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Afghanistan came surging back into the Test on day three, first polishing off the Sri Lanka tail quickly, before Ibrahim Zadran put up big stands with Noor Ali Zadran and Rahmat Shah, as he completed a valiant maiden Test century.Ibrahim and Shah remained unbeaten at the close, which means Afghanistan have nine wickets left as they seek to wipe out the 42 runs remaining in their deficit, and establish a lead that will test Sri Lanka. The surface had not yet begun to take ripping turn, and remained excellent for batting. But Afghanistan do have two spinners in their attack – albeit very inexperienced – who may be able to exploit what assistance there is.Sri Lanka will rue their missed chances. Ibrahim had been on 39 when he came down the pitch to smash a Prabath Jayasuriya delivery straight back to the bowler, who let it burst through his fingers and on to the boundary for four. The easier of the chances came to Nishan Madushka at short mid on when Ibrahim was on 63. This was again struck hard, but at a catchable height near his head. He got his hands up, but couldn’t quite wrap his fingers around the ball.Related

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Sri Lanka’s bowlers were largely disciplined, even if they could not coax life out of a pitch that had become good for batting. Asitha Fernando was the best of them, delivering some excellent bursts of short-pitched bowling, as well as some outstanding fuller deliveries, one of which yielded the only Afghanistan wicket to fall – that of Noor, for 47.But the day belonged to Ibrahim. He had his outside edge occasionally beaten with the new ball and was scoreless for 14 deliveries, but once he got moving, he kept a steady tempo. His first runs were via a glance to the fine leg boundary, but early in his innings he was mostly strong in the arc between cover and mid off. Between the boundaries, which came principally off full and slightly wide deliveries, there was a substantial diet of singles all around the wicket. Ibrahim took 84 balls to get into his 30s. During his 106-run partnership with Noor, the primary goal seemed to be to bat time.The half-century came off the last over before tea, and in the evening Ibrahim consolidated. He was hitting boundaries through long on and midwicket now. Sri Lanka attempted all sorts of catching men to try and lure a mistake, but aside from that dropped chance on 63, Ibrahim found ways to progress without taking risks. He was mostly only trying to hit fours off the bad deliveries – usually ones that were overpitched. He got to his hundred – the fourth ever for Afghanistan – off the last over of the day.Asitha Fernando removed Noor Ali Zadran•AFP/Getty Images

Noor’s innings, in contrast to Ibrahim’s was troubled, but he nevertheless stuck it out for 136 deliveries and fell only three runs short of what would have been a maiden fifty on debut. He was particularly uncomfortable against Asitha’s burst of bouncers soon after lunch, but he survived it narrowly, and it would only be in the third session that Asitha would get him out, pinging him in front of leg stump with a fast, full delivery. Noor made the majority of his runs behind the wicket – a reflection, partly, of how short Sri Lanka bowled to him.Rahmat, who got to 46 off 98 before stumps, and was part of a 93-run unbeaten partnership with Ibrahim, made all but 11 of his runs on the offside. He was strong down the ground, especially, finding thre of his five boundaries there.Sri Lanka’s attack was upset by a blow to Chamika Gunasekara, who in the morning was hit on the head, seemed to suffer the effects a few overs after he was hit, and was taken off the field and to further tests in hospital. Kasun Rajitha, who replaced him as concussion substitute, was the most expensive of Sri Lanka’s bowlers on Sunday, going at 4.30 across his 10 overs.The others were more disciplined, even if only Asitha seriously threatened to take wickets through much of the day. Jayasuriya will be especially disappointed he has nothing in the wickets column after delivering 32 overs, though nine of those were maidens.Early in the day, Afghanistan had claimed three wickets for 39 to close out Sri Lanka’s first innings at 439. The most important wicket of the morning was the first – that of Sri Lanka’s last recognised batter Sadeera Smarawickrama, who edged Naveed Zadran to gully.The two next wickets were not long in falling. Naveed hit the top of Jayasuriya’s off stump before, next over, Nijat Masood bowled Asitha Fernando first ball, with Asitha having come in after Gunasekara retired hurt.Naveed’s take for the innings was 4 for 83. Masood and Qais Ahmed claimed two wickets apiece.

You can only judge a pitch after both sides have Bazballed on it, or so the saying might now go, after England’s preposterous exploits in Hyderabad. On Yashasvi Jaiswal’s watch, India appeared in the mood to make amends for their first-Test failings, thanks to a scintillating century that has met this new agenda for his team with poise and attitude aplenty.However, in claiming six wickets on a tough day in the field, England refused to buckle when previous visiting teams might have been braced for a batting landslide, and with Shoaib Bashir settling into his first day of Test cricket with two wickets and a calm command of his attributes, they are no worse off at the close of this first day than they had been at the same juncture of the opening Test. And both sides know full well how that one turned out.Either way, Jaiswal’s sublime 179 not out from 257 balls was the day’s outstanding hand – both the innings that he had promised amid the fluency of his first-innings 80 from 74 in Hyderabad, and the one that India desperately needed to regain their footing in this series. From his very first stroke, an unfettered slap for four off Joe Root’s first ball, via the towering six over long-on with which he brought up his second Test century and his first on home soil, Jaiswal was a class apart – the one Indian batter who found the fearlessness required to pre-empt the sort of challenge that England are sure to offer when their own turn comes to bat.By the final minutes of the day he was struggling with cramp, but Jaiswal still marched past his previous best of 171, made on debut in the Caribbean last year. His new career-best was secured with the fifth six off his innings off the legspin of Rehan Ahmed – another sweet connection down the ground that maintained a control percentage in excess of 90%, and ensured that he’ll resume with ambitions of significantly more on day two.Related

