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ScorecardJordan Clark’s stand with Tom Moores was crucial•PA Photos

Precisely eleven months since they danced and sang on the Edgbaston outfield after winning last year’s NatWest T20 Blast, Lancashire’s cricketers went into their final group match with coach Ashley Giles voicing the hope they could “upset the party” of the Birmingham Bears, his former side, who needed a win to be certain of reaching the last eight.By the end of a fine and rather fascinating match, Giles could argue that he had achieved his modest objective with a 30-run victory, albeit that both eliminated teams were left dancing round their handbags in the kitchen while “Agadoo” played on a continuous loop.Lancashire had needed either a washout or a tie at Chester-le-Street if they were to qualify and the joy which inspired their victory song was surely tinged with the knowledge that they had squandered their short-form opportunities earlier in the season.

Bell rues missed chances

Warwickshire skipper, Ian Bell, rued the finish to Lancashire’s innings which, as it turned out, carried the game in the home side’s favour.
“When it game to the key periods of the game we just didn’t do it well enough. Conceding 41 off the last three was disappointing and in this kind of game that was just a lot of runs.
“But it wasn’t down to this game or tonight. We’ve had two games at least when we had opportunities to win the game and didn’t take them. At this level and in this league, when you have chances you have to take them. This game should have been dead and buried but we only have to look at ourselves.”

For their part, having restricted Lancashire to 59 for 5 in the 14th over Birmingham allowed their hosts to amass 124 for 5 and the Bears then failed by a distance to chase down that score on a slow pitchBoth these teams could echo the impassioned regret of Billy Bigelow in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel: they had both let their golden chances pass them by.None of which should detract from the enjoyment eventually derived by most of the 10,263 spectators, Lancashire second-biggest T20 crowd, from this slow-burner of a short-form game in which the home batsmen had struggled painfully in the opening overs against an accurate Bears attack. Only four boundaries were struck in the opening 13.3 overs, all of them in the powerplay. Like a drunk trying to unlock his front door, each Lancashire batsman searched for the correct opening without ever quite finding it.Josh Poysden took a couple of wickets and was the pick of the Bears attack but he had finished his four-over spell when Tom Moores and Jordan Clark launched a late counter-attack, each batsman hitting two fours and a six in their 65-run stand for the sixth wicket. Having sat rather quietly, at least by T20 standards, the crowd responded warmly to this fine cricket and to the inventive excellence of 19-year-old Moores, who yet again looked like the sort of cricketer you want by your side in a scrap.By the mid-innings break it was clear that Lancashire had posted a defendable total. Who knows, perhaps the enraged supporter who had suggested earlier in the evening that the entire county club should be disbanded was now supporting it be reformed. All the same, no one knew then that Moores’s unbeaten 39 would be the highest score of the match or that Clark’s 31 not out would be the second best.That this was so can be explained partly by the failure of the Bears batsmen to adapt their strokeplay on this sluggish wicket, one perfectly at odds with the sort of wicket generally recommended for T20 cricket. But Lancashire’s victory was also a tribute to the work of their four spinners, none of whom went for many. Indeed, Croft conceded 12 runs from his four overs but he was only the leader of a slow bowling quartet, including Stephen Parry, Arron Lilley and Liam Livingstone, who sent down 16 overs of twisters yet conceded only 64 runs and took four wickets.Given these difficulties Birmingham probably needed Bell to play one of his classier innings but he was undone by a fine ball from Saqib Mahmood which he could only glove to Moores; the visitors could also have done without the run out of William Porterfield, who ran on a misfield but was sent back by Sam Hain and beaten by Parry’s throw. Having made a modest 57 for two after ten overs, Birmingham lost wickets steadily thereafter, including that of Hain, caught behind off Livingstone for 28 and Matthew Wade bowled by Croft for 16. No other batsmen threatened to change the game.Excellent catches at short fine leg and deep midwicket by Tom Smith and Livingstone removed Laurie Evans and Rikki Clark in the 17th over, bowled by Lilley, but by then Birmingham needed a salvo of shots they had never really looked likely to fire. The very promising right-arm seamer Mahmood grabbed a couple more wickets and finished with 3 for 12.So there will be a party at Edgbaston next month but the hosts will not be present. Their lager will taste flat tonight while Lancashire can take the consolation of victory from what has been an annoying season. Immediate pleasure may be replaced by deeper professional irritations and suddenly it must seem more than eleven months since they paid homage to Bacchus at Edgbaston. They were happy in the haze of that hour but they must wait another season for a chance to repeat such frolics.

