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Kane Williamson’s availability for New Zealand’s home summer will take a little longer to lock in. However, head coach Rob Walter is content to give a player of his standing the extra time.Williamson, who is one of the group of players to hold a casual contract with NZC, made himself unavailable for the three-match T20I series against Australia, having previously missed the tour of Zimbabwe to play county cricket and the Hundred.The next part of New Zealand’s home season sees them play England in T20Is and ODIs before an all-format visit by West Indies in November.”Kane, we’re still in conversations as to what the summer is going to look like,” Walter told reporters after the Australia series. “He will play, no doubt about that. Just what and where is still in discussion.Related

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“I think the reality is we’re dealing with all the guys on casual contracts, actually in different positions from a playing point of view. Kane is one of those and he deserves the opportunity to sit and talk about what the rest of his year will look like. But I keep coming back to the most important thing, [which] is that he wants to play for his country, and so nutting out exactly what that looks like can take an extra week or two, but surely, he deserves that.”Walter confirmed that New Zealand would continue to be without Finn Allen (foot) and Adam Milne (ankle) for the visit of England while Lockie Ferguson (hamstring) and Glenn Phillips (groin) were unlikely to be fit.However, he was hopeful that white-ball captain Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra, who was a late withdrawal from the Australia series after suffering a facial injury colliding with the boundary boards at training, will have recovered in time for the series which starts on October 18 in Christchurch.Walter was unperturbed about not being able to get his full-strength T20I side together in the build-up to next year’s World Cup.Mitchell Santner is likely to be available again•ICC via Getty Images

“I think we don’t live in an ideal world and so that’s part and parcel of it,” he said. “I’ve been part of a World Cup campaign [with South Africa] where the team assembled at its full strength three days before our first game and that team managed to make a final.”For me, it’s just the way it works. I think what’s more important is the environment and the team culture that sort of assimilates together when it needs to. We do know that by the back end of the India series [in January] prior to the World Cup, that’s when our full World Cup squad will be together.”For me, as long as the guys are playing competitive cricket, that’s important, and almost everyone has been part of the environment at some point so I would assume that they can fit seamlessly back into it.”Should all players be fit and available for the World Cup, there will be some selection squeezes, especially around the pace bowling and top-order batting. Tim Robinson took his chance after Ravindra’s injury to make an impressive hundred in the first match against Australia, while Jimmy Neesham claimed a four-wicket haul in the third game.Australia won the T20I series against New Zealand•Getty Images

“Ultimately when things are operating the way they should, everyone’s not fighting for their position, but understands that competition for places is there,” Walter said. “Ultimately you want your best crop of players in the park and in the squad.”They’re all quality players. At the end of the day, there’s going to be a quality player that’s left out, whoever that may be. As you’ve heard me say many times before, the stronger the player that’s left out, the better the system.”Reflecting on the Australia series, Walter was encouraged by the way his side fought back from 6 for 3 in the opening match and forced a collapse with the ball in the second but conceded they had areas that needed improving before facing England.”There’s little bits [of positives] here and there but, to be fair, we were a little bit off our best game and when you do that against [Australia], who’s won 25 of their last 30 T20 internationals, you’re going to find yourself on the wrong end of the result,” he said.”Some of the areas that we weren’t competitive in are actually quite easy fixes, [they] just require a little bit of extra time on our part…like any loss there’ll be some positives most of the time and then some stuff that you walk away with and understanding that you have to do better as we move forward.”With England arriving, you’ve got a team that’s going to play very similar to how Australia played in the series. So again, we get to check out if we actually have improved in the areas that we’ve identified and spoken about.”