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The rest of India’s batting, however, was more of a mixed bag, and as a consequence, England’s rejigged attack was able to take comfort in the struggle on what has so far been a belter of a wicket. With six men dismissed between the scores of 14 and 34, including KS Bharat in the closing moments of the day, India were in danger of similar failings to those that undermined their performance in Hyderabad, when eight of the top nine reached double figures in the first innings but no-one managed to produce the knock-out blow. At least, on that count, Jaiswal cannot be accused of pulling any punches.Nevertheless, it was a gutsy display from England’s remarkably lop-sided attack. Having opted for three specialist spinners and just the lone quick, their line was led, perhaps inevitably, by the one man who’s seen it all before. The veteran James Anderson, back in action at the age of 41, put his Ashes struggles behind him with an ageless display of cut and guile. He picked off Shubman Gill for his 691st wicket, and thereby ensured that he has now struck in every single year since his debut in 2003, but his influence was felt in each and every one of his 17 overs across three distinct spells.James Anderson drew the outside edge off Shubman Gill’s bat to pick up Test wicket no. 691•BCCI

Anderson’s presence – in place of the pure head-hunter Mark Wood, whose energetic efforts had gone wicketless in Hyderabad – offered a degree of control that Ben Stokes had been obliged to do without in the first Test. His infinitesimal command of each-way movement produced an economy-rate of 1.76 that was less than half that of any of his team-mates, and helped to ensure that – unlike in Hyderabad, where all the first-day focus had fallen on Tom Hartley’s struggle for control – this week’s new boy was nothing less than a good-news story.Bashir hadn’t even been born when Anderson made his own Test debut against Zimbabwe in May 2003, but with apologies to Jimmy’s own first scalp, Mark Vermeulen, the identity of Bashir’s maiden Test wicket will perhaps live on rather longer in the collective memory.Irrespective of Jaiswal’s fluency alongside him, Rohit Sharma had dug himself in for the long haul in making 14 boundary-less runs from 41 balls after winning the toss, the consequence of which was that Bashir had not only settled into his rhythm after entering the attack in the 12th over, but had been rewarded with a leg-slip to crank up the pressure. Cue a closed-face clip at a regulation offbreak, and a sharp take from Ollie Pope to pick off India’s captain against the apparent run of play.The same pattern would repeat itself as the day progressed. Gill, under extreme pressure for his place, started his innings watchfully with 17 from his first 36 balls, only for a sudden flurry of boundaries to prove his downfall. Two of these were classy cover-drives as Bashir over-pitched, but the other two were streaky edges off Anderson, who simply adjusted his line on the same probing full length, and induced a nicked drive to Ben Foakes for 34. It was the fifth time in seven innings that Anderson had got his man, at a cost of 7.8 runs per go, and as India went to lunch on 103 for 2, the session’s honours were broadly even.Only one man fell between lunch and tea – Shreyas Iyer, superbly caught by Foakes for 27, as he stayed low with a scuttling delivery from Hartley and clung onto an under-edged cut that could easily have nutmegged him. But Jaiswal by this stage had soared past his century – arms afloat in celebration after a mic-dropping of his bat – and when Rajat Patidar unfurled England’s signature stroke from Hyderabad, the reverse-sweep for four, it seemed India’s debutant had brought with him precisely the sort of youthful verve to complement that of his team-mate.But England would not be denied in their optimistic hunt for wickets. Rehan, held back until the 60th over, took up a central role in the attack for the final session, serving up 16 overs before stumps and picking off two priceless wickets in the process. On 32, Patidar failed to smother a top-spinning legbreak that rolled down the face of his bat and back into his stumps, and with the shadows lengthening, KS Bharat rocked back on a limp cut and gave his own innings away for 17.By then, Bashir had already claimed his second, and in similar circumstances too, as Axar Patel – India’s key allrounder in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence – failed to get on top of his own cut to pick out Rehan at backward point.But thankfully for India, nothing could slow down Jaiswal, whose wagon-wheel revealed shots all round the ground, but whose command in front of square was exceptional. One six off Rehan, a gallop to the pitch from round the wicket and an inside-out drill over extra cover, defied geometry.He had a couple of near-misses on the cut – Root twice got fingertips to tough chances – and a handful of wild hacks against Bashir that nearly cost him, but the bravery to take the game on was precisely what India had lacked at the key moments in the first Test. Whether he’s yet done enough to cover for his off-colour team-mates, however, remains to be seen.