Mickey Arthur has warned his Pakistan players they will have to raise their game “considerably” if they are to defeat England in the third Test at Edgbaston.Arthur, the Pakistan coach, admitted that he was “really disappointed” by his side’s performance in defeat at Old Trafford and questioned whether some of them felt they had achieved their objectives with victory at Lord’s. Now he has urged them to replicate the “warrior” performance they demonstrated in that game at Lord’s and insisted England have a vulnerability that can be exploited.”We’re going to have to raise our game considerably from Old Trafford,” Arthur said. “I was really disappointed with our performance at Old Trafford. Really disappointed. There are credible losses and there are losses when you lie down and were steam rolled. Old Trafford was clearly that.”At Lord’s we were upbeat and played with real spirit. We had that edge. I told the guys I thought we were warriors at Lord’s. But we were completely the opposite at Old Trafford.”I wasn’t sure if it was as if we had reached our goal and our goal was to come and win a Test and then take your foot off the pedal.”Part of Pakistan’s problem at Old Trafford was the balance of their side. With just four frontline bowlers playing in back-to-back Tests, Pakistan looked a weary side as England amassed a huge first-innings total. But it seems they have given up on the possibility of Mohammad Hafeez, who remains suspended from bowling in international cricket until he is cleared in an ICC test, taking any part in the series with a ball.”We’re very keen to get Hafeez back but we realise that it’s a delicate process,” Arthur said. “We did some really good work with him during the tour game in Worcester. We got the spin coach Carl Crowe – who worked with Sunil Narine – to work with him for two days. We’re confident that he is getting back to where he needs to be and that gives us so much balance, especially with our left-armers, as suddenly we have an offspinner who can hit those footmarks as well.”We’ll keep chipping away at his action and I’m confident that, if everything goes well, we can have him tested before the one-dayers. Then that will give us another string to our bow in the ODI series.”But while he conceded the current side had improvements to make, he will resist calls to select Umar Akmal or Ahmed Shehzad until they can demonstrate that they “buy into” the values of the side.Mickey Arthur was “disappointed” by Pakistan’s performance at Old Trafford•Getty Images

“That’s been a burning question for a long time,” Arthur said. “I took over once Umar and Ahmed had been left out of the squad and clearly they were left out for the right reasons. I’m hoping they still want to play for their country. But they need to prove to us that they want to be part of our set-up.”As I’ve always said there are no passengers in our set-up. They’ve got to be part of our set-up and buy into what we want to do with the cricket team otherwise it is irrelevant how good they are. We’re going in a direction at pace and we don’t need anyone pulling us down.”Saying that, I’ve had a very brief conversation with Ahmed and not had any conversation for Umar and that will be something for later down the line. I think they’re very exciting cricketers but sometimes we need more than that.”Arthur remained confident that Pakistan can retake the lead in the series at Edgbaston. As well as having analysed the reasons for defeat in Manchester, he felt there were faultiness within the England team that can be exploited. Most noticeably, he suggested their batting is over-reliant upon Alastair Cook and Joe Root and that, if Pakistan can strike with the new ball, they could put the likes of James Vince and Gary Ballance under pressure.”Vince and Ballance are quality players,” Arthur said. “But at this level confidence is such an important thing. They clearly know when they walk out to bat that they are playing for their Test places. So that provides another level of pressure. It’s not just the opposition running in and bowling a cricket ball at you. Suddenly that pressure is intensified as they’re playing for their places as well.”We feel if we can get into them with the new ball we’ve got a real good chance. Clearly Cook and Root are the beacon of England batting at moment.”

