Phillips hundred highlights final-day scramble for bonus points

Middlesex promotion push takes a hit as Gloucestershire No. 3 notches maiden century

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay01-Aug-2025Gloucestershire 404 for 9 dec (Phillips 136, Hammond 71, Bancroft 58) drew with Middlesex 445 (Williamson 153, Hollman 60, De Caires 58, Du Plooy 57)Gloucestershire’s Joe Phillips hit his maiden first class century as the rain-ruined Rothesay County Championship Division Two match with Middlesex ended in an inevitable draw.After the third day washout, a still wet outfield prevented any play until 1.25pm, with a minimum of 68 overs left in the game. Resuming their first innings on 54 for 1, a deficit of 391, Gloucestershire extended it to 400 for 9 by stumps, 21-year-old Cornishman Phillips making 136 from 182 balls, with 19 fours.Miles Hammond contributed an attractive 71 and Cameron Bancroft 58. But there had been too little time on a placid pitch for the teams to conjure a decisive outcome and both had to settle for 15 points.Following an early lunch at 12.45pm, Phillips and skipper Bancroft played confidently on a pitch still proving surprisingly straightforward to bat on considering it was shaved at both ends.Unbeaten on 11 at the start, Phillips had a scare on 34 when advancing down the pitch to offspinner Josh De Caires and edging between wicketkeeper and first slip for four. It was a rare moment of anxiety for Gloucestershire as Bancroft was first to his half-century, off 104 balls, with nine fours.The experienced Aussie was looking in prime form and it was a surprise when, with the total advanced to 126, he was bowled off a bottom edge aiming to pull a boundary off left-arm seamer Noah Cornwell.By then Phillips was treating the sparse crowd to a range of sweetly-timed strokes off front and back foot, a single to deep cover off Luke Hollman’s legspin taking him to fifty off 92 deliveries, with five fours. Two more boundaries followed from fierce pull shots in the same Cornwell over.Ollie Price was soon looking equally at home on the two-tone coloured surface. A glorious square drive for four off Ryan Higgins took Truro-born Phillips past his previous best first-class score of 80, made on the same ground against Worcestershire in 2023.By tea, he had moved to 96 and, with Price unbeaten on 33, Gloucestershire were 209 for 2, still trailing by 236. A looping full toss from Sam Robson gave Phillips the chance to strike the boundary that brought up his century off 145 balls. It was his 15th four and he raised a clenched fist in the air to celebrate.Price departed soon afterwards for 34, caught behind top-edging a sweep off Robson’s leg-breaks. The dismissal meant a first bowling point for Middlesex on a day their promotion hopes suffered a damaging blow with Glamorgan’s victory over Lancashire.Phillips and Hammond took Gloucestershire to 250 and a batting point. With more bonus points up for grabs, neither team wanted to shake hands on the draw.Using his feet well to attack the spinners, Phillips continued on his merry way, while Hammond also went on the attack at every opportunity. Their entertaining stand of 66 in 12.1 overs ended when Phillips holed out to long-on off Higgins.Cheltenham-born Hammond, who often flourishes at the Festival, advanced to smack a straight six off De Caires as Gloucestershire progressed to a second batting point, losing James Bracey cheaply, caught at mid-on off De Caires with the total on 299.Hollman earned Middlesex a second bowling point when having Graeme van Buuren caught at slip. But Hammond moved to a fluent half-century off 63 balls before Zaman Akhter was seventh man out, caught at backward square leg sweeping a ball from Hollman with eight overs remaining.A Hammond six off Hollman took Gloucestershire to a third batting point before he fell aiming to clear long-on off Higgins. With three overs remaining, Middlesex took the second new ball and Cornwell had Matt Taylor caught behind to give his side maximum bowling points.There was still time for a Josh Shaw six off Higgins as he and Todd Murphy helped the hosts reach 400 in the very last over. Both teams could feel happy at the end of a thoroughly entertaining final hour.

