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South Division

Middlesex remained top of their group with a third straight victory, comfortably overcoming Essex for the second time in four days at Chelmsford. Dirk Nannes, the left-arm quick bowler from Victoria, was the hero when he took a hat-trick to leave Essex floundering on 20 for 5. After two overs, Nannes had 2 for 4, having nailed Varun Chopra, Grant Flower and Ryan ten Doeschate in three balls. Essex were given a glimmer of hope by James Foster’s unbeaten half-century alongside a rapid 31 from Graham Napier. However, Middlesex had few problems reaching the target as Tyron Henderson blasted his team across the line with 64 off 30 balls.Surrey lifted themselves off the bottom of the South Division at The Oval with a five-wicket win against Sussex, who replaced them at the foot of the table. Abdul Razzaq sealed the victory with 12 balls to spare as he smashed 39 off 20 balls with 28 coming off the 17th over from Robin Martin-Jenkins. Surrey were making hard work of the chase and were 90 for 5 after Dwayne Smith claimed three wickets, while Mark Ramprakash ran himself out. Razzaq also impressed with the ball, his two wickets helping keep tabs on the Sussex scoring. However, the stand-out bowler was the 21-year-old Matthew Spriegel, who claimed 2 for 16 off four overs. Chris Nash anchored the Sussex innings with 52 off 41 balls, but there wasn’t the required late acceleration.

North Division

Jim Allenby became the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls in Twenty20, but Sajid Mahmood and Simon Marshall consigned Leicestershire to a 37-run defeat at Old Trafford, as Lancashire maintained their unbeaten start. Mahmood took two wickets in his first over before HD Ackerman rallied the run chase alongside Boeta Dippenaar. Marshall broke through to have Dippenaar caught at deep midwicket, then two balls later grabbed Paul Nixon as the Leicestershire challenge faded way. Ackerman departed for 63, Marshall’s third wicket, and by then the game was up. Lancashire’s innings was revived by Kyle Hogg’s 44 off 24 balls after three wickets had gone down for four runs. The tail also disappeared in a flash, the last five wickets falling for four runs, as Allenby etched his name into the record books, but Lancashire had enough. Leicestershire, the two-time champions, are now struggling to reach the knock outstage after three defeats.<!–Click here for a full report of the match between Derbyshire and Yorkshire at Chesterfield–>

Mid/West/Wales Division

Northamptonshire maintained their 100% record with a 27-run victory against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Johann Louw and Andrew Hall took three wickets each and the home side couldn’t recover from 44 for 4 with their big hitters – Craig Spearman and Hamish Marshall – back in the dressing room. Marcus North was threatening to be key, but he was bowled by Lance Klusener for 36. Northamptonshire’s innings was given a timely boost by David Sales’ 37-ball 41 and, especially, Riki Wessels’ 23-ball 43, which included three sixes.Glamorgan and Worcestershire had to settle for a point each as rain led to a washout at Cardiff

Australian way doesn’t impress Pidge
When Bharat Chipli edged one behind off Glenn McGrath, he stood there and waited for the umpire to make his decision, in the time-honoured Australian way. Steve Davis, Australianhimself, said no, and a snarling McGrath was left to snipe constantly at Chipli until a miscuedpull ended his stay. Even then, McGrath appeared to be saying “not out, not out” to taunt the young batsman.Goswami wins Under-19 spoils
It was a contest within a contest, two of India’s victorious Under-19 team facing off against each other. Sreevats Goswami won it handily enough, taking Pradeep Sangwan for a six and three fours in the over. It was just about the only thing Bangalore savoured on a night when they were once again outclassed.Last-over blues
Bowling himself for one hugely expensive over probably cost Virender Sehwag and Delhi victory in their last game against Kings XI Punjab. This time, he bowled out McGrath and Farveez Maharoof and left the final over to Rajat Bhatia. With Misbah-ul-Haq on strike and in a rampant mood, it wasn’t an inspired gamble. The 24 runs Bhatia conceded at least gave Bangalore something to defend.All we need is just a little patience
Dale Steyn was working up considerable pace in his second over, with Gautam Gambhir not scoring off the first four balls. But just as Bangalore started to dream of a maiden, Gambhir showed off his orange-cap powers with a dazzling straight drive and an elegant push through cover.Are you Jonty in disguise?
Chipli may have done no more than rile McGrath with bat in hand, but at least he could claim the catch of the match, a stunning dive to his left at point to send back Sehwag. The only problem was that Delhi already had 91 on the board by then, with Sehwag careering to 47 from just 19 balls.On the ball
Cameron White has been a major flop with bat in hand, but he does bring some Australian virtues to Bangalore’s fielding. When Gambhir cut one to deep backward point and set off, White’s throw to Goswami was just about perfect. Gambhir didn’t even wait for the umpire,jogging all the way back to the pavilion.

