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Ash Gardner threatened to revive the chase for Sixers but couldn’t get the side home

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2024Key performances from in-form duo Heather Knight and Samantha Bates earned Sydney Thunder the first derby bragging rights of the season over Sydney Sixers with an 18-run win at the SCG.Knight’s fluent 50 off 31 balls, a continuation of the impact she has had this season, led Thunder to a total that appeared around par on a good batting surface and a strong Thunder attack defended it expertly. The result kept Thunder top of the table and strongly placed to push for a home grand final with five games remaining.Sixers fell to 63 for 5 in the 10th over but Ash Gardner was keeping them in the contest with a timely return to form after her previous four innings in the tournament had brought 24 runs. But with 28 needed off 14 balls she was deceived through the air as she advanced at Bates and with her went the home side’s hopes.Bates took her wicket tally to 11 from the last three games and was back at the top of the season charts ahead of Alana King. Shabnim Ismail, despite being wicketless, also played a key role as she conceded just five an over and was also superb in the outfield with four catches on a blustery afternoon.With the bat, Chamari Athapaththu, well supported in the crowd by a strong Sri Lanka presence, helped lay a solid base and the acceleration came in the second half of the innings from Knight and Phoebe Litchfield. The pair took 30 without loss off the two power surge overs and though they couldn’t stay to close things out Thunder had enough.

“We will just take it as it plays out, get to the end of the event. I’m satisfied that it will still be an outstanding World Cup”

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Oct-20232:35

Arthur: Pakistan were ‘timid’ with their performance

The ICC will review the criticism by Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur that the India vs Pakistan World Cup match on October 14 in Ahmedabad felt more like a “bilateral series” game, though it remains confident that the tournament will be remembered as an “outstanding” one once it’s over.Arthur admitted after his side’s seven-wicket loss that with barely any Pakistan presence at the packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the team was affected by the partisan crowd. Pakistani fans were conspicuous by their absence at the ground, with no fans having received visas to travel across the border. Only a handful of Pakistani journalists made it in time to cover the match, and a small number of Pakistani-origin fans who are residents/citizens of other countries.”Look, I’d be lying if I said it did [not affect us],” Arthur said after the match. “It didn’t seem like an ICC event, to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event.”Related

• PCB files complaint with ICC over 'inappropriate conduct by spectators' at India vs Pakistan game

• It's been a gripping World Cup, and that's just the ticket saga

• An atmosphere that could have been so much more

• Searching for green in a universe of blue

• An hour of hell: Pakistan's jaw-dropping collapse

Asked to respond to Arthur’s comments, ICC chairman Greg Barclay seemed to downplay them as the kind of criticism that is par for the course at such tournaments. “Every event that we have, there’s always criticisms from various quarters,” Barclay was quoted as saying by AFP in Mumbai, where he was attending the International Olympic Committee Session, which voted for T20 cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”Things that perhaps we’ll take away and try to work on, try to do better… so this event’s only [at] the start. Let’s see how the whole thing plays out and we’ll go away and we’ll review what could change, what we can do better, how we can improve World Cups and the general offering around cricket.”We will just take it as it plays out, get to the end of the event. I’m satisfied that it will still be an outstanding World Cup.”While the India vs Pakistan contest was watched by a record crowd – both at the ground and globally – the organisers have not yet put out the official attendance.The Ahmedabad venue is the largest ground in cricket in terms of capacity with over 110,000 seats.ESPNcricinfo has sent a query to both the ICC and the BCCI, the tournament hosts. There has also been no response from ICC and BCCI to a query on to how many seats were officially put on sale for the marquee contest. When the plan for ticket sales for the tournament was released in late August, the BCCI had said September 3 was slotted solely for the India vs Pakistan game tickets. On October 8, the BCCI announced it was putting a further 14,000 tickets on sale for the match. Three days later, the BCCI put out a post on X (formerly Twitter) announcing that another set of tickets – no numbers revealed – originally meant for its official partners, was being sold.There have been numerous complaints from fans about the online ticketing system in place and the early part of the tournament – excluding India games and games held in Delhi – has been marked by low attendances.

