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Rehan Ahmed’s tour of India has been cut short, with the England legspinner returning home for an urgent family matter. In a statement, the ECB also said Rehan will not be returning for the rest of the series, and neither will England seek a squad replacement.Rehan, the 19-year-old, featured in England’s first three Tests against India. He picked up 11 wickets at an average of 44, including a match-haul of 6 for 153 in Visakhapatnam. He was, however, left out of the England XI for the fourth Test beginning in Ranchi. It is understood Ben Stokes’ decision to omit Rehan was not related to him having to return home, which only emerged after the team had been announced at 1pm on Thursday. Rehan was present at England’s final training session that afternoon, helping out with various drills. He flies home on Friday, day one of the fourth Test.Earlier this month, England had to wait on Rehan’s availability for the third Test after learning of “paperwork discrepancies” with him on arrival from the UAE before the third Test. However, it was resolved, and Rehan picked up three wickets in England’s 434-run defeat in Rajkot.For the fourth Test, England are lining up with offspinner Shoaib Bashir replacing Rehan. The other spinner in the England XI is left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, their highest wicket-taker on the tour with 16.

Sydney Sixers secured a home BBL final after seamer Ben Dwarshuis tore into Brisbane Heat on a two-paced Gold Coast surface. Earlier, captain Moises Henriques and Daniel Hughes combined for a valuable partnership to take Sixers to 152 for 8.In the Qualifier between this season’s top two teams, Sixers were set up by a 94-run third-wicket partnership from Henriques and Hughes. The pair had inspired their team’s remarkable three-wicket victory over Perth Scorchers in the previous match that propelled Sixers into second spot.Sixers’ disciplined quicks were excellent in helpful bowling conditions with Dwarshuis claiming 5 for 21 while allrounder Jack Edwards took a stunning one-handed return catch to finish with two wickets. Sixers will host the final at the SCG on January 24 as they seek a fourth BBL title.Heat’s hopes to end an 11-year title drought goes on the line in the Challenger on Monday against the winner of Saturday’s knockout final between Scorchers and in-form Adelaide Strikers.Top-ranked Heat had lost just one regular season match but failed to ease concerns over their batting order which has been gutted after a number of withdrawals.There had been an unknown over the surface in the first match played on the Gold Coast this season after Heat shifted grounds due to the Gabba’s unavailability ahead of the second Test between Australia and West Indies.Heat elected to bowl in humid conditions and spearhead Michael Neser immediately produced menacing movement. Edwards, who made a golden duck against Scorchers, was moved up the order after the departure of opener James Vince to the UAE’s ILT20.Moises Henriques picked up speed after a slow start•Getty Images

He countered swing by effectively taking the aerial route to force Heat captain Nathan McSweeney to remove the lone slip. But Edwards holed out to Neser in the third over after Paul Walter took a fine catch running back.Heat were on top when left-arm quick Spencer Johnson nicked off Josh Philippe in a decision overturned on review to cap a wicket maiden in his first over. Reaching speeds of 147 kph, Johnson was unplayable early as Hughes and Henriques were forced to rebuild.In contrast to his late heroics against Scorchers, Henriques played sedately and scored just nine runs off his first 20 deliveries. But in trademark fashion, he remained calm and made his move just before drinks with a six down the ground off legspinner Mitchell Swepson and went on to add a boundary moments later.Heat were left to rue dropping Henriques twice after the resumption and he made them pay by dominating the power surge across overs 13 and 14. Seamer Xavier Bartlett has enjoyed a breakout BBL season by bowling an accurate hard length, but an adventurous Henriques rattled him by shuffling across his stumps to thump him over the legside. Bartlett leaked 25 runs as Sixers smashed a season-high 38 runs in the power surge. But Hughes was outfoxed by a slower short delivery from Walter in the 15th over to trigger a collapse.Sixers lost 5 for 23 with Henriques struggling to regain his earlier momentum and he fell in the 18th over to a relieved Bartlett, who again showed his death bowling specialty.In reply, Heat were tied up early with big-hitting opener Josh Brown struggling to handle the two-paced pitch. He scored just two off his first 13 balls before skipping down the wicket and smashing seamer Sean Abbott for six over mid-off. But Brown and Jimmy Peirson succumbed to accurate Sixers bowling as the run rate required soared to above 10 an over by the midpoint.The pressure fell on Matt Renshaw, who just two days earlier was released from Australia’s first Test squad to play in this match. Heat sought the power surge in the 12th over and Renshaw tried to turn the game by blasting two sixes.But he fell in the 13th over to Dwarshuis, who with his next delivery removed Walter and it was just a matter of time before Sixers reached their seventh BBL final.

