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Emilio Gay hit a brilliant century as Durham coasted to a seven-wicket win over the Kent Spitfires in the Metro Bank One Day Cup at Beckenham.Gay carried his bat to finish on 119, from 110 balls, including a six and 12 fours, alongside Colin Ackermann who was unbeaten on 38 at the end.Earlier, Mitch Killeen bowled an outstanding opening spell to take 3 for 15 from 10 overs as Kent were held to 238 for 8. Ben Compton made 55 before Jack Leaning hit 68 from 50 to give the hosts something to defend, but it never looked like being enough and the visitors won with 10.4 to spare.Kent chose to bat on an oppressively hot day at the New County Ground, but struggled to cope with a stifling display in the field by Durham.Although Killeen missed a caught-and-bowled chance off Jaydn Denly off the seventh ball of the innings, he failed to cash in and was caught at mid-on by Scott Borthwick in Killen’s next over for six.Joey Evison was his next victim, caught by George Drissell at point for a duck and Chris Benjamin went in almost identical fashion in Killeen’s next over for 1.At 25 for 3 in the eighth over Kent had little choice other than to drop anchor for a while, but it might have been worse for the Spitfires, as the former Kent all-rounder Ollie Robinson fumbled the chance to run out Harry Finch when he and Compton were stranded in the middle.They put on 60 for the fourth before Finch, who took 71 balls to make 28, was out cutting Paul Coughlin straight to Borthwick, and Compton was then bowled by Will Rhodes.It took the hosts 41 overs to get to 150. As soon as they did Ekansh Singh hit Rhodes back over his head for six, but he tried to repeat the trick two balls later and was caught by Codi Yusuf for 45.Mohammed Rizvi made an enterprising 17 from 14 but was bowled middle stump by Luke Robinson and Durham were into the tail.Fred Klaassen hit Rhodes straight to Drissell for a duck but Leaning’s late pyrotechnics, including a six that was dropped onto the rope in the final over, and a single taken when Borthwick dropped him off the final ball, at least made the target seem challenging.Not for long, however. Durham got off to a rapid start, with Ollie Robinson racing to 26 before he chopped on to Fred Klaassen. Gay and Rhodes put on 98 for the second wicket before the latter was lbw to Parkinson for 32.David Bedingham went in the same fashion for 8 but Ackermann was on three when he skied Parkinson and Ekansh couldn’t take a simple catch.By the time Gay took two from Parkinson to reach three figures any tension had evaporated and he fittingly he the winning run when he scrambled a single of Evison.

Take a bit of risks and don’t go after the yorkers for all six balls – that was Matt Henry’s clear plan as he helped New Zealand to the men’s T20I tri-series title in a last-ball thriller in Harare.Henry stood at the top of his mark with South Africa needing seven off the last over with six wickets in hand. ESPNcricinfo’s win predictor gave South Africa a 93.3% chance, with a set Dewald Brevis batting on 31 off just 14. But all Henry conceded were three runs and picked up two wickets.”The thought process was making sure that there were tough options [for the batters]. If you go to yorkers too early and you run two, it’s hard to kind of keep six [balls] out,” Henry said after New Zealand’s three-run win. “So, we just tried to be positive and to take an element of risk of the death that doesn’t always come off but that was good.Related

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“With not too many to defend, I probably made it a little bit clearer in terms of, having probably taken a few more risks, and making sure that it either was a dot ball or a wicket. Just making sure I was nice and clear at the top of the mark and executing what I wanted to do, and thankfully executed the plans nicely and catches stuck, so that was good.”2:32

Matt Henry: ‘Tried to take an element of risk at the death’

