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Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer brought quality, intensity and fire to proceedings

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2025

Nitish Kumar Reddy is distraught after falling on the last ball before lunch•Getty Images

England came to Lord’s looking for six wickets. They bagged four of them before lunch in an inspired morning’s play where their captain Ben Stokes and their returning talismanic fast bowler Jofra Archer brought quality, intensity and fire to proceedings.India were in the mire early when Rishabh Pant, hampered by the injured finger on his left hand, fell on the third over of the day. Three overs later, Stokes got one to nip down the slope at the Nursery end to trap KL Rahul lbw. Stokes bowled a nine-over spell this morning, constantly threatening everyone who made the mistake of standing 22 yards away. This time, the England coaching staff weren’t interfering with his plans. They just let him do his thing.Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy got together with the score at 82 for 7. India’s hopes looked quite dire at the time, but a packed crowd, with a loud Indian contingent cheered them on with every block, every leave, every run scored. Eventually the ball started to lose its hardness and batting became slightly easier. There were 12 false shots leading to the three wickets in the first hour. But only eight in the second.Just as it looked like India would go to the break with their last two recognised batters intact, Chris Woakes gave them a different challenge. Swing instead of seam. And eventually he was able to prise Reddy out for 13 off 53. There remained a fair bit of needle through the morning session with Archer giving Pant a send-off, Stokes and Reddy having a fairly amiable chat at the end of overs and Brydon Carse and Jadeja actually colliding with each other.England were on point with their fielding as well, spurred on by Stokes who was loath to let the intensity drop. Archer took a fine one-handed catch, diving to his right to get rid of Washington Sundar.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, lamented the state of the old pink ball and his team-mates’ lack of situational awareness

Matt Roller04-Dec-2025

Jofra Archer played a valuable hand batting at No. 11 for only the second time in Test cricket•Darrian Traynor/CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

England believe that the chaotic final half-hour at the Gabba swung the opening day of the second Ashes Test in their favour, after Joe Root and Jofra Archer’s unbroken tenth-wicket stand of 61 took them to 325 for 9 under lights.At the scheduled 9pm close, England were 269 for 9 after 68 overs, with Root unbeaten on 111. It was a remarkably similar situation to the opening day of the 2023 series between these teams in Edgbaston, when Ben Stokes declared with Root on 118 to give England four overs to bowl at Australia before the close.The added element of the pink ball – and the opportunity to bowl at Australia under floodlights – strengthened the case for a declaration, prompting David Warner on Fox commentary to say he was “absolutely baffled” that Stokes had not pulled the plug on England’s innings.Related

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• Starc on left-arm wickets record: Wasim still the GOAT

Steven Smith, who had floated the prospect of opening the batting with two nightwatchers in such a scenario, was at pains to slow the game down as much as possible, and Root remonstrated with umpire Sharfuddoula at Australia’s apparent time-wasting when Travis Head got padded up to spend a single ball under the helmet at short leg.But Root and Archer seized the opportunity to tee off, adding 56 runs in the final six overs of the day in a partnership that Zak Crawley said had changed the mood of the day for England’s players, who watched on from the viewing gallery outside the away dressing room. “We definitely won that last hour,” Crawley said. “We’re positive going into tomorrow.”Joe Root and Jofra Archer added an unbeaten 61 off 44 balls before stumps•Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Archer, batting at No. 11 for only the second time in Test cricket, started the carnage by charging Scott Boland and swiping him over square leg for the first six of the day off the first ball of an over that cost 19 runs. He then swung Mitchell Starc’s full toss over the sprawling Brendan Doggett at long-on, and Root reverse-scooped Boland over deep third in the following over.By stumps, Archer had registered a new Test best of 32 not out, while Root reached 135 overnight. Their stand was England’s first half-century partnership for the tenth wicket since Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson added 66 in the drawn Old Trafford Test in the 2023 Ashes, and their first in Australia since Norman Cowans and Derek Pringle in 1982.Starc, whose six wickets had put Australia firmly on top, was exasperated not only with the state of the old pink ball, but with his team-mates’ lack of situational awareness. “If you have a look at that ball, it’s basically bowling with a tennis ball,” he told SEN radio. “They chanced their arm, there were a few that dropped short. I think there’s a little bit of tactical nous in there as well.

