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Australia canter to win after record 263, Maxwell slams 145*

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:01

Australia set new T20 record score

In 90 minutes of outlandish clean-striking, Glenn Maxwell marked a monumental return to form, sent Sri Lanka into freefall, and stole their T20I world record from under their noses.The scorecard says he hit nine sixes in his 65-ball 145 not out, but it felt like he had hit so many more. It says there were 14 fours in this Maxwell mauling, but so quickly did they come, one after the other, that who is to tell when one boundary ended and another began? It was a blur of bludgeoned sweeps, of wallops down the ground and, occasionally, of enterprising strokes behind the wicket. Australia made 263 for 3. This is the joint-highest T20 score, in addition to being the biggest score in T20 internationals, beating the 260 Sri Lanka had hit against Kenya.Maxwell had opened the innings in place of the injured Aaron Finch, and he quickly set about knocking Sri Lanka’s bowlers out of shape. So battered were they by the end of the Powerplay, in which Australia had cracked 73 for 1, that they soon became helplessly complicit in Maxwell’s plunder. Thigh-high full tosses were sent down with masochistic abandon. Errors bred further errors in the outfield. In the 18th over, a catch was dropped, though that was off Travis Head, who was the second-highest scorer with 45 off 18 balls. Each of Sri Lanka’s four main bowlers conceded at least 12.75 per over.

Senanayake fined for breaching code of conduct

Sri Lanka offspinner Sachithra Senanayake has been fined for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct during his team’s 85-run loss in the first T20 international against Australia in Pallekele.
Senanayake, who took 1 for 49, was found to have been in violation of Article 2.1.7, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his dismissal during an international match”.
Senanayake’s incident concerned his send-off for David Warner after bowling him in the fifth over of the match. Senanayake was docked 30% of his match fee.
Since Senanayake admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Javagal Srinath, the match referee, there was no need for a formal hearing.

The hosts’ batting went much better, though they were never really in the hunt. The top three fell cheaply, but Dinesh Chandimal hit 58 off 43 and Chamara Kapugedera 43 off 25. Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland took three wickets apiece, as Sri Lanka finished on 178 for 9 – 86 runs short of the 264-run target.The first over had cost Sri Lanka only three runs, and though Maxwell hit the innings’ first boundary – smoking an overpitched Suranga Lakmal delivery through cover – it was David Warner who doused the scene with petrol, and began the raging fire. Warner eyed up seamer Kasun Rajitha, playing his third international, and banged four consecutive fours in the third over, three of those coming on the off side. It was not long before Maxwell matched that aggression. The first six of the match was a reverse-sweep off Sachithra Senanayake. A four followed next ball, off the same shot.Neither Warner’s dismissal by Senanayake nor the end of the Powerplay made much difference to Maxwell’s approach. Decent balls – like Rajitha’s slower one on the stumps in the ninth over – were whacked disdainfully over long-on. Then when the bad balls came, like the full toss from Rajitha immediately after, Maxwell biffed them over the boundary as well.The first of those consecutive sixes off Rajitha brought Maxwell his half-century, off 27 balls. He took a further 22 to reach his hundred. Sri Lanka rifled through bowlers in this period, trying offspin, left-arm spin, seam, and whatever it is that Thisara Perera bowls. None of this could make so much as a dent in Maxwell’s confidence, which by now was magnetic. Thisara, in fact, came closest to getting him out, in the 13th over, though that wasn’t particularly close: Kapugedera, who caught Maxwell on the deep midwicket boundary, had trod on the rope and had to abandon the catch anyway as his momentum was taking him over the rope.Having reached his first T20 century, and second in international cricket (both have come against Sri Lanka), Maxwell set his sights on the records. His first six in triple figures was perhaps the best of the lot, as he sliced Lakmal beautifully over the deep-cover boundary, immediately after having hit a four to fine leg. Finch, running the drinks in this match, holds the individual T20 record of 156, and Maxwell was in pursuit. When he biffed three consecutive sixes over long-on, off Senanayake, he moved to 134, with 19 balls still remaining in the innings. Head, though, indulged in some brutality of his own, hitting three sixes and four fours in his innings. One of those sixes came over long-on, off Thisara Perera. It was that shot which gave Australia the team total record.Tillakaratne Dilshan has led outrageous chases before, but when he was bowled trying to clang a Mitchell Starc ball through the leg side in the first over, Sri Lanka’s already slim chances became even slimmer. Kusal Perera was out slashing Boland to third man, soon after. By the end of the Powerplay, Sri Lanka had mustered 56 for 3, but with the required rate almost 15, the chase just became about limiting the severity of the loss.Kusal Mendis made an attractive 22 replete with a pulled six off James Faulkner, and an imperious, lofted off-drive off Moises Henriques, but he was out in the eighth over. Chandimal pulled his team through those early overs, scoring heavily with his horizontal bat shots, the flat-batted four down the ground off Boland in the fourth over the most memorable among them.Chandimal and Kapugedera put on Sri Lanka’s best partnership, taking a particular liking to the spinners as they made 44 from 29 balls. But they both holed out soon enough. Sri Lanka hit 100 runs in boundaries. Maxwell, who had been dropped from the squad entirely for the ODIs, struck 110 in boundaries by himself.

