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Hampshire’s hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Royal London Cup are still alive after they coasted to a six-wicket win over Kent Spitfires at Beckenham.Ian Holland ripped out Kent’s top order with 4 for 12 as the hosts failed to bat out their overs, despite a rain reduction to 24 per side. Scott Currie took 2 for 4 as the Spitfires were all out for 105.The Duckworth Lewis Stern Method pushed the target up to just 107 and Hampshire chased it down with relative ease, finishing on 107 for 4, Tom Alsop the top scorer with 37 and Holland hitting an unbeaten 30.Kent have now been eliminated, regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s final scheduled match with Gloucestershire at Beckenham, a fixture in doubt due to the Covid outbreak that saw today’s match between Gloucestershire and Middlesex cancelled.The prospects of play looked remote as steady rain fell throughout the morning, but conditions improved and play started at 2.30pm, with the match initially reduced to 27 overs per side.Kent’s openers made a bright start after being asked to bat but, after moving to 42 without loss, Tawanda Muyeye was bowled by John Turner for 24.Holland then instigated a collapse when he claimed two wickets in the twelfth over. Ollie Robinson was caught by James Fuller at deep square leg for 27 and Jack Leaning was subsequently caught and bowled for 11. In Holland’s next over, Harry Finch chipped him to Nick Gubbins and was out for nought.Kent had reached 70 for 4 before a shower sent the players sprinting to the pavilion, trimming the match by a further three overs per side and, if anything, their batting got worse when play resumed. Darren Stevens made just eight when Holland had him caught by Felix Organ and Grant Stewart was run out for four, by a direct hit from Tom Scriven, chasing a single that could best be described as optimistic.Joe Gordon made nine on his List A debut before he holed out to Scriven and was caught by Organ and Currie then bowled Harry Podmore for eight before getting Hamid Qadri lbw for five.Kyle Abbott wrapped up the innings when Matt Quinn was caught by Tom Prest and Hampshire made short work of the chase.The Spitfires’ hopes flickered when Quinn took two quick wickets, strangling Prest down the leg side where he was caught behind for two and then bowling Gubbins, also for two, to reduce the visitors to 23 for 2, but Hampshire put on 40 for the next wicket before Alsop chopped Podmore to Finch, who took a sharp catch at point.By the time Joe Weatherley was caught by Muyeye off Podmore for 25 Gloucestershire needed just another 15 for victory with six wickets in hand and Fuller smacked Podmore for six to clinch the win with 34 balls to spare.

Harmanpreet Kaur, India’s vice-captain in the longer formats, has been ruled out of the first ODI against Australia scheduled for Tuesday in Mackay. She sustained a thumb injury a few days ago, said head coach Ramesh Powar, and that a call on her availability for the second ODI will be taken in due course.”She was declared fit. She was selected for this tour but, unfortunately, some days back she got a hit on the thumb and she is not available for the first ODI,” Powar said on match eve. “Next ODI we will take a call according to her pain management and fitness management.”Powar said that all other members of the consolidated Test and ODI squad are fit and available for selection for Tuesday’s fixture.Related

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• Australia's test of endurance begins in bid for a Grand Slam

• Will Mithali Raj bat at No. 3? Can Shafali Verma silence her inner demons?

• India call up Meghna Singh, Yastika Bhatia, Renuka Singh for Australia tour

Harmanpreet was left out of the warm-up game on Saturday in Brisbane, though she is understood to have batted in the nets. She had ended her Hundred stint in the UK prematurely owing to a quadriceps injury and then joined India’s other four Hundred-returnees in the Bengaluru preparatory camp to serve a mandatory seven-day quarantine.Though cleared as fit, her inclusion in India’s 22-player squad for the seven-match multi-format series was something of a gamble since she made the cut without having been subjected to a workload assessment at training given the quarantine restrictions. The selection panel, ESPNcricinfo revealed at the time, wanted to give her more time to recover considering India had to undergo a 14-day hard quarantine after landing in Australia.In Harmanpreet’s absence, Mithali Raj could reclaim the one-down spot, snapping a streak of 18 straight innings at No. 4 stretching back to early 2019.”I’ve been quite flexible with my batting order whether it’s No. 3 or No. 4, but it all depends on the composition of the team,” Raj said. “If we have a good middle order, then I push my order up, that’s No. 3 and if there’s a little more inexperience in the middle order, then I push myself to No. 4. It all depends on the composition of the team, and now, with Harman out for the first ODI, I probably have to think about my order.”Harmanpreet Kaur suffered a quad injury at the Hundred•BCCI

