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Ben Stokes, England’s captain, insisted that his team’s pride at playing a part in one of the most gripping Test matches of all time outweighed their disappointment at the final result, after their run of six Test wins in a row came to an end with an incredible one-run loss against New Zealand in Wellington.A packed crowd at the Basin Reserve had been invited in for free by Cricket New Zealand in expectation of a gripping finale, and the two teams did not disappoint. In a thrillingly fluctuating final day, England lost four quick wickets in the first hour before settling into a seemingly match-turning sixth-wicket stand between Stokes himself and Joe Root, only for Neil Wagner’s short-ball approach to break the game open in a scintillating finale.”It’s right up there,” Stokes said. “Going down to the last day, being in the situation of that last half an hour … it’s everything you wish for. Even though we came out on the wrong side of it, you can’t help but feel blessed that we’ve managed to be a part of that incredible game.”It’s disappointing to not win, obviously. But we look at the bigger picture of what everyone’s enjoyed and seen here today. It’s probably bigger than the disappointment at the moment.”One of Stokes’ stated aims since taking over the England captaincy has been to max out on entertainment, and risk losing games in order to win them. That policy has paid handsome dividends over the past year, most especially in Pakistan before Christmas when England’s attacking instincts broke open the series, most memorably in the first Test at Rawalpindi.”That’s obviously a huge objective of ours,” he added. “I don’t want people to get mixed up, [because] that doesn’t mean that we’re not fussed if we don’t win or lose. Obviously, we always want to win. It’s very disappointing to lose, but you can’t help but be excited that we’ve been a part of a game like that.”Related

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Besides being only the second one-run win in Test history, after West Indies’ victory over Australia at Adelaide in 1992-93, this was the fourth time that a side has won a Test match despite being asked to follow-on – and like the most recent occasion, the Kolkata Test in 2000-01, the turning point of the match was arguably Stokes’ decision to enforce the follow-on, after New Zealand had been bowled out for 210 on the third morning.The man himself, however, had no regrets about his call, even though New Zealand’s second innings of 483 – built around a doughty century from the Player of the Match Kane Williamson – meant that his bowlers spent more than 215 consecutive overs in the field.”Imagine captaining in hindsight?” he said. “That’s nothing that I would ever do.”It was always our game to lose once we enforced the follow-on,” he added. “But the logic behind it was that our opening bowlers have ripped through their top-order for three innings in a row. We knew that New Zealand had to pretty much play the perfect game to put us in a situation like this.”In England’s home summer, Stokes’ men had chased consecutive targets of 277, 299 and 296 against New Zealand, followed by a hefty 358 against India, and so despite their tough grind in the field, Stokes insisted that the target this time around, 258, had not left his team daunted.Winning after following on in Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Batting in the last innings, chasing 250 is something that we were never worried about,” he said. “But give huge credit to New Zealand, not only to the way that they played in the second innings, but also the way that they bowled and managed to get very early wickets with not too many runs on the board.”So in terms of looking back and making my decision around the follow-on, No, I don’t regret it. Other teams are allowed to play better than us and New Zealand have played better than us this week.”England’s next Test assignment is the one-off four-day Test against Ireland – starting June 1 – followed by the Ashes and while they are bound to head into the series with confidence after four wins in five this winter, one area of concern is Stokes’ own fitness. His troublesome left knee was causing him visible pain, both during a curtailed two-over spell in the second innings, and for long periods of his own second innings, a dogged 33 from 116 balls that ended with an off-balance pull against a Wagner short ball.Before the series begins in June, Stokes is due to play a season of IPL with Chennai Super Kings – which he may leave early to prep for the Ashes – but he said he had no plans to withdraw at this stage, instead hoping that the less intense workload of T20 cricket would give him more time to get it right off the field.Ben Stokes batted within himself while managing a knee issue•Getty Images

“I’m not sure exactly,” he said, when asked how his knee was feeling. “There’s maybe three or four months before we get to the Ashes and we’ve worked incredibly hard with our physios and medics to get everything right strength-wise.”But it’s been very difficult out here, especially once the Tests have started, because the games came thick and fast. But it’s a good opportunity out in India to get myself into a position that I feel like I don’t have to worry about my knee anymore.”I’m not going to lie. It is very frustrating knowing that I’ve got something holding me back in terms of my body. It’s been around for a while. It is frustrating, but we’re doing everything we possibly can to allow me to fulfil that fourth-seamer role, like I was able to do two or three years ago. Hopefully, come the Ashes, I don’t have to worry about it.”