The future of the ICC Champions Trophy is back in doubt. It is understood that the tournament is highly likely to be scrapped after the 2021 tournament, in India, and could even be abolished after next year’s tournament, in England, should a new ODI league be introduced from 2019.The Champions Trophy was originally meant to be scrapped after the 2013 edition, but the huge commercial success of that year’s tournament in England led to it being retained, at the expense of the World Test Championship that had been scheduled for 2017.However, now the tournament faces being a victim of the ICC’s ongoing review of the structure of international cricket. Under the latest proposals an ODI league, of 13 nations, is being planned from 2019, culminating in a play-off between the leading two sides in 2022.It is felt that, with an ODI league alongside the World Cup, a third 50-over tournament would be superfluous, adding unnecessarily to the schedule and risking confusion among casual fans by creating three winners of 50-over international tournaments in the space of 24 months.Although the Champions Trophy has proved hugely popular, in part due to its condensed nature – 15 matches will be played over 18 days in next year’s competition – the ICC has never been enamoured with having two marquee tournaments in 50-over cricket alongside the World Twenty20, and had planned to scrap the tournament as far back as 2011.Over seven editions, and despite the concise nature of the tournament, the Champions Trophy has struggled to build up a clear identity. An additional factor is the anticipated return of the World T20 to a two-year cycle. That proposal is likely to be ratified at the forthcoming ICC Annual Conference in Edinburgh.As part of the ICC’s proposals for reforms to the schedule of the international game, it is envisaged that structured competitions – ICC global events, and the leagues in Test and ODI cricket – would take up less than six months a year, creating ample time for countries to organise extra bilateral cricket, such as the Ashes, and for players to participate in domestic T20 leagues.The commercial implications of scrapping the Champions Trophy are not a great concern. This is because the extra value of a biennial WT20 would more than offset the costs of its removal.Indeed, it is understood that senior figures from the ICC have recently met with Star Sports in Dubai to discuss the future of ICC events and whether to retain the Champions Trophy.It is possible that, as part of the negotiations for Star Sports to broadcast the two extra WT20s in this broadcasting cycle, scheduled for 2018 and 2022, they would agree for the 2021 Champions Trophy to be scrapped.If it was agreed that the 2021 Champions Trophy would not take place, India, the scheduled hosts for that tournament, would be well-placed to host another WT20, in 2022 or 2024, instead.

Afghanistan survived a brief scare from Muhammad Waseem to ultimately secure a comfortable 38-run victory, their first of the competition, on Monday. As so often, it was Rashid Khan who led the way for them, his 3 for 21 derailing the UAE at a critical juncture midway through their innings just when they looked to have made a fist of chasing 189. He also became the highest wicket-taker in men’s T20Is in the process.That target was set thanks to half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal, whose 84-run partnership put their side on course after the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. UAE turned in a better bowling performance than they did against Pakistan, with their seam bowlers keeping Afghanistan quiet for the most part through the powerplay and then in phases during the middle overs, but paid the price for losing their discipline at the death. A priceless cameo from Karim Janat in the penultimate over meant 22 runs were added, and helped Afghanistan finish above par.UAE rely so often on Waseem for a realistic shot, and that’s exactly what he provided as he flew out of the blocks. They suffered none of the early difficulties Afghanistan had at the start as they stayed ahead of the asking rate thanks largely to their captain. But it always had the feel of a solo effort, and when he was dismissed, no one could replicate that scoring rate, and Afghanistan had enough on the scoreboard, and with the ball, to make the win look cushier than it once looked.

Early jitters

The pressure was squarely on Afghanistan at the start, having lost the toss and beginning the day at the bottom of the table. That pressure was compounded after Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Rohid got through three tight overs that allowed just 16, before Rohid drew an edge from a struggling Gurbaz to send him on his way. Atal and Ibrahim saw through a further couple of overs with the first five overs of the powerplay decisively going the home side’s way.

