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Greater depth in the seam-bowling department is key going forward, Harmanpreet Kaur said after India lost their home T20I series against Australia 4-1. Quick bowlers will come into sharp focus when India fly to South Africa for a tri-series – also featuring West Indies – next month, and then play the T20 World Cup, also in South Africa, in February.With Pooja Vastrakar out injured, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh and Anjali Sarvani were the main quicks in the Indian team. Renuka and Sarvani played all five games, but Meghna was dropped after conceding 41 runs in three wicketless overs across two games.Related

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“In South Africa, seam is going to have more effect than spin bowling,” Harmanpreet pointed out after the 54-run loss in the fifth T20I on Tuesday. “That is why we started with Meghna, but sometimes the player is not able to perform as expected.”Pooja will join the team [upon recovery], and she will fill that area. Her one or two overs are important. In this series, we had called up extra medium pacers, who we were watching closely. We are working on those, and will try to cover those areas.”India also had left-arm quicks Monica Patel – who played two ODIs against South Africa last year – and Sraddha Pokharkar, apart from right-armers Arundhati Reddy and Simran Bahadur, as net bowlers during the series.But they were without a bowling coach during the series, after Ramesh Powar – the former head coach, who also looked after the bowling – was moved to the BCCI’s National Cricket Academy. It was a high-scoring series in which Australia crossed the 170-run mark in each match. India also topped 150 in all but the last game, where they were bowled out for 142. A total of 47 sixes were hit overall – a record in a bilateral women’s T20I series – in the five games.A pattern to emerge was that India largely kept Australia in check up to 12 overs, but lost control after that. Their economy rate in the last eight overs in the series was 12.26, compared to Australia’s 9.37.”We are doing well in the first ten overs and not giving them easy runs. But after the tenth over, suddenly things are changing,” Harmanpreet said. “We did plan a lot of things, but were not able to execute them. Earlier, the first six overs was the area we wanted to improve as a team. Now we are getting results in the first six.”We will now analyse who can bowl after ten overs and in the death overs. We discussed it in team meetings, but when you are in a series, you don’t get that much time to execute those things.”Renuka, who has been a powerplay success story with her ability to swing the new ball, was used in the death overs against Australia. Her economy rate in that phase, where she got just one wicket, was 10.87. The most, though marginally, for Indian bowlers to have sent down a minimum of 24 balls in that period.”[Renuka] is someone who brings in a lot of confidence to the side,” Harmanpreet said. “Whenever the team needs her, she is always ready; and we have always seen her doing well in the first six overs. She really enjoys bowling at the death, and you need a person to raise your hand and say, ‘I like to bowl in the death overs’. She is working hard on her death bowling, and is starting to get the experience now.”Harleen Deol scored a quick 24 after being drafted in for the final game•BCCI

With the bat, Jemimah Rodrigues, who made a comeback after being dropped earlier this year, scored just 28 runs in the first four matches. After she was dropped for the final game, Harleen Deol came in and hit 24 off 16 balls from No. 3 before being run-out.”Harleen is someone who is always ready – be it batting at any spot or just for fielding,” Harmanpreet said. “Last match [in the fourth T20I], she did not get to bat despite being ready from the start but she was not upset, and was [instead] positive. She was like, ‘whenever I get the opportunity I want to go there and execute’.”We all thought that we should give Jemi a break because we know how important she is. Going forward, it is important that we keep her in that frame. Batting line-up is something you cannot fix in T20s. I know Jemi was batting at No. 3 for a long time.”But I feel if the batting line-up is flexible, that is good and then you have more options to try things. Today, that was the reason we wanted to see how Harleen can bat at No. 3. She was there, and was getting the momentum. Really happy to see her approach with the bat.”

Litton Das has been named the Bangladesh captain for their three-match ODI series against India at home starting in Dhaka on Sunday.Tamim Iqbal, the regular ODI captain, had earlier pulled out of the series because of a groin injury. He is also doubtful for the Test series that begins in Chattogram on December 14. Taskin Ahmed has also been ruled out of the first ODI because of a back injury.Litton has not captained Bangladesh in an ODI before but led them in a T20I back in April 2021. He did not have the best of outings at the time, falling for a first-ball duck in a rain-shortened game. He has, however, been in excellent form across formats for Bangladesh and is their highest scorer in ODIs this year with 500 runs in ten innings averaging 62.50.”Litton is one of the more experienced players in the side and has demonstrated leadership qualities. He has a sharp cricketing mind and reads the game well,” Jalal Yunus, BCB’s chairman of cricket operations, said in a statement. “It is most unfortunate to lose Tamim to injury for this very important series, especially because under his captaincy the team has played some outstanding cricket in the last couple of years and he has been our most prolific batsman in this format.”While no replacements have been named for Tamim, Shoriful Islam has been called up the side for Taskin.Bangladesh have been on a role in ODIs under Tamim’s leadership, winning eight out of 12 matches played this year. They are placed fifth on the ODI Super League table and are one of seven teams to have qualified directly for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.The ODI series between Bangladesh and India gets underway on December 4 in Dhaka, with the second match to be played at the same venue on December 7. The final game of the series will be staged at Chattogram on December 10.

