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Adelaide, meanwhile, has secured a seven-year commitment to a pre-Christmas slot for their Test

Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-2024Australia and England will play a one-off Test at the MCG in March 2027 to mark 150 years of the format. The confirmation of the anniversary fixture in Melbourne came as Cricket Australia [CA] and state governments announced that the MCG, SCG and Adelaide Oval had locked in seven-year staging agreements for their regular Tests.The Test in 2027 will replicate the Centenary Test of 1977 which Australia won by 45 runs, matching the margin of the first Test played in 1877. In 1977, Rod Marsh and Derek Randall struck centuries while Dennis Lillee claimed 11 wickets.The annual Boxing Day (Melbourne) and New Year’s Tests (Sydney) have been guaranteed in until 2030-31 while Adelaide has secured a seven-year commitment to a pre-Christmas slot for their Test after the South Australia government made a pitch for the New Year’s Test.Although the current Future Tours Programme (FTP) is only inked up to early 2027, England and India have confirmed tours in the four years after that.Related

• Gabba to be demolished after 2032 Olympics, cricket to get new home in Brisbane

• Australia-England 150th anniversary Test in 2027 will be a pink-ball day-night match

• Australia-England Test to mark 150 years of Tests scheduled for March 11 in 2027

• Ashes 2025-26: CA schedules Brisbane day-night Test after Perth opener

• Is this the end for the Gabba?

Meanwhile, Optus Stadium in Perth will host the opening Test of the season for the next three seasons. Mike Baird, the Cricket Australia chair, said that it was the Western Australian government’s decision not to seek a longer deal. That means next year’s Ashes will start in the west rather than the traditional Gabba in Brisbane. They will then host New Zealand at the start of the 2026-27 season.The future of Gabba has been left clouded amid uncertainty over the redevelopment plans for the stadium ahead of the 2032 Olympics and only the next two seasons – matches against India and England – have been confirmed with a chance the Gabba doesn’t host a Test for a considerable time after that. The 2026-27 season will be the first time in 50 years that the Gabba won’t host a Test.”In Brisbane it is harder [to plan] because of the infrastructure,” Baird said. “There is just uncertainty, so we’re not sure of the long-term solution. What we do know is the Gabba has a use for life that ends in 2030. We need a solution, and are working with the AFL as well on a long-term solution.”We want a great venue in Brisbane, that can support Queensland Cricket and Australian cricket for years to come.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Adelaide is the traditional home of day-night Test cricket having hosted seven of the 12 matches held in Australia although the new agreement does not guarantee that all future Tests there will be pink-ball encounters and the 2025-26 Ashes Test will be a red-ball game with Brisbane hosting the day-nighter. Adelaide Oval will also host a New Year’s Eve BBL game for the next seven years.England will tour for a five-match Ashes series in 2025-26 and New Zealand will be the visitors in 2026-27. The latter series will be extended to four Tests from the original three on the FTP and be played in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. Australia are then due to tour India for five Tests in January and February 2027.With the additional anniversary Test, there is a potential squeeze on the calendar in March 2027 with Australia due to host Bangladesh in two matches which are part of the World Test Championship. There is a chance those games will be moved although under the current WTC structure would need to be played ahead of the June 2027 final.Although rival states made attempts to take the marquee Christmas and New Year Tests off Melbourne and Sydney it was always an unlikely outcome. Beyond 2026-27 there could be an opportunity for other venues to compete for a Test should the Gabba be unavailable which would bring Hobart and Canberra into the mix. Tasmania has ambitions to host indoor Test cricket at their proposed new multipurpose stadium although that won’t be available until at least 2028.The staging agreements confirmed on Sunday are one of the final big projects completed by outgoing CA CEO Nick Hockley who announced earlier this month that he would be stepping down next March.A future schedule for women’s internationals will be confirmed in the coming months when the next FTP is complete but Adelaide has been guaranteed an ODI or T20I every season.