Big picture: Expect swing in Thiruvananthapuram

What did the ODI World Cup not give you? Enough last-ball thrillers? Runs from Suryakumar Yadav and Josh Inglis? Wristspinners being carted around? Well, that’s why we have bilaterals…A mere four days after Australia’s World Cup triumph, a bunch of their players stayed back – and others joined them – for a five-match T20I series, which started with a nail-biting game that ended with a last-ball six that didn’t even find a place in the scoreboard. Line-ups and fortunes changed so much that Steven Smith opened the batting, Ishan Kishan walked in at No. 3, and Inglis hammered Australia’s joint-fastest men’s T20I century. But some other things remained the same. Suryakumar’s domination was back as the format changed, India still had just seven batters, runs continued to flow on an Indian ground, and even though Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins flew home, Australia’s bowlers found a way to bounce back and nearly win after India needed just 14 from 12 and seven from the last over.Related

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• Suryakumar Yadav finds peace in the chaos of T20

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The action now moves further south to Thiruvananthapuram, where the last T20I, in September 2022, saw South Africa collapse to 9 for 5 in overcast conditions. It could be overcast again, given it rained on Saturday, and could force the teams to change their plans.If the ball does swing, Smith’s technical expertise will be handy for Australia before the more hard-hitting batters take over. They would, however, want some more runs beyond Smith and Inglis. The pair accounted for over 80% of the runs that were scored by Australia in the series opener, though they faced 91 balls between them. Marcus Stoinis faced just six balls and he will be itching to smash the ball after managing just 87 runs in five World Cup innings. Australia will also rue not scoring more than 208 on a batting track after being 179 for 2 with three overs to go. That had to do with India’s quicks, especially Mukesh Kumar, who sent down a mixed bag of slower ones, bouncers, yorkers and hard lengths to stem the flow of runs, capped by a stunning five-run last over.India were in some trouble at both ends of their chase, especially where they nearly fluffed their lines by slipping from 194 for 4 to 208 for 8 before Rinku Singh’s last-ball six gave the packed house a smile to go back with, even though Sean Abbott’s no-ball robbed Rinku off that six. It is this brittleness in the lower-middle order that India will again be wary of, especially given their batting ends at No. 7, unless they change their combination. Will they bring in an allrounder like Washington Sundar or Shivam Dube (in swinging conditions) for legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, who leaked 54 in four overs, after just one game?Australia have World Cup winners Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa – as well as Travis Head – to pick from•ICC/Getty Images

Form guide

India WWWWW
Australia LWWWW

In the spotlight – Ravi Bishnoi and Marcus Stoinis

Ravi Bishnoi took 13 wickets in eight games and gave away just 6.09 runs an over for Gujarat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while the World Cup was on. Among his highlights this year was the four wickets in Ireland in two games. He got just one T20I in the Caribbean, in which he went wicketless. He could, however, draw confidence from the 16 wickets he got in the IPL that played a crucial role in Lucknow Super Giants’ third-place finish. But there, too, he leaked 7.74 runs an over, and how he responds in the second T20I, keeping in mind the race for spots for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June, will be worth watching.A batting average of 21.75 and a bowling average of 35.75 in six World Cup games must have made Marcus Stoinis desperate to show his A game in this series. He struck an unbeaten 37 off 21 to lead Australia’s chase of 191 to whitewash South Africa before the World Cup, but the main tournament saw him getting out in the back end of the innings when the team expected more runs from him than he scored, with a highest of 35 from five innings. The shorter format could free him up, like it did for Suryakumar, and helping the team level the series could give him the lift he needs.

