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Laura Wolvaardt dropped to tied-second alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2025India opener Smriti Mandhana is back to No. 1 on the ICC’s ODI rankings for women’s batting. It is the first time since 2019 for Mandhana (727 rating points) at the top. South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt (717) – who lost 17 rating points – dropped to tied-second alongside England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt.In early May, Mandhana had scored 51 against South Africa and 116 in the final against hosts Sri Lanka in a tri-series, which were has last two ODI appearances.Wolvaardt, in her five ODI appearances in 2025, has averaged 28.20 with a top score of 43. She scored 27 and 28 in the first two ODIs of the ongoing series against West Indies.Related

• Devine to retire from ODIs after the World Cup

• Women's ODI World Cup: India vs Pakistan on October 5 in Colombo

England’s Amy Jones and Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry round out the top five. Mandhana is the lone Indian in the top ten, with Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur on 15th and 16th respectively.The top of the ODI bowling charts stayed the same, with England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone well ahead of Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner and Megan Schutt. But West Indies spinner Afy Fletcher’s four-wicket haul against South Africa in the second ODI helped her gain four spots up to 19th.There were no changes in the ODI allrounders’ top ten either. Gardner leads the list, with West Indies’ Hayley Matthews at No. 2 and South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp at No. 3. New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, who announced her decision to retire from ODIs after the World Cup in September to be hosted by India, is ninth among allrounders and 13th among batters.

The three-match series is due to begin from September 3 in Hambantota

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Aug-2021Afghanistan’s series with Pakistan is set to go ahead as scheduled, despite the surrounding uncertainty following the Taliban’s takeover of the country. The three-match ODI series will take place in Sri Lanka, a venue decided before political events in recent days saw the Taliban take charge following the withdrawal of western forces and the collapse of the elected government.All three games will be played in Hambantota. The series is due to begin from September 3, but will involve a three-day quarantine period on arrival for both sides.That commitment, as well as an Under-19 tour to Bangladesh later in September, have been the focus of immediate concern though ACB CEO Hamid Shinwari said both tours were on, pending logistical issues around the departure of the side. Kabul airport has been the focus of international attention, as many Afghans attempt to leave the country.”Cricket is doing very well,” Shinwari told ESPNcricinfo. “We are going to the office (ACB). The cricket team is preparing for the Pakistan series in Sri Lanka. It is confirmed. We are committed to sending a team to Sri Lanka as soon as possible. There is transition going on here in Afghanistan hence there is a vacuum in flight operations and availability is affected. But we will fly out as soon as we find a flight. We have our boys assembled in Kabul and they are preparing for the series.Related

• Afghanistan-Pakistan ODI series postponed indefinitely

• Azizullah Fazli returns as Afghanistan Cricket Board chairman

• Australia's twin ambitions of T20 World Cup and Ashes create selection juggling act

• Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Ali set to be rested for Afghanistan ODIs

• Farooqi, Noor Ahmad in Afghanistan squad

“We hope the squad will depart in the next four days. We have updated both the PCB and Sri Lanka Cricket and both are on board. I am thankful to SLC for hosting us and that is really generous of them.”There remain longer-term questions around the Taliban’s approach to the development of the game in the country. It is worth noting that the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (as the Afghanistan Cricket Board was then known) was formed in 1997, during the Taliban’s first stint in rule and they were inducted into the Asian Cricket Council not long after.The game was at a different stage then to where it is now in the country and in much better health. The ICC is monitoring the situation as of now, with a little concern, but will provide support when and if needed on practical matters of playing cricket.Shinwari was confident the game would not be affected adversely. “They [Taliban] are supporting cricket ever since the beginning,” he said. “They never had any issue with cricket. The thing is people love cricket here in Afghanistan and that’s why it has to go with the flow. My confidence that cricket will not be affected is because of two factors: firstly, the legacy. Cricket development in Afghanistan was initiated during Taliban’s first stint 20 years ago. Secondly ACB offices are operating. So far we have seen no issues.”The cricketers are doing very well. They have been assured and they are also happy that cricket will be going on. They are committed to going to Sri Lanka, playing against Pakistan, and after that to the T20 World Cup. Cricket has become an important tool for community development in the country. And the players in particular are icons, and understand the importance.”One area where it is difficult to predict how the Taliban will proceed is in women’s cricket. Their first stint as rulers was especially regressive and damaging for women in the country. The ACB announced central contracts for a pool of 25 women’s cricketers last year but that was very much the first step on a long road: to date, Afghanistan are the only Full Member side without a functioning womens’ team.Even then, ACB officials recognised the social, political and cultural difficulties in starting a women’s team in the country and that may become an even more distant prospect now.”My assumption is women’s cricket could be stopped,” Shinwari said. “But to be honest, I really don’t know the new policies of the government. That assumption was based on the previous stint of the Taliban.”Additional reporting by Umar Farooq Kalson

The BCCI announced he will sit in as captain on the press conference scheduled for January 18, when the two squads will be named

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-20254:39

Refresher course: remember how good Gill and Rahul are at ODI cricket?

