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Kane Williamson has recovered from the groin injury which kept him out of New Zealand’s tour of India to take his place in the squad to face England while Wellington allrounder Nathan Smith has been handed his first Test call-up.Uncapped seamer Jacob Duffy is also part of the squad with Bear Sears (knee) and Kyle Jamieson (back) unavailable due to injury. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who took 13 wickets in Pune, will come into the group for the second and third Tests in Wellington and Hamilton. The opening Test takes place in Christchurch from November 28.Related

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Smith, 26, made his international debut in the first ODI against Sri Lanka earlier this week. In last season’s Plunket Shield he was the leading wicket-taker with 33 at 17.18 and in September was awarded a central contract. He also took 27 wickets at 21.14 for Worcestershire in last season’s County Championship alongside scoring three half-centuries.Ajaz Patel, who claimed 15 wickets against India, has not been included which means his record of taking all 85 of his Test wickets away from home will remain intact for now.Williamson’s return to fitness could put pressure on Will Young, player of the series in India, to retain his place in the XI.It was announced earlier on Friday that Tim Southee would retire from Test cricket after the England series unless New Zealand make the World Test Championship final.The 3-0 win in India has given them a chance of reaching the final again although even with a whitewash of England would not guarantee it.”It’s obviously a big series for the side in terms of the World Test Championship and to also now be farewelling someone like Tim Southee, only raises it up further,” Sam Wells, the New Zealand selector, said. “Tim has had a fabulous career and will go down as one of the great Black Caps.”I am sure the team and the public will want to give Tim a fitting send-off in what is a highly anticipated series. It’s also an exciting time for Nathan to be brought into the Test squad for the first time. Nathan is an exciting talent with a proven first-class record and I’m sure he will bring a lot of skill and energy to the group.”

New Zealand Test squad vs England

Tom Latham (capt), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner (Tests 2 and 3), Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young

Legspinner Usman Qadir has retired from Pakistan cricket. Four years after returning from Australia and committing his international future to Pakistan, Qadir, 31, announced on social media that his days as a Pakistan cricketer were behind him.”Today, I am announcing my retirement from Pakistan cricket,” Qadir said. “As I reflect on this unforgettable journey, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude. It has been an immense honour to represent my country, and I’m thankful for the support of my coaches and team-mates who have been with me every step of the way.”Qadir played one ODI and 25 T20Is for Pakistan, making his debut in a T20I home series against Zimbabwe. His career got off to a flying start as he took eight wickets for 60 runs in three matches, and was declared the Player of the Series. At his peak, he was considered Pakistan’s primary legspinner, briefly keeping Shadab Khan out of the T20I side.That Qadir would ever send down an international ball for Pakistan was unlikely as recently as 2018, when he declared his desire to represent Australia. He made his debut for Western Australia in 2018, and played for the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder in the BBL.Despite a bright start, inconsistency dogged his performances, with disciplinary concerns also hampering his time in Australia; in 2019, he was caught driving well over the speed limit, and summoned to court.In late 2019, almost out of nowhere, Misbah-ul-Haq named him in a Pakistan squad for a series in Australia, before Qadir had even publicly committed to playing for Pakistan. Just weeks earlier, Qadir’s father and Pakistan’s most famous legspinner Abdul Qadir, had died of a sudden cardiac arrest. Usman would later say his father’s passing was a significant factor in him committing to the country of his birth.Qadir continued to be dogged by inconsistency with Pakistan, too. He last played for Pakistan at the Asian Games in October 2023, though he played two games in the the recently concluded Champions One-Day Cup with the Markhors. In the last year, his relationship with the PCB was at breaking point, and he accused the board of mismanaging his injury in May, stating he had screenshots and other evidence to prove it.Qadir did not specify in the statement what his future plans were, but paid tribute to the man whose surname invariably weighs heavy on his shoulders. “As I step into this new chapter, I will be continuing my dad’s legacy, embracing both my love for cricket and the lessons he instilled in me. I carry with me the spirit of Pakistan cricket and the cherished memories we created together.”

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

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• 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

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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.”