Moeen Ali will captain Warwickshire in the T20 Blast this summer, having re-signed for the club after 16 years with Worcestershire.Moeen left the club as a young player in 2006 after struggling for opportunities under then-head coach Mark Greatbatch, but agreed a deal to return to the club on a three-year, white-ball contract last year.He has previously captained Worcestershire and Birmingham Phoenix in short-form cricket, and has led England in one ODI and 11 T20Is.”I’m really grateful to be given the opportunity to captain my hometown club,” Moeen said. “I grew up just a short walk from Edgbaston, always dreamed of playing at this great stadium when I was a child, and now to be made captain is something special.”I’ve had several proud moments in my cricket career but becoming Bears captain having returned to Edgbaston after 16 years is without doubt one of highlights.”Moeen will miss the start of the Blast season while playing for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, and Alex Davies will deputise for him after his appointment as Warwickshire’s vice-captain across formats.Warwickshire, playing under their Birmingham Bears moniker, were eliminated in the Blast’s quarter-finals last year and have brought in Glenn Maxwell and Hasan Ali as overseas signings in their bid to reach Finals Day in 2023.”The squad looks incredible,” Moeen said. “There’s talent right through the line-up from top to bottom. But what I’m really encouraged about is that there are some young players who, like me, came up through the pathway and academy system at Edgbaston.”Mark Robinson, Warwickshire’s coach, said: “Moeen is not only an extremely talented cricketer, but a leader on and off the pitch. Anyone who has spent time with Mo talks positively about his ability to motivate a team, whilst staying calm in the most pressurised moments.”Mo has led teams in many franchise leagues around the world and I know how excited he is to be a Bear and lead us at Edgbaston. We’re all excited to see him and we’re really looking forward to welcoming him into the changing room.”

Kent 278 (Evison 77*, Lawes 3-41) and 80 for 4 (Mueyeye 42, Crawley 31*, Lawes 2-2) trail Surrey 362 (Abbott 78, Sibley 60, Atkinson 55*, Bhuiyan 4-65) by 4 runsThere was still one delivery left in the 83rd over, but Arafat Bhuiyan already had his jumper off down at fine leg. Realising his error, he chucked it over the boundary rope, walked in for the final delivery, then chucked his hat on top of that and hurried to the bottom of his mark at the Vauxhall End to continue his spell with the second new ball. For a player who has waited for seven years to break into the professional game, he didn’t want to waste a second.It was a show of faith from Kent captain Sam Billings to give first dibs to a bowler in just his second day of first class cricket, but Arafat had earned it. Surrey had just slipped into the lead with only two wickets remaining. Sean Abbott had passed fifty for the second time this season and was hellbent on hitting the red off the ball, alongside Gus Atkinson who had his eye in. There was scope for a sizeable lead, and Kent needed to put a stop to it.Their fears would be realised as Atkinson struck three gorgeous sixes – all down on one knee – in a superb 55 that helped established a lead of 84. The good news for Kent is they whittled it down to four by stumps on day two, thanks to an eye-catching 42 from Tawanda Muyeye and an unbeaten 31 from Zak Crawley. The bad news came in the form of a thrilling late burst from Tom Lawes, nipping out Muyeye and then Jack Leaning with the final ball of the day to leave Surrey with just six second-innings wickets to take.The visitors go into the weekend up against it, not least because there aren’t many better than the Division One leaders and defending champions at turning the screw in the second half of matches. That Kent were able to go toe-to-toe with them for most of Friday was thanks to Arafat.The 26-year-old’s 4 for 55 had Surrey on the ropes, with 180 for 6 on the board, before Abbott counter-attacked to 329 and Atkinson’s blow landed them on 362. There was no dismay from the seamer as he missed out on a five-wicket haul on debut. The four he did nab were as impressive as any milestone.Related