Frontrunners for Harmanpreet’s place in the side include the uncapped Yastika Bhatia, Jemimah Rodrigues and Punam Raut. Considering Yastika, who can also keep, is the only one among the trio to have played the warm-up, making an impressive 42-ball 41, she is likely to pip Rodrigues, who is coming off memorable Hundred campaign, and Raut to the vacant spot.”She [Rodrigues] will be, and is, part of our thought process going forward,” Powar said. “And, it’s about combination. We’re trying to find the right composition going towards the World Cup, so Jemi might miss out, Jemi might play, so we can’t say that now. It’s a three-ODI series, so we’ll take it one game at a time.”The firepower India may lose thanks to Harmanpreet’s injury may yet be made up by their top-order which includes the dynamic Shafali Verma. Only 17 years old, she made her Test and ODI debut on the recent tour of England and has been eye-catching enough in her nascent international career to even win a place in the Hundred. There are still areas to work on in her game, like facing the short ball and tightening up around the off stump, but the India team management are content with the way she is developing so far.”As far as Shafali is concerned, the way she played in the Test game in England, we were happy. As a 17-year old, we have to give her a little breathing space. Mithali, SS (Shiv Sunder) Das, and I had conversations with her. She knows her role, what is expected out of her, so we don’t push a 17-year old, who is very expressive in her batting; we don’t want to curtail her game. But we give her freedom with no responsibility.”SS Das plays a major role. He’s here as the batting coach and he has spent a lot of time with Shafali, and he’s working on her game and mental as mental aspects also. And, she has played the Hundred, so she has got some confidence from there, so it’s important for us to let her express her cricket rather than controlling her. It’s about a 17-year old; we can’t forget that.”Shafali Verma helped give India fast start•Getty Images

While India’s focus is on the current series, the captain and coach are also hoping to set up a performance template that might help them in the long run, especially with the ODI World Cup coming up in March-April.”As a batting unit, we want to score consistently over 250, and we’re planning towards that,” Powar said. “In bowling, we’re trying to get opponents all out, so we’re trying to use Jhulan Goswami as the experienced bowler who can give us good openings up front.”Australia are formidable opponents, riding high on a world-record winning streak in ODIs. India are aware of the challenge that they face but are certain they have prepared well enough for it.”We had also gathered that input that they will be using a lot many of the short-pitched deliveries for our batters,” Raj said, “So we do have two of our side-arm throwers in the team, so that’s where the girls have been using a lot of time playing more of the short-of-length and short-pitched deliveries. A lot of the cuts and pulls is what we’ve been working on in the training sessions.”Not necessarily we are going to give a thought to the winning streak but we are looking forward to our best cricket because we understand we are playing undoubtedly one of the best sides in the world on their home turf and it’s going to be a challenging series,” Raj said. “This thought process every player understands – that we’re in Australia, playing an Australian team. It’s not going to be an easy series but playing against the best side before the World Cup is the best preparation we can get. Every game we have to bring our top game against them.”

Virat Kohli’s IPL captaincy stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore, spanning 11 seasons, 2011 to 2021, came to an end on Monday with his team bowing out of IPL 2021 in the eliminator. While he might have endured as many losses as victories in his time in charge (140 games, 64 wins, 69 losses, three ties, four no-results), through the ups and downs, Kohli said, he had given his all to the franchise as a leader, and tried to create an environment that let players express themselves.”I’ve tried my best to create a culture here where youngsters could come in and play expressive cricket, play with belief. It’s something I’ve tried to do at the Indian team level as well,” Kohli told host broadcaster Star Sports after the four-wicket defeat, Kolkata Knight Riders having squeezed home with two balls to spare in a chase of 139. “All I can say is that I’ve given my best. I don’t know how the response has been to that, but I can vouch for the fact that I’ve given my 120% to this franchise every year, leading the team.”And as I said, I will continue to give that effort on the field as a player from now on. It’s a great time to regroup, restructure the franchise for the next three years, and bring in people who can take this culture and this franchise to the next level, moving forward.”