Afghanistan turn it around

But UAE introduced seam bowler Saghir Khan for the final over of the powerplay, and the pair saw an opportunity. A slot ball first up was whipped over midwicket, and Saghir’s lengths didn’t improve as the over went on. Afghanistan plundered 18 from it, and it set the partnership on its way.Atal picked his moments through the remainder of the partnership, finding a four or a six just about every over, with Ibrahim cashing in when Dhruv Parashar sent down an errant over. It wasn’t until the Afghanistan 100 was brought up that UAE finally broke the partnership, but with eight overs to go, Afghanistan had the platform they needed to launch.Ibrahim Zadran made 63 in 40 balls•Emirates Cricket Board

Dash at the death

And launch they did. Throughout much of the innings, UAE had held on to Afghanistan’s coattails, making sure they never pulled too far ahead. That faded in the final four overs, though, as the wheels came off for the hosts and Afghanistan’s lower-middle order plundered 49 off the following three overs.Azmatullah Omarzai – whose cameo was pivotal to his side’s acceleration – triggered the gear change with a six over the on side, with Ibrahim matching him later in the over. Omarzai would go after Saghir too, but it was Janat’s takedown of Rohid – who had given away just 12 in his first three and taken two wickets – that took the game out of the UAE’s hands. Two sixes and two fours saw Rohid bleed 22, and though Siddique would follow with a sensational final over, the damage by now had been done.

Rashid triggers implosion

Talismanic captain Waseem had put UAE on course with another excellent display that combined power with timing and judiciousness, keeping up with the asking rate without appearing to take too many risks. There were imperious signs that belligerence would continue unabated when he piledrove Rashid for a straight six over the sight screen in his second over; by the end of the ninth over, they required just over nine with eight wickets still in hand.All of that changed in four deliveries. Waseem miscued one off Sharafudin Ashraf and was gone for a 37-ball 67, leaving Asif Khan to try and repeat the heroics that came in vain against Pakistan.The first ball he faced off Rashid, though, Asif misread the turn, and found his off stump rattled. UAE’s two main attacking threats gone and the asking rate climbing, Rashid sliced through the batting, polishing off Ethan D’Souza and Parashar to finish his spell. By now, the asking rate had climbed to nearly 16, and only an unbeaten half-century from Rahul Chopra, achieved with a six off the game’s final ball, reduced Afghanistan’s margin of victory.

A complete mismatch of a Test in Bulawayo ended within two sessions on the third day, as Wiaan Mulder alone scored only 23 runs lesser than what Zimbabwe’s entire line-up managed across two innings. But even that happened when, at nine wickets down after being asked to follow-on, an outside edge off Wellington Masakadza dribbled away for four wide of the slips.The tenth-wicket stand between Masakadza and Tanaka Chivanga frustrated South Africa for nearly nine overs, but couldn’t prevent an innings defeat. South Africa comprehensively won by an innings and 236 runs to wrap the series 2-0 after confining Zimbabwe to their heaviest defeat by runs in the first Test of the series. It was South Africa’s tenth Test win on the trot, including their victory over Australia in the WTC 2025 final last month.Related

• Matigimu fined, handed demerit point for throwing the ball and hitting Pretorius

• Mulder: 'Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be'