Darwin set to host international cricket after 17 years

South Africa are expected to play the first two T20Is in August here

AAP12-Mar-2025Darwin is on the verge of hosting international cricket for the first time in 17 years, with Cricket Australia pencilling in two T20Is against South Africa for August.Officials are expected to announce dates for the winter series later this month, with South Africa set to tour for three T20Is and as many ODIs. It is understood that the tentative plan is for Darwin to host the opening two T20Is, before a T20I and ODI are played in Cairns and the final two ODIs are held in Mackay.The schedule is not yet entirely locked in, and the matches at TIO Stadium are subject to deals being finalised. But if confirmed, it would loom as a massive boost for Darwin, which has not hosted senior international cricket since two ODIs against Bangladesh in 2008.Local officials remain hopeful the matches can be locked in.”I’ve been clear from the moment I arrived in 2023 that we’re driven to bring international cricket back to the Northern Territory,” NT Cricket CEO Gavin Dovey told AAP. “The last time we hosted international cricket was 2008 and that’s simply far too long.”The game has changed a hell of a lot since then. Just look at the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy or its return to the Olympics in LA 2028 for an example of its power and scale.”The games would also mark the first men’s T20Is played in the Northern Territory, with 107 having been played in Australia to date. In the time since Darwin last hosted an international, 536 men’s and women’s fixtures across all formats have been played in Australia at 27 different venues.Darwin has made significant moves in the late-winter window in recent years, with the growth of the Top End T20 league to include multiple BBL franchises and overseas sides. The August window also has the potential to be more appealing for international cricket in coming years, with a two-Test series against Bangladesh to be moved to the period in 2026.The north of Queensland would be expected to host at least one of those Tests, but Darwin could loom as an option for another. White-ball cricket in the window during future cycles could also help declutter the summer, and ensure no clash with the BBL.”We have an incredible winter cricket window that offers enormous benefits for both Australian cricket and the Northern Territory,” Dovey said. “We know Cricket Australia is interested in leveraging that.”We also know the NT Government sees the economic value a global sport like cricket offers, as well as the positive impact having international cricket superstars here on the ground can have on inspiring the community. Hopefully we can make this happen. It would be amazing to think we could start the international cricket summer here in Darwin.”

Rain hands Zimbabwe series win after batters struggle

The middle order had given the home side some impetus but the weather had a final say

Ekanth25-Feb-2025 – No resultA second washout in three games handed Zimbabwe a 1-0 T20I series win to end their home summer on a high. There was space for just one innings as rain delayed the toss by 45 minutes and then returned during the innings break to have the final word.Zimbabwe had a stop-start innings after being put into bat in the 18-overs-a-side contest. They stretched their way to 142 thanks to Sikandar Raza taking control after having come in at 18 for 2, before Tashinga Musekiwa and Tony Munyonga’s cameos provided late acceleration.Craig Young and Gareth Delany picked up two wickets each for Ireland. The bowlers did have trouble gripping the moist ball, but managed to keep the run rate at a shade under eight an over.The evening started with Paul Stirling winning the toss and Ireland striking twice in the first three overs. Young found seam movement to have Tadiwanashe Marumani caught behind. Matthew Humphreys then darted in an arm ball from around the wicket to smash Wessly Madhevere’s stumps.Raza started off with a streaky boundary over short third before going through a couple of tense moments. He was in pain after edging a mistimed pull on to his leg, he survived an lbw call off Josh Little in the seventh over, and an edge off his bat didn’t carry to wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker in the eighth.He did dispatch a Fionn Hand slower ball over long-on and pumped Humphreys for a four and a six. But when he tried a flat-bat hit off Delany, the ball seemed to hold up in the pitch and ended up in Harry Tector’s hands at long-on.Delany got Brian Bennett four balls later with a ball that bounced low to take an edge and flatten leg stump as Zimbabwe slumped to 67 for 4. However, that was the only over Delany bowled for the day.Munyonga got a fortunate boundary in the 11th over as debutant Tim Tector, at long-on, came in too close and the ball soared over him for a boundary. Ryan Burl offered two near chances in the following over off Hand, neither of which carried to the outfielders running in. The duo picked up seven twos, four of them in the 13th over, in their 27-run stand. That was broken by Little, who had Burl caught at deep third.Musekiwa launched Young for two sixes in the 15th over, the first of which brought up Zimbabwe’s hundred, before pulling a half-tracker from Little into the grass banks. Musekiwa got a free hit after Hand, in a bid to keep the ball out of the arc, delivered a ball so wide that it was outside the cut strip. But a wide later, he missed out on a full-toss free hit.Munyonga had near chances in the 16th over, both of which resulted in twos, but fell to Young in the final over, trying to swipe the ball over long-on. Wellington Masakadza got a boundary off his first ball, but Young bowled four yorkers on the bounce to keep the batters quiet.With dew around, Ireland would have fancied their chances of chasing down the total and ensuring that Zimbabwe finished their home summer without a series win, but it was not to be.