“Hopefully, we take that tenth one early tomorrow and get batting with the sun out. We saw that it [the ball] didn’t do a whole lot, and day two is generally a good day to bat on. If we can get stuck into batting early tomorrow when there’s sun on the wicket – and their balls go soft as well – it could be a good day’s cricket.”Crawley, who had briefly changed back into his whites in anticipation of fielding, said that the situation had been “perfect” for England. “There was no talk of a declaration,” he said. “We were just saying, ‘Go really hard,’ and it was a win-win: if it comes off, then we’ll get 50 runs like we did, or if you got out, then we could have a crack at them under lights.”They’re valuable runs and it would’ve worked out either way… We were pretty happy with [being bowled out for] 260 and having an hour at them at that point, to be honest. We were quite optimistic about that last hour, and then it turned out we batted for all of it. It felt like it was a great chance for us either way – with bat or ball – to seize that last hour.”Australia only bowled 74 overs out of the scheduled 90 on the first day, which Simon Katich described as “an absolute joke”. They risk being docked World Test Championship points if they fail to bowl England out inside 80 overs. “The over rates are what they are,” Starc said. “If we keep taking the wickets, they won’t worry about it.”

Also returning for the three-match series in Harare were Brad Evans and Tadiwanashe Marumani

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2025Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s veteran wicketkeeper-batter, is back in their T20I squad, more than three years after he last played in the format. Taylor, who returned from a three-and-a-half-year ICC ban in August, was named in Zimbabwe’s 16-man squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The other notable inclusion in the squad was Sean Williams, who is back in the T20I fold after more than a year.Taylor had been banned from all cricket in January 2022, for failing to report an approach from alleged corruptors without delay. With the ban ending earlier this year, Taylor subsequently returned to the international fold in the Bulawayo Test against New Zealand, before playing the ODI series against Sri Lanka last month. Taylor’s last T20I, though, was in April 2021, against Pakistan in Harare.Williams, meanwhile, had previously played a T20I in May 2024, and he’s set for a comeback into the format ahead of the Africa regional qualifiers later this month for the T20 World Cup in 2026. Zimbabwe will be competing in the tournament alongside Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, with two World Cup spots on the line.Zimbabwe had missed out on qualifying for the T20 World Cup 2024 despite 20 teams participating in the tournament, as they couldn’t finish in the top two of the Africa Region Qualifier after suffering losses against Namibia and Uganda.Among other changes for the T20Is against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe left out Newman Nyamhuri, Wessly Madhevere, Vincent Masekesa and Tafadzwa Tsiga from the squad that played the tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand in July. Apart from Taylor and Williams, those back in the squad were fast bowler Brad Evans and top-order batter Tadiwanashe Marumani.Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka have so far faced each other in only six T20Is, the last of which was in January 2024. Sri Lanka had won the three-match series after Zimbabwe levelled it with victory in the second match.

Zimbabwe’s T20I squad vs Sri Lanka

Sikandar Raza (capt), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sean Williams

