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Northants 143 (Keogh 64, Singh 4-35) and 107 for 7 (Bartlett 54*, Dudgeon 4-32) need 153 runs to beat Kent 231 (Muyeye 72, Leaning 40, Weatherall 3-32) and 171 (Evison 52, Compton 36, Weatherall 3-38) Keith Dudgeon had originally planned on joining Kent for the 2024 season before NOC issues ruled that out. A year on, he finds himself at the club as one of two replacements, alongside Pakistan Test seamer Kashif Ali, to cover for Wes Agar through to May, who was prescribed rest following the end of the Australian summer.Even moonlighting for Agar owed a lot to a referral from a high-profile figure within the English game. Joe Root, having spent time with Dudgeon during an SA20 stint with Paarl Royals, thought he had the skills to succeed in county cricket. His overall record was impressive enough, with 226 red ball wickets at 26.31. With Kent searching for bowlers, Root recommended Dudgeon to England teammate Zak Crawley, who passed it on,The lesson to learn after just two days of the 2025 season is that networking works. Because whatever thoughts there might have been that the 29-year-old South African is an afterthought overseas, the record was set straight on Saturday evening at Wantage Road.The broad-shouldered seamer took Kent to victory’s door against Northamptonshire with a late spell of three wickets in nine deliveries that leaves his new side needing just three more wickets on day three for victory in their Division Two opener. An uncapped Protea he may be, but this was a top-quality fare.That day two saw 20 wickets across three innings tells an accurate story of a crapshoot of an opening fixture on a spicy pitch that would have done plenty without the plethora of batting errors. But Dudgeon’s late burst – which might have been four wickets in 11 balls, and a first five-wicket haul for the club, had a vociferous LBW appeal against Justin Broad been given – was a gut punch to Northamptonshire.At 54 for 2 in pursuit of 260, they looked to have stumbled across some calm amid the chaos of the last two days. Now, closing on 107 for 7, they rest knowing defeat awaits them on Sunday, with only George Bartlett’s unbeaten 54 to hold on to. Bartlett’s presence should be considered a blessing given he was shelled on 17 by Bell-Drummond at third slip.”We’ve had a struggle this year with the Kookaburra (balls) back home, and slower seam conditions at my home ground, Boland Park,” Dudgeon said of South African seamers over their domestic summer. His seven wickets for Boland came at 55.28. Just 20 overs with a Dukes in April have already reaped five at 13.00.”I’m well aware that they’re not all like this,” he added, referring to the surface and conditions, having clocked a few heavy scores around the country. “I know the hard work is only coming, so we need to stay humble.”He need not worry, because humility has a way of finding this modern iteration of Kent, even when they are in the ascendancy. They needed just 40 minutes to wrap up Northamptonshire’s first innings, with Jaskaran Singh doubling his two dismissals from the night before to finish with career-best figures of 4 for 35. But having worked hard to establish a lead of 88, the visiting attack were back in action after the tea break, with 29 overs remaining in the day’s play.What happened in between was down to a super-sized version of the first day’s mistakes. A collapse of 5 for 33 in their first innings was “bettered” by a rather inexplicable 7 for 49 in the second, of which four – all caught through attacking shots – should have been avoided.The first of those was a tame bunt to cover by Crawley, this time for 31 after losing two stumps for just one 24 hours earlier. That it set up the cascade was no fault of Crawley’s; England’s erratic opener had compiled nicely up to that point, dovetailing with Ben Compton to take the opening stand to 66 just after lunch.Jaskaran Singh struck in the first innings before Keith Dudgeon make the key inroads in the second•Getty Images