Steyn five-for leads South Africa to 204-run win

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA masterful display of swing bowling from Dale Steyn, who picked up his first five-wicket haul in international cricket since December 2014, helped South Africa bowl New Zealand out for 195 in their chase of 400 on the fourth day in Centurion. Steyn and Vernon Philander, abetted by exaggerated variable bounce on a deteriorating SuperSport Park surface, set up South Africa’s first Test series win since early 2015 by ripping through New Zealand’s top order in a devastating seven-over period before lunch.Despite an impressive half-century from Henry Nicholls, New Zealand never really recovered from being 18 for 4 at lunch, and they were eventually bowled out half an hour from stumps.Steyn landed the first ball of the fourth innings in the channel outside off stump – it was wide enough for Tom Latham not to play but the extra bounce caught him unawares, and the ball clattered into the stumps off Latham’s withdrawing bat. It was the third time in three innings on this tour that Steyn had dismissed Latham.Five balls later, Martin Guptill got an unplayable outswinger: it pitched on off and swerved away to take the outside edge to Hashim Amla at first slip.The variable bounce kept troubling New Zealand. In the second over, Kane Williamson was rapped on the glove by an inswinger from Philander that reared at him from a good length. In the next over, Steyn got one to land on a similar length and scoot along the surface to Ross Taylor, trapping him in front. Could New Zealand’s situation get worse?It did. Williamson, perhaps still suffering the after-effects of the blow to his left hand, wafted at a wide delivery from Philander. He had avoided playing that line throughout the first innings. The ball swung further away and took his outside edge, and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock completed a stunning one-handed catch low to his right.Nicholls offered New Zealand’s only real resistance with 76, his highest Test score. He was particularly effective square on either side of the wicket, picking off straight deliveries and punishing width outside off. When the bowlers overpitched, he collected runs through vacant areas down the ground.After weathering a tough period before lunch, he added 68 with Watling for the fifth wicket. With the ball moving both ways, Nicholls and Watling left well outside off, forcing the seamers towards the stumps. The quicks were continually rotated and batting became gradually easier as the middle session wore on.Just when it looked like New Zealand would get through the session unscathed, the offspinner Dane Piedt got one to spin back viciously. Watling shuffled across, missed his flick, and was struck in front of off stump. Watling reviewed, but umpire’s call on impact meant South Africa had their only wicket of the session.Kagiso Rabada, hitting the high 130-kph range as opposed to the 150 mark he regularly clocked in the first innings, struggled for fluency, rhythm and accuracy before tea. A number of wayward deliveries on either side of the wicket were easily avoided or dispatched to the boundary. However, he returned late in the day to pick up two-lower order wickets: he had Tim Southee bowled with a spearing yorker on off stump and beat Neil Wagner for pace to pin him in front of middle and leg.Mitchell Santner, Doug Bracewell and Southee all got off to starts, but could not stay long enough at the crease to help Nicholls to a maiden Test ton. At 195 for 9, Nicholls was quickly running out of partners and du Plessis recalled Steyn. A top-edged pull off a short delivery, aimed at Nicholls’ ribs, was taken at fine leg to end New Zealand’s resistance.In the morning, resuming from a score of 105 for 6, overnight batsmen Temba Bavuma and Vernon Philander were patient early, leaving and blocking Trent Boult and Tim Southee, both of whom generated appreciable lateral movement like they had on the third evening. Philander looked untroubled until he left a good-length delivery from Southee that jagged back prodigiously to uproot the off stump. South Africa declared at 132 for 7, having added 27 in the first hour.