Rohit Sharma is set to continue as India’s ODI captain; this was confirmed when the BCCI announced he will sit in as captain on the press conference scheduled for January 18, when the squads for the Champions Trophy and the ODIs against England will be announced. The three ODIs against England will be India’s last in the format before they begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.Rohit’s future came into sharp focus after he had stood down from India’s XI in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this month. He, however, clarified that the decision shouldn’t be misconstrued as a retirement.Related

• Rohit joins Mumbai training camp in bid to rediscover form

• Rohit says he 'stood down' for SCG Test: 'It is not a retirement decision'

Rohit, 37, has been struggling for form and during the home series against New Zealand, he also admitted to captaincy errors, which contributed to India’s 3-0 whitewash. In six Test innings against New Zealand at home, Rohit managed only 91 runs at an average of 15.16 and then in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, his average slumped further to 6.20 in five innings.In a bid to rediscover his form, Rohit had linked up with the Mumbai squad for training sessions in the lead-up to the start of the second phase of the Ranji Trophy.Having ended his T20I career by winning the T20 World Cup title in Barbados last year, Rohit now has the chance to lead India to an ODI world title at the Champions Trophy. India will play all their three league games in Dubai, which will also stage one of the semi-finals and possibly the final too, if India get there.India have played just six ODIs since November 19, 2023, when they lost to Australia in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

Milne replaces Usama Mir for the first three games, while Renegades have signed USA allrounder Hassan Khan and Hurricanes have signed Afghan spinner Waqar Salamkheil

Alex Malcolm08-Dec-2024Melbourne Stars have signed New Zealand quick Adam Milne for a pre-Christmas stint in the BBL as a replacement for Pakistan legspinner Usama Mir who will miss the first three matches of the season.Stars are also set to unveil a new captain this week after Glenn Maxwell stood down at the end of last season. Maxwell is unlikely to be fit for the first match against Perth Scorchers on December 15 as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury and it remains to be seen whether he will appear in any of the first three games before Christmas.Mir is also unavailable for the first three games against Scorchers, Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers which will be played in three cities in the space of five days. Stars have swooped on Milne to fill in for those three games. He has previously played in the BBL for Sydney Thunder in 2020-21, taking just five wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 7.56.Related

• Unknown English wildcard Matty Hurst ready to scorch the BBL

• Stoinis named new Melbourne Stars BBL skipper

• Draft takeaways: Adelaide Strikers' Mandhana bargain; and who is Jafer Chohan?

• Duckett first pick as English players dominate BBL draft

• ILT20 2025 to start and end in Dubai amid clash with SA20, BBL and BPL

“To be able to secure someone of Adam’s talent and experience is a huge boost for the squad for the first three games,” Melbourne Stars General Manager Blair Crouch said. “Adam knows Australian conditions well, we value what he will add to the squad and we look forward to seeing what he can produce.”Milne also covers for the absence of Scott Boland who is on Test duty. Stars could also be missing allrounder Beau Webster for at least the opening game in Perth as he looks set to remain with the Test squad for the third match against India in Brisbane which starts on December 14. Stars’ second BBL match against Heat falls on day five of the third Test, meaning Webster could potentially be available if he is released from the Test squad pending Mitchell Marsh’s fitness.Stars are also missing England Test opener Ben Duckett for the opening three games of the BBL season, as he completes his Test duties in New Zealand, with Joe Clarke set for his second stint at Stars as a replacement after playing two seasons from 2021-23. Clarke also played six games for Melbourne Renegades last season and three games for Scorchers in 2020. He recently played for Victoria in the Global Super League in Guyana.Hassan Khan will play for Renegades in the BBL•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Meanwhile, Renegades have signed USA spin-bowling allrounder Hassan Khan as a replacement player. The former Pakistan Under-19 representative has yet to play international cricket but starred for San Francisco Unicorns, a franchise run by Cricket Victoria, in Major League Cricket taking 10 wickets and scoring 204 runs at a strike rate of 143.70 across his nine games. He was named domestic player of the tournament. He also performed well for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the GSL.”Hassan is an exciting young talent who gives us options in both departments,” Renegades General Manager James Rosengarten said. “His ability to contribute in those important middle overs with the ball and add valuable runs down the order will be crucial as we push for success this season.”Hobart Hurricanes have signed Afghanistan left-arm wrist-spinner Waqar Salamkheil as an overseas replacement for Rishad Hossain who has been ruled out of the entire BBL due to international commitments and the Bangladesh Premier League, despite being Hurricanes’ third pick in the overseas draft.Salamkheil will be available for the first six games of the BBL season before departing for the ILT20 in January. He was Trinbago Knight Riders’ leading wicket-taker in the recent Caribbean Premier League bagging 15 scalps in 11 matches, playing alongside two other Hurricanes players in Tim David and Chris Jordan.”Waqar is a tremendous young talent, he adds a different element to our bowling line-up and is a wrist-spinner with a well-disguised wrong-un, similar to Rishad,” Hurricanes High Performance Manager Salliann Beams said.”While we are disappointed that Rishad can’t join us because of the BPL, we know that we have someone who will help us win matches in the first half of the tournament in Waqar.”He was on our radar during the draft, with Ricky [Ponting] and Hopsey [James Hopes] familiar with his talent after seeing him play in franchise cricket, he will complement what we have in our squad already.”