Cricket Australia match allocations

New South WalesSeven seasons (2024/25 to 2030/31)
Confirmed matches: Men’s New Year’s Test each summerQueenslandTwo seasons (2024/25 & 2025/26)
Confirmed matches: 1 Men’s Test to be played prior to 30 December each summer and 1 Men’s ODI/T20I each summerSouth AustraliaSeven seasons (2024/25 to 2030/31)
Confirmed matches: Men’s Day/Night Test vs India (2024/25), Men’s Christmas Test (2025/26 to 2030/31), 1 Men’s ODI/T20I each summer, 1 Women’s T20/ODI each summer and BBL match on New Year’s Eve each summerVictoriaSeven seasons (2024/25 to 2030/31)
Confirmed matches: Men’s Boxing Day Test each summer, Women’s 90th Anniversary Day/Night Test vs England in 2024/25 and Men’s 150th Anniversary Test vs England in 2026/27Western AustraliaThree seasons (2024/25 to 2026/27)
Confirmed matches: First Men’s Test each summer and 1 Men’s ODI/T20I each summer

Australia captain admits to “strange” feeling but targets series win at The Oval

Andrew McGlashan23-Jul-2023In contrast to four years ago, there won’t be any big celebrations from Australia on retaining the Ashes with Pat Cummins aware the Manchester rain helped them escape with a draw after being dominated by England.Cummins was part of the side in 2019 when they eventually shared the series 2-2 having also retained the urn at Old Trafford, albeit with a convincing victory on that occasion, and those who featured that year have often spoken about it leaving unfinished business.There was a flatness all-round at the end of this game with England knowing their chance of regaining the Ashes had gone while the visitors were aware they’d put in one of their worst performances under the Cummins-Andrew McDonald era. However, Cummins did make reference to their earlier success in the series which put them 2-0 up.Related

• Vaughan: 'Sentimental' Anderson selection 'may have cost' England

• No regrets for Stokes but Old Trafford draw will hurt

• Australia retain the Ashes, but can they close out the series?

• Ben Stokes rues Old Trafford rain after 'pretty much perfect' performance

• Labuschagne gets his act together after testing Ashes tour

“It’s a bit of a strange one,” Cummins said. “As a group [we’re] proud that we’ve retained the Ashes but it’s off the back of not our greatest week. It feels like it’s good to retain the Ashes, but we know we’ve got a fair bit of work to do for next week.”I don’t think there will be huge celebrations. Maybe a bit of a pat on the back for retaining the [Ashes]. There’s been a lot of work gone into putting us into a position where a draw does make us retain the Ashes. But there’s a Test match starting in three days so that’s going to be our full focus.”It’s a pretty similar group to 2019 when we retained it and we all came away feeling okay but we felt like we’d just missed what we’d come over to achieve. In some regards whatever happened today wouldn’t really change how we look at next week. We want to win it to make sure we win it outright.”Barring Marnus Labuschagne, who had an excellent Test with scores of 51 and 111, there wasn’t a part of Australia’s performance that functioned close to their top level. But one of the main areas that came in for focus was Cummins’ captaincy during England’s rampaging innings of 592 which came at more than five an over.Cummins insisted he had not felt overwhelmed as a captain and instead turned the focus on his own bowling which fell significantly below his usual high standards.”As a bowler it’s frustrating that I didn’t bowl very well at all, not up to the standards I try and keep myself to,” he said. “I let through more boundaries than I normally do. Probably just one or two bad balls an over. I don’t know [why] really. [My] rhythm felt pretty good, I felt like I was pretty clear in my own mind with plans.”In terms of captaincy I think there has been a few of those moments where the [England] batters have played well, the game moves very quickly.”We knew coming into this series they were probably going to have a couple of days where it went their way and the game moves really quickly, so it was one of those days. It’s tough, frustrating, but that’s cricket. We’ve been on the other side of it plenty of times.”The game most dramatically ran away from Australia in the middle session of the second day where Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali and Joe Root racked up 178 in 25 overs with the visitors unable to find a response. The innings then ended in chaotic fashion as well with Jonny Bairstow and Jimmy Anderson added 66 for the last wicket.”That two-hour block in the middle session wasn’t our best,” Cummins said. “We tried to throw a few different plans at them and maybe on another day they work, a couple of the edges carry through or some of the catches go to hand, but I thought they batted well. I was pretty proud of the end of that day. We were able to wrestle back some of that control.”You definitely look at what you can try and do differently for next time,” he added. “That will be part of this week for sure. I think there are some obvious things we could do a little bit differently. Maybe some plans, the way we executed our bowling.”However, Cummins picked out Australia’s first innings when they left themselves on the back foot with a total of 317 where numerous starts from the top order weren’t converted as five of the top six reached 32.”We probably left a few runs out there in the first innings,” he said. “That was a really good wicket to bat on day one. But historically we have been really good [at] that so it’s not something I’m super worried about, but it’s a good time to look back at all our games and have a think about what we could do differently and put that into action for next week.”

