All posts by csb10.top

The winners of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia is set to become richer by US$ 1.6 million, while the runners-up will get $800,000, the ICC announced on Friday.The winners’ cheque is the same as that in the 2019-21 cycle, where New Zealand beat India in the final in Southampton.The ICC’s total purse for the current WTC cycle, which ends with the final next month at The Oval in London, is $3.8 million. With $2.4 million being distributed between the two finalists, the remaining amount will be given out based on the teams’ standings on the WTC table.Related

• Kishan replaces injured Rahul in India squad for WTC final

• Chappell: Why Australia could have the edge at The Oval

• Neser looms as WTC final reinforcement for Hazlewood

Third-placed South Africa will earn $450,000, while England, who ended fourth, will get $350,000. Sri Lanka, with a fifth-place finish, will earn $200,000, and numbers six to nine, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh, in that order, will get $100,000 each.The final of the 2021-23 WTC will be played from June 7 to 11, with June 12 as reserve day. While Australia had finished as table-toppers after winning 66.67% of their allotted points, India were second with 58.80%. The two teams had also met in a four-match series in India earlier this year, which India won 2-1.Earlier this month, India also went past Australia in the ICC Test rankings, taking back the No. 1 slot.This happened despite neither side playing any Test cricket recently, since the rankings consider a specific period and series completed before that period lose some of their value. In this case, the rankings considered all series completed since May 2020, with series completed before May 2022 weighted at 50% and everything since weighted at 100%.

Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are back in India’s spin-heavy squad for the first two home Tests against England. Mohammed Shami, who is working his way back from an ankle injury, is a notable absentee, though.Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan make up the seam attack while R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja make up the spin attack along with Kuldeep and Axar.While Shami was optimistic about making a return for the England Tests, the selectors and the BCCI medical staff might have wanted to give him further rest as a precautionary move. The 33-year-old fast bowler has not played any competitive cricket since the ODI World Cup final in November last year.Dhruv Jurel, the Uttar Pradesh player, earned his maiden call-up to the India side – in any format – as the back-up keeper to KL Rahul, who had kept wickets in the two Tests in South Africa, and KS Bharat.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Related

• Win over India fans to win Test series in India – Finn

• Prasidh picks up quadriceps injury in Ranji game

• Shami targets comeback during Test series vs England

• Dhruv Jurel: the Impact Player who waited a while to make an impact

Ishan Kishan, who had taken a break from the two-match Test series in South Africa and the ongoing T20I series at home against Afghanistan, wasn’t part of this squad as well. Avesh Khan, who was recently called up to the India Test squad in South Africa as a replacement for Shami, retained his spot. The 27-year-old has played eight ODIs and 19 T20Is so far, but he is uncapped in Test cricket.However, Prasidh Krishna, who made his Test debut in Centurion, was not named in the squad. The fast bowler had sustained a quadriceps injury on the first day of Karnataka’s second-round Ranji Trophy clash against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. The Karnataka team physio is currently taking care of Prasidh, but as a BCCI-contracted player, he can also link up with the India A support staff, who are also in Ahmedabad for the two-day match against the touring England Lions.3:48

Archive: The Dhruv Jurel story

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is nursing a finger injury, also missed out along with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who had replaced Gaikwad as the reserve opener in South Africa. Shardul Thakur, who leaked 101 runs in 19 overs at SuperSport Park, was also left out of the squad.Jurel had recently scored a half-century for India A in a four-day first-class fixture against South Africa A in Benoni and is currently playing against Lions in Ahmedabad. In all, he has played 15 first-class games and averages nearly 47. His journey to the top has not been straightforward. He was vice-captain of the India Under-19s at the World Cup four years ago and more recently made heads turn at the IPL in 2023 scoring 152 runs at an average of 22 and strike rate of 173 for Rajasthan Royals.Ashwin is on the brink of two major landmarks in Test cricket. He is ten strikes away from 500 wickets in the format and five matches away from 100 Tests. The five-match series against England will begin in Hyderabad on January 25 and will be part of the World Test Championship (WTC). India are currently second on the WTC points table, behind defending champions Australia.