Team news

India may not make many changes since it’s a five-match series. What was a surprise, though, in the first game was slotting Kishan in at No. 3 when it was assumed he would be in a race for the opening slot with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The possibility of swing could make India change their combination, and bringing in Dube for a spinner could be an option, but leaving out Axar Patel would be unfair and replacing Bishnoi with Dube would seriously undermine India’s bowling options. India’s other options outside the XI of the first T20I are Jitesh Sharma, Washington and Avesh Khan.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mukesh KumarThere was rain on Saturday, and there is rain forecast for match day too•AFP/Getty Images

Australia don’t have a big reason to tinker with their XI but their World Cup winners Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and Adam Zampa have stayed back and will be slotted back at some point. Whether Head slots it for Smith or Matthew Short will be the question – whenever it comes up – and Tanveer Sangha’s expensive spell – 47 runs in four overs – wasn’t great for him or the team. The other players in their squad are Aaron Hardie and Kane Richardson.Australia (probable): 1 Steven Smith, 2 Matthew Short, 3 Josh Inglis, 4 Marcus Stoinis, 5 Tim David, 6 Aaron Hardie, 7 Matthew Wade (capt, wk), 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Tanveer Sangha

Pitch and conditions

Thiruvananthapuram has hosted just three T20I, and it hasn’t been easy for teams batting first, as the scores reflect: 67 for 5 (eight-over game), 170 for 7 on a slow pitch, and 106 for 8. Barring the rain-truncated first game, teams chasing have won and that might be the better option on Sunday too, with rain around. It will be humid and temperatures will be in the late 20s and early 30s.

Stats and trivia

• The last time Australia beat India in a T20I was in September 2022, just before the T20 World Cup
• Suryakumar and Maxwell are one century away from joining Rohit Sharma at the top for most centuries in T20Is (four)
• Inglis’ 110 was the second time an Australia batter’s T20I century ended on the losing side. Shane Watson’s unbeaten 124 off 71 in Sydney in early 2016 was the first such instance – India were the opponents then too.
• Inglis has smashed three T20 centuries in his career, and all of them have come outside Australia. The other two were for Leicestershire in the Vitality Blast in 2021. All his other five hundreds – four in first-class cricket and one in one-dayers – were scored in Australia

Quotes

“I have played under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy in the IPL, when he captained Mumbai Indians for one match. He is very calm and clear in his thoughts. He is a very good captain. In the last match also he played really well in a tough situation and he managed [the players] well.”
“They are all pretty good players and may be try to keep them guessing, just to stay one step ahead which is hard to do at times. Maybe do what we can in terms of change in pace, line and length.”

Brilliant catches, dramatic shifts in momentum and a lucky inside edge – Zimbabwe’s last-ball win against Ireland had it all in a game that had you on the edge of the seat for the last few overs.Sikandar Raza put on a clinic with both bat and ball to lead Zimbabwe to victory in the first ever international match under lights at the Harare Sports Club and a 1-0 series lead against Ireland.The pace trio of Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and debutant Trevor Gwandu would be hailed as equally important heroes in their dressing room, but not for what they did with the ball.Raza picked up three wickets to restrict Ireland to 147 before navigating the chase with a composed 42-ball 65 with wickets falling at the other end and some heated exchanges from Ireland fielders. He himself fell in the 19th over – thanks to a diving catch from Paul Stirling at cover – with Zimbabwe needing 11 off 9 and all the established batters back in the dugout.The equation went down to nine off the final over, and when Ngarava and Gwandu managed only three runs off the first three balls, Ireland seemed to have edged ahead. But Ngarava found a boundary with a leg-side swipe to make it two needed off two.Sounds simple? Well, not simple enough.The momentum shifted again when Mark Adair ran back from short third to hold on to a blinder, landing on his neck after a full sumersault in the process and walked off. That left Muzarabani on strike, with two runs needed off the last ball. But to Ireland’s dismay, the No. 11 got an inside edge that beat Lorcan Tucker to give Zimbabwe the two runs they needed to seal a dramatic win.

Raza steers the chase

Ireland dominated the powerplay with both bat and ball, but Raza was key in bringing Zimbabwe back in the game in both innings.Defending 147, Ireland started tightly with the ball and Tadiwanashe Marumani was out early, chipping Barry McCarthy to mid-on. Josh Little then had Sean Williams chopping on in next over to put Zimbabwe further under the pump.Raza helped inject some momentum into Zimbabwe’s innings with back-to-back boundaries to end the powerplay. When spin came on, Wessly Madhevere reverse-swept George Dockrell for four but was out after one ball, exposing his stumps and missing his scoop.Raza and Ryan Burl kept Zimbabwe ticking, and the momentum seemed to shift in the 12th over when Raza deposited Gareth Delany over midwicket and Burl powered a drive past long-on in a 13-run over.Josh Little kept Ireland in the game with an economical spell•Sportsfile via Getty Images