Ecclestone’s 33 off 19 helped UPW tie the scores by smashing 41 runs off the last 17 balls before delivering a stunning Super Over

Shashank Kishore24-Feb-2025
Super Over An extraordinary night of drama delivered a thriller, with UP Warriorz sending a crowd in excess of 28,000 into stunned silence after RCB failed to knock off the nine runs they needed in the Super Over.In a game that seemed to be headed RCB’s way until the last two overs in regulation time, Sophie Ecclestone’s incredible final-over hitting against Renuka Singh, which went for 17, forced the game into a Super Over. But the showstopper for the night was a sensational final over Ecclestone delivered to deny Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh as Warriorz sprung their campaign back to life with a second straight win.Related

• Ecclestone carries UP Warriorz with her big-game mentality

• Stats – Perry overtakes Lanning, WPL gets its first ever Super Over

The high-octane end

Forty-two needed off 18, with two wickets in hand. Ecclestone had pottered to 3 off eight balls, and had no option but to go for broke, especially with Chinelle Henry, seemingly the last hope for Warriorz, gone.Ecclestone got stuck into Georgia Wareham by muscling two sixes in a 13-run over. But when Saima Thakor was run out a ball after swinging one out of the ground in the 19th over, it was all on Ecclestone to knock off much of the 18 runs they needed off the last six.She hit 17 in an extraordinary sequence of 6, 6, 4, 1, taking Renuka to the cleaners as she repeatedly missed her lengths. But Ecclestone’s single off the fifth ball that left Warriorz needing one off the last ball, brought rookie Kranti Goud on strike.When Goud missed and the batters ran, Richa Ghosh did an MS Dhoni, choosing to sprint to the stumps and knock the bails off rather than risk an underarm throw. And just like that, the WPL had its first Super Over.Sophie Ecclestone’s sixes took the game into a Super Over•BCCI

Ecclestone’s dream night continues

When Kim Garth bowled Henry, who had muscled an incredible eight sixes in her 23-ball 62 against Delhi Capitals, with a slower delivery with Warriorz needing 47 off 22, she wouldn’t have envisaged having to bowl the Super Over.Yet, when she did, and conceded just 8 while dismissing Henry again, she wouldn’t have imagined finishing on the wrong side of the result. But, five minutes later, she watched in agony as Mandhana and Ghosh failed to find their hitting range on the face of some nerveless bowling from Ecclestone.It was a performance straight out of fantasy for the world’s No. 1 T20I and ODI bowler, who had also quite extraordinarily just conceded six runs off the final over in RCB’s innings. Three of those deliveries were pinpoint yorkers that denied Ellyse Perry a final charge towards what would have been an extraordinary century.

Perry, Wyatt-Hodge set RCB up

Perry offset Mandhana’s early loss – against offspin for the 11th time in the WPL – by welcoming Ecclestone with back-to-back fours, her step-out to bisect cover and mid-off being the standout. Perry’s intent-laden approach brought her a first six when she launched Thakor down the ground. At 42 for 1 at the end of the powerplay, RCB had a base.All through her innings, Perry was bubbling with flair. She became the first player to hit the 200-run mark in each of the first three WPLs. She also overtook Meg Lanning to become the highest run-getter in the tournament’s short history, during the course of a 94-run second-wicket stand with Danni Wyatt-Hodge.The five-over period between seven and 11 brought RCB just 33, but the pair was able to flick the switch. Goud, who hustled Wyatt-Hodge with an excellent bumper early on, was picked away for three back-to-back fours in the 13th.In doing so, Wyatt-Hodge exhibited her range of shots – a cut when offered width, a swat back past the bowler when it was dug in short, and a pummel over extra cover when the bowler went full. Wyatt-Hodge brought up her maiden WPL half-century off 36 balls against the side that had traded her out. But her dismissal brought Warriorz two more wickets – of Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja.Ellyse Perry brought out her glorious drives from the start•BCCI

