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Who’s playing

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs UP Warriorz (UPW)
Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, 7.30pm IST

What to expect: RCB hope to stay alive

The spotlight is on RCB. Placed fourth, the defending champions will have to win both their remaining games, starting with this contest against bottom-placed UP Warriorz, and then wait for other results to go their way to qualify for the playoffs. Losing even one out of the next two games will put them out of contention. Warriorz, meanwhile, were knocked out by Gujarat Giants on Friday and will look to finish the season on a high.Four straight defeats after two successive wins have left RCB with more questions than answers. The batting has looked overly dependent on Ellyse Perry, with Smriti Mandhana in the middle of a lean patch. The rest of the line-up has been inconsistent. While Renuka Singh, Kim Garth and Georgia Wareham have taken the bulk of responsibility with the ball and have 25 wickets combined, RCB have been found wanting with their fourth and fifth bowling options. Will a six-day break help them bounce back?Warriorz have struggled in all departments, and the constant shuffling of their batting order hasn’t helped. Chinelle Henry, despite being explosive at the death, has not gotten a promotion to address the middle-order woes. Deepti Sharma has also had an underwhelming outing as captain and bowler, picking up five wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 8.11. Sophie Ecclestone has been the only bowler who has looked threatening.The last time these two sides met, the match witnessed a drama-filled Super Over finish with Warriorz coming on top.Smriti Mandhana has been a disappointment this season•BCCI

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLL
UP Warriorz LLL

Team news

RCB are likely to go with the experience of Sneh Rana and Ekta Bisht in the spin department.Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Raghvi Bisht, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Georgia Wareham, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 Kim Garth, 10 Ekta Bisht, 11 Renuka SinghGouher Sultana played two matches in Lucknow but bowled only one over and went for 16 runs. It remains to be seen whether Warriorz bring back Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who has played only one match so far in this edition.UP Warriorz (probable): 1 Grace Harris, 2 Georgia Voll, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Vrinda Dinesh, 5 Deepti Sharma (capt), 6 Shweta Sehrawat, 7 Uma Chetry (wk), 8 Chinelle Henry, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Gouher Sultana/Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Kranti GoudSophie Ecclestone has been the key player for UP Warriorz•BCCI

In the spotlight: Ellyse Perry and Sophie Ecclestone

Ellyse Perry has been the in-form batter for RCB this season. She has four-half centuries, the most by a player in this WPL, and has accumulated 295 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 149.74. With Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge struggling for form at the top, the focus will be on Perry. Lucknow has already witnessed three half-centuries in the first two matches, all coming from top-order batters. Perry has to do it again, with RCB’s season on the line.Sophie Ecclestone stunned the Chinnaswamy Stadium with her all-round heroics when RCB hosted Warriorz two weeks ago. She is the only bowler at Warriorz to have bowled her full quota of four overs in all seven matches. That has fetched her six wickets at an economy rate of 6.96.

Key stats

• Warriorz have lost 33 wickets in the middle overs (from 7 to 16), the most by a team in WPL 2025.
• Perry has struck at 143.42 against Warriorz, her highest strike rate against a team in the WPL.
• Henry has the highest strike rate in this WPL – at 211.76.

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

Match details

Australia vs Namibia
Antigua, 8.30pm local time

Big Picture – Australia pose tough challenge for Namibia

A number of the so-called ‘big’ teams have found this tournament a struggle so far – the hopes of England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka hang by flimsy threads while New Zealand started poorly. But myAustralia, barring their small stumble early on against Oman, are tracking nicely after their resounding performance against England in Barbados.A win against Namibia will confirm their progression to the Super Eight ahead of their final group fixture with Scotland – a game that could yet be dripping with narrative – although they won’t want to leave anything to chance. A change of venue from Bridgetown to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua will bring with it the need to recalibrate to the conditions, but there appear very few holes in Mitchell Marsh’s team, with depth on the bench as well.Related

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The batting performance against England was a perfect team effort with a top score of 39 in a total of 201 with Glenn Maxwell’s strike-rate of 112 the lowest. Perhaps, if nitpicking, one of those scores being converted would have capped things off, but it also showed how a deep batting order can just keep on going once the platform has been laid as it was by David Warner and Travis Head.The only previous occasion these two teams have met in a full international (they played a warm-up game a couple of weeks ago) was at the 2003 ODI World Cup in South Africa. On that day, Glenn McGrath helped himself to figures of 7 for 15 which remain the best figures in that tournament.Namibia’s group stage is backended by the clashes against Australia and the under-pressure England. Their captain Gerhard Erasmus was left frustrated by the performance against Scotland where he thought his team had enough runs but were below their best in the field.