Exiled Afghanistan women players to men's team: 'Please be the voice of the girls'

Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi, who fled the country after the Taliban takeover in 2021, speak to ESPNcricinfo about the complexities of Afghanistan’s place in world cricket

Firdose Moonda & Valkerie Baynes22-Jan-20252:01

Amiri: If Afghan women can play sports, they can study as well

Don’t ban the Afghanistan men’s side from playing international cricket but do expect them to do more for the women and girls who don’t have the same rights they do. That’s the opinion of two formerly contracted Afghanistan women’s players living in exile in Australia.Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and have narrated their story of escape to a new life on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. Both women continue to play club cricket in Australia, with hopes of representing their country someday even though that will not be possible until the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) put up a women’s team. Under Taliban rule, the ACB cannot do that because of the country’s laws, which forbid women from playing sport, studying and working.Given that Afghanistan are ICC Full Members, and that one of the conditions of that status is to have a women’s side, there has been debate over whether or not to sanction the Afghanistan’s men’s team. Both Australia and England refuse to play bilateral series against them in protest, but continue to play them at ICC events, while the other nine Full Members engage with Afghanistan, sometimes amid growing calls to boycott them. South Africa are the most recent and relevant example, given they were isolated from the 1970s to 1990s for the country’s race-based Apartheid system. While the country’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, recently cited gender discrimination as a reason not to play Afghanistan, Cricket South Africa believes punishing the men’s players for a situation beyond their control will not force change. Amiri and Hashimi hold similar views but it is important to know that some of the other players are known to feel differently.Related

  • Afghanistan women's players soak up World Cup experience

  • Human Rights Watch asks ICC to suspend Afghanistan's membership

  • England-Afghanistan to go ahead despite ECB speaking out over 'gender apartheid'

  • Pressure mounts on ICC amid Afghanistan women's fundraising drive

  • Powerplay: More than just a match for Afghanistan Women's XI

“The Afghanistan men’s team brings a kind of hope. They are role models for us. I don’t want to say I’m not supporting them at all,” Amiri told ESPNcricinfo in May 2024, when we first interviewed her. “But when I cannot play for Afghanistan, what’s more heartbreaking is when you see the men can do something and the women cannot do it – which is absolutely wrong. Everything men can do, women can do as well.”Hashimi, whom ESPNcricinfo spoke to last November, has similar feelings watching the men’s team. “I can say 50-50. I was happy because my team has played very well and Afghanistan got to the semi-finals [of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup] which is quite good for us because we haven’t been there but on the other side I was just hopeless. We have a really great men’s team but we never focus on a women’s team and it is a bit difficult to talk about. So I was happy and I was sad too. It’s a difficult feeling to describe: men having more opportunity than girls.”Australia, where Amiri and Hashimi live, refuse to play Afghanistan in bilateral cricket. This has caused Amiri to wonder whether selective shunning of the men’s team is worthwhile. “If it has an impact on our team, that we can put pressure on the Afghanistan Cricket Board to make a women’s team, then we will be happy, but only if it’s a way we can start playing cricket.”2:52

Mel Jones: Afghan women’s love for the game blew me away

Though she considered the thought of a ban, Amiri recognises that the Afghanistan men’s team has made rapid progress and its success could be more of a statement than a ban. “They are in a good position at the moment in the world and if they start supporting us, they’ll have a big impact on our team. They can be very, very helpful for us and for all the women. If women can start playing sport, women can start studying as well. It can be a pathway.”If they start supporting us, it’s going to be a way for all women. If they can hear my voice from here: Afghanistan, national players, please, please be the voice of the girls at the moment. Please do more for us. Start doing something for women. You are the voice of Afghanistan. They are the most famous people at the moment. They can be the voice of millions and millions of girls.”

