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The ECB are confident they will be able to fulfil their home international fixture programme despite India being added to the ‘red list’ of countries from which most travel to the UK has been banned due to fears of a new Covid variant.Under new regulations, most people who have been in India in the last 10 days will be banned from entering the UK from 4am on Friday. British or Irish residents, or those with residence rights within the UK, will be obliged to serve a 10-day quarantine period. There is, at present, no dispensation available to allow sportspeople to train out of their rooms while they serve that quarantine period.There is a concern that a new variant of the virus, which appears to be relatively prevalent in India, could spread more easily and prove more resistant to vaccinations. The UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has cancelled a visit to India which was scheduled to take place next week.India are scheduled to play in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June and a five-Test series against England starting in August. Pakistan, which is also on the red list, are also scheduled to play ODI and T20I series in England in the coming months, while India’s women’s team is also scheduled to play a series in June.But although the ECB are likely to require dispensation from the UK government to stage such tours, they are optimistic that all games will be given the go-ahead.Having fulfilled their full home schedule in 2020, the ECB feel they have the experience and capability to combat the demands of the situation. Crucially, they also believe they gained the confidence of the UK government by demonstrating their ability to build an effective bio-bubble and stage matches without compromising safety. England were able to host series against West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia in 2020 with players of all sides obliged to abide by strict protocols, including serving quarantine periods.”We are currently discussing with Government the impact of countries being on the ‘red list’,” an ECB spokesperson said. “By working collaboratively we demonstrated how we can stage international cricket safely in the middle of a pandemic and hope to be able to do so again this year.”Related

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It is unlikely the news will have much of an impact on England’s players involved in the IPL. While some may be alarmed at infection rates in India – new cases have risen to over 200,000 a day and only the USA has reported more deaths from the virus – the players are already living in bio-bubbles and playing in empty stadiums.It could, however, lengthen the process by which players can appear elsewhere, having been involved in the IPL. That could make it difficult for players at the IPL to be available for the Test series between New Zealand and England which starts on June 2. New Zealand players involved in the tournament include their captain, Kane Williamson, while England players involved include Jos Buttler. The IPL final takes place on May 30.The ICC are also confident that the World Test Championship final, due to be played at the Ageas Bowl near Southampton in June, will go ahead as planned, although they may need the UK government to grant dispensation for the event, and for the hotel at the ground to be considered an approved quarantine centre.”We are currently discussing with the UK Government the impact of countries being on the ‘red list’,” an ICC spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. “The ECB and other Members have demonstrated how we can stage international cricket safely in the middle of a pandemic and we are confident that we can continue to do that and that the World Test Championship Final will go ahead as planned in June in the UK.”

When a heavy snow shower ended this match just after lunch on the final day one or two wiseacres at Old Trafford suggested it was all one could expect if one played cricket at such a damn silly time of year. What such people appear to forget is that a year ago when the country had just entered its first lockdown, God’s mordant wit furnished us with one of the balmiest and driest springs in memory. It seems absurd to rule out playing first-class cricket in both April and September simply because the weather is a little iffy; if that was the criterion, we’d hardly get out there at all.Two much more persuasive analyses of this match were supplied after its conclusion by the Sussex skipper, Ben Brown, and Lancashire’s assistant coach, Mark Chilton. They suggested that a game many will recall for the complete absence of both spectators and warmth has still supplied much from which their players can benefit as they ready themselves for the five gorgeous months that await us. Lancashire already knew Dane Vilas was a batsman of the highest class, of course; his 189 was barely par. But the manner in which the home attack approached their work on this final morning, albeit they took only two wickets, was impressive indeed.

Cricket to pay respect to Prince Philip

Play in the County Championship next Saturday will pause between 2.50pm and 4.10pm, to coincide with the funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The ECB has also recommended that play in recreational cricket stops between 3pm and 4pm, to allow players to observe the one minute’s silence at 3pm.