• Mulder makes 367*, the fifth-highest individual Test score of all time

Zimbabwe started day three of the Bulawayo Test trailing by a massive 405 runs, with nine wickets in hand. While an innings defeat was inevitable given the deficit and the time remaining in the Test, a middle- and lower-order collapse of 6 for 31 after lunch hastened the eventual result.But before that, overnight batters Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Nick Welch negotiated the seven overs from Codi Yusuf and Corbin Bosch to start play by mostly blocking and leaving the deliveries. The first over of spin, though, got South Africa the breakthrough. Off his second ball, Senuran Muthusamy had Kaitano chipping to cover for 40 in the 24th over.Welch, at the other end, struggled to tick along. His first 45 balls fetched him only 14 runs, and one of his two boundaries came earlier in the day when he outside-edged Yusuf between third slip and gully. In the 26th over, however, Welch swung Muthusamy for a huge six down the ground. Next ball, he went for a hoick across the line, and the ball missed both the bat and the leg stump.But that didn’t prevent Welch from keeping his counterattack going. He punched Mulder wide of gully for four, had a difficult chance dropped by David Bedingham at backward point off Muthusamy, was beaten and nearly stumped next ball, and repeated his massive hit for six off Muthusamy – all these in the space of facing nine balls.It was Mulder’s Test, though, and come the 29th over, his heel was just within permissible limits as he cleaned Sean Williams up for 11. Welch slowed down after that wicket, looking content to push for singles and bat time. He raised his fifty just before lunch when he flicked Prenelan Subrayen for two to fine leg , before both Welch and Craig Ervine went unbeaten at the interval. At the time, Zimbabwe were still another 313 runs behind South Africa.However, Welch and Ervine didn’t last long enough. Muthusamy got a leading edge from Welch, who was caught by Mulder at slip for 55 in the third over after lunch. That began the slide, as 153 for 3 soon turned out to be 184 for 9. Yusuf got among the wickets when he trapped Wessly Madhevere in front for 5 in the 53rd over. Ervine and Tafadzwa Tsiga strung together plenty of dots as the scoring stalled, before Yusuf had Tsiga chipping to short midwicket to end his stay on 1 off 20 balls.At six down, Masakadza joined Ervine, and kept South Africa waiting for more. Masakadza edged one just short of second slip off his first ball, and had a tight stumping decision go his way. It was Bosch who ended the five-run union in almost six overs when he had Ervine edging behind for 49 to start the 65th over. Three balls later, Bosch bowled Kundai Matigimu for a duck to bag his third wicket. In the 69th, Bosch had Blessing Muzarabani edging to third slip without scoring, with Zimbabwe trailing by 272 runs.It was a matter of time before South Africa wrapped up victory, but while last man Tanaka Chivanga had some fun, Masakadza too hung around to annoy South Africa. Chivanga scored 22 off 26 balls, with three boundaries and a six, but was the last man to fall when Muthusamy had him top-edging to slip. Fittingly, it was Mulder who took the winning catch, having stood in as captain for this Test, and being named Player of the Match for his marathon 367* and Player of the Series for scoring 531 runs overall and bagging seven wickets.

A clash broke out between pro-Shakib Al Hasan and anti-Shakib Al Hasan groups outside the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Sunday, the day before the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa.A group called “Shakibians” chanted slogans, demanding Shakib be reinstated in the Test squad, but was chased away by another group in the presence of security forces. All this while the South Africans were training inside the stadium. There were no injuries reported, but the Dhaka-based said that security forces had detained one person.Until this clash, the two sets of protesters – those who want Shakib to get a chance to play a farewell Test series and those who are politically opposed to Shakib, who was a member of the Awami League party whose government was overthrown in August – had carried out their protests separately.Related

• Shakib, from darling of the masses to enemy of the people

• BCB chief: Shakib unlikely to play ODIs against Afghanistan

• Taijul's light shines bright even as Shakib shadow looms large

• Shakib: 'To those hurt by my silence, I sincerely apologise'

Shakib had been picked in Bangladesh’s squad for the first Test against South Africa last Wednesday, but a day later, a group called Mirpur Chhatra Janata (a student body) sent the BCB a letter demanding his removal from the squad. Things moved quickly after that. Shakib told ESPNcricinfo on Thursday that he wouldn’t be traveling to Bangladesh for the game. The BCB withdrew him from the team the following day, with sports adviser Asif Bhuiyan confirming that he had told Shakib not to travel to Bangladesh because of security concerns.Shakib’s fans gathered outside the Shere Bangla for the first time on Friday, demanding his reinstatement in the Test squad. They repeated the protests on Sunday, though this time they were barricaded by security forces.Shakib, a globetrotting cricketer, lives primarily in New York City, and hasn’t been in Bangladesh since May this year. At the time of the anti-government protests, which led to the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina (Awami League) government, Shakib – a member of parliament from the party at the time – was in Canada taking part in Global T20 Canada. Prior to that, he was in the USA for Major League Cricket and, since then, he has played Test cricket in Pakistan and India apart from playing one game for Somerset in the County Championship.