Australia need 185 on fifth day, SL seven wickets

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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:02

By the Numbers – Mendis in elite company

Australia do not lose Tests to Sri Lanka. That, at least, is the conventional wisdom, for it has happened only once in the 33-year history between the two nations. It has not happened this century. But times change. There is every chance Sri Lanka will rewrite the conventions in 2016, for at stumps on day four they were in a powerful position, seven wickets from victory. Australia needed 185 runs, and runs were coming at glacial speed.Day four was abridged, cut short at both ends. Rain delayed the start and bad light forced an early finish, so only 40.4 overs were bowled. But that was enough for Sri Lanka to set Australia 268 for victory, the kind of target that against quality spinners in Asian conditions would naturally lead to Australian nerves. And so it did. David Warner was so hypercharged that he danced down the pitch and was bowled by Rangana Herath in the second over.Australia’s top order decided that the quicker they could score the runs, the better. Usman Khawaja also took the attacking approach, until on 18 from 21 balls he missed an attempted sweep and was lbw to Dilruwan Perera. At 33 for 2, Australia decided a more reasoned method might be required. Steven Smith and Joe Burns slowed down a touch, though Sri Lanka’s spinners did not let up on the pressure.In particular, Australia’s batsmen found Lakshan Sandakan harder to read than the in the original Ancient Greek. His wrong’un clouded their minds, but it was his stock ball that brought his only wicket, when Burns played back to a big-turning wrist-spinner and was bowled for 29. Seven times in this Test Australian batsmen have passed 20, but none have yet gone on to a half-century.Perera thought he had struck again when Adam Voges was adjudged lbw for a golden duck and asked half-heartedly for a review. There were surprised faces all round when replays showed the ball had turned enough that it would have missed leg stump, Voges’ lengthy stride down the track saving him. It was a big moment – Australia would have been 64 for 4 had Voges been out.By the time the umpires called bad light, the Australians were happy to get safely inside, Smith on 26 and Voges on 9, with the total on 83 for 3. After the early flurry, boundaries virtually ceased to be a consideration. Sixteen overs passed without one, before Voges finally latched on to a short ball from Sandakan and pulled it for four. At stumps, the partnership was worth 20, which felt like a steadying stand but only highlighted the value of Sri Lanka’s lower-order runs.At length, the morning’s play began with Sri Lanka at 282 for 6. Yesterday’s hero, Kusal Mendis, added only seven to his overnight total before he was caught behind off Mitchell Starc for 176, the only wicket to fall in an opening session that was limited to just 45 deliveries. Australia also had Herath lbw in that session, but a review found Josh Hazlewood’s ball had pitched outside leg.Herath and Dilruwan Perera added 24 for the eighth wicket and Nuwan Pradeep later joined Herath for a 30-run tenth-wicket stand. They were runs of significant value, given the mental difference they would make to Australia’s batsmen, set something closer to 300 than 200.Australia’s bowlers perhaps lost their way a little, trying too hard instead of simply aiming at the stumps. In the end that was the way Dilruwan Perera fell, lbw to Hazlewood for 12. Sandakan departed in somewhat comical fashion when he backed away against Mitchell Starc, who followed him with a shortish delivery that lobbed off the midriff and trickled onto the stumps.Still Sri Lanka would not be cowed. Herath and Pradeep fought gamely and frustrated the bowlers into wide lines. Eventually on 35 Herath fell to a brilliant catch from a man who was not even in Australia’s XI: 12th man Moises Henriques at cover hurled himself to his left to pull off a remarkable take that gave Hazlewood his second wicket.Herath’s Test career started with the very next match after Sri Lanka’s historic win against Australia in Kandy in 1999. Seventeen years later, his tail-end runs gave them real hope of a second win in the same city. But that will be determined by how Australia handle his bowling – and that of his colleagues – on the final day.