“That first session is a benchmark now,” said Chilton. “We played with great intensity even when we weren’t picking up wickets. That’s the level at which the players want to perform and if they continue like that, they’ll get the results.”To a degree one needed to watch the cricket closely for two hours to see what Chilton meant. The maintenance of lines of attack, the scarcity of loose balls and the enthusiasm of Lancashire’s fielding rewarded careful study. Even then, Sussex’s openers, Tom Haines and Aaron Thomason resisted Saqib Mahmood, Tom Bailey et al for over an hour until Mahmood took two wickets in successive overs. The first of these fell after two long legs had been posted for Haines, who obliged by hooking the ball straight to Tom Hartley, the finer of the fielders. Less than ten minutes later Stiaan van Zyl’s rather miserable return to the colours was completed when he was leg before to Mahmood for 4, but Thomason and Tom Clark took their team to lunch without further mishap.Not, however, without further comment. Thomason, a properly combative fellow, had apparently already irritated Lancashire by his desire to go off for bad light on Saturday evening, although his keenness may be attributed to an understandable wish to avoid hypothermia. However, when Luke Wood piled into 20-year-old Clark in an attempt to unsettle the lad, Thomason was soon atop the barricades. He and Vilas had already exchanged pleasantries when the umpires decided to snuff the matter out before it graduated from tetchiness to hostility. This attempt was only partially successful for it appeared that Neil Bainton and Martin Saggers were monitoring the situation throughout the morning, rather in the manner of United Nations peacekeepers. In truth the affair was manbags at coffee-time. There will be a few more such contretemps before September is out.But the argy bargy encouraged Brown, who had led the Sussex side comprehensively disembowelled by Lancashire on three boiling days in July 2019. And even more heartening to him had been the bowling of offspinner Jack Carson in freezing condition on a very good pitch and that of debutant Sean Hunt, who picked up three wickets and was the pick of Brown’s seamers in Lancashire’s first innings.”I’m really proud of our efforts,” said Brown. “To go toe to toe with a really strong Lancashire side, one that you would expect to be up there at the end of the season, was a great start to the season. To judge from that last session of fiery cricket I think we rather surprised Lancashire and it’s just a shame that the weather took a hand on the last two days.”To see the guys have each other’s backs is something I’m very passionate about. I thought it was really hard first-class cricket but Sussex v Lancashire has a fantastic tradition of fiery games and to renew that and see people stand up for each other made it an excellent start to the season.”So what price playing in April now? Sussex travel to Cardiff on Wednesday where they will meet a Glamorgan side buoyed by the cricket they played at Headingley. Lancashire host Northants, who responded to Kent’s tall score at Canterbury with one of their own. And all 18 teams have a chance of winning the County Championship. Heavens above, if things carry on like this, there is a danger we might start enjoying ourselves.

The BCCI has granted four India Women players No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for their participation in the inaugural Hundred, the eight-team tournament which starts on July 21.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Indian board has already sent the ECB the NOCs and the official announcement regarding the four contracted players comprising the Indian contingent is likely to made by the teams soon.Related

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The Indian players with the Hundred contracts will extend their stay in the UK following the completion of India’s multi-format assignment against hosts England which begins with a one-off Test on Bristol on June 16 and concludes with the third and final T20I on July 15. A three-match ODI series is also slotted in between.Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, and Deepti Sharma made up the Indian contingent at the now-defunct Kia Super League (KSL), the ECB’s domestic T20 tournament that made way for the Women’s Hundred.Twenty of the 24 overseas signings for the women’s competition have already been made, with confirmation of Ellyse Perry’s involvement in March making her the 11th Australian player to sign on. The four teams with one vacant overseas spot each are Southern Brave, London Spirit, Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers.During India’s home series against South Africa in March, India T20I vice-captain Mandhana, who represented the Western Storm in the 2018 and 2019 seasons of the KSL, had confirmed that the ECB and the BCCI had been in touch regarding the NOCs.The Hundred, which was postponed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will kick off with the women’s match between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals in London before their respective men’s sides meet the following day.With no player draft for the women, teams are selected by their respective head coaches. Players with contracts for 2020 were given the option to roll them over to 2021 at the same salary band, or to negotiate with other teams. Teams can sign a maximum of three players with England central contracts, and have until June 2021 to finalise their squads.Some of the big overseas names in the tournament include Sophie Devine (Birmingham Phoenix), Deandra Dottin (London Spirit), Marizanne Kapp (Oval Invincibles), and Meg Lanning (Welsh Fire).