Another game, another close one for South Africa and they seem to be making a habit of sneaking over the line at the T20 World Cup 2024. This time, they were pushed by USA, who gave an excellent account of themselves in their first Super Eight match.On a batter-friendly pitch, USA kept South Africa to under 200 from 126 for 1 in the 13th over. Quinton de Kock’s first half-century of the tournament set South Africa up, before Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh took 3 for 15 between them, but the rest of the attack could not provide enough support. Heinrich Klaasen and Tristan Stubbs shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 53 to give South Africa a competitive total to defend.USA were off to a bright start thanks to Steven Taylor but Kagiso Rabada’s double strike in the Powerplay kept things even. Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi squeezed USA through the middle but South African born Andries Gous very nearly had a decisive say on proceedings. His unbeaten 80 and his 91 run-stand with Harmeet – the second-highest for the sixth wicket or lower in all T20 World Cups – took USA to within 28 runs of victory, with two overs left. Ultimately, Rabada and Anrich Nortje kept USA at bay and South Africa earned their first Super Eight points.

Only a matter of time for de Kock

It had to be. After scores of 20, 0, 18 and 10, de Kock, in what could be his last international assignment, finally brought out the big guns. He didn’t hit South Africa’s first boundary – that was Reeza Hendricks’ six over cover – and waited until the fourth over before he properly got hold of one but when he did, he did not stop. De Kock pulled Jasdeep Singh through midwicket and then hit him for three successive sixes, all with the wind into the leg side. Jasdeep’s first over cost 28 runs, just 10 fewer than South Africa’s highest Powerplay of the tournament before this match, and set them up for a score of 64 for 1 at the end of the fielding restrictions. De Kock went on to bring up fifty with a six off Corey Anderson, off the 26th ball he faced and to his highest T20 World Cup score: 74.

Catching on point. The bowling? Not always.

USA’s fielding got them back into the game from Anderson’s excellent judgement to take a skier off Hendricks’ top-edge in the third over to Shayan Jahangir judging his distance from the boundary rope well at cow corner to end de Kock’s knock. But it was Ali Khan, who dived forward as he ran in from the deep backward point fence and held on to the grab that could have changed the innings. Aiden Markram was on 46 and hit the last ball of the 15th over in Ali’s direction. He took a stunner to deny South Africa’s captain the chance to push the score above 200. Despite all that, USA still gave away 53 runs in the last five overs and will not be entirely happy with some of their bowling. While Netravalkar and Harmeet’s eight overs cost just 45 runs with four wickets and only four fours, the other five bowlers delivered 12 overs for 148 runs, took no wickets and gave away nine fours and 10 sixes.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rabada roars back

Rabada has operated somewhat in the shadows in the group stage of the T20 World Cup and took just four wickets for 84 runs in four matches. With South Africa looking at using two specialist spinners, the debate ahead of this match was which of the three seamers to leave out. On form, both Nortje and Ottneil Baartman made strong cases to stay in the XI ahead of Rabada but the decision was made to leave Baartman out in favour of Rabada’s experience. He repaid that call by removing an aggressive-looking Taylor with his third ball, in the fourth over, and seemed to be ramping up his pace as his spell developed. In his next over, Rabada had Nitish Kumar caught at deep square leg off a length ball on the pads and put South Africa in front with USA 53 for 2 after the Powerplay. He came back to bowl the penultimate over, with USA needing 28 runs off the last 12 balls and broke the partnership that threatened to take the game away. Gous and Harmeet shared a sixth-wicket stand of 91 before Harmeet hit a Rabada full toss to Stubbs at midwicket and departed, along with USA’s hopes.

Gous gets a hold of some of home

Welkom’s Andries Gous is from the same place as Dean Elgar and was part of the group of South Africans who took up offers to play in the Minor League just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit. He made his international debut three months ago and relished the chance to play against the country of his birth and let them have it. He gave himself some time to get his eye in and hit his first boundary off the sixth ball he faced, off Rabada. He sent Marco Jansen for six over long-on and then laid into Nortje, 18 runs off the last four balls of his third over. That included back-to-back sixes; the second was over midwicket and also brought up Gous’ half-century, off 33 balls. But he saved the best for the 18th over, when he hit Shamsi for successive sixes to keep USA in the game. They needed 50 from the last three overs and then just 28 off the last two. Gous finished unbeaten on a career-best 80.