But Craig Young threw a spanner in the works with two wickets in two overs. He bounced Burl out, with the batter top-edging a pull shot for Tucker to grab. Young struck again when debutant Brian Bennett ended up hitting aerially towards mid-off and Harry Tector completed a stunning take running to his left and leaping to pluck the ball out one-handed.Raza seized control back, getting to his 12th T20I fifty before stepping it up. After top-edging Adair for four, he hit a six over fine leg off McCarthy to start off a productive 17th over. Clive Madande pulled McCarthy for a six and four to make it a 20-run over to put bring the asking rate down to run-a-ball.At that point, Zimbabwe looked set to see Ireland off without much trouble, but Little castled Madande before Adair dismissed Luke Jongwe and Raza in an excellent penultimate over.

Balbirnie gets Ireland off to a flyer

Andy Balbirnie got Ireland off to a rollicking start, hitting Ngarava for three fours – including two gorgeous cover drives – in the first over.He then took Muzarabani on, slapping him over point for a four and a six. Stirling then welcomed Gwandu to international cricket by hitting him for three back-to-back fours as Ireland raced to 38 for no loss in three overs.Muzarabani then slowed Ireland’s innings down with some off-pace deliveries. Ngarava reaped the benefit of the pressure created by the quiet over as he returned to trap Stirling in front with a low full toss.

Spin squeeze from Raza and co.

Raza brought himself on immediately after the powerplay and made instant impact by knocking Balbirnie over with a ball that spun in to beat his sweep shot and take his leg stump.Ireland struggled to keep the tempo up against spin as Williams got in the act. He beat the batters with two beauties in his first over – the tenth of the innings – and got in the wickets column in his next as he had Tucker caught at backward point. Raza then picked up his second wicket of the night by bowling Curtis Campher.Only 53 runs came off the eight consecutive overs of spin after the powerplay, and the pressure told as Muzarabani castled Dockrell with a clever offcutter to leave Ireland on 108 for 5 with five overs to go.Raza had his third when he trapped Tector in front with a sidearm delivery that pitched on leg stump, and looked to be sliding down, before straightening to pin him on the front pad. Adair was the next to go, trying to go for a big shot downtown off Ngarava only to pick out long-on.Muzarabani’s slower variations brought him another wicket off the next over with McCarthy offering a simple catch to point. Delany helped Ireland go past 140 with a 20-run final-over, which saw him hit two sixes down the ground – including one that hit the roof.

Pat Cummins has indicated he may not captain Australia in every one-day international leading into the World Cup in India later this year.For the multi-format players involved in the Ashes there will be a three-week break after the final Test, but it won’t be long before attention shifts to white-ball cricket.A T20I and ODI tour of South Africa begins in late August, for which the squad is expected to be announced shortly after the final Test in England, with three one-dayers in India following off the back of that then straight into the World Cup.Related