Afghanistan’s participation in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is in the hands of the International Olympics Council (IOC), not the ICC. This is the view expressed by ICC’s chief executive officer Geoff Allardice, who was responding to how cricket’s governing body will tackle the challenge of Afghanistan women players being forced into exile since Taliban assumed power in 2021.In October the IOC approved the LA28’s recommendation of adding T20 cricket as a new sport, convinced by its popularity across the Commonwealth countries as well as the younger generation, along with the potential it brings for growth in markets such as the USA.In its proposal, the ICC had recommended a six-team event for both the men’s and women’s competitions which was approved by the IOC. By 2025, the LA28 and ICC will work out a competition structure as well as the way in which teams can qualify for the event.The LA28 organisers have stressed on gender equality at the Olympics, which normally sees participation from both genders in individual and team sports. However, Afghanistan currently do not have a women’s cricket team, with 22 out of the 25 contracted players moving overseas since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. There remains a chance, however, that the men’s team might take part in the event in five years’ time.”(In) the Olympic competition teams are fielded by the National Olympic Committees of those countries,” Allardice told the ‘s Stumped podcast. “As an international sporting federation, we position our sport with the LA28 organisers for inclusion. And the IOC and they (LA28) have included cricket. In terms of the position of the National Olympic Committee of Afghanistan, it’s probably something for the IOC to be able to address more accurately than me. But I know that they (IOC) have been following the progress or the developments there. Our position on cricket and supporting our member in Afghanistan is not dissimilar to those of other international sporting organisations.”Related

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In its communication with the Taliban government, the IOC has been emphasising that the country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) will be in danger of suspension if access to sports for women continues to be restricted. The IOC has not cleared Afghanistan’s participation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.Addressing the IOC session in Mumbai in October, James Macleod, IOC head of Olympic Solidarity and National Olympic Committee Relations, said that there was a “tiny bit of progress” made which was evident in the Hangzhou Asian Games recently. Out of the 83 Afghan athletes, 17 were women. While it was the men who owned all five medals, the women athletes – all of whom reside overseas – competed in volleyball, athletics and cycling. They also had male and female flag bearers at the event.IOC president Thomas Bach had pointed out at the Mumbai session that the onus was on Afghanistan’s National Olympic Committee to show the progress it was making to ensure women cricketers were receiving encouragement and support to compete at all levels. “In this broader context, cricket will be considered in the end,” he saidAfghanistan men were part of the gold medal match in the Asian Games in the absence of the women’s team. Allardice, who traveled to Hangzhou, said that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had committed to developing women’s cricket when it was granted ICC’s Full Membership in 2017.”They were in the process of doing that through to 2021,” Allardice said. “And in 2021 the regime in the country changed and has brought in rules, laws that prohibit women from playing sport in the country. Whilst we have spoken with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and their position is that they have to operate within the laws of the country and the rules set by the government.”An ICC working group, led by its deputy chair Imran Khwaja, has been liaising with the Taliban government in the last year with the ultimate aim of helping women play cricket safely. “The question for the ICC board is do we support our member in their ability to promote cricket within the rules set by the government of the country? And view is yes,” Allardice said.As a Full Member, the ACB receives significant funding. As per the ICC’s financial distribution model for the next cycle (2024-27), the ACB will receive approximately USD 16.8 million as its share from the commercial earnings. Allardice said that the member boards had the autonomy to utilise the funds as they saw fit.”How those members distribute those funds and the use of that money is very much up to those members. With any of our members, we have a check and balance over how that money is distributed and whether it goes to certain contracts or other contracts. We don’t stipulate how that needs to be managed.”

First things first, why did Babar Azam resign?

Well, some degree of change invariably tends to follow poor ODI World Cup campaigns. When Pakistan failed to make the semi-finals in 2019, head coach Mickey Arthur and batting coach Grant Flower were sent packing. Within a year, Sarfaraz Ahmed was gone as ODI captain.Related

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Pressure had begun to mount on Babar’s captaincy, and lingering concerns about his decision-making, particularly when it came to in-game situations, never really went away. When Babar was appointed Pakistan captain, it wasn’t for technical astuteness; that was widely believed to be a weak spot in his game. Rather, he was the best batter in the side, and the only guaranteed all-format starter at the time.He oversaw a poor run of late with the Test side, including home defeats against Australia and England, the latter Pakistan’s first ever home whitewash. A home series draw against New Zealand was followed by an impressive 2-0 away win in Sri Lanka, but those were Pakistan’s first Test wins in a year. Aside from his first series as captain in January 2021, Babar never oversaw a Test match win at home.The 2023 Asia Cup was viewed as a disappointment, with Pakistan finishing fourth and, at the 2023 World Cup, they lost five of nine games, including one against Afghanistan, which sent them tumbling out in the first round.

Reluctant resignation, you say?

There is limited evidence Babar truly wanted to step aside. Following Pakistan’s final match at the World Cup, he told Michael Atherton at the post-match presentation that he wished to lead the rebuild, and he reiterated that at the press conference. The PCB said it told him yesterday it had decided to remove him as white-ball captain, and offered him the chance to keep the Test captaincy. Babar appears to have seen the writing on the wall after that, and decided to resign across formats.While still key to Pakistan’s fortunes with the bat, Babar Azam has not had a good time of it as captain of late•ICC/Getty Images

Wait, this is an interim management committee. Can it really sack a captain?