Despite her plea, Amiri recognised that the men’s players may be risking their own safety if they speak out. “I know that there were always some challenges for them as well. Some of their families are still in Afghanistan. We don’t want you to be in danger.”We interviewed Amiri in November again, by which time she had also taken in Afghanistan’s semi-final showing at the T20 World Cup in June, and it had been announced that an Afghan Women’s XI will play against a Cricket Without Borders side at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on January 30, the same day as the Women’s Ashes Test starts.”The Afghanistan men’s team went on a very long journey as well. It’s never been easy for all of us. We all came through one journey and obviously because they are men, they had more opportunities than us as we are women, but they’ve come a long way. They are playing really well and they are achieving so much for Afghanistan. This is what we want too. We want to make Afghanistan proud as a men’s and women’s national team, and I could say our goals are the same.”We don’t want to make another problem by stopping them or keep talking about stopping them from playing cricket. Now we have our base, we want to play for the Afghan XI. We want to make a better future for Afghanistan women inside Afghanistan and make a change in cricket.”Firooza Amiri: ‘We want to make Afghanistan proud as a men’s and women’s national team, and I could say our goals are the same’•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the months since ESPNcricinfo spoke to the two players, things have regressed further in Afghanistan, with the Taliban closing down institutes for women training as nurses and midwives, effectively blocking women’s last remaining avenue to higher education in the country and putting women with medical issues at significant risk – women are not allowed to consult with male medics in Afghanistan without having a male guardian present. This prompted some of the first public reactions from the men’s team, with Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz posting on social media in support of women’s education.ESPNcricinfo also spoke to Mel Jones, who was instrumental in helping the female Afghanistan cricketers leave the country and settle in Australia. Jones agrees that campaigning for a women’s team is not as simple as banning the men’s side, but has asked the cricketing community to play its part in keeping the story of the Afghanistan women’s team alive.”It is one of the most complex pieces I’ve seen,” Jones said. “There’s nothing black and white about this at all… but I do think there’s a question around leadership. People take on positions of leadership to lead, and it’s not to say that you have to make a black and white decision about things but I think you have to stand up and be a voice and lean into some tough situations. And this is a really tough situation.Rashid Khan, in December, put out a social media post supporting women’s education in Afghanistan•ICC via Getty Images

“I think the frustration has been the lack of conversation around it. And so here’s this amazing group of women who are trying to rebuild their lives and still connect to cricket. And they’ve hardly had a conversation with our leaders right across the world. And that’s the most frustrating thing for me. We might still get to the same point and decisions that we are now regardless of those conversations. But give these women their due. Give them space… that’s probably the one piece that I would say we’ve been really bad at over the last three or four years: it’s that people turn their back on that conversation. And I would hope that if we’d learn anything from this, is that if something like this happens again, whether it’s a different country or a different group of people, if it’s a men’s team somewhere or something like that, that we just don’t turn our back on people and hope that silence will make it go away, because it just doesn’t.”Episode 2 of the ESPNcricinfo Powerplay podcast will look at where Amiri and Hashimi find themselves now as well as the practicalities and challenges of the Afghan women in exile playing as a team.

Kohli 100* headlines India's comprehensive win over Pakistan

Kohli set up India for a semi-final spot and all but crossed out Pakistan from the 2025 Champions Trophy

Alagappan Muthu23-Feb-2025

Virat Kohli brings up his 51st ODI century•Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

In the biggest match of the year, with his mortality showing more than it ever did before, Virat Kohli proved he’s still got it, that maybe, just maybe, the little he’s lost isn’t going to define him. He ticked off 14,000 runs in ODI cricket, brought up his 51st ODI century, set up India for a semi-final spot, and all but crossed out Pakistan from Champions Trophy 2025. The holders and hosts need other results to go their way to stay alive in the tournament now.India went into the game as favourites. They were worthy of that seeding, limiting Pakistan to 241 with Hardik Pandya putting in the kind of performance that should make him illegal. An allrounder capable of dismissing the opposition’s best batter and then coming back to take down their top-scorer isn’t just a name on the sheet. He is the secret sauce.Related

  • Urooj Mumtaz: Rizwan's lack of strike rotation 'a massive fault'

  • Beating Pakistan not enough for Shreyas Iyer – 'We could have won a bit earlier'

  • Pakistan slide feels like a terminal, slow decline

  • Rizwan after India loss: 'We can say for now that it is over'