The last over was not devoid of drama. A couple of athletic catches sealed New Zealand’s fate, while the one missed chance did not cost them. On the second ball, Brevis looked to pull a bouncer over the deep midwicket boundary and almost succeeded. But Michael Bracewell timed his jump, held his balance to complete a juggling catch that gave New Zealand the edge. A ball later, he couldn’t hang on to a miscue from Corbin Bosch, grassing the chance after running in from deep midwicket. On the fifth ball, Daryl Mitchell covered good ground to his right from long-on to pull off another excellent catch to convert a certain boundary into a wicket, thus sending back George Linde.”I was hoping he was going to catch it,” Henry said of Bracewell, “it was a really good catch. When you’ve got Bracewell out there on the boundaries, [he is] one of the better fielders going around. So [I had] a lot of confidence, just hoped that one did his job. These guys, they take more catches than they drop, so I wasn’t as worried [about the dropped catch]. I was more just focused on what I could do. [It was a] tough chance, and not many people probably get to that to create a chance. He’s an unbelievable fielder.”Henry finished the tri-series as the leading wicket-taker with ten wickets. Six of those wickets came at the death (overs 17-20), a phase in which he had an economy of 6.69.”The key thing is wanting those overs,” Henry, who was named the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Series, said. “It’s never easy, they don’t always go your way either. It’s something we all train at, and I think when you’re talking about death, it’s not just the final over. It’s actually the building up of that.”I think the guys that had some really tough sets there, [Jacob] Duffy and Zakary Foulkes, they’ve done a great job. There was some seriously aggressive striking there [from South Africa] as well. So for us to get to that position was probably the key thing.Henry also praised the tri-series as a means to play high-pressure matches in preparation for the T20 World Cup next year.”We don’t play too many of them, but to come here today and then the final one is great,” he said. “We want to play cricket against great sides and under pressure, that’s why we play the game. Today was one of those games. It was different to all the games we played here. It was a really strong surface, which required a high scoring game – obviously 180 was probably the highest for the tri series – so to come down to the wire was exciting. For us, it was building on what we’ve been talking about. A lot of guys that have stepped up at different times, which is a pleasing thing.”We’ve loved it, we’ve had such a great tour, and we’ve got a big year of T20 cricket with the World Cup to look forward to. For us, [it is about] not getting carried away with the results, more of the style of cricket we’re playing, and how do we keep asking ourselves to grow in our roles and take the game forward. It was a great stepping stone towards where we want to get to.”

“Imagine getting us five-down and Will Jacks comes out to bat?” Harry Brook had reflected on Thursday evening in Birmingham.It certainly was novel. Prior to Thursday’s first ODI against West Indies, Jacks had never previously batted in that position in List A cricket. In fact, he’d only done it once in all white-ball cricket – a couple of months ago in the IPL, a forgettable 1 off 1 for Mumbai Indians against Delhi Capitals.His match-morphing cameo at Edgbaston – a boundary-filled 39 off 24 deliveries, in a vital stand of 98 with Jacob Bethell that put England out of reach – was an impressive hard launch in a new position, albeit in step with an attacking batter. But it was Sunday’s innings in Cardiff, a more restrained 49 off 58, that highlighted the tactical dexterity he can bring to the role.Jacks struck just two fours while soaking up 20 dot-balls, but his entire role was geared towards handing the strike to an inspired Joe Root, whose unbeaten 166 went on to win England the match and the series. Root credited Jacks for his “maturity”, “skill level” and “calmness” throughout their stand of 143.There was a bit of Freaky Friday about it all. Root is usually the one getting the hitters on strike – a point not lost on either of them. “I did actually mention that to him at one stage,” Jacks said.”He played beautifully and made it very easy for me. I think the situation just required me to build a partnership. That’s all I looked to do really – try and build a score, taking as limited risks as possible, and that ended up just being ones and twos. When a boundary was required, he did that with ease, like he does.”The origins of Jacks’ new role are intriguing enough, and it’s worth walking backwards through the reasoning. When Brook took on the white-ball captaincy, he identified the need for a few more allrounders and a wider variety of spin.Under the previous regime, Liam Livingstone had been picked to perform a similar role, with his legspin/offspin repertoire and lower-order hitting potential. However, his combined total of 93 runs in nine innings at the 50-over World Cup and Champions Trophy highlighted a series of situational blindspots, and he has since been put out to pasture.Jacks and Bethell, Brook thought, with their right and left-arm fingerspin, could provide those options – combining as the fifth bowler – while deepening the batting. After two games, that logic is playing out perfectly.Jacks’ offspin broke through to end Keacy Carty’s century•PA Photos/Getty Images

