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Impressive Australian pair Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Wareham led Northern Superchargers to a straightforward 14-run victory against the Oval Invincibles at Headingley.The classy and composed Litchfield hit 68 from 45 balls, as she combined with skipper Hollie Armitage in a partnership worth 94, which helped the Superchargers reach 143 for 4, recovering well after losing both their openers early to South African international Marizanne Kapp. Wareham then impressed with the ball, taking 2 for 20, including the strange dismissal of England Ashes star Alice Capsey.Cordelia Griffith offered some resistance with a quickfire 30 off 15 deliveries, which included three fours and one six, but it was not enough for Invincibles.Invincibles now face an uphill challenge to make it three back-to-back titles, with only three points on the board having played half their games in the group stage. Superchargers, meanwhile, will be eyeing up a top three spot with their second victory of the week, which leaves them on six points from four games.Litchfield led the way for the Superchargers, helping her team recover from 15 for 2 after Kapp took two early wickets, including that of India international Jemimah Rodrigues, who was bowled for a golden duck.Following the powerplay, the Superchargers found their rhythm with Litchfield and Armitage regularly finding the boundary with some brilliant shots. Skipper Armitage was trying to lead her team to a big score but had to depart for 42 off 33 after chipping a Capsey delivery to mid-off.The first six of the innings did not come until the 86th ball, when the inventive Litchfield smashed a full toss from Ryana McDonald-Gay over the midwicket boundary. Five balls later she was dismissed for 68 off 45 balls as she clubbed an Eva Gray delivery straight to the fielder at long-off. Superchargers finished on 143 for 4, with Bess Heath hitting the final ball for four.After a good start to the Invincibles chase, former Supercharger Lauren Winfield-Hill was bowled for 15 – but Grace Ballinger had bowled a no-ball and the resulting free hit was dispatched to the boundary. However, Winfield-Hill didn’t capitalise on her reprieve as she was caught at mid-on off the bowling of Alice Davidson-Richards for 19.Capsey was then bizarrely dismissed as she advanced down the pitch to Wareham but completely lost sight of the ball and it made its way to wicketkeeper Heath, who whipped off the bails at the second time of asking with the 19-year-old England international watching on still some way down the pitch.Linsey Smith then got the key wicket of Kapp, who departed for 4 as she drilled a wide one straight to the impressive Litchfield in the covers.Superchargers asserted their dominance with the dismissal of Paige Scholfield, who pulled a Wareham delivery straight to Smith on the square-leg boundary, and Invincibles saw their hopes of victory fade when stand-in captain Suzie Bates, who stepped into the role because Dane van Niekerk was missing with a thumb injury, cut a Kate Cross delivery straight to Rodrigues at point.Griffith did show some resistance for Invincibles with a quickfire 30 from 15 deliveries, but it was not enough to stop Superchargers’ victory charge.

Following two big losses in two matches to start the 2023 ODI World Cup, Australia captain Pat Cummins has said his side is “hurting” but that they must find a way to regroup and “make amends”.”I think if we want to be challenging, you [have] got to try and find a way in all conditions, and that’s for the bowlers try and take wickets and for the batters try and score runs,” Cummins told the host broadcaster after the match.”Probably not much needs to be said [to my team-mates] tonight. I think everyone’s hurting. We’ve got a few days and the next game’s here as well. So we’ll group and regroup…everyone’s hurting. So we’re trying to make amends.”Related