  • 'Happy with the template' – Kohli and the comfort of the chase

And Kuldeep Yadav was the spice. His left-arm wristspin is so rare and he made it rarer by finding a way to be quick through the air without compromising on turn or accuracy. So that means unless batters pick him out of the hand, they are always going to be guessing. Three Pakistan batters guessed wrong. All three were end-overs wickets. Pakistan were setting up to explode at the death. Kuldeep just wouldn’t let them. The injury hasn’t affected his menace.Pakistan were able to produce moments. Shaheen Shah Afridi sending down a 143kph inswinging yorker to shatter Rohit Sharma’s stumps. Abrar Ahmed conjuring a carrom ball from hell to get rid of a rampaging Shubman Gill. But when it came to capitalising on them, they just couldn’t. The result: a world champion side that was renowned for pulling games out of the fire now seems to do the first part right – they definitely got into trouble in Dubai – but the other part, the important part, is going so very wrong. Pakistan were 151 for 2 in the 34th over before they were bowled out for 241 with the most inexperienced member of the India side dictating terms, Harshit Rana and his slower balls were just impossible to hit.A game in an ICC event and a rivalry with history bursting out of every pore eventually became so one-sided that its last few moments were dominated by an individual pursuit. Axar Patel turned down an easy two so Kohli could get to his hundred. The crowd in Dubai loved that. There were 12 runs to get for India’s victory and 12 runs to get for their hero’s century and they chanted his name over and over. Pakistan were nowhere to be found. Ever since a collapse of 3 for 11 in 19 balls, this game turned pear-shaped for them.1:10

Manjrekar: Hardik always delivers on the big stage

Mohammad Rizwan had banked on the innings going so differently. He came in at 47 for 2 and hit his first ball for four and then decided run-scoring was not for him. He was 24 off 50. He barely hit the ball in anger. He point blank refused to. At the other end, Saud Shakeel was at least making an effort to turn the good balls he was facing into singles. When he got to fifty, he had weathered only 29 dot balls. At the same time, Rizwan at the other end, had racked up 40. India did well by denying him spin to start his innings. But still, this was a better pitch than the opening game in Dubai a few days ago. It wasn’t flat, but it had a little more pace in it, and it got better under lights. Rizwan, though, batted like it was cursed. He was worried bad things would happen if he tried to hit the ball hard.And it kinda did. Rizwan fell trying to hit Axar out of the ground and his wicket triggered a collapse. Shakeel fell in the next over and Tayyab Tahir followed soon after. India, having spent 320 deliveries across two matches searching for a wicket in the middle overs, had found three in the space of four. Pakistan were 165 for 5. Soon they would be 200 for 7, having to negotiate the last 7.1 overs of the innings with their tail exposed.India’s discipline never let Pakistan off the hook and leading the way was Hardik, banging the ball just short of a length on a pitch that was offering a bit of grip and some tennis-ball bounce. He took out Babar Azam at a time when India’s lead fast bowler, Mohammed Shami, was off the field with a shin problem, and he did Shakeel for lack of pace just after the left-hand batter had smacked him for four. He always knew what to do to exploit the conditions and make the batter’s life miserable. On the back of his work, Kuldeep and Rana bowled 6.4 death overs for 28 runs and picked up four wickets.1:54

Urooj: Pakistan have let themselves down again

Gill was the star of India’s chase early on, a conscious effort to keep his front foot from moving too far forward and across leaving him excellently placed to take advantage of Afridi and his full-length deliveries when there was no swing on offer. When he rammed the fast bowler down the ground and then one-upped it by coming down the track and lifting the ball into the sightscreen, it looked like it was going to be his day. Abrar intervened with a ball that drifted in, tempting Gill to close the face of his bat, and turned away to rattle middle and off stump. Gill was stunned.Kohli, too, offered a shrug of his shoulders. He looked vulnerable against Abrar too and was almost bowled playing back to him. But against the quicks, he was vintage. He went past 14,000 runs with a crisp cover drive off Haris Rauf. All of Pakistan’s best bowlers offer pace on the ball. And that is Kohli’s happy place. A batter of his quality needs to be made uncomfortable at the crease when he is new. He had been dismissed five times in his last six ODIs by legspin. Pakistan had one of those and they felt they couldn’t go to him.2:07

Manjrekar: Shreyas now looks comfortable against the short ball

Shreyas Iyer helped himself to a half-century. A little change in his technique where he holds his bat higher and waves it as the bowler approaches, creating momentum into his shots, is helping him deal with an earlier weakness against the short ball. He clubbed Rauf for four in front of square to prove it. But there was no taking the spotlight from his senior partner.Kohli was setting the tempo. Pakistan had allowed him to do so. Though he only hit three of his first 62 balls to the boundary, he already had fifty runs to his name. He knows how to score quickly without looking for big shots. The ball wasn’t stopping on the surface as much under lights. Things were working in his favour again. He almost knew he was going to get a hundred. He demanded an explanation when Axar turned down a second run off a wide in the 42nd over when it was clear to everybody else that all he was doing was make sure Kohli had the best chance to get to three figures with time running out. When he did, off the last ball of the match, Kohli looked to the dressing room and literally said, “I told you. Relax.” That was how easy this was. That was how inevitable he was.