As fans clad in red and blue danced in the Sharjah aisles, the result was a foregone conclusion: Zishan Morata was the last man out, caught in the deep by Karan KC, and West Indies had been bundled out for 83. Three days ago, Nepal had never played a T20I series against a Full Member nation. Now, they had sealed it 2-0, with one match to spare.West Indies struggled to move beyond single-digits in the powerplay. Only thanks to a boundary in the sixth over did they reach 16 for 2. By then, Dipendra Singh Airee had scalped the first wicket when he bowled Jewel Andrew (2), while Kushal Bhurtel had taken a stunning catch at cover to send back Keacy Carty (1).Nepal’s vice grip over the scoring rate was the result of their slower balls and full deliveries in the blockhole, with their quicks often marrying the two to great effect. An inexperienced West Indies unit kept mistiming their shots on a pitch where none of their batters, barring Jason Holder’s 15-ball 21, played with any degree of comfort. Eight-three all out represents the former T20 World Champions’ sixth-lowest total. The 90-run defeat is their joint fourth-biggest by runs.Medium pacer Mohammad Aadil Alam – who ended with figures of 4 for 24 – was the next bowler to get on the scorecard, thanks to the biggest point of difference between the two sides: Nepal’s fielding. Nineteen-year-old Gulsan Jha’s diving catch at sweeper cover in the eighth over bettered their previous effort, and sent Kyle Mayers back after a sluggish 6 off 16 balls.The going never got better for West Indies, as they kept losing wickets in the middle overs and found gaps in the field plugged by a Nepal team who threw themselves at the ball. Alam sent back Ackeem Auguste (17) and Amir Jangoo (16) in back-to-back overs. By then, West Indies had slipped to 63 for 5 and the required rate had leaped to above 13.Kushal Bhurtel took three wickets to mop off the West Indies tail•ICC/Getty Images

Bhurtel added to his contributions in the field with a three-for that swept up the tail. Holder – the last nominal hope for West Indies – fell to Lalit Rajbanshi in the 17th over, when Jha took his second screamer of the day. Soon after, Bhurtel came back to toss up a legbreak and fount it caught on the outfield once again. This was a day when West Indies kept finding fielders at the rope instead of clearing them.Earlier in the day, Nepal’s own innings had been one of two distinct halves: in the first ten, they did not hit a single six, but opener Aasif Sheikh had established a burgeoning partnership with Sundeep Jora, and a productive powerplay had taken them to 74 for 3 at the midway point of the innings.In the next ten, the pair raced away and put on what would end up being a 100-run partnership. Jora’s 39-ball 63 eventually ended in the 18th over. He had hit five of the nine sixes Nepal hit in the second half of the innings.Sheikh remained unbeaten on 68 off 47 himself. At the other end, Alam’s 5-ball 11 took Nepal’s total to 173. Alam was playing his first match for Nepal after more than three years, having last appeared for them in August 2022. His cameo would become a footnote to his starring role in the second innings.It would also overshadow the efforts of West Indies’ best bowler on the day – their captain Akeal Hosein – who took 2 for 21 and had reduced Nepal to 14 for 2 in the fourth over. However, any hopes of a rally after their loss in the first T20I were soon left far behind, as his team slipped to 83 all out – the lowest total by a Full Member team against an Associate nation – as well as a 90-run loss – the biggest margin by which an Associate team has defeated a Full Member nation.What makes this result more significant is that Nepal have secured it ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup qualifiers next month, and in the absence of their lead spinner Sandeep Lamichhane, who has sat out both matches of the series. Nepal coach, Stuart Law, said Lamichhane excused himself citing personal reasons.Nepal now know they will be favourites to win the third and final match of the series, to be played on Tuesday, having sealed the most significant series win in their cricket history.

The Lord’s-based Hundred franchise will continue to be known as London Spirit following the sale of a 49% stake to the Silicon Valley consortium known as the “Tech Titans”, with former England performance director Mo Bobat announced as the incoming director of cricket.MCC has been in discussions with its new equity partner for some time and is expected to unveil new team branding – possibly including the club’s famous egg-and-bacon colours – ahead of the 2026 season. But they have opted to keep the name as part of an identity that reflects “the capital’s energy, diversity, and cricketing heritage”.Bobat’s appointment is the first significant move by any of the Hundred teams after six of the eight equity sale deals were signed off by the ECB last month. Bobat, who will retain his role in the IPL as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s director of cricket, is set to join up with Spirit from October.Related

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“It’s an honour to join London Spirit at such an exciting time,” Bobat said. “The opportunity to shape the cricketing future of this franchise, working with MCC and our new partners, the Tech Titans, is incredibly exciting. I’m looking forward to building something special – on and off the field.”London Spirit chairman, Julian Metherell, said: “Today marks a significant moment for London Spirit. Mo Bobat brings unmatched expertise and vision to the role of Director of Cricket, and we’re thrilled to welcome him. At the same time, retaining the London Spirit name reflects our belief in the identity that’s been built – one that resonates with the capital, our fans, and our values. We now look ahead to a new era, with fresh energy and clear purpose.”London Spirit men, currently coached by Justin Langer, lost their opening game of the 2025 season after being bowled out for 80 in front of their new owners – but bounced back to record victory against Welsh Fire at the weekend.