KL Rahul, the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, has been ruled out of the IPL, and India’s World Test Championship final in June against Australia, with a thigh injury that he sustained earlier this week. He took to Instagram to say he will need surgery and was “absolutely gutted” to not be able to play at the Oval next month.”My focus will be on my rehabilitation and recovery in the coming weeks,” Rahul’s post said. “It’s a tough call to make, but I know it’s the right one to ensure a full recovery.”Rahul tore a tendon in his right leg while chasing a ball in the second over of their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday. He had to be helped off the field at that point, and did not return until a chase of 127 got unexpectedly tense. The 31-year-old walked out to bat at No. 11 in the hopes of winning the game. But he was unable to run between the wickets, which resulted in the No. 9 Amit Mishra facing every single ball of the last over.LSG eventually lost by 18 runs and then the game got mired in the Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir controversy, which Rahul tried to mitigate by separating the two men.”As the team captain, it pains me deeply not to be able to be there during this crucial period,” he said. “But, I’m confident that the boys will rise to the occasion and give their best performance as always.”Super Giants are in second place on the IPL points table, with five wins from 10 games. Their push for a second straight playoff appearance will now be spearheaded by Krunal Pandya, who takes over the captaincy on an interim basis. He has already led the team in one game, against Chennai Super Kings, although it got washed out.This injury puts an end to Rahul’s efforts of scoring 500-plus runs for a sixth successive IPL. He is the only Indian to have even gotten as far as five, and was 226 runs off the mark this time around.Rahul’s career has recently hit a crossroads. India took away his vice-captaincy and dropped him from their Test XI after the first two Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches in February 2023. And he hasn’t played a T20I for them in almost a year. It’s only in 50-over cricket that he commands a spot in the team, where he also doubles up as their wicketkeeper. All of this was reflected in his moving down from Grade A to B when the BCCI handed out central contracts two months ago.This is the second major injury Rahul’s had in two years following a sports hernia in 2022 for which he needed surgery.”The last few days have been really hard, but I’m determined to come out on top,” his post also said. “Injuries are never easy, but I’ll give it my all as always. Thank you for all the support and good wishes.”

Notts Outlaws heaved their staccato Vitality Blast campaign back into forward motion with a spectacular 11-run win over Birmingham Bears at run-soaked Edgbaston.Notts were put in by the top-of-the-table Bears but piled up an imposing 214 for 3. When two batters in the same innings reach half-centuries with their fifth six, things have not gone well for the opposition – so it was with Joe Clarke, 89 not out off 53 balls, and Colin Munro (87 off 43) as they pummelled the bowlers in a partnership of 122 from 68 balls.The remarkable Sam Hain then took his Blast run-tally this season to 303 with a superb unbeaten 97 off 52, but the Bears fell just short on 203 for 9.Notts will hope their third win in six games will be the start of a consistent run towards the quarter-finals. The Bears meanwhile, have faltered after a flying start. It has not been the homecoming Birmingham had in mind for Moeen Ali. They won four out of four before his return, since when they have lost two out of two – evidence, perhaps, for the case of ‘never change a winning team’.After choosing to bowl, the Bears soon removed Alex Hales, bowled by Henry Brookes with the ninth ball, but the brisk breakthrough simply opened the door to the onslaught. After a watchful start (Dan Mousley’s first two overs cost just five runs), Munro launched an offensive which silenced the big home crowd.He bashed Glenn Maxwell straight out of the attack with two sixes and two more sailed into the stands from what proved to be Danny Briggs’ only over. Maxwell, Briggs and Ed Barnard together bowled three overs for 49.It was thrilling hitting from Munro who was within sight of his sixth T20 century when he lifted Moeen to long-off in pursuit of his tenth six. That was the signal for Clarke, hitherto content to be the quiet partner, to attack. The former Rapids batter smote a Brookes full toss into the crowd to raise the Outlaws’ 200 and the innings closed on 214 with 13 fours and 16 sixes.Under intense scoreboard pressure, the Bears had to go hard from the off and they lost captain and vice-captain in the fourth over. Moeen and Alex Davies flailed off-side catches off Shaheen Afridi and then Maxwell skied a top-edged slog at Jake Ball.From a parlous 40 for 3, Hain and Mousley added 52 in six overs before the latter fell to a brilliant catch by Matt Montgomery, racing in and diving forward from deep point. That was from Calvin Harrison’s third ball. When the spinner’s 12th delivery bowled Chris Benjamin, the Bears’ hopes lay squarely with Hain. He batted magnificently but that scoreboard pressure – 59 needed from the last four overs – was too great.