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Cummins was appointed ODI captain last October following the retirement of Aaron Finch. Since then Australia have only had six matches in the format, but Cummins has played just two of them. Josh Hazlewood stood in as captain for one game against England then Steven Smith did so for the series in India when Cummins was absent following the death of his mother.With Cummins having a poor game at Old Trafford, as a bowler and a captain, questions have been raised about whether the workload is manageable, but he is comfortable about how the role will pan out over the next few months as the focus shifts formats.”I know the selectors have been really clear that I’m a bowler first in that team,” he said. “So if we need to manage some of those games leading into the World Cup that takes precedence over the continuity of being captain every single game.”We’ll manage that, but there’s a great team around us of players and staff so while I’m the captain and it’s a bigger workload it’s manageable.”It was an outlook flagged by national selector George Bailey when Cummins was named captain. “In our one-day team, we do feel like we’ve got some strong leaders, some really experienced members of the team, and some developing leaders,” Bailey said. “So regardless of Pat being there, I think we are moving away from this concept of a captain taking over and their leadership being all-encompassing.”It is expected that Cummins’ ODI captaincy stint will only continue until the end of the World Cup with a potential that the selectors will look to unify the white-ball leadership under one person.There has yet to be a successor named for Finch as T20 captain and it is possible that whoever leads the side for the three matches against South Africa is only an interim appointment before a permanent structure is put in place later in the year to lead into the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA.Meanwhile, in Test cricket Cummins is approaching the two-year point of his captaincy and when he was announced in late 2021 he indicated he may not keep the role for as long as some. However, if he continues for another couple of years at least, it will likely coincide with the start of the regeneration of the side as senior players begin to retire with the chance a significant number could depart in swift succession.David Warner has given his departure date early next year, but Cummins is in no rush to hasten others to the finishing line although is confident that replacements will be readily available when needed.”I certainly don’t want to rush anyone out the door,” he said. “I think this is about the fourth Ashes series where Jimmy Anderson says it’s going to be his last one. You never know. It’s just an age. Some of these guys might be around here in four years, and still at the top level. We’ll see.”It’s always a conversation. In cricket, we’re lucky you’ve got white-ball cricket where you can kind of have a soft entry for a lot of the guys, give them exposure to international cricket. It’s something the selectors talk about, but really you try and pick your best XI each week.”A replacement for Warner will be the first significant order of business for the series against West Indies in mid-January unless the selectors decide to draw a line ahead of the three Tests against Pakistan starting in December.Marcus Harris could be first in line having been the spare batter throughout the last Australia home summer and this Ashes tour, although Warner gave a strong endorsement to Matt Renshaw.”I’ve always said Matt Renshaw is a very good player,” Warner said. “He can play both formats quite easily. He’s tall. He’s exactly like Haydos [Matt Hayden]. We spoke about him in the early part of his career.”I’ve always felt and held him in high regard as a very good player. He’s worked on his technique. He’s been in and out of the squads, and I think he’ll be a great replacement.”

Central Sparks resumed their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy programme in solid style with a 29-run victory over struggling Thunder at New Road, Worcester.Sparks put a disappointing Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign behind them as they totalled 233 all out from exactly 50 overs thanks principally to Ami Campbell (68 off 72 balls) and Abigail Freeborn (67 from 98). Tara Norris kept the Sparks total to around par with 4 for 42.Seren Smale’s superb career-best 94 off 125 balls then proved to be in vain as Thunder were bowled out for 204 by a Sparks attack which maintained collective pressure as six bowlers got among the wickets, Katie George taking 3 for 57.The defeat leaves bottom-of-the-table Thunder still looking for their first 50-over win of the season but Sparks will move forward with their sights still very much on going all the way in the competition.Thunder skipper Eleanor Threlkeld won the toss and chose to field and her decision was quickly vindicated by the removal of both Sparks openers in 20 balls. Bethan Ellis was bowled through the gate by an inswinging yorker from Mahika Gaur and Norris struck a big blow when she hit Eve Jones’ off stump.When Erin Burns lifted Gaur to cover, Sparks were in trouble at 27 for 3, but Freeborn and Campbell organised a revival with a well-constructed stand of 129 in 26 overs. Campbell counter-attacked effectively, hitting nine fours in a near run-a-ball innings, before she missed a pull at Norris and was superbly stumped by Threlkeld.The left-armer secured her third wicket next ball when Davina Perrin was adjudged lbw and Sparks’ loss of momentum was heightened when Laura Jackson floated one inside Freeborn’s attempted cut and bowled her.Charis Pavely restored some impetus with 33 from 36 balls, a cameo which transpired to be crucial, but became Norris’s fourth victim when she lifted to mid-wicket.Thunder’s reply took an early hit when Naomi Dattani was bowled for a 12-ball duck by a nicely-flighted ball from Georgia Davis. Fi Morris skied Grace Potts into the deep but Smale and Deandra Dottin added 50 in ten overs before the latter missed an attempt to turn Ria Fackrell to leg and fell lbw. Burns then turned one inside Threlkeld’s attempted leg-glance to win another lbw decision.Danielle Collins helped Smale add 52 in ten overs but both fell in five balls. Collins lifted Ellis to mid off and Smale, six runs short of a thoroughly-deserved maiden century, miscued Katie George to mid off. That left the Thunder lower order with a tall task – to find 72 from 11 overs – and despite a perky 22 off 29 balls from Norris it was beyond them.