Almost certainly not. The PCB chairman has the authority to appoint and remove captains, and while Zaka Ashraf is currently performing that duty, he is the head of the PCB management committee on a temporary basis, a role he had extended for three months by the Pakistan caretaker prime minister. A court in Pakistan ruled the committee did not have the power to make significant changes during its tenure, and was to operate only on a caretaker basis.So to get rid of Babar as captain, it needed Babar to offer his resignation himself. Theoretically, had he refused, he would have remained Pakistan captain in all formats, and the PCB would have no mechanism for removing him.Well, it would still have one avenue: simply not selecting him. But for obvious cricketing reasons, that always seemed untenable.

So who replaces him? Is it one person across formats?

We know the answer to that is no. The PCB seemed extremely prepared for his resignation, some would say suspiciously so. Within an hour, it appointed Shan Masood, summoned to PCB headquarters in Lahore – even though the committee had ostensibly offered Babar the option to continue as Test captain – as the new Test captain. Shaheen Afridi is the T20I captain. In a moment that perfectly encapsulates the workings of this PCB administration, it also announced Shaheen as ODI captain on social media, before that graphic was swiftly deleted. It later said the ODI captain would be announced “in due course”.

You mentioned Mickey Arthur was sacked after the 2019 World Cup. What’s his deal now? Is he still with Pakistan cricket?

Well, yes and no. The PCB announced team director Mickey Arthur, as well as head coach Grant Bradburn, have had their roles “reassigned”. There is no information on what they have been reassigned to do, but ESPNcricinfo understands this means neither will travel to Australia next month for Pakistan’s next assignment, a three-match Test series.Mickey Arthur: to stay or not to stay?•Getty Images

So if coaches won’t travel with the team, why not remove them?

Because at this point the board probably can’t. It also likely falls outside the scope of what this PCB management committee can do. In the absence of Arthur or Bradburn offering their resignations, as Babar did, the PCB has to keep them on. It is understood that resignations from either are not expected anytime soon.

So who’s going to coach in their steads in Australia, then?

Zaka Ashraf met, among others, Mohammad Hafeez on Tuesday, and it seems that meeting went rather well, because he offered him Arthur’s job. Hafeez will take over as team director, and it is understood he will go to Australia and New Zealand with the side. Hafeez will also take over as head coach, effectively ending the practice of appointing two separate people as team director and head coach. The practice only started with Mickey Arthur’s ascension to team director while grant Bradburn was already in situ.

Well, all this seems quite chaotic. When will we get a PCB administration that is allowed to make actual decisions?

We thought we’d have one by now when Ashraf came into the role, but with Pakistan’s caretaker government having stretched its role beyond the constitutionally allotted three months, the caretaker prime minister also handed Ashraf and the management committee a further three months.That should take us through to February, when Pakistan is due to hold general elections. Any prime minister that emerges out of those will have the authority to nominate a PCB chairman, and once PCB elections are held, a full PCB administration will have all the powers they have traditionally possessed.Shan Masood takes charge of Pakistan in red-ball cricket – for now at least•Getty Images

What does this mean for Babar, Arthur, Bradburn, Masood and Shaheen?

Simply that any developments that have occurred in the past 24 hours are liable to be reversed. If Najam Sethi returns as chairman in February, a definite possibility, it could mean good news for Arthur and Bradburn. He had made clear his desire that Pakistan hire foreign coaches, and publicly pursued Arthur for months before landing a deal for him to return. He would also have the authority to appoint or remove any captain or coach.

So these changes are only going to be in effect for the tour of Australia?

That, and the following five T20Is in New Zealand, yes. After that, as ever in Pakistan cricket, all bets are off.

They were without their most irreplaceable player in a top-of-the-table clash against a New Zealand side that’s had the wood over them in recent global-tournament meetings, and this New Zealand side put them under severe pressure on multiple occasions. But in the end, India continued to typify the 2023 World Cup equivalent of Gary Lineker’s famous quote on a superteam from a different sport: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and in the end, the Germans always win.”We’re still only halfway through the league stage, and knockouts are knockouts, but India have looked so hard to beat that even this game, their most intense tussle yet in this tournament, ended with Virat Kohli trying to repeat what he did against Bangladesh on Thursday, and refuse singles with India in sight of victory in order to try and reach his hundred.It didn’t quite happen this time, with the attempted winning six on 95 ending up as a catch on the midwicket boundary, but India sauntered home nonetheless, with Ravindra Jadeja pulling Matt Henry for four to complete the job with two overs to spare. Jadeja made an unbeaten 39, a vital innings given that he came in at No. 7 with India still 83 away from victory.With Hardik Pandya out injured, India replaced him with two players, a specialist batter in Suryakumar Yadav and a specialist fast bowler in Mohammed Shami, which meant India’s batting effectively ended with Jadeja at No. 7.The lack of batting depth was counterbalanced, however, by the increased menace of India’s pace attack, who played a starring role in bowling New Zealand out for 273 after they had been 178 for 2 at one stage. Shami, playing his first game of the tournament, led the way with his second five-wicket haul in World Cups, his bullying of New Zealand’s lower order the centerpiece of a superlative effort by India in the last 10 overs, where they took six wickets while conceding just 54.Particularly impressive was India’s shackling of Daryl Mitchell, New Zealand’s top scorer. Mitchell had put on 159 for the third wicket with Rachin Ravindra, and reached an exactly run-a-ball hundred in the 41st over, but India kept him to just 30 off his last 27 balls. He was ninth out in the final over, caught on the wide long-on boundary to give Shami his fifth wicket.Daryl Mitchell brought up ODI century No. 5•ICC/Getty Images

