 101 for 6 in the 13th over and appeared to be falling well short of a competitive total. But their innings flipped with the power surge, as Oveton and James Bazley whacked 33 runs across the 15th and 16th overs.Bazley entered with a career strike-rate in the BBL of 122 but he more than doubled that with a whirlwind 31 runs off 12 balls. Overton is relied upon to be Strikers’ finisher and he didn’t let the team down with four sixes.

A 142-run fifth-wicket stand between the century-making Tom Westley and Paul Walter rescued Essex from impending doom and into a commanding position in their weather-interrupted Vitality County Championship match against Nottinghamshire.Westley’s unbeaten 108 from 214 balls, his highest score of the season so far, held together an Essex innings that was in danger of imminent collapse at 86 for 4 when the pair came together. Westley had himself arrived in the sixth over and was still there 68 overs later with Essex 262 for 5 at the close of a day when the players trudged on and off the field at irregular intervals.Walter’s big hitting under the Chelmsford floodlights bought him 10 fours and a six in his 72 from 106 balls, his third half-century in his last six innings and only eclipsed by a century against Durham in June.It became a day of toil for Nottinghamshire, but pace bowler Rob Lord, 23, in only his second Championship game, looked lively and claimed two of the first four Essex wickets to fall. He finished the day with figures of 2 for 53 from 15 overs.On a predominantly overcast and damp day, foreshortened by 22 overs, Nottinghamshire elected to put Essex in as they sought only their second victory of a relegation-threatened season, though they were considerably buoyed by a battling draw against Surrey last week.When play started 70 minutes late because of light drizzle that fell immediately after the 10.30am toss, Essex lost Dean Elgar cheaply when he dragged Lord to mid-on where Haseeb Hameed ran round to take the catch sliding on his knees. Fellow opener Robin Das had just been reprieved by a drop in the slips straight after lunch when he got a thicker edge to one from Lyndon James and was snaffled at second slip for 20.The giant figure of Luke Fletcher bowled unchanged for 13 overs either side of lunch, having Westley in some discomfort – notably with one that smacked into the Essex captain’s box – on a green-tinged wicket initially helping the seamers. He was finally rewarded when Matt Critchley left alone a delivery that jagged back.Debutant Luc Benkenstein’s maiden scoring shot in first-class cricket was a delightful pull for four, but next ball he nicked Lord thinly through to the wicketkeeper.The scoring improved as the conditions eased and the Kookaburra ball softened in the afternoon and Westley and Walter put on the first fifty of their partnership in just six overs. Westley’s own half-century took 79 balls and included five fours, one a particularly satisfying, flowing off-drive against his erstwhile nemesis Fletcher.Walter also played his way in carefully before whipping James off his legs for a first boundary and then twice elegantly lofting Farhan Ahmed to the rope behind the bowler.When Westley pulled Lord to fine leg it marked the pair’s century partnership in 26 overs. Next ball, Walter pulled the bowler through square leg for his eighth boundary to bring up a 65-ball fifty. He then welcomed the introduction of Liam Patterson-White’s spin with a four and a six to long-off.The pair were finally parted after 42 overs when Walter went to sweep Ahmed but got a leading edge as the ball looped up to gully. However, soon afterwards some careless fielding by the visitors handed Westley five runs courtesy of overthrows which took him to three figures from 193 balls.

Rishabh Pant brought up an emotional sixth Test century, Shubman Gill a serene fifth, and the Indian bowlers and fielders responded well to demanding conditions by taking four second-innings wicket on day three in Chennai. Bangladesh were 357 adrift of the 515 target set them by an aggressive declaration with two-and-a-half days left in the Test.With the pitch not yet breaking up and the average seam movement dying down from 1.3 degrees on day one to 0.4 degrees on day three, these were the best batting conditions of the match. Despite India’s attacking approach to set up the declaration, they only played 16 false shots in 41 overs on day three, while scoring 206 runs. The conditions remained flat when Bangladesh batted, but a marathon spell from R Ashwin maintained India’s ascendency in the match. The bowlers had the fielders to thank for three low catches of varying difficulty.Related

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Given the conditions, Gill and Pant, both aggressive batters given to counterattacking, acknowledged that only they could get themselves out, and put their heads down for big knocks. They kept respecting good balls, and once in they jumped out of the crease to hit sixes. Gill hit Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who bowled 25 out of India’s 64 second-innings overs, for four of them to reach 28 sixes in his 26th Test. Pant fancied the left-arm spin of Shakib Al Hasan and hit four sixes of his own to go up to 59, the seventh-highest for India, in just 34 Tests. India have now hit 85 sixes in 2024, which leaves them only five short of breaking the record for most sixes by a team in a calendar year.What the duo did outside the sixes was more impressive. Unlike Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, who on the second evening just tried to impose themselves on the bowling, these two began the day respecting the bowling and they were content to defend for a while without worrying about edges and close-in fielders. Only in the seventh over of the day did someone try to force the issue, and Gill did that beautifully with the two sixes over wide long-on.Pant, extra conscious to not give it away after a soft dismissal in the first innings, took even more time before he went manufacturing shots – none better than the ramp-sweep off Hasan Mahmud for a six over fine leg ten minutes before lunch. Gill joined in the acceleration before lunch, suggesting the declaration might come sooner rather than later. With that push for quicker runs came a skier from Pant seven minutes before the break, but captain Najmul Hossain Shanto put it down. Pant still hit two fours in the final over before the break, throwing down the gauntlet for the race to the hundred.1:49

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Post lunch, Pant brought out his trademark flick behind square both off the quicks and the spinners to get to his hundred in just 118 balls. Gill went there more calmly, in 161 balls, and KL Rahul played a few classy inside-out drives before the declaration left Bangladesh an hour to bat till tea.Zakir Hasan came out full of intent, driving both off the front and the back foot and also dismissing Mohammed Siraj for a flicked six. With the ball not doing much, he and Shadman Islam stayed on the lookout for runs, punishing every error in length.Once Ashwin came on, though, he started to create some mischief, hitting the sticker of the bat here, taking the inside edge there. Post tea, he and Jasprit Bumrah created three tight overs. In the fourth, Zakar played an ambitious drive to a ball not nearly full enough, and Jaiswal ended his innings with a sensational catch low to his left and behind him at gully.The conditions made Ashwin work hard for his wickets. He was even taken for four sixes; the most he has ever conceded in an innings is five. He kept plugging away, though, often slowing his pace down to draw assistance from the surface. His first wicket didn’t come as he would have envisaged as Shadman went back looking to play a length ball behind square. It wasn’t short enough, and it took his leading edge for a low catch for Gill at short midwicket.Ashwin then produced a beauty to get rid of Mominul Haque, who never looked at home. The drift made him play the line, and the turn was just enough to miss the edge but not the off stump. Mushfiqur Rahim was a cat on a hit tin roof, slog-sweeping Ashwin for a six before hitting one low to Rahul at mid-on. Shakib Al Hasan was even less settled, but was rescued by bad light that ended the play early. Amid all this, captain Najmul batted calmly yet quickly to end the day batting on 51 off 60.

Former South Africa quick Charl Langeveldt has been appointed bowling coach of the Zimbabwe men’s national team. Stuart Matsikenyeri, the former Zimbabwe batter who had been the side’s interim head coach prior to the full-time appointment of Justin Sammons, remains part of the coaching staff as fielding coach.Langeveldt and Matsikenyeri will join Sammons and newly appointed assistant coach Dion Ebrahim ahead of the five-match T20I series against India, which begins in Harare on July 6. South Africans Ravish Gobind and Curtly Diesel will also join the backroom as strategic performance coach and strength and conditioning coach respectively.Related

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The appointments were approved by the Mhishi Committee of Inquiry, which was formed to study the team’s failure to qualify for the recently concluded T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.A near full-strength Zimbabwe were pipped by Namibia and Uganda, who took the two available spots from the Africa Region Qualifier in November 2023. The setback prompted Dave Houghton’s resignation as head coach, with the former Zimbabwe captain suggesting players were “not responding to my voice anymore.”In his absence, Walter Chawaguta had then taken over as head coach in an interim capacity, before Matsikenyeri stepped in to oversee the team’s preparation ahead of their tour of Bangladesh in April.Langeveldt’s most recent stint with an international side was with Afghanistan until the end of last year’s ODI World Cup in India. He has also been part of the coaching set-ups of Bangladesh and South Africa.