But Perry didn’t pass up an opportunity to go all out in the death overs. She took a liking for Deepti Sharma’s predictable lengths and bowling into the surface by picking her for a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 2 in the penultimate over – hitting the ball to different areas, from deep cover to long-on to deep midwicket.Perry’s use of angles to try and get inside the line and sweep the bowlers off their lengths was particularly noteworthy. She finished unbeaten on 90 off 56, with RCB hitting 105 off the last nine overs.

Navgire sparks life into chase

With Chamari Athapaththu again on the bench, Warriorz needed some firepower up top, and when Kiran Navgire smashed a 27-ball 51 four nights ago against Capitals, it seemed like they had found an answer.Navgire tantalised yet again, her uncomplicated stand-and-deliver mantra bringing her 24 off just 12 balls, as she swung at anything remotely in her zone before she was bowled attempting to hoick Renuka. Vrinda Dinesh’s run of low scores stretched into a fourth game as she picked out mid-off for 14 as Warriorz lost two early.

Warriorz rise after slide

An injury to Shreyanka Patil opened up a spot for Sneh Rana as a replacement, and she inflicted more agony for Warriorz when she struck twice in two overs. This put Warriorz in freefall mode, even though Shweta Sehrawat sparked life into the innings with a sprightly 31. But at 125 for 7 in 15, only a freak Henry innings would have silenced the crowd. But when she chopped on to Garth in the 17th, Warriorz needed a miracle, and Ecclestone scripted one.

Owen impressed on his T20I debut, taking a key wicket before clubbing 50 off 27 which included six sixes

Alex Malcolm20-Jul-2025A dream debut for Mitchell Owen with bat and ball alongside a stunning half-century from Cameron Green guided Australia to a three-wicket win over West Indies after a masterful death bowling display from Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis set the game up at Sabina Park.Owen took a key wicket before clubbing 50 off 27 to become the third Australian behind Ricky Ponting and David Warner to make a half-century on T20I debut and bag the Player-of-the-Match award. He smashed six sixes while Green thumped five and two boundaries in a 26-ball 51. The pair added 80 from 40 to rescue Australia from 78 for 4 and gun down the target of 190. Australia out-hit West Indies, smashing 17 sixes to just nine overall.Earlier, Dwarshuis took 4 for 36 including three in an over, as he and Ellis combined to take four wickets for just seven runs in the last 16 balls of West Indies innings to restrict them to 189 for 8 after half-centuries from Roston Chase and Shai Hope had threatened to set-up a huge total. Chase made 60 off 32 at No.3 while Hope made 55 from 39. Shimron Hetmyer also clubbed 38 from 19 but West Indies’ lower-order combined for 11 between them as they lost 6 for 30 in the final five overs.Chase-ing Hope earlyIn the absence of the injured Evin Lewis, West Indies new-look top three laid a superb platform. Brandon King made the switch from Test cricket to T20 mode look easy, thumping four boundaries in the first three overs as Australia’s quicks missed wide. The early introduction of spin halted momentum with Cooper Connolly bagging his first T20I wicket as King ran past one. Hope picked up the baton launching Connolly inside out over cover off the back foot.Roston Chase launches down the ground•Getty Images

Chase’s first 10 balls were very sluggish but he found his groove outside the powerplay. He launched Connolly and Adam Zampa in back-to-back overs before playing four superb strokes off Sean Abbott in the 10th to find the boundary four times. He first paddle-scooped fine, before showing power and touch to thread the same gap between short third and backward point before again paddling a predictable full and straight ball fine again. West Indies looked set for a huge score at 123 for 1 in the 13th over.Dwarshuis and Ellis death bowling masterclassDwarshuis started a West Indies collapse as Chase holed out to long-on trying to clear the rope again. Hope slowed down significantly before Owen made his first impact in T20I cricket with the ball, forcing a miscue from Hope with a wide slower ball. Either side of that though he conceded two sixes to Hetmyer.Ellis and Dwarshuis then put on a clinic. Hetmyer was threatening to push West Indies well over 200, smoking Ellis’ first two balls of the 18th over to the rope. But thereafter West Indies lost 4 for 7 off the last 16 balls of the innings. Ellis’ last four balls of the 18th over were a mixture of brilliant slower balls and yorkers. Dwarshuis took three wickets for one run in the 19th with three mishits caught in the deep. Ellis closed out the last thanks to some help from Green who denied Hetmyer a certain six at long-off with a stunning catch that no other Australian fielder could have caught at full stretch on the rope.Ben Dwarshuis bagged four wickets•Getty Images