Ishan Kishan has been ruled out of the first round of Duleep Trophy with a groin injury. Sanju Samson has been named as his replacement in the India D squad.Kishan had sustained the injury during the Buchi Babu Tournament earlier this month in Tamil Nadu where he played two games for Jharkhand, his first set of multi-day games in over a year. India D will open their campaign against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India C, on September 5, in Anantapur.Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, meanwhile, has been cleared to play and is available for selection for India B. Reddy, who had a sports hernia surgery in June after being withdrawn from India’s T20I squad to Zimbabwe, was initially included subject to fitness.Related

• Duleep Trophy first round: illness rules Siraj and Malik out; Jadeja withdrawn

• Suryakumar out of first round of Duleep Trophy with injury

Meanwhile, India A will be without fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who continues to recover from a quadriceps injury. Prasidh has begun bowling at full tilt following a four-month rehab, but the National Cricket Academy trainers want to tread cautiously, given he has now been hampered with injury concerns for the better part of two seasons.Prasidh last played for India on the tour of South Africa in December-January, and he is believed to be nearing full match fitness. It’s likely he could yet play a part during the later rounds of the Duleep Trophy in the lead-up to the Ranji Trophy.Kishan and Prasidh’s absence adds to a growing list of top India players who have been ruled out of the tournament for different reasons. Earlier this week, Suryakumar Yadav’s comeback to first-class cricket had to be put on hold after he bruised his hand, also during the Buchi Babu tournament, playing for Mumbai in Coimbatore. A BCCI release said that the medical team is continuing to assess his injury, and that a further evaluation next week will determine his availability for the second round.Prior to that, the fast-bowling pair of Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik had been pulled out because of dengue fever, while Ravindra Jadeja was withdrawn from the India B squad. Navdeep Saini was named Siraj’s replacement in India B, and Gourav Yadav, the Puducherry fast bowler, was called in to replace Umran for India C.The first round of the Duleep Trophy will be played in Anantapur and Bengaluru from September 5. It’s the only round where some of the top India Test players – including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav – will feature before they disperse to get ready for India’s Test season that begins against Bangladesh in Chennai from September 19.The Indian team is likely to assemble in Chennai on September 12 for a short preparatory camp in the lead-up to the series.

Lauren Filer insists that England will not be getting ahead of themselves in their ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, despite a comprehensive nine-wicket victory in the series opener in Durham. Nevertheless, she admits that the T20 World Cup in October, and her potential role on those slower wickets in Bangladesh, will be a factor in her preparations for the rest of the summer.Filer, England’s fastest bowler, made her second ODI appearance of the summer on Wednesday, opening alongside Lauren Bell for the first time, with Kate Cross missing the series with an abdominal strain. She made a strong impact, bowling five powerplay overs for 18 and claiming the key early wicket of Suzie Bates, before passing the baton to England’s formidable trio of spinners, who claimed seven wickets between them in bowling New Zealand out for 156.England’s openers, Tammy Beaumont and Maia Bouchier, then picked off the bulk of those runs in a 137-run stand spanning 17.2 overs, to extend the team’s recent dominance over New Zealand, whom they beat in six matches out of eight across white-ball formats on their tour of the country in March and April.Related

• Heather Knight: New Zealand ODIs offer chance for World Cup experimentation

• Powerplay: Beaumont, Devine, Wolvaardt on the curious case of women's Test cricket