At the time of conception, both players were out at the IPL, with Jacks operating with a similar “neither here nor there” remit with Mumbai. Bowling occasionally and batting without a set position had him thinking on his feet, trying to become a more malleable cricketer.With Jacks in particular, Brook knew he had the wares to do the job. The pair have come through the ranks together, notably when Brook was Jacks’ Under-19 captain. That pre-existing relationship, as far as Jacks was concerned, made transitioning into an allrounder role that little bit easier.”I’ve known Harry for a very long time. We played Under-19s cricket together almost a decade ago. When he mentioned this role to me, it came quite comfortably, and easy. Once I knew I had that trust and it had been spoken to me, I thought a bit about how I want to play it.”At the IPL just now, I was carded at No.3 and a couple of times I ended up having to go down No.6 and 7. That’s just limited-overs cricket, you have to be ready for anything. We practice that and I think it’s just about clarity of mind. Very rarely in 50-over cricket am I going to have to go out there and try and hit my first few balls for six. You always have more time you think, it’s just about adjusting to that with clarity.”The “clarity” Jacks speaks of around 50-over cricket has been learned the hard way by this group. Of the many talking points emanating from the blowouts at the 2023 50-over World Cup and this year’s Champions Trophy was the lack of List A experience among the players. Jacks, for instance, has made 17 of his 39 appearances in the format for England.It seems, though, the offshoots of the team’s recent ODI form – these victories over West Indies ended a run of seven defeats in a row – has been a greater understanding of the rhythms of the 50-over format, and a chance to bed in for a generation reared on 30 overs less.”I think watching 50-over cricket and thinking about it over the last year or two, we all realise there’s so much time. Coming from T20, that’s not something you always have the luxury of,” Jacks said.Related

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“Even going in the other day [first ODI], I came in during the 41st over – there was still so much time to go. That was on my mind [in the second ODI], and that was what we spoke about… even at 7-and-a-half, 8-an-over it got up to, there was no urgency. We know we can chase that with ease. It was just about staying calm, staying in control, and taking it as deep as possible.”Jacks’ experience of building into a T20 innings as an opening batter translates well for his new gig. Though he does have limited experience at the death – of his 202 T20 innings, he has only batted in the last four overs 11 times – he still strikes at 221.87 at an average of 53.25 in this period.This is still something of a make-over for Jacks. Despite 42 caps across all formats, including two Tests in Pakistan in 2022, he has never quite belonged to any of England’s three sides. A series of disappointments have punctuated the last two years, including missing out on the first tranch of multi-year central contracts in 2023 – despite being told he would be one of the 26 – before missing out on the Champions Trophy squad earlier this year.Though he has scratched his competitive itch with high-profile franchise gigs in the IPL and SA20, being back in the national reckoning clearly nourishes him. Particularly as he feels he snatched at the first part of his white-ball career.”I do,” Jacks answered immediately, when if he thought this was a new chapter. “I’ve come into it with a really fresh mindset, which has helped. Having that break… obviously I’d have loved to play every game, but that’s life. And I think it’s allowed me to reset.”I think my first time in the team I was just loving playing for England, and probably not performing how I wanted. I was ‘over-trying’ to get the results I wanted, whereas now I feel comfortable in myself, in the role and I think that’s really helped.”

Syed Abid Ali, who represented India in 29 Tests from 1967 to 1974, has died in California aged 83.A medium pacer who was renowned for his high standards of fielding and lightning-fast running between the wickets, one of Abid Ali’s greatest moments on the cricket field came with the bat: he hit the winning runs for India from No. 8 at The Oval in 1971 to give India their first series triumph in England.These runs came via a “square cut that never reached the boundary as it was engulfed by jubilant supporters charging onto the ground”, as had been reported on ESPNcricinfo.Abid Ali also played five ODIs between 1974 and 1975, which also happened to be India’s first five ODIs.Related

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He finished with 47 wickets from his 29 Tests, including career-best figures of 6 for 55 in his debut innings against Australia in Adelaide. His medium pace came with enough variations to test batters. He also recorded six Test-match fifties, including twin fifties in Sydney later in that debut series.It could be argued that he was an allrounder, given that those two fifties came as an opener, and he batted at the top of the order in 21 of his 53 Test innings and scored 1018 runs at an average of 20.36 in his Test career. Those fifties in Sydney included “cavalier treatment of the new ball,” the match report said. Overall, he batted across the order for India, everywhere barring Nos. 4, 10 and 11.Then, there were his impressive fitness levels and fielding. His ESPNcricinfo profile sums it up thus: “Abid Ali had the feet of a sprinter, the energy of a marathon runner and the will of a decathlete, but his misfortune was that he was born 20 years too early. His game was made to order for one-day cricket: he bowled brisk medium-pace, fielded outstandingly, and was a busy lower-order batsman who ran between the wickets as if on invisible skates.”His focus on fitness came at a time when it was not the norm in cricket, and helped him gain a reputation both as a close-in fielder and for his spot-on flat throws from the outfield. Former ESPNcricinfo columnist V Ramnarayan, who was a young cricketer in the Hyderabad domestic circles when Abid Ali was in his prime, wrote of him: “The punishing regimen of training he followed was often the subject of anecdotes, wildly exaggerated and embellished, but perfect entertainment in the evening after a long day at the ground.”Syed Abid Ali during his stint coaching UAE•AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images