From Lord’s to Eden Gardens, Jhulan Goswami’s immense contribution to world cricket in her career at the highest level for over two decades was celebrated with gusto on Saturday, the day of her farewell appearance for India. At Lord’s, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur brought Goswami out with her for the toss ahead of the final ODI, and there were tearful scenes at the team huddle. While across at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Goswami’s home venue, plans to name a stand after her were unveiled.Goswami has had a good finish to her long international career, which started in January 2002, as she bowled tight spells in the first two ODIs, both of which India won to seal the series with the match on Saturday left to play. The last time India won an ODI series in England was in 1999.Related

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On Saturday, the celebrations started around the time of the toss. The outgoing England team coach Lisa Keightley presented Goswami with a shirt signed by the England players. Harmanpreet allowed Goswami to be captain, in a fashion, for a while. And then there were lots of photographs.”When I debuted, that time she was the captain,” Harmanpreet would say at the post-match presentation. “Even in the huddle before the game, I told her when I was going through the best time, many people were around me and supporting me but in my rough times, she was the only one who was backing and supporting me and I just wanted to say thank you to her. I know it was her last game but she will always be with us and she is just a call away when we need her. She is my go-to person. In my low phase, I always call her and discuss what I have to do. She is someone who [always] guided me.”Harmanpreet Kaur played her part by letting Jhulan Goswami go out for the toss•ECB via Getty Images

Goswami said on the official broadcast: “Thanks to BCCI and Cricket Association of Bengal [CAB], my family, coaches, captains, thanks for this opportunity. It’s a special moment. I started in 2002 against England [in India] and ending in England. Most important thing is we are 2-0 up in the series.”Each and every moment has a lot of emotions. In 2017 [ODI] World Cup, we came back and fought, nobody initially thought we would get into the final, the way we played that tournament was something different. From there, women’s cricket in India slowly, gradually it picked up, and now we have our own path and we can motivate young girls to play sports and have a career in cricket.”I have to [keep my emotions in check] because I can’t come with emotion on the cricket field. My character is ruthless; you have to play hard cricket and give your best. A lot of team-mates, people like Harman and Smriti [Mandhana], have seen me, with ups and downs, we’ve fought and stayed together through ups and downs. It’s good that the emotions come out early and after we can come back fresh for the game. I’m happy to see the way Harman and Smriti have carried this team. The way Harman’s batting has been great. She’s different, on her day it’s difficult to get her out. Some days, it’s difficult for me to get her. I’m glad with the way players like Yastika [Bhatia] and Harleen [Deol] are coming. Hope they come well in the future.”Not long after that, CAB, Goswami’s home cricket association in India, announced their own honour for the star bowler. CAB had earlier arranged a screening of the farewell match at an auditorium in the city, with young women cricketers and CAB officials and members in attendance.”We are planning to name a stand after Jhulan Goswami at Eden Gardens. She is a special cricketer and deserves to be with the legends,” Avishek Dalmiya, the CAB president, said. “We will approach the army [the owners of the stadium] for the necessary permission. We are also planning a special felicitation for her on the annual day.”At CAB we give equal importance to women’s cricket and hence we see so many talented cricketers. They are of course inspired by Jhulan’s achievements. Though she has retired from international cricket we would love her to play in the woman’s IPL [which is expected to start next year].”Snehasish Ganguly, the CAB secretary, added: “We have made her the mentor of the Bengal women’s cricket as we want to get her valuable advice. We have plans to involve her in development of women’s cricket. We also want her to play domestic cricket if she wants.”Jhulan Goswami knocks over Kate Cross in her final game•Getty Images