He has suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo surgery in around three weeks

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2023Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s ODI captain, is set to miss the World Cup in India later this year after being diagnosed with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee after he was injured in his first IPL match of the season for Gujarat Titans.Williamson returned to New Zealand in recent days where the severity of the injury was confirmed and he will now undergo surgery within the next three weeks once the swelling around the knee has reduced.”Naturally it’s disappointing to get such an injury, but my focus now is on having the surgery and starting rehab,” he said. “It’s going to take some time, but I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field as soon as possible.”Williamson had landed awkwardly – with his right knee buckling under his weight – while attempting a catch at the deep square leg boundary in the 13th over of Super Kings’ innings when he had leapt to intercept a ball headed for six from Ruturaj Gaikwad. He managed to save two runs, palming the ball into the field of play before it bounced onto the boundary boards, but by that point Williamson was on the ground clutching his right knee.Williamson’s absence from the World Cup would be a huge blow for New Zealand. He averages 47.83 across 161 ODIs with 13 centuries.”You take Kane the player for a start, but then Kane the leader and the person he is within our group as well, it’s a huge spanner in the works for us,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “We haven’t given up hope that he might be right but at this stage it does look unlikely. Our first thoughts are with Kane at the moment, it’s a tough time for him, it’s not an injury you expect…it hits you pretty hard.”Tom Latham has captained New Zealand in the absence of Williamson this year, and will lead the ODI squad on the upcoming tour of Pakistan, and could be the frontrunner for the World Cup role.

Alsop reaches century, Orr falls agonisingly short in 204-run stand for second wicket

Valkerie Baynes05-May-2022A century to Tom Alsop and a near-miss by Ali Orr gave Sussex the edge on an intriguing opening day against Middlesex at Hove.Things were looking up for Sussex as they sought their first win of the season after heavy defeats to Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire plus draws against Durham and Derbyshire left them seventh in Division Two, ahead of only Leicestershire.From the sight of Jofra Archer practising running and fielding drills during the lunch break amid news that he is targeting a return from elbow surgery at the start of their T20 Blast campaign later this month, to the return of England seamers Ollie Robinson and George Garton, both playing for the first time this season, the hosts were in clover.But it was Alsop and Orr who shone on the perfect spring day at Hove where bright sunshine occasionally gave way to innocuous cloud cover, staging a second-wicket partnership worth 204 after their captain, Tom Haines, won the toss and chose to bat on an accommodating pitch.All that said, Sussex have breached the 500-mark three times so far this season without winning a match as debate gurgles about whether the pitches for this edition of the Championship have been prepared too heavily in favour of the batters.And by the close, Orr had fallen one run shy of his century, Sussex’s two-time double-centurion Cheteshwar Pujara was back in the pavillion with just 16 to his name and Middlesex had snatched four wickets in the evening session to put the contest on a more even footing.Orr rode his luck, having been dropped on the second ball of the match, a Shaheen Shah Afridi delivery which he struck straight to square leg where Mark Stoneman put down a regulation chance.Afridi produced an impeccable opening spell in which he steamed down the hill from the Cromwell Road end and repeatedly beat Haines outside off. He was duly rewarded when he took the top of Haines’ off stump with a gem of a delivery to leave Sussex 21 for 1 inside nine overs.Orr was patient, punching Afridi through midwicket for four to bring up his fifty from 124 balls. He survived two more chances, on 57 and 58, before pulling Blake Cullen for six over deep midwicket.Alsop, meanwhile, was compact and showed off some excellent strokeplay in a chanceless innings, finding the boundary six times en route to his half-century, which came from 80 balls.Ali Orr rues falling for 99•Getty Images