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After folding for 177 in the 134-run defeat to South Africa, following their six-wicket opening defeat against India in Chennai, Australia find themselves at No. 9 on the points table. Their batting floundered on both occasions, with 46 being the highest individual score from their line-up across the matches in a tournament that has so far seen 12 centuries.Against South Africa, their bowling and fielding – they dropped six catches – was also not up to the mark.”I wouldn’t say it’s one thing [where Australia went wrong],” he said. “Maybe they [South Africa] got a few more than we would have liked. And obviously 177 is off the mark as well. So yeah, it’s a few things we need to tidy up.”South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, meanwhile, was a happy man after his side backed up their record-breaking performance against Sri Lanka. Both of South Africa’s wins have had several statement performances – four out of those 12 centuries of the tournament have come from their batters.Bavuma described the Australia game as “close to perfect” for his team.”I think I’d be really greedy if I said there’ll be areas that we can improve,” he said. “I think there was a close-to-perfect game for us. The goal is maybe with the bat, we could have finished a little bit stronger, but I think they really bowled well throughout the whole innings.”At no point did the run rate get out of control for them…I think looking at all the different phases, the powerplay in the middle, as well as the death – wasn’t really much of a death – but I think the guys really dominated that. I don’t want to be too greedy. There’s not much that I can see.”I think you can have a look at the good work that we’ve done and achieved. So I’d take the confidence, take the learnings and experience from that…and to celebrate our individual performances, and then we’ll come back tomorrow and we find ways to get better as a team.”Having been put in, South Africa managed 311 for 7 thanks to Quinton de Kock’s second hundred of the tournament. While Cummins felt at one point the target was “chaseable”, he admitted that the ball zipped around more when his side batted. Bavuma said he was glad he had lost the toss, crediting de Kock for taking them to a total he thought was above par on a “tricky” surface.”I do think the 311 was probably a couple over par. I think 290-300 was the par score,” Bavuma said. “I guess I’m glad we lost the toss because we would have also had a lot to chase. I think things worked out in our favour. I found it quite tricky myself with the bat. I was scratchy throughout my innings. I think Quinton going out and ending up with this with a score like that, I think he needs to be credited a lot.”

New South Wales quick Ben Dwarshuis claimed three wickets as Victoria’s disastrous start to the Sheffield Shield season continued after suffering another collapse on a truncated opening day at the MCG.Play did not begin until 1pm with the opening session lost due to a wet outfield after overnight rain. Victoria lost 5 for 46 in the final session with the recalled Dwarshuis claiming three wickets including the key scalp of Peter Handscomb to a poorly executed pull shot, while the in-form Matt Short was brilliantly run out by substitute Chris Green following a terrible yes-no call from Sam Harper.Related

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Nathan Lyon went wicketless but bowled tightly through 16 overs on his return to first-class cricket as he continues his comeback from the Ashes-ending calf injury.Victoria’s top-order made plenty of starts with Handscomb, Travis Dean, Will Pucovski and Short all passing 25 but none reached 50 as they handed NSW the ascendency having been sent into bat.Test hopeful Marcus Harris’ start to the season has mirrored that of his team’s. He fell for a first-ball duck to add to his scores of 0 and 10 in his only other Shield appearance so far this year after missing Victoria’s opening match of the season.This time he fell caught at short leg, prodding forward to a delivery from Chris Tremain that jagged off the seam. He got an inside edge onto pad and it ballooned to Ryan Hackney at short leg.Pucovski, batting at No. 3 on return after being rested from the loss to Queensland, was nearly out in identical fashion but Hackney was unable to get his hand under the ball as he dived forward onto the pitch. Pucovski should have also been out on 10 when he edged Dwarshuis behind but wicketkeeper Matthew Gilkes was wrong-footed and he grassed the relatively straight-forward chance diving to his right.Pucovski and Dean ground out a 68-run stand in nearly 35 overs on a tricky surface that had plenty of live green grass. Both men faced more than a hundred balls and managed just two boundaries apiece on the soft, slow outfield. Pucovski finally fell to Jackson Bird, edging behind trying to defend from the crease.Dean continued to grind alongside Handscomb who was far more fluent. But Dean fell to an innocuous Moises Henriques delivery, guiding it to slip with anchored feet after facing 154 deliveries for his 39.Handscomb played nicely for his 43 but his dismissal sparked a disastrous collapse. He played an uncharacteristic pull shot while setting up square on to Dwarshuis from around the wicket. The short ball was wide of off stump and he top-edged it to square leg trying to drag it over midwicket.Captain Will Sutherland also fell to a short ball trap from Dwarshuis, spooning a catch to deep backward square with two men placed for the exact shot.Things went from bad to worse when Short was run out having looked in good touch. Harper pulled a ball into the short leg fielder and it ricocheted towards midwicket, Harper called ‘yes’ and then ‘no’ as he realised Green was swooping. Short took off to the initial call and was forced to scramble back but Green’s brilliant direct hit beat his desperate dive.Dwarshuis had Mitch Perry caught behind shortly after before Fergus O’Neill was trapped plumb infront by Tremain in the final over of the day with the lights in full effect.