A match winning unbeaten 74 by Naveed Khan, steered KBCA to victory in the Daplat R. Sonavaria Ramazan Cricket Trophy, beating Customs by two wickets off the very last ball Wednesday.Put into bat after losing the toss, Customs reached 140 for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 allotted overs through a fine 56 by Asif Iqbal. Talha Khan also got amongst the runs in scoring 29.For KBCA, the wickets were shared by Raheel Abbas three for 21, Akbar Rehman three for 25 and Ameer Azam two for 14.Needing four runs to win in the last over with the scoreboard reading 137 for six, KBCA lost two wickets without any addition to the total. Four runs were now needed off the last two deliveries and new batsman Ghazanfar, driving the ball towards extra cover scampered home for three runs to tie the scores. Facing the last ball of the day with the fielders closing in, Naveed pulled the ball to the mid-wicket boundary to see his team home and dry by two wickets.Salman Fazal, opening the bowling attack for Customs, was the most successful bowler, finishing off with four for 32.Thursday fixture: Pak Gymkhana v Asghar Ali Shah CC 1-30 p.m.MHCC in last eight Karachi Gymkhana Whites had the mortification of suffering another thumping defeat, going down by 10 wickets to Mohammad Hussain CC in the 17th Karachi Gymkhana Callmate Cricket Festival played Wednesday.Winning the toss and batting first, Karachi Gymkhana Whites were skittled out for only 118 in 23.4 overs, with Humayun Naz striking four boundaries in his 31. Arslan Ahmed two for nine, Aqeel Sharif two for 15 and Ather Laiq two for 21, were shared the wickets.With Mohammad Sharif slamming 56 runs in 38 deliveries with five boundaries and two sixes and Nadeem Tariq weighing in with 61 not out in 31 deliveries with four fours and five sixes adding 121 runs for an unbroken first wicket, Mohammad Hussain CC coasted to victory in only 11.3 overs.Thursday fixture: A.O. CC v Dewan Mushtaq Sugar Mills 1.00 p.m.Khursheed steers Rangers A stylish undefeated 68 by Mohammad Khursheed, steered Rangers Gymkhana to a seven-wicket victory over Saddar Town CC in the Seventh Danish Trophy Ramazan tournament played Wednesday.Having first use of the wicket Saddar Town scored 161 for four wickets in their 20 allotted overs with Mohammad Ali (65) and Haq Nawaz (55) scoring the bulk of runs.Rangers lost their first three wickets for 39 but Haris Jawed and Khursheed put on 123 runs to reach the target in 18.2 overs.Khursheed scored 68 not out in 42 deliveries studded with five boundaries and two sixes, while Haris was unbeaten with 42 runs when victory came. Siraj Khan bagged two wickets for 33 runs.Thursday fixture: Sadiq Sports b Wakenhut CC 1-30 p.m.Asian CC triumph Asian CC beat Sadiq Sports by six wickets in the Ford & Lord Trophyplayed Wednesday.Batting first Sadiq Sports reached 160 for eight wickets in their 20 allotted overs through Kamran Malik (66), Afzal Ayub (28) and Musheer Alam (20). Ashfaq Ahmed bagged two for 23.Asian CC achieved the target of 161 in 19.3 overs, losing four wickets. Salman Ganchi (55) and Qaiser Majeed (44), made victory possible for their team.Thursday fixture: Asian CC v Saddar Town 1-30 p.m.Kamil in form Rafiq Sherazi CC moved into the quarterfinal of the All Karachi Karimuddin Memorial Colour Kit Ramazan Festival cricket tournament, beating Pak Star CC by 76 runs Tuesday.Batting first Rafiq Sherazi CC were bowled out for 209 in 20 overs with Kamil Khan top scoring with 78 runs. Zafar Ali chipped in with 33 and Jawed Ali 31. Imtiaz Iqbal picked up six wickets for 29.Pak Star were dismissed for 133 in 19.1 overs. Tariq Khan scored 34 and Imtiaz Iqbal 23.In another match, Karachi Eaglets beat Rising Star by 50 runs.Karachi Eaglets reached 203 for nine wickets in 20 overs. Khurram Abbas scored 50 and M. Waheed 35. Nadeem Ghani bagged three for 30.Rising Star were bowled out for 153 in 17.3 overs. Saqib Badar top scored for his side with 60 runs.Raja spurs Tooba Sports Tooba Sports reached the quarterfinals of the Sixth Nehal Siddiqui tournament beating Model CC by five wickets Tuesday.Model CC scored 172 for eight wickets in 20 overs with Amir Kaleem (56), Atif Maqbool (30) and Ariz Kamal (37), among the runs.Tooba Sports scored 176 for five in 17.5 overs with Raja Mushtaq leading the way with 80 runs with 10 four and a six. Shahid Baig 37 and Murtaza 20 not out also made useful contributions. Azmat Noor four for 21, was the main wicket taker.Thursday fixture: Karachi Eaglets v Punjab CC