The pair upped the tempo after lunch and 10 minutes before tea were both in the 90s, Alsop having surged slightly ahead. On a season-long loan from Hampshire, Alsop brought up his first ton for Sussex – and fifth in first-class cricket overall – by driving Afridi down the ground, celebrating with a gleeful skip down the pitch and punch of the air.Orr, on the other hand, looked decidedly nervous as three figures approached and Middlesex captain Peter Handscomb forced him to call on the same sort of patience he had used earlier in his innings by crowding him with fielders who kept cutting off singles.Orr’s resolve wore out on the stroke of tea when he spooned Luke Hollman to Handscomb at first slip and was left to trudge off, fuming and with his hand covering his face having seen off 204 balls for his 99.His dismissal brought Pujara to the crease after the interval and the India batter struck Hollman for consecutive fours off his first two balls. Pujara’s six off Hollman in his subsequent over went missing out of the ground over the short boundary at deep square leg. But Pujara then chased a wide half-volley outside off stump from Ethan Bamber which went to Max Holden at backward point to make it 246 for 3.Sussex then lost two wickets in the space of four balls, Martin Andersson uprooting two of Tom Clark’s poles when the batter played on and Stoneman ending Alsop’s knock on 113, caught by Handscomb at square leg and the home side were suddenly 273 for 5.It fell to Mohammad Rizwan, who had shared a 154-run partnership with Pujara in the previous match, and Garton, playing his first first-class match since the corresponding fixture at Hove last September, to steady the Sussex innings against the second new ball.They did for a time with a 64-run stand, Rizwan’s six dropping to one knee as he lifted Stoneman over mid-on particularly eye-catching. But when Cullen had Rizwan caught by Handscomb leaping smartly at first slip for 31, all Sussex eyes were on Garton and Robinson to see out the day.Garton, who had shaken off the effects of long Covid sufficiently to win selection, looked solid in reaching 37 from 61 balls while Robinson, making his long-awaited return after back spasms which troubled him during the Ashes and England’s Caribbean tour and more recently a tooth infection, remained unbeaten on 11 at the close.

CA’s head of science and medicine says not sharing equipment is also part of the overall risk

Andrew McGlashan20-May-2020Disinfecting cricket balls during a match could be part of the future as the game looks to adapt to the risks posed by Covid-19. Maintenance of the ball has become one of the key topics as the sport tries to map a way back from its pandemic shutdown given shining has traditionally involved saliva which is deemed a significant risk of transmitting the virus.Earlier this week the ICC cricket committee recommended a ban on using saliva at international level but said that sweat would be permitted as it was deemed lower risk.Guidelines issued by the Australian government on a return for sport from community to elite level banned the use of saliva and sweat at training. Cricket Australia’s head of science and medicine Alex Kountouris said that it was a constantly evolving picture as more was learned about the virus, but the option of using disinfectant – which was done in Australian rugby league before the shutdown and will be considered in other football codes – is likely to be discussed.”Disinfecting the ball is a consideration. [We] don’t know the impact on the ball as we haven’t tested it yet,” Kountouris said. “The ball being leather it’s harder to disinfect because it’s got little nooks and crevices so we don’t know how effective it’s going to be, we don’t know how infected the ball is going to get and we don’t know if it’s going to be allowed. It is an absolute consideration. Everything is on the table and everything is being considered.”From an Australian cricket perspective, probably other countries are going to play before us so we’ve got a chance to work with the ICC and the other countries to see what they come up with and take whatever steps we need to for making sure there’s a lower risk.Kountouris feels that some habits, like players licking their fingers then touching the ball, will be difficult to break•Getty Images