Fraser-McGurk misfires yet againEyebrows were raised when Australia’s selectors recalled Fraser-McGurk in place of the injured Spencer Johnson as a reserve wicketkeeper for Josh Inglis, and they remained raised when he was selected in the XI to open in place of the injured Matt Short. But there was very little surprise when he struggled to 2 off 7 before miscuing Jason Holder to mid-off.Mitchell Marsh was in an all-or-nothing mood, mixing three monstrous sixes with seven dots in the powerplay before he got a thin edge to the extra pace of Alzarri Joseph. Green fought fire with fire. He got away with a top edge that flew for six over fine third before being pinned on the shoulder. He then deposited Joseph over fine leg twice to finish the powerplay.Australia looked in all sorts of trouble when Josh Inglis top-edged Akeal Hosein to short fine and Glenn Maxwell skied Motie straight up to end an indifferent innings of 11 off 10.Green and Owen power Australia home, justNeither man had much experience as middle-order finishers coming into the game but the pair showed extraordinary composure and power to rip the game away from West Indies. Owen was fearless, getting off the mark with a six off Andre Russell and launching another later in the over for good measure. He then deposited Hosein three times in the 12th over to dispel any concerns over his ability against spin in the middle overs. Green played really smartly at the other end knocking three twos to keep the board moving without risk after his fast start. He then took Holder and Motie down to blaze to 50 off 25 balls and get the target to just 32 off 31 balls. But he fell trying to hit Motie out of the ground again.Owen kept going, pounding Joseph into the stands to reach 50 off 26 but he too fell next ball trying to go again with Australia still needing 15 off 21. But Connolly, Dwarshuis and Abbott did just enough to steer the visitors home, but not without help from West Indies’ fielders. Substitute fielder Jewel Andrew dropped Abbott at fine leg off Holder with seven to win. He was almost run out too but they nurdled their way home with seven balls to spare.

The pair took two wickets apiece to restrict Brave to 115 for 6 in the final at Lord’s

Valkerie Baynes31-Aug-2025Northern Superchargers rode their momentum to a maiden Women’s Hundred title with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Southern Brave.Two wickets apiece to Kate Cross and Annabel Sutherland, followed by an unbroken 60-run partnership between Sutherland and Nicola Carey allowed Superchargers to pass a target of 116 with 12 balls to spare and reverse the result of the 2023 final before a record crowd for the women’s competition of 22,542 at Lord’s.Ten days after her “savage” omission from England’s World Cup squad, seam-bowling stalwart Cross blew the game open with two wickets in as many balls which left Brave reeling at 28 for 2.Sutherland removed Freya Kemp and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Brave’s highest run-scorers for the match with 26 and 25 respectively, to restrict them to 115 for 6.Carey and Sutherland remained not out 35 and 28 respectively after their fellow Australian Phoebe Litchfield’s 13-ball 26 had set the run-chase alight following the early loss of Davina Perrin, a centurion in the eliminator, and Alice Davidson-Richards.Brave now have just one trophy to show for four final appearances in the Hundred’s five-year history and, despite entering Sunday’s match unbeaten in 2025, they never really got their innings going after being sent in to bat.After a sluggish start in which the first 19 balls yielded just 15 runs, they looked to break the shackles as Maia Bouchier launched Sutherland for six over deep square leg, followed by Wyatt-Hodge’s 86m effort off Cross over long-on. But then Bouchier picked out Hollie Armitage, stationed at extra cover, and Cross bowled Laura Wolvaardt for a first-ball duck.Sophie Devine, whose bowling had earned her four Player-of-the-Match awards through the tournament, never looked settled at the crease and when Sutherland beat Wyatt-Hodge with a length ball that jagged in, Kemp took charge of a 47-run stand with Devine. Were it not for Kemp’s 16-ball knock, Brave’s total could have looked even more sub-par, although they needed more from her.Devine’s laboured stay of 23 off 28 balls ended when Lucy Higham had her caught by Litchfield at deep extra cover and Kemp followed, skying Sutherland high in the air over midwicket so that Carey had plenty of time to run in and await the catch.With the dot balls mounting – Superchargers sent down 42 in all – Brave captain Georgia Adams panicked into a non-existent single off Cross, who had plenty of time to toss the ball to keeper Bess Heath, the bails whipped off with Adams well short of her crease after being sent back by Chloe Tryon.With Tryon struggling to pick gaps in the field, Mady Villiers offered an 11-ball cameo 17 not out but she ran out of time to have a decisive impact.Perrin was unable to reprise her starring role of 24 hours earlier, managing just 17 after her 42-ball century had led Superchargers into the final.Kate Cross wheels away in celebration•Julian Finney/Getty Images