Rookie legspinner Mishra, Renuka help India salvage positives in big defeat

Tristan Lavalette05-Dec-2024Australia 102 for 5 (Voll 46*, Litchfield 35, Renuka 3-45, Mishra 2-11) beat India 100 (Rodrigues 23, Schutt 5-19, Sutherland 1-13) by five wickets
Returning to the field for the first time since a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, Australia comfortably beat India in the ODI series-opener at Allan Border Field after quick Megan Schutt claimed a career best 5-19 and Georgia Voll impressed on debut.In a disastrous start in their bid to win a first series over Australia in Australia, India were unable to capitalise on good batting conditions. They lost wickets regularly to be bowled out for just 100 in the 35th over, their lowest total in women’s ODIs since being dismissed for 79 by Australia in 2012.India’s bowling attack was sent on a hiding to nothing as openers Voll and Phoebe Litchfield quickly put on 48. Litchfield blasted 35 off 29 balls, including six boundaries in a row at one stage, before her dismissal triggered a collapse. Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney fell in quick succession with Renuka Singh picking three wickets.Rookie legspinner Priya Mishra made further inroads with two strikes of her own, but Voll, 21, showcased maturity and continued her strong form from the WBBL. Reprieved on 27 when Richa Ghosh, the wicketkeeper, put down a tough chance, Voll finished unbeaten on 46 off 42 balls as Australia clinched victory in only the 17th over.India ultimately rued a disastrous batting performance that quickly nosedived against outstanding new-ball bowling from Schutt, who produced menacing outswing to finish with her first five-wicket haul in ODIs. Their shot selection was off, while their running between the wickets was sloppy too.Conversely, it was an almost flawless display from a fired-up Australia with Tahlia McGrath pulling all the right moves as she fills in for injured regular skipper Alyssa Healy in this three-match series.Jemimah Rodrigues top scored for India with 23•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur surprisingly opted to bat at a venue where teams have traditionally chased well. Having only played three ODIs since 2023, Priya Punia was selected to open alongside Smriti Mandhana in a golden opportunity to cement her place in the team.She faced up to Schutt immediately and scored off the first ball before Mandhana unfurled several gorgeous strokes in an encouraging start. But it was downhill for India once Mandhana was caught behind after attempting to cut a wide delivery from Schutt, who smartly changed the angle by going around the wicket.Coming back from a long injury layoff, Harleen Deol hoped to stamp herself at No.3 in a position India have struggled to fill. But Deol and Punia were pinned down and they struggled to rotate strike as pressure built. It proved too much for Punia who holed out to backward square having made just 3 off 17 balls.At 19 for 2 in the seventh over, Harmanpreet entered the crease much earlier than she would have hoped. India’s uncertain running between the wickets almost accounted for Harmanpreet on 2, but Alana King missed a shy at the stumps from midwicket. Harmanpreet and Deol attempted rebuild and their confidence increased with the ball starting to lose its shine.But McGrath decided it was time for spin in the 12th over and threw the ball to Ashleigh Gardner, who on her third delivery had Deol hitting to mid-on where an outstretched Annabel Sutherland claimed a terrific catch with her athleticism coming to the fore.Debutant Georgia Voll carried her good form from the WBBL•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Sutherland’s influence on the game continued when she had claimed the big wicket of Harmanpreet, who unsuccessfully reviewed an lbw decision. Jemimah Rodrigues, who was available to play after injuring her wrist in the latter stages of the WBBL, briefly thwarted Australia before she was clean bowled on 23 by a terrific delivery from Kim Garth.Australia were on a roll when Georgia Wareham completed a brilliant run out of Deepti Sharma with a direct hit from the deep midwicket boundary. After being sidelined through the T20 World Cup, legspinner King marked her return with the wicket of debutant Titas Sadhu as India lost their last six wickets for just 11 runs.Voll, who received her cap before play from Mooney, started her international career with a belligerent boundary through the covers on the fourth ball of Australia’s chase. She helped ride the wobble even as Australia lost a clutch of wickets late in the chase to seal victory.India’s late rally did save some face, but they will need to regroup quickly for game two on Sunday at the same venue.

Mitchell Santner will captain a global event for the first time with the side playing a tri-series in Pakistan as a warm-up

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2025Fast bowlers Ben Sears and Will O’Rourke have been included in New Zealand’s squad for the Champions Trophy alongside allrounder Nathan Smith.Sears, who was a travelling reserve for the T20 World Cup last year, recently played his first game since April having returned in the Super Smash following injury and is in line for his ODI debut having played one Test and 17 T20Is. O’Rourke has impressed across formats early in his international career and has been especially eye-catching in Tests.Smith, meanwhile, will bring lower-order power with the bat and bustling seam bowling.Head coach Gary Stead said Sears had been in New Zealand’s Champions Trophy plans all along, with his pace through the air seen as a clinching factor on pitches in Pakistan.Related

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“We’ve been a little conservative in Ben’s return to play, but we always had an eye that we thought he would be part of this Champions Trophy squad,” Stead said. “He’s one of those guys, when you look at places like Pakistan, that pure speed is something that you’re looking for, and he certainly has that. A young tearaway is always nice to see, and very excited to have him in the squad.”Stead was confident Sears would hold up fine, match-fitness-wise, after his return from injury.”Ben’s been bowling a lot over the winter still,” he said. “He’s been in and around our Test squads before he had that injury, so we’re very confident that he will be where he needs to be.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Sears, O’Rourke and Smith included, there was no place in the main squad for Jacob Duffy, who is coming off a breakthrough season in international white-ball cricket.”It’s a tough decision,” Stead said. “Jacob Duffy has been probably the one that people would say is hard done by. He’s been very very good in what he’s played for us. I think the way to look at it, though, is that if some of these guys, perhaps like a Lockie Ferguson, were available, Jacob Duffy may not have got the opportunity, so for us it’s a real positive story that although Jake’s missed [out], it’s still positive that we’re growing that depth long-term for our team.”