But when a Broad length delivery sat up, deserving to be smoked through the off side, Crawley snatched at the chance, gifting a simple catch to Saif Zaib at cover. An over later, Zaib was in more or less the exact same patch of field – this time fielding at midwicket – as Bell-Drummond flicked to him for a three-ball nought, and was immediately followed back to the pavilion by Tawanda Muyeye.The reaction to Muyeye’s dismissal for a golden duck said it all, though it was as much down to seeing off a batter who peeled off a composed 72 on day one as the quality of delivery from Raphael Weatherall. An inswinging yorker pinne the right-hander’s front pad on its way towards to the base of leg stump.Yet again, it was Weatherall’s introduction that ripped the guts out of Kent’s line-up. Jack Leaning survived the hat-trick ball, but the former England U19 quick eventually picked up his third, ripping out Compton’s off stump to cap a resolute stay at 101 minutes.Weatherall’s 3 for 38, combined with the first day’s career-best effort of 32 not only doubled his overall first-class tally. To have gone two days in a row showcased the important technical changes made over the winter following a stress fracture of his lower back.Aged 20, his pace – 81/82mph according to analysts at Wantage Road – and ability to hammer the same length to right- and left-handers (including from around the wicket to the latter, which did for Compton) is a huge upside. The energy provided was harnessed beyond his own spell to allow Northants a route back through the seven-wicket flurry spanning 16.3 overs.The problem, however, was despite Kent’s missteps, their lead had made it to 203. With Joey Evison the designated fourth emergency service since moving to Canterbury in 2022, another rescue act was cooking. A gutsy 52 – his 10th first-class half-century for the club – dragged Kent to 171. Evison was the last to fall attempting his first shot in anger, failing to clear Zaib on the fence at deep midwicket.Undoubtedly the crucial part of that late resistance was an eight-wicket partnership of 36 with Dudgeon, which meant Northamptonshire’s target for victory would require them to register the highest innings of the match. Considering that stand was greater than anything the hosts mustered in their first innings, it was clear who were in the ascendancy going into the tea interval.Those odds shrunk at the end of the second over of the evening session. Ricardo Vasconcelos decided to leave a good length ball from Dudgeon, delivered tight to the stumps from over the wicket, despite the fact the right-armer has been consistently moving the ball in to the left-hander, and lost his off stump.It was the first of three bad leaves. The third – Broad wearing one on the pad from Gilchrist – closed out the day’s play. The second, however, was a work of art from Grant Stewart.James Sales had judged the line of the Italian seamer’s delivery to be wide of off stump out of the hand. A wicked deviation sent it back towards its intended target, kissing the middle-and-off bail gently enough that even standing umpire Rob Bailey had to double-take when Sales calmly strode off.Stewart had already seen off home skipper Luke Procter. And when Rob Keogh, Northamptonshire’s first innings top-scorer with a 64 that only ended this morning, became the second of three catches to be pouched by Leaning at second slip, all in Dudgeon’s late spell, all reasonable hope was lost.

New Zealand defended with all their might against heavy favourites India. But, in the end, India had just too much quality and depth for them, and ended their second straight ICC tournament unbeaten. They now hold two of the four ICC trophies, having lost in the final of the other two. In the last three ICC tournaments alone, India have won 22 of their 23 completed matches.On a tired pitch, run-scoring followed a similar pattern to earlier games. Having won a crucial toss – India have lost their last 15 ODI tosses – New Zealand raced away to 69 for 1 in the powerplay, but the high-quality spin from India dragged them back. On a pitch offering them the least turn of all matches in Dubai this tournament, the four India spinners bowled 38 overs between them to concede just 144 runs and take five wickets. Again, as New Zealand got pace on ball at the death, Michael Bracewell scored 53 off 40 to give himself and his bowling colleagues a target.Related

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India made a similarly breezy start of 64 for 0 in the powerplay, but New Zealand kept clawing their way back despite a 105-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Lacking the mystery of Varun Chakravarthy or the rare left-arm wristspin art of Kuldeep Yadav, New Zealand capitalised on the increased turn – average of 2 degrees in the first innings, 3.4 in the second – and tested India thoroughly. Their spinners bowled 35 overs for 152 runs and five wickets.Every batter other than Virat Kohli got a start – scores ranged between Rohit’s 76 and Hardik Pandya’s run-a-ball 18 – but none of them completed the job. Their incredible depth, though, prevailed as KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja saw them through with one over to spare and four wickets in hand.It was a final to rescue the tournament that has been short on close contests. India came in with much more ammunition for the conditions than New Zealand, but the toss proved to be a bit of an equaliser. Rachin Ravindra, leading run-getter of the tournament, batted like a dream against the new ball, the best conditions all day long. He scored 37 off 29 in a start that stunned the crowd, helped along by two spilled chances.Under the pump, India went to their likeliest wicket-takers as opposed to the usual formula of bowling Axar Patel with the new ball. Varun beat Will Young with drift on a legbreak, but the natural variation provided the telling blow to trap him lbw. Kuldeep, just five wickets so far, announced himself on the final with two of the biggest wickets: Ravindra to a wrong’un first ball, and Kane Williamson beaten in the air with big dip and offering a return catch.1:31

Kumble: ‘Kuldeep doesn’t look for the surface to help him’

Three wickets had fallen to reduce New Zealand to 75 for 3, and it was now up to Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell to keep wickets in hand for the final push. Mitchell struggled to score fluidly, which meant Latham – a stalwart in the middle overs of ODI cricket – had to take a risk. And when you take a risk against the metronomic Jadeja – 10-0-30-1 – you better not miss because he will get you lbw.For the second time in this tournament, India bowled just spin through the middle overs. It was a slow track but offered minimal turn. It is a testament to the quality and the accuracy of India’s spinners that New Zealand were choked through the period. It took them 21 overs to double their ten-over score of 69. Varun came back to get Glenn Phillips in the 38th over, again pushing back their charge.Bracewell brought back memories of how fluidly Ravindra batted as India went back to pace on ball at the back end. Mitchell, who followed Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill into scoring his slowest fifty, now tried an assault but a slower ball from Mohammed Shami got the better of him. Bracewell, though, hit three fours and two sixes to give New Zealand what only looked like respectability at that time.Even that respectability looked dodgy the way Rohit started the chase. Some sensational hitting off the fast bowlers – including Nathan Smith, the replacement for Matt Henry, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament who injured his shoulder – pushed Santner’s hand. He brought himself on in the ninth over, but the best he and Ravindra could manage was a few relatively quiet overs.2:11