For likely one final time in Australia, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli turned the clock back with an unbroken 168-run partnership to take India to a win in front of a full house SCG, comprised primarily of Indian fans. Then the highest and third-highest centurions of the format signed off with emotional words.It was at the SCG back in 2008, in the first final of the CB Series, that Rohit first announced himself on the international scene with a half-century as he and Sachin Tendulkar chased down 240. Rohit scored his 33rd ODI century at the same venue to end his love affair with Australia as the player of the match and the player of the series.”I’ve always loved coming here,” Rohit told the broadcasters after the match. “I enjoy playing cricket here in Australia. Fond memories of 2008, and nice way to finish, getting that knock and getting that win as well. I don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia, but it was fun all these years that we played here. A lot of good memories, bad memories, but all in all, I’ll take the cricket that I played here.”Related

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Rohit and Kohli now play one format of the three, which can leave them short on game time as India plan for the 2027 ODI World Cup, but Rohit spoke for both of them when he said they are loving what they are doing. “Looks like it, yes,” Rohit said when asked if the “two old dogs still had sting in the tail”.”We enjoy our cricket, most importantly, no matter what. Accolades we’ve achieved, but it’s important that whenever you get an opportunity to play, you’ve got to come and start fresh, and that’s what we did. When we arrived in Perth, forget what has happened in the last 15-17 years, wanted to start fresh, and that’s how I personally look at all the games that I’ve played. I’m sure it’ll be the same for Virat as well, but enjoyed playing these three games.”Kohli didn’t have the greatest of times as he scored consecutive ducks for the first time in his ODI career, but turned it around with a vintage half-century to see the chase through, in the company of his old partner in crime.”Good to be out of the pond, honestly,” Kohli said to huge cheers from the crowd that hung on to every word. “You’ve scored so many runs in international cricket, but then the game shows you everything. Even at this stage, almost 37 in not many days, and still can feel like I don’t know how to get a run. I mean this game is amazing.Virat Kohli congratulates centurion Rohit Sharma•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“That’s why we love batting, we love batsmanship, and it’s so challenging when it’s not going your way and just to find your rhythm again. Go out there, having a situation to play in always is something that always brings out the best in me. And yeah, when Rohit’s already batting there, it’s pretty easy to kind of keep rotating strike. We understand each other’s game pretty well. So again, really good to have a big partnership and another match-finishing partnership for us.”During the course of this win, the duo reached 5483 partnership runs and went past the alliance of Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan to No. 3 on the most prolific ODI partners. They are nearly 3000 behind Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who had the advantage of opening together and thus batting together more often, but they can still go past Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who added 5992 runs in each other’s company.”I think from very early on, it was pretty clear that we both understood the game pretty well,” Kohli said. “That’s the only reason you can play for so long. When you have an understanding of the situation, your own game, and how to apply it in different situations. That’s something that we’ve always taken a lot of pride in.”And when we’re back together, of course, we understand we’re probably the most experienced players now, but even back in the day, we used to think if we have a big partnership, the kind of strokes we can play, we can really take the game away from the opposition. And it was just about communication, staying in the game.”I think it all started from that 2013 series against Australia at home, when we really started getting those big partnerships together and really taking the game on. From then on, it was pretty clear the opposition also knew if these guys are in for 20 overs together, any total is chaseable, and the game’s never done in the opposition’s favour. I’ve really enjoyed batting with Rohit, and, yeah, good to know we’ve scored a few together.”

Peter Handscomb reminded Test selectors of his talents, scoring another Sheffield Shield century against South Australia.After the Victoria captain top scored with 103 on Monday at Adelaide Oval and declared seven runs behind the home side, a crucial sixth-wicket stand rescued the day for SA.Related

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Daniel Drew (42 not out) and Harry Nielsen (41 not out) took SA from a precarious 82 for 5 to 169 for 5 at stumps, a lead of 176 going into the last day.Resuming on 38 with the score 167 for 3, Handscomb anchored the Victorian innings on day three. In reply to SA’s 350, they were in trouble at 199 for 6 before Handscomb combined with Fergus O’Neill for a seventh-wicket stand of 125.Spinner Lloyd Pope had O’Neill caught-and-bowled for 64 and Pope dismissed Handscomb, caught by Jordan Buckingham in the deep for the eighth wicket.Handscomb, whose most recent Test was in March 2023, faced 180 balls and hit seven fours and two sixes. Half of his 18 Shield tons have been against SA.SA steadily lost early wickets in their second innings. After a duck on the opening day, No.3 and Test hopeful Nathan McSweeney was dismissed for 6 when he edged a pull against David Moody.Opener Henry Hunt and Jake Lehmann starred with centuries in SA’s first innings. But when impressive Victorian left-arm spinner Doug Warren dismissed them in successive overs – Hunt top-edging a sweep and Lehmann bowled through the gate on the drive – the home side was five down for not nearly enough.That brought together Drew and Nielsen, who grew in confidence as they batted through to stumps.

