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The Gabba will be demolished after the 2032 Olympic Games, and cricket will move to a new 60,000-seater stadium in the Victoria Park area of Brisbane, which will be built for the Olympics.Queensland’s premier David Crisafulli announced the latest plans for Olympic infrastructure on Tuesday, with cricket a pivotal figure in the outcome, having been impacted by the uncertainty over what the state would do after going through various proposals since being awarded the Olympics in 2021.When Cricket Australia announced its seven-year international venue allocation in 2024, the Gabba was only guaranteed international cricket until next summer’s men’s Ashes amid the wrangling over whether the ground would be redeveloped or replaced.Related

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“This decision gives us certainty about venues and scheduling which in turn allows us to ensure Brisbane hosts the very best possible international and domestic cricket,” CA said in a statement. “We strongly advocated building a stadium in Victoria Park together with Queensland Cricket, the AFL and Brisbane Lions, and cricket will play a major role in ensuring this significant investment delivers long-term benefits for cricket fans and the people of Queensland.”On behalf of the cricket community we want to thank the Queensland Government for seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give the fans, the city and the state the stadium they deserve.”Cricket is returning to the Olympics for the 2028 edition in Los Angeles having only previously featured in 1900. Should it be retained for 2032, it is earmarked for Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena as well as the Gabba in what would shape as the ground’s final matches before it is knocked down.”Wouldn’t it be amazing to see the Australian cricket team win gold at an Olympic final? The Gabba’s swansong,” Crisafulli said at an event in Brisbane.The Gabba was initially set to be demolished and rebuilt for A$2.7 billion under the Labor government for the 2032 Games before that was scrapped amid a backlash over rising costs. It was then set for a $600 million facelift under Labor before those plans were also abandoned under the new government.”The Gabba is at its end of life,” Crisafulli said. “It hasn’t been well maintained, and we do need a stadium to host this great show, and there is an opportunity for legacy play.”It became a choice between spending billions on temporary facilities and temporary stands that delivered no legacy, or securing the future of AFL [and] cricket at a new home.”Queensland Cricket welcomed the latest plans with the new stadium providing clarity over the future.”The Gabba has been wonderful venue for cricket for many years and has provided fans and players with countless memories – however the challenges the stadium faces are well documented, and we need to look to the future,” chief executive Terry Svenson said. “There is now the opportunity for Queensland to attract the world’s best cricket events, such as ICC events, men’s and women’s Ashes Series, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between Australia and India, as well has hosting the BBL and WBBL in a new purpose-built stadium.An artist impression of Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park for the 2032 Olympics•Queensland Government

“Thirty years ago this week, the Gabba was in the very early stages of its major redevelopment as the historic Sheffield Shield Final was being played, with many ensuing highlights following in the past three decades.”Today’s decision gives us certainty after many years without clarity. We now stand at the starting line as Queensland prepares to unveil a signature stadium that will be known the world over.”The Gabba hosted its first Test in 1931 and has staged 67 men’s matches alongside two women’s Tests with the most recent being the rain-affected draw in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.It became the traditional starting point for Australian Test summers although that had changed in recent seasons with Perth staging the opening game as it will against England in 2025-26. The Brisbane Test is the second of the series and will be a day-night encounter.While it remains uncertain what international cricket the Gabba will host after next summer, it will likely stage at least white-ball matches and could still hold Test cricket again before being consigned to rubble.There is likely to be another new international venue in Australia prior to 2032 with Hobart’s proposed stadium, which will include a roof, set to be ready by 2029 as part of Tasmania gaining an AFL team.

Mumbai Indians (MI) continued their dominance over Gujarat Giants (GG) and took another step towards making a direct entry into the final of WPL 2025 with a nine-run win in their penultimate league match. The sparse home crowd was treated to a couple of stroke-filled knocks – MI captain Harmanpreet Kaur hit her third half-century in four outings at the Brabourne Stadium while Bharti Fulmali smashed her maiden WPL fifty, off just 22 balls, to give MI a mighty scare.In the first match in Mumbai this season, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amanjot Kaur played support acts to their captain as MI posted 179 for 6. GG were kept on a tight leash in reply, with the lack of dew doing them no favours. Amelia Kerr and Shabnim Ismail shared five wickets – the latter delivering the key blows of Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield – as GG were all out for 170. It was just the third time in 19 games this season that a team successfully defended a target. It was MI’s sixth win in six matches against GG in the WPL.The win took MI to ten points, on par with Delhi Capitals, with a net run rate of 0.298 (just below DC’s 0.396) and a game to spare. They play Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Tuesday in under 24 hours to round off the league stage. MI need to win that match to top the table and get a direct entry into the final, while the team that finishes second will play GG in the eliminator.Soon after GG fell just short, coach Michael Klinger said at the press conference that they tried to chase the target down in 18 overs, which would have taken them to the top of the table.