'We didn't bowl well, simple as that' – Holder

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West Indies captain Jason Holder has conceded that his team’s bowling, including his own, was below par in their match in St Kitts on Wednesday, where Hashim Amla’s century set up a hefty win for South Africa.Amla scored 110 out of South Africa’s 343 for 4, and his opening partnership of 182 with Quinton de Kock put South Africa firmly on top throughout the day. Holder bowled six overs and claimed 0 for 51, Jerome Taylor picked up 1 for 72 from eight, and only the spinners Sunil Narine and Sulieman Benn were able to keep the runs to five or less per over.”I just didn’t think we bowled well, it’s as simple as that,” Holder said. “The pitch was better than the last game, but having said that I still don’t think we bowled particularly well, especially in the first Powerplay.”Myself and Jerome – I thought Jerome bowled reasonably well in the first Powerplay but myself, I was totally off the mark. We paid for it. Credit must go to the way Hashim Amla played. I thought he was brilliant. But having said that I don’t think we bowled at our very best.”The strong South African batting came after they were sent in at the toss by Holder, typical of the West Indian preference to chase in limited-overs matches. Holder said he had no regrets about his decision, only about the way he and his men bowled.”If I could do it over I’d probably do the same thing again,” he said. “I just don’t think we bowled well. They got 340-odd. At the beginning of the game, you’d probably take 280 or 300, given the type of pitch and the dimensions of the ground. We just thought they were 40 or 50 runs too many, and we paid for it in the end.”South Africa’s victory meant that after six matches in Guyana and St Kitts, all three teams sit on two wins and two losses. South Africa have gained two bonus points, Australia one and West Indies none, and the teams have two matches each in Barbados to determine which sides will meet in the final at Kensington Oval.”After losing wickets in clusters, we never really got partnerships going to prevent them from getting the bonus point,” Holder said. “But it was in the back of our minds, to prevent them from getting the bonus point. But unfortunately we didn’t.”For all three teams it’s must-win. The points table is still very close. Whoever wins two games in Barbados is guaranteed a spot in the final. If you win one of the two you’ve got to wait and see how you finish on the table.”

Former Namibia fast bowler Viljoen gets Otago contract

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Former Namibia fast-bowling allrounder Christi Viljoen has been given a contract for the first time by Otago for the 2016-17 season. He was one of three players to be given first-time contracts by Otago as the association released its initial list on Tuesday. The other five major associations also announced their first list of contracted players for the upcoming season.New Zealand allrounder Grant Elliott, who retired from ODIs earlier this year, was not named in Wellington’s first list but coach Bruce Edgar told that he is in talks to play T20 cricket for the side. Batsman Jesse Ryder, who is currently playing for the English county side Essex, has secured a contract again with Central Districts.Former New Zealand batsman Hamish Marshall did not feature on Wellington’s list, although the player had announced that he would be ending an 11-year stint with Gloucestershire at the end of the season to return to Wellington. Edgar said that Marshall would be considered for selection on his return, although he could play either as a local or an overseas player.”Hamish is coming to settle in Wellington in October and at that point we’ll consider him for Wellington. He’s just got to see out his contract with Gloucestershire first,” Edgar told .Viljoen began playing for Otago last season, with four first-class matches in the Plunket Shield, and became eligible for a contract after qualifying as a New Zealand player. He had terminated his contract with Namibia in December 2014 to pursue opportunities in England and New Zealand. He played 174 matches for Namibia across first-class, List A and T20 cricket and took a total of 318 wickets. Viljoen represented Namibia in the Intercontinental Cup, the World Cricket League Championship and the 2014 World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.Apart from Viljoen, Otago also gave first-time contracts to former New Zealand Under-19s seamer Jack Hunter and 28-year-old legspinner Rhys Phillips. Northern Districts also had a couple of new names on the contracts list – 19-year-old medium-pace bowler Zak Gibson and allrounder Joe Walker. Gibson, who is the first recipient of the Maori Cricket Scholarship from NZC, was a part of the New Zealand squad in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year.Canterbury, too, handed first-time contracts to fast bowlers Will Williams and Henry Shipley, and opening batsman Michael Davidson. Williams and Davidson had played Plunket Shield matches in 2015-16, while Shipley played one Ford Trophy match earlier this year.The six associations will complete the second round of the contract process by July 12. Each team can contract 15 players overall, and is allowed to sign 9-14 players in the first round. The domestic contracts for this season have also been extended by one month and will run from September 1, 2016 to April 15, 2017. This was done after NZC and the players’ association agreed to extend the contract period to seven-and-a-half months. Auckland, Canterbury, Northern Districts and Wellington will name their final contracted player on July 12, while Central Districts and Otago still have two spots open on their lists.Auckland Cody Andrews, Brad Cachopa, Mark Chapman, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Donovan Grobbelaar, Michael Guptill-Bunce, Shawn Hicks, Dane Hutchinson, Tarun Nethula, Rob Nicol, Robert O’Donnell, Glenn Phillips, Jeet RavalCanterbury Todd Astle, Leo Carter, Michael Davidson, Andrew Ellis, Cameron Fletcher, Peter Fulton, Kyle Jamieson, Timothy Johnston, Kenneth McClure, Cole McConchie, Edward Nuttall, Henry Shipley, Logan van Beek, Will WilliamsCentral Districts Tom Bruce, Dane Cleaver, Greg Hay, Marty Kain, Andrew Mathieson, Ryan McCone, Ajaz Patel, Seth Rance, Jesse Ryder, Ben Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Wheeler, William YoungNorthern Districts James Baker, Jono Boult, Dean Brownlie, Joe Carter, Anton Devcich, Daniel Flynn, Zak Gibson, Brett Hampton, Nick Kelly, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Bharat Popli, Tim Seifert, Josef WalkerOtago Warren Barnes, Michael Bracewell, Derek de Boorder, Jacob Duffy, Ryan Duffy, Josh Finnie, Jack Hunter, Anaru Kitchen, Rhys Phillips, Hamish Rutherford, Christi Viljeon, Sam Wells, Brad WilsonWellington Brent Arnel, Hamish Bennett, Tom Blundell, Fraser Colson, Matt McEwan, Iain McPeake, Stephen Murdoch, Ollie Newton, Michael Papps, Jeetan Patel, Michael Pollard, Matt Taylor, Anurag Verma, Luke Woodcock