Australia
Two points following the win against England means Australia are well placed to seal the third semi-final spot and finish among the top three. They can confirm both if they beat Afghanistan in Mumbai on Tuesday – that will ensure Afghanistan can only finish on a maximum of 10 points, which will also be the ceiling for both New Zealand and Pakistan.Even if they lose to Afghanistan, they can still finish among the top three if they beat Bangladesh in their last game. For Afghanistan to go past them, they will not only have to win both their matches, but also go past Australia’s net run rate. Currently, the gap there is huge – Australia are sitting pretty on 0.924 compared to Afghanistan’s -0.330.Related

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If Australia lose to both Afghanistan and Bangladesh, then it could come down to net run rates. Three teams – Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan – could be fighting for one spot if Afghanistan beat South Africa and if New Zealand and Pakistan win their last matches. If Afghanistan lose, then four teams on 10 points could be fighting for two spots. Even there, Australia’s healthy NRR should make them favourites to qualify.If New Zealand and Pakistan lose their last games, then Australia will qualify with 10 points even if they lose their last two.New Zealand
Four defeats in their last four matches have left New Zealand with much to do to ensure a semi-final spot. Even if they win their last game, they could miss out if Australia beat Bangladesh and Afghanistan win their last two – if all those results happen, four teams will finish with 12 or more points.New Zealand’s best case will be for them to beat Sri Lanka, for Afghanistan to lose their last two, and for England to beat Pakistan. Then 10 points will take them through without NRR coming into play.If both New Zealand and Pakistan win their last games, and if Afghanistan win a match too, it could come down to net run rates among the three teams. Currently New Zealand have a stronger NRR, and even if they beat Sri Lanka by just one run scoring 300, Pakistan will have to beat England by 130 (with the same total) to go past them.Given that rain is forecast through the week in Bengaluru, there is also the possibility of New Zealand’s last game being washed out; if that happens, they will finish with only nine points, and they will have to hope for Pakistan and Afghanistan to lose their remaining matches and stay on eight.Afghanistan are one of the teams that can finish on 12 points•AFP/Getty Images

Afghanistan
If Afghanistan win their last two matches they will qualify for sure, since they are one of only four teams who can finish on 12 or more points. The problem for them is that their two opponents are Australia and South Africa, among the best teams in the tournament so far. The other problem for them is their NRR of -0.330, which is easily the poorest among the teams they could be jostling with for a place in the semi-finals.Their best chance of qualifying is if both Pakistan and New Zealand lose their last league matches and stay on eight points. Then, even one victory will be enough for them to qualify, without bringing run rates into play.Pakistan
After seemingly being out of the semi-final race, Pakistan have bounced back with wins against Bangladesh and New Zealand, and now have a shot at a top-four finish. For that to happen, though, they still need to depend on other results, even if they beat England in their last game. For example, even with 10 points, Pakistan could finish outside the top four if New Zealand beat Sri Lanka and finish with a better NRR, and if Australia win one of their last two. Afghanistan could play spoilsport too if they win their last two.Pakistan’s best case-scenario is for them to beat England, for Sri Lanka to beat New Zealand, and for Afghanistan to lose their last two matches. Then, they will qualify without NRR coming into play.As mentioned above, if New Zealand beat Sri Lanka even by a small margin, Pakistan will need to win their last game handily to overtake them on NRR. The advantage for Pakistan is that they will play the penultimate game of the league stage, so they will know exactly what they need to do to qualify.Sri Lanka
Netherlands
Both Sri Lanka and Netherlands are in a similar position – their net run rates are poor, and they can get a maximum of eight points. With three teams already on more than eight, their only chance is for the other teams – New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan – to lose all their remaining matches and stay on eight. Then, either or both of these teams can also finish on eight by winning their last two matches, and NRR will decide which team goes through.Given their terrible NRRs though, that is only a mathematical possibility.