Fulmali blitz gives MIghty scare

GG were 70 for 5 in the 11th over and Deandra Dottin had survived a dropped chance just before Fulmali walked out. She got to her task by taking Sciver-Brunt for three fours in an over – one square through the off side, one over cover and then through square leg. It is not often that a batter outshines Dottin and causes headache to the opposition but such was Fulmali’s assault. Soon Kerr bowled Dottin to leave GG’s equation down to 88 off 41.Bharti Fulmali smashed a 22-ball fifty•BCCI

Fulmali then walloped Kerr over long-on and did the same to Amanjot in the next over. Overall, she scored 24 off the nine balls she faced of Kerr, including a sequence of 6, 6, 4 which helped her to a 22-ball fifty before she fell in the same over. That left GG needing 38 off the 18, which soon became 23 off 12 after Simran Shaikh, in for Dayalan Hemalatha, and Tanuja Kanwar hit Matthews for 15. But MI held their nerves despite a frenetic finish to register their fifth win in seven matches.

Opening troubles continue for MI

For the second game in a row, MI opened the batting with Kerr after being inserted. She faced the left-arm spin of Kanwar for starters before clipping Kashvee Gautam for a four. But she found it tough to rotate strike and was run-out after pushing one straight to Gardner at mid-on and setting off.It was Matthews and Sciver-Brunt who provided MI the momentum in the powerplay. They exploited the short boundary – the square boundaries measured 58m and 52m – by moving around the crease. Matthews pulled her West Indies team-mate Dottin over deep square leg for a six in the opening over before aerially sweeping Kanwar in the same region for another. Sciver-Brunt also swept Kanwar through short fine leg as MI were 44 for 1 after six overs.

The Kaurs set MI for a strong finish

Legspinner Priya Mishra had Matthews caught behind soon after the powerplay. Like she has been doing this season, Harmanpreet started off swiftly – she reversed Mishra through short third with the back of her bat and then attacked Meghna Singh in the only over she bowled. MI’s run rate hovered in the early sevens and she, in the company of Sciver-Brunt, ensured it never dipped. They added 59 off 40 before Gardner broke through.The reverse sweep from Harmanpreet Kaur… from the back of the bat•BCCI

That brought Amanjot to the crease at No. 5 for only the second time in the WPL. She drove Dottin through the covers and then meted out special treatment to Gautam, with whom she has trained with for over a decade now, hitting her for a sequence of 4, 4, 6 to help MI take 15 off the 17th over. Gautam did have the last laugh by having Amanjot caught at long-on for a 15-ball 27 to end the 19-ball 33-run stand. Harmanpreet then completed her half-century off just 31 balls as MI scored 55 off the last four overs, the exact equation GG needed in the chase.

Early strikes cost Giants

Having benched the misfiring Hemalatha, GG opted to use Gautam as the opener alongside Beth Mooney, who popped a catch to cover on the first ball of Matthews’ spell. While Gautam does possess the ability to hit big shots down the order, she was like a deer caught in headlights against the high-pace and swing of Ismail. Gautam was on 9 off 12 balls with nine dots at the end of the fifth over when GG were 34 for 1. She just managed to get away from a 120kph short ball Ismail hurled at her. Gautam fell in the last over of the powerplay, stumped off Sanskriti Gupta’s offspin.Two balls later, Ismail had Gardner caught low at slip for a two-ball duck, that was a body blow for GG. While Harleen Deol hit five fours against spin – three of them in successive balls off Matthews – she missed a googly from Kerr to be trapped lbw. GG could have lost steam and finished much lower than what they did, if not for Fulmali.