Female umpires make history in men's ICC tournament

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Sue Redfern of England and Jacqueline Williams of the West Indies created history on Sunday for their roles in Oman’s 181-run win over Nigeria at ICC WCL Division Five in Jersey. Redfern was one of the two standing umpires, working with Scotland’s Alex Dowdalls, in the game while Williams served as third umpire. It marked the first time that two female umpires have officiated in a men’s ICC tournament match.Though multiple female umpires have served in women’s ICC tournament matches – Redfern and Williams were two of four female officials at the Women’s World T20 Qualifier in Thailand last November and filled standing and third umpire roles respectively in a game between Ireland and Netherlands on the opening day of that event – Sunday was the first time it occurred in a men’s ICC fixture. Kathy Cross was the first women’s official to stand in a men’s ICC tournament match, serving at 2014 ICC WCL Division Five and Three, both held in Malaysia that year.Redfern, 38, is a former England Women’s Test cricketer who also works as the ECB’s inclusion and diversity manager. Williams, 40, made history earlier this year when she became the first female umpire to stand in the West Indies domestic 50-over competition, officiating in a Trinidad & Tobago win over ICC Americas on January 15 at Port of Spain.

Another domestic overhaul: PCB cuts down QeA trophy, culls Champions Cup tournaments

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The PCB has overhauled its domestic structure yet again, featuring a slimmed down Quaid-e-Azam trophy (QeA) with just eight regional teams in it, and culling the much-trumpeted Champions Cup tournaments from the calendar after just one season. Separate tournaments – the President’s Trophy and Cup – remain for departmental sides, long a feature of the Pakistan domestic circuit.One of the biggest potential consequences of cutting down the QeA Trophy from a bloated 18 teams last season to just eight this coming one is that it might not ultimately feature a team from Karachi – the country’s biggest city and economic capital – in the country’s premier first-class event. Both Karachi Blues and Karachi Whites will play in the non-first class Hanif Mohammad Trophy – one rung below the QeA – based on their finishing positions in last year’s QeA Trophy.At that stage, however, none of the teams were aware that the tournament would be revamped in such a manner whereby, effectively, 12 teams would stand relegated. That tournament will start the domestic season from 15 August and the top-two sides will qualify to play in the QeA Trophy, which would be the route available to a Karachi side to make it through.Though the status has changed somewhat in recent decades, Karachi has long been a domestic powerhouse, both in terms of trophies won and as a provider of talent. It will not be a change that goes down well with the city’s cricket fraternity.The PCB said it had made the changes in the hopes of “increased competitiveness”. The tournament will now be played on a single-league basis, with 29 matches from September 22 to November 7. All the matches will be played at four venues across Islamabad and Rawalpindi, though the PCB did not say why it had restricted the event to the twin cities.In keeping with the spirt of paring back the calendar, the board has also quietly dropped the Champions Cup series of events. Introduced last season with much publicity and considerable cost, it was pitched as a premier event in each of the game’s three formats, featuring five teams and, in theory, the country’s best players. A 50-over version was held, as was a T20 event, but the first-class tournament never took place. The tournaments were supposed to bridge the gap between domestic cricket and international cricket, identified by the board as a problem. Those events are now gone, not even finding a mention in the press release.A 10-team National T20 Cup remains on the calendar, but it comes with a qualifying stage – “to further enhance competitiveness” according to the board – preceding it, with another 10 teams involved. The top two will go through to the Super 10 stage, which will be played in Faisalabad in from March 1 to 12, 2026.”We are pleased to unveil a domestic structure that places merit, opportunity and competitiveness at its core,” PCB’s chief operating officer Sumair Ahmed Syed said in a statement. “The 2025-26 season has been designed to provide a clear pathway for teams and players to progress based on performance, not reputation.”Introducing a qualifier for both the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the National T20 ensures that every match in our domestic calendar carries significant weight. This not only raises the standard of competition but also fosters a high-performance culture across all formats.”The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will now feature the most in-form and deserving teams, while the Hanif Mohammad Trophy gives 12 regions a meaningful chance to stake their claim. Similarly, the Super 10 format of the National T20 is a step towards creating more high-intensity, quality cricket.”Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone structural or format changes nearly every season since the QeA Trophy was first played in 1953-54.