Rashid Khan, who had been rested for the one-off Test in Mirpur last month, will return to captain Afghanistan in the two-match T20I series against Bangladesh. Rashid is also part of the ODI squad that will be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi.Mohammad Shahzad, who last played international cricket for Afghanistan at the 2021 T20 World Cup, was recalled to the T20I side that also included Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran. Hazratullah Zazai, who had been left out for the T20Is against Pakistan earlier this year, also returned to the squad.Related

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Wafadar Momand, who is uncapped in T20I and ODI cricket, too found a place in the squad alongside Sediqullah Atal, who made his T20I debut against Pakistan in Sharjah in March. Naveen-ul-Haq, who has taken a break from ODI cricket, but is active in T20 cricket, will form the seam attack along with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai , Fareed Ahmad and Karim Janat. Rashid will be assisted by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad in the spin attack.The two T20Is against Bangladesh will be played in Sylhet on July 14 and July 16.Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Sediq Atal, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Wafadar Momand, Farid Ahmad, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Alex Carey has stood by his controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s which ignited the biggest uproar of the Ashes and led to what he termed some “pretty nasty stuff” being said about him and the team.Speaking for the first time since the dismissal on the final day at Lord’s, Carey reinforced that Australia had noted Bairstow’s habit of quickly leaving his crease and had been a bit taken aback by the level of reaction.Australian players were abused in the Lord’s Long Room as they left the field at lunch – which has led to the suspension of three MCC members – while Stuart Broad was quick to tell Carey “that’s all you’ll be remembered for.” Ben Stokes responded with a stunning display as he made 155 but Australia were able to win by 43 runs to take a 2-0 series lead, which has since been trimmed by a game following England’s Headingley success.”There’s some nasty stuff been said but…it is the Ashes,” Carey said. “There was nasty stuff said before that as well. I feel really well supported. I think the whole group does. From Australia I still think we’ve got lots of fans and from England, I don’t think we’ve made any, but we probably didn’t lose any.Related

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“It’s one of those things where a stumping that’s given out on field is turned into a massive story. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I absolutely respect that. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion on the spirit of cricket as well. Not just myself, the whole group’s had some stuff spoken about them. But we’re really tight. We understand what’s important and who matters and those guys definitely have our back.”We’re all in it together, we were all out there, all walked through the Long Room together, post-match we all discussed it together. Don’t think the group would do anything differently.”Explaining how the dismissal came about, Carey added: “We were switched on to the fact that it was a bouncer plan and it felt like Jonny was pretty switched on to getting out of the way, he wasn’t playing any shots. When he ducked his first movement was pretty much out of his crease, so I instinctively grabbed the ball, threw the stumps down and the rest is history.”Asked if he would do it again, he said: “If there was an opportunity to get a stumping, I definitely would.”Carey said he had previously tried the mode of dismissal in other matches without being successful, and recalled falling that way early in his grade career for Glenelg in South Australia. He was also stood at the non-strikers’ end when Tom Cooper was dismissed in similar manner during a 2016-17 Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales.”I’ve definitely been out to that a few times and I’ve tried to do it in the past as well. My first A-grade game in South Australia, I was out that way. And when I walked off, I was pretty disappointed. [The] captain came up to me, he said, ‘you’ll remember to keep your foot behind the line next time.'”From my point of view, I wasn’t called [out] on it back when I’d have tried it about the spirit of cricket and when I was given out in the same sort of manner, I didn’t question it either.”1:50