India

For India to be sure of qualifying, they need to win both their remaining Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. Then they would finish on 60.53, which would be more than Australia’s 57.02 even if they were to win their upcoming two-Test series 2-0 in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s points ceiling for this cycle is 53.85 – a tally they would end up with if they were to sweep Australia at home.If India win one Test and draw the other, they’ll finish on 57.02; in such a case, they could lose out on the second spot to Australia, who would finish on 58.77 if they were to also win both Tests in Sri Lanka. For India to qualify with 57.02, Australia would need to get no more than 16 points in Sri Lanka (a win and a draw).A win and a defeat in Australia would put India on 55.26, which would leave them pinning their hopes on Sri Lanka beating Australia by at least a 1-0 margin.Two draws would leave India on 53.51. Sri Lanka can go past that with a 2-0 win, while Australia would need at least one win in Sri Lanka to beat it.If India draw a Test and lose the other they would finish on 51.75 and be out of the race; in such a case Australia would finish ahead of India even if they were to lose 2-0 in Sri Lanka.India still have plenty of work to do in Australia•AFP/Getty Images

Australia

If Australia were to win the Melbourne and Sydney Tests against India, they would be certain of qualifying for the WTC final – in such a case, they would finish on 57.02 even if they were to go on to lose 2-0 in Sri Lanka.A win and a draw against India would leave them ahead of India even if they were to lose both Tests in Sri Lanka, but then Sri Lanka could go past Australia with a clean sweep.If Australia were to win one and lose one against India, they would need at least one win in Sri Lanka to stay ahead in the race. The same applies if both Tests against India are drawn.If they were to draw one and lose the other against India, they would need two wins in Sri Lanka.Defeat in both Tests against India would push Australia out of contention.Sri Lanka cannot afford any more slips, and still need Border-Gavaskar Trophy results to go their way•Associated Press

Sri Lanka

The maximum Sri Lanka can finish on is 53.85, if they beat Australia 2-0. For that to be enough for a second-place finish, one of two scenarios have to play out in the remaining Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests:

• Both Melbourne and Sydney produce draws
• Australia win one of the two home Tests, while the other is drawn

In any other scenario, either Australia or India will finish higher than 53.85 and knock Sri Lanka out.

It may be a different XI in different conditions, but Tom Latham has challenged his side to bring the same intensity and cunning against England that secured a remarkable 3-0 win in India.A lush green Hagley Oval pitch for Thursday’s first Test will be on the other end of the spectrum to the Wankhede strip that saw all but four of the 40 wickets taken fall to spin. The Black Caps used it to round off their success in style. The task will be very different back in familiar surroundings this week.Barely four weeks on, 11-wicket hero Ajaz Patel and leg spinner Ish Sodhi have been parked for the returning Tim Southee and debutant seamer Nathan Smith, as expected. Even the “dropping” of player of the series Will Young is understandable with Kane Williamson fully recovered from the groin injury that forced him to miss the tour. Head coach Gary Stead broke the news to Young before Latham followed up.Related