He was also quite a bit of a character. Ramnarayan wrote: “He was demonstrative in an age when most bowlers tended to hide their emotions. His appeals to God when he beat the edge, and his sardonic grins at batsmen blessed by the Lord – unfairly in Abid’s opinion – were sights to see and remember.”He was once no-balled for throwing in a Test match against New Zealand in Christchurch, but his blatant chucking apparently came in protest against Gary Bartlett having taken a six-for with an action that the Indian team felt was suspect.Abid Ali never went on to establish himself as a premier name in Indian cricket, in part because he had the misfortune of being a bowler in the era of India’s famous spin quartet. He was a mainstay for Hyderabad, though, playing 212 first-class games across 20 seasons, taking 397 wickets at 28.55 and scoring 8732 runs with 13 hundreds and 41 fifties. He played his last Test match in December 1974, his last ODI in June 1975, and his last first-class game in 1978-79.”Shri Syed Abid Ali was a true allrounder, a cricketer who embodied the spirit of the game,” BCCI president Roger Binny said in a statement. “His contributions to India’s historic victories in the 1970s will always be remembered. His dedication and versatility made him stand out. My deepest condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.”After his playing days, Abid Ali went on to coach Andhra at the Ranji Trophy, and also had stints with UAE and Maldives. At the time of his death, he was living in Tracy, California, with his family.

South Africa have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in a high-drama encounter at SuperSport Park. Set a modest but challenging target of 148 to win, they were 99 for 8 just before lunch and it was left to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen to score the remaining 51 runs in a tense ninth-wicket stand against a Pakistan attack with their tails up.Mohammad Abbas, on a comeback from a three-year absence from the Test side, bowled a marathon 19.3 overs spell from the Hennops River End and took a career best 6 for 54 but could not end Pakistan’s lean run in South Africa. This is the eighth successive Test they have lost in the country, dating back to 2007.Pakistan gave themselves every chance by running through South Africa’s middle order on a morning of mayhem, where South Africa lost 5 for 37, including four wickets for three runs in 12 balls, which put the onus on the bowlers to finish the job.Related

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Jansen and Rabada are both capable with the bat but with the pressure turned up fully, every ball was an event, from the second one Rabada faced, that he hit up and over point for four, to the final one, steered delicately by Jansen through point to secure the winning runs.Those strokes are also screenshots of the way the pair approached the chase: Rabada backed himself to play his strokes while Jansen was more conservative and happy to wait for scoring opportunities.Between them, they offered only once chance, when Rabada, on 12, fished outside off and edged but the chance fell short of Mohammad Rizwan. That came post-lunch, the break South Africa went into needing 32 to win.By the time Abbas found Rabada’s edge, they needed 28. Rabada went on to score five boundaries in his 31, the third-highest score by a batter at No.10 or lower in a successful chase.A normally nervous character, Jansen, who spoke about his game plan on the third evening, was solid in defence and then struck two of the sweetest fours of his career, first when he got on top of the bounce from Abbas and then to seal a famous win.While Rabada and Jansen held their arms up in celebration on the field, South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma and coach Shukri Conrad embraced in the changeroom. The pair came together at the end of the last WTC cycle to lead South Africa through this one. Mission accomplished.Mohammad Abbas ran through South Africa in the morning session•Gallo Images

Bavuma would have also been a relieved man after he worked his way to 40 and then walked when he did not hit the ball. He was given out off what seemed to be the inside-edge and walked. Replays showed the ball had brushed a part of his clothing and, with all three reviews available, South Africa could have asked for a second opinion.Instead, Bavuma, who had received treatment on his elbow shortly before that, left the middle order to finish the job.This is the second time Bavuma has walked at SuperSport Park – in 2020 against Sri Lanka, he was on 71 when he thought he had under-edged Dasun Shanaka and left the field before the umpire had raised the finger. This time, Alex Wharf had given Bavuma out but he chose not to review to the surprise of the South African changeroom. His dismissal triggered the collapse that left the tail at the crease.Kyle Verreynne could not get behind the line of a Naseem Shah delivery and chopped it onto his stumps. In the next over David Bedingham chased an Abbas ball and was caught behind, and Corbin Bosch did almost exactly the same thing to give Abbas his sixth wicket and South Africa had crumbled from a position that felt comfortable: 96 for 4 after teetering precariously on 27 for 3 overnight.Bavuma got the first runs of the morning, and his first runs, off the fifth ball, off a Abbas half-volley that he clipped through square leg. Abbas adjusted to back of a length and in his next over, thought he had found Bavuma’s edge. Rizwan indicated the ball had brushed Bavuma’s thigh but Shah Masood reviewed anyway. Rizwan was proved right and Bavuma, on 5, could continue.Aiden Markram looked slightly more in control but got a streaky boundary off the edge before Bavuma creamed Khurram Shahzad through mid-on to leave South Africa with 100 runs to get.Off the next ball, Bavuma, on 13, was given out lbw to Shahzad but reviewed immediately. Replays showed an inside edge and Bavuma survived again.South Africa scored just three runs off the next 27 balls before Bavuma released the pressure with a hook shot off Abbas that Naseem thought he could get under. Naseem got hands under the ball but the momentum carried him over the boundary rope and not only did Bavuma get away with the shot he has fallen to several times this season but he got six for it.Temba Bavuma pulls away a short one•AFP/Getty Images