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Kohli reiterated that he will continue to play for only Royal Challengers in the IPL. “As I said, I don’t see myself playing anywhere else. To me loyalty matters more than other things which, from the worldly point of view, seem more important. This franchise has believed in me and my commitment is to this franchise till the last day I play the IPL.”While Royal Challengers finished fourth in IPL 2021, still looking for their first title win, they had a largely successful season. They had nine wins in 14 games in the league stage, and only missed out on a top-two finish to Chennai Super Kings on net run rate. They also had several players putting together outstanding seasons. Chief among them was pacer Harshal Patel, who ended with 32 wickets, the joint-highest in an IPL season.Harshal credited Kohli and the Royal Challengers management for his growth as a bowler, and said that while Kohli will not be the captain anymore, he will always remain a leader within the franchise.”Obviously every one knows the kind of energy and passion Virat brings to the field. He backs bowlers, gives them their space, allows them to execute their skills and plans. So I’m very thankful to him,” Harshal said. “I’ve learned a lot playing with him, since I think 2012. In terms of his captaincy, there are captains and there are leaders, and he’s definitely a leader. Just because he won’t have the tag of a captain doesn’t make him any less of a leader.Related

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“I’ve said this many times earlier too, the RCB management and Virat showed a lot of confidence in me from the start. Till this year, I had never bowled in the death overs in the IPL. I had bowled [in domestic cricket] for Haryana [at the death] but never in the IPL. To then give me that responsibility, they would have definitely seen something in me. They made the decision that I’ll be bowling the most difficult overs. I’m very grateful for the faith that they have shown in me.”I was the same bowler I am today probably last year [when he played for Delhi Capitals]. But the fact that I didn’t get enough opportunities… and coming back here to RCB and straightaway being given the responsibility of bowling the death overs, that definitely made a difference.”Kohli’s best result with Royal Challengers was in 2016, when he led them to the final. They had also reached the final in 2011, but Daniel Vettori was the regular captain that season, with Kohli standing in in three league games. They finished third in 2015, and also went out in the eliminator last season. In 2012-2014 and 2017-2019, they did not make the playoffs, finishing bottom of the league twice in that latter period.

Big Picture

The last time the T20 World Cup qualifiers round needed to be settled on the last day, one of the greatest chases in the format took place in Sylhet. Netherlands chased down 190 in 13.5 overs against Ireland to vault over from No. 3 to No. 1 in the group. It was a game that, many believe, helped change the perception of T20s.Down to the final round of matches this time around, there are a lot of equations facing all four teams in Group B on Thursday. Even winless Papua New Guinea have a chance at a place in the Super 12s. If Sylhet in 2014 is anything to go by, expect fireworks in Muscat. Bangladesh remain in a must-win situation as they take on PNG in the afternoon game at the Al Amerat Ground. The proceedings of this game will have a knock-on effect in the evening match between Oman and Scotland.Bangladesh, though, have recovered from the Scotland shock by beating Oman. It was a hard-fought win that exposed some of the gaps in their system, but it has served its purpose. Shakib Al Hasan brought out his trademark Player-of-the-Match-winning performance, scoring 42 and taking three wickets. Mohammad Naim batted well with Shakib, getting 64, while offspinner Mahedi Hasan and seamer Mohammad Saifuddin stifled Oman at crucial stages. Mustafizur Rahman, despite a wayward first spell, finished with a four-wicket haul.Related

• Group B scenarios – Scotland, Oman, Bangladesh eye net run rate calculations

Bangladesh did tick some of the boxes on Tuesday that they couldn’t against Scotland, but some problems still need solving. Their powerplay scoring remains low, which is mostly due to Liton Das’ indifferent form. They are also struggling with the bat at the death, a period in which Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan and Afif Hossain have done well in the recent past.PNG will look to capitalise on all of these and cause an upset. They are short on confidence as well as on experience, but they have the makings of a potentially exciting T20 side in the near future. Assad Vala and Charles Amini batted well against Oman in their first game, while Kabua Morea and Norman Vanua performed against Scotland. But they need a team effort, with a few more contributors.6:54

Nafees: Whenever Bangladesh have needed Shakib, he has done it

Form guide

(Last five completed matches)Bangladesh WLLWL
PNG LLLLL

In the spotlight

PNG must do their homework on Mahedi Hasan. He started off with three wickets against Scotland, reducing them to 53 for 6 before Bangladesh let it slip. Against Oman when Bangladesh were in big trouble, Mahedi’s 1 for 14 from four overs bailed them out. His batting hasn’t fired, though.Kabua Morea was PNG’s first wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup, and later went on to complete a four-wicket haul. Morea is a lively left-arm quick who showed accuracy against Scotland. PNG will, thus, hope that he can take advantage of Bangladesh’s powerplay struggles.