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That historic series was Latham’s first as full-time captain, and the first of these three matches against England has the whiff of a hero’s welcome for the Christchurch native (though he has skippered at his home ground three times as a stand-in).But while Latham does not want the team to rest on their laurels after such a high, he accepts a balance needs to be struck between moving on and channelling the confidence that comes with any series win in India, let alone a clean sweep.”It was an amazing couple of weeks, what we were able to do over in India,” Latham said on Wednesday. “Coming here, as cliche as it might sound, that is in the past. It’s all about coming here and focussing on what challenge lies ahead.”New conditions, new team – for us, it’s about trying to take as much confidence as we can from that series. The way we played, the approach we tried to take into that series in conditions that were tough. Knowing that we can do it all around the world is the confidence we need to take into here. And obviously, nice coming home to familiar conditions.”That was the most pleasing thing – the way we went about things over there, in conditions that were tough. We speak about it all the time – adapting to conditions and trying to adapt as quick as we can. It’s important we come here and try and do the same as quick as possible.”Even Ben Stokes, not usually one to laud opponents with lavish praise ahead of a series had to acknowledge the feat of New Zealand’s achievement. No doubt his respect was amplified by the fact England had tried and failed to conquer India at the start of the year, succumbing to a chastening 4-1 defeat.”I think even though we’re coming up against them in a series you’ve got to hold your hands up and give a huge amount of credit to New Zealand for going to India and winning all three games in the way they did,” said the England captain.”I think it’s massive for world cricket. India have been such a force in their home conditions and New Zealand have gone over there and won 3-0, not only is it great for NZ cricket but it was a huge thing for cricket in general that a touring team has been able to go and get one over on India because I can’t remember a time a team was able to do that.””We don’t need any more motivation than to walk out representing our country but I think you’ve got to appreciate what New Zealand were able to do in India. A lot of teams around the world have gone there and wished they could have done the same thing but it’s a lot easier said than done. I’ve got huge admiration for what Tom and his team were able to do out in India.”Latham also backed Smith to make a strong impression on debut. The bowling allrounder won the race for the final seamer spot over Jacob Duffy. Smith has impressed domestically over the last couple of years and was rewarded with an NZC contract in September before making his international debut against Sri Lanka earlier this month.England will know a bit about him after he took 27 County Championship wickets for Worcestershire, while also scoring three half-centuries. It was a stint that attracted a few more admirers, including Division One champions Surrey.”He’s someone that can move the ball both ways in the air, and hit the wicket reasonably hard,” Latham said. “He balances our bowling attack quite nicely with the other three guys. And he can bat a little bit – he’s a bit of a bowling allrounder, which certainly helps the balance of our side.”He’s someone that has produced results over a period of time for Wellington – he’s been domestic player of the year for a couple of seasons in a row. It’s great to have someone like that that’s earned his spot and certainly deserves to be in this XI. We’re looking forward to getting in behind him tomorrow.”

The revised central contracts for the Pakistan men’s cricket team have been announced, nearly four months after they were due.Shan Masood, who captained Pakistan’s Test side to their first series win since July 2023 this week, keeps his spot in Category B. Whether he lasts the full year in that position, though, is uncertain, with a media release from the PCB stating his retention in the category was “subject to captaincy”. There has been fevered speculation over how long he would keep the Test reins when Pakistan lost his first six Tests in charge. But the PCB going public in spelling out the contingency in his central contract a day after Pakistan’s comeback series win over England is unlikely to have a stabilising effect.Babar Azam retains his position in the highest category despite missing the last two Test matches against England after a run of poor form, while Shaheen Afridi drops down to the second tier, leaving Mohammad Rizwan as the only other A category player.Fakhar Zaman, meanwhile, misses out on a central contract for the first time in eight years. There were reported to be concerns over his fitness, though his relationship with the PCB has deteriorated of late.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The board issued him a show-cause notice after a tweet he put out two weeks ago where he criticised the decision to drop Babar Azam. The post remains up, and Fakhar has not apologised, with the matter understood to be with his legal team. Last month, when chairman Mohsin Naqvi organised a “connection camp” to speak to get senior players to air their views, Fakhar was among the most outspoken, singling out a senior official for particularly trenchant criticism.His long-time ODI opening partner Imam-ul-Haq also misses out on a central contract while there’s been category deflation across the board. Just five players of 25 are in the A or B categories as opposed to 11 last year. Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who didn’t feature last year, have made a comeback off the back of their recent heroics against England, both placed in the C category, with Noman’s inclusion subject to fitness. Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Usman Khan and Irfan Khan have all been given their maiden central contracts, all finding a spot in the D category.Last year the PCB agreed landmark three-year deals on central contracts, giving players their highest pay raises in history, and, more notably, a fixed share of revenue from the PCB’s earnings at the ICC. The board has stuck to the same arrangement this time, only tweaking which categories particular players are placed in, as was previously agreed. The contracts will be backdated to cover the period starting July 1, 2024, running for another 12 months before a revision can be made.Category A (2): Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan
Category B (3): Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood
Category C (9): Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan
Category D (11): Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Usman Khan