India squad for first two Tests against England

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Avesh Khan

Usman Khan hit the fastest century so far in this season’s Pakistan Super League to lead Multan Sultans into the playoffs with a 20-run win over Karachi Kings on Sunday.The Sultans continued their dominant run, securing its sixth win in seven games. They top the standings with 12 points, while fifth-place Karachi has just two wins from six games.Pakistan-born Usman, who now plays for the United Arab Emirates, smashed 106 not out off 58 balls after reaching his ton in 56 deliveries. Captain Mohammad Rizwan contributed 58 in Multan’s imposing 189 for 3 after choosing to bat first.The Kings never looked a threat before reaching 169 for 7 in 20 overs and losing their third straight home game. Skipper Shan Masood got clean bowled for 36 off 29 balls by the tournament’s leading wicket-taker Usama Mir (2-29). Legspinner Mir stretched his wickets tally to 15. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who took 1 for 40, has 14.Usman and Rizwan exploited some wayward Kings bowling, sharing a second-wicket stand of 148 off 93 balls. Rizwan was caught at mid-off soon after completing his half-century before Usman reached his ton with a pulled six against Mir Hamza in the last over.The Kings’ overseas signings Tim Seifert (1) and James Vince (7) fell inside the batting powerplay.Shoaib Malik top-scored for his team with 38 before holing out at long off in the 12th over and the Kings had plenty of soft dismissals in the run-chase.

Perhaps because he has been around for longer, Chris Jordan doesn’t quite get remembered as an England cricketer of Bajan origin as Jofra Archer does. The Kensington Oval was where Jordan first saw a cricket match, incidentally between West Indies and England, and fell in love with the game. He vaguely remembers watching it from the old press box. Perhaps he means the stand and not the actual press box.There is nothing vague about having created a pretty special memory here by taking a hat-trick to end USA’s innings prematurely in a collapse that took out five wickets for no runs, before England eventually won the Super Eight match by ten wickets to seal a semi-final spot. It is naturally special having done it at “home”; those in attendance made it more special for Jordan, because he has never had so many of his family watching him play. It ranks “right up there” with his best days in an England shirt.”Yeah, it’s a good day,” Jordan said. “I think because my family actually doesn’t get to travel the world and watch me play a lot of international cricket. So to do it in front of them definitely is right up there. And then also in a World Cup, in a game to make sure that we can qualify, it’s definitely up there for sure. Ranks high.”Related

• Hat-tricks? Yawn

• Jordan, Rashid and Buttler lead England's charge into the semis

• Harmeet Singh: The road to 2026 World Cup must start now

• Jos Buttler takes the short circuit back to form as England's form hits the roof

• Buttler: Top of group was 'absolutely' the target in England's run chase

Who all were there then? “Yeah, everyone. The list goes on. My mum, my dad, my sister, brother-in-law, nephew. My nephew’s the one because he called me this morning and said, ‘Make sure you take three wickets today if you’re playing’. And yeah, so I looked up and he’s jumping up, because one day he might be out there trying to do the same thing. So yeah, you end up trying to be a role model and stuff like that. So yeah, it was a nice day.”It was fitting then that the England leadership brought Jordan in for a homecoming, along with Archer. After the defeat to Australia, Jordan missed the Oman game, but was brought back for the rain-shortened crunch match against Namibia. Then he missed games against West Indies and South Africa. It can be challenging for a player to not be sure of a place in the starting XI, but Jordan hasn’t let it affect him.”Not too much of a challenge because I [have] played a lot of cricket now, and I think the communication has been really good from the hierarchy as well,” he said. “I try to control the things that I can control – because even when I’m not playing, I’m trying to be there for guys and help guys with their planning, and make sure that guys are well motivated as well going into the game.”So we don’t really have too much time to even think about being in and out. All I can do is kind of keep training hard and just keep preparing as [though] I’m going to play every game anyway, whichever way the coin falls on the day. So yeah, not too much of a bother for me.”