Taijul Islam led the Bangladesh spinners to put them on the verge of beating New Zealand in the Sylhet Test with three more wickets to take and an entire day left for it. New Zealand finished the day on 113 for 7, needing another 219 runs to win in their pursuit of 332, with an unbeaten Daryl Mitchell batting with the tail. It was the accuracy of the spinners on and around the off stump that caused huge trouble for New Zealand’s batters. Taijul picked up four wickets while Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan took one each.Taijul played the enforcer in Shakib Al Hasan’s absence, removing Kane Williamson twice in the game, while also taking the wickets of Devon Conway, Tom Blundell and Kyle Jamieson in the second innings. Mehidy and Nayeem were the perfect foil, attacking the right-hand batters at the stumps and often using sharp turn to force close catches and lbw shouts. But it was the lone fast bowler Shoriful Islam who brought Bangladesh the early reward.Shoriful had Tom Latham edging his pitched-up delivery that moved away slightly and Nurul Hasan dived low to his left to remove the opener for a duck. Williamson, who had scored his 29th Test hundred in the first innings, was going to be key to New Zealand’s approach on the fourth day.He lasted 24 balls as Taijul beat his inside edge on the forward prod, trapping him lbw for 11. Williamson took the review at the last moment, but he started walking towards the dressing room as soon as he saw the first replay on the big screen. Mehidy got into the act three overs later in his second spell, as Henry Nicholls top-edged a sweep to Nayeem for 2.Taijul got New Zealand into further trouble when Devon Conway jabbed him to short leg off his pad and Shahadat Hossain completed a simple catch. Tom Blundell looked in trouble from the onset and didn’t last too long either, edging the ball behind when he played one towards the leg side and the ball took his outside edge. Nurul Hasan took the catch this time, a tricky one given that the batter had turned his body towards midwicket too.The collapse continued in the 35th over when Nayeem trapped Glenn Philips lbw for 12. The right-handed batter played back to a delivery that turned sharply back to his front leg, and Bangladesh got the wicket through a review. Kyle Jamieson became the third lbw victim when Taijul trapped him in front for 9.Mehidy had earlier helped Bangladesh to a total of 338 with his fifth Test fifty. Although Bangladesh’s day began with their captain Najmul Hossain Shanto getting caught down the leg side when his opposite number Tim Southee removed him in the second over of the day, with Shanto adding just one run to his overnight score of 104. Ish Sodhi trapped Shahadat lbw for 18, before Mehidy survived the first of several chances.Shortly after the first-hour mark, Nicholls dived in from mid-off but one of the replay angles showed that the ball had touched the ground before Nicholls grabbed it. Mitchell dropped Mushfiqur Rahim at slip shortly afterwards too, also off Ajaz Patel, but the bowler removed Mushfiqur next ball when the batter lunged forward, only to be hit on his front pad and fall for 67, a knock that had seven fours.Mitchell later dropped Nurul, again at slip, but the bowler Philips struck in his next over, getting the batter caught and bowled for 10 as Bangladesh inched towards a 300-run lead. They got it just before the lunch break, but Nayeem fell in the second over after the break. Sodhi’s googly did the trick to have him caught at short leg before Taijul gave Nicholls a simple catch at mid-on in the next over. Ajaz added a fourth to his name with Shoriful’s wicket as Bangladesh set up a stiff target.