Hampshire 330 (Organ 97, Abbott 89, Bashir 3-88) and 34 for 2 trail Somerset 500 (Rew 221, Aldridge 88, Bess 54, Abbott 4-56, Dawson 4-118) by 136 runsFelix Organ and Kyle Abbott produced a ninth-wicket stand of 177 to boost Hampshire’s prospects of avoiding defeat on the third day of the LV= County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.The visitors had slumped to 152 for 8, replying to 500, from an overnight 58 for two when Abbott strode to the crease to strike 89 not out off 152 balls, including 15 fours and a six. Organ contributed a more measured, but equally valuable 97.Hampshire were eventually bowled out for 330, teenaged offspinner Shoaib Bashir claiming 3 for 88 from 31 overs. They were invited to follow-on 170 behind and reached 34 for 2 in their second innings by the close.The day began with a big moment for 19-year-old Somerset left-arm seamer Alfie Ogborne, who claimed his maiden first-class wicket on debut with the fifth ball of the opening over when James Vince, on 16, edged to Tom Lammonby at third slip.Soon it was 64 for 4 as the next over saw Nick Gubbins edge Jack Brooks to wicketkeeper James Rew who held a low diving catch.At 80 for 4, Somerset introduced another 19-year-old in the tall Bashir, from the River End. He wasted no time dismissing Liam Dawson, who slog-swept a catch to deep midwicket and James Fuller, bowled playing down the wrong line.Hampshire were suddenly 88 for 6. Ben Brown and Organ were forced to play cautiously, although Organ cleared the short boundary on the town side of ground with a slog-sweep off Bashir.The pair put together a half-century stand in 121 balls. By the time rain took the players off on the stroke of lunch, Hampshire had reached 138 for six.Brown fell for 39 in the first over after the interval, getting an inside edge onto his stumps to give Ogborne a second wicket. Kasey Aldridge then had Keith Barker caught behind for 12, and the batting side were in deep trouble, still 348 behind.But Organ had settled meticulously to his task and found a reliable partner in Abbott, who brought up the 200 by lofting Bashir back over his head for four.Organ struck two more sixes on his way to a patient half-century, which occupied 148 balls, and the pair were still together when the second new ball was taken at 241 for 8 after 80 overs. Just before it was taken, Organ appeared to survive a sharp chance to short-leg off Dom Bess.Abbott looked untroubled in moving to a 76-ball fifty, including 10 fours, and advanced the total to 250 with a single in the same over from Brooks. Another Abbott four, off Ogborne, took the ninth-wicket stand into three figures from 146 balls and by tea Hampshire had progressed to 258 for 8.The new ball had little effect and an Organ sweep for six over midwicket off Bashir earned his side a second batting point before Abbott’s 14th four took the stand to 150. It was already the highest ever for Hampshire’s ninth wicket against Somerset, beating the 135 put together by Nigel Cowley and Bob Stephenson at Taunton in 1977.Finally, with the total on 329, Somerset broke through as Organ advanced down the pitch to Bashir, who cleverly adjusted his length to beat the outside edge and provide Rew with a simple stumping.Organ looked crestfallen as he dragged himself off the pitch, having worked so hard to keep his team in the game. He had battled away for four hours and 25 minutes, facing 206 balls and hitting nine fours and five sixes.Abbott was also denied a deserved hundred when last man Mohammad Abbas was pinned lbw by Bess for a duck. There were only 14 overs left in the day and Somerset skipper Tom Abell enforced the following on, probably reasoning that his bowling attack could soon rest tired limbs ahead of another assault in the morning.Abbott was sent out to open the Hampshire second innings with Fletcha Middleton and had made 15 when giving a waist-high return catch with the score on 31. Joe Weatherley edged Bess through to Rew with only a single added and Organ walked out at No. 4 with his team back in the mire.

Usman Khawaja says he has learned plenty from his two underwhelming tours of England as he prepares for what he calls the toughest test for a top-order batter.The 36-year-old opener will be integral to Australia’s chances of retaining the Ashes when the first of five Tests begin in Birmingham on June 16, following the World Test Championship [WTC] final against India at The Oval.Khawaja toured England in 2013 and 2019 for a meagre return of 236 runs in six Tests at an average of 19.66. He was dropped midway through the 2019 Ashes and spent almost three years on the outer before a triumphant return to the Test side that has reaped 1608 runs in 16 Tests at an average of 69.91, including six centuries.Related