A day after her final international match, Goswami took to social media to put out an official statement about her retirement, thanking a number of people who had played a part in her long cricketing journey. “Like every journey has an end, my cricket journey of over 20 years ends today as I announce my retirement from all forms of cricket,” she wrote. “As Ernest Hemingway said, ‘It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end’. For me this journey has been the most satisfying. It has been exhilarating, thrilling to say the least adventurous.”Cricket has given me several gifts over the years, the greatest and the best without doubt, has been the people I have met along this journey. The friends I made, my competitors, team-mates, the journalists I interacted with, match officials, board administrators and people who loved watching me play.”I have always been honest as a cricketer and hope, I have been able to contribute to the growth of women’s cricket in India and the world,” she wrote. “I hope I have been successful in inspiring the next generation of girls to play this beautiful game. Ever since watching the Women’s World Cup final at Eden Gardens back in 1997, it was my dream to play for India, and I am thankful to the BCCI, CAB, Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) and Air India officials for reposing faith in me and giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream.”I want to thank the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for taking care of my injuries and keeping me fit as a fiddle over the years. I am grateful to all the coaches, trainers, physios, and ground staff who have been an integral part of this journey. A huge shout out to all the captains I have played under. Their faith in my abilities helped build my confidence.”I want to take a moment to thank my family (my parents, siblings) who stood by me in every situation. Not to forget my friends, who have been my best critics and biggest supporters. Last but not the least, I want to thank my childhood coach for having backed me in my endeavour. I also want to express my gratitude towards my fans, journalists, broadcasters for backing me and giving wings to women’s cricket.”

Haris Sohail has been ruled out of the England tour with a grade 3 hamstring injury and will return to Lahore by the first available flight to undergo a four-week rehabilitation programme at the high performance centre. He was meant to make a comeback in ODIs after he was dropped last year after the Zimbabwe series.Pakistan have not named a replacement because they are carrying a large squad and have the options of Sohaib Maqsood, Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman to fill in.Sohail was dropped from the Test side as well after the New Zealand tour earlier this year and since then he only played four List A games – for Balochistan – in January. He scored an unbeaten century in four games in the Pakistan Cup, scoring 164 runs but he missed a big chunk of the tournament when he was in New Zealand. He was picked for the ODIs in England after missing out in the series against South Africa.Pakistan landed in England on June 25, started training on June 28, and Sohail complained about a strain in his leg muscle after two net sessions. He pulled out of the first intra-squad practice game on July 1 and later missed the second one as well. An MRI scan on Wednesday confirmed he had a tear in his hamstring. The PCB said he sustained the injury during a training session in Derby last week.”I was keenly looking forward to the ODIs as part of my objective to contribute in the side’s success and also cement my position in the side,” Sohail said after being ruled out of the tour. “I am disappointed that my tour has been cut short, but I will return to Lahore and undergo a rehabilitation programme so that I can fully recover for the 2021-22 season.”Sohail, who made his international debut in 2013, is considered one of the finest batters in Pakistan but was never able to cement his place. In 2015, he was “spooked” in his Christchurch hotel room and he returned home without playing for Pakistan after the frightful experience.Earlier this year he was named in the Test squad for New Zealand, but he missed the training sessions and practice match owing to a thumb injury. He later turned up to play both the Tests and scored 3, 9, 1 and 15 before being dropped across formats.In the last eight years, he has played 16 Tests (847 runs at 32.57), 42 ODIs (1685 at 46.80) and 14 T20Is (210 at 19.09, strike rate of 102.94).Last year he pulled out of the England tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic as he decided not to stay in isolation, which was a mandatory quarantine period for all foreigners travelling to the UK.Pakistan’s three-match ODI series begins later today in Cardiff, which will be followed by three T20Is on July 16, 18 and 20. The side will depart for the West Indies on July 21 where they will play five T20Is and two Tests from July 27 to August 24.