Team news

Bangladesh are likely to stick with the same XI that beat Oman.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Liton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Nurul Hasan (wk), 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Mohammad Saifuddin, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanBatter Hiri Hiri, left-arm spinner Jason Kila and pace-bowling allrounder Gaudi Toka are yet to play, so PNG may consider giving them a chance.Papua New Guinea (probable): 1 Tony Ura, 2 Lega Siaka, 3 Assad Vala (capt), 4 Charles Amini, 5 Sese Bau, 6 Simon Atai, 7 Norman Vanua, 8 Kiplin Doriga (wk), 9 Chad Soper, 10, Nosaina Pokana, 11 Kabua Morea

Stats and trivia

• PNG will be Bangladesh’s 21st opponent in international cricket. They have, however, played twice as Associate nations at a time when matches between such sides were not counted as internationals. While PNG beat Bangladesh in the ICC Trophy in 1982 in the third-place playoff, Bangladesh beat them once in the 1996 ACC Trophy.

The Sheffield Shield match between NSW and Victoria at the SCG petered out to a draw despite a captain’s century and final-day declaration from Kurtis Patterson.Patterson celebrated his first hundred of the Shield season then ended the Blues’ second innings at 7 for 285, setting Victoria a target of 248 late in Tuesday’s post-lunch session.Victoria slipped to 3 for 54 when teenage legspinner Tanveer Sangha bowled Matt Short, extending a promising start to his first-class career. But captain Peter Handscomb’s steadying 39 and a determined Jonathan Merlo, who finished 7 not out from 82 balls, ensured their side held on for 43 overs.Victoria originally had approximately 53 overs, weather permitting, to complete the chase. Rain, a near-constant presence in the contest that started a day late because of Will Sutherland’s positive Covid-19 test, returned in the shadows of tea.Handscomb clipped his 73rd delivery straight to Jason Sangha at leg slip, but there was no chaotic collapse under darkening skies. Patterson, who replaced Peter Nevill as NSW captain for 2021-22, started the season with knocks of 48, 4, 2 and 24 during losses to Victoria at the MCG and Drummoyne Oval. The left-hander, who played two Tests in 2019 but was not invited to Australia’s upcoming pre-Ashes boot camp in Queensland, showcased his talent on Tuesday in front of national selector Tony Dodemaide.Patterson eventually fell unselfishly chasing quick runs as he became one of James Pattinson’s five victims in the innings. Pattinson, who last month announced his retirement from international cricket, finished with impressive match figures of 7 for 103.He made up for lost time after the start of Tuesday’s play was briefly delayed because of showers, removing Moises Henriques with the first ball of the day. It proved the only wicket to fall before lunch as Jason Sangha and Patterson shifted momentum in a 151-run stand, withstanding a testing examination from Pattinson.Sangha hammered two sixes off Wil Parker in the 49th over, signalling his team’s intent to try to make a game of the clash. Hayden Kerr and Chris Tremain each cleared the rope before Patterson called the unbeaten batters in, but the hosts failed to conjure 10 wickets.

The BBL has been forced into last-minute fixture changes after multiple Brisbane Heat players returned positive Covid-19 rapid antigen tests, with Perth Scorchers to play Sydney Sixers at Metricon Stadium on Tuesday night and the Heat-Sixers clash moved to Wednesday to allow time for further Covid-19 testing and replacement players to be found.Heat recorded positive tests on Tuesday morning and the club has undergone PCR testing of its entire playing group and staff as well as potential replacement players.Heat, Sixers, Scorchers and Sydney Thunder are all in Queensland for a trio of matches to be played over the next three nights on the Gold Coast. The BBL made the decision to change the order of those matches to give Heat a chance to get a squad together.Scorchers were scheduled to play Thunder on January 5 and Sixers on January 6 at Metricon Stadium but will play the Sixers two days earlier than planned. Sixers will play Heat on January 5 and Scorchers will face Thunder on January 6 to accommodate the Covid-19 situation.Related

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• BBL stock-taking: how the teams are grappling with Covid-19, departure of key players