Cummins and Stokes respond to controversial Bairstow dismissal

Until the moment of Bairstow’s Lord’s stumping, all the coverage of Carey had been about his superb glovework – he had four previous stumpings off Nathan Lyon – and vital runs, starting in the World Test Championship final against India where he made 48 and 66 not out, followed by 66 at Edgbaston in a stand with Usman Khawaja which ensured Australia did not concede a hefty lead.Behind the stumps he remained sharp at Headingley, where he was the focus of plenty of attention from the crowd, but the runs didn’t flow with scores of 8 and 5 as he was worked over by Mark Wood in the first innings then played on against Chris Woakes in the second.”Nathan Lyon was bowling beautifully before he got injured and creating lots of opportunities,” Carey said. “Murph [Todd Murphy] obviously didn’t have as much opportunity last game but that will certainly change I think in Manchester.”The quicks have bowled beautifully…[I’ve been] just trying to adapt on the go as well with a little bit of wobble that we haven’t seen. Feeling good, feel pretty solid in front of wicket, the last game wasn’t one that I would have loved, but you can see over here that when the clouds come over it’s a different game.”Still, Headingley was not without one other bizarre situation for Carey when he was the case of mistaken identity over an unpaid haircut stemming from Alastair Cook’s comments on radio.”The hair hasn’t been cut since we were down in Chelsea,” he confirmed. “It’s definitely due for a trim. But, no, I’m not that tight. I have been told I’m pretty tight.”Cook has tried to build bridges. “He reached out and apologised so it was nice to hear from him,” Carey said.One way or the other, it’s a first Ashes tour Carey won’t forget in a hurry.

Australia have confirmed that David Warner and Travis Head will open in the first ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein. Mitchell Marsh will bat at No. 3 and Cameron Green at No. 4 in the absence of Steven Smith in a side featuring two spinners in Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar.Australia have named their XI for the first of five matches in South Africa with Marsh to captain in an ODI for the first time while Pat Cummins is still unavailable due to his wrist injury. Marsh made a triumphant debut as Australia’s interim T20I captain with a 3-0 series sweep of South Africa last week.One of the debates surrounding Australia’s ODI side heading towards the World Cup was whether or not Warner and Head would remain together at the top of the order after Marsh’s phenomenal series against India earlier this year when he opened in all three games. Marsh only opened because Warner was recovering from a fractured elbow and missed the first two matches. When Warner returned for game three he was forced to bat at No. 4 for the first time in his ODI career, and not open for just the second time, as Australia stuck with the combination of Head and Marsh who had dominated the series to that point.Related

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But Australia have returned to their trusted pairing of Head and Warner. The duo have only opened together in seven ODIs, three coming after the retirement of long-time captain Aaron Finch late last year, but have compiled three partnerships of 284, 147, and 269 across those seven games. They also have another century fifth-wicket stand and average 85.07 as a pair in the format overall.Marsh will instead bat at No. 3 where has been dominant in T20Is over the last couple of years but he may slide further when Smith returns for the India series and the World Cup that follows the tour of South Africa, although Australia are hoping to be fluid with their top order depending on their needs with Marsh’s power in the 10-over powerplay keen to be utilised at times if the surfaces require it.”There’ll be potentially a few moving parts with our squad throughout these five games, I’m guessing it’ll be the same as South Africa,” Marsh said on Wednesday. “It’s a heavy schedule, building to the World Cup. So we’ll have certain guys batting in different areas, but I’ll start at three.”Green has been named to bat at No. 4 for the first time in his ODI career in a sign ahead of the World Cup that he could move higher up the order having batted at Nos. 6-8 in 11 of his 12 ODI innings to date. Four is by far his best position in List A cricket having made two centuries in seven innings there including one for Australia A against Sri Lanka A in Colombo last year.There is no room for Tim David in game one despite Australia being keen to use him at some stage in this series with concerns remaining over Glenn Maxwell’s fitness ahead of the World Cup. Josh Inglis is named to bat at No. 5 and could play as a specialist bat at times in the World Cup after being named in the 15-man squad even though Alex Carey is the first-choice wicketkeeper.Australia will play seven batters and four bowlers, including two spinners in Bloemfontein. It is one of three combinations they are likely to use in the World Cup and likely to be the one they need on spinning pitches like Chennai where they will play their opening match against India on October 8. It is the structure they used with success against India in Chennai back in March to close out their last ODI series. Agar is returning from a calf injury but will leave the touring squad at the back end of the South Africa series to return home for the birth of his first child, hence the selectors’ keenness to play the two spinners in combination in game one in Bloemfontein in preparation for the World Cup.Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood will play as the lone specialist quicks in the absence of Cummins and Mitchell Starc (groin). Abbott edged out Nathan Ellis for the final spot in the provisional 15-man World Cup squad on the back of some outstanding recent form.Australia’s other team combinations likely include playing seven batters, three quicks and one spinner, or playing eight batters and just three specialist bowlers, with four allrounders batting in the top eight provided Marsh, Green, Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are all fit to bowl to make up at least 20 overs of bowling.Australia XI for first ODI vs South Africa: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood

England are not overly concerned about the fitness of two key bowlers ahead of the World Cup, despite Adil Rashid and Mark Wood making a single appearance between them in their first three ODIs against New Zealand.With the opening game of the World Cup – coincidentally, against the same opponents – three weeks away, England are taking a precautionary approach with both players in the knowledge that they are the two hardest bowlers to replace in their provisional 15-man squad.Rashid took a wicket with his first ball in the first ODI in Cardiff, beating Will Young on the outside edge to knock back his off stump, but left the field with cramp three overs into his spell. He returned to bowl a further five overs, but has not featured since due to “tightness” in his calf.Having opted out of the Hundred, Wood has not played any competitive cricket since the fifth Ashes Test at the end of July and has been working his way back to match fitness over the past week. He had a sore heel at the end of the Ashes and has not been risked in the first three ODIs of the series.Related

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“He’s a big asset for us going into the World Cup,” Chris Woakes said after England’s victory in the third ODI. “You don’t want to risk him too soon. Bruised heels, I remember having mine: you think it’s going to be a week or two and in the end, they end up being quite long injuries that can always reoccur.”Asked if Wood needed to play on Friday to get some match practice before the World Cup, Woakes said: “A player with Mark’s experience can go straight in. He’s not the sort of guy who needs a load of game-time.”Myself, I like games under my belt to build up confidence and get up to speed. Actually, Mark is one of the guys I’m very envious of, because he can steam in and bowl at 93mph (150kph) as we saw in the Ashes. I don’t think it’s too much of a worry if he doesn’t play in this series but hopefully he plays the last one [at Lord’s on Friday].”Woakes himself took 3 for 31 in a single eight-over spell to end Wednesday’s third ODI at The Oval as a contest, and said he was getting used to the rhythms of 50-over cricket again. “It was nice to bowl an eight-over spell and pick up some important wickets,” he said.Woakes was one of eight ever-presents in England’s 2019 World Cup triumph, and said he hopes to be able to feature in all nine of their group-stage games in India over the next two months. “You want to keep putting in performances like that to keep getting the nod, selection-wise,” he said.”From a fitness point of view, these bilateral series are quite tight and there’s a lot of travelling. Although there’s a lot of travel at the World Cup, it looks like there’s more space between games so it does give you a bit more of a routine to recover and come back stronger and be fit for the next game.”

Melbourne Stars captain Meg Lanning says she is “pretty disappointed” and “frustrated” at Nat Sciver-Brunt’s imminent WBBL signing with Perth Scorchers after the England star did not make herself available in the overseas draft where she would have been a retention pick for Stars.Sciver-Brunt did not nominate for either September’s inaugural WBBL overseas draft or via the WBBL’s unique overseas direct nomination category in order to play in the competition this year. Under league rules, it was understood that if a player had not nominated for the draft or as a direct signing then they could not feature.Players who missed out on being drafted initially can be signed as an overseas replacement player, as has been the case with several players including England’s Sarah Glenn at Brisbane Heat and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu at Sydney Thunder.Related

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Sciver-Brunt, 31, would have been highly sought-after at the draft as one of the world’s premier allrounders and has played at both Scorchers and Stars previously. Her last stint was with Stars in 2020 where she helped them reach the final, and that would have made her eligible to be retained by Stars at the draft via a retention pick. However, she did not nominate as it was understood she would use the WBBL period to rest due to a knee injury. Stars instead drafted England duo Alice Capsey and Maia Bouchier and also directly signed England batter Sophia Dunkley to fill their three overseas spots.Scorchers drafted Danni Wyatt with their second pick but she later withdrew from the WBBL entirely citing fatigue, leaving Scorchers with a huge hole to fill just weeks out from the tournament starting.When Sciver-Brunt suddenly became available to all clubs for the second half of the WBBL Scorchers had the salary cap space to sign her, although the deal is still to be finalised.Nat Sciver-Brunt is set to return to Scorchers where she played between 2017 and 2019•Getty Images