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“England is, in my opinion, the toughest place in the world to bat for top-three batsmen,” Khawaja said. “In 2013, I was quite young and it was a pretty s*** tour, if I am being honest. It was tough work. I learned a lot from that tour.””My last series there [in 2019] it was a tough series for batsmen. The whole tour will show you that, other than Steven Smith who was on another planet.”Khawaja said it was a “learning experience” with a couple of key takeaways.”If I’ve learned anything, it is work hard, train hard and [when] going to England, go with low expectations,” he grinned. “You are going to fail as a batsman, but when you do score you try to cash in as much as you can.”It is the challenge against the England pace duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad that has Khawaja enthused.”Anderson and Broad…they are unbelievable bowlers and tough work at the start,” he said. “That’s what makes it so awesome when you do score runs and you contribute to a winning team, which hopefully I’ll do and others will do over there.”When you do it against guys like Broad and Anderson in England, it’s just that much more satisfying.”Khawaja believed that Australia had been too “reactive” in dropping players in the past, including himself, after the odd failure.”I’ve always been big on just picking your best players and sticking with them because they’ll score you the most runs consistently, and I think over the years in selection for Australian cricket, we have chased our tail a little bit trying to pick players in form,” he said.”Form is temporary. Class is not. I think the new selectors, with [coach] Andrew McDonald up the top, understand that part of the game and hence there has been a lot more stability in selecting and picking players and sticking with them.””I’ve been dropped seven times in Test cricket and I’ve come back, and there’s a reason for that…because I’ve always scored runs consistently in first-class cricket and fought my way back.”

An Afghanistan women’s cricket team, consisting of refugees who now live in Australia, will play a game in Melbourne in January, the first time they have been able to come together as a group since leaving their country following the Taliban takeover.The T20 match between an Afghanistan Women’s XI and a Cricket Without Borders XI will take place on January 30 at Junction Oval ahead of the opening day of the floodlit Women’s Ashes Test at the MCG.The players involved fled Afghanistan in 2021 when the Taliban came into power and now live in Canberra and Melbourne. Many play for local cricket clubs but have not been able to form themselves into a representative team.The Australian government has been involved in helping set up the match.”Many people across cricket and the community have come together to provide support for members of the Afghanistan women’s team since their relocation to Australia and this match will be a celebration of that work,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said.”I’m delighted that their ambition to play together will be achieved in this exhibition match which will be a wonderful addition to the many events around the Day/Night Women’s Ashes Test.”Earlier this year, 17 of the players who were contracted to the Afghanistan Cricket Board in 2020 prior to the Taliban takeover wrote to the ICC asking for assistance in setting up a refugee team in Australia.”Our goals in having a refugee team are to develop and showcase our talent, give hope to the women remaining in Afghanistan, and to draw attention to the challenges women of Afghanistan face,” the letter said. “Like the Afghanistan men’s team, we aim to compete at the highest levels. We want to recruit and train girls and women who love cricket to show the world the talent of Afghan women, and to demonstrate the great victories they can achieve if given a chance through the leadership and financial support of the ICC.”On Tuesday, CA announced a partnership with UNICEF Australia as part of the foundation’s “Until Every Girl Can Play” campaign aimed at gender equality.

New Zealand allrounder Amelia Kerr has been ruled out of the remaining two ODIs against India after tearing her left quadricep muscle. Kerr picked up the injury during the opening game on Thursday, which India won by 59 runs, and is expected to take approximately three weeks to recover. She will not be replaced in the ODI squad.This also puts her WBBL participation in serious doubt for Sydney Sixers with the tournament set to start on Sunday. Amelia was a big-name pre-signing for Sixers as a platinum-category pick and could miss eight of Sixers’ 10 league games even if she recovers in three weeks.An NZC release stated Amelia was taken for scans on Friday morning, which revealed a grade-one quadricep tear, and that she would return home on Sunday to start her rehabilitation.”We’re really gutted for Melie,” New Zealand head coach Ben Sawyer said. “Injuries are always a challenging time for a player and we know how disappointed she is to not be able to play these games.”Everyone knows how much of an integral part of this team Melie is so we’ll certainly miss her but we’re wishing her a speedy recovery.”Soon after playing a pivotal role in New Zealand’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 15 scalps, Amelia was New Zealand’s best bowler in the opening ODI too, taking 4 for 42 before scoring an unbeaten 25 off 23 in the chase. The remaining two ODIs are on October 27 and 29, also in Ahmedabad.Amelia’s absence could hurt New Zealand’s hopes of climbing the Women’s ODI Championship table, where a top-six finish will ensure direct qualification for the ODI World Cup in 2025. New Zealand are currently placed sixth out of 10 teams and will next play Australia in December.