Jonny Bairstow will feature for Joburg Super Kings in 2025. It will be his first time participating in the SA20. Faf du Plessis, Gerald Coetzee and Donovan Ferreira are among the other players retained by the franchise. They have traded in Tabraiz Shamsi from Paarl Royals with Dayyaan Galiem going the other way.JSK’s overseas retentions include Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana and David Wiese. Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams and Imran Tahir will also return to the Super Kings after helping them reach the Qualifier in the previous edition.Reeza Hendricks and Sam Cook are the notable absentees from last season. There will be additions to the 13-member squad, which du Plessis will continue to captain, at the auction.Related

• SA20: Gurbaz to reunite with Trott at Pretoria Capitals

• SA20 in 2025 will run from January 9 to February 8

• Sunrisers Eastern Cape sign Bedingham, Crawley and van der Merwe for upcoming SA20 season

Joburg Super Kings squad
Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Maheesh Theekshana, Jonny Bairstow, Gerald Coetzee, David Wiese, Leus du Plooy, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Donovan Ferreira, Sibonelo Makhanya, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir

Stoinis back with Durban’s Super Giants

Last season’s runners-up, Durban’s Super Giants, had announced earlier that they have Kane Williamson and Chris Woakes on board this time. They will also have firepower in the form of Marcus Stoinis, who was the team’s wildcard pick last time around. They’ve also retained a strong local core in Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock and (their captain) Keshav Maharaj.Also back on their books are Afghanistan’s Naveen-ul-Haq and Noor Ahmad, local players Prenelan Subrayen, Dwaine Pretorius, Jon-Jon Smuts, Wiaan Mulder, Junior Dala, Matthew Breetzke, Jason Smith and Bryce Parsons.Durban’s Super Giants squad
Keshav Maharaj (captain), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan), Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Quinton De Kock, Wiaan Mulder, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Bryce Parsons, Dwaine Pretorius, Jason Smith, Jon-Jon Smuts, Prenelan Subrayen

Paarl Royals retain Miller, Ngidi, Phehlukwayo

Captain David Miller, Lungi Ngidi and Andile Phehlukwayo are among a list of ten South African players retained by Paarl Royals for the new season of the SA20 in 2025. Kwena Maphaka and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, rookie signings from the 2024 edition, have also been retained by the Royals ahead of the auction.Dane Vilas, Evan Jones, Wihan Lubbe and Ferisco Adams have been let go to make space in the squad that currently has 11 players, including being seam-bowling allrounder Galiem.David Miller led Royals to the Eliminator in 2024•SA20

Royals made the Qualifiers in the last SA20 edition but suffered five straight losses including a nine-wicket thumping in the Eliminator against Super Kings. The new season begins on January 9.”We are delighted to go into the upcoming auction with a very formidable core of capped and uncapped South African players,” Kumar Sangakkara – Royals’ Director of Cricket – said in a press release. “After the disappointment of last season where we faltered towards the latter stages of the tournament, it was important to re-look at the squad and make certain changes.”Paarl Royals squad
David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Mitchell van Buuren, Codi Yusuf, Keith Dudgeon, Nqaba Peter, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dayyaan Galiem (Traded in)

MI Cape Town hold on to Rabada, Brevis

There were not too many surprises in MI Cape Town’s announcements. They held on to Kagiso Rabada and Dewald Brevis via pre-signings, and also retained Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Delano Potgieter, Thomas Kaber and Connor Esterhuizen.They let go of Beuran Hendricks, Duan Jansen, Grant Roelofsen and Neelan van Heerden, statement from the franchise saying: “MI Cape Town would like to thank [these] players for their support and contribution over the last 2 seasons and wish them the very best.”

Sunrisers Eastern Cape bring in Crawley

Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the defending SA20 champions, have signed South Africa batter David Bedingham, England opener Zak Crawley, fast bowler Craig Overton, and Netherlands allrounder Roelof van der Merwe for the upcoming season. More on their squad here.