After scores of 5 and 0 in the first two ODIs, Smriti Mandhana regained her touch in the series decider as she cracked her third ODI century of the year, helping India beat New Zealand by six wickets and take the three-match series 2-1. She was ably supported by first Yastika Bhatia (35) and then Harmanpreet Kaur (59 not out) as India put on a chasing masterclass in Ahmedabad.Batting first, New Zealand rode largely on Brooke Halliday’s career-best 86 off 96 balls as she lifted her side from the depths of 88 for 5 in the 24th over to 232 all out in 49.5 overs. Teams batting first won both ODIs in the series, but India were having none of it as the top order shone through in the chase as they romped home with 34 balls to spare.Mandhana had fallen to the outside-the-off-stump trap twice in two innings in this ODI series. In the first game, she carved Jess Kerr to backward point. Two days later, she did it again, chipping it straight to point for a duck. So, when Mandhana came out in pursuit of New Zealand’s target of 233, she was circumspect to the point that in the first three overs, she shouldered arms to at least five balls. She was ready to be patient and build her innings. The move paid dividends.Mandhana has had a good 2024 in ODIs, having scored two centuries and a half-century in six innings coming into this game. On Tuesday, she played the patient game. She was on 9 off 26 balls at one point, but did not throw it away. She had a slice of luck when she seemingly inside-edged a Lea Tahuhu full-length delivery on to her pad in the third over. Replays later suggested the ball had hit her pad first and had New Zealand reviewed, she would have been out. It was the luck Mandhana needed, and she did not look back.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

At the other end, Shafali, though, had no such luck. She got going with two crips fours, but was caught down the leg side after a faint nick in the fourth over.Mandhana was joined by Bhatia in the middle and the two kept their composure in the chase. Mandhana struck her first four in the ninth over, a swivel-pull against Sophie Devine, followed by a chip down the ground off Eden Carson. Bhatia also struck a few smart boundaries. They added 76 runs for the second wicket before Bhatia was caught and bowled by Devine.Harmanpreet walked out at No. 4 and with a platform set, the two went about their innings calmly. Mandhana brought up her half-century with a short-arm jab through midwicket and soon started finding the fence with more regularity. Harmanpreet, too, was wary initially but soon found the measure of the surface and the runs started flowing from both ends. They brought up the 50-run stand for the third wicket in the 31st over.Harmanpreet did go down with cramps not long after, but that was not going to stop her. She unleashed an array of drives and pulls with Mandhana also going after Devine. Harmanpreet reached her half-century off 54 balls while Mandhana got to her century, the eighth of her career, off 121 balls with a push down the ground. She fell without adding another run, cleaned up by Hannah Rowe, but the job was done by then.Jemimah Rodrigues walked out and immediately got four fours away as India could see the finishing line. She fell lbw to Fran Jonas with India needing a run, and Harmanpreet fittingly finished off the chase in the 45th over.Brooke Halliday hit three sixes despite tiring in the heat•BCCI

Earlier, Halliday braved the scorching Ahmedabad heat as she strung important stands with Izabella Gaze and Rowe, before Tahuhu smashed an unbeaten 24 off 14 balls to get New Zealand past the 230-run mark.It was a much-improved Indian fielding show on display in the third ODI. They had dropped as many as six catches in the second ODI, to go with multiple misfields, as they went down heavily. But they came out as a unit on a mission on Tuesday, led by the two usual fielding stars, Radha Yadav and Rodrigues, as they frustrated the New Zealand openers, Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer, in the powerplay.Rodrigues was into the act in the third over as she almost effected a run-out after a stunning save at short extra-cover, with Bates having to dive full length to just about make her crease. Rodrigues’ brilliance came to the fore in the seventh over again when there was a spot of miscommunication between the two batters and this time Bates was caught well short of her crease despite the dive.Plimmer had, meanwhile, started to find the hang of the red-soil surface. She got her boundary-counter running with a solid on-drive off Renuka Thakur before piercing the gap between mid-off and cover off the same bowler. Saima Thakor was also driven for two fours in three balls in the sixth over, but she bounced back with the wicket of Lauren Down, removing her with a gentle length ball that tailed away late and caught her outside edge.Devine, the star of the second ODI, looked ominous from the get-go, striking two authoritative fours within her first seven balls. But she was undone by a stunning wrong’un from Priya Mishra as she went back to a delivery that she ideally should have been forward to, and the ball crashed into her middle stump.Deepti Sharma was named the Player of the Series•BCCI