Nat Sciver-Brunt 57* leads England to 3-0 sweep in rain-wrecked final ODI

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Another experimental England side, led by Nat Sciver-Brunt’s half-century and three wickets to Sarah Glenn, romped to victory at a rain-hit Taunton and a 3-0 sweep of their ODI series against West Indies, leaving the visitors winless from six matches all tour.Having swept the T20 leg 3-0 and won the first two ODIs by more than 100 runs each, England mixed up their batting order, elevating captain Sciver-Brunt and Sophia Dunkley to open while Amy Jones, who had reprised her opening role with Tammy Beaumont for the first time in five years earlier in the series with great success, dropped back to the middle order and Beaumont sat out.Dunkley took the lead initially, easing to 26 off 21 balls as she consistently punished any bad balls to the boundary. Sciver-Brunt, meanwhile, reached 2 off seven before her first boundary, smashing a short one from Jannillea Glasgow wide of midwicket in the fourth over. The pair put on 40 runs together before Dunkley was trapped lbw by Karishma Ramharack.From there, Sciver-Brunt switched gears, powering to an unbeaten 57 off 33 balls to take England to victory by nine runs with 10.1 overs to spare.Alice Capsey, promoted to No.3 in place of Emma Lamb, who scored a quick-fire half-century in that position during the second ODI, finished on 20 not out off 11 as England reached 109 for 1, easily passing their target of 106, set under the DLS method.Play had resumed after a five-hour rain delay with West Indies 43 for 3 off 12.3 overs and the match reduced to a maximum of 21 overs per side. Qiana Joseph top-scored for the tourists with 34 while a late flourish from Aaliyah Alleyne with 27 off 18 pushed West Indies to 106 for 8 at the end of their innings.Glenn cleaned up three wickets after the restart to keep a lid on West Indies’ scoring after Em Arlott had made early inroads, reducing them to 4 for 3 inside four overs.England won the toss and chose to bowl first under heavy skies and predictions of imminent rain, which arrived as the players ran onto the field.They managed to start on time, and it was quite the beginning for England as Kate Cross removed youngster Realeanna Grimmond with the second ball of the match.There was to be no repeat of Grimmond’s fifty on ODI debut in the previous game when, standing in for injured captain Hayley Matthews at the top of the order for the second time in a row, she nicked through to the keeper while chasing one that moved away.Two wickets in two overs from seamer Arlott had West Indies floundering. The first was full and straight, moving back in a touch as Zaida James played all around it and had her middle stump rattled. The second, an inswinger that rapped Stafanie Taylor on the front knee roll as she strode forward was given out on umpire’s call despite Taylor’s attempts to overturn Sue Redfern’s lbw decision.Arlott was back in the side after sitting out the second ODI in Leicester as England continued to rotate players through their XI. In addition to changing their batting line-up, England also rested seamer Lauren Bell and left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, making way for spinners Charlie Dean and Glenn.West Indies, who confirmed on the eve of the match that Matthews would miss the game with the shoulder injury which kept her out of the second ODI, welcomed back Joseph at the top of the order after illness had kept her out of the previous game.Joseph was unbeaten on 21 from 24 balls when the rain properly set in with just shy of an hour’s play done, prompting the long stoppage.Cross and Arlott were bowled out by the restart, given the reduction in overs, but when Dean resumed her second over, which had been interrupted by the rain delay, she struck first ball back as Shemaine Campbelle advanced on a fuller delivery which slid under the bat an into Jones’ gloves to see West Indies’ stand-in captain stumped for a sluggish 18 off 35 balls.Glenn followed up next over by bowling Shabika Gajnabi and Alice Davidson-Richards plucked a sharp one-handed catch out of the air at mid-off to remove Jannillea Glasgow off Lauren Filer.West Indies needed Joesph to swing the bat as she had to devastating effect at the T20 World Cup. She added 13 more runs to her tally before holing out to deep midwicket off Glenn, but it was Aaliyah Alleyne who produced the finish needed, striking five consecutive fours off Filer before she fell off the last ball, caught by Dunkley at point to give Glenn her third.