Ferguson, Williamson and Conway face T20 league logjam

The same squad will take part in the ODI tri-series in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy, which will also feature South Africa. Duffy has been named on standby for that series, if Ferguson is not available for those games due to the ILT20. There will also be a tight turnaround for Kane Williamson and Devon Conway who are at the SA20.The final of the SA20 will be played on February 8, with the ILT20 decider the following day. New Zealand will play Pakistan on February 8 in their first game of the tri-series followed by South Africa on February 10. They then have a warm-up match against Afghanistan on February 16.Lockie Ferguson could miss a chunk of the Pakistan tri-series if he features in the ILT20 playoffs•AFP/Getty Images

Stead said New Zealand were looking to have Ferguson, Williamson and Conway play at least two matches – including the warm-up – to ready themselves for the Champions Trophy. “Those three guys, they’re world-class players for us. So Kane, Devon and Lockie will join our squad – they could be there at the very start of the tri-series, [or] it might be a couple of days later.”Mitchell Santner will lead New Zealand for the first time in a global event and will be able to lean on the experience of the likes of Williamson and Tom Latham.Mark Chapman and Will Young have earned spots while spin-bowling allrounder Michael Bracewell has also been included.New Zealand will play the tournament opener against Pakistan in Karachi. Their second match is against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi before they travel to Dubai to face India.”We like to stick to the same team once we’ve picked it but it will probably be very conditions-dependent,” Santner said. “Karachi could play a lot different to Rawalpindi, and again in Dubai. With the short nature of the tournament, if you’re happy with your XI, you want them to be out there and perform for all three games. But we’re open to changes depending on conditions. You need to play your best team on what’s in front of you, and conditions will probably dictate it.”

New Zealand squad for Champions Trophy and Pakistan tri-series

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young

Drissell takes career-best five-for but Lammonby 89 gives Somerset the clear edge

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay22-Jul-2025Durham 145 (Raine 42, Overton 6-23) and 5 for 2 trail Somerset 250 (Lammonby 89, Drissell 5-59) by 100 runsSomerset’s Craig Overton claimed six for 23 as 22 wickets fell on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One game against Durham at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.Invited to bat first on a green pitch, the visitors subsided to 145 all out, with Overton twice on a hat-trick during ten probing overs from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End. Ben Raine top-scored with 42.In reply, Somerset posted 250 all out, Tom Lammonby putting the pitch in perspective with an impressive 89 off 109 balls, including 8 fours. Off-spinner George Drissell returned career-best figures of five for 59.Durham then lost skipper Alex Lees and nightwatchman Callum Parkinson in the three remaining overs to close on five for two and trailed by 100 runs.There was little sign of the carnage to come when Lees and Emilio Gay launched Durham’s day with a stand of 26 in 5.5 overs before Gay edged a low catch to second slip to become Overton’s first victim.The next ball saw Colin Ackerman taken at first slip by Tom Kohler-Cadmore and before they knew it the visitors were 33 for three, David Bedingham nicking a delivery from Gregory to wicketkeeper James Rew.Overton dropped Ollie Robinson at second slip in the same Gregory over and Durham were relieved when rain arrived at 12.10pm forcing an early lunch half an hour later. The restart saw Overton strike with his fourth and fifth balls, Robinson caught behind off a defensive push and Graham Clark taken at third slip by Tom Abell, both without scoring.Lees had struck five fours in moving to 27 when miscuing a big hit off Overton and providing the bowler with a steepling catch to make it 43 for six. Drissell drove in the air to mid-off to give Overton his sixth wicket with the total on 71, while Raine hit a defiant straight six off Josh Davey before edging a defensive shot off the same bowler through to Rew.Neil Wagner struck 4 fours in a Davey over before a cross-batted shot saw him caught at mid-on off Jake Ball and Matthew Potts had cleared the mid-wicket boundary off Leach when reverse-sweeping the left-arm spinner straight to Abell at short third-man to end a Durham innings spanning just 30.1 overs.Somerset openers Davey and Kohler-Cadmore quickly went on the attack, Davey striking three successive fours off Potts and his partner lofting two sixes over the short boundary on the town side of the ground in the same Raine over.Kohler-Cadmore dispatched three consecutive Wagner deliveries for four as the pair brought up a half-century stand in just 7.1 overs. But the experienced South African took revenge with the total on 62, accepting a skyed return catch as Kohler-Cadmore top-edged a pull shot.Tea was taken with Davey unbeaten on 22. He had added 15 in the final session when edging a back-foot defensive shot off Potts to Bedingham at first slip. The same over saw Rew depart for a duck, cutting a catch to gully, and when Abell also fell without scoring, caught at short-leg in Drissell’s first over, Somerset had slumped to 103 for four.Tom Banton could make only ten before Drissell induced another short-leg catch with a ball that turned. But Lammonby and Archie Vaughan steadied the ship and a swept boundary by Vaughan off Parkinson put his side in front.Lammonby moved to a fluent 52-ball half-century with a reverse sweep for four off Drissell. But Vaughan fell lbw to Parkinson for 15, the first wicket of the day not to fall to a catch, with Somerset just 11 runs ahead.Lewis Gregory hit 17 before fending a catch to short-leg off Wagner and Lammonby’s excellent contribution ended when he edged to second slip off Drissell, who quickly followed up by bowling Overton for 19.A Ball six off Drissell took Somerset to a batting bonus point, but the former Gloucestershire spinner immediately responded by bowling him to complete a maiden five-for.Having seen the ball turn, the hosts gave the new ball to off-spinner Vaughan, who struck with the second delivery, Lees edging to second slip. Leach then pinned Parkinson lbw to cap an extraordinary day.