Halliday, though, looked the part all the way. She got off the mark with an elegant off drive, but regular wickets at the other end pinned New Zealand down. Plimmer was removed by Mishra, who induced a thick outside edge, with Deepti Sharma taking a sharp catch at slip – she was guilty of dropping three catches in the second ODI.New Zealand then lost half their side when another miscommunication ensued between Maddy Green and Halliday, with the former stuck in the middle of the pitch. Rodrigues was again in the thick of things at point.Halliday had to do the repair job, and she found an ally in Gaze. Halliday struck her first six in the 38th over off Mishra, and soon reached her sixth ODI fifty with a flick in the 40th over.Gaze fell chipping a full toss meekly back to Deepti for her first wicket, but Halliday and Rowe carried on by adding 47 off 41 balls for the seventh wicket. Halliday, who was spent by that time, put her foot on the pedal, even showing off a few innovative reverse hits and paddles. She managed to generate enough power to clear the ropes twice – once off Harmanpreet Kaur and then off Deepti – but fell in the 46th over caught at deep midwicket.Rowe fell soon after but Tahuhu smashed two fours and a six to help New Zealand end on a high. Eventually, they were well below par.

Needing 393 to beat Lancashire and keep their hopes of winning their first Vitality County Championship title alive, Somerset ended the third day’s play at Emirates Old Trafford on 204 for 6, still 189 runs short of their target.Should they succeed in their now deeply improbable task, Somerset will take their battle with Surrey into the final week of the season. However, defeat would relegate Lancashire, who will also be playing Division Two cricket next season regardless of their own results if Nottinghamshire take ten points from their final match at home to Warwickshire, who would also need five points from that game.From yesterday’s play, Luke Wells made 130 in Lancashire’s second-innings total of 398 but Archie Vaughan responded with 68 to give his side some hope of mounting what would be the highest fourth-innings run-chase against Lancashire.Those hopes were greatly diminished when George Balderson removed both Vaughan and Tom Kohler-Cadmore after tea but Kacey Aldridge and James Rew looked set to ensure Somerset suffered no further losses. Alas, Aldridge was caught by Matty Hurst off Luke Wells for 19 when there were only four balls left in the day’s play.In a slightly extended morning session, Lancashire added exactly 100 runs for the loss of their last three wickets. Wells and George Balderson went about their business carefully in the first hour, adding just 36 runs to their side’s overnight score of 298 for 7.However, a thick-edged three to third man off Aldridge took Wells to his second hundred of the season. He had faced 196 balls, hit 12 fours and a six and had batted with a fluency that made one wonder why he had struggled for so much of the season.Wells and Balderson had taken their partnership to 135, thereby setting a new eighth-wicket partnership for Lancashire against Somerset, before Wells was leg before wicket for 130 when attempting to reverse-sweep Jack Leach.Tom Bailey was also leg before to Leach for a single and the innings ended when Balderson was bowled by Brett Randell for 47. Leach finished with 3 for 57 and Randell took 3 for 71.Somerset’s pursuit of 393 began atrociously when Andy Umeed charged down the wicket to Bailey’s second ball, tried to drive it through the covers and had his off stump knocked out of the ground.But that misjudgement was followed by a fine 105-run partnership for the second wicket between Vaughan and Tom Lammonby, a stand that was only ended when Lammonby played over the top of a full-length ball from Wells and was bowled for 49.By then, though, Vaughan had reached his maiden first-class fifty off 84 balls but the afternoon session still ended badly for Somerset when Tom Abell was leg before wicket to Anderson Phillip for five.Nine overs into the evening session, Vaughan was caught at slip by George Bell for 68 to leave his side on 146 for 4 and the same combination accounted for Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who made 23 before edging a lifter to slip.However, in the first gloomy conditions of the game, Aldridge and Rew successfully defied Lancashire’s attack until Wells struck that final crucial blow. Balderson has so far taken 2 for 33 from 14 overs.