Amid growing speculation around his future as PCB chairman, Ehsan Mani is set to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday. The meeting has, it is understood, been convened on Imran’s wishes, and could be seen as significant to Mani’s future within the board.Mani’s current term is due to end on August 25, two days after the meeting, though he has recently said he intends to continue in the post. Whether he does or does not, however, has become the subject of intense speculation in recent days in which the name of Ramiz Raja, the commentator and former Pakistan captain, has cropped up as a potential successor.The Prime Minister is also patron of the PCB and the constitutional authority who, via the two nominees he appoints to the PCB board of governors, has a say in who becomes board chairperson. The ten-member governing board also includes four independent members, three provisional cricket association heads, and the chief executive officer. While all nine existing board members are eligible to contest the elections, historically only one of the two individuals directly nominated by the Prime Minister has become the PCB chairman.Though the two nominees are yet to be named, the patron’s office has already named a former supreme court judge, Justice (retired) Sheikh Azmat, as the commissioner to carry out the election of the PCB chairperson. Mani was previously the only candidate to have submitted his nomination papers for the post, and all members of the Board of Governors unanimously voted for him to head the PCB. He had replaced Najam Sethi, who had resigned when Imran’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), came to power in the federal government.In case the patron extends Mani’s tenure, he will have to go through another process for his re-election as, according to the PCB constitution, a chairperson’s total tenure “shall in no case exceed a period of six years”. Mani has only completed three years so far.No agenda has been revealed for the meeting with the Prime Minister, but the performance and the highlights over Mani’s three years as chairman are likely to be discussed. During his term, Mani revamped the functioning of the PCB, redrafting the board’s constitution to bring it in line with the practices of corporate governance. Until 2019, the PCB chairperson could also act as CEO, which gave them the power to implement whichever of the board’s policies they thought were fit. This has since been curbed by introducing the position of a chief executive officer.The PCB under Mani also brought in enormous changes in the domestic structure, dismantling the previous mix of departmental and regional cricket and implementing the provincial-team model at Imran’s insistence. The change sparked country-wide outrage with the new system costing several players their livelihoods, but the PCB eventually created jobs for all veteran cricketers at the association level, offering them opportunities on various scales ranging from administrative jobs to field jobs.Mani has also put in place a through review of Pakistan cricket’s biggest revenue-generating product, the Pakistan Super League, and faces a time crunch to revise the financial model of the league. The PSL is set to reassess the value of its assets this year before selling its commercial and broadcasting rights. The last three-year cycle for the TV and digital streaming rights, worth approximately USD 36 million, has come to an end this year.

Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, has admitted that Mark Wood may end up joining a list of absentees including Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes for next week’s third Test against India, after bowling through the pain of an injured shoulder during England’s disastrous final-day capitulation at Lord’s.Wood, who landed heavily on his right shoulder while fielding on the fourth evening of the second Test, was still able to touch speeds of 94mph during a hostile but ineffective spell on the final morning. However, the effort caused him clear pain – not least when he jarred the same shoulder after tumbling in his followthrough – and Silverwood said he would be closely monitored by the England medical team ahead of the third Test, which gets underway at Headingley on August 25.”The medics are working on him, we’ll find out more in the next couple of days,” Silverwood said on the morning after England’s 151-run loss. “We will make a decision, along with him and our medics, closer to the time. But if he’s not right, he’s not right. I certainly won’t push him into playing if he tells me he’s not right. I will look after him.”The prospect of England losing yet another of their point-of-difference bowlers is a daunting one, given how shell-shocked the team was by the events of the fifth day at Lord’s. A winning position was ripped away by an unbeaten ninth-wicket stand of 89 between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, before the same pairing led the line in blasting England out for 120 in just 51.5 overs across the final two sessions.While Wood’s effort in the course of India’s decisive partnership could not be faulted, the tactics most certainly could – with Root accepting responsibility at the end of the match for what was interpreted as an over-emotional attempt to get back at Bumrah in particular, after his short-pitched assault on England’s No.11 James Anderson in the final moments of the third day’s play.”I saw Joe took that on himself in the interview afterwards, but it’s a collective and I’m part of that as well,” Silverwood said. “Emotions ran high, there’s no doubt about it. They obviously targeted Jimmy in that first innings, so we went back hard at them as well. We tried to go toe-to-toe with them, but what we could have done better is shift from that tactic back to Plan A, and hitting the top of off.Mark Wood did some damage to his shoulder while diving to field a ball•Getty Images