Cricket Australia XI 176 (Hearne 106, Cook 4-15) and 97 for 1 (Ward 39*, MacMillan 11*) need another 164 runs to beat England Lions 223 (Davies 54, Gannon 5-27) and 213 (McKinney 94) Durham’s Ben McKinney fell just short of a century for England Lions, as a Cricket Australia XI took control of their four-day encounter at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane.On a day when wickets continued to tumble, with 12 falling in all, the 20-year-old McKinney stood tallest to strike a composed 94 as the Lions were bowled out for 213 in their second innings.The home side reached 97 for one at the close, needing another 164 runs on day three to seal victory. Tim Ward was unbeaten at the close on 39 from 80 balls, having added 77 for the first wicket with Jayden Goodwin.Sonny Baker had earlier wrapped up the CAXI first innings without addition to their overnight 176. He dismissed centurion Lachlan Hearne with his first ball of the day to finish with four for 43, as the Lions took a 47-run lead. Sam Cook, who ran through the top-order yesterday, finished with four for 15.A youthful Lions batting line-up, featuring nine players aged 22 or under, were then unable to fully capitalise on their advantage aside from former Under-19s captain McKinney.The left-handed opener reached his half-century with a textbook cover drive to the rope but had been left with the tail when he pulled Gabe Bell and was caught on the boundary just short of his century. Last man Cook made a handy 23 from 19 balls as he and Baker added 28 for the last wicket. The CAXI wickets were shared around, with Bell and Charlie Anderson claiming three apiece.Bashir claimed the only wicket of the home side’s chase when Goodwin, son of former Zimbabwe and Sussex batter Murray, was trapped lbw on the back foot by Bashir for 35. Raf MacMillan was 11 not out at the close.

Jayden Seales registered astonishing figures of 15.5-10-5-4 as West Indies bowled out Bangladesh for 164 on the second day of the second Test at Sabina Park. Seales’ analyses were the most economical in Test cricket since 1977 (minimum 60 balls). In response, West Indies lost Mikyle Louis early but Kraigg Brathwaite and Keacy Carty took them to 70 for 1 before bad light forced early stumps for the second successive day.It was Shamar Joseph, though, who first rocked the Bangladesh innings. At one stage, the visitors were 83 for 2. In the next 34 balls, they collapsed to 98 for 6 as Shamar picked up three of the four wickets to fall.He first ended a patient stand of 73 between Shadman Islam and Shahadat Hossain by castling the latter for 22. Soon after, he had Jaker Ali caught behind with a short ball. The batter was late on the pull; he top-edged it onto his shoulder and the ball lobbed behind the stumps for an easy catch to Joshua Da Silva.In his next over, Shamar found the outside edge of Shadman to provide Da Silva his fourth catch of the innings. In between, Seales had Litton Das caught at first slip for 1.After lunch, however, Shamar and Alzarri Joseph overused the short-ball ploy against Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam. The two batters hung around for 116 balls and added 41. Eventually, Taijul fended a short ball from Alzarri to third slip.Seales then snared the last three wickets for five runs. Taskin was the first to depart. He tried to pull a short ball but the edge flew behind the stumps. Da Silva leapt and parried it towards second slip where Alick Athanaze dived backwards to pouch it with both hands.Seales had Mehidy top-edging a hook into the hands of fine leg in the same over before uprooting Nahid Rana’s leg stump to wrap up the innings.The Bangladesh seamers also started miserly, giving away only 16 runs in the ten overs before tea. After tea, Rana breached the 150kph mark multiple times and had Louis caught behind for 12.Taijul also found help from the surface and neither Brathwaite nor Carty could get him away. Seven of his ten overs were maidens but he could not pick up a wicket.

In a late swap that needed Australia’s consent, India brought in left-arm spinner Radha Yadav in place of legspinner Asha Sobhana into the playing XI for their final group fixture in Sharjah on Sunday.Asha was seen hobbling in the middle of a warm-up session just after the toss and was quickly taken out of the playing area for treatment by the support staff. She also didn’t subsequently line-up for the national anthems. Since Asha had already been named in the playing XI, India needed Australia’s nod to make the change, which came through.Australia themselves had a big blow in the lead up with Alyssa Healy, their captain, ruled out with a leg injury. Healy, who had injured her right foot in Australia’s previous game, had to use crutches to walk. In another injury update, fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after dislocating her right shoulder in the same match.”Asha Sobhana is unable to participate in the today’s game against Australia after she suffered a knee injury during the warm-up on the sidelines of toss,” a BCCI statement said. “The ICC Match Referee requested the Australian captain [Tahlia McGrath] who agreed to the request for a replacement in India’s Playing XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Asha’s progress.”Radha’s addition offers India not just a bowling option but also some lower-order batting depth. Radha didn’t start in the first three games but made a massive impact in their win over Sri Lanka by taking arguably one of the catches of the tournament at extra cover when she had come in as a substitute fielder.On match-eve, Radha was one of the bowlers who had a long one-on-one bowling session on a side net with head coach Amol Muzumdar.

