All posts by csb10.top

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka

Sharjah, 2pm local timeNew Zealand squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Isabella Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Leigh Kasperek, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea TahuhuSri Lanka squad: Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilshari, Nilakshika Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika KumariTournament form guide: After beating India comprehensively in their opener, New Zealand were handed a thrashing by defending champions Australia, crumbling to 88 all out in the 149 chase. Sri Lanka have lost all three matches they’ve played so far in the tournament, with the loss against India putting them out of semi-final contention.News brief: Sri Lanka broke a 12-match losing streak against New Zealand by posting their first-ever T20I win against the opponents last year. In the third T20I in Colombo in July 2023, Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama helped crush New Zealand by 10 wickets to seal a historic win. While Sri Lanka will be looking for a consolation win, New Zealand will want to win big to strengthen their semi-final chances and boost their net run rate.Player to watch:Legspinning-allrounder Amelia Kerr is one of the most reliable players for New Zealand. Against Australia, she waged a lone fight, taking four wickets and top-scoring with 29 in the chase. She took three wickets in five balls, with Australian batters struggling to read her googlies on the Sharjah pitch. She is once again expected to be key for New Zealand at the same venue against the shaky Sri Lankan batting order.Laura Wolvaardt is the leading run-scorer of the tournament so far•ICC/Getty Images

Bangladesh vs South Africa

Dubai, 6pm local timeBangladesh squad: Nigar Sultana (capt, wk), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Dilara Akter, Taj Nehar, Shathi Rani, Disha BiswasSouth Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe TryonTournament form guide: Bangladesh are coming into this game on the back of two losses – against England and West Indies – and are fourth on the table with just one win. South Africa, meanwhile, bounced back with a big win against Scotland after their seven-wicket loss to England.News brief: There are no injury concerns for South Africa. For Bangladesh though, captain Nigar Sultana seemed to be limping during West Indies’ run chase in Sharjah. She seemed to have hurt her knee and received the physio’s attention but continued to keep wickets. While Bangladesh are all but out of the tournament, South Africa’s NRR-boosting win has kept them well in contention for the semi-final.Bangladesh won the first-ever T20I they played against South Africa back in 2012 but went on to lose the next 10 matches against them. They broke the streak in December 2023, but the last T20I these two teams played ended with South Africa winning by eight wickets.Player to watch: Captain Laura Wolvaardt’s strong starts have been one of the biggest positives for South Africa. She is currently the top run-scorer of the tournament, with 141 runs in three matches. With South Africa searching for a big win against Scotland to improve their NRR, she scored 47 off 27 in the chase, hitting five fours and a six. She was excellent in the powerplay in the loss against England as well.