• Stars-Scorchers clash to go ahead despite more Covid-19 cases

Scorchers had their first clash with Melbourne Stars postponed after Stars suffered an initial Covid case on December 30. That match is still to be replayed at some point. Stars have had to play their last two BBL matches against Scorchers and Melbourne Renegades with 12 players and eight staff members in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19. Scorchers had two players and one coach unavailable for the clash with Stars with one Scorcher testing positive.Thunder also lost four players for their last two games against Adelaide Strikers.The BBL is desperately trying to keep the tournament afloat amid Covid-19 outbreaks across the league.Stars player Hilton Cartwright voiced his anxiety around the situation after Stars loss to Renegades on Monday night. The BBL has been considering a hub in one city to finish the tournament with players and staff already placed under restrictions while travelling around Australia.BBL fixture changes:January 4, 6:15pm AEST: Perth Scorchers v Sydney Sixers (previously scheduled for January 6)January 5, 8:15pm AEST: Brisbane Heat v Sydney Sixers (previously scheduled for January 4)January 6, 8:15pm AEST: Perth Scorchers v Sydney Thunder (previously scheduled for January 5)

Big picture

About three weeks ago, India were riding the crest of a wave. They had breached a South African fortress in Centurion, were 1-0 up in the Test series, and had every prospect of turning that into a series-winning lead. However, that belonged in 2021. In 2022, India haven’t won any game in South Africa. Defeats in the last two Tests have been followed up by a loss in the opening ODI, and now India find themselves within one game of returning home with defeats in both the series, a prospect that would have seemed somewhat far-fetched at any point before the tour began or even after the first Test.The second ODI follows close on the heels of the first one, and at the same venue too – Boland Park in Paarl. The heat and the dryness of the pitch meant spinners found purchase, and the South African duo of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi (combined figures of 20-1-94-3) comfortably out-performed India’s pair of R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal (20-0-106-1). And if you add Aiden Markram’s part-time spin to the mix, South Africa’s spin figures become an even more impressive 26-1-124-4.Apart from expecting more from their spinners, India will also have to deal with the familiar issue of the middle order lacking runs. It has been the flip side to having a top three of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli – who have piled on runs relentlessly – that the middle order remains slightly uncooked, and it is not a problem with easy solutions.Related

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• Dhawan's knock underlines his value in India's ODI side

For South Africa, the theme that ran through their success in the Test series held good in the first ODI too: they are a team without too many superstars but one that still gets the job done. Rassie van der Dussen has played 30 ODIs so far, and averages a whopping 73.62 in them. In the first ODI here, he showed what he could do with inventive and attacking batting. His innings swung the game decisively South Africa’s way, with the run rate floundering until he took charge.While it is unrealistic to expect him to sustain this level of run-scoring in ODIs, it is not as if these numbers are completely out of the blue for van der Dussen. In a List A career spanning 119 matches, his average is just shy of 50.

Form guide

South Africa WLWLW (last five completed matches; most recent first)
India LLWWW
Runs haven’t been coming for Aiden Markram, and South Africa have other options in the squad•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

KL Rahul will face the heat as captain and opening batter. On the eve of the first ODI, he had lauded Venkatesh Iyer’s all-round utility to the ODI side, but then opted not to call him up for a single over with the ball even when the others were being dealt with easily by Temba Bavuma and van der Dussen. It left the question as to why Iyer was preferred to Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan, who arguably offer more as batters alone. And while batting, Rahul opted for some caution even though South Africa opened the bowling with Markram’s part-time offspin.A favourable match-up against a non-regular bowler with the field up during the powerplay and a steep target to chase should have unlocked Rahul’s free-stroking persona. Instead, he brought out the IPL image of recent vintage: the captain intent on caution. Tactically too, it wasn’t the best move as it allowed South Africa to get six overs out of the fifth bowler’s quota first up, and gave them much greater freedom to use their main bowlers at key moments. How Rahul responds to these as captain and batter will be interesting to see.While Aiden Markram’s bowling offered an unexpected bonus, and his fielding at point remains top notch, his main suit has been in trouble lately. He isn’t short of class but the runs haven’t been coming for Markram, and that is something that could trouble South Africa on another day. Hence, they could well consider a swap with a bowler. In the likes of George Linde and Dwaine Pretorius, they have bowlers who can bat.If they want to go for a pure bowler, there is Sisanda Magala. In effect, if Markram is not contributing via runs, there is an argument to be made that his part-time bowling can be replaced by someone with greater pedigree.