Shakib Al Hasan’s eye condition has kept him out of Bangladesh’s ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka. However on the same day that the selectors announced the squads for the Sri Lanka series, Shakib struck a whirlwind 31-ball 69 for Rangpur Riders in a BPL game in Chattogram.Shakib had reportedly said that batting was an issue for him – he demoted himself down the order for Rangpur before returning to the top three in the recent games.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin, who will be relieved of his duties from February 28, selected his last squads of his eight-year stint. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the vice-captain of the T20I side, was left out among six changes. Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud and Rony Talukdar were also left out.Instead Anamul Haque, Mohammad Naim, Mahmudullah, Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed were brought back. Mystery spinner Aliss Al Islam, who is currently in action for Comilla Victorians in the BPL, earned his maiden call-up to the national side.Mahmudullah returned to the T20I side after more than a year, having scored two fifties so far for Fortune Barishal in this BPL season. Mahmudullah, though, has been a regular in the ODI team, having only missed the New Zealand tour last December. Taijul Islam and Taskin Ahmed were also back in the T20I squad. However, there was no room for Rakibul Hasan, Afif Hossain and Hasan Mahmud. Rakibul is a young left-arm spinner while Afif and Mahmud lost their places in both white-ball sides.Bangladesh will play the three T20Is against Sri Lanka in Sylhet on March 4, 6 and 9. The ODIs will be held in Chattogram on March 13, 15 and 18.

Bangladesh T20I squad

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Litton Das, Anamul Haque, Mohammad Naim, Tawhid Hridoy, Soumya Sarkar, Mahedi Hasan, Mahmudullah, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan, Aliss Al IslamIn: Anamul Haque, Mohammad Naim, Mahmudullah, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Aliss Al IslamOut: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (vc), Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Rony Talukdar (wk)

Bangladesh ODI squad

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur RahmanIn: Mahmudullah, Taijul Islam, Taskin AhmedOut: Rakibul Hasan, Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud

19.2 Harshal to David, OUT Hard length outside off. David looks to hit it down the ground but fails to clear long-offTim David c Curran b Patel 14 (7b 2×4 1×6 10m) SR: 20019.3 Harshal to Shepherd, 1 run A yorker that Shepherd digs it out towards long-on19.4 Harshal to Shepherd, dead ball A slower one, full and wide. Tilak fetches it and hits it aerially towards deep midwicket. But the spidercam comes in the way. So a dead ball19.4 Harshal to Tilak Varma, 1 run Almost an action replay, the only difference is that Tilak has hit this one towards long-on. Also, the spidercam had changed its location19.5 Harshal to Shepherd, OUT A slower one, full on the stumps. Shepherd swings with the angle but cannot clear Shashank Singh at deep-backward square legRomario Shepherd c Shashank Singh b Patel 1 (2b 0x4 0x6 3m) SR: 5019.6 Harshal to M Nabi, OUT A run-out. Was a yorker from Harshal that Nabi drilled straight back, into the stumps at the other end. The ball ricocheted towards Harshal who picked up and pulled out the stump with the ball in his hands. Nabi was well shortMohammad Nabi run out (Patel) 0 (1b 0x4 0x6 1m) SR: 00.3 Coetzee to Prabhsimran, OUT Flying Kishan in Mullanpur! Moves to his left and dives full length to pouch that. Coetzee is pumped up after an erratic start. Slants this into Prabhsimran on a length. He looks to swivel and pull but only gets a glove. The wicketkeeper does not miss and Mumbai are on the board.Prabhsimran Singh c †Ishan Kishan b Coetzee 0 (1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 00.4 Coetzee to Rossouw, 1 run Direct hit and he could have been in trouble. Pushes the fullish ball towards mid-off and takes on Hardik, and makes it with a dive because the throw was slightly wide0.5 Coetzee to Sam Curran, 1 run Full and outside off, slashed to deep third0.6 Coetzee to Rossouw, no run Fuller on middle and leg, defended back towards the bowler1.1 Bumrah to Sam Curran, no run Starts with a length ball, angling away, 129.7kph, defended towards point1.2 Bumrah to Sam Curran, no run Spears this full on the pads, swings in a touch, Curran misses the flick. The impact was outside leg1.3 Bumrah to Sam Curran, 1 run Length ball around off, taps it to the off side and sprints to the other end1.4 Bumrah to Rossouw, OUT BOOM, BOOM Bumrah! A perfect inswinging yorker to make a mess of Rossouw’s stumps. He was expecting a length ball and was sitting in the crease. But the freak of the fast bowler in Bumrah just spears it full and straight on off and middle and gets it to swing in a touch. Booom!Rilee Rossouw b Bumrah 1 (3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 33.331.5 Bumrah to Livingstone, 1 run Another yorker outside off, the inswinging one this time, Livingstone opens the face and ges it past the diving backward point1.6 Bumrah to Sam Curran, OUT Appeal from Kishan. A belated one. But Bumrah is quite convinced. Or is it about the ball brushing something? Wide given and Mumbai have reviewed. Fullish and angling in from around the stumps, Curran is on the back foot and looks to flick it away. Snicko returns a spike and Bumrah has two in the over! What a start. And he was the only one who seem to be certain about the nick. A feather of an edge and Mumbai have rattled the KingsSam Curran c †Ishan Kishan b Bumrah 6 (7b 1×4 0x6) SR: 85.712.1 Coetzee to Livingstone, OUT Caught Coetzee, bowled Coetzee and Mumbai’s celebrations continue. He takes a few steps forward to his left in his follow-through and takes a good, low catch to end Livingstone’s night. Back of a length around off, rushed Livi for pace. He goes for the pull but ends up getting it back towards the bowler off the cue end. 150kphLiam Livingstone c & b Coetzee 1 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50

Jake Fraser-McGurk’s stunning IPL made Australia’s selectors ponder a change to their T20 World Cup planning before it was decided they could not find room for him in the 15-player squad which will travel to the Caribbean.As previously reported, Fraser-McGurk will be with Australia at the World Cup having been confirmed as one of their two traveling reserves alongside allrounder Matthew Short but will need a tournament-ending injury to play a role.Related

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Despite an impressive home summer which included an ODI debut against West Indies, he had been a long shot to enter World Cup discussions until he took the IPL by storm having been called in as a replacement player for Delhi Capitals. He went on to hammer 330 runs at an eye-watering strike rate of 234.04 including two 15-ball half-centuries.But with him competing for a spot in Australia’s well-established top three of David Warner, Travis Head and captain Mitchell Marsh – and not providing an all-round option – he did not make the final cut when the initial squad was named, with no changes being made ahead of the final deadline of May 25.”There’s no doubt that he did turn our heads and he was a huge discussion when it come to the final 15,” head coach Andrew McDonald told radio. “He was running hot and there’s no doubt he will run hot into the future.”There’s no doubt what he did in the IPL, he lit it up, he’s an extraordinary talent and he’s going to give fans much delight across the journey. In discussing the 15-man squad, we needed to cover all bases in the way we wanted to play and there was a lot of building that went into that over a period of time.”Jake Fraser-McGurk is unlikely to have to wait long for another Australia chance•Getty Images