Hampshire slip into relegation mix as Sussex escape with draw

Rain again thwarts visitors’ push for victory on same day that they receive points deduction

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025A bad day for Hampshire ended with them flirting with first division relegation after rain frustrated their attempt to beat Sussex at Hove.Only 21 overs were possible on the final day at the 1st Central County Ground and between the showers Sussex, who needed 278 to win, reached 84 for 3 before a final downpour at 4pm ended play with opener Tom Haines unbeaten on 40. Both teams took 11 points.That at least covered the eight points Hampshire had been deducted earlier in the day for preparing a poor pitch when Sussex won at the Utilita Bowl in May.Hampshire have a trip to Somerset next week before they finish the season at home to title-chasing Surrey.Having been up against it after two days, Sussex will be relieved with an outcome which stretches the gap between them and the bottom two. They host ninth-placed Yorkshire next week before finishing the season against the side currently bottom, Worcestershire, at New Road.After the entire third day was washed out, more rain delayed the start until 2pm, leaving Sussex 51 overs to score a further 241 at 4.7 runs per over.On a pitch which was becoming more comfortable to bat on, Hampshire needed to take every opportunity going but in the third over of the day wicketkeeper Ben Brown put down a chance low to his right offered by night watcher Sean Hunt off Kyle Abbott. In the next over Hunt edged Keith Barker between second and third slips.Just 27 minutes were possible before another shower drove the players off with six overs lost but Hampshire then struck twice in successive overs to give themselves hope. Hunt had done his job, using up 61 balls in making 19 before left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin pinned him lbw half forward.In the next over Barker picked up a deserved wicket when Ollie Carter was bowled by a delivery which nipped back onto his off stump. But only 8.4 overs more were bowled either side of tea before another downpour was quickly followed by handshakes on the dressing-room balcony.

Glenn five-for, Capsey 88* help England take down Australia in warm-up game

Litchfield and Mooney’s half-centuries for Australia went in vain

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2025Alice Capsey and Sarah Glenn headlined England’s four-wicket victory over Australia in their Women’s World Cup warm-up match in Bengaluru. After the legspinner claimed 5 for 32 to dismantle Australia’s middle and lower order, Capsey anchored the chase with an unbeaten 88.After a shaky start, Australia found stability through Phoebe Litchfield’s 71. However, after her dismissal, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Beth Mooney was forced to come in unusually low at No. 9, where she counterattacked with an unbeaten 59 off just 42 balls. Despite her efforts, Australia were bowled out for 247 in 34.4 overs.In reply, England suffered an early collapse, slipping to 32 for 3, but Sophia Dunkley and Emma Lamb steadied the innings with their half-centuries. But it was Capsey who was the difference-maker, pacing the chase well to take England home with 5.3 overs to spare.Kim Garth was the pick of the Australia bowlers, taking 2 for 17, but lacked support as the English batting line-up found its rhythm.

India name squad for U-19 World Cup

Rajasthan’s Ashok Menaria, who led the side to Australia this year, will captain the 15-man squad

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2009The BCCI’s junior selection committee announced the Under-19 squad to tour New Zealand for the World Cup, from January 15-30, 2010. Rajasthan’s Ashok Menaria, who led the side to Australia this year, will captain the 15-man squad.Notable names in the squad are those of Saurabh Netrawalkar and Sufiyan Shaikh, who were impressive during the BCCI Corporate Trophy.India, defending champions, kick off the tournament with a match against Afghanistan on January 15 in Lincoln. They will then play Hong Kong two days later in Christchurch, followed by their final game of the group stage against England on January 21. The top two teams in each group will progress to the quarter-finals.The squad will head to South Africa for a short series before the World Cup.India Under-19 squad: Ashok Menaria (capt), Mandeep Singh, Mayhank Agarwal, Akshath Reddy, Harpreet Singh, KL Rahul, Sufiyan Shaikh, Zahid Ali, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkad, Sandeep Sharma, Saurabh Netravalkar, Harmeet Singh, Manan Sharma, Gaurav Jathar.