Team news

South Africa are unlikely to make changes to a winning combination from the first ODI. They followed the same philosophy in the Test matches, where Maharaj played the second and third Tests despite having little to do.South Africa (likely): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlulwayo, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiRahul had said before the series began that while India would look to be flexible tactically, they would ensure those selected got a good run. On that basis, it is not likely that they will make any changes to the side from the first ODI either.India (likely): 1 KL Rahul (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Venkatesh Iyer, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Pitch and conditions

It is set to be another hot day in Paarl. The surface is slow and aiding spin already, and the heat will dry it out further. The slowness of the pitch is balanced by the shorter boundaries. And so, like in the first ODI, the team winning the toss will look to bat in all probability.

Stats and trivia

• Among the top ten pace bowlers in terms of ODI wickets since Jasprit Bumrah’s debut in January 2016, only he has an economy rate below five. Bumrah has the second-most wickets in this period, but his average and economy rate are both better than Trent Boult, who has the most.
• Keshav Maharaj has played six of his 16 ODIs at home – all in the last two years – and in four out of those six, he has paired with Tabraiz Shamsi. This is a pointer to the South African pitches not always being spin-unfriendly, as well as to South Africa having two quality spinners to call on.

Quotes

“Our thought process is that we are building a team for the 2023 World Cup. So there are going to be a few hiccups here and there. But we all have good clarity that we have got this bunch of players and how we have to refine them. It doesn’t matter if we lose an odd game while trying to do that because we are looking at the bigger picture.”
“Definitely a lot more in favour of the Indian players, more like a subcontinent pitch rather than a South African pitch. So that’s what makes the victory even sweeter, basically in foreign conditions, we outplayed them.”

An all-round performance helped New Zealand thrash India by 62 runs in the first of the five-match women’s ODI series in the windy Queenstown. Centurion Suzie Bates shouldered the responsibility alongside Amy Satterthwaite to guide New Zealand to a competitive total of 275. Pacer Jess Kerr starred with four wickets to bowl India out for 213.New Zealand’s total would have swelled to 300, but India struck with a flurry of wickets towards the end of the innings – after picking up just three for the first 223 runs – to bowl the hosts out in 48.1 overs. By then, Bates and Satterthwaite, who scored 106 and 63 respectively, had accumulated the bulk of runs and inflicted the damage.Asked to bat first, New Zealand made a steady start with Bates and Maddy Green sharing a 54-run opening stand. Offspinner Deepti Sharma broke the partnership when Green was caught at the first slip for 17 in the 13th over. Bates made the most of her drop in the fourth over, off Pooja Vastrakar, on 1 to notch up her 11th ODI century. Her 111-ball innings comprised ten fours as she remained proactive throughout the innings.Bates has not had an easy ride in the last 12-15 months. Since returning to international cricket in September last year after her shoulder injury in November 2020, she had scored 57 runs in five ODIs before the ongoing home series against India. Having opted to skip the WBBL, Bates shifted her focus to playing more matches back home to fine-tune her game in the lead up to the ODI World Cup in March. She accumulated 218 runs in six one-dayers, averaging 43, and finished the Super Smash T20 tournament as the highest run-getter: 504 runs in 12 matches.Suzie Bates made her 11th ODI century. Only Meg Lanning has more (14)•Getty Images

All the hard yards that she had put in at the domestic level was visible on Saturday, when she punished the Indian bowlers with ease, concentrating more on the legside to score the majority of her runs.After putting on 52 runs with Amelia Kerr for the second wicket, Bates shared a crucial 98-run stand with the left-handed Satterthwaite, who brought up her 25th ODI half-century. En route, the 35-year-old Satterthwaite also became the first player to score 2000 runs in ODIs in New Zealand.That India were sloppy in the field didn’t help them either. Barring Harmanpreet Kaur, all the Indian bowlers were among the wickets with Deepti, Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami and Rajeshwari Gayakwad accounting for two apiece, and Poonam Yadav picking up one. However, seven of those wickets came in the last 10 overs.With experienced batter Smriti Mandhana also missing the first match due to quarantine in New Zealand, India toiled to chase down a 250-plus score with Mithali Raj putting up a lone fight.There were early jitters, with the visitors losing both their openers cheaply – including the debutant S Meghana – inside the powerplay. However, Raj and Yastika Bhatia brought some stability – albeit rather briefly – with a partnership of 88 runs for the third wicket. Raj top-scored for India with 59 off 73 balls – her 60th fifty in ODIs – while Bhatia made a 63-ball 41.The team then witnessed a mini-collapse, going from 105 for 2 to 165 for 6, as New Zealand kept their line and length accurate. With both experienced batters Raj and Kaur, who made a 22-ball 10, dismissed by the 33rd over – courtesy Jess Kerr, India more or less, were knocked out of the game.