Kemp dropped a straightforward chance at deep midwicket to remove Alice Davidson-Richards on 6 but Devine covered the mistake two balls later when she removed the dangerous Perrin, holing out to Boucher at long-on.Litchfield unleashed with four off the last ball of Devine’s set followed immediately with 4, 4, 6 off Villiers. But Villiers responded with the wicket of Davidson-Richards, who attempted a reverse paddle only to see the ball bounce off wicketkeeper Rhianna Southby’s pad for a stumping.Litchfield had faced just five balls for 19 runs at that point but, after a 15-minute stoppage for an unexpected sun shower, she faced just two more deliveries as Tryon entered the attack and had Litchfield out to a mis-timed sweep collected by Lauren Bell at short backward square.Tryon could have had Carey out lbw next ball but Brave chose not to review, and Bell was luckless when she clipped the top of Sutherland’s pad and the ball struck the bails, which remained in place despite the wicket lighting up. It was the first time Bell had gone wicketless in a match this season.That left Superchargers needing 16 off the last 20 balls and Carey and Sutherland made light work of their task, taking 10 runs off Villiers’ set of five and Sutherland sealed victory with a six off Adams.

England coach suggests white-ball captain suffered from formats not being prioritised

Danyal Rasool28-Feb-20255:09

Who will England’s next white-ball captain be?

Sat alongside his departing captain Jos Buttler, perhaps it was telling the first emotion England coach Brendon McCullum voiced was sadness rather than pride. As Buttler announced he was quitting as England’s white-ball captain, expressing his own disappointment at the way events had panned out, McCullum’s initial reaction was to offer sympathy for Buttler and how much he had invested into a role that hasn’t quite worked out.McCullum suggested that was down to the circumstances Buttler had to lead his side in, rather than any shortcomings in his captaincy itself. Even as England struggled in white-ball ICC events since winning the 2022 T20I World Cup, Buttler often found himself leading sides on bilateral tours that weren’t close to full strength.On an ODI and T20I tour of West Indies late last year, sandwiched between Test series against Pakistan and New Zealand, none of England’s all-format players were part of the squad. Against Australia in September, Joe Root was rested after a busy Test season, while a number of players, including Root and Mark Wood, sat home while England toured West Indies at the tail-end of 2023. England lost all three ODI series.Related

• Buttler goes down with the ship as England journey comes full circle

• All-but-through SA hope to pile more misery on out-of-contention England

• Jos Buttler quits as England's white-ball captain after Champions Trophy exit

• Decline and fall: England face up to scale of ODI rebuilding job

McCullum appeared to allude to those circumstances as he spoke of England’s next white-ball captain, and his desire to avoid putting him in similarly unenviable circumstances. “That’s something Keysy [Rob Key] and myself and the ECB are trying to ensure, that we give every format the most amount of attention that we possibly can,” he said. “It’s a tricky balancing act at times.”McCullum has been Test coach since 2022, and had his pick of players for that format. But with all three formats now falling under his stewardship, he hinted that full availability for Test cricket may no longer be as set in stone in future.”Looking back even on these most recent series, you’d argue that you could rest some players for some Test series and try and balance things out across formats,” he said. “Give us a couple of weeks to work things out and digest what’s unfolded here, work out what areas we’ve been short in and done okay in, work out the structure of how we want to do things moving forward. We’ve got a couple of months before our next assignment, so there is a bit of time to work that out.”McCullum kept returning to the theme of Buttler’s captaincy, and how he felt it would be remembered more kindly than raw results might suggest. He said Buttler had set a solid foundation for his replacement, comparing it to the health of the England Test side following Joe Root’s resignation as Test captain in 2022 after a series of indifferent results.2:16