“The sweat, saliva and the ball itself is only one risk factor. There’s a whole bunch of other stuff: hygiene, sanitising, physical distancing, not sharing equipment are going to be part of the overall risk. So we’re going to take our time and consider all those factors then work with the ICC to try to come up with whatever the final outcome is for elite cricket and community cricket.”Professional cricketers in Australia will be returning to training over the next couple of weeks – the CA contracted players finished their annual leave on Monday – with guidelines in place to manage the risk factors although they will vary from state to state depending on the level of activity allowed as restrictions continue to be eased.ALSO READ: Darwin open to being testing ground as cricket returns to AustraliaThe baseline is that equipment should not be shared – that is less of an issue at elite level – and that training should be done on a ‘get in, get out’ principle to minimise contact.Kountouris acknowledged that some habits ingrained in players, such as licking their fingers then touching the ball, will be difficult to break.”There’s going to be a steep learning curve and hopefully we’ve got time to practice some of that stuff but there are going to be mistakes at some point,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve worked out how we are going to deal with those mistakes, what the outcome will be. I imagine we are going to take a common sense approach and understand that people make mistakes and things are not going to be perfect. But if we can do most things right, most of the time, we are going to be okay.”He added that Cricket Australia “was not even close” to considering when the national squads would be able to join up for any training camps – there are suggestions the men’s limited-overs tour of England could take place in September – and they will monitor the country’s response to easing of restrictions over the next couple of months. However, there is increasing confidence that if the current progress is continued then the season will be able to start as scheduled in September.”We’re at the moment really happy with the fact that we can get back to training. So, a month or so ago, things looked bleak. The country has done really well,” Kountouris said. “From a sport perspective, there’s obviously a long way to go. If things don’t go wrong here, of course we are on track to gradually move through each of the different stages.”It’s dependent on whether we are allowed to travel, domestically, and whether borders are open between countries and we don’t have an outbreak and a cluster. There’s a whole bunch of factors but certainly if everything goes well, we are on track and we’re quietly confident that things will go to plan and we’ll be ready at the start of the season.”

A landing failure of a small aircraft in Barbados has resulted in the South African team, along with ICC officials, being delayed by nearly six hours

Sidharth Monga27-Jun-2024The final of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies, a tournament already affected by logistical challenges and ambitiously short turnarounds between matches, has not been spared from operational issues.A landing failure of a small private aircraft at the Grantley Adams airport in Barbados has resulted in the South Africa team, their families, commentators, match officials and ICC officials being stranded at the Trinidad airport. The Barbados airport was closed for inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Barbados Police Service.Moments before they were about to take off from Trinidad, the pilots received the information of the runway closure in Bridgetown.”It appeared that the landing gear of the private aircraft did not deploy, but it is currently on the runway at GAIA [Grantley Adams International Airport] safely,” Sharleen Brown, Corporate Communication Specialist with GAIA, said in a statement. She confirmed that all three individuals on board – two passengers and a pilot – were unharmed.Related

• Luggage holds sway over historical baggage in tight turnaround to final

• Heartbreak or glory, India and South Africa are already winners

• Unbeaten India and South Africa come face to face in bid for glory

• Wiser, fitter, stronger Jansen leaps from one World Cup to another

• Shamsi: 'It's a huge achievement, but we didn't come here to get to the final'