“I don’t mind the aggressive approach,” he added. “One thing we have to become good at is removing lower-order batsmen. But equally I’d like to give some credit to the Indian batsmen as well. I thought they handled the situation really well. They navigated their way through it and put their team in a really strong position. They have to take some credit but equally we have to look at our tactics.”However, Silverwood had nothing but praise for the manner in which Wood himself had interpreted those tactics, especially given that his fierce extraction of India’s top three earlier in the innings – including Rohit Sharma on the hook and Cheteshwar Pujara with a lifter late on the fourth evening – had been instrumental in setting up England’s victory chance.”What he did for the team, and the effort to bowl at 90mph with a sore shoulder, it just shows how much he cares about the team and how much he cares about playing for England, and how passionate he is,” Silverwood said.”It was a superb effort. I’m very proud of him for what he did there. He’ll be trying his best to get ready for Leeds, and I will give him every chance to be fit, but at the same time, it is massively important that we look after Woody. He is a prized asset. We have found ourselves in the position, when you lose Archer and [Olly] Stone, we have got one guy left that can bowl that fast.”Silverwood also warned that there was little prospect of seeing the return of Stokes next week at Headingley, the venue where he etched his name into Ashes folklore in 2019 with his epic match-winning century. Stokes withdrew his availability before the start of the India series due to burn-out, allied to the complications caused by a badly broken finger, and despite the apparent desperation of England’s series situation, Silverwood said there would be no SOS from the England camp.Chris Sliverwood will not be pushing Ben Stokes to come out of his self-imposed break•Getty Images

“There’s still no time limit on it, to be honest,” he said. “The important thing is that Ben is okay, his family are okay, and that he comes back strong, and when he when re-enters the frame, he’s ready in his mindset to come back to perform for England, like we know he can.”I’m certainly not pushing him for an answer. I don’t think that would be the right thing to do. There’s people around him, supporting him, and when he’s ready to come back in, obviously we’ll welcome him back with open arms.”But until then he’ll get all the support he needs. There’s no pushing from my point of view, I don’t think you can push these issues. I’ll wait.”Woakes also remains a doubt for Headingley after sustaining a foot injury prior to the series, with Silverwood admitting he “didn’t have an answer” about his prospects of a return. England’s problems, however, extend far beyond their fast-bowling stocks, given that their top three of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Haseeb Hameed each made ducks at Lord’s, with only Burns contributing a score of any note with his first-innings 49.The current lack of red-ball cricket in the county schedule is an added complication, and Silverwood admitted that England’s selectors would “have to think of everything” when they meet on Tuesday evening to decide on the squad for Headingley – including a prospective break for Sibley, and recalls for two men whose last extended runs in the side came on the 2017-18 Ashes tour, James Vince and Dawid Malan.6:25

Harmison: England openers have reached an all-time low

“I’ve got to keep my eyes and ears open, and my mind open to all suggestions, and it’s certainly something that we’ll be talking about this evening in selection, when we all get together,” Silverwood said. “It’s not like I’m not in touch with these guys.I’ve seen them over the various formats and my relationship with these guys is very good. I’m quite close to them so I wouldn’t say you can’t do it.”I don’t think there is any ideal process out there. We have to make the best of what we’ve got,” he added. “It’s difficult to bring people in from, say, the Hundred or the Royal London Cup. To throw them into Test cricket, we’ve seen that the pressure is huge in this series. It’s being played with a lot of passion, which is great to see, but it is a difficult transition.”You’ve got to do what’s best for the team, ultimately, and find the best way of progressing England to a place where big first-innings runs – and second-innings runs – come in on a consistent basis.”For the time being, however, Silverwood urged his players to use their week off wisely before reconvening at Headingley with fresh minds, safe in the knowledge that they have battled back from 1-0 deficits before, both in the 2019 Ashes, and in their 3-1 victory in South Africa the following winter.”We’ve got a little bit space now, so they can go home, spend a bit of time with their families, calm down a little bit, and clear their minds and come back fresh.”It’s not a position that we’re not used to. We’ve been in this position before, so I’ve made sure that we remember those feelings, remember those times, and how we did it. They’ve got the belief that they can do it, because they have done it before.”