McCullum: England fans deserve to see better results

“I said to the boys tonight in the team room sometimes it’s not necessarily the time that you’re in the post and the results that you get during that time. The impact you have in leadership positions can be felt after you left the post, and I’m sure that’ll be the case. I think Joe Root was a classic example of that with the Test captaincy. He was able to at least hold the fort to a degree under incredibly trying circumstances, and then the uplift of performance when Stokesy [Ben Stokes] took over sort of followed from that, and hopefully it’ll be the same across the white-ball teams whenever we decide on who that person is going to be.”The ECB had hoped linking up Buttler with McCullum, two preternaturally attacking white-ball players, would help unleash England’s white-ball potential in the way managed by Eoin Morgan following the 2015 World Cup. However, with results spiralling, England and McCullum have been criticised for what has come to be seen as a simplistic approach, not necessarily suited to the skillsets of the specific players England’s white-ball sides have at their disposal.McCullum pushed back against that notion firmly, pointing out the close margins England had missed out by this tournament. “We’ve had our opportunities and played some okay cricket,” he said, “and both games we could have won, and then we’re sitting here and talking about something slightly different. I genuinely believe we’ve got immense talent in English cricket across all forms.”If anything, we are lacking confidence. There’s a perception out there that we’re a happy-go-lucky, arrogant type of team. We couldn’t be further from that. These guys are too hard on themselves, they’ve got immense talent they are desperate … to perform. That’s actually stymying the ability of us to get the performance we want. They care too much. That’s not a bad thing. They’re just desperate to perform and do right by all those who support the team, and support them. Until we get to the stage where we’re able to still handle walking out there and playing, without wearing disappointment so heavily, then we’re always going to stymie ourselves. That’s our job over the next little while.”While Harry Brook is the favourite to succeed Buttler, McCullum said England had not decided on a successor. While that is partly because, in McCullum’s words, Buttler’s resignation “came a little sooner than expected”, he felt it also spoke to the characters in the England side.”There’s some really good leaders that have developed,” McCullum said. “That’s the mark of Jos’s captaincy, he brought on other leaders within the group. They’re not necessarily seasoned players, but they are young guys who have got good cricketing knowledge and he’s encouraged them to learn and develop as leaders. Whoever we settle on, we’ve just got to make sure we’re giving them the right support so that we can improve our performances.”

After conceding 75 in his first 15 overs, he dismissed Pant, Rahul and Jadeja to put New Zealand in sight of victory

Ashish Pant19-Oct-20241:17

What worked for New Zealand’s bowlers?

William O’Rourke admitted being “pretty streaky” and “hot and cold” in the early part of the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru. But having gone for 75 off his first 15 overs, he dismissed Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in three successive overs with the second new ball as India lost their last six wickets for just 29 runs.”Overall, for me, I’ve been pretty streaky, pretty hot and cold with the ball,” O’Rourke said at the end of the fourth day. “Pant and Sarfaraz [Khan] obviously batted very well for a long time there, but that second new ball came on and started doing a little bit for us.”So, credit to Timmy [Tim Southee] for getting that first breakthrough [of Sarfaraz] and then I was lucky enough to get a wee chop on there [from Pant] to give us a bit of momentum going through.”Related

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Sarfaraz, in particular, handled O’Rourke well, picking him for 39 runs in 35 balls and repeatedly throwing him off his lengths with ramps and late cuts. While O’Rourke said he and the rest of the bowling unit could have been tighter with their lengths, he credited Sarfaraz for using the angles and opening up the field.”He [Sarfaraz] played me really well,” O’Rourke said. “With that angle of me sort of falling away, it sort of opens up that little dab shot. Yeah, maybe we could have been in the game a little bit, but he played it so well.”I would have liked to be a little bit tighter. Obviously, one of his strengths is that [the late cut]. So, yeah, I would have liked to be a little bit tighter, but I was missing a little bit wide, and he put me away. So credit to him.”O’Rourke has had a rousing start to his Test career. This is his fifth Test and he has already picked up 26 wickets at 18.84, which includes two five-fors. Fifteen of his 26 wickets have been in the subcontinent. He had an excellent tour of Sri Lanka last month where he picked up eight wickets in two Tests, and has continued his good run in India.William O’Rourke took three wickets in three overs to hurt India•BCCI

“I think we had a really good prep in Tauranga and down in Lincoln,” he said about his success in the subcontinent. “We had a few wickets that were a bit drier than probably what we are used to at that time of the year in New Zealand. And yeah, learning from the guys like Matt Henry, Tim Southee, who have been here before and done it before, it’s been massive for me coming here.”In the first innings here, O’Rourke picked up four wickets, including Virat Kohli’s for a duck.”It’s obviously pretty special getting someone so great, one of the greats of our game, out like that,” he said of the Kohli wicket. “You grow up watching those guys. So to come here and take that wicket, it’s probably right up there as one of the [best] wickets I’ve got.”While O’Rourke has been pleasantly surprised by the bounce he has seen on the Bengaluru surface, he is also loving bowling with the SG ball.”It has got a bit more of a pronounced seam than the Kookaburra [that New Zealand use at home], so it seems to be nice and hard to start with. It goes through nicely and big seams are always a big plus. [It’s] my first time here and [Bengaluru] probably had a little bit more bounce, a bit more pace than we expected coming over here, which suits a bowler like me. So far, I’ve really enjoyed it.”We definitely do our scouting and stuff before games. I’d say at the moment in my career, I’m more of a feel bowler. I like to back what I do, run in and do what I do. But definitely I have a look at the players beforehand, I like to know their strengths and weaknesses. But I think it normally comes back to just being me and doing what I do.”