Josh Blake registered a sensible run-a-ball century to carry Surrey to only their second Metro Bank One-Day Cup victory of the season at Chelmsford.The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman survived on 40 when Luc Benkenstein floored a chance at deep square leg, but having come in at 53 for 3 after 14 overs, had doubled his previous highest score and was still there on 100 not out when Surrey closed on 306 for 4.Blake put on 98 in 20 overs for the fourth wicket with opener Ryan Patel (83 from 106 balls) and then an unbroken 155 in 16 pulsating overs for the fifth with the hard-hitting Ollie Sykes, who hit five sixes in an unbeaten 87 from 56 balls.Defeat meant neither team could qualify for the knock-out stages and Essex never looked likely to record their second win of the tournament. Only captain Tom Westley offered much resistance with 78 from 84 balls as dispirited Essex fell 90 runs short of their target with more than three overs unused.Surrey elected to bat and got off to a slow start, meandering to 39-2 in the first powerplay. But they upped the tempo in the second half of the innings when they added 192 in 25 overs, 117 of them in the final 10 as Blake and Sykes smashed the toiling Essex bowlers to every corner of the Cloud County Ground.Patel had held things together early on, but his innings was comparatively sedate by what came later. He reached his fifty from 68 balls with his seventh four, a cover drive off Tom Westley. He followed that with No8, cutting Jamal Richards to the longest boundary on the ground, to bring up Surrey’s 100. But by that time he had lost three partners before forming the alliance with Blake.Jamie Porter, with a white ball in hand for the first time in a year, took two of that trio, bowling Dom Sibley shouldering arms to one that swung in and took oft-stump, and claiming a second when Cameron Steel moved across to give himself room and was lbw to a straight delivery. In between, Shane Snater had Ben Geddes pinned in front, playing down the wrong line.Though the boundary to the Pavilion side was less than 50 yards from the wicket, Essex defended it resolutely and it was not until the 33rd over that Blake pierced the field with a reserve-sweep off Westley. Next over, though, brought the downfall of Patel as he drove Noah Thain uppishly to wide mid-off where Westley took a diving catch.Sykes had scored eight in his List A debut on Tuesday, but eyed up the shorter side where he deposited Thain twice for sixes in an over that cost 15. He added a third off Richards before lofting Porter over the longer midwicket boundary. A fifth over midwicket off Snater took the 19-year-old to a 34-ball fifty.Blade was not hanging around either, and lifted Snater over cover point for his only six to sit alongside nine fours before a single in the last over took him to three figures from 100 balls.Essex’s pursuit of 307 never really got going as wickets fell regularly. Nick Browne slashed Conor McKerr to slip, Feroze Khushi swung at James Taylor to be caught behind, and Robin Das was stumped by the alert Blake off a legside wide from Patel.Benkenstein pulled Nathan Barnwell to deep square leg with the floodlights now on and the run-rate rising. Noah attempted to reverse-sweep Cameron Steel and fell lbw, Simon Fernandes tickled McKerr behind, while Westley’s two-hour knock ended when he slashed Steel to short mid-off.Snater lasted three balls before he was bowled by Yousef Majid, Richards was stumped, Ben Allison lofted the only six of Essex’s innings in a career-best 32 not out before Steel claimed his fourth wicket for 50 when Porter hammered to long off.

Defending Women’s Caribbean Premier League [WCPL] champions Barbados Royals have strengthened by adding Sri Lanka superstar Chamari Athapaththu to their side for the 2024 season. Australia wicketkeeper-batter Georgia Redmayne will also turn out for Royals this year.Royals have also retained allrounder Hayley Matthews and legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington from the title-winning squad of last year. Additionally, they are also bringing back Australia batter Laura Harris along with Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne and Qiana Joseph from the 2023 squad for the new season.There are six more spots left to be filled and these players will be selected at the WCPL draft which takes place later in July.Matthews had captained Royals to glory last season and finished with the second-highest runs in the competition: 191 in five matches with a strike rate of 132.63. She was also the joint third-highest wicket-taker with seven at an economy rate of 7.44. Her most telling contribution came in the final against Guyana Amazon Warriors when she scored 82 off 59 balls and picked two wickets.Wellington, meanwhile, finished as the second highest wicket-taker in 2023 with eight in five games at an economy of 4.80.In Athapaththu, Royals have a solid top-order batter and offspinner. In 12 T20Is this year, she has scored 371 runs which includes a 102 against Scotland. Athapaththu has also picked up 13 wickets with a best of 4 for 29 against West Indies last month.The WCPL this year will be staged in Trinidad from August 21 to 29, with the Brian Lara Cricket Academy hosting all seven games. Trinbago Knight Riders, Amazon Warriors and Royals are the three teams taking part.

Barbados Royals squad so far

Hayley Matthews, Chamari Athapaththu , Amanda-Jade Wellington, Laura Harris, Georgia Redmayne, Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne, Qiana Joseph