Was it brave or foolhardy to insert England beneath clear blue skies at Lord’s? As Joe Root peeled off his sixth Test hundred at the grand old ground, the verdict erred towards the latter. Gus Atkinson added to Sri Lanka’s pain with a maiden Test half-century and, although the bowlers toiled manfully until late in the day to repay the faith shown in them by their captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, England had grappled their way into an increasingly sturdy position.After Root, there was daylight on the England batting card – and Dhananjaya might rue the inability of Lahiru Kumara to persuade Paul Reiffel to raise his finger to an lbw appeal when Root was on 11, with the DRS returning a verdict of umpire’s call. The next-highest score was Atkinson’s unbeaten 74 from No. 8, with his 92-run stand alongside Root the chief reason that England did not have what looked a perfectly respectable batting rug pulled from under them.Root’s 143 took him level with Alastair Cook on 33 Test centuries for England; during the course of his innings, he overtook Cook for most Test runs scored in England (and Wales) – and it is now surely only a matter of weeks, if not days, before he passes Cook’s overall mark for his country. Once the engraver has done his work, no one will have more entries on the batting honours board at Lord’s than Root, Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan.Having steered England past the winning post at Old Trafford a few days ago, Root was again the batting bulwark for his side. As in the first Test, Sri Lanka bowled well to put England’s first innings in peril without quite finishing the job. England were 130 for 4 and then 216 for 6, only for Root to bolt together the two biggest partnerships of the innings alongside Atkinson and Jamie Smith.With Atkinson, who lofted Prabath Jayasuriya for six off his eighth ball and added three more before the close, looking increasingly assured, the eighth-wicket stand with Matthew Potts added an unbroken 50 as the shadows lengthened.This was not quite a mid-2000s Lord’s shirtfront but conditions remained placid throughout. Dhananjaya had reasoned that there is “always swing in the first hour” when opting to bowl but, while there was occasional lateral movement to deal with, few of England’s top order could claim that to have been genuinely got out.Ollie Pope, in particular, departed in a manner that might have made for uncomfortable viewing back in the dressing room. Pope, England’s stand-in captain, had spoken before the game about separating his duties in leading the team from the processes required to bat at No. 3; perhaps he was wrongfooted by Dhananajaya’s decision at the toss, having been expecting to be told he was fielding, but the ungainly flap at Asitha Fernando suggested he still has plenty of work to do on that front.England’s top three were all back in the hutch before lunch, and Asitha struck again after the break. Harry Brook produced a volley of attacking shots to put the hosts back on the front foot only for a marginal lbw call to this time go in Sri Lanka’s favour. Brook aimed an expansive drive at Asitha only to be defeated by a hint of seam movement back in, with Reiffel agreeing that it would have hit leg stump.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A stand of 62 between Root and Smith helped the Lord’s crowd settle into a more appropriate state of post-prandial relaxation. Smith was largely watchful, despite picking off the spinner Jayasuriya for three boundaries, before being caught behind with tea approaching as he aimed a more expansive drive at Milan Rathnayake.Root had got off the mark with a four from his first ball but went about his business in typically unobtrusive fashion. Other than the Kumara lbw appeal, his one moment of genuine anxiety came when chopping Rathnayake just past off stump on 59; he edged the same bowler between slip and gully in the following over. The nerves were more evident in the crowd as he bided his time for 12 balls on 99, before opening the face to steer Kumara down to third, punching the air as soon as the ball had sped through the cordon.Root eventually departed trying to reverse-ramp Rathnayake but, although the day ended with Atkinson and Potts taking liberties against the second new ball, this was a stuttering effort from England. The new-look opening pair for this series produced their third consecutive stand in the 30s, before Dan Lawrence edged tamely behind trying to walk down the pitch at Kumara. Ben Duckett looked assured in making 40 from 47 balls, only to reverse-swipe the fourth ball of spin in the match down the throat of deep point with 20 minutes to go until lunch.Dhananjaya’s decision at the toss caused more than a few raised eyebrows around the ground as it basked in late August sunshine. When Duckett clipped three boundaries from Asitha’s second over of the morning, it seemed as if England were in the mood to ram home the point about Lord’s being a “look up, not down” ground. But Kumara, brought into the side for Vishwa Fernando, struck in his first over as Lawrence edged through to Nishan Madushka, deputising with the gloves after the blow to the hand sustained by Dinesh Chandimal in the first Test.Pope’s average as Test captain then dipped from 6.00 to 4.33, as Asitha switched to the Nursery End and induced an ungainly pull across the line that took the top edge and ballooned to a gleeful Dhananjaya at square leg.Sri Lanka, who have not lost a Test in London since 1991, had their tails up, with Asitha and Kumara probing for openings while Rathnayake kept things tight. Kumara was wholehearted, pushing the speed gun up towards 90mph, and he might have had another when bringing one down the slope into Root’s knee roll. The bowler bellowed an appeal, fully aware of the fine margins involved in umpire’s call: DRS duly had it clipping the top of leg stump, so Reiffel’s not-out stood. On such margins did the day turn.

Rohit Sharma has said that India were willing to risk getting bowled out for a low score in the first innings in a bid to get a result from a pitch that “didn’t have much for the bowlers”. The second and the third days of the Kanpur Test did not see any action because of drizzle and wet outfield respectively.But thanks to clear weather on the last two days of the Test, India first dismissed Bangladesh for 233 in the first innings – picking up the last seven wickets for just 121 runs – and then declared on 285 for 9 in just 34.4 overs to have another go at the opposition in the dying moments of the day.”We had to think a lot [about] how the game can keep moving forward once we lost two-and-a-half days,” Rohit said after India wrapped up a seven-wicket win on the fifth day. “When we came on day four, we thought, okay, let’s try and get them out as quickly as possible and then see with the bat what we can do. Once they had got 230-odd, we said it was not about the runs we get but it was about the overs we wanted to bowl at them. It meant we had to try and up the run-rate and score as many as possible because the pitch did not have much for the bowlers.”While Rohit himself got off to a blazing start, scoring 23 off just 11 balls, including hitting the first two balls he faced for successive sixes, Yashasvi Jaiswal also brought his T20 game to the fore. He scored a 51-ball 72 in the first innings and then a 45-ball 51 in the second, thereby becoming the first Indian to reach fifties in both innings of a Test in less than 50 balls.”To make a game out of that pitch was a super effort from the bowlers, and then for the batters to buy into that thought of going and getting the runs as quickly as possible,” Rohit said. “It was a risk we were willing to take because when you’re trying to bat like that, it is very easy that you can get bundled out for a low score as well. But we were ready with that factor as well, that even if we get all out for 100-150, we wanted to give ourselves a chance to be in the game and try and get a result.”R Ashwin, who was adjudged Player of the Series for his all-round show, also concurred. He picked up 11 wickets, the joint-most in the series, and scored 114 runs including a century in the first innings in Chennai.”When we bowled them out yesterday a little after lunch, Rohit was very keen [to get a result],” Ashwin said. “He said, we at least need 80 overs to bowl at them and the moment he came inside and gave that talk [that] we are going to go after it and even if we get all out under 230, I mean, we set the cat amongst the pigeons.”It’s not only him saying it but he went out there and hit his first [two balls] for a six. You set the tone that way, and obviously everybody follows on from there.”Akash Deep picked up the big wicket of Shadman Islam in Bangladesh’s second innings•Getty Images

Rohit also heaped praise on Akash Deep, who provided crucial breakthroughs in the two-Test series. In the first innings in Chennai, he bowled Zakir Khan and Mominul Haque off successive balls and then in the Kanpur game, returned three wickets including that of second innings half-centurion Shadman Islam.”He’s been good, [coming on the back of] a lot of domestic cricket,” Rohit said. “When you you come up through the ranks like that, there’s enough overs in the legs. He has played a lot of cricket, so we know that the guy can do the job that the team is expecting him to do. He’s got the quality, he’s got the skills as well and the guy has good body as well. He can bowl long spells and can bowl quick as well.”We want to create a bunch of bowlers, who are ready to play Test cricket at any given point because these days there’s too much cricket happening, a lot of injuries and stuff like that. So you’ve got to make sure that you prepare yourself and you prepare your bench strength in a way that, if someone’s injured, you should be able to come and replace him.”Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with 11 wickets in the two-match series, also praised the three-Test old Akash Deep saying he has “got a lot of heart”.”He comes up to me quite a lot before his spell and asks me what is happening, what do you think I should do,” Bumrah said. “We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations. It is the energy he brings onto the ball, gives it his absolute best in the field and as well as when he is bowling. He’s got a lot of heart, so that’s a great sign for us going forward as well. And whenever he comes into bowl, he gives his absolute best. So, yes, I’m very happy with the way he’s progressing and hopefully he goes from strength to strength.”

Gloucestershire 109 for 2 (Bracey 49*, Bancroft 39) beat Sussex 106 (Carson 26, M Taylor 3-25, Smith 3-25) by eight wicketsGloucestershire booked themselves a West Country showdown with local rivals Somerset in the Vitality Blast final, to give themselves a shot at their first silverware for close to a decade, as well as their maiden title in this competition, after a crushingly effective eight-wicket victory over Sussex in the second semi-final at Edgbaston.After being asked to bowl first on a drying pitch that was likely to offer increasing grip for the spinners – and having watched Somerset’s bowlers put the squeeze on Surrey in the opening contest – Gloucestershire made sure that the conditions would be academic come the sharp end, by routing their previously high-flying rivals for 106 in 18.1 overs. Matt Taylor and Tom Smith grabbed the lion’s share of the wickets with twin figures of 3 for 25, but David Payne’s 1 for 9 in four overs was the epitome of their performance.After that, the result was never truly in doubt. Despite the early loss of Miles Hammond, Cameron Bancroft and James Bracey broke the back of the chase with a second-wicket stand of 54, and Sussex’s grim day was summed up when Ollie Robinson dropped an utter sitter at mid-on, as Bracey went for broke with just six runs needed. He got it right two balls later, however, with a mighty drill over long-off to wrap up the chase with 38 balls unused.Sussex hadn’t had a prayer with so few runs to play with. Tymal Mills, doubtless ruing his call at the toss, tried to frontload his strike bowling, with Robinson relatively misery but wicketless in his four overs for 23, while the only other successful bowler was James Coles, whose 1 for 17 in three overs will count as further experience banked at the end of a breakthrough campaign.Payne and Taylor boss the powerplay
Payne’s harnessing of swing in the powerplay is his “super-strength”, as he told ESPNcricinfo in the build-up, and with metronomic inevitability he proved true to his word once again. His 21st powerplay wicket of the campaign, and tournament-leading 30th overall, was the whopper that Gloucestershire needed above all others.With 595 runs at 42.50 going into Finals Day, Daniel Hughes had been the rock of Sussex’s batting all season long, but he’d extended his tally by just one more run when Payne outfoxed him in his second over. With a hint of shape from over the wicket, he lured Hughes across his crease then beat his intentions with some extra bounce, the under-edge deflecting into his own stumps.Five balls – and no runs – later, Sussex’s innings was officially in the soup. Matt Taylor’s low full toss wasn’t quite the yorker he was aiming for, but then nor was Harrison Ward’s leading-edged response. Hammond snaffled the low deflection that somehow carried to mid-on, and though James Coles then cracked three of Taylor’s next four balls for four, he too fell to the fifth, as Bancroft intercepted at short midwicket.Taylor’s third and final wicket, however, was a true collector’s item. Round the wicket, perfect line and length, it gripped the dry pitch and ripped and bounced like a legbreak through Tom Alsop’s half-formed defences. His hat-trick ball was too full to trouble John Simpson – “you greedy boy!” joked James Bracey over the stump mic, but at 35 for 4 at the end of the powerplay, Sussex were scrambling for anything competitive.Cameron Bancroft makes a dent in Gloucestershire’s small target•Getty Images

Price is right for middle overs
Ollie Price’s first two balls weren’t the most auspicious. Five wides first-up, then four more byes as a very tight appeal for lbw deceived both batter and keeper. His third ball, however, was bang on the money. Round the wicket to the left-handed Tom Clark, and straightening just enough out of the footholes to peg back his off stump as Clark missed his sweep.And, after a solitary over for his brother Tom, Ollie made it two wickets in as many overs as Fynn Hudson-Prentice, one ball after finding the stands at deep midwicket, found the fielder there instead, as he got too greedy on a dragged-down delivery, and picked out Hammond’s safe hands once more to depart for a run-a-ball 13.No let-up through the back end
Five balls was enough for Tom Smith to prise out Sussex’s last realistic hope of a defendable total. Simpson also succumbed to the sweep as he was nailed on the full, just in line with off stump, leaving Sussex beached on 64 for 7 in the tenth, with little option but to bat out the overs and take whatever they could muster.Robinson and Jack Carson obliged for a time, adding a run-a-ball 37 to drag the total past 100. But back came Smith, tossing it above Robinson’s eyeline to lure a hack to deep mid-off. One ball later, he and Bracey combined for a moment that might have been designed as Jack Russell-Mark Alleyne tribute act, as Smith fired a faster delivery past the pads of the incoming Mills, and the unsighted Bracey whipped off the bails for a stumping that would have graced the club’s trophy-winning glory days at the turn of the 2000s.With options aplenty and only the resolute Carson resisting, Payne bowled out in the 18th over, conceding just nine runs in total in another stellar display, before Josh Shaw – scarcely any less frugal – mopped up the resistance with 11 balls left unused. It had been a performance to match their magnificent defence of 139 on his same ground in the quarter-final against Birmingham Bears. On this evidence, there was little reason to believe Gloucestershire couldn’t make it three Edgbaston wins in a row by the end of cricket’s longest day.

Sean Abbott put his name in the queue of back-up Test quicks with an outstanding spell while Mitchell Starc won a key battle over Marcus Harris that could shape Australia’s side as New South Wales took the ascendency against Victoria on the opening day at the MCG.In front of a lively Sunday crowd of around 1800, Abbott took four wickets and arguably deserved more on the back of some high-quality sustained fast bowling across the day, including an incredible spell after tea that yielded 3 for 0 in 15 balls and the swung the momentum NSW’s way.Related

• Australia's selection race: who is in the running to face India?