Ishan Kishan will not be charged with dissent despite an on-field argument with an umpire on the fourth day in Mackay after India A were unhappy with the ball being changed.Before the first ball of the final day, umpire Shawn Craig told the Indian players the ball was changed because it was scratched, which raised the spectre of ball tampering, but a Cricket Australia statement later said it was due to “deterioration”.”You scratch it, we change the ball. No more discussion, let’s play,” Craig was heard saying over the stump microphones.That led to a heated exchange with Kishan who replied: “So we are going to play with this ball…that’s a very stupid decision.”Craig responded: “Excuse me, you’ll be on report for dissent. That’s inappropriate behaviour. Because of your actions we changed the ball.”Under the CA playing conditions, umpires are able to change the ball without awarding a five-run penalty, which is part of the laws and playing conditions for altering the condition of the ball, if there is uncertainty over how the damage occurred.CA playing condition 41.3.4 reads: “If the umpires together suspect, but are not certain, that the condition of the ball has been unfairly changed, or that its condition is inconsistent with the use it has received, the umpires may: Change the ball forthwith. The umpires shall choose a replacement ball for one of similar wear and of the same brand as the ball in use prior to the contravention; Bowler’s end umpire shall issue the captain with a first and final warning.”Three hours after the match finished, CA issued a statement saying the ball had been changed because of “deterioration” despite what was heard over the stump microphones on the coverage.”The ball used in the fourth innings of the match was changed due to deterioration,” a CA spokesperson said. “Both teams’ captain and manager were informed of the decision prior to the start of play. No further action is being taken.”Kishan will also escape any punishment despite his exchange with Craig.Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney was at the crease when play resumed but was involved in what went on.”I was at the striker’s end when the umpires said they’d changed the ball, I’m not sure what quite for, I didn’t notice any change in the ball personally,” he said.Kishan is not part of India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and neither is India A captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, from the XI which featured for the first game Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna will stay on for the Test series.The scenes at the start of play added unexpected drama to the closing stages of the first four-day game which saw McSweeney make a strong claim for a place in Australia’s Test squad as he finished unbeaten on 88 in the chase. He added an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 141 with Beau Webster who also produced a very controlled innings.Once India A didn’t make early breakthroughs on the final morning they started to go through the motions with Sai Sudharsan sending down six overs of rather friendly spin.

The last leg of Somerset’s treble bid went the way of the first two as Glamorgan won a truncated Metro Bank One-Day Cup Final on a gloomy reserve day at Trent Bridge that mercifully stayed dry long enough for them to lift the trophy for the second time in four years.In a match reduced in advance to 20-overs a side after Sunday’s total washout, overhauling Glamorgan’s 186 for 7 proved beyond them as the Welsh county, who beat Durham here to win the 50-over competition in 2021, came out on top by 15 runs, restricting Somerset to 171 for 6.Sam Northeast had anchored the Glamorgan innings with an unbeaten 63, while Billy Root added 39 off 27 balls, both hitting two sixes in a crucial fifth-wicket stand, Timm van der Gugten backing them up with 26 off just nine balls to bookend Will Smale’s 28 from 14 at the top of the innings.Skipper Sean Dickson hammered 44 from just 20 balls after Andy Umeed’s 45 from 36 for Somerset, but after offspinner Ben Kellaway and seamer Andy Gorvin had taken two wickets each, Glamorgan’s Jamie Mcilroy and Dan Douthwaite held their nerve with two fine overs at the death to finish the job.Beaten in the Vitality Blast final and knocked out of the race for the Vitality County Championship in the preceding nine days, the defeat left Somerset empty handed yet again.The only disappointment for the winning team was that their moment of triumph was witnessed in the flesh by only a smattering of spectators on the ground rather than the thousands who had turned up on Sunday.England spinner Jack Leach did not bowl a ball as Somerset opted to rely on five seamers, of whom George Thomas took 2 for 23 and left-armer Alfie Ogborn 2 for 36 from their four-over allocations.Sam Northeast cut loose for Glamorgan•Getty Images