Each of Shami’s wickets seemed to come with a question attached to it: “You’re keeping on the bench?” He struck first ball after coming on as first change, getting Will Young to play on with a typically upright-seamed inducker. Then he broke the Mitchell-Ravindra stand with an offcutter into the pitch. And he ended New Zealand’s hopes of getting near or past 300, effectively, by splattering the stumps of Mitchell Santner and Henry with consecutive balls in the 48th over.Chasing a significantly smaller target than they may have envisaged at one stage, India began in typically ominous fashion, with Rohit Sharma hitting four sixes in a 40-ball 46 that dominated an opening stand of 71 with Shubman Gill. During this partnership, India extracted a strange sort of revenge for the Old Trafford semi-final of 2019, where their fast bowlers had caused as much trouble with the new ball as New Zealand’s quicks but ended up with significantly fewer early wickets. This time Henry beat both openers’ bats repeatedly – including Gill three times in a row – and Trent Boult saw an edge from Rohit fall short of slip, but there were no wickets in the first powerplay.Thereafter it was all about Kohli, even though he typically did most of his work in the shadows – literally for a while when a spectral fog enveloped the ground, eventually stopping play for around 15 minutes. Kohli was the less-dominant partner in half-century stands for the third and fourth wickets, but where Shreyas Iyer fell to another short ball and KL Rahul played down the wrong line against Santner to be dismissed for the first time in the tournament, he endured, as he always does in run-chases.Ever so often, Kohli imposed himself on the game with an incandescent shot: an on-the-up square drive off Lockie Ferguson to get off the mark; a charging, flourishing extra-cover drive off Henry to get to 40; and in between an inside-out loft for six off Ravindra to release whatever pressure New Zealand had put on him by keeping him to 28 off his first 47 balls.From that point, Kohli scored 67 off 57 balls. A significant hiccup arrived when he got into a mix-up that sent back Suryakumar Yadav, but once Jadeja eased India’s fears over their lack of batting depth, the result became a formality.Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja operated at full intensity•Associated Press

New Zealand would have been disappointed at this because they had put themselves in a commanding position at one stage after India had sent them in. Ravindra and Mitchell had fought extremely hard to get them into that position, coming together after Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shami had combined to reduce them to 19 for 2 in the ninth over.Along the way, the two of them demonstrated to all other sides a method to combat India’s attack. Mitchell exemplified this with his calculated risk-taking, particularly at the start of overs. He mixed up his pre-ball movements against the fast bowlers, sometimes shuffling across his stumps and out of his crease, at other times stepping back towards his off stump, and manipulating line and length in this manner. Most telling, though, was his calculated assault on Kuldeep Yadav, to whom he used his feet multiple times to launch him down the ground. In all, he scored 43 runs off Kuldeep – the most any batter has scored against the left-arm wristspinner in an ODI innings – off just 28 balls.Kuldeep conceded 48 in his first five overs, which would have worried India considerably, given that they didn’t have a sixth bowler. But the measure of Kuldeep’s skill and self-confidence came over his next five overs, in which he had Mitchell dropped at long-off, took two vital wickets – Tom Latham deceived by a flatter skidder and trapped plumb in front, Glenn Phillips caught off a miscue against the wrong’un – and conceded just 25.Kuldeep’s display was an encapsulation of India’s day. They were put under intense pressure by a formidable opponent, but they trusted their methods and came out unscathed. This India side can be rattled, but for any side to beat them over the next four weeks will likely take a special effort of sustained excellence.