Gloucestershire claimed their maiden T20 title, and West Country bragging rights into the bargain, as they crushed defending champions Somerset in a one-sided Blast final at Edgbaston. An eight-wicket margin of victory, sealed by Ollie Price’s six over long-on with 30 balls to spare, told the story as Gloucestershire marched to their first piece of silverware since 2015.It was a night of many heroes for Gloucestershire. Miles Hammond’s unbeaten 58 from 41 led them home, having put on a raucous century stand with Cameron Bancroft, after the bowlers had blown Somerset away. David Payne, Gloucestershire’s stalwart attack leader, capped a remarkable campaign with 3 for 27 to take his tally to 33 and equal Alfonso Thomas’ longstanding record for an English T20 season. Matt Taylor, with 29 wickets himself, was the catalyst as he picked off three of Somerset’s top four on the way to figures of 3 for 18.For the second Finals Day running, all four teams came from the South Group. Gloucestershire arrived as the underdogs, having squeaked through in fourth place on net run-rate – but after seeing off Birmingham Bears on their own patch in the quarter-final, they returned to Edgbaston to demolish Sussex in the second semi, then took apart their cider country rivals with another inspired bowling performance. Somerset’s bid to become the first team to successfully defend the Blast title fell at the final hurdle, hopes of a domestic treble brusquely shelved in the process.Gloucestershire’s success was made all the more poignant by the presence of club president, David “Syd” Lawrence, the former England fast bowler who was diagnosed earlier this year with motor neurone disease. It was also a rousing performance from a county who have had their struggles, facing financial insecurity and battling in the wrong half of Division Two in the County Championship. But Mark Alleyne, in his first season back as head coach, has steered a side featuring eight homegrown players to a memorable T20 success.Chasing the dream
Somerset’s wicket-taking prowess was behind their 2023 victory, when they defended 145 in the final against Essex. But they were even lighter on runs this time around and could not conjure the early breakthroughs required to jangle Gloucestershire nerves.Bancroft drove his third ball, from Craig Overton, through the covers, launched the same bowler over long-on in the third over and then ramped Josh Davey all the way for six at the start of the fourth. Lewis Gregory, whose half-century carried the fight as one of only three Somerset players to reach double-figures, brought himself into the attack for the final over of the powerplay and was promptly dispatched for three boundaries as Gloucestershire raced to 49 for 0.Gloucestershire had twice beaten Somerset when chasing during the group stage but both of those games were helter-skelter affairs. This was clinical, though not entirely business-like, as Hammond channelled the mood in the Hollies Stand by belting Jake Ball and Roelof van der Merwe for sixes to speed Gloucestershire towards their target.Bancroft struck van der Merwe for back-to-back fours to raise a 39-ball half-century, before Hammond went to the mark from 36 balls in the following over, clouting Ben Green over long-on for another serene six. No team had ever won the T20 final by a ten-wicket margin and Somerset saved themselves from that ignominy by dismissing Bancroft and James Bracey. But the result was already in the post.Taylor-made start for Gloucs
Somerset were looking not only to make history by winning back-to-back T20 titles, but become the first team since Worcestershire in 2018 to lift the trophy after coming through the first semi-final. Having been inserted, Somerset got off to a decent start – certainly better than the 7 for 3 after 2.1 overs they managed earlier in the day – as Payne’s first two overs cost 19, only to come unstuck against Gloucestershire’s other left-armer.Matt Taylor is less heralded than Payne but barely less effective, and he struck three times in his first two overs. His first ball induced a slash to backward point from Will Smeed, before a clever change of pace saw Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who had hit Payne for two sixes in the previous over, miscue high into the off side. When James Rew, in the third T20 knock of his professional career, punched uppishly to the diving Bancroft at short cover, Taylor had startling figures of 3 for 7.Three down at the end of the powerplay, things got worse for Somerset. Sean Dickson had been their matchwinner in the semi – and top-scored in both games at last year’s Finals Day – but departed for a golden duck this time around, missing a reverse-sweep at Ollie Price’s second delivery. Somerset were 42 for 4 and up against it.Gregory can’t soothe Somerset Payne
In the absence of Dickson, Gregory stepped into the firefighter role. He and Tom Abell ticked over initially, taking the score to 63 for 4 at halfway, before the captain began to play some shots in an attempt to give Somerset something defendable. The left-arm spin of Tom Smith was targeted, Gregory clubbing six straight back down the ground before lofting the next ball over extra cover. Abell was less successful taking the aerial route, however, as he drove Tom Price down the throat of long-on to end a stand worth 44.Gregory continued to carry a threat, again clearing the ropes off Smith before a swivel-pull off Tom Price took Somerset’s innings into three figures. But the return of Payne to bowl the 16th over tipped the scales in Gloucestershire’s direction again – two consecutive slower deliveries accounting for Ben Green and Craig Overton leaving the defending champions up the River Rea without a paddle at 105 for 7. In the process, Payne overtook Hampshire’s Chris Wood as the most-prolific seamer in the history of English domestic T20.Gregory lost another partner when van der Merwe sent a flying edge straight into Bracey’s outstretched right glove, but raised a fighting fifty off 33 balls with a nudge for one off Matt Taylor. He was dropped at the start of the 19th, Ben Charlesworth unable to cling on to a diving effort running in from the cover boundary, but became Payne’s third wicket four ball later when he picked out long-off.

A setback in his recovery from a calf injury has ruled Jos Buttler out of Lancashire’s T20 Blast quarter-final, and leaves him facing a battle to be fit for England’s T20I series against Australia.England are not overly concerned about Buttler’s fitness ahead of their first T20I on September 11 and remain hopeful that he will be available to captain the side throughout Australia’s eight-match white-ball tour. England’s new-look squad are due to report to the Utilita Bowl on Sunday ahead of two training days, when their medical staff will get a clearer picture as to whether Buttler will be available.England’s white-ball teams do not have an official vice-captain, with Sam Curran and Phil Salt the main contenders to deputise in the event that Buttler is unavailable. He is not expected to keep wicket during the T20I series, which increases the chance that he will be able to feature despite suffering a setback.Buttler has not played any cricket since June’s T20 World Cup•Getty Images

Buttler has not played any cricket since England’s semi-final defeat to India at June’s T20 World Cup. He sustained a calf injury in July while preparing for the Hundred which ruled him out of the tournament, and had been targeting Wednesday’s quarter-final at Hove for his comeback after weeks of rehabilitation.But he has now been ruled out of contention, as their coach Dale Benkenstein confirmed to BBC Radio Lancashire. “We’ve had some bad news on his recovery,” Benkenstein said. “He had an injury he was recovering from, and he’s sort of tweaked it again. He’s not only just out of our T20s, but I think he’s even struggling to make the international ones. He was very keen to play for us.”Lancashire will have their other England players available on Wednesday night at Hove, with Salt, Liam Livingstone and Saqib Mahmood all set to be involved. Jofra Archer is expected to feature for Sussex, whose T20 side is captained by Tymal Mills. Hove has not hosted a T20 quarter-final in front of a crowd since 2019, and tickets have been sold out for the past two weeks.