Form guide

(last five matches, most recent first)
AustraliaWWWWW
Namibia LW(Super Over)WWLAustralia have ticked plenty of boxes so far•ICC via Getty Images

In the spotlight: Adam Zampa and Bernard Scholtz

Adam Zampa is settling into the tournament very nicely after coming off a lengthy break following the Australian season. He has a brace of wickets from both outings and was one of the key differences against England when he claimed the dangerous Phil Salt with his first ball. He has developed into a white-ball great for Australia and is now just four wickets away from being their first men’s player to reach 100 T20I wickets.Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz has been incredibly tidy in Namibia’s first two outings and, along with the captain, was key to piling on the pressure against Scotland. He has 1 for 20 from both the matches, showing skilful variation of flight and pace, conceding just one four and one six across his eight overs. The prospect of taking on Australia’s heavy hitters will be a daunting one but they would be wise not to take him lightly.

Team news: Australia have an eye on their quicks

Head coach Andrew McDonald said Australia would not be looking too far ahead and would pick their best XI rather than rotate players for this game, although that could come against Scotland should qualification be assured. However, he did leave the door ajar for some management of the quicks given the tight schedule ahead.Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodThe one change Namibia have made so far is JP Kotze for Michael van Lingen – both have made first-over ducks. The balance of their side has been knocked out of kilter somewhat by Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit being unable to bowl.Namibia (possible) 1 JP Kotze, 2 Nikolaas Davin, 3 Jan Frylinck, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 Malan Kruger, 6 Zane Green (wk), 7 David Wiese, 8 Ruben Trumpelmann, 9 JJ Smit, 10 Bernard Scholtz, 11 Tangeni Lungameni

Pitch and conditions

The early signs from Antigua’s first match was that it could be a quick-scoring venue as Scotland raced to their target against Oman. The breeze can play a significant factor at this ground. The forecast is for cloudy conditions but no major threat of rain.

Stats that matter

• Although Australia have not played a full international against Namibia since 2003, Tim David faced them once during his Singapore days.
• David Wiese faced Australia four times in T20Is during his South Africa career
• The Scotland-Oman game was the first T20I at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium since 2021 – overall it has the second-lowest T20I batting strike-rate of all grounds in the Caribbean

Quotes

“Some time in the middle, it was a difficult surface outside the power play, [and a] challenge with spin. I think it ended up being 28 off 25 balls. But it was a significant innings in allowing the rest of the batting line-up to get where we wanted them to get to. So, albeit it wasn’t the dynamic innings that we’re used to with Glenn Maxwell, it was a different type of innings.””I think everyone’s been waiting a long time for these last two games against Australia and England. Two previous winners and that’s definitely the two teams you want to play and you want to sort of make a mark for yourself in those games.”

Batter Lauren Down is set to return to New Zealand Cricket’s list of contracted women players. She was one of 17 players to be offered a central contract for 2024-25. Down had declined the contract offer last season while on a maternity break, but was named in the ODI squad to tour England later this month.Down, who has played 28 ODIs and 13 T20Is, last represented New Zealand in an ODI against Bangladesh in December 2022.The 2024-25 contracting period begins on August 1, with the players having until June 17 to accept the offer.Also named in the contracts list was wicketkeeper-batter Polly Inglis, who received the offer for the first time. Inglis got 103 runs for New Zealand A in three one-dayers against England A at home in March, as the hosts won the series 2-1. Before that, she hit 324 runs – the second-most – in NZC’s Women’s One-Day Competition, the domestic 50-over tournament for women.Related

• Polly Inglis earns maiden NZ call-up, Lauren Down returns for India ODIs

• Very little Down time – NZ batter keen to seal top-order spot after baby break

New Zealand women’s head coach Ben Sawyer said: “We’ve landed on a strong list of 17 names that we think are going to play an important part over the next 12 months… A big part of the selection process this year was looking at who could take part in the 2025 ODI World Cup.”Among the centrally-contracted players from 2023-24, the ones to miss out are wicketkeeper-batter Bernadine Bezuidenhout – who has retired from international cricket – and batter Kate Anderson, who wasn’t given an offer.

New Zealand Women central contract offers for 2024-25

Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Sophie Devine, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe and Lea Tahuhu