After Sunday’s total washout forced the teams to return for the scheduled reserve day, play mercifully began on time, with the contest sensibly reduced to 20 overs per side even before the toss had been made, in anticipation of more heavy rain due to arrive in early afternoon.Somerset won the toss and opted to bowl as the Trent Bridge floodlights illuminated the misty gloom hanging over the ground.Ogborne took wickets with his third and fourth deliveries, bowling skipper Kiran Carlson before Tom Bevan shovelled tamely to short fine leg, but Glamorgan still put up 39 runs in the first four-over powerplay thanks to Smale’s aggression.Smale raced to 28 from his first 13 balls, living dangerously against Josh Davey with three boundaries over third but striking Ogborne cleanly over mid-on and for six over square leg. The threat he posed was removed when Dickson held a brilliant catch falling backwards at mid-off.After South African Colin Ingram, one of Glamorgan’s trump cards, picked out wide long-on off Thomas for just 11, Glamorgan were 71 for 4 from 10 and needed to find new energy.It came initially from Root, who cleared the rope three times, with Northeast eventually following suit with two of his own, one from a free hit, as Kasey Aldridge’s final over went for a damaging 29. They added 78 in 49 balls before Root was caught behind off Thomas.The next two wickets came quickly as Northeast’s failure to run as he was caught off a no-ball left the big-hitter Douthwaite stranded, before Kellaway sliced to short third, but van der Gugten’s swashbuckling cameo, encompassing four fours and a six off Davey hammered over long-off raised the total to something that looked defendable on a slow pitch.In reply, Somerset had Thomas run out in the third over of a stodgy powerplay and were some way off the pace at 63 for 2 from 10 after Lewis Goldsworthy, who had hit a century in the semi-final to down holders Leicestershire, picked out long-on off Kellaway, although Umeed was beginning to land some blows.A double setback followed as Umeed fell to a superb catch by Smale standing up to Andy Gorvin and James Rew was caught off a top-edged sweep as Kellaway landed his second blow, leaving Somerset 89 for 4 in the 13th and Glamorgan firm favourites.A blistering partnership of 66 in just five overs between Dickson and Archie Vaughan dragged Somerset right back into contention, Vaughan having survived Kellaway’s lbw shout on umpire’s call before he had scored.But after hammering 44 from 20 balls, hitting sixes off van der Gugten (twice) and McIlroy, Dickson reversed Gorvin to short third – from a delivery that might otherwise have been called wide – costing them critical momentum with 32 needed from 15 balls.It came down to Somerset needing 29 from the last two, a task that ultimately proved too much. Douthwaite picked up a wicket when Green heaved in the air to square leg and Vaughan’s boundary off the last ball was academic.

Warwickshire will visit Glamorgan in the Metro Bank One Day semi-finals on Sunday after a dazzling maiden List A century from Kai Smith powered them to four-wicket victory over Worcestershire at Edgbaston.Warwickshire were in deep trouble when, chasing 286, they hit 77 for 5, but Smith, whose previous List A best was 44, smashed an unbeaten 130 from 104 balls. A sixth-wicket stand of 181 in 163 balls between Smith and Will Rhodes (75) saw the Bears to 288 for 6 with six balls to spare.It was devastating turnaround for injury-ravaged Worcestershire who had totalled 286 for 9 thanks to a stylish century from Jake Libby. Already the national leading run-scorer in this year’s Metro Bank One Day Cup, the captain struck 112 from 115 balls to build on a platform set by Ed Pollock’s 54.Early wickets then put Worcestershire in command but 19-year-old Smith played with freedom, fluency and not a trace of nerves to book his side a semi-final in south Wales.Put in on a used pitch, Worcestershire openers Pollock and Gareth Roderick added 38 in ten overs before two wickets fell in five balls. Roderick was lbw to Rae and Rob Jones edged his second ball behind to reward Ed Barnard for an excellent opening spell.Pollock advanced to a 54-ball half-century against his former team-mates but added only four more before slicing a drive at Jake Lintott to point. Adam Hose, freed from Hundred duty, soon spliced Michael Booth to extra cover but Libby reached his sixth half-century of this year’s tournament (from 67 balls) and celebrated with six over mid-wicket off Barnard.Jake Libby hits through the off side•Getty Images