Ottis Gibson will leave Yorkshire when his contract expires at the end of this season, the club announced on Saturday.Gibson joined the club in early 2022 on a three-year contract after Andrew Gale, his predecessor, was sacked during the fall-out that followed Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism at the club.Yorkshire paid tribute to Gibson’s “total professionalism” during “the most difficult period of Yorkshire’s history” in a statement. Results on the pitch have been a mixed bag but they are in the hunt for promotion this season, sitting third in Division Two of the County Championship with five matches still to play.”The club is in a strong position in the County Championship, contending for promotion to the first division, and all players and coaches remain firmly focused on that aim,” Yorkshire said. “Ottis goes with everybody’s best wishes and everyone at the club wishes him well in his future career.”Yorkshire said that they have started the process for recruiting a replacement and that Gibson’s successor would be confirmed “in due course”. Darren Lehmann and Chris Silverwood have both been linked with the role.Gibson said: “Despite the issues we have faced off the field, that inevitably spilt on to the playing side, I am pleased with the state of the squad, the development of our younger players and to be in contention to challenge for promotion. I’d like to thank all of my staff, players and the supporters that have been behind us in my time here and I wish Yorkshire all the very best going forward.”Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chair, said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Ottis. The work that Ottis has done in really difficult circumstances has been impressive, and he’ll leave with his head held high, having helped build some solid foundations, which we are seeing with performances this season. Everyone at the club would like to wish him all the best for the future.”

Surrey 184 for 8 (Smith 45, Evans 41, Lamb 3-36) beat Sussex 130 (Curran 3-39) by 54 runsRuthless Surrey replaced Sussex Sharks at the top of the Vitality Blast South Group after an impressive 54 runs win at Hove.Sussex came into the contest on the back of a four-match winning streak including a 36-run victory at the Kia Oval last week.But they never recovered after losing three wickets in the first four overs and were bowled out for 130 in 18.1 overs chasing 185 by a highly effective Surrey attack.Australian Spencer Johnson removed Harrison Ward and James Coles in the opening over of a quality new-ball spell and when Sean Abbott accounted for Daniel Hughes, who came into the contest with 224 runs in his previous five Blast games, Sussex were 24 for 3 and up against it.John Simpson made 25, Jack Carson 24 and Fynn Hudson-Prentice 23 but this was a reality check for Sussex against a Surrey team who have four wins and a tie from their first six matches.In front of a 4,800 full house Surrey had been put in and their 184 for 8 was dominated by Laurie Evans’ 41 and Jamie Smith’s 45. It always looked a competitive score on a pitch at the 1st Central County Ground which offered movement for the seamers throughout.Evans took charge against his old county after Ollie Robinson had Dan Lawrence caught at short third off the fourth ball of the innings, sharing 67 in 37 balls alongside Dom Sibley with 19 runs coming off successive overs by Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Nathan McAndrew in a power play that yielded 66.Both fell in successive overs with Evans held at deep backward-square in Sussex skipper Tymal Mills’ first over as three wickets fell in nine balls in the middle of the innings.Only 22 runs were scored between the eighth and 11th overs but Smith picked up the tempo again after Ollie Pope, who made an unbeaten 99 in a losing cause when the teams met last Friday, was caught behind for a duck attempting to ramp Robinson.Smith and Rory Burns, deputising for Jason Roy who had a calf injury, put on 69 off 37 balls for the fifth wicket with Smith muscling the ball over the rope four times in his 45 from 28 deliveries before he was caught trying to clear long on. Danny Lamb, who mixed up his pace and lengths effectively, finished with 3 for 36.Ward had made 68 on Friday in Sussex’ win over Essex but here he spliced a pull off the second ball of the match before Johnson bowled Coles through the gate with a nip-backer. When Hughes got a thin edge to Abbott’s lifter Surrey’s celebrations reflected the importance of his wicket.Simpson and Tom Alsop put on 32 but Gus Atkinson picked up Simpson with his second ball and Lawrence removed Alsop with his first. When Tom Curran struck off successive deliveries in his second over Sussex’s race was run, although Robinson and Jack Carson at least added 34 for the ninth wicket to restrict the damage to their net run rate.