To add insult to injury, Markram smashed the second ball of Naseem’s next over over extra cover for four. Fourteen dot balls followed before a Markram single took South Africa to the first drinks break with no damage done and 35 runs scored in the first hour.Three balls after the interval, Markram was bowled by an Abbas delivery that kept low as he tried to jam his bat down and keep it out. That ended a 43-run fourth-wicket stand between Bavuma and Markram and brought Bedingham, who has a top score of 35 this summer, to the crease.He started with a wristy flick for four before Bavuma reeled off an exquisite cover drive but the eye-catching shots were followed by risky ones.Bavuma could not resist another hook, despite not being able to extend his elbow fully, but the chance fell safely. He went on to advance on Shahzad, brought back to replace Naseem, and hit over the covers but could never get comfortable.Two balls later, Shahzad thought he found his outside edge but Rizwan saw it was pad and Masood listened. Bavuma faced eight more balls before he required treatment on his right elbow – the left was injured before this season – but continued. In the next over, he drove expansively and loosely against Abbas and walked but his team-mates had enough in the tank to guarantee South Africa’s place at Lord’s next year and take a 1-0 series lead. South Africa will play one more Test in this cycle, against Pakistan, at Newlands next week.

Kurtis Patterson made his highest first-class score in two years on his return to the New South Wales side as he and Jack Edwards engineered a recovery against Queensland after the visiting quicks had caused early problems.NSW slumped to 59 for 5 during the morning session as the new ball nibbled around with 19-year Tom Straker, in his second first-class match, taking three early wickets. But Patterson, who had returned to a line-up missing a host of players on Australia duty after being dropped last season, and Edwards, himself making a comeback from injury, added 135 in 35 overs for the sixth wicket.”I probably haven’t said it publicly but I think I needed to be dropped when I was last year because frankly, I wasn’t batting well enough,” Patterson said. “I’d be lying if I said that thought never crossed my mind, whether I’d get another go back here. But thankfully I’ve kind of ticked all the boxes with [grade club] St George and got my opportunity.”However, NSW then lost 4 for 3 at the end of their innings and Queensland’s openers, Usman Khawaja and Matt Renshaw, were able to get through some testing new ball spells, including Josh Hazlewood’s first of the season to finishing unbeaten.Patterson played two Tests back in 2019 against Sri Lanka, scoring a century in the second and finishing with an average of 144, but fell out of contention shortly after and last season lost his place in the NSW side after being dumped as captain.He fought hard against the moving ball in the opening session before taking advantage of easier conditions in the afternoon and was in sight of his first century since 2022 when he was given caught behind off Angus Lovell although he seemed upset with the decision.Edwards, who missed the last round with a hamstring injury, played positively from the outset to wrestle back some initiative for NSW. Like Patterson, he did not appeared pleased with the caught-behind decision which ended his innings short of what would have been a third first-class century.That heralded a late collapse for NSW as Lovell and captain Mitchell Swepson cleaned up the lower order.The day had started in similar style for the home side with Blake Nikitaras falling in the opening over when he jabbed a full delivery from Liam Guthrie to third slip. Nic Maddinson tried to take the positive route but dragged on against Straker for 10 off six deliveries with Ollie Davies then falling to an excellent delivery which nipped off the seam to take off stump.Moises Henriques drove a wide delivery to point and Matthew Gilkes got a top edge to a short ball.Queensland’s attack did an excellent job in the absence of senior figures Michael Neser (Australia A) and Mark Steketee (injury).