The PCB has sought the services of former MCG and ICC academy curator *Toby Lumsden for a 10-day period to oversee pitch preparation ahead of the third Test against Australia in Lahore. He will also assist local curators as part of chairman Ramiz Raja’s broader plan to overhaul the process of pitch preparation in the country.Australia’s first Test tour to Pakistan in 24 years has been marred by plenty of criticism over the state of the pitches. Last week’s series opener in Rawalpindi ended in a tame draw, with the surface being rated by the ICC s “below average,” leading to the venue getting a demerit point. ‘Only 14 wickets fell across five days. While Pakistan managed to take all 10 Australian wickets in the first innings, the visitors managed just four overall, with Pakistan making 476 for 4 declared and 252 for 0 when the match was called off.Related

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ESPNcricinfo understands the surface for the ongoing Karachi Test was originally meant to assist the spinners. However, it has also been deemed too slow and not to its character. Australia batted for over six sessions after winning the toss to put up 556, with the Test very much in their control despite Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam having put together an unbroken 171-run third-wicket stand in pursuit of 506.Raja has initiated an overhaul of pitches, and is set to look at installing readymade drop-in pitches from Australia in Lahore and Karachi as early as next year. The PCB is understood to have ordered two drop-in pitches in a bid to simulate Australian surfaces, which they believe would help their players acclimatise better on overseas tours.Lumsden landed in Lahore earlier in the week to begin work. He began at the ICC Academy in 2010 and held the job for two years before rejoining in 2017 as head curator. 1600GMT The story had earlier stated Tony Hemming as the curator PCB had summoned. This has been corrected.

Surrey 312 for 3 (Pope 113*, Amla 73, Patel 58) vs HampshireQuite a bit has changed for Ollie Pope over the last couple of years. Since seemingly confirming himself as England’s next Test match batting blueblood with a maiden century in Port Elizabeth, he has struggled to achieve similar heights. In and out of the side, his technique picked apart by pundits and analysts, Pope’s princely returns had become ever more impoverished by the end of a torrid Ashes. Even the location of that first hundred has undergone a transformation: Port Elizabeth now going by the name of Gqeberha.But if there’s an opposition and a venue designed to help Pope feel comfortable at the crease, it is undoubtedly Hampshire at the Kia Oval. His status as the best young batter of his generation is unimpeachable on Surrey’s home ground, where he began the season with a first-class average of 99.94. And visualising the Hampshire team bus trundling up the M3 induces a state of tranquility in Pope that even Bradman would have envied.His record coming into this match was three hundreds from as many outings, and he duly made it four – only once in five innings has he ­not managed to reach three figures against Hampshire at The Oval, his average in such encounters now in excess of 200. Throw in the maiden first-class hundred he made at Southampton in 2017, and you might have a new way of defining a dead cert. Never mind, “Is the Pope a Catholic?” Is he going to score a ton against Hampshire elicits the same response.Pope’s winter ended in ignominious fashion, bowled behind his legs by Pat Cummins as part of England’s final, grisly collapse of 10 for 56 in Hobart; he was included for the tour of the Caribbean, carrying the drinks but not the can for another failure. But having warmed up with a half-century in last week’s high-scoring draw at Edgbaston, he duly peeled off his 13th first-class ton with the sort of crisp, busy strokeplay that marked him out from the start of his county career five years ago.Another change: Pope has apparently shifted to a middle-stump guard. While discussions of how a batter chooses to line himself up remain among the more arcane in cricket, many a sage observer had suggested last year that batting on off stump would only bring Pope trouble. Here he looked in almost complete control, his positioning and balance entirely at ease, and scoring at an even tempo throughout (his fifty came off 73 balls, his hundred 151).Related