A lot of hard work lies ahead of the negotiating parties representing New Zealand Cricket and the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association when they resume their discussions in Wellington tomorrow.New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Martin Snedden said there was clearly a key philosophical difference between the two sides that will be focused on over the next few days.Snedden said he was quite pleased that the Players’ Association (NZCPA) had made their background paper and response to NZC’s offer available to the public through the cricket web site cricinfo.com.”They are entitled to do what they have done,” he said.Snedden explained NZC’s position.”My philosophy is that when we are deciding to allocate resources we have to strike a balance in the interests of all players in New Zealand.”The Players’ Association are a little bit different. They expect NZC to look after the international and first-class players first without taking into account the other obligations NZC has.”It is an important difference,” Snedden said.”We have a long way to go. They have put a fairly positive spin on their response to our offer,” he said.NZC was going into the discussions keen to strike some key agreements and was prepared to work hard to do that, he said.With the players having withdrawn their services for the month of October only, Snedden said he would expect that if the issues were not resolved this week, and that is also the aim of the Players’ Committee according to their press statement today, it would be business as usual on November 1.

Veteran medium-pacer Javagal Srinath is set to replace Ashish Nehra for the final of the Champions Trophy 2002 which India will play on Sunday.In an about turn from their earlier position, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) acceded to the team’s wishes and recalled Srinath, who is currently playing for Leicestershire in England.Newly appointed secretary of the BCCI, SK Nair said in a statement that the BCCI had agreed to the replacement and this was then okayed by the newly formed selection committee. The International Cricket Council too gave the necessary permission to the Indian team.Only recently, the chairman of the selection committee, former Karnataka and India cricketer Brijesh Patel, had said that he would try to persuade Srinath to change his mind and return to both Test and one-day cricket.The honorary secretary of the BCCI also confirmed that Srinath had agreed to leave England immediately and fly to Colombo in order to be here in time for the final.Nehra injured his bowling hand when he attempted a run out off his bowling against South Africa. The Delhi medium-pacer split the webbing between his index and middle fingers and required five stitches.

