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It hasn’t quite been a case of having too much of a good thing, but a key plank of Australia’s build towards their ODI World Cup title defence in India and Sri Lanka has been instilling the belief to make the most of their enviable depth.No team has gone back-to-back in the women’s ODI World Cup since Australia’s hat-trick of titles between 1978 and 1988, but few would be surprised if this side achieved the feat. They have lost just three matches in the format since defeating England in Christchurch in the 2022 World Cup final to complete their redemption arc from the semi-final exit of 2017.But two of those losses came in the 2023 Ashes when Australia were exposed across both white-ball formats. While not as seismic as what happened in the 2017 semi-final against India, coupled with their semi-final exit at last year’s T20 World Cup it was a moment when the team challenged itself to remain ahead of the pack.Related

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“We’re really conscious of the fact that we’re incredibly fortunate to have some huge depth in our side, both batting and bowling,” Ellyse Perry, who will be playing her fifth ODI World Cup, said at a sponsorship announcement for Chemist Warehouse ahead of the team’s departure to India.”So, from that aspect, I think we’ve made a really conscious shift towards wanting to take the game on from the very start and probably keep our foot down for as long as we can. Obviously, you’ve got to adapt to conditions and certain circumstances, but it just feels like there’s a real ethos within the group to make sure that we can utilise everyone’s talent on the day.”It’s going to be one person’s day most of the time, not everyone’s, but if we can kind of really be consistent with that, we’ve got a good chance of being successful more often than not. I think that’s been a big shift for us.”Staying ahead of the chasing pack is not just focused on batting and bowling, either. “The development of the women’s game has been really incredible in the last couple of years,” Perry said. “From an athletic point of view, we’re very conscious of making sure that we’re dominant in that space. We want to run hard between the wickets, be really good in the field, and I think looking at some of our bowling options, [we have] some of the quicker bowlers in the world as well. Hopefully we’re a dynamic side and hopefully that’s successful for us.”Annabel Sutherland and Phoebe Litchfield have emerged as fulcrums in the batting order•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Three major names from the side that emerged from the heartache of 2017 into one of the most dominant sporting teams in history – with a record winning run of 26 ODIs – won’t be in India: Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes have retired, while Jess Jonassen has not been able to regain the spot she lost nearly two years ago, an example of the riches available to Australia.”[There’s been] some fairly big changes to our group over the last four years,” Perry said. “But in the last particularly 12 months, we’ve had a fairly stable group and some really amazing young talent emerge as mainstays as well, contributing consistently in every match. From that perspective, [it’s] definitely a slightly different-looking team, but I think still a really stable and established team.”The likes of Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland have emerged as fulcrums in the batting order, while Georgia Voll had a breakout first year in international cricket. Voll may struggle to start the World Cup but will keep the incumbents on their toes. Perhaps the slight unknown, and potentially a factor at last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, is the pressure of knockout cricket.Speaking last week when the squad was named, captain Alyssa Healy said, “I had to watch something on the 2022 World Cup and just how much our team support staff and our squad has changed in that period of time, I think no one’s probably noticed that as much simply because of the way that players have had opportunity over the last couple of years.”1:24

Gardner on using the Hundred to gauge the opposition

Last season, there was a subtle shift in the batting order with Sutherland promoted to No. 5 and Tahlia McGrath moved to a finishing role at No. 7. Sutherland’s development into a world-class allrounder had almost demanded the move but it felt a significant nod to the next generation; she responded with back-to-back centuries against India and New Zealand. Nothing in elite sport is certain, but she’s the type of player who could shine at this World Cup.”Annabel’s been absolutely superb for the last 12 months, probably before that,” Perry said. “And to think that she’s only still so young is quite incredible. Obviously, she won the Belinda Clark Medal last year, and she’s been such a big contributor to our team in the last little bit.”I think her coupled with Phoebe Litchfield, the way that she’s been playing, Georgia Voll as well, since she’s had an opportunity at an international level… there’s some really, really special young players that we’ve got in the group. I think they balance out the experience that we have as well.”I’m sure Annabel’s going to have a wonderful tournament. She works exceptionally hard at her game. She’s never standing still.”Australia fly out to India on Wednesday ahead of their three-match series with the hosts before the World Cup. “It feels like with the women’s game, every World Cup just gets a little bit bigger, more competitive, and there’s more on the line,” Perry said.