South Africa captain says they had prepared for left-arm spin and was confident of a strong comeback

S Sudarshanan03-Oct-20251:56

Wolvaardt: We’re much better than 69 all out

South Africa’s collapse in their Women’s World Cup opener against England was down to “one of those days where the top order and the middle order failed on the same day”, according to their captain Laura Wolvaardt. Sent in to bat in Guwahati, South Africa were bowled out for 69, their third-lowest total in women’s ODIs, and lost by ten wickets.Wolvaardt insisted they were “much better than 69 all out” and backed her side to bounce back.”I think our prep has been good, I don’t think there were too many demons in the pitch,” she said after the match. “It was just one of those days where everyone went out early and that happens in cricket sometimes. It was not a pitch that we were super foreign to. We spent a lot of time in these conditions in the last couple of months, so definitely wouldn’t put it on the wicket.Related

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“We are much, much better than 69 all out. As a group, we just need to put it behind us as quickly as we can and move forward, because if we’re going to take that into the next game, it’s going to be a very long tournament for us.”South Africa knew what to expect from England, who had two kinds of left-arm spinners, with Sophie Ecclestone’s release point being much higher than that of Linsey Smith.Marizanne Kapp became Linsey Smith’s third victim•Getty Images

On the eve of the match, South Africa’s batting coach Baakier Abrahams oversaw Wolvaardt’s preparation against left-arm spin closely. He specifically asked the net bowlers to change angles and bowl from wide of the crease as well. The focus was on her footwork and shot selection, and Abrahams reminded her of the forward defence with a straight bat. At one point, he praised her shot selection to a particular ball but pointed out that her head was falling over. Towards the end of her stint that lasted nearly 45 minutes, he nodded in approval.On Friday, though, it took Smith only two balls to dismiss Wolvaardt, who chipped a return catch. Smith then used inswing to beat the inside edges of both Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp and hit the stumps. South Africa were four down just 31 balls into the game and couldn’t recover.”You can’t really fault our preparation. Yesterday, personally, I was super specific in my training,” Wolvaardt said. “I had someone bowl like Lauren Bell would and I had the left-armer [bowling] at me. I had already planned which guard I would take and what my options were and what my strong options were. To have that soft dismissal today was very disappointing with all the preparation that we had put in. We’ve been very well-informed by all of our coaches. It’s just one of those days where we played the wrong line for the ball swinging in.”While batting has been South Africa’s stronger suit heading into this World Cup, the defeat put their Nos. 3 to 6 in the spotlight. In ODIs since the start of 2023, South Africa have been one of the top batting teams. That is largely due to Wolvaardt and Brits, the most prolific pair in this period. In the same time frame, their Nos. 3 to 6 average 28.08, the worst among all eight teams at this World Cup. That is down to Kapp not playing all games, plus some players moving up and down the order.”Our middle order has actually been better this year than they have ever been,” Wolvaardt said. “I think the likes of Sune [Luus], Marizanne, Chloe [Tryon], [Annerie] Dercksen, who didn’t play today, have really been scoring a lot of runs throughout the past few series. I don’t think that we have any trouble in our middle order at the moment. It’s just one of those days where both top order and middle order didn’t fire.”In South Africa’s last ODI before the World Cup, they were dismissed for 115 with Pakistan left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu taking 6 for 26. Not all of South Africa’s frontline players played that game, since they had already won the series. Wolvaardt didn’t read much into the similarities between that performance and this one against England.”Those were two quite different spinners. Smith was very good with her swing and her drift today, whereas Sandhu in that game got a lot of turn over the wicket. So very different conditions. In that Pakistan game, we probably didn’t adapt well to a turning wicket, probably a lot more turn than what we were used to, very out of our comfort zone conditions-wise, whereas today, it was just a total collapse. We just didn’t apply ourselves well enough with the bat.”South Africa’s second game in the World Cup is against New Zealand in Indore on October 6.