WEST INDIES players will get an additional sum of at least US$125 000 from from next month’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions’ Trophy in Sri Lanka.The windfall represents 25 per cent of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) dividends of just over US$600 000, along with prize money.The deal was agreed after several days of what were reportedly tough negotiations between the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), led by recently-elected president Dinanath Ramnarine, and the WICB over a contentious ICC contract on sponsorship for all ICC events until 2007, including the Champions Trophy and next year’s World Cup in South Africa.The WICB announced in a media statement yesterday that the 14 players had signed their contracts "subject to the ICC formally agreeing to consult with players before concluding commercial agreements for ICC events other than those that have already been sold".On the decision to apportion a quarter of its Champions Trophy cut to the players, the WICB noted: "Appreciative of the heavy commercial restrictions placed on the players, president Reverend Wes Hall succesfully sought the approval of the WICB to offer the players 25 per cent of the dividends that will be obtanied by the WICB in respect to the 2002 Champions Trophy only."It is understood that the WIPA’s claims for as much as US$2 million of the WICB’s guarantee of US$6.5 million from next year’s World Cup along with substantial and immediate increases in fees were rejected.WICB chief executive Gregory Shillingford said ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed indicated the ICC was expected to ratify the agreement "on the consultative process with the players" at a meeting today in Dubai.It meant the originally chosen 14 for the September 12-30 tournmament would go to Sri Lanka, subject to injuries."Over the past few days, the WICB and WIPA have been in wide-ranging discussions over issues concerning the players, rights over use of their images and how this could be balanced against the interest of the ICC’s commercial partners who sponsor these world events," Shillingford added in the WICB statement."The WIPA and the players were determined that players’ rights should not be sold by the ICC without consultation and financial benefit to the players and that his association will continue to address this issue at all levels of world cricket," the WICB release quoted Ramnarine as saying.Hall noted that the WICB agreed there must be a consultative process between the ICC and the players.

Alyssa Healy is looking towards Rohit Sharma for a formula to find cross-format success opening the batting as she prepares for the multi-format series against India that will include a pink-ball Test.Healy, who has played four previous Tests, admitted it will be a challenge to prepare for the format amid the condensed series with the additional elements of the game being day-night plus a venue they haven’t played at before in Metricon Stadium adding to the uncertainty. There has already been an emphasis on the Test with Australia’s first post-quarantine training session being against the pink ball.Australia were part of the previous day-night Test, against England during the 2017-18 Ashes, where Ellyse Perry made a double century at North Sydney Oval during which Healy was part of a 102-run stand.For her first three Tests, including that game against England, Healy batted in the middle-order but the last time Australia took the field in the format, during the 2019 Ashes, Healy was promoted to open which brought her a maiden Test half-century and it appears likely she will continue in the role.In that game Healy opened with Nicole Bolton who is no longer part of the set-up so a new opener will need to be found with either Rachael Haynes or Beth Mooney the likely options.Related

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“It’s a tricky one because I’ve only played four Tests so I wouldn’t say I’m overly comfortable with how to play or how to approach a Test,” Healy said at a Fox Cricket launch event for the series. “From my point of view, I don’t think it’s going to change too much from my one-day international batting. I think the ability to give yourself more time is such a blessing.”I look at the modern Test game and see how it’s changed quite a lot. I watch a lot of the men’s cricket and I look at someone like Rohit Sharma who is one of the most devastating white-ball batters in the world and yet he’s a really successful opener in Test cricket. So for me, I said look at somebody like him and think about how he translates those skills across all the formats, could I potentially replicate that somehow?”Healy, who has faced some spicy pre-season nets against her New South Wales team-mates Stella Campbell and Maitlan Brown, is prepared for the need to adapt quickly during the multi-format series, both in terms of the conditions on offer at Mackay (ODIs) and Metricon (Tests and T20Is) and in terms of what India will throw at them.Alyssa Healy made her maiden Test fifty opening the innings against England in 2019•Getty Images