“[We’re] pretty disappointed actually,” Lanning said. “She’s obviously one of the best players in the world and you want the best players playing in the competition. But she sort of made herself unavailable initially.”All the players of her calibre went through the draft or the pre-signing, and I guess she didn’t nominate for that.”As a club, as the Stars, I certainly feel like we didn’t get the chance to exercise our retention rights that we would have had for her had she nominated for the draft instead of coming in this way.”Not only does that impact us this year, but moving forward as well now because Perth have retention rights to her. It’s frustrating because I think that the goalposts seem to shift a little bit and we didn’t get a chance to get access to her.”It’s disappointing, but I guess that’s the way it goes, and we look forward to coming up against Perth and playing well against her and the team.”

All the rules have been followed

There was precedence in the men’s BBL last year of an overseas player being signed and playing in the competition despite not nominating for the draft. New Zealand’s Martin Guptill initially didn’t nominate for the BBL overseas draft due to his New Zealand central contract but he was released from that deal in November 2022, after the BBL draft had taken place.Melbourne Renegades had drafted Liam Livingstone but lost him to international duty and they were able to sign Guptill as a replacement.Head of the Big Bash Leagues, Alistair Dobson, said Sciver-Brunt’s case was similar in that she was initially not made available by the ECB due to her knee issue before an improvement in her fitness meant she could play in the WBBL.”There are provisions in the contracting rules for players to become available outside the draft or after the draft should they be able to demonstrate a material change in circumstance,” Dobson told ESPNcricinfo.”Ultimately Nat’s availability changed, due to what was described to us as an accelerated progression in her fitness following the injury that she had during the English summer, and through correspondence with the ECB, they confirmed that they were now prepared to release Nat to play in the WBBL, whereas previously they weren’t in a position to do that.”We understand the Stars would be disappointed in the fact that they haven’t been able to retain Nat in the draft. But they also understand that those rules are in place and have provided feedback and we will continue to work with all our clubs on that.”Lanning was positive about the overseas draft concept in the WBBL but she was firm in her belief that the rules shouldn’t change in the aftermath, despite the WBBL having the provision in place prior to the draft.”I think the [draft] concept is good,” Lanning said. “I think it does spread the internationals, and the really good internationals, across different teams and created some media and some talk and clubs had to really strategize and come up with their different plans along the way.”I think that was a good thing. Whether that’s what we use going forward I’m not really sure. But if there is going to be a draft, then you probably want to make sure that it sort of happens how you plan it to and I’m not sure it’s happened in this case.”

Lanning says WBBL should be cut

Lanning was also strong on the fact that the WBBL should be shortened to a 10-game tournament in line with the men’s BBL among growing sentiment throughout the female players that the 14-game version is too long.”I think it should be 10 games, that’s just my personal opinion,” Lanning said. “There’s obviously a lot of other things that go into it that I probably don’t understand and as players, we probably don’t get across as much as maybe other people do. I think that would create a really good quality contest. I think 14 games is quite long and there seems to be a bit of a lull for most teams at some point in the season.”It could maybe make it a little bit more enticing for the internationals to come and stay part of it for the whole time as well.”It’s an interesting discussion actually because I think a lot of people’s first reaction is if you go to less games you’re sort of cutting back and it’s going backwards. But for me, it’s the opposite. I think it actually would create a really good quality competition. There’s no room for error I guess in terms of playing and you attract the best players and the games are better to watch and better to play in.”