A trademark century from Cheteshwar Pujara guided Sussex Sharks to a four-wicket Metro Bank One Day Cup victory over Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The Indian run-machine hit an unbeaten 117 off 113 balls as his side chased down a target of 319 with 11 balls to spare. Tom Alsop contributed 60 and Oli Carter a rapid 44.Maiden Somerset hundreds from Andy Umeed (119) and Curtis Campher (101) had propelled their team to 318 for 6 after winning the toss, Fynn Hudson-Prentice claiming 3 for 50.But it looked no more than a par total in warm sunshine on a flat batting pitch and the Sharks ran it down comfortably to achieve their first win in the competition at the fourth attempt.Excellent opening spells by Sean Hunt and Hudson-Prentice restricted Somerset to 36 for 1 off 10 overs, George Thomas caught behind off the latter for five and Umeed playing and missing on numerous occasions.Hudson-Prentice had George Bartlett caught by wicketkeeper Carter, driving at a full-length ball and when James Rew, on 22, lofted a catch to long-off to give off-spinner Jack Carson his first wicket, Somerset were 80 for three in the 20th over.Umeed recovered from his uncertain start and set about bettering his career-best List A score of 77, made in the previous game against Northamptonshire. The opener reached a 68-ball fifty with a four through mid-wicket off Henry Crocombe.Campher greeted the introduction of leg-spinner Archie Lenham by dispatching his second ball for six over mid-wicket on his way to a 45-ball half-century and Umeed followed suit off the same bowler as the pair raised the tempo.Umeed produced a succession of sweetly-timed strokes in moving to his maiden List A hundred, off 115 balls, with 9 fours and 2 sixes.The stand with Campher was worth 163 from 23 overs when Umeed got an inside edge onto his stumps off Hudson-Prentice to make the score 243 for 4.Andrew Umeed celebrates his century with team-mate Curtis Campher•Getty Images

Campher reached his ton off 79 balls, with nine fours and three sixes, before being caught at long-on off Carson, and skipper Sean Dickson’s rapid 40 at the end of the innings ensured his side of a competitive total.Somerset gave the new ball to debutant James (JT) Langridge and the 17-year-old left-arm seamer did not disappoint, taking a wicket in his second over as Tom Haines sliced a catch to deep backward square.It was 47 for 2 when Tom Clark edged a pull shot off Jack Brooks to wicketkeeper Rew. But by then Alsop was well set and it seemed inevitable that Pujara would flourish in the afternoon sunshine.So it proved, as the pair added 92 in 15 overs with barely a false shot, Alsop reaching a 49-ball half-century before nicking a ball from medium-pacer George Thomas and seeing Rew take an excellent catch standing up to the stumps.Pujara followed Alsop to fifty, also off 49 balls, the Indian maestro calmly picking gaps in the field to keep the Sharks up with the required run rate. But the Sharks lost a fourth wicket when James Coles was bowled for 21, pushing forward to the left-arm spin of Josh Thomas, younger brother of George.Hudson-Prentice looked unlucky to be judged lbw aiming a reverse sweep at Josh Thomas and at 202 for five in the 34th over Sharks’ hopes rested with Pujara.Carter injected a late surge, smacking 4 fours and 2 sixes, including one amazing tennis shot that cleared the ropes over long-off, proving an ideal foil for Pujara, who coasted to his 16th List A century off 105 balls, barely seeming to take a risk.

Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph will leave the ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe early with an eye on keeping them fresh for the month-long, all-format series at home against India in July-August.”Jason and Alzarri are two of our leading bowlers in all formats,” Desmond Haynes, lead selector for the West Indies men’s team, said in a statement. “We have a full schedule for the upcoming series against India, where we begin the new ICC World Test Championship, then followed by the ODIs and the five T20Is. Therefore, we had dialogue, and it was felt the best move at this time is to have two of our leading bowlers return early from Zimbabwe.”Legspinner Yannic Cariah had earlier been withdrawn from the tournament after suffering a facial injury in training, which required surgery. With Holder and Joseph returning, the squad is left with just 13 players, but no replacements have been named yet.Related

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The series against India starts with the first of two Tests in Roseau on July 12, followed by the second Test in Port of Spain from July 20. This will be followed by three ODIs and five T20Is, the last of which will be played in Lauderhill in the USA on August 13.West Indies’ chances of qualifying for the ODI World Cup, to be played in October-November in India, crashed when they lost a Super Six game to Scotland in the qualifying tournament in Harare on July 1. That came after defeats to Zimbabwe and Netherlands in the group stages, leaving West Indies – the champions in the first two editions in 1975 and 1979 – with no chance of making the cut. It will be the first ODI World Cup without them.They still have games against Oman, who are out of the qualification race too, and Sri Lanka, who have already qualified, on July 5 and July 7, respectively.West Indies haven’t named their squads for the series against India, but Holder and Joseph are expected to figure prominently in them. At the Zimbabwe tournament, Holder contributed with both bat and ball, scoring 144 runs from five innings at an average of 36, and picking up six wickets at an average of 35.33. Joseph, meanwhile, has been their most successful bowler, picking up eight wickets in five games so far at an average of 32.11.