It’s not whether South Africa have the skills and mental fortitude to come out on top in close games that concerns their coach Shukri Conrad. It is whether they have the confidence to show that they possess those qualities.In the aftermath of their last-over defeat in the T20I series decider against Australia in Cairns, which came after a last-over defeat in a tri-series final against New Zealand last month, Conrad asked his players to strut their stuff a little more if they want to become a champion side.”Sometimes we can be too humble. We don’t show off to the world enough what we’re capable of doing,” Conrad said, as he almost used Australia as an example of what self-belief could look like.Related

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“This has got nothing to do with the way Australia plays, but they have got a blueprint as to how they want to play. There are times when it looks absolutely brilliant and it’s box-office stuff. And there are times when you can have them in trouble, like we had them in the first couple of games. But they stay true to it. What does it mean for us? It’s easier on the batting front, guys like [[Tristan Stubbs] and Ricks [Ryan Rickelton] and Aiden [Markram] himself… there’s so much that they can do. But feel that they have maybe boxed themselves in a little bit too much.”Of the three Conrad mentioned, only Rickelton made a score of significance in the series – 71 off 55 balls in the first game – but even after that knock, he acknowledged that he started too slowly for South Africa to successfully chase 179. There was another name on Conrad’s lips when he spoke about how he wants to see his players approach matches: Dewald Brevis.Dewald Brevis finished the series with a strike rate of 204.54•AFP/Getty Images

The 22-year-old was the leading run-scorer in the series, became the holder of South Africa’s highest individual T20I score of 125 not out in the second match and had the highest strike rate among all batters of 204.54. He played in a way that is best described by the Afrikaans word , which is a mixture of confidence and cockiness and is maybe best explained by one of his shots in this series.In the second T20I in Darwin, Brevis was on 22 when he lofted Sean Abbott for six over long-on and didn’t even need to look at where the ball went. Watch the replays and you’ll see Brevis keep his head down until well after the ball has gone into the stands in a manner that seems to suggest, “I’ve hit that so well, I don’t even need to look at where it’s gone.” Off the field, Brevis is as modest as they come, and attributes his talent to God alone. Whatever ego he has is confined to what happens on the field but it’s enough to allow him to play with freedom, and Conrad hopes it will rub off on other players.Chief among them is Markram, who has gone 31 innings without a T20I half-century, and who was dismissed driving waftily in all three matches in the series. One reason for Markram’s under-performance in Australia is that he is still getting used to his new role as an opener; another could be that he has been too tentative in his shot selection. Whatever it is, Conrad knows Markram has it in him a little because he saw him do it just two months ago, when it mattered most. “I know it’s a different format, but in the World Test Championship final not so long ago, Aiden showed exactly what he is about,” Conrad said. “And I’m sure he is a couple of games away from unlocking that state of genius.”Even when he does, Conrad cautioned that South Africa could not expect to come out on top every time because that’s just the nature of sport but at least, they would be giving themselves a good chance. “It’s not always going to result in winning. But I just want us to show off a bit more.”Whether that’s Conrad talking up or having a little dig at his hometown is to be figured out at another time. For now, his work is to continue preparations for the next T20 World Cup in six months time. So far, under his watch, South Africa have lost two deciders – one chasing, one defending. Against New Zealand, they needed seven runs off the last over and Conrad believes they “should have won going into the last over” but “in and amongst all of that, I’m really happy with the growth”.That was a series played without several regulars, this is one that is only without David Miller, which has left the batting line-up unbalanced. Conrad conceded that South Africa were a “batter light” but explained that if the players they have were willing to play with a little more chutzpah, it could work in their favour. “If we want to be brave, we have got to select attacks to beat a team like Australia and if I can nudge a batting unit into playing a certain way where we are a batter light and I concede we were a batter light, imagine what they can do when we have got a properly balanced side,” he said. “It’s all part of the slightly longer-term plan.”He also rejected the idea that he has put his store in allrounders, albeit that both his left-arm spinners, George Linde and Senuran Muthusamy, were also picked on batting strength, and that his selections are conventional. “Your top six will be your best batters, and Nos. 7, 8 possibly allrounders, so there’s nothing untoward,” he said. “I’m not obsessed with allrounders in T20 cricket, I can guarantee you that.”And he said it with the kind of conviction he expects his players to have.