• Dean, Beaumont, Bouchier lead New Zealand rout

• Tammy Beaumont hopes 'ruthless' victory is sign of inspiration to come

“We will definitely not underestimate New Zealand as a team,” Filer said on the eve of the second ODI in Worcester. “We know that they can hit a big ball and take wickets as well, so we’ve got to be careful. We don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves and throw everything at it, without actually thinking about it, but we’re just all up for our performance, and taking the momentum from the last game into the next one.”Filer herself took particular pride in her economy-rate (3.60) in the Durham fixture. Despite having been told by Jon Lewis, England’s head coach, that wickets were the key thing that she could offer, and that going for a few extra runs did not matter in the grander scheme of things, she conceded just two boundaries and one wide in her pacy new-ball burst, and admitted that it gave her a lift to perform her primary role with gusto without maintaining an extra level of control.”Lewy’s always told me that runs don’t matter as much,” Filer said. “But in Durham it was lovely to have that control. To only go at three and a half, it was really nice to see that on the scoreboard when when I turned around, because I wouldn’t have necessarily had that control this time last year.”It is evidence, Filer feels, of a greater understanding of her own game, and one that augurs well for a potential tweaking of her role at the World Cup, where there may be a greater need to mix up her lengths and paces to mitigate for the slower conditions.”On the pitch we played on in Durham – and most of the pitches in England – the top of stumps is the best option,” she said. “With the slower pitches, I’ll be using that quicker ball, but then it’ll be about having slower balls or yorkers, and anything that grips into the pitch, and using them wisely. I didn’t feel like I needed to do that in the last game, but moving forward, I might be able to show what I could do.”Lauren Filer celebrates the wicket of Suzie Bates in the first ODI•Getty Images

Filer’s raw pace, allied to her growing range of variations, means she could yet be deployed at the World Cup in a similar role to that which Jofra Archer performs for the men – with an impact at the top and tail of the innings, plus an ability to return in the middle of an innings if a breakthrough is required.”I’d love to do what Jofra does,” she said. “Obviously he has a great amount of control and his slower balls take a lot of wickets. But I’m trying not to look too far ahead. I wouldn’t say I’ve had a specific role given to me yet, but we’ll see where we’re at closer to the time.”I feel like I’ve worked quite hard on my accuracy, especially since my debut,” she added. “I think I’m in a good place with that. It’s about trying to move away from my stock ball and show my variations, and actually use them as a threat. When you come up against the best players, you’re not able to bowl the same ball all the time. So I’ll keep working on them until the World Cup.”Filer admits there’s no guarantees of a central role at the World Cup, especially given the ubiquity of England’s spin trio of Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn. “It’s so hard as a seamer, you really want to play but you can’t push any of them out of the team,” she said. “They’re just absolutely world-class. Even if one of them doesn’t have the best day, the other two will come flying in with three or four wickets.But whatever happens, Filer knows she’ll have the support of a dressing-room which she describes as “the best environment I’ve ever been in”.”It’s just somewhere that you can be yourself,” she said. “As a team, we trust each other to do the things we do well, and that’s really important. Even on a day when it doesn’t go well, knowing that you’ve got the support of your team-mates when you come off the field, and a shoulder to cry on, that’s something really special, and something hopefully we can carry on throughout the years.”

Match details

Nepal vs Sri Lanka
Lauderhill, Florida, 7:30pm local time

Big picture: Nepal’s best chance of beating Sri Lanka

So, you’re saying there’s a chance? That will be the essence of Sri Lanka’s thinking from here on as they seek to keep alive their dwindling hopes of Super Eight qualification in the T20 World Cup 2024.After two defeats in two – to South Africa and Bangladesh – the former world champions are now firmly in must-win territory. As things stand, nothing but outright victories against Nepal and Netherlands will suffice, and even then, Sri Lanka will need at least one (ideally both) of those sides to beat Bangladesh. It’s an unlikely scenario certainly, but one an entire nation will be aiming to manifest into existence.Related