Opener Lizelle Lee’s 75 off 52 balls helped South Africa set up a 50-run win over the hosts West Indies in the second T20I in Antigua and move up 1-0 in the series.The visitors, who were put in to bat, were off to a strong start with Lee and Dane van Niekerk combining to put up a 53-run opening stand. It was left-arm quick Qiana Joseph who made the breakthrough with van Niekerk’s wicket in the seventh over. But Lee continued on, partnering with Marizanne Kapp this time for the second wicket as the duo put up a 69-run stand. Lee brought up her fifty off 39 balls.The duo kept the runs flowing before Hayley Matthews thwarted them with a double strike in the 18th over. Lee departed for 75, hitting 12 fours and one six while Kapp was dismissed for a 32-ball 24. Laura Wolvaardt then provided the perfect finish with a nine-ball 33 in which she cracked four consecutive sixes off Matthews in the last four balls of the innings, taking the total to 165.The hosts made a good start in the chase, racing to 21 in 2.3 overs. But following Matthews’ dismissal off the next ball, Nonkululeko Mlaba and Kapp struck regularly to keep West Indies’ top-order batters in check with the asking rate climbing. Ayabonga Khaka was frugal in her four overs, conceding just eight runs and picking two wickets.”We are very happy with how we handled ourselves in today’s match against the West Indies,” Wolvaardt said after the match.”As a team I feel we did what was required from us and executed our plans very well. This result goes a long way in lifting our confidence for the rest of series against a very strong Windies team and hopefully keep that good performance going.”The sides will meet in the decider in the third and final T20I, scheduled to take place at the same venue on September 5. The first T20I was called off due to rain.

Chasing down 191 was never going to be easy for Scotland but no one would have expected them to collapse in the manner they did. Mujeeb Ur Rahman rocked their chase with a three-wicket over, and went on to complete his maiden five-for in T20Is, finishing with figures of 4-0-20-5.The lower order then stood no chance against Rashid Khan, who picked up 4 for 9 in 2.2 overs as Scotland were bundled out for 60 in 10.2 overs. The margin of victory, 130 runs, was the biggest for Afghanistan in this format.

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Earlier, after Mohammad Nabi had opted to bat, Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad provided Afghanistan with a blazing start, with the fifty coming up in just 5.1 overs. Najibullah Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz then added 87 in 8.4 overs for the third wicket to lift the side to a total that proved well out of Scotland’s reach.A power-packed powerplay
Coming into this match, Shahzad had scored 309 runs in six T20Is against Scotland at an average of 51.50 and a strike rate of 148.55. In four of those games, he was the Player of the Match.Shahzad was playing his first game for Afghanistan since June 2019, but it didn’t seem to matter as he started in his typical aggressive manner: smashing the first ball he faced, from offspinner Michael Leask, over long-off for a six.Two balls later, Zazai targeted the deep-midwicket region for his first six. That was the shorter side of the ground as well. But soon the dimensions stopped mattering. In the fifth over, Zazai took on the longer boundary and smashed Brad Wheal for a 101-metre six.Shahzad fell to Safyaan Sharif for a 15-ball 22 on the penultimate ball of the next over, but the onslaught from the openers meant Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 55 for 1, the joint-most by a team in this World Cup.Watt applies brakes before Zadran, Gurbaz re-accelerate
After the powerplay, Zazai hit only one boundary – a six off Chris Greaves – before Mark Watt bowled him with a 107kph yorker.Gurbaz, meanwhile, took seven balls to open his account. At one point, he was on 15 off 20 balls and it started looking like Scotland could pull things back.Mujeeb Ur Rahman registered his best figures in T20Is•ICC via Getty

That wasn’t to be the case though as Zadran kept founding boundaries at regular intervals. The hundred came up for Afghanistan in the 13th over. Soon Gurbaz too found his touch. After moving to 23 off 27, he helicoptered Josh Davey over deep-midwicket before launching Wheal for two more sixes in the 17th over.Watt, who had conceded only ten from his first three overs, bore the brunt too, with Zadran hitting him for a four and a six in a 13-run over. Gurbaz fell for 46 but Zadran didn’t miss out on the half-century, bringing up the milestone off 30 balls and helping his side to a daunting total.Mujeeb rocks Scotland’s chase
George Munsey started Scotland’s chase with a reverse-swept four followed by a reverse-swept six off Nabi in the first over. He tried the same shot against Mujeeb in the next over, but the bowler’s pace didn’t allow him to connect his attempts.Kyle Coetzer hit two fours off Naveen-ul-Haq to take the side to 27 for no loss after three overs. That was the last time anything went Scotland’s way as Mujeeb picked up three wickets – all off googlies – in one over.Coetzer was the first to go, bowled through the gate. Calum MacLeod lasted just one ball and was lbw. Richie Berrington survived the hat-trick ball but lasted only two more deliveries as Mujeeb snared him lbw on the last ball of the over.Mujeeb completes five-for, Rashid cleans up the tail
From the other end, Naveen had Matthew Cross caught behind, Shahzad diving full-stretch to his right to take the catch.Mujeeb then rattled Munsey’s stumps from around the wicket to leave Scotland 36 for 5, with Rashid still to come into the attack.Rashid struck with his third ball, this time Leask failing to read the googly and being lbw. In the next over, Mujeeb completed his five-for by bowling Watt with a carrom ball before Rashid polished off the tail.

Marcus Harris’ magic touch continued at Drummoyne Oval, where the opener snaffled a one-handed catch to help Victoria secure a 204-run Sheffield Shield victory over NSW.NSW, set a target of 339 when Peter Handscomb declared late on day three in Sydney, resumed at 1 for 33 on Saturday morning. The hosts were bowled out for 134, with top-scorer Peter Nevill fighting hard to almost drag the contest into its final hour but eventually running out of partners.Former Test keeper Nevill remained unbeaten on 29 from 129 deliveries, with Tanveer Sangha’s dismissal to Jon Holland ending the match.On-song paceman Scott Boland, who snared the key scalp of captain Kurtis Patterson with a delivery that kept low and struck off stump, finished with a match haul of 7 for 73. Boland also removed Gilkes and Jack Edwards on day four. Edwards, Sean Abbott, Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon faced a combined 209 balls during NSW’s stonewall.Related

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Friday’s centuries from Harris and Handscomb put their side in the box seat for victory, while also sending a timely reminder of their talent to national selectors. Harris then held catches to dismiss Matthew Gilkes and Abbott on Saturday, with the former a sensationally sharp effort at gully.”I’m not sure he saw that,” Handscomb said. “It happened to stick…it was awesome. In terms of his batting, he’s picked up where he left off last season for Victoria and also in England this year.”He’s in red-hot form. Great for him to come out here and do this in the first game. Especially with the Ashes coming up, he can take a lot of confidence going into that.”Handscomb noted he would relish a chance to play for Australia A or Australia in coming months but was looking no further ahead than the MCG clash with NSW that begins on Friday.”If that opportunity came, I’d grab it with both hands,” Handscomb said.Prodigy Will Pucovski, who sat out this match because of concussion, and express paceman James Pattinson, who recently retired from international cricket, are likely to return next week.”What a good problem to have. You have a win then two Australia players coming back into the fold,” Handscomb said. “I’m sure all the right protocols are happening [with Pucovski] and when he’s ready to go, he’ll be out there.”NSW coach Phil Jaques indicated allrounder Moises Henriques was an unlikely starter in the next Shield match. Jaques praised the venue-record stand of 261 runs between Harris and Handscomb, while lamenting his own charges’ batting.”We were on the wrong end of a pretty good partnership between two pretty good players at the top of their game,” former Test opener Jaques said. “I know they’re hurting. We’ll bounce back really quickly…we’ll be looking to try to get some revenge on them next week.”