• Lyon inspired to keep spin 'cool' after Warne's death

• Live – Starc, Smith, Boland return to Sheffield Shield

Peter Handscomb and Campbell Kellaway made fighting half-centuries in challenging conditions that favoured the seamers.Harris was unable to kick on after batting the entire first session for 26. Starc bowled impressively in the morning but went unrewarded despite finding swing and extra bounce while operating at high pace. Harris fought hard and played reasonably well without being able to score freely. Shortly before lunch, Starc pinned Harris on the underside of his left arm to leave a large egg-shaped bruise.The left-armer returned after the break to first beat Harris on the inside edge and nearly bowl him, before picking him up caught down the leg side. Harris bemoaned his misfortune but Starc’s extra pace and bounce meant he was not in control of the leg glance.NSW did not claim another wicket for the next 34 overs as Kellaway and Handscomb shared a century stand against some excellent bowling. Abbott and Starc in particular beat the bat regularly. Abbott had a number of half-shouts turned down while Starc broke Handscomb’s bat with a searing delivery that climbed from a length and cracked the splice of his blade.Kellaway and Handscomb defended against that duo and then expanded against Nathan Lyon. Kellaway launched him for a huge six over wide long-on while Handscomb played him with typical class.Jackson Bird broke the stand after tea, finding the outside edge with a superb off-cutter to dismiss Kellaway for 55 from 160 deliveries.Abbott then returned to wreak havoc. Handscomb, on 64, attempted a drive at a fuller length, but Abbott managed to get the ball to straighten a touch and Steven Smith held the edge at second slip.In Abbott’s next over he removed Sam Harper in similar fashion. Abbott went wide of the crease and dragged his length back as Harper shuffled forward. Again the ball straightened off the seam and caught the edge with Nic Maddinson claiming the chance sharply at third slip. Abbott should have had another two balls later but Maddinson grassed an easier catch that went straight to him off Will Sutherland’s outside edge.It cost nothing as Abbott nicked off Sutherland again to the safe gloves of Josh Phillippe. When Lyon had Sam Elliott caught at short leg, Victoria had slumped from 164 for 2 to 185 for 7.”I thought we bowled pretty well,” Abbott said after play. “But equally, I think the Vic boys batted very well on that wicket.”It felt a bit frustrating at times. We went past the bat a lot. It was just nice to get some reward late in the day after some hard toil all day.”Tom Rogers took 37 balls to get off the mark while watching three of his team-mates fall at the other end. But he and Fergus O’Neill mounted a rearguard against the second new ball with a 58-run stand before O’Neill fell late in the day for 28. Jack Nisbet picked up a second when he had Todd Murphy caught behind in the shadows of stumps.Handscomb was pleased with Victoria’s score given how much pace and seam movement there was in the surface and how well New South Wales bowled.”They bowled beautifully,” Handscomb said. “They’re always going to be there or thereabouts, and not really give you any loose balls.”We just kept telling each other just to try and fight and keep getting through. Because it’s tough for us out there but it’s also going to be tougher for the next bloke coming in.”I think it’s a really good day for us today. We’re really happy with that situation. I think when you get sent in here day one where, if we can get somewhere between 180 to 220, we tend to feel like we’re still in the game.”

Offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has not played for Afghanistan since June because of injury, has made a return to their white-ball squads for the tour of Zimbabwe this month. Mujeeb was sidelined by a right phalanx (hand) sprain, and only returned to competitive cricket for the first time in five months at the Abu Dhabi T10 on November 21.Top-order batter Zubaid Akbari earned his maiden call-up to Afghanistan’s T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tour, while another top-order batter Darwish Rasooli also returned to the shortest format.Afghanistan will continue to miss the services of top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran, who is still recovering from the ankle surgery he had recently undergone in England.Akbari is coming off an impressive Emerging Teams Asia Cup T20 tournament where he was the fourth-highest run-getter and the second-highest for Afghanistan A with 137 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 131.73. It was under Rasooli – who has played seven T20Is – that Afghanistan A clinched their maiden Emerging Teams Asia Cup T20 in Oman earlier this year. Rasooli’s last T20I was against UAE in Sharjah in January this year.Noor Ahmad has been named only in the T20I squad and Riaz Hassan has also been left out of the ODI squad.ACB interim chief selector Ahmad Shah said: “It’s a great feeling to see our frontline spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, recover from his injury and be available for selection. He is an essential member of our squad, and we hope he continues to shine brightly for Afghanistan. Additionally, Zubaid Akbari and Darwish Rasooli have been consistent performers, not only in domestic cricket but also in the recently concluded ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where Afghanistan claimed the title. We have included both players in the T20I squad and wish them the very best for the upcoming series.”The white-ball leg of the Zimbabwe tour consists of three T20Is and as many ODIs, following which the teams will play two Tests between December 26 and January 6, 2025. Afghanistan are yet to name their Test squad.Change in datesThe limited overs leg of the tour has seen a slight shift in dates and according to ACB, this is “to help the spectators attend the key games during weekends”. As per the revised schedule, the three T20Is, which were originally slotted to be played on December 9, 11 and 12, have now been pushed to December 11, 13 and 14. These adjustments have also affected the ODIs, with the first game now scheduled for December 17 and the second and third ODIs on December 19 and 21, respectively. All these matches will be played at the Harare Sports Club.

Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe ODIs

Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik

Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe T20Is

Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Darwish Rasooli, Zubaid Akbari, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad and Naveen Ul Haq