Bangladesh have found the Afghanistan spinners the most troublesome in ODIs in the last ten years.Since July 2013, Afghanistan’s spinners have the most wickets (50) – and the best average (26.02) – of all teams against Bangladesh in the format. That includes 5 for 69 for the trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi in the first ODI on Wednesday. They combined to bowl 24 overs, and conceded runs at an economy of less than three per over.Although they made the most of the variable bounce on offer at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Bangladesh’s batters also didn’t do themselves any favours. While Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto were out to soft dismissals when they were starting to look comfortable, Mushfiqur Rahim let a Rashid half-tracker slip through his legs.Related

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“Our seamers didn’t bowl well with the new ball, but then our spinners were excellent,” Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said. “We didn’t expect the wicket to have as much uneven bounce as it did. It is surprising. Normally here in Chattogram, it goes through a little bit more. I think we adjusted well. We read the conditions. We played some good cricket.”Today’s wicket helped them [Afghanistan spinners] a little bit, but they have some good skills to put pressure on the Bangladesh batters. A lot of these [Bangladesh] batters would have been confident from the Test match [last month, which Bangladesh won by 546 runs]. But the quality of our spinners shone through on a wicket that we thought would seam more than it spun for us.”Trott highlighted the experience of his spin attack, which helped them switch from T20Is to ODIs. He said they knew exactly when to bowl in an attacking manner, and when to be a little defensive.”I don’t think it is too dissimilar nowadays [bowling in T20Is and ODIs]. Batsmen have an attacking mindset in both formats,” Trott said. “Spinners have to be clever. They are allowed four fielders out till the 40th over. That’s when they usually bowl. They sometimes bowl in the powerplay [too]. So they have to figure out how they attack at the right times, but also how to defend on wickets where there’s not much assistance.”But the one-off Test between Bangladesh and Afghanistan featured none of these three spinners, and Bangladesh had feasted on an inexperienced attack to post 382 and 425 for 4 declared.Bangladesh now have to face Afghanistan in the two remaining ODIs of the ongoing series, but also at least once in the upcoming Asia Cup in August-September, and then, in their tournament opener at the ODI World Cup, where they face each other in Dharamsala.How do Bangladesh try and limit the damage before the big games come around? Towhid Hridoy, the batter who hit his third ODI half-century in the first game – which was only his seventh in the format – said that individual batters would have to figure out their respective ways to counter the spinners.”It [Bangladesh] is a mature team. They have been serving the national team for a long time,” Hridoy said. “Nobody has to be told anything new. We will get out of this by thinking about it individually. We back everyone in the dressing room. We can come back from this position.”Towhid Hridoy expects the Bangladesh batters to find their own ways to succeed•AFP/Getty Images

Although this was Hridoy’s first time facing Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi at the highest level, he already had some idea about Nabi and Mujeeb because of the BPL.”This was the first time that I faced Rashid. I have played Mujeeb in Under-19 cricket. We were also in the same team in BPL,” Hridoy said. “I played Nabi in the BPL. I think they are the best spin combination in the world. You can play spin better against any team after you do well against them. I was talking to Shakib [Al Hasan] and Afif played well. We also had a feeling that someone would do the job [in the first ODI]. We didn’t get a good partnership from the lower order. I am hopeful that in the next game, we will do better in a similar situation.”