Manjrekar: Rahul looked relaxed during chase

In the first over after the drinks break, Phillips produced his third unbelievable catch of the tournament, leaping high at extra cover and plucking a one-hander to send Gill back. With his first ball, Bracewell trapped Kohli lbw for one. Now the easy runs stopped. Rohit slowed down, looking like he was setting himself up for an old-fashioned Rohit knock. Then, though, after a spell of eight overs for 19 runs and two wickets, he charged at Ravindra, looking to hit his fourth six of the night, missed, and was stumped.Iyer, two half-centuries to his name already, and Axar then repaired the damage with a 61-run partnership from 122 for 3. Iyer was the edgier of the two. Young caught him at the deep midwicket fence but touched the boundary skirting, Jamieson dropped him as he tried two consecutive sixes off Phillips, the sixth dropped catch between the two teams.When Iyer fell in the 39th over, caught off Santner at short fine leg, India needed 67 off 68. The asking rate only hovered around a run a ball – the biggest difference between the balls and runs was four with six overs left. Confident in their depth, India kept taking the odd risk and kept hitting sixes. When pace finally came back on, the calm Rahul took India ahead. Jamieson provided one final stumbling block with Hardik’s wicket off a nasty bouncer in the 48th over, but India still had Jadeja in the bank.

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

Nepal want to leave a mark on T20 World Cup 2024 in their last group game against Bangladesh, according to head coach Monty Desai. Although Nepal’s one-run defeat against South Africa was heartbreaking, they will try to “put on a show” against Bangladesh, who are in a good position to grab a Super Eight spot.Netherlands have an outside chance but their net run rate is too low. Nepal, with just one point from three games, are already out of the race.”We are building our story, so I am not thinking about spoiling anyone else’s party,” Desai said. “The message in the dressing room was that we still want to live in a world of imagination, where we want to believe that we crossed the line [on Friday]. We want to think that we are on three points, looking forward to Bangladesh and playing to qualify for Super Eight. If you can bring that mentality and fight till the end, cross the line, at least we will go back with a proud moment of winning, and then probably think about the ifs and buts of other games. But yes, we want to put up a show.”Related

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Against South Africa, Kushal Bhurtel and Dipendra Singh Airee shared seven wickets, and later Aasif Sheikh scored 42. Sandeep Lamichhane went wicketless in his first match back in Nepal colours, but he was economical. Despite all that, a run-out on the final ball cost them the game. Desai said the Nepal players had to pick themselves up from the defeat.”This is exactly where the mental strength will be tested for a young Associate team like Nepal,” he said. “Twenty-four hours from now we will be planning, discussing and moving towards the stadium to play against Bangladesh. It is very important to remember the processes that have helped us so far.”Nepal fans had their spirits high despite rain hindrances•ICC/Getty Images

The narrative around Nepal’s cricket also involves their fans. They play in front of packed audiences back home, and it was no different in Dallas, Lauderhill and Kingstown. Desai appreciated the massive support but also wanted them to understand that Nepal’s progress depended on playing big teams and winning big moments.”I think the biggest success story of Nepal cricket is about these innocent fans,” he said. “I say innocent because I am only looking at it through my lens. I know when I walk across the Tribhuvan University ground [in Kirtipur], I see so many of those Nepali fans on the banks, they might be having daily jobs, daily wages to live their life and they leave that and come to watch the game and support these young dreams.”They have stood with the umbrellas in the rain in the past. When we qualified [for the T20 World Cup], they were standing on the roof, they were climbing the trees. There are so many layers to the definition of ‘fans’ as the 12th man for Nepal cricket. I am sure it will be very hard right now for them to soak in their emotions. Cricket is cruel sometimes. Again, I say South Africa had already qualified, we just needed to cross the line and stay alive in this tournament.”I urge the fans back home to keep supporting these young dreams with the limited resources, not using an excuse. I think we have taken strides. The more we get exposure against these Test nations, again another opportunity tomorrow, we’ll go to that [game] against Bangladesh, and I think we’ll be up for it. I know all it requires now in those one-ball battles is courage and that is something which we are instilling and moulding in these young dreams.”Meanwhile, Bangladesh fast bowler Tanzim Hasan has said that they will not take Nepal lightly as the format doesn’t allow any team to hold momentum for too long.”There is no small or big team in T20 cricket,” he said. “We try to see each team equally. Because T20 is a game of momentum. It is a game of only 20 overs. No one can say when the momentum changes. We try to take each team equally. We will play aggressive cricket. We will stick to our place. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We will try to play equally with everyone.”