Alex Doolan’s maiden first-class half-century is unlikely to save Tasmania from defeat at the Gabba, where Ben Cutting’s three wickets put Queensland within sight of victory at stumps on the third day

Cricinfo staff03-Nov-2009Tasmania 156 and 6 for 209 (Doolan 59, Cutting 3-33) trail Queensland 382 by 17 runs

Scorecard
Ben Cutting picked up 3 for 33 to drive Queensland closer to victory•Getty Images

Alex Doolan’s maiden first-class half-century is unlikely to save Tasmania from defeat at the Gabba, where Ben Cutting’s three wickets put Queensland within sight of victory at stumps on the third day. At stumps, the Tigers were 6 for 209 and still trailing by 17 runs, with Daniel Marsh on 40 and Brett Geeves on 16.However, the visitors were going to require some individual brilliance on the final day to save the match after Queensland’s bowlers again proved a handful in their home conditions. The key breakthrough came just before tea, when Doolan (59) hooked Cutting and was caught on the boundary.It was an unfortunate lapse in concentration from Doolan, who had batted for more than three hours and had helped his captain George Bailey provide some fight. When Bailey departed shortly after tea for 25, caught behind off Daniel Doran, the Bulls sensed an opportunity.Cutting followed with two more breakthroughs and finished the day with 3 for 33, and Tasmania will need their former skipper Marsh to bat for as long as possible on the fourth day to have any hope of survival. Queensland started the day still at the crease but lost their final wicket, Chris Swan for 82, from the first ball of the morning.

Canada’s fifth consecutive win in the Americas regional qualifier assured them of a top-of-the-table finish

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2025Canada have become the 13th team to qualify for the 20-team 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka, after their seven-wicket win over Bahamas in Ontario in the Americas regional qualifying finals.It was Canada’s fifth consecutive win in the four-team event – Bermuda and Cayman Islands are the other participants – and ensured them of a top-of-the-table finish irrespective of the results of the last two games.This will be Canada’s second appearance at a T20 World Cup. They had qualified for the 2024 edition in the West Indies and the USA via the same route.The others to have already qualified are the hosts India and Sri Lanka, as well as Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, USA and West Indies. Seven more teams – two from the Europe qualifier, two from the Africa qualifier, and three from the Asia-EAP qualifier will join them.Playing at home, and with no USA to compete with as they had already qualified, Canada were the favourites to top the tournament. They lived up to the billing, winning their games by margins of 110 runs, 59 runs, ten wickets, 42 runs and seven wickets. In their latest win, they bundled Bahamas for a mere 57 in 19.5 overs. Kaleem Sana picked up 3 for 6 from his four overs, Ansh Patel 2 for 7 from his quota, and Shivam Sharma 3 for 16 in 2.5.The Canada batters chased down the target in just 5.3 overs with Dilpreet Bajwa top-scoring with an unbeaten 36 off 14 balls.Canada’s last game is on Sunday against Bermuda.

He matched Gujarat’s Urvil Patel for the fastest T20 hundred by an Indian

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2024Abhishek Sharma has matched Urvil Patel for the second-fastest T20 century, reaching the landmark in 28 balls in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Punjab against Meghalaya. Urvil had got there last week, when he scored 113 not out in 35 balls for Gujarat against Tripura in the same tournament. The record belongs to Sahil Chauhan, who scored a 27-ball century for Estonia against Cyprus in June this year.This was also Abhishek’s fourth century in the tournament, making him No. 1 on that list, ahead of Unmukt Chand, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, who have three each.Opening the batting in Punjab’s chase of Meghalaya’s 142 for 7 in Rajkot, Abhishek finished with 106 not out off 29 balls. Punjab got to their target in just 9.3 overs thanks mainly to Abhishek’s swashbuckling innings. The win was Punjab’s fifth in seven Group-A matches and the net-run-rate boost as a result of the speed of their win keeps them in the fray for progressing to the knockouts.Abhishek, who formed a destructive opening combination with Travis Head for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, was retained by the franchise ahead of the upcoming season for INR 14 crore (US$1.67 million approx.).Earlier in the day, Baroda broke the record for the highest team total in men’s T20 cricket when they posted 349 for 5 against Sikkim in Indore.