The offspinner will start his season by captaining New South Wales for the first time in what will just be the second occasion he has led in his first-class career

Andrew McGlashan01-Oct-20250:52

What Will Jacks offers the England Ashes squad

Nathan Lyon has endorsed the value of always playing a spinner in Australian conditions amid a growing sense that England may opt to go without a frontline option at stages during the upcoming Ashes.While it falls into the category of unsurprising assessments from Lyon, as he himself remarked, it will nevertheless provide one of the interesting dynamics in the build-up to the first Test next month when England ponder the balance of their side having selected allrounder Will Jacks, who last played Test cricket in 2022, as the back-up to offspinner Shoaib Bashir.”You’re asking the spinner if they want to pick a spinner,” Lyon said with a smile. “For me, yeah, you’re picking a spinner in every side. Variation, it changes the whole tempo of the game. I think spinners can play a very effective role out here if their skill sets suit.”Related

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One of the factors England will be considering is how visiting spinners have so often struggled in Australia: since Lyon’s debut, those from overseas have averaged 62.09 compared to Lyon’s 31.08. However, the last time England were successful down under, in 2010-11, Graeme Swann played a vital role in a four-man attack”I grew up here. I understand and built my craft around playing on wickets that don’t spin,” Lyon said. “So, I’ve had to find a way to firstly survive but also create chances and build pressure along the way, and it’s something that I thoroughly enjoy doing, and I’ll keep doing that.”There is a little twist to Lyon’s current situation, though, in that he was left out of Australia’s most recent Test in Jamaica when they opted for an all-pace attack in the day-night encounter with a pink Dukes ball. They finished the game by skittling West Indies for 27 with Lyon’s replacement, Scott Boland, taking a hat-trick.It is a scenario highly unlikely to play out in Australia, as the selectors have already indicated, and while Lyon acknowledges the end result justified the move, he was adamant he could have played a role.”Disappointed that I wasn’t a part of that, but I understood the reasons behind it and at the end of the day, you look at it now, it’s a pretty good call and brave call,” Lyon said. “But if I’m going to miss a Test for anyone, it’s going to be Scott Boland, that’s for sure. I’m only disappointed because I believe my skill set can play a role in any conditions around the world and I kind of feel like I’ve proven that to be effective.”Nathan Lyon will start his season as New South Wales captain•Getty Images

Lyon, who sits on 562 Test wickets, one short of equaling Glenn McGrath’s haul as the second-most for Australia, will begin his Ashes preparations by captaining New South Wales for the first time against Western Australia in Perth having been named as Jack Edwards’ understudy while the allrounder is with Australia A in India. It is one of three Shield appearances Lyon expects to make before the first Test.It will be just the second first-class match Lyon has ever captained in, having previously done it once in the Sheffield Shield for South Australia in 2012, while he also captained a Prime Minister’s XI against England in 2018.”It’s a massive honour to captain the state that you were born in and obviously dreamt of playing cricket for,” he said. “So to get that call the other day was pretty humbling. I’ve never had any ambitions to captain any teams, especially professional teams. But Greg Mail [NSW chief performance officer] has come up to me and asked me whether I’d do it, and that he wanted me to do it… so it’s a short stint but I’m pretty happy with that.”Alongside Edwards, New South Wales are missing six other potential Shield players between Australia’s T20I side in New Zealand and the A team in India, but the side to face Western Australia will include Sam Konstas as he heads into a vital month in his bid to retain a place in the Test side.Konstas enters the season having scored 188 runs in the two four-day Australia A matches, including a century, but the selectors have long stated that it will be the first three Shield matches that prove key to their decisions.When Lyon was asked what he expected of Konstas over the next few weeks, he said “runs”, but also stressed that he was a player still developing his game.”Obviously he had a pretty successful tour over there [in India], but it’s great to have him back on the Shield side,” Lyon said. “He’s learning the craft, as we’re all learning. Some of us are a lot further on in our journey as professional cricketers, but they’re learning their craft. Not just him, but everyone around Australia. They’ve got to learn their style and be brave enough to back that and have faith in it.”