India had a significant injury scare when Hardik Pandya limped off the field with an injured left ankle during their fourth league match of the World Cup, against Bangladesh in Pune. Bowling his first over – the ninth of the innings – Hardik appeared to twist his ankle in his follow-through, and it was announced later on the broadcast that he would not return to the field for the remainder of the innings.”He pulled up a bit sore. There’s no major damage. That is good for us,” Rohit Sharma said after the game in the presentation ceremony. “But honestly, with an injury like that, you’ve got to assess every day. So we just hope that he pulls up well tomorrow morning. And then we will assess, whatever is required for us to do as a team, we’ll do that.”The physio ran out immediately to attend to Hardik and worked on his ankle for several minutes. Hardik then tried to continue his over but was in too much pain to do so. At 2.59pm, an hour into the game, he walked off to get further treatment and Virat Kohli bowled the three remaining deliveries in the over. The BCCI later said that Pandya would be taken for scans.Hardik Pandya injured his left ankle during his first over of the game•ICC via Getty Images

Apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, Pandya is arguably the most irreplaceable player in the India squad because of the all-round role he performs. He is good enough to play as a specialist batter but his bowling provides India the sixth bowler they badly need. Pandya had bowled 16 overs in India’s first three World Cup matches and taken five wickets.Shardul Thakur, more of a specialist fast bowler who can bat, has bowled only eight overs in two matches, and Rohit Sharma has preferred to go to Pandya before Thakur in this World Cup so far.India have been careful with how much they bowl Pandya leading into the World Cup precisely because of the balance he brings to the team. If he were to miss a match, India do not have a like-for-like replacement. Either Shardul Thakur bats at No. 7 and they replace Pandya’s bowling or they bring in an extra batter and rely on five bowlers to bowl 10 overs each.With three wins in three games, India are one of two teams still unbeaten in this World Cup. After Bangladesh, their next fixture is in Dharamsala on Sunday against New Zealand, who are the only other unbeaten team in the tournament with four wins in four games.

Quetta Gladiators are thinking about Sarfaraz Ahmed’s future as captain of the side. While the timeline on the final decision is not yet clear, ESPNcricinfo understands that the general consensus at the franchise is that he should be replaced, ending an eight-year stint at the helm.Gladiators had announced Sarfaraz as their captain on PSL draft day. It is customary for franchises to announce their captain for the purposes of the draft, though changes can be made after that.The franchise has already reshuffled their backroom staff, most notably with Moin Khan moving on from head coach to a directorship role. He has been replaced by former Gladiators player Shane Watson as coach. Former Pakistan bowling coach Shaun Tait has also been appointed as the side’s fast-bowling coach as Gladiators look to turn around their fortunes – they have gone from being the most consistent PSL side to the most underperforming over the past four years.It is understood that Watson will be sounded out for his opinion on the situation. There is no concrete information around a possible replacement, but Rilee Rossouw, who returned to Gladiators after a stint with Multan Sultans, and Saud Shakeel, whose leadership is rated highly in domestic circles, are likely to be among the frontrunners.Related

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Gladiators owner Nadeem Omar told the Relukattay podcast earlier this week that he remained “double-minded” over whether to replace Sarfaraz as captain. There is no desire to cast out the only captain the franchise has ever known, with Omar criticising the PCB for doing just that when Sarfaraz was sacked as Pakistan skipper. He said it “would be nicer” if Sarfaraz handed Gladiators captaincy away on his own, and that Sarfaraz had even agreed to do so if required.”It is the elephant in the room,” Omar said. “Wherever I go, people ask me this. But our franchise is a bit different from the others in the sense that we have a very intimate relationship with these players. I understand cricketers have a shelf life, but I think over Pakistan history, we tend to dump players unceremoniously.”Sarfaraz has been off the boil over the last couple of years. There are a lot of reasons for that – the way he was unceremoniously ousted by the PCB didn’t help, especially when he had a few more years. We won’t dump him unceremoniously. We haven’t decided yet, but we’ll give him full honours. Sarfaraz told me he would be happy to step aside if Quetta wants to make a change. We have a call with Shane Watson in a couple of days, and then we’ll decide.”Sarfaraz, 36, was appointed Gladiators captain when the league was inaugurated in 2016, and led his side to the final. Weeks later, he was appointed Pakistan’s white-ball captain, and led the national side to the 2017 Champions Trophy title. He led Gladiators to the PSL title in 2019, but fading form saw him sacked as Pakistan captain from all three formats within a year, and he was dropped from the national side.But Gladiators’ form has fallen away dramatically since. They have missed qualifying for the playoffs the last four years, and finished bottom or second from bottom each time.Sarfaraz is currently in Australia with Pakistan’s Test side, and played the opening Test in Perth, which Australia won by 360 runs.