Leicestershire’s march towards promotion may be in danger of becoming something of a shuffle, but a resilient batting performance saw the Foxes go a long way towards securing the draw that depending on results elsewhere, could prove enough to see them over the line on the second day of their Rothesay County Championship match against Gloucestershire.Big half-centuries from Lewis Hill, his fifth of the season, and Shan Masood, on his Championship debut for the county, saw Leicestershire recover from 86 for 3 and secure a batting bonus point before closing on 270 for 4. Both achieved personal landmarks in the course of their innings, Masood passing 12,000 first-class runs, and Hill 5000.Leicestershire still trail the visitors by 212, and need another 63 runs to be sure of not being asked to follow-on, but a poor weather forecast for days three and four means the draw is now strong favourite, and there should be enough play for Leicestershire to secure at least two more batting bonus points.A return of 14 or 15 points could prove sufficient to confirm their return to the top division.A sunny morning at the UptonSteel County Ground, Grace Road, saw Gloucestershire resume their first innings on 382 for 7, but play began with one of those somewhat unedifying periods of county cricket when the bowling side opts to hurry through a few overs to improve a negative over rate, which in this case saw Leicestershire opening batsmen Rishi Patel and Sol Budinger squeezing 11 overs of their occasional off-spin into the first 20 minutes of play.While on one hand this meant the Foxes were no longer in any danger of being deducted any points at the end of the game, it also meant they had little chance of taking the two wickets they needed for a third bowling bonus point, and Zaman Akhter and Matt Taylor happily and comfortably built a half-century partnership before, with the seamers now back into the attack, Taylor top edged a pull at a short delivery from Logan van Beek, and Hill took a good catch at deep square leg.Van Beek then produced a fine delivery to bowl Josh Shaw, but Akhter and last man Ajeet Singh Dale laid about them to good effect, Akhter registering a third half-century of the season to underline his status as aspiring all-rounder before edging an Ian Holland out-swinger to wicket-keeper Ben Cox.Having made important contributions with the bat, Taylor and Singh Dale then looked dangerous with the ball, finding sufficient movement to beat both Patel and Budinger in impressive spells before lunch. Budinger could consider himself unfortunate however, when having hit Taylor for consecutive boundaries, the left-hander got a delivery that kept markedly low before thudding into off stump.Patel, who has struggled for form in recent weeks, followed shortly after the break, an uncertain defensive push at Shaw giving Ben Charlesworth a straightforward catch at second slip, and though Holland tried to dig in, the Leicestershire captain’s inclination to stay on the back foot cost him when a fullish Taylor delivery stayed low and pinned him leg before.Hill, however, has been one of Leicestershire’s most consistent run scorers this season, and having played himself in, the 34-year-old former captain began to unfurl some fine shots, including four boundaries in five balls before a glorious on-drive off Shaw took him past 50, the half-century coming off 57 deliveries.Masood, coming in to the side in place of Peter Handscomb (the Victorian having returned to Australia to prepare for the forthcoming season down under), also began slowly, but as the ball got older and the bowlers began to tire, he too began to show his class, with one particular late cut verging on the exquisite. The partnership had passed 150 when Hill, to his dismay, was given out caught behind on 88 off the bowling of Matt Taylor.His dismissal brought in another making his Championship debut for Leicestershire, Steve Eskinazi, and the tall right-hander gave Masood solid support in steering their side to the close without further loss.

Gulf Giants, the ILT20 franchise, have appointed Jonathan Trott as head coach and Shane Bond as bowling coach for the upcoming season. They replace Andy Flower and Ottis Gibson, respectively.Apart from being Afghanistan’s head coach, Trott was also the head coach of Pretoria Capitals in SA20 and was replaced by Sourav Ganguly there. Bond’s recent stints have been with Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and with Paarl Royals in SA20.”The Gulf Giants have quickly become one of the ILT20’s most successful teams,” Trott said in a statement. “My goal is to empower players to excel and help shape a championship-winning squad through the first-ever ILT20 auction.”Related

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The ILT20 auction will be held on September 30 in Dubai for the fourth season which is set to run from December 2, 2025 to January 4, 2026.”The team’s ambition is clear,” Bond said. “I’m excited to sharpen our bowling attack and make a decisive impact this season.”Giants have also added Andrew Puttick as batting coach, Jim Troughton as fielding coach and Nick Lee as fitness coach.Their squad currently includes James Vince, Aayan Khan, Mark Adair, Blessing Muzarabani and Gerhard Erasmus as their retained players. Their new signings are Moeen Ali, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Giants had won the inaugural edition of ILT20 in 2023, were eliminated in Qualifier 2 in 2024, and finished second from bottom earlier this year.