• A Sri Lanka campaign that could have been an email

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Going in their favour will be the fact that the drop-in pitches, and the inherent unpredictability they bring, are now firmly in the rearview mirror. Indeed, Sri Lanka’s batters, like those of several other sides, have struggled to deal with some of the undercooked surfaces on offer in New York and Dallas, and will no doubt see the scarcely-utilised but relatively more seasoned tracks in Lauderhill as a welcome change.In fact, Sri Lanka will go in with a wealth of information by comparison, having played both their warm-up games there. They will also be able to gather info from the India-West Indies series held there late last year, while it’s a neat fact that Sri Lanka themselves were among the first teams to play in Lauderhill all the way back in 2010.As such their only real worry might be factors well beyond their control as their tournament fate might well be at the hands of the weather gods, with rain a mainstay in Florida as of late – a washed-out match and the subsequent shared points will almost extinguish any lingering hopes of qualification.As for Nepal, qualification to the next round was always a fanciful notion, especially having been pitted in a dreaded group of death. Such was their plight, their opening game against Netherlands was already one they could ill afford to lose and following that result they were left needing to beat at least two of Sri Lanka, South Africa or Bangladesh to be in with a shot at qualification.They now come against an opponent they have never faced, and one that possesses a bowling attack with the sort of variety that is tough to prepare for at the best of times. That said, this is a Sri Lankan outfit that is out of sorts in terms of their batting, and on the biggest stage you will rarely be presented with a more opportune moment of grabbing a historic upset.Nepal will want their second-highest wicket-taker in Karan KC to step up•ICC/Getty Images

Form guide

Nepal LLLWW
Sri Lanka LLWLW

In the spotlight: Karan KC and Nuwan Thushara

Sandeep Lamichhane is no doubt a massive miss, and someone whose absence hindered Nepal significantly in their opening game loss to the Netherlands as well. But in the experienced Karan KC – their second-highest T20I wicket taker – they have someone that can pose questions to Sri Lanka’s top order, and potentially expose their soft underbelly. Karan, to be fair, hasn’t been at his wicket-taking best in recent times but he has a pedigree for grabbing hauls and Nepal will be hoping the next one is just around the corner.While Sri Lanka’s struggles are well documented across their opening two games, one area in which they’ve excelled with is the ball. That has been primarily down to their success in the powerplay, where the slingy Nuwan Thushara has proved a handful for opposition batters. With his ability to swing the ball late and his unusual trajectory, he nearly single-handedly stole a win against Bangladesh. Nepal’s batters will have no doubt done their homework but facing him will be a whole new proposition.

Team news

There’s been a fair bit of rain in Lauderhill, which means potentially some moisture in the surface. It would be unsurprising then for Nepal to stick with their seam-heavy combination.Nepal (probable XI): 1 Kushal Bhurtel, 2 Aasif Sheikh (wk), 3 Anil Sah, 4 Kushal Malla, 5 Rohit Paudel (capt), 6 Dipendra Singh Airee, 7 Gulsan Jha, 8 Sompal Kami, 9 Karan KC, 10 Abinash Bohara 11 Sagar DhakalNuwan Thushara has been successful for Sri Lanka in the powerplay•ICC/Getty Images

The potentially seam friendly conditions in Florida could see Sri Lanka opt to bring in a third frontline seamer in either Dushmantha Chameera or Dilshan Madushanka – neither of whom has featured in the competition yet – in place of Maheesh Theekshana.Sri Lanka (probable XI): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Kamindu Mendis, 4 Dhananjaya de Silva, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga (capt), 9 Maheesh Theekshana/Dilshan Madushanka, 10 Matheesha Pathirana, 11 Nuwan Thushara

Pitch and conditions

Sri Lanka’s warm up games in Lauderhill saw runs and all indications currently are that the pitch for this game will assist the batters. Rain, however, is set to play spoilsport with Sri Lanka already having had a training session on Monday curtailed by the inclement weather. Tuesday’s forecast is not any better with thunderstorms expected throughout the evening, so this could be fairly stop-start affair.

Stats and trivia

• Nuwan Thushara’s strike rate of a wicket every 9.4 deliveries is the best of any bowler from a Full Member nation to have taken at least 10 wickets in T20Is since January 2023
• Eleven of the 15 completed matches in Lauderhill have been won by the side batting first
• The average score in Lauderhill is 160. The average first innings score is 168.

Quotes

“I think the gap is very good, especially to prepare ourselves, especially after we lost against Netherlands. We have utilised three, four net sessions here and we are very well prepared for tomorrow’s game.”
“I think the morale is there, the spirit is there. It’s just one missed opportunity. Otherwise, if you want to judge anyone, how they feel, just see them how they bowl and how they field.”