The captain received important support from Ethan Brookes and Tom Taylor in stands of 61 in ten overs and 28 in 18 as the pitch flattened out in the sunshine. Fateh Singh and Tom Hinley also cleared the ropes to lift Worcestershire to a strong total.They also started strongly with the ball, taking two wickets in the first five overs as Theo Wylie skied Harry Darley to mid off and Zen Malik off-stump was trimmed by an inswinger from Taylor.Barnard and Rhodes took the score to 50 before two big wickets fell in the 14th over. Barnard flicked Jack Home straight to midwicket. Three balls later, Michael Burgess was run out by a direct hit from Brookes.When Benjamin edged a cut at Brookes, Warwickshire were 77 for 5 but Rhodes and Smith were unfazed. While the former captain anchored the fightback, Smith raced to a maiden List A half-century and then onward to a scintillating ton off 89.The sixth-wicket pair had put their side in control by the time Rhodes was brilliantly caught by a sprawling Brookes from a skier. That left the Bears needing 29 from four overs and Smith and Lintott closed the game out nervelessly, Smith striking Taylor for six and four from successive balls to seal victory.

Zimbabwe 210 (Masvaure 74, Gumbie 49, McBrine 3-37, McCarthy 3-42) vs IrelandA wicketless first session gave the impression that Zimbabwe would dominate the first ever day of Test cricket in Northern Ireland, but Ireland took all ten wickets in just over 40 overs to vindicate Andy Balbirnie’s decision to bowl first on an overcast morning.Barry McCarthy’s relentless eight-over spell after lunch denied Joylord Gumbie a half-century, left Dion Myers looking clueless, and set up a 65-run session where the visitors couldn’t get away. Curtis Campher blew hot and cold but dismissed Prince Masvaure, the top scorer with 74, allowing Andy McBrine to run through the lower half of the middle order.Zimbabwe had their share of soft dismissals, and the risks their batters took, particularly after tea, backfired as they lost their last six wickets for 17 runs. A second spell of rain came amid the change of innings and took out about half an hour, which was enough for the umpires to call stumps.Zimbabwe had the upper hand going into the evening session despite losing three wickets in the afternoon. The sun had peeked out, and Sean Williams was off and running. Campher was bowling the odd beauty, but it was an innocuous back-of-a-length ball going down leg that strangled Masvaure.Williams continued to take on McBrine despite Masvaure falling, and hit two fours. The offspinner did create a chance in the 59th over, but McCarthy, running back from mid-on, spilled it. But Balbirnie was rewarded for keeping McBrine on as he turned one away to have Williams edge to slip.An adventurous first-ball swipe from Clive Madande, trying to pump the spinner down the ground, found mid-off. A bouncer from Mark Adair had Brian Bennett edge a pull to the wicketkeeper as Zimbabwe lost two wickets with the score on 193, and the next on 194. The bowling duo took another wicket each before McCarthy closed out the innings. McBrine, who started the session with the ball, bowled 11 straight overs and took 3 for 32.Prince Masvaure scored 74•Cricket Ireland