Surrey 380 (Smith 97, Burns 88) and 73 for 1 beat Middlesex 209 (Robson 76, Malan 66, Worrall 5-48) and 240 (Holden 43, Clark 4-25) by nine wicketsIt bodes well for Surrey and not for the rest of Division One that while they did not perform to their best against Middlesex, they still won convincingly. Not just by nine wickets in the end, but with 46 overs to spare on day four. Considering the amount of time lost to rain, that last number reinforces the difference between them and their London rivals.From 128 for 3 overnight, Middlesex were rolled for 240, with three to Jordan Clark who finished with 4 for 25 from his nine overs. That he came on third change says all you need to know of the depth of talent at the 2022 champions’ disposal. A target of 70 took just 16.4 overs to polish off, with Ryan Patel taking charge at the end with a flurry of boundaries to pocket some decent red ink.Could there have been more tension? No doubt. Certainly, if Rory Burns’ dismissal had been followed up by that of Dom Sibley four deliveries later. The opener edged Toby Roland-Jones just wide of third slip after Tim Murtagh had forced Burns to find first. Perhaps at 17 for 2, panic might have ensued. In the end, Sibley and Patel made light work of the remaining runs, a half-century stand coming up in 60 balls, before Patel heaved the part-time offspin of Mark Stoneman to the midwicket fence to confirm victory by 3.05pm .A day that offered Middlesex the opportunity of pulling off something special or frustrating Surrey fell away quickly. The morning loss of three middle-order batters for just 55 runs dented hopes of the remarkable and the defiant.Make no mistake, the visitors conceded this match on day one, certainly hopes of winning it, with their last nine first-innings wickets falling for just 43 runs. A position of 166 for 1 relinquished would always be hard to make up. That they made Surrey bat again was a small, small victory.Even so, Thursday’s capitulation did mean the prospect of losing seven second-innings wickets before making up 43 runs felt very plausible. Three runs and 3.3 overs into the day, Kemar Roach got the first. The quick kill, perhaps even an innings victory, was on.A big one, too, in Max Holden. A patchy start to the summer punctuated by a half-century in the successful chase against Nottinghamshire looked like being joined by a second.Patience had got him to 42 overnight, but he could only add a single when Roach did what he does to left-handers: around the wicket, tempting a push, leaving them for dead. Surrey (and Roach) had gone to bed cursing Holden’s presence after Will Jacks dropped an easy catch at second slip when he had just 18.The second to fall was via a spectacular bit of work from Ben Foakes. Sean Abbott rasped one across John Simpson around the wicket, who helped the ball on its way down the leg side. Even before contact, Foakes was on his way, and a dive got him all the way across to pouch the ball with his right hand.Poetic, in a way, considering Simpson’s own exemplary keeping on day three had started with the wicket of Foakes while stood up to the stumps. Though it’ll probably take a bit of time before the Middlesex gloveman appreciates it as such.Out walked Pieter Malan, pushed down the order after suffering with some unspecified stiffness, accompanied by Mark Stoneman as his runner. His movements were clearly inhibited, though the trio of boundaries struck by Ryan Higgins to bring the scores level were simply the allrounder being his usually punchy self rather than shouldering extra burden.A lead of 10 was established before Gus Atkinson struck with his third legitimate delivery, getting Malan to push a little too far forward for a catch to Patel at backward point.Just eight deliveries later, Clark served up a passable Roach impression with a worldie from around the wicket that left Hollman driving at thin air – all but the edge – as Foakes leapt across first slept to take another smart catch.It should have in fact been three wickets in 11 deliveries, but Sibley palmed up a firm edge from Higgins, on 28, off Atkinson, and not even Foakes in this form could nab the rebound.Sibley would get the chance to make amends, albeit for Clark’s benefit, when Roland-Jones advanced and flinched at a delivery pulled back of a length for a bread-basket grab at first slip.With two wickets remaining and the lead only 27, Higgins decided now was the time to pick his team up over his shoulder and carry them once more. Middlesex’s leading runscorer possess the kind of attitude and skill to suggest you’d not go too badly with XI of him. Unspectacular yet effective, average height with above-average demeanour, particularly in this world of cruiserweight-boxer shaped allrounders.One of the latter – Clark – struck him on the arm, snarling at Higgins as he returned to the umpire to retrieve his cap. Having ascertained Higgins was not in great strife, Clark walked away satisfied he had inflicted pain. Out came the Middlesex physio to tend to his left wrist, which had worn a bouncer as he attempted to advance down the track for a second boundary of the over.The physio was back on again the next over, tending to Ethan Bamber’s top hand after the bowler failed to hook a well-directed bouncer from Atkinson. Bamber had better luck as Dan Worrall took over from Clark at the Pavilion End. A well-executed swish to deep square leg got him off the mark, even forcing Burns to move the fielder back to the fence.A second boundary came at the end of the over, gloved just beyond the reach of a diving Foakes. Another half-chance from Bamber came with the lead on 52, as Jamie Smith failed to reach a pop-up at short leg.By lunchtime, Bamber was looking steady on 20, walking off to the break after keeping out a yorker from Worrall. Higgins had grown to trust his junior partner, and even with the hosts managing five wickets in the session, a lead of 63 was a handy jumping-off point for a dart at some quick runs on a glorious Sunday afternoon.That’s certainly what Higgins was about. The eighth ball after lunch, he pulled Clark to the square leg fence – but Roach was lurking, moving to his right to take a catch a couple of feet in from the boundary. Out Tim Murtagh came and soon back he went, bowled by Abbott, though not before Bamber had struck another boundary.It would never be enough, and a run of consecutive victories now ends for Middlesex. At the very least, they leave this game having showcased some positives from the victories over Nottinghamshire and Kent, even if errors and the opposition’s superiority overhwelmed them.For Surrey, this third victory out of five – they remain unbeaten – lifted them back to the top of Division One after Warwickshire held the position for 24 hours. Surrey are home again next week for the visit of Kent, with a great opportunity to go into the international break well set to defend their crown.

Queensland have been left to rue a number of bizarre final-day dismissals, after falling to a 90-run defeat to Victoria.Resuming on day four at 58 for 3 chasing 329 for victory at the Gabba, Queensland were all out for 238 just before tea at the Gabba.Sam Elliott starred for Victoria, taking 4 for 43, while Todd Murphy also claimed 3 for 48  as he continues to push his case to be Australia’s second spinner in Sri Lanka.But the biggest challenge for Queensland came from within. The hosts looked in a position to hold on for a draw or push for a win midway through the first session, after Jack Clayton and Ben McDermott put on 59 for the fourth wicket.But their 18.3-over stand was ended when McDermott dropped a ball at his feet and took off for a quick single. Clayton gave up on the single and was run out while not pushing hard to make his crease on 43.The run out was superbly executed by bowler Xavier Crone with a back-handed flick, but still the wicket was gifted to the visitors.Crone’s run out was also his second such dismissal of the match after removing Mark Steketee in similar fashion in the first innings.Even after Clayton’s dismissal, McDermott and Jimmy Pierson put on 63 for the fifth wicket only for Pierson to be bowled for 31 trying to scoop Murphy.And from there the innings fell apart. Murphy also had McDermott caught at slip for 68, before Xavier Bartlett and Jack Wildermuth were both caught hooking Elliott at deep fine leg.Mitchell Swepson was then the last to fall, bowled by Murphy to become the offspinner’s third victim.The win leaves Victoria top of the table at the halfway mark, four points clear of Western Australia. Queensland remain last and are the only winless team after five games.