England Test off spinner Shoaib Bashir is set to join Glamorgan for the start of the County Championship season on a short-term loan from Somerset, ESPNcricinfo understands.With Bashir behind Jack Leach at Somerset, and the emergence of off-spinning allrounder Archie Vaughan, the county were happy to let Bashir leave Taunton on a temporary deal. The ECB helped facilitate the move to Glamorgan as Bashir is currently on a one-year central contract, and are keen for the 21-year old to get more playing time to hone is raw talent. The stint is understood to be for the first three matches of the season, starting at Sophia Gardens against Leicestershire on April 4, before away fixtures against Gloucestershire and Middlesex.The move allows Glamorgan to cover for leg spinner Mason Crane who will miss the first three rounds with a shoulder injury. The acquisition of Bashir in the absence of Crane, who was due to partner Ben Kellaway – who bowls both left- and right-arm orthodox – allows the club to adhere to a plan of playing two spinners in their XI at the start of their Division Two campaign.Related

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Bashir emerged as Ben Stokes’ go-to spinner last year, with 49 wickets across 15 Tests, and will use the move to tune-up for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge which begins on May 22. The 21-year-old undertook a similar loan spell at Worcestershire last season – an arrangement Glamorgan were also interested in at the time – in what was a breakthrough 2024.Propelled onto the international scene for the Test tour of India despite just six first-class appearances to his name, Bashir impressed with 17 wickets, including two five-wicket hauls, in his first three caps. He soon usurped Leach as England’s primary slow-bowling option for the home summer and marked that ascension with career-best red-ball figures of 5 for 41 in the second Test against West Indies, bowling England to victory at Trent Bridge.Challenging series followed against Sri Lanka (six dismissals at 49.33) and in the winter against Pakistan (nine at 49.55) and New Zealand (eight at 51.75). And after taking just four wickets in three matches on England Lions’ tour of Australia, including 1 for 74 in the unofficial Test against Australia A, the chance to start the summer with first-team cricket at Glamorgan will be vital given the high-profile engagements that lie ahead.Bashir will hope to lock horns once more with India in this summer’s five-match Test series, leading into the Ashes at the end of the year. At six-foot-four, his high release point, and a natural ability to impart overspin on the ball are regarded as vital characteristics for success on Australian pitches, something he was able to work on as part of Andrew Flintoff’s Lions squad at the start of the year, with assistance from Lions spin-bowling coach Graeme Swann.To date, just 11 of Bashir’s 27 first-class appearances have come in the County Championship, and his current deal at Somerset is set to expire at the end of the summer, along with his central contract.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo at the start of the year, Bashir underlined a desire to improve his consistency and ability to hold up an end without shirking his wicket-taker responsibilities. “I’m 21 years old, right? I’m still learning. I’ve only played professional cricket for about, what, two or three years? It’s just a work in progress.”Even in the short-term, a move to Glamorgan will aid that development given their propensity to operate with an out-and-out spinner. Last year, Crane played 11 of a possible 14 matches in Division Two, bowling 304.2 overs, the second most in the squad after James Harris’ 309.5, with 29 dismissals. Bashir can also call on the expertise of ex-England spinner Richard Dawson, who was appointed interim-head coach at Glamorgan in January.

Glenn Maxwell produced an extraordinary innings, farming the strike and smashing ten sixes in a brilliant 90 off 52 balls, to keep Stars’ BBL season alive after they defeated Renegades in the Melbourne derby.Stars’ finals hopes appeared over at 75 for 7 after they were sent in to bat at a closed-roofed Marvel Stadium due to stormy weather in Melbourne. Maxwell’s thunderous batting flipped the match on its head to lift Stars to 165 and a stunned Renegades fell well short in the chase.After losing their first five matches, Stars have won four in a row to remain a chance of reaching the finals while it was a costly defeat for Renegades (placed at the bottom with a 3-5 win-loss record) in a disappointment for much of the 38,000 crowd.Maxwell puts the cape onStars’ season appeared to be petering out as their powerful top-order fell apart. Opener Ben Duckett had been boom or bust this season, but played himself in as he eyed a significant contribution in his last BBL match before departing for the ILT20.Duckett made 21 off 14 balls before miscuing a slower ball to long-on, while skipper Marcus Stoinis tried to counterattack. He blasted quick Tom Rogers in a mighty blow that almost hit the roof but was caught at long-on. It was a dismissal that even left tennis superstar Novak Djokovic gobsmacked as he watched on in the terraces as Stars slumped further.Glenn Maxwell hit ten sixes in his 52-ball 90•Getty Images