England captain admits she’d have featured in WPL ‘in an ideal world’ but focus is NZ series

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2024Heather Knight says she has no regrets about pulling out of the WPL and missing Royal Challengers Bangalore’s trophy-winning campaign, as she prepares to lead her side in the first of five T20Is against New Zealand in Dunedin on Tuesday.Knight, 33, withdrew from the tournament, which concluded with RCB’s victory over Delhi Capitals on Sunday, when it became clear that the schedule would impinge on her ability to lead England in the T20I leg of the New Zealand tour, which forms a key part of the team’s preparations for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this year.Her place in the RCB squad was taken by South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk, who featured just once in the campaign, while seamer Lauren Bell also withdrew from the UP Warriorz squad to focus on her England preparations.A core of England’s established T20I players – including Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt, Alice Capsey and Sophie Ecclestone – chose to stay on in India and will link up with the T20I squad ahead of the fourth and fifth matches later this month. As England captain, however, Knight said she was clear where her priorities lay.”I was always going to come [to New Zealand], so that was quite an easy decision for me,” she said. “As captain, I wanted to be here and I want to be around the team for the build-up, and those three games.”The ideal world would have been to leave the WPL a little early, but that wasn’t an option to do so, because of the rules about replacement players. We wanted to have someone available for the whole competition. Those are the choices that players have to make now, it can be quite tricky, but I think it’s really important that it’s made on an individual level.”Given the timezone difference, Knight said she hadn’t watched the final, in which RCB hunted down Delhi’s target of 114 to win by eight wickets with three balls to spare, but had watched the highlights that morning, and had been kept abreast of the celebrations, not least through her England team-mate Kate Cross, who was an unused squad member.Related

• England players in a dilemma as WPL clashes with NZ T20Is

• ECB 'explored every option' to avoid WPL clash with NZ tour

• Nat Sciver-Brunt: 'I'd be lying if I said money wasn't a factor'

• Kerr, Devine unavailable for opening T20I against England

“I was getting a few messages, from Kate who’s there and obviously some of the overseas [players] as well. I was really pleased for them that they managed to win, after quite a tough year last year. I guess I could have been there, but I’m not really thinking about that. I’m super happy to be here. Obviously the right thing for me, and for the team, was for me to be here.”Despite the scheduling clash, Knight insisted that England would benefit from the split priorities, both from the WPL contingent’s exposure to subcontinental conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September, and from the extra competition for places that will arise in their absence for the first three T20Is.”The right thing for me was to be here, but I still think we’re going to get a really good benefit as an England team,” Knight said. “Alice Capsey playing in a big final yesterday, that’d be a really good experience for her, and hopefully England will benefit down the road, with a World Cup coming up in Bangladesh.”It’s a tricky one. It’s getting a little bit tougher for players to make these decisions because they have so many different options now. In an ideal world, you’d have windows [in the schedule]. There is a little window, but a day in between [games] isn’t realistic, obviously, to fly across the world and play.”But I’m quite an optimistic person, I’m looking at the positives that we’ve got. We’ve got a huge opportunity for some of our younger players to play a really good role [in New Zealand], and by making the choice around the first three T20s to have a different squad, the girls at the WPL have a little bit of a chance to take a few days off as well, and get used to New Zealand and get the flight out of their legs.”It’s not an ideal situation, but I think there’s some really good positives that will hopefully benefit the England team moving forward.”In terms of the challenge awaiting England in Dunedin, Knight admitted that the damp weather meant that the conditions could be similar to early-season England, but expected a good wicket with a bit in it for batters and bowlers alike.”It’s been nice to get acclimatised,” she said. “The weather’s made us feel quite home to be honest, it’s a little bit cold and miserable out there now. But the main thing is just adapting to being on grass again, and getting really clear on our mindset about how we’re going to play tomorrow. We’re obviously excited to get going. It’s been a long build-up.”

Gujarat Titans are in sixth place with eight points, while Delhi Capitals are in eighth place with six points

Shashank Kishore23-Apr-20241:29

Should Titans go with Williamson or Omarzai?

Match Details

Delhi Capitals (eighth) vs Gujarat Titans (sixth)

New Delhi, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – Axar, Kuldeep vs Rashid, Noor

There’s only so much wriggle room in the mid-table, with Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans desperately needing winning momentum in the second half of the league phase.The Capitals have swung from sublime to ridiculous. They have four of the best powerplay performances by a bowling team this season, but they also have the second highest economy rate in the first six overs, after conceding 125 and 88 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.The Capitals had nearly taken their net run rate positive after dismissing Gujarat Titans for the season’s lowest total last week in Ahmedabad, but that high was short lived as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma fired Sunrisers to 266 for 7 at the Kotla.While they lost that chase against SRH, the Capitals provided a peek into what their future could look like, with Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel batting like daredevils. But the youngsters are likely to be tested by the Titans, who have a spin attack comprising Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and R Sai Kishore.Capitals also have the spinners to match the Titans. Axar Patel had dream figures of 4-0-29-1 in a game where over 450 runs were scored, while Kuldeep Yadav bounced back after a first-over shellacking from Abhishek to take four wickets. They could capitalise against one of the slowest top orders this season and a middle order that has lacked the role-clarity that was so crucial to their success in the previous two years. The spinners on both sides, however, will have to contend with a venue that has traditionally been a nightmare to bowl on with its short square boundaries.Related

• Axar, Mukesh speak out against Impact Player rule: 'It only works for a batter's convenience'

• Head starts, a Dhoni finish, and Narine's maiden ton

• An extra over for one bowler – would it help counter the battering in T20s?

Form Guide

Capitals LWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)

Titans WLWLL

Previous meeting

Titans were bowled out for 89, a total that the Capitals chased down in 8.5 overs. The fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed made the difference for DC that evening in Ahmedabad.

Team news and impact player strategy – A game for Kushagra?

Delhi Capitals

Mitchell Marsh is unavailable for the remainder of their campaign due to a hamstring strain. Ishant is also a doubtful starter as he continues to manage back spasms.Prithvi Shaw is likely to be subbed in or out for one of Khaleel Ahmed or Mukesh Kumar depending on whether Capitals bat or bowl first. If they are in trouble batting first and need an extra batter as an impact player, they could consider bringing in Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra.Probable XII: 1 David Warner, 2 , 3 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Abishek Porel, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Sumit Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Mukesh Kumar, 12 Gujarat Titans
Titans are likely to swap Sai Sudharsan and Mohit Sharma as the Impact Player, depending on whether they bat or bowl first. While Sudharsan’s performances have been middling, Mohit has the fifth-best economy rate in the death overs among those who have bowled at least 10 overs since IPL 2023.Probable XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha, 3 , 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 David Miller, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Noor Ahmad, 12 David Warner has scored 37 runs in his last four innings•BCCI

In the Spotlight – Warner and Gill

David Warner has scores of 1, 8, 10 and 18 in his last four innings. He has played the last two games with a finger injury he picked up while attempting a lap sweep on April 12. Jake Fraser-McGurk is making heads turn with his powerplay hitting – a strike rate of 236 off his first 10 deliveries – and presenting a case to be considered for the opening slot. While there’s no imminent threat to Warner’s place, another low score could give Capitals something to think about.Shubman Gill was outstanding in IPL 2023, where he had a strike rate of more than 160 in six of his seven fifty-plus scores. This season, he has managed only one half-century in eight games, with his total tally at 289 runs. His form has somewhat mirrored his team’s batting fortunes and a big second half for Gill could be the boost Titans need to make a pitch for the playoffs for the third successive season.

Stats that matter

• The head-to-head between Anrich Nortje and Shubman Gill reads: three dismissals in six innings at an average of 11.30.
• The Capitals’ powerplay economy of 10.37 is the second highest among all teams this season.
• Umesh Yadav has a favourable match-up against Warner, with five dismissals in 11 innings.
• Rishabh Pant has fallen three times to legspin this season.

Pitch and conditions – Rain on the radar?

Last year, the re-laid pitches at the Kotla offered lateral movement and bounce for the seamers. This season, the Capitals played their first few home games in Vishakapatnam to give the pitches in Delhi time to recover after hosting the WPL. On their return to Delhi last week, records tumbled when Sunrisers smashed 266, and the curator expects another run-fest. There was a thunderstorm that forced both teams to abort their training sessions on match-eve.

Quotes

“There are still a lot of things to learn for Jake Fraser-McGurk. He isn’t a finished product and there is no better place to learn than the IPL. He needs to make it big like [Yashasvi] Jaiswal last night. He is a terrific kid; I like the way he is learning. We aren’t stopping him from doing the things he wants to do but we are also trying to make him learn a few things on the run.”

Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Roelof van der Merwe, the joint-leading wicket-taker of the last season, makes himself unavailable

Hemant Brar03-Aug-2023The SA20 mini-auction ahead of the 2024 season will take place in Johannesburg on September 27. On the day of the auction, a total of 21 slots are to be filled, six of those reserved for rookie players. A rookie player is someone who is a South African under the age of 22 and has not played in the SA20 previously.Overall, in a squad of 19, each team is required to have a minimum of ten South African players, a maximum of seven overseas players and a rookie player. The teams will have an additional R5.1 million (USD 274,000 approx) added to last time’s purse of R39.1 million (USD 2.1 million approx).Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will be without Roelof van der Merwe this time as he has made himself unavailable. Van der Merwe was the joint-highest wicket-taker last season with 20 scalps.Related

• SA20 2024 starts on January 10, will clash with Test series in NZ

• Moeen Ali moves to SA20 as teams announce retentions, fresh signings

• SA20 teams given R39.1 million salary purse to build squads

In another update, Paarl Royals have contracted Kwena Maphaka. At 17, the left-arm seamer from Johannesburg becomes the youngest player to be signed in the league.Most teams have retained their core from the inaugural season. Durban’s Super Giants have the fewest slots to fill, two, and they have R1.675 million for that.Runners-up Pretoria Capitals have to sign the most number of players – five, out of which four could be overseas – and also the biggest purse available (R9.737 million).In addition to 21 picks on the auction day, four teams – Super Giants, Capitals, Royals and Joburg Super Kings – need to pick their wild-card players as well, as they either incorporated their season 1 wild cards into the main squad or, in the case of Super Giants, released them. The last date to do so is December 30. The wild-card players’ salaries are over and above the team purse.Here is how the squads line up before the mini-auction.

Durban’s Super Giants

Squad: Prenelan Subrayen, Quinton de Kock, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Abbott, Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, Wiaan Mulder, Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Keemo Paul, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kyle Mayers, Reece Topley, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dilshan MadushankaSquad size: 16 (10 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 2
Purse available: R1.675 million (USD 90,000 approx)

Joburg Super Kings

Squad: Gerald Coetzee, Faf du Plessis, Reeza Hendricks, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Moeen Ali, David Wiese, Zahir Khan, Sam Cook, Leus du Plooy, Donovan Ferreira, Aaron Phangiso, Sibonelo Makhanya, Kyle SimmondsSquad size: 14 (9 South Africans, 5 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 4
Purse available: R6.1 million (USD 327,000 approx)

MI Cape Town

Squad: Dewald Brevis, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Delano Potgieter, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Beuran Hendricks, Duan Jansen, Grant Roelofsen, Jofra Archer (wild card), Rashid Khan, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Tom Banton, Olly StoneSquad size: 15 (9 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 4
Purse available: R5.05 million (USD 271,000 approx)

Paarl Royals

Squad: Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Vilas, Bjorn Fortuin, Mitchell Van Buuren, Wihan Lubbe, Ferisco Adams, Codi Yusuf, Evan Jones, Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy, Jason RoySquad size: 15 (12 South Africans, 3 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 3
Purse available: R8.865 million (USD 475,000 approx)

Pretoria Capitals

Squad: Migael Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, Senuran Muthusamy, Wayne Parnell, Theunis de Bruyn, Eathan Bosch, Shane Dadswell, Corbin Bosch, Jimmy Neesham, Adil Rashid, William JacksSquad size: 13 (10 South Africans, 3 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 5
Purse available: R9.737 million (USD 522,000 approx)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Squad: Ottniel Baartman, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Sisanda Magala, Simon Harmer, Temba Bavuma, Sarel Erwee, Jordan Hermann, Aya Gqamane, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, Dawid Malan, Adam Rossington, Tom Abell, Craig Overton (wild card)Squad size: 16 (10 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 3
Purse available: R1.865 million (USD 100,000 approx)

Keith Fletcher expresses fury at CDC verdict after incident in April

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2024Essex’s faint hopes of victory in this year’s County Championship are effectively over after the club was docked 12 points by the Cricket Discipline Commission, after one of their players, Feroze Khushi, was found to have used an over-sized bat during their opening match of the season in April.The sanction, which had been anticipated at Chelmsford for much of the season, has been accepted by the club in an official statement. However, there is also fury behind the scenes, with Keith Fletcher, the former Essex and England captain who is now the club president, telling the The Times that the decision was “absolutely stupid”.The issue arose during Essex’s second innings of their opening Championship fixture, against Nottinghamshire on April 6. Khushi, who had made 21 at the time, when the onfield umpires, Tom Lungley and Steve O’Shaughnessy, found that his bat became stuck in their measurement gauge.Essex went on to win the match by 254 runs, but have now lost 12 of the 20 points that they took from that fixture, meaning that they trail Surrey by 56 points with two rounds remaining, including what could have been a critical final-round clash between the two clubs at Chelmsford.Essex lodged an appeal when the original charge was raised by the Cricket Regulator, and in a 31-page judgement issued by the CDC, it was acknowledged that some of the gauges used to assess Khushi’s bat “did not comply precisely with the specifications”.In his evidence to the Regulator, Khushi said that he had trusted his bat manufacturer to provide equipment that confirmed to MCC’s regulations, with Law 5.7.2 stipulating that a bat’s width should be 10.8cm. He added that he never intended to use a non-conforming bat, but received a reprimand for his part in the issue.”Essex CCC regrets the outcome and, although disappointed with the appeal decision and subsequent sanctions, accepts the charges of the CDC panel,” a club statement said.”The club remains fully committed to upholding the integrity of the game and ensuring strict compliance with all relevant regulations moving forward.”In light of the concerns raised during the appeal, the club will be writing to the CDC, Cricket Regulator and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to formally highlight the matters which arose during the process, such as those raised by the club in relation to the bat gauges.
“Essex CCC hopes that these concerns will prompt action to address inconsistencies and enhance the fairness and transparency of future regulatory processes.”Speaking to , Fletcher accused the appeal panel of “trying to flex its muscles”, adding that the whole side had been penalised by the process.”We realise we are not going to catch Surrey now and there is money at stake for the players and prestige for a non-Test-match club such as ourselves involved in where we finish,” he added. “We are always up against it with the Test-match clubs, which already have the money to attract the best players.”Anu Mohindru KC, the Essex chairman, added: “We appealed the initial judgment and it was supported by the cricket regulator, but the initial decision was upheld.”Since then, no other bat has been tested. My issue is with the apparatus for testing not being standard. I’m not suggesting we did not fail the final test and I don’t have any criticism of the umpires and match referee but it is not a level playing field if we are all using different gauges. I would like to think we are not being singled out in this matter.”

Jewell, Came make half-centuries, but Olly Stone goes wicketless at start of loan spell

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay08-Sep-2025Toby Roland-Jones led Middlesex’s fightback with his best Rothesay County Championship bowling figures of the season after promotion rivals Derbyshire had threatened to dominate with the bat on the opening day at Lord’s.Caleb Jewell and Harry Came both hit half-centuries as they forged a century partnership to give the visitors a strong platform at 124 for one before Roland-Jones struck back with four wickets in the space of 27 balls.The former Middlesex captain eventually finished with six for 77, while Ryan Higgins and Zafar Gohar shared the other four wickets evenly as Derbyshire, who began the day with a 24-point gap to second-placed Glamorgan, were bowled out for 283.In reply, Middlesex openers Sam Robson and Josh de Caires trimmed that deficit slightly prior to stumps, reaching 12 without loss.The Seaxes’ pace attack included two red-ball debutants in the shape of Olly Stone, signed on a short-term loan from Nottinghamshire, and 18-year-old Sebastian Morgan – yet there were slim pickings for either when the visitors won the toss and chose to bat on a benign surface.Higgins achieved the solitary breakthrough of the morning session, pinning Luis Reece in front of his stumps with a ball that nipped back down the slope, but Jewell and Came batted through to lunch largely untroubled.The Australian was quick to punish anything loose outside off stump, dispatching an early short ball from Roland-Jones to the cover fence before handing the same treatment to a Stone half-volley.Came settled in following an uncertain start, when Stone beat his outside edge a couple of times and began to take advantage of the short boundary on one side, keeping pace with his partner.It was Jewell who reached his half-century first, nudging a single from the opening ball of the afternoon session, while Came’s arrival at that landmark was more eye-catching as he pulled Stone into the Mound Stand for six.The pair extended their partnership to 105 before it was eventually broken by Higgins, returning for a second stint from the Nursery End and knocking back the left-hander’s off stump for 56.Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen, marking his 500th overall appearance in the county’s colours, was soon up and running with two quick fours off Higgins, but his side’s momentum was stemmed by a destructive spell from Roland-Jones.Came was first to go, caught behind off an inside edge for 64 and Brooke Guest was castled having misjudged the line before Roland-Jones got another delivery to rear back and trap former Middlesex man Martin Andersson leg before.Roland-Jones claimed the prize wicket of Madsen in identical fashion to leave Derbyshire apparently wilting at 177 for six, only for Anuj Dal and Zak Chappell to mount a recovery with their stand of 48.Dal eventually departed on the stroke of tea, succumbing to a thin edge off Gohar and the spinner also picked up the wicket of Chappell, but Ben Aitchison’s watchful 36 secured his side a batting bonus point.However, Roland-Jones wrapped up the innings by having both Aitchison and Jack Morley caught behind with the new ball and Middlesex successfully negotiated the day’s remaining seven overs without alarm.

Ryan Higgins scores 88 and takes three-for as visitors crash to 134-run defeat

ECB Reporters Network15-Aug-2023Middlesex’s Martin Andersson hit a maiden career century to help his side register their first victory of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup by routing Notts Outlaws at Radlett.The 26-year-old allrounder, promoted to bat at No. 6, produced a knock of exactly 100 from 81 balls to put the Seaxes back on track alongside Ryan Higgins, whose 88 from 58 was also a career-best performance in 50-over cricket. The pair’s effort enabled Middlesex to post 365 all out after being put in – and that target proved far too steep for the Outlaws, who could only muster 231 from 40.1 overs in reply.Higgins and Ethan Bamber picked up three wickets apiece and the 134-run victory margin – Middlesex’s highest against Notts in limited-overs cricket – would have been greater but for a spirited eighth-wicket stand of 74 between Tom Loten and Calvin Harrison.Asked to bat first, Middlesex skipper Mark Stoneman set off at a brisk pace, driving Brett Hutton over the top for six and finding the boundary regularly as he dominated an opening stand of 40 with Joe Cracknell, reaching 35 from 27. However, Hutton had the last word, breaching Stoneman’s defences with a straight one and the Outlaws seamer also picked up the wicket of Sam Robson, who dragged a ball back onto his off stump.Cracknell targeted left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White immediately with two successful sweeps to the fence, but a third attempt proved his undoing as Dane Schadendorf took a tumbling bat-pad catch behind the stumps.When Jack Davies was caught at cover, the home side had slumped to 136 for 4 – but the decision to move Andersson up the order paid off as he and Higgins shared a partnership of 129 from 78.Higgins was productive against seam and spin alike, looking well set for a maiden 50-over hundred until he skied Lyndon James to mid-off, but Andersson took full advantage of being dropped when he sliced to deep third on 18.He progressed to his half-century with a boundary, punching Patterson-White off the back foot through cover and, aided by Luke Hollman (35 from 34) steered Middlesex beyond the 300 mark. On 90 at the start of the final over, Andersson carved James for successive fours and then scrambled two to reach his milestone before being caught on the fence next delivery as the Seaxes posted 365.In reply, Notts lost three wickets during the powerplay overs, with both openers falling to Bamber – yet the most eye-catching dismissal was Stoneman’s stunning one-handed catch at midwicket to intercept James’ full-blooded pull off Ishaan Kaushal.Outlaws captain Haseeb Hameed, who dispatched his first ball from Kaushal to the cover boundary, had begun to repair the damage when Bamber uprooted his middle stump to leave the visitors reeling at 60 for 4.Andersson was unlucky not to add his name to the list of wicket-takers when Patterson-White’s edge narrowly eluded John Simpson and, when Montgomery cut him to gully later in the same over, Higgins spilled the catch.Higgins made amends as he whizzed through the middle order with three quick wickets, including the scalp of Montgomery, who was caught at backward point for 40 – but Notts’ eighth-wicket pair thwarted any hopes of a swift finish. Loten struck a career-best 44 before Robson had him caught behind and the legspinner finished proceedings when Harrison, chasing a maiden half-century, was taken at long-off for 41.

The South Group leaders overcame a nervy finish to make it seven wins from 10

ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2024 Surrey 103 for 5 (Evans 25, Stewart 2-24) beat Kent 81 for 3 (Khushi 35, Topley 2-27) by 5 runs DLSSouth Group leaders Surrey held their nerve in a tense finish to beat Kent Spitfires by five runs in a rain-shortened Vitality Blast contest at the Kia Oval.Surrey, put in and with an unfamiliar batting line-up, did well to reach 103 for 5 from 10 overs after play finally got underway two hours and 25 minutes late.And then more rain, arriving just as Kent were about to start their reply, left them needing 87 from eight overs under the Duckworth/Lewis calculations.Despite late hitting from Feroze Khushi, who made 35, and Sam Billings, who swept Reece Topley for six in a seventh over costing 20 and in which Khushi also bludgeoned a six over long on, Kent could only finish on 81 for 3.It was Surrey’s seventh win from ten games, but Kent have now lost seven of their first ten group games and look to be dropping out of contention for a top-four finish and a quarter-final place.There were several decisive moments in a fast and furious affair, the first a brilliant fourth over from leg-spinner Cameron Steel in which he conceded only four runs and also bowled the dangerous Tawanda Muyeye for 22.Muyeye hit Dan Worrall for a slashed four and a superb lofted six to long on in the second over, but Jordan Clark allowed only six runs from the third over, and then Steel’s fine over left Kent on 29 for two with half their innings gone.Khushi smashed Chris Jordan over long on for six and Billings hit the Surrey captain, returning alongside Topley from England’s T20 World Cup campaign, for four over mid off to keep Kent in the hunt.But Khushi’s dismissal from the final ball of the penultimate over, well held by Steel diving forward at long on, felt like a big momentum swing back to Surrey as it left Kent needing 17 from the last over.Jordan began with a no ball, from which a leg bye was scampered, but new batsman Tom Rogers could only dig out a yorker from the free hit opportunity and, although he cut Jordan away for four from the next ball, he and Billings (14 not out) could not find the boundary again as Jordan’s accuracy under pressure closed out the game.The other decisive moment in the match came right at the end of the Surrey innings when they were 94 for five with just one ball remaining to be bowled.Up to then, and despite two offside wides, Grant Stewart looked to be succeeding in keeping Surrey’s total below 100, but he then sent down a waist-high no ball full toss which Ben Geddes swung away high for six behind square.That brought an extra ball, from which a bye was scampered and, in all, 19 runs came from the over, which had started with Clark crunching an extra cover four before being caught at long off for seven.There were five other sixes in Surrey’s effort, the first two pulled by Laurie Evans off paceman Nathan Gilchrist and off spinner Marcus O’Riordan. Evans, coming in after Ryan Patel had departed in the first over, skying Stewart to keeper Billings after one lovely off-driven four, made a punchy 25 before he hit O’Riordan to long off.Dom Sibley muscled Matt Parkinson’s leg spin for six over long on in his 20, which ended to a catch at deep mid wicket off Joey Evison, while Jordan pulled the medium pacer for six and Rory Burns produced a remarkable swept maximum off Gilchrist.Jordan mishit Gilchrist high to mid off to go for 14 and Burns finished 11 not out as he and Geddes, who was unbeaten on seven, saw Surrey to a total that proved – just – to be defendable.Kent saw Daniel Bell-Drummond fall for a duck to the second ball of their reply, hitting Topley high to deep square leg where 19-year-old debutant Ollie Sykes held the catch.

The openings were created when Devon Conway and Finn Allen opted out of their deals to play T20 leagues

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2024Allrounders Nathan Smith and Josh Clarkson have been handed New Zealand central contracts, filling the spots vacated by Devon Conway and Finn Allen declining deals last month.Clarkson, the 27-year-old middle-order batter and medium-pace bowler, has played three ODIs and T20Is while 26-year-old Smith has yet to make his international debut.Related

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Smith was the leading wicket-taker in last season’s Plunket Shield with 33 at 17.18 for champions Wellington. He also represented Worcestershire this season where he claimed 27 wickets at 21.14 in seven County Championship matches alongside making three half-centuries and took eight wickets in nine T20 Blast games before he was forced home with a hamstring injury.”Nathan’s been on our radar for a while having been a significant performer in domestic cricket for some time,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead. “He’s been particularly impressive in red-ball cricket and we think he has the skills to be successful in international cricket when he gets a chance.”New Zealand Men’s central contracts for 2024-25•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Clarkson, meanwhile, featured in series against Bangladesh, Australia and Pakistan last season.”Josh has been involved in both white ball squads over the past twelve months which shows the strides he’s made in his game,” Stead said. “He’s a hard-hitting player with plenty of skills and has shown in his chances so far that he can offer a lot with bat and ball on the international stage. Josh will provide depth and adds value given the volume of white ball cricket on the horizon.”The vacancies on the contract list arose when Conway and Allen opted out in order to take up T20 league deals during January. Conway, who will play in the SA20 for Joburg Super Kings, was offered a casual playing contract, the same model given Kane Williamson. Allen, who signed a two-year deal with Perth Scorchers in the BBL, wasn’t provided the same option but will remain eligible or selection on a case-by-case basis.New Zealand return to action next week with a one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida before traveling to Sri Lanka for two Tests then India for three.

Updated New Zealand Men’s central contracts

Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young