Khawaja, Labuschagne, Head and Marsh named for first round of the Shield, Smith rested

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Australia Test batters Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have been named for the opening Sheffield Shield round of the summer but Steven Smith won’t play for New South Wales with his batting position in the Test side yet to be determined.Despite not having any international commitments until November, only six of Australia’s incumbent Test XI will play for their states when the opening round of the Shield season begins on Tuesday while the injury toll from Australia’s limited-overs tour of the UK has continued with Cameron Green (back), Matthew Short (adductor), Sean Abbott (hamstring), and Aaron Hardie (quad) also missing the opening round.Smith, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have not been named in New South Wales’ (NSW) squad for their opening clash with South Australia but Nathan Lyon will play while Head and Alex Carey have been named for South Australia, although it may be Head’s only appearance in Shield cricket before the Test summer due to the impending birth of his second child.Related

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  • 'Feels like we're in rarified air' – WA face their toughest test

  • Sheffield Shield preview: WA chase history

Smith, Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood are being set for the second Shield round against Victoria at the MCG, which is expected to be Scott Boland’s first match of the season for Victoria as he is being rested from the opening round while he builds up his bowling loads following off-season foot and knee problems. There is a chance, though, that Australia’s big three quicks might not play at all for NSW and will instead use the ODI series against Pakistan to build up for the India Test series.As expected, Green has not been named for Western Australia against Queensland due to his back injury and it is still to be determined how long he will be out for. Marsh has been named but is likely to play as batter only as he carefully builds up his red-ball bowling loads given Green’s injury. Hardie was also set to play as a batter only but has been withdrawn from the squad due to a quad issue.Western Australia have named Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly for just his second first-class match. But Cricket Australia contracted quicks Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson are unavailable, while experienced seamer Joel Paris is also missing with a calf issue. Morris is a chance to play in round two for WA. Richardson is not expected to be available for Shield cricket until after the BBL as he is being carefully managed due to his recent injury history, although he has been named to play in WA’s Second XI against South Australia in Adelaide this week and will be under bowling restrictions. Mahli Beardman, who was a shock call-up to Australia’s ODI tour of the UK as a reserve player, is also playing in the Second XI match alongside uncontracted spinner Ashton Agar.Steven Smith could play the second Shield round•Getty Images

Glenn Maxwell is unavailable for the opening Shield round for Victoria but may play in the second against NSW with the Test tour of Sri Lanka on the horizon. Victoria captain Will Sutherland will miss the opening round as he is still managing a back issue despite playing and bowling in the opening two One-Day Cup games last week. Peter Handscomb will take over as Victoria captain. Riley Meredith returned to club cricket in Tasmania earlier than expected after suffering a side injury during Australia’s tour of the UK. He bowled seven overs on Saturday for Clarence but he was not named in Tasmania’s squad for the clash with Victoria. He should be fully fit to return in round two.The state teams are being severely challenged at present as they plan for the opening four rounds due to the huge injury toll among Australia’s contracted and fringe players and the scheduling of two Australia A-India A matches in late October and early November on top of the ODI and T20I series against Pakistan.The careful management of Australia’s Test stars and players on the fringes like Boland, Morris and now Hardie, combined with the injury toll that includes Green, Short, Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis (pectoral), Xavier Bartlett (side), Nathan Ellis (hamstring), and Spencer Johnson (side) means that most state teams will have major turnover in their XIs across the first month of the season.

Western Australia squad

Sam Whiteman (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, Mitch Marsh, Corey Rocchiccioli, Charlie Stobo

Queensland squad

Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Jack Clayton, Liam Guthrie, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Jack Wildermuth

NSW squad

Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Moises Henriques (capt), Sam Konstas, Nathan Lyon, Nic Maddinson, Jack Nisbet, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha

South Australia squad

Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Nathan McSweeney (capt), Lloyd Pope, Liam Scott

Victoria squad

Peter Handscomb (capt), Ash Chandrasinghe, Xavier Crone, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Cam McClure, Jon Merlo, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Mitch Perry, Tom Rogers

Tasmania squad

Gabe Bell, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Brad Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Mitch Owen, Jordan Silk (capt), Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