Their hopes rested on Maxwell, who has a knack of producing miracles, and he delivered yet again. There were echoes of his famous World Cup double-century against Afghanistan in Mumbai as he hogged the strike and backed himself to smash sixes.He cracked a personal T20 record of 10 sixes, including a 122-metre strike off quick Kane Richardson over deep midwicket, while he laced Will Sutherland for three consecutive blows into the crowd.Maxwell effectively targeted legspinner Adam Zampa down the ground and also unfurled trademark switch-hits in one of his best T20 innings.In scenes more reminiscent of Test cricket, Maxwell refused singles in a strategy that paid off spectacularly. He added a BBL record eighth-wicket partnership of 81 with Usama Mir, who played something of the Pat Cummins role from Mumbai. Mir was scoreless and faced only five of the 46 balls in the partnership, but held up his end.Maxwell deserved a century, but chopped on to Richardson at the start of the final over to end one of the most surreal innings played in BBL history.Renegades’ attack starts hot before succumbing to MaxwellRogers has painful memories of the last Melbourne derby, played just eight days ago. He was thrashed at the death by Maxwell and Hilton Cartwright as Renegades let a match slip at the MCG.But he got a big boost after being the hero with bat and ball in Renegades’ comeback victory over Perth Scorchers in Perth. His confidence spilled over when he dismissed Sam Harper plumb lbw on the match’s first delivery.Recalled-quick Fergus O’Neill justified his selection with the pivotal wicket of Duckett then nicked off Thomas Rogers for a golden duck. He almost claimed a hat-trick when Stoinis hit just short of a diving Richardson at mid-off.O’Neill cleverly bowled subtle variations to finish with 2-16 from 4 overs and finished his spell before Maxwell’s carnage started. Renegades’ attack were then helpless and rattled by his tactic of declining singles.Sutherland, a youthful captain, has been a revelation in his first season as skipper but a few times did appear asleep at the wheel as Maxwell found singles with ease at the end of overs.In a worry for Renegades, Richardson appeared to injure his hamstring and was unable to complete the final over of the innings.Steketee steps up after wayward startVeteran quick Mark Steketee has taken 11 wickets in four matches since being selected in Stars’ line-up. But he could not find his radar initially with wayward new-ball bowling that threatened to undo Stars’ momentum.Steketee turned it around later in the second over after finally finding a straighter line that led to the dismissals of openers Marcus Harris and Josh Brown. He returned in the eighth over to pick up Jake Fraser-McGurk, who briefly threatened, before left-arm quick Joel Paris tore through Renegades’ middle-over. Steketee added two more wickets at the backend to finish with 5 for 17.Fraser-McGurk misses opportunity, debutant Dixon shows glimpsesIf Renegades don’t make finals, they will rue an inconsistent batting effort. Fraser-McGurk has particularly struggled with his highest score this season being just 26.He looked less manic at the crease on this occasion as he eyed ending his slump. He finally made his move when he blasted allrounder Beau Webster for a six over wide long-on, but it proved a tease as he holed out to end his 17-ball 19.Renegades were in massive trouble at 44 for 4, but they still believed after the Sutherland-led chase against Scorchers. They took the Power Surge, however, Sutherland was bowled by evergreen quick Peter Siddle in the 13th over to effectively end the ‘Gades hopes.Debutant Harry Dixon, an under-19 World Cup winner for Australia, had an impossible task but did underline why he’s highly-touted with several flowing stokes.But the left-handed Dixon, whose elegant style at the crease has shades of Shaun Marsh, holed out on 13 where Maxwell, fittingly, claimed the catch to cap his special night.