Ian Holland's four-for gets Washington Freedom off the mark

Washington Freedom cruised to victory in their modest chase with quick knocks from Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Maxwell

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2025Seattle Orcas had no answers to fast bowler Ian Holland’s variations as they slumped to 145 for 9, which Washington Freedom chased down with 39 balls to spare. Holland finished with career-best T20 figures of 4 for 19 to restrict Orcas after a flying start, before Rachin Ravindra set up the chase at the top and Glenn Maxwell finished things off with an unbeaten 38 off 20.Orcas were in a strong position of 66 for 1 at the end of the powerplay as MLC debutant David Warner and his opening partner Kyle Mayers peppered boundaries. Warner stood outside the crease to bash the ball around while Mayers went 6, 4 and 4 off consecutive deliveries against Glenn Phillips in the fifth over to power Orcas past 50.Warner, however, holed out in the next over for 31 off 17. Mitchell Owen then removed Mayers on the first ball after the powerplay for 27 that brought out Orcas captain Henrich Klaasen for his first game since announcing international retirement.But it all went downhill for Orcas once Holland came on in the tenth over. A flurry of slower deliveries ended the over with Klaasen’s wicket as he ended up holing out to deep backward square leg for 17.Aaron Jones took on Holland in his third over, starting with back-to-back boundaries before three more slower deliveries fetched Holland two wickets, of Jones and Harmeet Singh. In his last over, another slower legcutter removed Cameron Gannon and Orcas were reeling at 120 for 7. Sikandar Raza’s 26-ball stay couldn’t get him more than 15 runs as Jack Edwards and Saurabh Netravalkar bowled frugal spells in the death.Freedom were hardly bothered in the modest chase. Ravindra started with his serene drives on off and down the ground while Owen muscled the ball around in his 11-ball stay for 25. Ravindra kept the sixes coming as he and Andries Gous propelled them to 90 for 1 in the powerplay, which ended with three sixes off Gannon.Gous was foxed by Waqar Salamkheil for 16 as soon as the field spread out and Ravindra was trapped lbw by Obed McCoy for 44 off 18 next over with the help of a review. Maxwell, who went through a drought of runs in the IPL – 48 runs in just six innings before getting injured – turned his form around by smashing Salamkheil for 6, 4 and 4 off consecutive deliveries in the ninth over which eased Freedom’s nerves again.Freedom lost two more wickets before Maxwell struck more boundaries and Mukhtar Ahmed sealed victory with a four in the 14th over.

Khawaja, McSweeney steady for 13.2 overs before rain ruins day one of Gabba Test

Asked to bat first at the toss, Australia’s openers ensured they did not lose a wicket against the new ball in brief spell of play

Karthik Krishnaswamy14-Dec-2024Only 13.2 overs were possible on a rain-hit first day in Brisbane, where India strove without success after choosing to bowl first in the third Border-Gavaskar Test match.Overcast conditions and a grassy pitch prompted India to insert Australia after winning their third straight toss, and perhaps recent history informed their decision too, with the team bowling first having won six of the last seven Tests at this venue. It took a while for India’s quicks to find their lengths, however, and the openers looked mostly untroubled in the first 5.3 overs before a drizzle sent the players off the field, with Usman Khawaja putting away anything a touch too straight or short while getting to 13 off 22 balls.Related

  • WTC final scenarios – India, Australia chase title clash

  • Can Smith break out of his slump?

  • Gill toasts old Gabba memories as he prepares to make new ones

  • Highlights – Rain has the last word after Australia's sporting declaration

Play resumed after a half-hour interruption, and the bowlers began to ask more questions, shifting their lengths fuller and finding more movement. Akash Deep, who came into the side in place of Harshit Rana, looked particularly impressive as first change, swinging and nipping the ball into the right-handed Nathan McSweeney and getting the odd ball to climb awkwardly too.But just as the contest was beginning to heat up, with India conceding only nine runs in 7.5 overs after the break, the rain returned, this time with greater intensity. The fast-draining Gabba outfield promised a quick resumption as and when the rain stopped, but the wait for that to happen dragged on and on, taking in both the lunch and tea breaks. The downpour relented at around 3 pm but returned soon after. Play was eventually called off at 4.13pm.Apart from Akash Deep, India also brought Ravindra Jadeja into their side for his first appearance of the series, in place of R Ashwin. This change meant they had played three different spinners in each of the first three Tests. For Australia, Josh Hazlewood returned after recovering from his side strain, displacing Scott Boland from the pace attack.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus