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ScorecardSimon Kerrigan derailed Middlesex with six wickets•Getty Images

And so it will not be settled – or anything like settled – for another week. A season in which Middlesex have led, Yorkshire have loomed and Somerset have scarcely been mentioned will end with the three counties covered by ten points. The world’s most famous cricket ground and one of the best in the land will together stage the final dramas of this late, late summer. What have we done to deserve this? Clearly, something good.Any thoughts this game might end with a victory for either side were extinguished by the strength of both sides’ batting and the understandable conservatism of skippers who were content to take five points for the draw. Such a return leaves Middlesex nine points ahead of Yorkshire and ten clear of Somerset.All the points permutations can wait for the back of an envelope and a double espresso. It is enough for the moment to say that if the leaders avoid losing to Yorkshire at Lord’s and Somerset fail to beat Nottinghamshire at Taunton, Middlesex will be champions and worthy ones. Their evisceration of Yorkshire on the last day at Scarborough proclaimed their quality. But the destination of the pennant far from settled.The cricket on this final day of the season at Old Trafford was only briefly exciting but always absorbing. Some shots, some moments will be remembered fondly by spectators watching their final first-class overs of the year. Dawid Malan and John Simpson batted with great certainty throughout the morning and had extended their partnership to 151 when Malan played a half-hearted cut at Simon Kerrigan and was caught by Jos Buttler for 87.That wicket was the prelude to three more in five overs as Middlesex established a lead of 308 before declaring. Simpson was the last of these but he had made a fine 74 before he swayed like a drunk avoiding a bicycle and lost his leg stump to Luke Procter. Kerrigan finished the innings with 6 for 86 – and ten in the match – which is something to encourage him before Lancashire’s final game at Edgbaston next week.Indeed, this was the first morning of autumnal haze at Old Trafford. It was burned off quite quickly, of course, but there was still a September note of gentle closure. And very briefly, we wondered if the finale to the season was to be accompanied with drums and yells as Lancashire responded to the stern challenge of scoring 309 in 44 overs by opening with Buttler.Three fours and a scooped six heightened the frisson of excitement but a leading edge off Steven Finn looped a dolly to Nick Compton at cover and Buttler was gone for 26. Hameed replaced him and Lancashire’s dash for victory was run. Spectators settled into their last cricket of the summer and some of them will have stored images away as one might with sustenance for the winter.The game ended with Hameed tucking Rayner to long leg and scampering two runs. It was only right that he should score the last first-class runs on the ground this season. The match ended with handshakes at half past four in the poignant elegies of departure. There is a week to go but Lancashire are 14 points clear of Hampshire near the bottom of Division One. Should they secure a draw against Warwickshire next week, they have as great a chance of staying up as the new hotel does. Given their recent record and the youth of their side, they will class survival as something of an achievement.For we are at the stage of the season when accomplishment comes in many guises. Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset will be happy with only the title; Lancashire Warwickshire and Hampshire must hope to retain their status although Ian Bell’s team will want to preface that subdued success by lifting the Royal London Cup. We have eight days left in the season and some fine hurrahs before the drawing down of blinds.

James Anderson has admitted he may need to sit out some Tests this winter if he is to cope with England’s demanding schedule.England are to play seven Tests in two months in Bangladesh and India. While Anderson, England’s record Test wicket-taker, insists he would like to be involved in every one, he accepts that, aged 34 and with many miles on the clock, he may to miss the occasional game to ensure he retains his effectiveness.Anderson was a key performer when England last played a Test series in India. While he claimed a modest-looking 12 wickets in the four Tests, MS Dhoni rated him the difference between the sides as England came from behind to win 2-1. No other seamer claimed more than four wickets.But Anderson has warned that, with so many Tests in such a short period, he will have to be “a bit sensible” in terms of managing his workload. He has endured a few absences due to injury in recent times, missing almost half of the 2015 Ashes due to a side strain, the start of the South Africa series with a calf injury and part of the Pakistan series with a shoulder injury. The signs that his heavy workload – among seamers, only Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath and Kapil Dev have bowled more deliveries in Test cricket – are beginning to tell.”It’s a tough one because as a player if you’re fit you want to play, simple as that, no matter what the format you’re desperate to play,” Anderson told Press Association Sport.”But there may well come a time when it will get managed. At 34 I probably have to manage myself, or be managed, quite well. You want, if possible, to play every Test but India is going to be five back to back and that’s a huge ask for any bowler.”We’re in constant discussion with the captain, coach and medical staff about the best scenario. We’ve got good backroom staff who are very switched on and it will be managed well.”You take it game by game. You can’t say now ‘I’ll miss the second Test of five’, because you might bowl 15 overs in the first game. So you be a bit sensible and there will probably come a point where we try to look and maybe I’ve got to sit out.”Anderson carried a heavy burden with the seam bowling in 2012 – Stuart Broad did not take a wicket in the series and was dropped after two Tests – but he expects greater assistance this time. The England team may well contain two seam-bowling allrounders – Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes – while Moeen Ali’s ability to bat in the top six provides the opportunity to play an extra bowler if required.But while Anderson welcomes the assistance, he still expects to have an important role to play in India and Bangladesh.”We’re fortunate now, with Stokesy and Mo, it looks after the seamers,” he said. “That’s a real bonus for us because it has been difficult in India when we’ve had just two seamers and two spinners.”But there’s a danger to go over there and expect spinners to take the wickets. There are still opportunities as a seamer, the ball swings out there and reverse swings later in the innings. You have to look at the positives and think how you can make an impact.”

ScorecardThe Scarborough Festival is assured of a third day•Getty Images

The second day of this match was probably not one on which any Yorkshire supporter was well-advised to stay at home and cut his hedge. On the other hand, it may have been wise for Nottinghamshire loyalists in Scarborough to turn off their phones and head instead for the Howardian Hills.Unless more rains falls than is forecast, Chris Read’s team will need to bat for around 150 overs to save a game they actually need to win. Wednesday’s evidence suggests they are ill-equipped to get halfway towards this objective.Nottinghamshire’s decline on a day containing one collapse and the odd longueur gathered pace at 11.20 when Ryan Sidebottom ran in to bowl from the Peasholm Park End. Unkempt locks flopping in the breeze, the Yorkshire bowler looked uncommonly like a 17th century Puritan, an Anabaptist perhaps. It had already been a productive session for Sidebottom, who had dismissed Michael Lumb in his second over when the batsman groped at an away-swinger and edged a catch to Andy Hodd.Now Steven Mullaney played a shot almost at right angles to a very straight ball which whacked into his pad. Sidebottom swivelled and demanded that divine judgement be visited upon the unrighteous. Neil Mallender, who might be flattered by such a notion, obliged. The moving finger was raised and Mullaney moved on.Nottinghamshire were 48 for 4 when their opener was out and they had added only four more when Samit Patel attempted a brainless uppercut to a ball that was too close and too low for the shot. First slip Tim Bresnan took a two-handed head-high catch and Read’s men were 230 runs behind with half their batting gone. Sidebottom had taken three wickets for five runs in 12 balls.All this was greeted with cheers by the stallholders on the North Marine Road side until they contemplated the effects on their profits of a two-day finish. The Scarborough Festival is a celebration of all things Yorkshire but it’s about making a bit of brass, too: there is the Yorkshire Foundation, a Yorkshire Bread stall and the whole affair is sponsored by – you guessed it – Welcome to Yorkshire. Even Jack Russell, that artist among wicketkeepers turned the real McCoy with brushes, makes sure there are pictures of the ground under his strawberry gazebo.Sadly for those wearing green and yellow, the morning was no sort of celebration of all things Notts. Chris Read, their very present help at all times of trouble, was caught at cover by Alex Lees when attempting to pull a ball from Jack Brooks. Brendan Taylor, who risked cricketing vertigo by reaching double figures, inside-edged Steve Patterson onto his off pole and Bresnan cleaned up the tail. Notts lost their last eight wickets for 53 runs in 23 overs, their deficit was 188 and no member of Yorkshire’s attack had bowled more than seven overs. We waited for the follow-on to be enforced and Scarborough’s landladies held a summit meeting to consider the impact of a mass checkout.But, dear reader, they batted on. Instead of going for the quick kill, Yorkshire’s stand-in skipper, Gary Ballance, chose to hunt the stag to exhaustion. “We thought with a lead of 188, we didn’t want to bat last on this wicket,” he said. “We thought it better to get a big lead, rest the bowlers up and come out with a refreshed attack. We’ll look to get a lead of 500 or so, depending on the weather, and then our bowlers will be ready to go.”All the same, with rain forecast, Ballance’s decision surprised many, including some former first-class cricketers. Curiously, though, batting on was entirely in keeping with the spirit of the old-style Festival, when sides like TN Pearce’s XI, MCC and the tourists played first-class matches in which winning certainly mattered but had to be incorporated into the overarching aim of making sure games went the distance.So in the afternoon session, Yorkshire scored 113 runs off 35 overs. Lees levied a quartet of successive off-side fours off Mullaney before he was lbw to Brett Hutton for 30 and Adam Lyth had made a pleasant enough 41 when his leading edge was caught by the bowler, Luke Wood. In the evening session the lead was extended to 388 with Jake Lehmann and Jack Leaning passing up chances to make substantial scores but Ballance progressing ruthlessly to 75 not out.It all made fine watching for most of the spectators on a summer afternoon plucked from an Enid Blyton story in which everyone is safe and the children go home for macaroons and ginger beer. Certainly the spectators were not complaining: cricket is the true faith here and watching Yorkshire grinding opponents down is how they enjoy spending their days.And there was even talk of a pleasant epilogue to the cricket. It is rumoured that Ballance has been made a KGD (Knight of the Golden Dustpan) by Scarborough’s relieved landladies. He would be the first Old Harrovian to receive the honour.

ScorecardSurrey threw everything they could at Hampshire, but couldn’t quite break them•Getty Images

In situations like today at the Ageas Bowl, both sides go through their own toil. Surrey begin looking to whittle away 18 more chances. Hampshire’s batsmen preparing to concentrate on and forget each delivery. Ticking off the arrears from the start of play wouldn’t work: you can lose your way counting down from 564.But with 15 minutes gone, both overnight batsmen had perished to the part-time leg spin of Dom Sibley. With Zafar Ansari absent from the field with a back injury – Surrey are awaiting the results of the scan – and with their batsmen relaying to their spinners that turn was available from wide, Gareth Batty gave the ball to Sibley to get spin into the left-handers. Ryan McLaren was trapped with the day’s first ball before Tom Alsop drove loosely to Jason Roy at first slip.That Surrey had made early inroads was an unexpected bonus. But they had prepared for a long slog. Before they took the field, coach Michael Di Venuto implored persistence, patience and other virtues that come in handy when trench work is on the horizon. “I may have thrown in a few swear words there, too.”For a while, it looked like they might just get away with grass stains and the odd scraped joint, as wickets fell at quick enough intervals to keep them on track. Adam Wheater and Sean Ervine put on 102 for the fifth wicket – Wheater going to his fifty with three pristinely timed fours through the off side in one Stuart Meaker over – but he chipped Mark Footitt to extra cover 10 minutes before lunch, giving the Surrey attack an unexpected aperitif.They came out in good voice after lunch, reminding Hampshire keeper Lewis McManus that this is where the grown-ups play. Batty stuck himself and Aaron Finch in front of the bat to ramp up the pressure. It told.In the midst of perhaps the spell of the match from Meaker, who had started getting some reverse swing thanks to Jade Dernbach, on as 12th man, relentlessly working on the ball between deliveries, beat McManus on the outside and inside edge.McManus, with just one off 16 balls, finally managed to push into the off side for what he thought was a single. Ervine tried to tell him otherwise, but McManus called through, as Rory Burns gathered cleanly from cover point and threw down the stumps at the keeper’s end. Ervine never stood a chance.Gareth Berg came and went for an enterprising 40 which, in the grand scheme of the game, amounted to some glancing counter blows. When he was bowled by Batty, McManus still only had 14 from 49 balls and was playing like someone with five runs in his previous three innings this season.It was at that point that his innings changed. He shedded what timidness he had carried onto the field and began finding the boundary. The 50 came up in 93 balls, but as the day wore on, he embraced the challenge of seeing how far he could push the opposition. Batty was sent into the stands over wide mid-on.In July of last year, he held out against Durham, batting for more than 50 overs in the fourth innings of the match, with No. 11 Mason Crane for company. He drew on that experience when Brad Wheal came to the crease, at first shielding him and then, when satisfied that Wheal’s technique could stand the test of a now wilting Surrey attack and the fourth batting point secured, had a dip for personal glory.He was on 65 when Wheal came to the crease and evidently did not want to leave himself at the mercy of his partner. Shots were played: Sibley heaved over square leg and then dabbed fine, to the left of the keeper Ben Foakes.There was a wonder if he would make it to three figures when Meaker returned to give him a once over again. But having got right behind each delivery and with a bit of extra pluck to summon on, he rode the bounce of one behind square on the leg side to move to his maiden first-class century off his 171st ball.He walked off unbeaten, Wheal in tow, having spent more than four hours watching the overs tick down and the runs tick up. Elated post match, palms drenched from the sticky work and the hand shakes of every Surrey fielder, he could not quite remember just how many Hampshire were behind still: 239, if you’re counting.Tomorrow brings similar challenges. But as both sides showed today, neither are shy of the work required.

ScorecardJake Ball finished with 4 for 85•Getty Images

The in-form Michael Lumb helped Nottinghamshire to negotiate a tricky late afternoon session at the Kia Oval on a rain-shortened second day in the County Championship Division One match against Surrey. Left-hander Lumb, whose last three innings in the Royal London One-Day Cup earlier this month were 105, 133 and 184, reached stumps on 23 not out as Nottinghamshire replied with 82 for 2 to Surrey’s first innings 323.Notts lost both their openers, Jake Libby and Steven Mullaney, in 27 overs’ batting after quickly taking the last two Surrey wickets – Gareth Batty for 28 and Stuart Meaker for 6 – when the home side resumed on 299 for 8.Libby was leg-before for 10 to Ravi Rampaul in the eighth over and Mullaney had batted solidly for 34 from 56 balls, hitting five fours, when he was beaten and bowled by Zafar Ansari’s left-arm spin. But Nottinghamshire will be happy enough to get through to the close with just two wickets down, as Lumb was joined by Brendan Taylor, who is unbeaten on 13, in seeing out the final overs in warm sunshine.How different the ground looked earlier in the day, though, with heavy morning rain leaving big puddles on grass and groundsheets, and when prospects of seeing any cricket looked bleak. Indeed, play was only able to get under way as early as 4.15pm thanks to a herculean effort from the Oval groundstaff, who spent most of the afternoon mopping up a saturated outfield after the considerable effort of hauling off the huge covers spread right across the arena.There were a maximum of 36 overs scheduled for the session, but two of those overs were lost for change of innings after Batty and Meaker had secured a third batting bonus point for Surrey before falling in quick succession. Batty hit a six and three fours in a punchy 32-ball innings, after resuming on 11, but Jake Ball had him caught at the wicket to finish with 4 for 85 while Meaker, on 6, chipped a return catch tamely to Samit Patel.

A deep-seated trust issue is central to the problems Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) faces as it attempts to build a unified outfit, according to former national coach Alan Butcher. That conclusion was the starkest takeaway from his book , an account of his three years in charge of Zimbabwe.The honest, personal story of Butcher’s time with the team, which he largely enjoyed thoroughly, is filled with details of suspicions, misunderstandings and hidden agendas between ZC management and the players. In some instances, these divisions were racially motivated; in others, they were personality-driven, but combined they had a detrimental effect on morale and performance.”There are massive trust issues in Zimbabwe, and these go back to a time before independence. Independence didn’t just flick a switch and make everything okay….” Butcher writes. “That there will be mistrust of each other’s motives is the most natural thing in the world.”In particular, Butcher reveals how the actions of former convener of selectors Givemore Makoni during the 2012 World T20 led to the retirement of Ray Price the following year.Makoni was appointed to the post in October 2011, 18 months into Butcher’s tenure. Butcher admits only knowing Makoni “a little” but being “apprehensive” about his appointment, having previously dealt with him as a selector.Butcher’s reservations were confirmed shortly after, when the selectors, led by Makoni, unilaterally announced the Test squad to play New Zealand, without meeting with the coach or captain. The group initially excluded Chris Mpofu and Tatenda Taibu, who both ended up playing in the match at Butcher and Brendan Taylor’s insistence. Butcher won that battle, but he would not win many more.The next March, during the World T20, Butcher was invited to dinner with ZC’s communications manager Lovemore Banda, Makoni, and assistant coach Steven Mangongo in Colombo. There, Banda told Butcher there was a perception that Butcher was marginalising Prosper Utseya.”The point was a none too subtle warning there were ‘people’ who were disappointed by the fact that if I thought someone should be dropped from the team that person was always Prosper Utseya and that those people were beginning to think that there was an agenda of some sort against him and that I would be wise to think about the possible consequences of that perception,” Butcher wrote.The quartet went on to enjoy the evening, but once they moved to Hambantota, the venue of their first match, Butcher was made to understand why Banda had communicated that message.The night before Zimbabwe’s opener against Sri Lanka, the coaching staff agreed that Utseya would sit out the first match against Sri Lanka in favour of Graeme Cremer and Ray Price. When Makoni heard the decision, he accused Butcher of “trying to wreck Utseya’s career, of racism and much more besides…”Makoni insisted Utseya should play and Butcher realised “fighting it would cause the team many more problems than having Prosper in it,” and so gave in. However, he then had to inform Price that he would be benched.Price had spent the afternoon in the hotel pool, opposite where the meeting with Makoni and Butcher had taken place, and already had an idea of what was coming. “Although disappointed, recognised an impossible position the captain and I were in and took it pretty well.”Butcher thought the matter was over, but on the day of the match, Grant Flower, the then batting coach, refused to go to the ground because of Utseya’s inclusion in the team. Butcher met with Flower and persuaded him otherwise, but the players had by then learnt of Flower’s threat. Butcher’s immediate task was to see how Utseya was handling it and he discovered the player was “not feeling great about being the reason for a coach refusing to go to the ground.”Utseya was among the better bowlers on the day, but Zimbabwe’s performance was, in Butcher’s words, “shambolic,” and things were only going to get worse.Zimbabwe did not play again until the next February, when they toured the West Indies, and as with any tour, the first job was to pick the squads. Butcher wanted Price “in my team in all formats,” and expected Makoni to disagree, but at their meeting, “Makoni indicated he thought Price should be in the squad.”A few days later, Butcher saw the squad list without Price’s name on it and called Makoni to clarify. Makoni said Price would not be travelling. Butcher gave Price the news, but instructed him not to do anything until Butcher had sorted it out, fearing Price would “retire on principle.” Price, however, set up a meeting with Mangongo and Makoni in which he was “virtually forced to retire from ODIs to continue playing Tests.” As a result, Price travelled as part of the Test squad but not the limited-overs team.Price retired that July after being left out of the ODI squad to play India despite new coach Andy Waller wanting him in the group.In the immediate aftermath of the squad selection for the 2013 tour of West Indies, Butcher noted with “sadness,” that “turned to anger,” reports in the Zimbabwean press detailing the argument with Makoni at the 2012 World T20. Utseya’s omission was described as bordering on “the issue of colour,” which Butcher took as an accusation against him of racism. He described it as his “darkest time” in Zimbabwe and it may have played a role in him opting not to reapply for his job later that year.After Butcher’s departure, Makoni was promoted to a managerial role in ZC in 2015 and Kenyon Ziehl was appointed selection convener. That may change in the next few weeks with ZC set to unveil yet another new selection panel.Butcher compared that kind of constant change to a “revolving door spinning from all exits,” caused by there not being “enough people everybody trusts”. Caught in the middle of that, “a national team of mixed races is expected to just knuckle down and win cricket matches,” which for Butcher is a big ask.Despite the overarching problem in Zimbabwean cricket, Butcher left with the impression that, “trust between the races was alive and well among the younger generations,” but warned that the spirit of goodwill should not be overshadowed by a political system which hardens attitudes. The Good Murungu: A Cricket Tale of the Unexpected

India went back to losing the toss under a new captain in the first T20I against South Africa, after winning the toss in the series decider in the ODIs. As expected, Aiden Markram chose to chase with dew expected to play a role in the night. Suryakumar Yadav wasn’t too fussed, expecting having to bowl with the wet ball.India welcomed back Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya to the XI after injury-forced breaks. “The body feels perfectly fine physically, I spent some time at the COE [BCCI’s Centre of Excellence],” Gill said. “Perfectly fine physically and mentally feeling ready. I had a disc bulge in my neck which was hitting the nerves. When I went there [to bat in the Kolkata Test], I had a bit of a spasm before the start of play in the morning. And when I played the game, I got a bulge which hit the nerve and had to go the hospital for a couple of days but recovered well after that.”Japsrit Bumrah, who was rested for the ODIs, also returned to the XI for the first T20I, along with the format’s specialists – Suryakumar, Abhishek Sharma, Varun Chakravarthy, Jitesh Sharma. India decided they needed two quicks in the XI, which meant Kuldeep Yadav was left out. They went for Arshdeep Singh ahead of Harshit Rana as the second fast bowler, which meant India had batting depth till No. 8 and not No. 9. Axar Patel, left out for the ODIs, was listed at No. 8. Varun, Arshdeep and Bumrah were nine, ten and eleven.South Africa welcomed back Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Donovan Ferreira into the XI. Lutho Sipamla and Lungi Ngidi were the other two fast bowlers to go with Nortje and Marco Jansen, and Keshav Maharaj the lone frontline spinner.India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 8 Axar Patel, 9 Varun Chakravarthy, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Jasprit BumrahSouth Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Aiden Markram (capt), 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Miller, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Lutho Sipamla, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Matt Renshaw has well and truly put his hat in the ring for an ODI call-up after producing yet another big knock for Australia A in their series-deciding one-day win over Sri Lanka A.Sri Lanka A recovered from 8 for 2 to reach 213 for 9 in Darwin, with Sahan Arachchige (47 off 65), Nuwanidu Fernando (40 off 69) and Sonal Dinusha (36 off 40) leading the way.Jack Nisbet, Bryce Jackson and Henry Thornton all chimed in with two wickets apiece in an even bowling display for the home side. Left-arm spinner Zanden Jeh, who has not played a professional game of state cricket, snared 1 for 27 off seven overs on his Australia A debut.In reply, Australia A cruised to 215 for 3 with a whopping 105 balls to spare.Jason Sangha top scored for the home side with an unbeaten 79 off 76 deliveries, while Renshaw blasted his way to 62 off 36 balls, his blistering knock including eight fours and two sixes. Opener Campbell Kellaway set up the run chase with 56 off 62 balls.The seven-wicket win secured a 2-1 series victory in the one-day component of the clashes between Australia A and Sri Lanka A, with the teams now to face off in two four-day matches.Renshaw produced scores of 80, 106 and 62 across the three one-dayers, putting him at the front of the queue for an ODI call-up. The 29-year-old has already played 14 Tests for Australia, but is yet to feature at international level in any form of white-ball cricket.The ODI retirements of Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith have opened the door for Renshaw to cement a spot in the one-day side and his performances for Australia A will further boost his case.Sangha, who posted two half-centuries across the three games, also gave his hopes a big lift.

Roston Chase has been appointed West Indies’ new Test captain. The allrounder’s first Test as captain will be his 50th; his 49th, against South Africa in Johannesburg, came more than two years ago. West Indies have played 13 Tests since then.Chase has previously led West Indies in one ODI and one T20I. His first assignment in the longest format will be the three-Test home series against Australia, which begins on his home ground in Bridgetown on June 25. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican will be Chase’s vice-captain.The series will be the first of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for both teams.Related

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CWI said that Chase had been appointed from a shortlist of six after a “detailed assessment process that included psychometric testing to evaluate leadership style, behaviour, and overall suitability for the role”. The other candidates interviewed were John Campbell, Tevin Imlach, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, and Warrican.Shai Hope, West Indies captain in the white-ball formats, asked not to be considered in order to focus on his existing leadership roles.”This selection process is one of the most comprehensive and forward-thinking we have undertaken,” CWI president, Kishore Shallow, said. “I am deeply impressed by the professionalism, objectivity, and strategic thinking that shaped the final decision. It sets a new benchmark for leadership appointments in West Indies cricket.”West Indies head coach, Daren Sammy, said: “I fully endorse this appointment. Our new captain has earned the respect of his peers, understands the responsibility that comes with the role, and has shown the leadership qualities we need to take this team forward. I urge fans across the region to rally behind him–we’re building something special.”The 33-year-old Chase takes over from Kraigg Brathwaite, who resigned in March after 39 matches in charge of the Test team. West Indies won 10 of those Tests, lost 22 and drew seven.At the time of Brathwaite’s resignation, CWI had handed Hope – already West Indies’ ODI captain – the T20I reins, but had held back on naming a new Test captain, announcing that they would do so “in the coming weeks”.