Sydney Thunder are one win away from their third WBBL grand final, after scratching home to a tense final-over victory against Melbourne Stars.After Hannah Darlington starred with the ball to keep the last-placed Stars to 108 for 9, she was forced to hit the winning runs late with two balls and four wickets to spare.The win means if Thunder beat the second-placed Melbourne Renegades in their final-round match on Saturday, they will finish first. That would automatically qualify them for the final on December 1, and giving them hosting rights as the top-ranked team.Related

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A loss to Renegades would likely mean they finish second or third, and have to go through at least one knockout match in order to reach the final.Wednesday’s result continued a horror season for Stars, who have won only two of eight matches and sit last on the ladder.But the match was not as easy as it first appeared it would be for Thunder on a difficult Drummoyne Oval wicket. They slumped to 15 for 3 in the third over of their chase with Marizanne Kapp bagging all three wickets to leave Thunder in serious troubleThunder then fell to 38 for 4 after eight overs, before Tahlia Wilson and Anika Learoyd steadied the ship. The pair got the equation down to 23 off 20 balls, before Wilson got too aggressive and was caught trying to take on Kim Garth on 33.Stars then had chances to run Learoyd out and have her caught on the boundary, but missed both and eight runs were eventually required off the last over. Learoyd hit the first ball for two and the next for four, before a single allowed Darlington to finish the job for the hosts.Darlington had earlier claimed figures of 3 for 26 from her four overs, with four of those runs coming from an overthrow. She cramped a cutting Meg Lanning and bowled her with a smart off-cutter for 12, and also had Kapp sky a ball to cover next over.Athapaththu was also miserly with her 2 for 12 from four overs and also produced a direct-hit run out in the field to remove Tess Flintoff. Ultimately that helped set up the win as Thunder close in on their first grand final since their 2020 title success.

Ten years and six tours is how long South Africa have waited for a Test win in the subcontinent, which is something none of their current squad have experienced until now. Only five members of the playing XI in Mirpur have featured in a Test match in the subcontinent before and though eight of the 15-man squad have toured Asia, no one was part of the South African team that last enjoyed success on the continent, in Galle in 2014.The long period between victories was marred by massive losses and breaking the drought is what stand-in captain Aiden Markram hopes could be the start of something new. “It’s special. We’re a pretty young, slightly inexperienced group, so to come to the subcontinent and get a win is great for us and the environment,” Markam said at the post-match press conference. “This win does a lot for us and gives us a taste of what playing cricket in the subcontinent is like, and it excites us for the challenges that we possibly face here.”It also may spark some memories of a time, not that long ago, when South Africa were superior in the subcontinent. Between 2007 and 2014, they played 15 Tests in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and the UAE and lost only three, racking up series wins over everyone except India, against whom they drew twice. In the same period, Australia won just one out of 15 Tests in the subcontinent and England won three out of 16. Apart from India and Sri Lanka, South Africa were, by far, the most successful team in Asia over that period of time.Related

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That ended in 2015, when South Africa were outspun 3-0 in India in a series which started a significant slide. After their win in Galle in 2014, South Africa played 14 more Tests in the subcontinent before this one, and lost ten. Six of those defeats were in India but they were also blanked 2-0 by Sri Lanka in 2018 and Pakistan in 2021.All those occasions were marked by how poorly South Africa played against all kinds of spin, from the left-arm spin of Noman Ali, Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath to the offspin of R Ashwin and the legspin of Yasir Shah. In Bangladesh too, spin proved the biggest threat as South Africa lost five of their top six to Taijul Islam in the first innings and at 108 for 6, looked like only gaining a marginal advantage. It was thanks to Kyle Verreynne and his second Test hundred that South Africa took a healthy, and ultimately match-winning lead.Verryenne called the innings the “best” of his Test career, because it came in “the toughest conditions I have played under.” He cited the heat and humidity as one of the challenges and facing “long periods of spin bowling,” as the other.Of the 144 balls delivered to Verreynne, 115 were from spinners, which amounts to 80%. The work Verreynne has done on the sweep shot was evident as ESPNcricnfo’s ball-by-ball data recorded that he scored almost half his runs, 49, with sweeps – conventional, reverse and slog – and maintained a strong scoring rate too.Kyle Verreynne is all smiles after getting to his second Test century•AFP/Getty Images

Overall, Verreynne struck at 79.16, and against Taijul, he was particularly aggressive with 49 runs off 53 balls.”Kyle sweeps really well, swept for a lot of his innings and he ended up doing well,” Markram said. “So it’s nice to see the guys backing those sorts of strengths. He’s a good player of spin and for him to score a hundred in his first Test match in the subcontinent is a really special feat.”While Verreynne traveled with the South African squad to Pakistan in 2021, he only made his debut later that year in West Indies. He competed with Heinrich Klaasen for the role of South Africa’s first-choice wicket-keeper but Klaasen’s Test retirement in January has meant Verreynne has the opportunity to make the spot his own. “He’s had a bit of backing now from the management, and he just looks really comfortable now in the environment,” Markram said.Having Verreynne’s spot fairly secure ramps up competition with reserve keeper Ryan Rickelton, who has gone six Tests with a top score of 42. If regular captain Temba Bavuma recovers from an elbow niggle in time to play the second Test, one of Rickelton or Matthew Breetzke will have to make way and both could end up sitting out if South Africa opt for a fifth frontline bowler.They went into the Mirpur game with a four-man attack and there were times in Bangladesh’s second innings when it seemed lacking. Still, they’ll be heartened by the way their champion quick Kagiso Rabada, who combined well with Wiaan Mulder in the first innings and then took a six-for in the second, registered his best figures in the subcontinent.Rabada’s wicket-taking ability is second to none, literally, as was documented when he became the only bowler to take 300 Test wickets in under 12,000 deliveries, and doing it in the subcontinent only makes him stand out more. On a surface with good bounce, Rabada’s hard lengths made him difficult to get away and dangerous and Markram hailed him as a “superstar.”Having Rabada fresh and firing also vindicates CSA’s decision to rest him between August and now, and leave him out of white-ball series in the UAE, and it shows how the two national coaches are working together. Test coach Shukri Conrad and white-ball coach Rob Walter jointly plan selections so that each of them has the best players available when it matters most.For the next two-and-a-half months Test cricket is the focus and Rabada, and to an extent Markram, who was released from the UAE early, have been allowed to focus on that.South Africa, despite limited Test matches in the calendar, remain in the running for the World Test Championship final but they cannot afford many (or any) slip-ups. They have five matches left to play – one next week in Chattogram, and four at home. They must win at least four to give themselves a chance to make the final in this cycle and this victory has shown them they can do that.It has also given them confidence ahead of their return to the subcontinent next year to begin the next cycle with two Tests against each of Pakistan and India, where even tougher challenges await.”The biggest thing we take from it is the belief and the confidence that we actually can do well here as a team,” Markam said. “I believe that’s where a lot of the game is played, from a confidence and belief and a mental side of things. It will help the team a lot as far as moving forward and seeing if we can put back-to-back performances together goes.”

Nathan Lyon has revealed how he felt it became his duty to keep spin bowling “cool” following the sudden death of Shane Warne.Lyon can join Warne as one of Australia’s top-two wicket-takers in history this season, with five Tests against India and two following that in Sri Lanka.The 36-year-old insists there is no end in sight, eying off the possibility of playing on close to his 40th birthday and the 2027 Ashes series in England.Related

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Lyon said he had not thought about what legacy would be left for future spinners at the end of his career, or who could eventually replace him in the Test team. But he admitted he had felt an extra responsibility to promote the craft since Warne’s passing in 2022, after the legspinner had revived the art in the 1990s and inspired a generation of bowlers.”I do see the responsibility of flying the flag for the spinners around the country, there is no hiding behind that,” Lyon said.  “Especially with the passing of Warnie, I feel like there is a big role for me to ensure that spin stays cool.”I am not cool in any way, but if I can try and promote spin bowling and promote how great it is to be a spin bowler … it’s pretty cool.”Lyon is currently ranked third among all Australian bowlers with 530 career wickets, 33 shy of Glenn McGrath’s final tally of 563.Nathan Lyon will likely have plenty of overs to bowl this season•Getty Images

The spinner’s longevity has been key in Australia’s success in recent years, with Lyon playing 100 straight Tests before a calf injury in last year’s Ashes. But Lyon said it was his father that helped him realise the onus he had to promote spin following Warne’s death.”Just having that conversation and understanding we’re role models in so many different ways to so many different people around the world,” he said.  “And if we can do our little bit to hopefully make people better cricketers or people, we’re doing our job.”Lyon will go head to head with Victoria’s Todd Murphy in the Sheffield Shield this week, while Matthew Kuhnemann is another option to partner him in Sri Lanka.Lyon has also been impressed by legspinnerTanveer Sangha, after playing Shield with him for NSW last week and seeing him out-think Travis Head.”What he can offer for New South Wales and Australia going forward is going to be nothing but amazing,” Lyon said. “I am a big fan of the way he goes about it, he is a class legspinner, he is very confident on his skill set. He’s going to be a superstar of the game. I try and help him get better, and he helps me get better as well.”Lyon, who took eight wickets in the opening Shield game, confirmed he would play one more – against Queensland in Sydney – ahead of the India series which begins on November 22 in Perth.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar and Ishan Kishan all missed out on an opportunity to play substantial knocks as India C found themselves in a dogfight for the first-innings honours against India A in Anantapur.At stumps on day two, India C were 216 for 7, seemingly in a better position courtesy of an unbroken 49-run stand between Pulkit Narang and Vijaykumar Vyshak.The bulk of the damage was done by 20-year-old Uttar Pradesh seamer Aaqib Khan, who dismissed Gaikwad (17), Sudharsan (17) and Patidar (first-ball duck) after coming on first change. The innings was then revived by Abishek Porel, who continues to enjoy a breakout year.Porel, one of the bright performers for Delhi Capitals at IPL 2024, struck 82 off 113 balls to build on a clutch unbeaten 35 in the previous game that helped his side clinch a low-scoring thriller.Narang, who at the age of 30 is looking to make up for lost time as a first-class cricketer, will hope to score his third first-class half-century on Saturday and get his side into the lead. Narang, who bowls offspin, is currently on 99 first-class wickets.Earlier, India A managed to stretch their first-innings score from the overnight 224 for 7 to 297 courtesy of lower-order fireworks from Avesh Khan, who struck an unbeaten 51, his second first-class fifty. He was well supported by Prasidh Krishna, who made 34. A bulk of the contribution had come on the opening day courtesy of Shashwat Rawat’s 124.Vyshak, who is on the selectors’ radar after being awarded a fast-bowling contract, picked up two of the three remaining wickets; he finished with figures of 4 for 51. Anshul Kamboj, the Haryana quick fresh off an eight-for in the previous game, ended with 3 for 49.

Dawid Malan, England’s former No.1-ranked T20I batter, has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 37.Malan, who played 22 Tests, 30 ODIs and 62 T20Is, is one of only two England men’s batters (alongside Jos Buttler) to have made centuries in all three international formats. However, he had not featured in an England squad since the 50-over World Cup in India last year, and confirmed his decision after his omission from the forthcoming white-ball series against Australia.”It has been an incredible journey since July 2017,” Malan said. “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to play for England in all three formats.”Cricket, like most sports, is an industry where almost everyone eventually retires wishing they had done that little bit more. Whether you’ve played ten Tests or 100, many step away regretting not playing just one more, scoring a few more runs, or winning more trophies.”Right now, as I retire from international cricket, I can say I am genuinely satisfied. It has not been easy. It may be my nature, but for whatever reason, it has always seemed that I had something to prove and often felt as if I was playing for my place. The pressure goes with the territory, but it does take a mental and physical toll. Even so, I look back with pride on what I have been able to achieve.”Despite announcing himself with a free-flowing innings of 78 from 44 on his T20I debut against South Africa in 2017, Malan’s initial breakthrough with England came on the following winter’s Ashes tour, where he made his only Test hundred, 140 from 227 balls, in partnership with Jonny Bairstow at Perth.However, it was in the T20I format that he truly made his name, most particularly in the aftermath of England’s ODI World Cup victory in 2019, when he forced his way into the team’s 20-over plans through his sheer weight of run-making, including a 48-ball hundred at Napier on that winter’s tour of New Zealand.In September 2020, he reached the top of the ICC’s batting rankings for T20I cricket, and the following March, he became the fastest men’s player to reach 1000 runs in the format, from just 24 innings, all but one of which had been at least double-figures. He was also a T20 World Cup winner in Australia in 2022, although he missed the knock-out stages after tearing his groin in the field against Sri Lanka.Due to the success of the 50-over squad, Malan took longer to break into the ODI team – despite the prevailing sense that it was the format for which he was best suited, with his tendency to begin an innings cautiously before unfurling his full range of strokes at the back end often attracting criticism during his T20I performances.Nevertheless, he seized his chance when it came, scoring five ODI hundreds in the space of 15 innings between June 2022 and September 2023, to make an unequivocal case to replace England’s incumbent opener, Jason Roy, in the 2023 World Cup squad. He then added a sixth hundred in the second match of the tournament to guide England to victory over Bangladesh in Dharamsala, but he could not survive the fall-out from the team’s disappointing overall campaign.Speaking to The Times, Malan said that he had “exceeded all expectations of myself in white-ball formats”, but admitted that his inability to forge a more consistent Test career would be a regret. Ten of his 22 appearances came on consecutive tours of Australia in 2017-18 and 2021-22, where his average of 33.00 is bettered only by Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow among regular England performers of the past decade. However, he never played the format again after England’s 146-run defeat at Hobart in January 2022.Related

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“Test cricket was always the pinnacle for me growing up,” he said. “At times I played well but in between just wasn’t good enough or consistent enough, which was disappointing because I felt I was a better player than that.”I took all three formats extremely seriously but the intensity of Test cricket was something else: five days plus the days building up. I’m a big trainer; I love hitting lots of balls and I’d train hard in the build-up, and then the days were long and intense. You can’t switch off. I found it very mentally draining, especially the long Test series that I played, where my performances dropped off from the third or fourth Test onwards.””But, you know, on the field I always did what I felt was right to win a game for the team. I never walked off the field if I got runs not caring about whether we had won or lost. It was always about winning and I’d always question myself as to whether I’d made the right decisions on the field to do that.”Malan is likely to be in high demand on the T20 franchise circuit with his England career behind him. He was most recently in action for Oval Invincibles, helping the team to victory in the Men’s Hundred, two years after he was part of the Trent Rockets squad that claimed the 2022 title. Last winter, he helped Sunrisers Eastern Cape win the second season of the SA20, and was also in action for Multan Sultans in the PSL.Rob Key, the managing director of England Men’s Cricket, added: “Dawid Malan retires after an excellent international career marked by resilience and determination.”Early on, he had to fight for every opportunity, often facing some of the best teams in the world. His contributions were pivotal, particularly during the memorable World Cup victories in Australia, where he played an integral role in the team’s success.”His legacy will be remembered as one of tenacity and achievement on the international stage – traits any player would be extremely proud to have.”

Clive Madande, Brian Bennett and Johnathan Campbell, who are all part of the ongoing T20I series against India, are the new faces in Zimbabwe’s Test squad, which was named earlier today for the one-off fixture against Ireland later this month. Joylord Gumbie, who is yet to be capped in the format, is also in the squad of 15.Zimbabwe, who last played a Test match back in February 2023, in Bulawayo against West Indies, and are not a part of the ICC’s World Test Championship, will travel to Ireland for the first Test between the two countries, with the match slotted for July 25 to 29. The game will be played in Belfast.Leading them will be Craig Ervine, and making a comeback after missing that series against West Indies because of an injury is Sean Williams, who Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said would “provide the team with the much-needed experience” along with Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani, Victor Nyauchi and Richard Ngarava. The last three are currently playing the T20I series against India, which Ervine has missed, with ZC saying Williams and he had not been considered for selection.Of the new faces, Bennett and Campbell have only played T20Is so far, while Madande has appeared in both ODIs and T20Is.Ervine, with 20 Test appearances over the years, and Williams, with 14, are the most experienced Test players in the travelling party, and while Zimbabwe don’t have a lot of pedigree in the format, their opponents have only played eight Tests since playing their first Test in May 2018. They lost their first seven Tests before getting their first win when they beat Afghanistan by six wickets in Abu Dhabi earlier this year.Ireland were expected to host Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is too, and while there is no word on whether those are still part of the plan or not, fund-related issues for Cricket Ireland have meant a cut in the number of home fixtures this summer.When Zimbabwe last played Test cricket, their squad had Gary Ballance, in what became his farewell appearance after he had switched from England to Zimbabwe. The players who were part of that two-Test series but aren’t in the mix now are Chamu Chibhabha, Innocent Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Milton Shumba, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brad Evans, Brandon Mavuta, Kudzai Maunze and Donald Tiripano.

Zimbabwe squad for one-off Test in Ireland

Craig Ervine (capt), Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Tanaka Chivanga, Joylord Gumbie (wk), Roy Kaia, Clive Madande (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Prince Masvaure, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sean Williams