Passengers on the flight from Trinidad to Barbados were told the tentative rescheduled time was 4.30pm, which would amount to nearly six hours of delay. All the boarded passengers had to return to the terminal, merely the latest addition to the many delays endured by teams at the tournament.The worst was when Sri Lanka, South Africa and Ireland had to spend a whole night at the airport when travelling from Florida to New York. Even Afghanistan, who finished their last Super Eight match in the wee hours of Tuesday, had their flight delayed before playing their first T20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.This is the first time South Africa have made a final of a men’s World Cup. The final will be played on Saturday morning, as opposed to the usual tradition of playing on Sundays. That change meant the second semi-final, currently delayed because of inclement weather in Guyana, could not have a reserve day. Despite giving the two semi-finals the same amount of extra time to get a game in, the ICC has used different playing conditions if the matches needed to be shortened.

Rohit and Co have racked up nine wins in a row while New Zealand have become what they need to be to win

Alagappan Muthu14-Nov-20237:44

Kumble: India batters need to watch out for extra swing if they chase

Big picture: Big stakes

First, the unstoppable force. India are having the World Cup of their wildest dreams and it has nothing to do with the fact they are undefeated in it. That is merely a byproduct of their planning leading into the tournament. They left 2019 needing… more. So they went out searching, trying as many as 50 different players across four years and 66 matches. Six months out from the showpiece, they had identified who they wanted and were focused on sharpening their skills. In the 15 ODIs between March and October 2023, they were picking all of their XIs from a set of 24.The chosen ones were given all the support they needed to live up to their full potential, which is why Suryakumar Yadav finally looks like he belongs in ODI cricket. Off the field, India were doing even better. The success of this campaign – and it is already a success – was built in the doctor’s offices and the gyms and the training sessions that enabled Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul Shreyas Iyer to come back from injury without losing a shred of their ability to the doubt that their bodies might break down again if they pushed it too hard.Rohit Sharma and his predecessor Virat Kohli have often pointed to a record of sustained excellence whenever they were faced with questions around the lack of ICC trophies since 2013. Whether the drought ends in a week’s time or not, the gains this team has made – the freedom with which they bat, the discipline with which they bowl, the trust they have in themselves and their method, the joy they have spread – already feel historic.Now, the immovable shape-shifting object. New Zealand become what they need to be to win. Rachin Ravindra began scoring mountains of runs in the top order, so the opener they invested in during the lead-up to the World Cup has to warm the bench. They’ve turned Glenn Phillips into something close to an allrounder, the man has doubled the number of overs he had bowled in his entire ODI career during the course of this competition. They’ve dealt with injury to key personnel. They weren’t derailed by the close-run loss to Australia or the one after they scored 401 against Pakistan. They pitch up. They do what they can. And then they are at peace with whatever happens. This is why they are so good in high-pressure games like the one that took place on July 14, 2019.Expect a cagey start. Each team trying ever so hard not to make the first mistake, trying not so much to beat the opposition as outlasting them. New Zealand are masters at this art; at just staying in the game long enough until there is an opening to burst through.Related

• Williamson: 'When you get to finals, things start again'

• Samiuddin: Bumrah is a species of exactly one

• Glenn Phillips 2.0 takes centre stage with New Zealand

• Stump Mic – Timeouts, resets and the final four

• Santner needs to be more Santner than Jadeja

Form guide

India: WWWWW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
New Zealand: WLLLL