The teams have had some see-sawing battles in recent years, most notably at the 2017 ODI World Cup where India dumped Australia out in the semi-final and then last year’s T20 World Cup where India took the opening match, on the back of Poonam Yadav’s spell, to throw the group stage wide open before Australia claimed the historic final with a huge victory.Yadav did not play the Test against England earlier this year and was not at her best in the limited-overs matches although found more rhythm as the series went on.”Sometimes a bit of the unknown and the unpredictable nature of India makes them incredibly dangerous. They’ve picked a few new players that we haven’t seen before on this tour,” Healy said. “So they always love throwing something new at us, even if it is Poonam Yadav, she always has something new to throw at us, just to kick us off track again.”The Test match will be just the second between the teams in 30 years – the previous one came back in 2006 – and with an Ashes Test to follow in January, Healy hoped the format could find a regular place in the Australia calendar.”The boys have their designated Test match spots every summer,” Healy said. “Look at the Boxing Day Test, we know it’s going to be on December 26 and everyone goes to the Test. I would love to see the same thing happen for us every summer. Imagine, November 1, Australia are playing a pink-ball Test at North Sydney Oval against whatever the opposition might be.”Obviously it’s a pipe dream and I’ll do whatever I can to keep pushing that point forward, but at least for the minute it’s great that the conversations are being had and that there’s three international sides that are willing to play the Test game because I think it’s a great thing for us.”Australia will play an intra-squad game on Thursday – “one of the most competitive games of cricket that you’ll ever find,” Healy said – before facing India in a warm-up match on Saturday ahead of traveling to Mackay.

Kusal Perera makes his return to the Sri Lanka limited-overs squad for South Africa’s tour of the island, following a bout with Covid-19. According to medical staff, it seems unlikely that he will be available for the ODI leg of the tour, as he builds up his fitness after recovering from the disease. But as cardiac and pulmonary screenings have cleared him to play, it is hoped that he will be available for the T20I series.Meanwhile, veteran seamer Nuwan Pradeep, and experienced batter Dinesh Chandimal return as well, on the back of good performances in the recently-concluded domestic T20 tournament.Younger players also found places in the squad thanks to their form in SLC’s Invitational T20 League. Legspinner Pulina Tharanga, who was joint-highest wicket taker, and Kamindu Mendis, who was the second-highest scorer in the league, with 193 runs from three innings at a strike rate of 168, are in. Offspinner Maheesh Theekshana, and seam bowler Lahiru Madushanka did not quite impress to the same extent, but have found places nonetheless.Getty Images

Omitted from the squad are the likes of left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, seam bowler Kasun Rajitha, and middle order batter Ashen Bandara, each of whom had modest outings in the limited overs series against India, in July.Pradeep, meanwhile, had been left out for that India tour, but comes back in after having taken a tournament-topping seven wickets at an economy of 8.18 in the Invitational League. Chandimal had been captain of the SLC Reds team that made the final of that tournament, and had hit 183 runs in six innings, albeit at a strike rate of 120. He has played only three T20 internationals since 2019.Related

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Sri Lanka’s captain, Dasun Shanaka, comes into the series with excellent domestic form as well, having easily been the top-scorer in the Invitational League, thumping 258 runs at a strike rate of 184.The tour will comprise three ODIs and three T20Is, all to be played at Khettarama, in Colombo. The first ODI is set to be played on September 2.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah’s 44 off 26 balls set up a respectable total for Khulna Titans•Raton Gomes/BCB