South Africa vs West Indies

Dubai, 2pm local timeSouth Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe TryonWest Indies squad: Hayley Matthews (capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbelle (vice-capt, wk), Ashmini Munisar, Afy Fletcher, Stafanie Taylor, Chinelle Henry, Chedean Nation, Qiana Joseph, Zaida James, Karishma Ramharack, Mandy Mangru, Nerissa CraftonRelated

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Tournament form guide: South Africa and West Indies lost both their warm-up games in the lead-up to the tournament, although South Africa’s losses were more surprising. They were bowled out for 92 against New Zealand to lose by eight wickets and then couldn’t get close to their target of 145 against India. West Indies’ losses came against teams ranked much higher than them. They first lost to India by 20 runs and then to Australia by 35 runs, on both occasions struggling to chase down totals in the 140s.News brief: South Africa finished as the runners-up in the 2023 T20 World Cup and will be looking to carry their form into this tournament after a 2-1 away series win against Pakistan. Despite a poor 7-14 win-loss record against West Indies, South Africa have won three of their last four T20Is against them. West Indies, too, come on the back of a 2-1 series win in Sri Lanka, although that was back in June. South Africa could go spin heavy by picking 18-year-old legspinner Seshnie Naidu along with allrounders Chloe Tryon and Sune Luus. It’s expected to be a hot afternoon in Dubai, with the temperature around 37°C at the time of the toss. It won’t be much cooler even when the game ends.Player to watch: She last played a T20I in August 2022. Since then, she has played franchise cricket around the world, retired from international cricket, and returned. Deandra Dottin is a powerhouse of a figure, not just a batter. Her presence in the West Indies line-up will be a massive boost who need to start on a winning note if they are to make the semi-finals.0:57

Shafali Verma: Dubai is so hot that we couldn’t even breathe during first practice

India vs New Zealand

Dubai, 6pm local timeIndia squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, D Hemalatha, Asha Sobhana, Radha Yadav, Shreyanka Patil, Sajeevan SajanaNew Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Isabella Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea TahuhuTournament form guide: India won their two warm-up games with fairly convincing margins, by 20 runs against West Indies and 28 runs against South Africa. New Zealand, meanwhile, had a 50% success in the warm-ups. They beat South Africa by eight wickets and went down to England by five wickets.News brief: Two players were named in the India squad subject to fitness: allrounder Shreyanka Patil and wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia. Both played both warm-ups, which bodes well for India. Head coach Amol Muzumdar confirmed on match eve that captain Harmanpreet Kaur would bat at No. 3, as was the case in the two warm-ups. She has batted there only five times since the start of 2019. The last time was against Ireland in the 2023 T20 World Cup when India’s opening stand lasted 9.3 overs. New Zealand come into the tournament after a streak of ten straight losses in T20Is, most recently being blanked 3-0 by Australia, against whom they play their second game. Therefore, they would be desperate for a win on Friday to push for a semi-final spot. If India have made a late call about their No. 3, New Zealand have decided to move their power-hitting captain Sophie Devine to the middle order recently, with Georgia Plimmer and Suzie Bates to open. Both teams are expecting plenty of dew in this evening game, so toss could play a massive role.Player to watch: Shafali Verma has worked on her mental game, she has worked on her consistency, and she is trying to mature into a more complete batter. If she can strike a balance between her early ball-bashing mentality with consistent performances from the first game itself, she could play a vital role in giving India a start similar to her nickname in the dressing room for her batting style: (dashing).

Allrounder Aamer Jamal returns to a Pakistan Test line-up for the first time since his breakout tour of Australia. His all-round ability has allowed Pakistan to go with one fewer specialist bowler, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed making up the rest of the bowling attack.All four bowlers were unavailable to varying degrees during Pakistan’s recent series against Bangladesh, making this the first time in over a year that their full first-choice contingent is available. The batting remains unchanged; Abdullah Shafique keeps his place despite his recent struggles with the bat, after Shan Masood’s public backing on Thursday.”Multan is new territory for us,” Shan said at the captain’s press conference. “When we played Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, we had played a lot of cricket there so we knew how the pitch would play if you left grass on it. It was a bit tricky against Bangladesh for batsmen. Here we are leaving it to the groundsman. We would like one final look tomorrow, hence why we have tried to cover bases and have three seamers and two spinners like England. We have a bit of depth in batting as well.”Pakistan’s batting is a point of concern with several batters struggling, and the match-up between a home batting line-up short of runs and an away bowling unit short of experience in these conditions provides a point of intrigue. Though England’s decision to go with a bowling combination of Brydon Carse, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir may appear risky, that has become an integral part of this England side’s brand.Related

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“It [Bazball] has had an effect on the world,” Masood said. “Sometimes we get too caught up in set ways of doing things. So the best thing England has done is realise there are other perspectives and things that might suit you. The key is to find new ways of doing things. That is how the world has always progressed and cricket is no different. It is like life. You try and evolve and create new ways and England have been pioneers in that.”In the build-up to this Test, Pakistan have been careful to emphasise they will not get sucked into England’s style of playing, with head coach Jason Gillespie and vice-captain Saud Shakeel each making the point. Masood echoed that, saying there would be times Pakistan would need to “absorb pressure” instead of just “reacting to situations, and spoke of the drive to make amends after a difficult year.”There is a lot of hurt within the players. 2024 has not been a good year for Pakistan cricket all over and we like to see our fans happy. After religion cricket comes next, everyone is clued up on how the cricket team is doing so we are hurt. The answer is to be positive. We let the past go. We have tried to maintain consistency in selection. We haven’t had any chopping and changing because we have lost a few games. We believe in this set of players and with Jason Gillespie we wanted to create a squad mentality. The players are being backed to turn things around.”Pakistan squad for 1st Test: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (capt), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.

Keshav Maharaj bowled 28 overs unchanged from the Media Centre End, albeit with weather-related interruptions, as South Africa frustrated West Indies on the third day of a rain-affected Test. The squeeze only brought four wickets, and with 90 minutes lost in the day and more rain on the way, the chances of victory for either side seems slim, but South Africa will consider themselves as having the upper hand.West Indies are 212 runs behind on a slow, dry pitch, and runs continue to be hard to come by. South Africa only added 13 runs to their overnight score but managed their highest first innings total in nine away Tests since Christchurch 2022 but needed quick wickets to make it count. They were blunted by the West Indies’ line-up and committed a few lapses in the field on a surface unsuited to urgency.Batting has been laboured so far and the early signs on the third morning were that it would become even more difficult. The second ball, from Jayden Seales, kept low and Wiaan Mulder was fortunate that it did not seam back in enough to take out off stump.Still, South Africa seemed to have a clear directive to score quickly and Kagiso Rabada led the charge. He flicked Seales through backward square leg and then attempted a drive but edged wide of second slip in a productive over. His intent did not last long. Rabada faced five more balls before Jomel Warrican found the edge and Joshua Da Silva did the rest. Seales finished off when he bowled Lungi Ngidi six balls later to end South Africa’s innings 20 minutes into the session. They added just 13 runs to their overnight score.West Indies were in the field for 117.4 overs and would have had enough time to know that batting would be tough especially against South Africa’s best. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi shared the new ball and had different but equally testing questions for the openers. Rabada kept it full, Ngidi was more back of a length, and West Indies managed only 23 runs in their first ten overs. Mulder, playing as the third seamer, replaced Ngidi but when Rabada’s spell ended, South Africa were forced to turn to spin early.Maharaj was given the ball in the 13th over and came close to an early breakthrough. In his second over, Maharaj drew Kraigg Brathwaite forward and induced the edge, which lobbed low but carried to Aiden Markram at slip. However, he could not hold on. Brathwaite was on 7 off 43 balls at the time. Brathwaite went on to cut Maharaj through point for his first four but, much like South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma on day two, was content to spend time at the crease and let the runs come from the other end.Mikyle Louis was more proactive, particularly through the covers, with four of his five boundaries coming in that region. He hit the single that took West Indies to fifty which was also the fourth half-century opening stand between him and Brathwaite in three Tests and helped West Indies nearly get through the session unscathed. But, the ball before lunch, Louis played for turn to a Maharaj arm ball and was bowled.Kraigg Brathwaite and Keacy Carty put on 60 for the second wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Play was delayed for 55 minutes after the scheduled second-session restart, but one over later, rain forced another 20-minute break. The interruptions had no effect on Brathwaite’s concentration as he hit Maharaj for six three overs into the second session, but left it to Keacy Carty to do most of the attacking. On debut, Carty impressed with his assuredness and played the shot of the day when he got up on his toes to punch Rabada behind point for four.With their options limited to four frontline bowlers, South Africa had to keep Maharaj at one end – and he kept Brathwaite quiet for a period in which the West Indian captain scored just 6 runs off 37 balls from him – and rotate through the three seamers and matters became pedestrian. None of them looked like taking a wicket but a chance came in the field when Carty, on 28, defended a Mulder ball to point and took off a run but had Ryan Rickelton to contend with. Carty turned back and if Rickelton’s throw was accurate he would have been caught short of his ground but the ball went wide and Carty batted on. Three overs later, Carty was on 32 and hit Maharaj aerially to cover. Tristan Stubbs ran back to take the catch over his shoulder but misjudged and spilled it.Just when South Africa may have become disheartened, a sedate Brathwaite hit Ngidi to Mulder at mid-on and ran for the single but a direct hit found him on the line and out on the stroke of tea. Brathwaite’s 35 runs took 131 balls, and he maintains the lowest strike rate among batters who have scored 5,000 Test runs since 2001. With the interval, came the rain and there was a further 35 minute delay before the start of the last session.Seven balls into the evening, a Maharaj ball ended Carty’s debut innings as it skidded and struck him on the front pad. Aiden Markam, operating as South Africa’s second spinner, could have had another five overs later when Kavem Hodge, on 3, edged but Kyle Verreynne did not react quickly enough to hold on. Instead, Markram was the fielder when Maharaj struck again in the next over. Alick Athanaze edged an arm ball to Markam at slip. Markram and Maharaj bowled out most of the rest of the session, apart from a final late burst by Rabada, who could not remove either Hodge or Jason Holder.

Sam Hain’s stunning 98 off 48 balls set Birmingham Bears on their way to a fifth straight win in the Vitality Blast as they beat Yorkshire in a high-scoring thriller by four runs to take a significant step towards the quarter-finals.Hain crashed eight sixes in an innings more power than poise on an excellent Headingley surface as the Bears amassed 214 for 7.The North Group leaders then wrapped up a seventh win in nine matches, but not without drama. Dawid Malan opened with an excellent 54 and Donovan Ferreira blasted 66 off 32 balls with seven sixes. But George Garton brilliantly defended 11 off the last over and six off the last ball, the Vikings finishing on 210 for 5.Yorkshire lost their fifth match in nine and will see this as a missed opportunity given they needed 18 off the last two overs.Meanwhile, Hain’s fourth fifty of the ongoing campaign took him to the top of the Blast runs chart on 395.Bears captain and opener Alex Davies, who elected to bat, also contributed a brisk 43, though he later left the field with a finger injury sustained whilst keeping wicket.Hain was more powerful than he is known for and hit the majority of his sixes to the leg-side, though not exclusively to the short side over towards the Western Terrace. He left Yorkshire faced with what would have been a club record chase in this format.Vikings, who now have significant work to do for a top-four finish, made the perfect start as left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty bowled Ed Barnard with the fixture’s first ball.Birmingham’s innings kicked into life in the fourth over as Davies took the lion’s share of 24 off Matthew Revis. And after Davies was trapped lbw by a Jordan Thompson yorker – 79 for 3 in the eighth over – Hain, having come in at No. 4, took on the lead role in stunning fashion.Hain hit three leg-side sixes off seam in reaching his fifty off 34 balls on a true pitch with a fast outfield. By that stage, Bears were 141 for 4 in the 15th over.Hain looked nailed on for a second career T20 century as he went into the final over on 98. But he didn’t face another ball.In fact, he watched New Zealander Zak Foulkes whip his first ball as a Bear for six off Conor McKerr over fine leg and over the imposing Howard Stand into the neighbouring rugby ground.Seam bowling allrounder Foulkes continued his excellent start to his short-term overseas spell with the Bears when he had Adam Lyth caught behind with his third ball – 18 for 1 in the second. Davies took the catch but immediately left the field having taken a blow moments before.But, despite the wicket, Yorkshire started nicely thanks to classy Malan and inventive James Wharton. They shared 62 in six overs for the second wicket, the latter reverse sweeping a six off Dan Mousley’s spin in a rapid 29.Like Birmingham had been, Yorkshire were 98 for 3 after 10 overs, with left-arm spinner Danny Briggs having removed Wharton caught at deep midwicket and George Hill bowled.With those dismissals, Vikings’ task was getting tougher. Not that Malan agreed. He lofted Briggs over long-on for six and reached his second fifty of 2024 off 38 balls.He found a partner in ferocious South African Ferreira, and they shared 57 inside six overs for the third wicket before Malan slapped a Briggs full toss to deep midwicket – 155 for 4 in the 16th.But Yorkshire had plenty of batting left, not least Ferreira, who hit four sixes in a five-ball period off Jake Lintott’s spin and Foulkes’ seam. He reached his maiden county fifty off 26 balls.Yorkshire needed 18 off the last two overs, but Ferreira was caught at long-off against Mousley at the start of the penultimate – ultimately the key moment, leaving Vikings 197 for 5. Left-arm quick Garton then expertly closed things out, with Shan Masood failing to hit the final ball for six.