In the spotlight: Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult

Jasprit Bumrah is the man that makes India unbeatable. Without him, they went out with a whimper at the T20 World Cup last year. With him, they thrashed the team that had tossed them out in Australia despite a massive batting malfunction. Almost 80% of his deliveries (175 out of 228) in the first ten overs are dots. He always comes back in the middle overs because if he can pick up a wicket then, a new batter will have to face the prospect of scoring those crucial, and quick, runs against, in all likelihood, Bumrah himself because he truly does come alive at the death with his slower balls and his yorkers.New Zealand’s best chance to win will be bowling under lights. The new ball has moved dramatically in Mumbai after sunset, and early wickets are the surest way to cripple an opposition, even one with so many fail-safes. Trent Boult has not always had the conditions in his favour at this World Cup but if the fates align to present him the opportunity to target the stumps and the pads of Rohit and Kohli and Shreyas and Rahul, he will sure as hell take it. And even if he has to bowl in the heat, he’ll be spurred on by an acute sense of unfinished business.2:29

Ravindra: Playing against India at the Wankhede is like a dream

Team news

Nether India nor New Zealand will be looking to shuffle up their packs. Lockie Ferguson has been managing an achilles injury throughout the tournament, the Black Caps coach Gary Stead told , but he also added that the fast bowler should be good to play the semi-final. On the eve of the game, Williamson confirmed all the players in their squad were fit and available for selection.India have been playing the same XI since their fifth league game, which was against New Zealand in Dharamsala.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Mohammed Shami, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed SirajNew Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

It’s been fun to bat in the first innings at Wankhede stadium and then fun again after 20 overs of the chase is done. The in-between period is when the quicks have wreaked havoc. The weather is set fair and even if not there is a reserve day for the semi-final.

Stats and trivia

• India currently have the most wickets (85), best economy rate (4.5), best average (19.6) and best strike rate (26.2) among all teams in the World Cup.
• Tim Southee vs Virat Kohli could be a fun battle. It has produced 205 runs at a strike rate of 101 but also six dismissals as well.
• New Zealand have been effective at scoring runs quickly in this World Cup, having the joint-highest run rate (6.5) among all teams in the tournament.
• Among opening pairs with at least 1000 runs in ODIs, Rohit and Shubman Gill have the second-highest average (74.8) behind only David Warner and Travis Head (80.1).

Quotes

“The underdog thing, from what you guys write, I do not think it has changed too much, but that is fine you know, and India have been exceptional.”
“I’ve played a lot of cricket here: these four or five games are not going to tell a lot about what Wankhede is… I certainly believe that toss is not the [decisive] factor.”

Carlson half-century resists but huge deficit remains on cards

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2023Glamorgan 150 for 6 (Carlson 53*) trail Yorkshire 500 (Masood 192, Bean 93, Hill 71) by 350 runsYorkshire skipper Shan Masood extended his highest score for the county to 192 as he led his side to maximum batting points against Glamorgan on the second day of their LV= County Championship clash at Sophia Gardens.The Pakistani Test star dominated the day once again as he built on his overnight tally of 113. That had led his side to an overnight score of 330 for 3, which then grew to 500 before their first innings ended with a run out in the 122nd over.Yorkshire then tightened their grip on the game by dismissing six home batsmen before the end of the second day to leave the Welsh county reeling at 150 for 6, still trailing by 350 runs and potentially facing the follow-on. A battling, unbeaten half-century from Kiran Carlson kept Glamorgan’s hopes aliveMasood was at the heart of his side’s third score of 500 this summer and he brought up his 150 off 191 balls with 15 fours. He was finally beaten eight runs short of what would have been his third championship double century – he scored two for Derbyshire in 2022 – when he was caught by Sam Northeast off the bowling of James Harris.He enjoyed two century partnerships – 127 with Finlay Bean and 132 with George Hill – and
put on 53 for the sixth wicket with Matthew Revis as the Yorkshire batsmen dominated the home bowling.Yorkshire lost George Hill for 71, Jonny Tattersall for six and Revis for 28 in the morning session as they went into lunch have secured their five batting points by reaching 448 for 6 from 107 overs.No sooner had Masmood departed, than Jordan Thompson went the very next ball from Harris, and it only took Glamorgan a further five overs to mop up the tail. It was still not enough, though, to earn them the three bowling points they needed to keep alive their outside hopes of staying in the promotion race.Midway through the day the news came through that Durham had gained promotion to Division One due to Leicestershire’s failure to earn any batting bonus points against Sussex. The north-east county need a maximum of five points from their last two games to seal the Division Two title.After suffering defeat at Worcester last week, the target for Glamorgan was to win the game with a full set of bonus points, but set the tall order of chasing 500 they then got off to a poor start with the bat.Zain ul Hassan was bowled by the last ball of the fifth over from Ben Coad for eight and when the experienced Colin Ingram had his bails sent flying in the air by Jordan Thompson for five three overs later, Glamorgan were struggling at 19 for 2.By the end of play they had were reduced to six down after Dom Bess had clean bowled Sam Northeast for 16, Revis had ended his first over by removing Eddie Byrom for 40 and then had Billy Root caught behind for four.The Yorkshire pace man ended the day for 3 for 20 from his five overs.