The initial damage was done after lunch. Gumbie and Masvaure, Zimbabwe’s openers, had batted through a session, softened the new ball and were inching towards a hundred stand. But Gumbie, who went into lunch unbeaten on 49, fell after facing 11 dots as he clipped a leg-stump half volley from McCarthy to Campher at square leg. Four balls later, a brief rain break forced players off the field.Masvaure was getting off strike as the bowlers strayed down leg often. A flick to fine leg was what brought up the opener’s fifty, even as Dion Myers took 14 balls to get off the mark. But Myers pulled Adair for two fours amid leaving balls with exaggerated rotations.But McCarthy bowled a legbreak, angling the ball in before straightening it off the pitch, to Myers to hit the top of off stump. He took two wickets and gave away 14 runs in an eight-over spell. Craig Ervine couldn’t get going, and the first aerial shot he played was a pull that went straight to McBrine at deep-backward square leg. Masvaure, who made 35 in both sessions, was solid all the while.Thick grey clouds, a bit of grass on the pitch, and lush outfield. The conditions couldn’t have been better for the seamers in the morning. But Gumbie and Masvaure saw off the new ball. Gumbie’s early movement across the crease to work the ball leg side resembled Steven Smith’s batting style and allowed him to score off balls in and around the fifth-stump line. Masvaure was more orthodox but just as compact to help see off McCarthy and Adair’s new-ball spell.There were a few nervy moments in the first hour. Gumbie was hit on the pad while offering no shot off McCarthy in the second over but was saved by the bounce. He edged Adair to deep third for four off the next over, fended one that reared off the pitch over the slips in the eighth, and was beaten by a jaffa that straightened off a full length in the 11th.But Gumbie, who hit the first six fours of the innings, was often able to cover the line and duck under the odd bouncer. The tension built up by Adair and Young’s consecutive maidens was dissipated in the following two overs where Masvaure drove overpitched balls. The let-off balls between the good ones allowed Zimbabwe to turn strike and go into lunch unbeaten. But loose batting and luck combined to wreck Zimbabwe’s advantage as they lost all ten wickets for 113 runs.

Leicestershire Foxes shaded a close-run North Group contest with Worcestershire Rapids to pick up their second win from four matches in the Vitality Blast.England’s Rehan Ahmed took 2 for 27 and held a vital catch to and a potentially match-winning innings of 37 off 16 balls by Ethan Brookes, with Scott Currie taking two for 22 and debutant left-arm spinner Lewis Goldsworthy, on loan from Somerset, one for 17 after Matthew Waite had earlier hit 40 from 35 as the Rapids, needing 12 off the last over, fell five short of their target.That came after the Foxes had recovered from 119 for 5 in the 16th over to post 176 for 8, Ben Cox (29 off 21) and Ben Mike (24 off 11) building on Rishi Pate’sl 48 from 42 after Louis Kimber had hit 25 off 16 earlier, with the wickets shared between Nathan Smith (3 for 39), Adam Finch (3 for 43) and skipper D’Oliveira (2 for 24).On the same pitch used for a double-header on Friday, Worcestershire opted to bowl and were rewarded with wickets in the second and third overs as Sol Budinger, aiming for midwicket, was caught at short third man, and Peter Handscomb at deep third man off an uppercut as Adam Finch banged one in short and wide.Louis Kimber led an aggressive response with four boundaries in his 16-ball 25 but was caught at long-off as Brett D’Oliveira ended a stand of 48 in 33 balls. The Foxes were 78 for 3 from 10 but suffered another setback as D’Oliveira beat the advancing Wiaan Mulder and Gareth Roderick executed a stumping.Disciplined bowling by the Rapids made acceleration difficult and 114 for 4 from 15 overs was not promising, but the Foxes managed to up the tempo in the last five, adding 62 runs, a good return even at a cost of four wickets.The loss of Patel, holing out to wide long-on, looked a potentially serious blow but Cox struck 29 off 21 balls before he was caught behind and while Rehan Ahmed and Lewis Goldsworthy fell cheaply, the former failing to clear long-on and Goldsworthy grabbed one-handed in his follow-through by Smith, Mike’s two fours and a six off Finch’s last three deliveries in a 17-run 19th over, followed by 15 more off the last, ensured a competitive score.At 55 without loss from six from their batting powerplay, Worcestershire had their noses in front. Yet their progress was checked by spinners Goldsworthy and Rehan, who conceded only 27 in the next five, with the latter bowling D’Oliveira (32 from 25) on the reverse to end a stand of 70 in 55 balls.The Rapids surged when Josh Cobb twice cleared the legside boundary in thumping Ben Mike for 21 in an over but two wickets in three overs left them with a target of 57 from the last 30 balls after Waite had skied Scott Currie to square leg and Goldsworthy – making his debut on loan from Somerset – had Adam Hose stumped.Two big overs from Brookes, who hit sixes off Mulder and then Hull, brought it down to 28 from 18 but Rehan kept it in the balance by bowling Cobb (34 from 35) off an inside edge and after Rehan had taken a fine catch at deep cover to help Currie remove Brookes the requirement was 12 off the last six balls.Hull marred an otherwise fine last over with a no-ball but had Taylor well caught by Currie at mid-off before, with six needed, Ed Pollock swung in hope at the last delivery and missed.