Capsey feeling 'in control' of her game after taking a step back

by csb10.top Uncategorized

The day Alice Capsey turned 18, she walked towards a pod of journalists, delighted that she no longer needed a chaperone during interviews.She’d been doing these – accompanied – for a while and her team, Oval Invincibles, had just pulled off the highest successful run chase in the Women’s Hundred to defeat Northern Superchargers at The Oval after the men’s teams had played the curtain raiser.As eager and comfortable as she was on that night almost two years ago, it’s easy to forget she is still a teenager now and to overlook how the sheer volume of cricket she has played since took a “toll” on her. Since July 2022, Capsey has played a staggering 93 top-level T20 matches. As a result, she hasn’t played regional cricket this season, opting to focus on playing for England and, when she’s not, taking a break from cricket.Related

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Speaking in Canterbury after her career-best 67 not out off 60 balls secured victory for England in a nervy third T20I against New Zealand, Capsey revealed that she felt in a much better place than she had over the past year and just how hard it had been to reach that point.”I’ve been kind of under the spotlight for the last three years and it’s taken its toll a little bit, especially over the last year,” Capsey said. “So I really have taken a step back this year and gone, ‘What’s going to be the best option for me to go onto the pitch and perform?’ Prioritising myself a little bit more… not listening to the outside noise as much and really focusing on what matters to me as a person and as a cricketer and what’s going to make me the best cricketer for this team.”Capsey enjoyed a breakout season during the inaugural Women’s Hundred and was part of the first England A squad to tour Australia during the Women’s Ashes at the start of 2022, earning her senior call-up for the Commonwealth Games later that year. Since then, she has become a fixture at No. 3 in T20Is and played in franchise tournaments around the world while floating round the middle order in 17 ODIs.But her half-century against the White Ferns to help England to a 3-0 lead in their five match T20 series on Thursday was her first fifty in the format since last August. Her highest score in the 11 innings she played in between was 31 – made against Pakistan in May – and sat alongside a string of scores either in the 20s, or in single figures. Her highest score in ODIs is 44, also reached during Pakistan’s recent visit. In her two other ODI innings this English summer, she was unbeaten on 39 and 35 against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively.All of these numbers serve as a reminder that Capsey is still a young player learning her craft, and suggest she is figuring out what works for her at the right time.”For someone of my age, I feel really experienced within T20 cricket and I feel really comfortable with my role at No. 3,” she said. “I know that it’s not going to come off every time and I know that there’s going to be critics about how I go about the game. But on nights like these, it is just about going big and really securing the win.Capsey has played a high volume of T20, including at the WPL•BCCI

“I missed the regional cricket this year. I have played so much cricket and I thought the best way to actually perform for England and get myself in the best positive space to be able to perform was to have a little break. We’ve obviously got huge winter and playing for England and performing for England is my main priority. Playing the amount of games I have, I’ve been exposed to a lot of different situations, which is just going to help me as a batter but as an allrounder. Then, obviously on the flip side, it’s a hell of a lot of cricket.”Taking time off between international series appears to be paying dividends, with a T20 World Cup in October, followed by an away Ashes series, then a 50-over World Cup in India in 2025.”As much as I probably haven’t played the amount of cricket that I have in the past couple of years, I feel the most calm and controlled I’ve felt in a very long time,” Capsey said. “I feel really calm, I know what my options are and yeah, I just feel really confident and it’s amazing that if you’re in a good head space that you then take it onto the pitch and feel a lot better about yourself.”Jon Lewis, England’s head coach, said recently that he’d like Capsey “to be one of our best top-five batters” in ODIs, while recognising that her schedule is currently focused on the shorter format. He has also been keen to deploy her part-time offspin, albeit in a side spoilt with spin-bowling riches in the form of left-armer and world No.1 Sophie Ecclestone, legspinner Sarah Glenn and offspinner Charlie Dean.But, as shown in fielding an experimental line-up missing captain Heather Knight, opening batter Danni Wyatt and seamer Lauren Bell, England are all about exploring their options ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.”We’ve been spoken to by the coaching staff before the series, saying that there will be a bit of chaos thrown in front of us, a few different situations about how we adapt to it,” Capsey said. “The performances are showing we are getting the results, but I think as a group we’re really calm with the different changes and we all feel like, especially from my point of view, I feel like it doesn’t matter who’s in the team, we can all just go out in there and play with freedom and play to our strengths.”I’d love to bowl, but I stand no chance with those three,” Capsey added. “They perform day in, day out and when I do get the opportunity, don’t get me wrong, I’m going to make the most of it, but if I’m not having to bowl, then they’re doing their job and we’re probably winning more games than we’re not.”