Bas de Leede made an impressive 66 but the rest of the batting struggled

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2022Blair Tickner and Ben Sears shared seven wickets as New Zealand overcame a spirited Netherlands display to claim the first T20I in The Hague.New Zealand had to work hard to post 148 for 7 as the home side’s spinners made life tricky with Jimmy Neesham’s 32 off 17 providing important late impetus.Tickner then knocked over Netherlands’ top order, which included the ungainly dismissal of Max O’Dowd who was left flat in the crease after trying to scoop, as they slipped to 15 for 3 in the fourth over.Bas de Leede and captain Scott Edwards brought some stability with a stand of 49 to keep Netherlands in the hunt, but the partnership was broken when Glenn Phillips added another entry to his fielding highlights reel with a superb swooping catch in the deep to claim Edwards.Sears then caused problems with his pace, finding the top of Teja Nidamanuru with keeper Dave Cleaver jumping to take another smart catch.At 93 for 7 the game was just about done and it was too much for de Leede to overhaul despite his fine hand of 66 off 53 balls which ended in the final over to give Tickner his fourth.New Zealand had not been able to stamp their authority with the bat with Finn Allen, despite one six, not getting going in the powerplay which saw them 33 for 2 after six overs.They had only moved as far as 60 for 2 at the halfway mark and by the 15th over that had become an uncertain 95 for 5 with legspinner Shariz Ahmad removing Daryl Mitchell and Phillips – the latter to a sharp caught-and-bowled – while Martin Guptill had picked out deep square having anchored the innings.The momentum changed in the 17th over when Neesham took Logan van Beek for 22 including two sixes although he fell to the last ball of the over. Ish Sodhi then helped take 20 from the 19th over included a brace of sixes for himself.Between them Netherlands’ spinners took 4 for 80 from their 12 overs with Ahmad and Tim Pringle particularly impressive.The second and final T20I takes place on Friday.

Updates, analysis and colour from the fourth day of the Sydney Test

Vishal Dikshit10-Jan-2021*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local.

6.05pm local time/12.35pm IST: Stumps: India lose openers, Australia strengthen grip

A lot of reviews later, Australia finally got rid of Rohit Sharma as he pulled a straight ball to fine leg for 52. On another day, one of those pulls could have gone over the same fielder, but on this occasion it went straight to him. India end the day on 98 for 2; they need another 309 runs to win, or need to survive 97 overs tomorrow to draw this. With that, it’s the end of another full day of Test cricket which has put Australia well on top. Remember, Jadeja may not be able to bat with his fractured thumb so the hosts are only three wickets away from opening India’s tail. Given the kind of quality Australia’s attack possesses with no weak links, India have a massive task ahead of him and no rain in sight to save them. I leave you all with this analysis from Ricky Ponting of Rohit’s dismissal:

5.20pm local time/11.50am IST: Two reviews in four balls now