Khulna Titans climbed to the top of the BPL points table after a 22-run win over Barisal Bulls. As was the case in their four previous wins, it was their bowlers who made their moderate total look very competitive.Shafiul Islam led the five-man bowling attack to defend their 151 runs comfortably. The paceman took four wickets while Junaid Khan and Mosharraf Hossain took two each as Barisal capitulated for 129 in 19.3 overs.Barisal’s chase was always going to be interesting as they had a batting line-up to compete with Khulna’s discipline. Jeevan Mendis, promoted to open the innings, struck four fours on his way to 21 before falling to Shafiul in the fourth over. His opening partner Fazle Mahmud was earlier trapped lbw for a duck in the second over.After Shamsur Rahman was caught at long-on cheaply, Barisal’s main batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim added 43 runs for the fourth wicket. Nafees batted at a slower pace, hitting two fours in his 28 off 35 balls. Mushfiqur held the chase together till the 16th over before he top-edged a pull after making 35 off 23 balls with four fours. Thisara Perera’s failure with the bat made it harder for Barisal who folded in the last four overs of their chase.After they had decided to bowl, Barisal were given early breakthroughs by Taijul Islam who struck twice in the fifth over to remove the Khulna openers Hasanuzzaman and Andre Fletcher. Both batsmen holed out to Abu Hider at long-on.Mahmudullah ensured that they recovered from an ordinary Powerplay, adding 53 for the third wicket with Riki Wessels. He slammed three sixes through long-on and two fours in his 26-ball 44, before becoming Taijul’s third victim, caught at point. Next ball, Shuvagata Hom was run-out after a mix-up with Wessels with both batsmen ending at the non-striker’s end.Wessels, who had contributed just five runs to the third-wicket stand, found a higher gear as he struck four fours and a six over long-on in his 29-ball 40. Like Mahmudullah, Wessels’ wicket also hurt Khulna, who added 39 runs in the last five overs.

India captain MS Dhoni blamed the absence of big partnerships for his team’s six-run defeat to New Zealand on a Feroz Shah Kotla pitch that was slow and had variable bounce.After New Zealand had made 242, India stitched together sizeable partnerships in their chase but lost clumps of wickets on two occasions. First, Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey departed in the space of four balls in the 19th over, and then Dhoni, Axar Patel and Amit Mishra fell in a nine-ball span during overs 40 and 41, with Martin Guptill accounting for the last two of those dismissals in his only over of the match.”If you see there were quite a few partnerships, but we kept losing wickets after every partnership,” Dhoni said. “When you are chasing a score like this it is important that you need to keep a few wickets because the runs were coming. Even if you need six or seven runs an over in the end it can easily be achieved but our problem was that we kept losing the wickets. In fact in the 41st over we lost two wickets.”It’s not about one batsman, I felt we lost wickets throughout. Any batsman could have said that had I contributed 10 percent more we would have won the game. So it was the responsibility of the whole batting unit. I felt the bowlers did well.”Dhoni said the pitch continued to slow down despite the dew, which generally ensured the ball came on to the bat better. “I felt it was best to bat in the day time as the game kept progressing the wicket got slightly slower and slower with a bit of variable bounce,” he said. “Also, if you lose one or two wickets that slows you down to an extent. Then, if you have that partnership and still lose a wicket again, again you have to start from scratch.”He defended the decision to bowl first and said 242 was a par score on the pitch. “If any of our batsman had batted 15 minutes more we would have won the game,” he said. “The bowlers did well to come back into the game. Initially it was difficult to contain their batsmen and they played some proper shots, not to forget we dropped two catches off [Kane] Williamson. That also has a bit of a bearing. Overall I was happy with 240-245, because that was very much something we could have achieved.”Dhoni also lauded Jasprit Bumrah’s ability to bowl inch-perfect yorkers, and said his consistency made him his go-to man, particularly at the death. After a tight spell up front, Bumrah returned to clean up New Zealand’s lower order with yorkers and slower deliveries and finished with figures of 3 for 35.”Right from the time he began his international career he has always been someone who can bowl yorkers at will, and that’s why he has been someone I can always bank upon,” Dhoni said. “A lot of times I had to see how every bowler is bowling and then decide who will bowl the last few but with Bumrah be it any condition or situation he has always been someone who gives me those last few overs. He practices that way, he has an awkward action. Still credit to him for consistently bowling those yorkers.”