Fraser-McGurk has previously said how he was comfortable with not making the final squad.”There’s two ways you can look at it. You can look at it through, ‘this is what I’ve done to prove my case,’ and then there’s also, ‘look, a month and a half ago I wasn’t even in the picture’,” he told the podcast. “If I do somehow get a travelling reserve [spot] then great, I can get a good experience there. It didn’t really bother me a hell of a lot because I wasn’t in this position to sort of feel like I’ve earned that yet. World Cup cricket is a lot different to IPL and franchise cricket.”However, it is unlikely Fraser-McGurk will have to wait long for another chance at international level with a turnover of players expected to begin in Australia’s white-ball sides after the T20 World Cup. He appears certain to feature on the tour of England in September where he shapes as Head’s future opening partner in the post-Warner era.”Think that would be a good indication, think that’s where we would head,” McDonald said of the future top order. “It may be somewhere in that top three and we’re not dismissing the fact that he may be able to play a role in the middle order as well.”Matthew Short will be vying for that as well and think in the Jake Fraser-McGurk conversation we are probably dismissing what Matthew Short has been able to do domestically as well. So we feel we have a couple of young talented players who are ready to go when we need them.”Warner, who will close out his international career at the T20 World Cup, picked up a hand injury during his IPL campaign with DC. He returned towards the end of the tournament before being left out of the last match. “We believe he’s fully fit, everything he says he’s fully fit…we have no fears that he won’t be fit and fully available,” McDonald said.However, McDonald confirmed that Marsh is unlikely to be able to bowl early in the tournament as he makes a slower-than-expected return from the hamstring injury which ended his IPL stint early. But he will be able to feature in the two warm-up matches against Namibia and West Indies as a batter.Australia are set to have just ten of their squad available for those practice matches in Trinidad with the five players who will feature in the IPL knockouts – Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green – joining the squad in Barbados ahead of the opening match against Oman on June 5.

England left-arm spinner Jack Leach claimed two wickets on his return to Somerset’s team after a long injury lay-off as they dominated a rain-affected second day of the Vitality County Championship First Division match with Kent at Taunton.The home side added 114 to their overnight first innings score of 440 for seven to post their highest ever first class score against Kent, skipper Lewis Gregory making 77 off 95 balls with nine fours.Craig Overton then pinned England’s Zak Crawley lbw for a first ball duck as the visitors reached eight for one before the weather closed in just 11 balls into the innings.Play resumed at 4.45pm and Kent reached stumps on 108 for five, Ben Compton top-scoring with 43 before Leach removed him and Harry Finch late in the day for figures of two for 22 from seven overs.With George Garrett under treatment for a groin injury, Kent were a seamer light when Somerset resumed their first innings under heavily overcast skies at the start of the morning session. Gregory soon brought up a fifth batting bonus point with an on-driven four off Beyers Swanepoel.The total had progressed quickly to 460 for seven when Migael Pretorius, on 19, edged a delivery from Grant Stewart (3 for 129) to slip where Marcus O’Riordan took an excellent two-handed catch diving to his left.Six runs were added, with Josh Davey having joined Gregory before the first rain break of the day came with only 3.5 overs having been bowled. Play resumed at 11.50pm and Gregory moved to his third half-century of the season off 69 balls, with six fours.Davey contributed a handy 27 before chipping a high catch to mid-wicket off Joey Evison with the score on 517. Out marched last man Leach, returning after knee surgery for his first appearance of the summer and welcomed by a rousing ovation from Somerset fans.He played some sweet shots in contributing 21 to a tenth-wicket stand of 37 before Gregory’s impressive knock was ended by a brilliant diving boundary catch by Crawley off Evison, who finished with three for 92.Lunch, which had been delayed with nine wickets down, was taken immediately and three overs were lost as another short shower prevented a resumption until 2.05pm. Compton took a couple of boundaries off the opening over of Kent’s reply, sent down by Davey, before Overton pinned Crawley leg before with a full delivery, which beat the inside edge.Daniel Bell-Drummond survived a confident lbw appeal in the same over, but before it ended the rain began falling again and the heavy covers were brought on.Tea was taken before play restarted with the floodlights on and a possible 31.1 overs left in the day. Compton played positively again, but Bell-Drummond had made only four when driving at Overton and failing to get to the pitch of the ball, wicketkeeper James Rew taking a good two-handed catch diving in front of first slip.At 28 for two, Kent faced an uphill battle. O’Riordan joined Compton in looking to counter attack and hit 3 fours in moving to 20 before another loose drive saw his stumps scattered by Pretorius with the total on 55.Leach was introduced into the attack at 76 for 3, but after a tidy maiden saw his second over go for 14 as Compton hit him through the off-side for four and three before Joe Denly lofted a straight six. The skies had cleared to produce the best batting conditions of the day.Compton looked in prime form. But, having faced 70 balls and cracked seven fours he went to reverse sweep Leach and stood transfixed when judged to have feathered a catch through to Rew.Finch looked equally perplexed to be given out lbw to Leach on five, having been struck in front possibly off a faint inside edge and Kent had lost half their wickets in 29 overs.Leach’s double strike put Somerset clear command. Their previous highest first-class score against Kent was 503 at Taunton in 1898 when the team included Sammy Woods and the Palairet brothers, Lionel and Richard.”It has been a frustrating period for me for sure, but time off gives you a chance to reflect on where your game is at,” Leach said. “It’s a bit of a whirlwind when you are travelling around the world, so it was an opportunity to think about what I had done with Somerset and England, remembering what had taken me on that journey.”I had a haematoma on my knee and was still progressing to full recovery from a back problem when it happened playing for England in January. I had surgery at the start of March and knew that having missed so much cricket in India, I also had to keep building myself up again from the back issue, so it was always going to take time.”I don’t like to think I have been unlucky with injuries because I have also had a lot of good fortune in my career. Now I just want to get more cricket under my belt. It’s not a time to look too far ahead. Hopefully, I can get through this game and move on to the next at Durham, trying to get back into a rhythm.”

Martin Guptill smashed a 67-ball 117 against Karachi Kings at their home ground to give Quetta Gladiators their first win of PSL 2023. After being put in, Gladiators were 23 for 4 in the seventh over but Guptill not only helped them recover but also lifted them to a competitive total.He rebuilt the innings with a 69-run stand, off 52 balls, with Iftikhar Ahmed and then dominated the 64-run stand with Mohammad Nawaz, scoring 59 off 20 from his bat. Nawaz’s contribution was three from six balls.In reply, Kings also landed in early trouble. They were 35 for 3 inside the powerplay, and then 76 for 5 in the 11th over before Shoaib Malik and Irfan Khan revived the chase. The pair brought the equation down to 37 runs needed off the last three overs but Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain strangled them. That left Kings needing 24 from the final over, and Odean Smith gave away only 17 to secure a six-run win for the visitors.Earlier, Gladiators were pegged back by Imad Wasim, who trapped Jason Roy lbw on the sweep, deceived Abdul Bangalzai to have him stumped, and bowl Umar Akmal to prise out three wickets in his first nine balls. Sarfaraz Ahmed mistimed a pull to hand Aamer Yamin his first wicket right after a 23-run powerplay.Guptill had opened his account with a couple of boundaries but was tied down by the loss of early wickets. He and Iftikhar Ahmed focused on strike rotation and struck the odd boundary to keep the innings afloat. Iftikhar’s wicket in the 15th over was a setback but Guptill continued finding the occasional boundary and brought up his fifty.Guptill was dropped on 61 off Andrew Tye by Sharjeel Khan, and the batter made full use of that. In the 19th over, he looted 30 runs off Tye with the help of three sixes and as many fours.James Vince scored 22 off 14 balls to give Kings a brisk start but early wickets kept them on the back foot. In the 11th over, Hasnain removed Matthew Wade and Imad Wasim to dent them further.Malik and Irfan fought hard, adding 86 off 54 balls in an unbroken stand for the sixth wicket, but it wasn’t enough.