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Arafat’s maiden first-class dismissal was none other than newly appointed England vice-captain Ollie Pope, crown prince of Surrey, lord of this manor what with a red-ball average of 97 here at the Kia Oval. A usual dance down the track, a usual flick through midwicket went unusually awry as Pope found Grant Stewart at a well-placed midwicket.Jamie Smith became the second; indeterminate footwork and a loose attempt at a punch sending an edge to Jack Leaning at second slip. In the space of four deliveries, he had Ben Foakes – another catch to Leaning – and Will Jacks, who had struck Arafat for six over square leg before being too slow on a pull and gifting a catch to Michael Hogan at mid-off.Past, present and future England internationals in his first go at this level. As far as dream starts go, this could take some beating for a cricketer who only turned professional two days ago. The action itself is smooth, energy collected in the gather and released with a smoothness that suggests there’s a lot to work with, particularly an outswinger that moved late enough to surprise an impressive batting line-up beyond the dismissals on the scorecard. The run-up starts tentatively, but that can be smoothed out at this level. He is more than capable, and willing to get better.”To be able to get four first-class wickets on my debut in the first innings, I’m over the moon really,” Arafat said. “I’m here to do well and I’m always going to keep my mind that way.”He admitted to nerves when he first took the ball on day one, though he did start with a maiden against Dom Sibley, whose 60 carried the first 50 overs of Surrey’s response to Kent’s first innings.”I was more nervous yesterday than today,” he said. “Today I came in and I needed to bowl some overs in the nets. I was more nervous bowling than batting yesterday. But today it came out quite nice.”Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Arafat moved here at the age of 14 and has UK residency. Living in east London, it was only a short train to Chelmsford, where Bangladesh were playing Ireland in three ODIs last week. Arafat, though, was unable to attend as he was up in Kidderminster preparing for a 2nd XI match for Worcestershire against Warwickshire. Rain ended up washing out the match completely.That pretty much reflects Arafat’s journey to this point. A lot of second-team cricket and a lot of waiting. As it happens, a first taste of county seconds came at Surrey, playing alongside Pope against a Kent XI that also featured Crawley back in 2017. Stints for Derbyshire and Essex twos followed. There was a period on the MCC Young Cricketers’ Scheme, though that came to an end after just a year. To have fallen through the gaps in a programme regarded as a safety net must have been a blow. But Arafat’s persistence won out.He gives special credit to the South Asian Cricket Academy, an initiative established ahead of the 2022 season, which didn’t just catch him but allowed him to thrive. SACA, co-founded by Tom Brown and former England international Kabir Ali, made arrangements to move Arafat up to Birmingham over the winter to join their training programme on a full-time basis. He then showcased his talents during a trial session at Leyton Cricket Ground’s indoor school in February, with Kent head coach Matt Walker in attendance.After impressing in Kent’s seconds with 17 wickets, he was offered a contract earlier this week to improve the club’s bowling depth, becoming SACA’s seventh “graduate” to move from the scheme onto a county contract. All the hard work, all the second team gigs, all the waiting had come good. That he is only one of three British Bangladeshis to have been on staff at a county – a community in excess of 600,000 – speaks to the necessary work SACA are doing to improve British Asian representation in the county game.”I’ve worked hard for this,” Arafat said. “Seven years is a long time to become a professional cricketer. Playing for different counties, trialling around. There are quite a lot of other people, it’s not only just me. There are a lot of people trialling, still trying. I happened to be at Kent in pre-season, and obviously being at SACA has helped me. I’m going to give credit to Dr Tom Brown who has helped me during the winters.”Arafat’s team-mates from Blackheath Cricket Club have been at the Oval these last couple of days, congregating down at fine leg with him between spells and occasionally using the advertising boards to drum their approval throughout his 20 overs. His twin brother has been watching him intently, and there is hope his parents will be in attendance on Saturday.They will have to watch him bat first as Kent look to establish a good enough lead to give him and their bowlers something to work with. That nightwatchman Wes Agar was one of the four lost in the evening session does at least mean there are a few batters to come to pump up this second-innings score, along with Crawley who looks settled and hungry for something big.Surrey could argue they should be further in front given the nature of some of the decisions against them. Most contentious was Sibley’s on the stroke of lunch, after Joey Evison had found his edge. In real time, it looked a spectacular diving catch from Leaning to his left, but replays were less than convincing. Even Sam Curran, always of Surrey but a Punjab King until the end of May, took to Twitter to offer an opinion – very not out, to paraphrase – with an accompanying screenshot, both of which were deleted pretty quickly.Lawes, too, felt aggrieved when Agar used the new ball get some extra lift off the pitch. An edge ballooned to first slip, though assessment of the replays and the loop of the ball suggested the deflection was off the right shoulder of his body rather than the bat. Fair to say they had their revenge by stumps.

Amol Muzumdar, Tushar Arothe and Jon Lewis* are among at least five candidates understood to be part of BCCI’s shortlist for the position of head coach of the Indian women’s team. It couldn’t be confirmed if Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the current interim head coach, is part of the shortlist.The BCCI-appointed Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) is expected to interview the candidates on July 1-2 in Mumbai. This committee, chaired by former India batter Ashok Malhotra, also comprises former India players Jatin Paranjape and Sulakshana Naik. They are likely to assess presentations made by the candidates before an announcement is expected “on or before July 3”.The new coach is likely to be given a two-year term, to begin with. The BCCI is keen on continuity, given two ICC events – the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024 and the 50-over World Cup in India in 2025 – are within this period.Related

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The position has been vacant since December 2022, when Ramesh Powar was abruptly removed as part of BCCI’s “restructuring module” two months ahead of the T20 World Cup in South Africa. Since then, Kanitkar has been handed the top job in an interim capacity.Muzumdar, meanwhile, has also been offered the position of head coach of Baroda’s senior men’s team for the 2023-24 domestic season. Earlier, he was the head coach of Mumbai until the 2022-23 domestic season. It’s understood that Muzumdar hasn’t formally accepted Baroda’s offer and is awaiting the CAC’s decision over the India women’s head coach position.Muzumdar has been an active coach since he called time on a 21-year first-class career during which he became one of the highest run-getters in the Ranji Trophy. Following 15 years with Mumbai, Muzumdar moved to Assam in 2009 and later to Andhra.He amassed 11167 runs from 171 first-class matches, with 30 centuries. He went on to win eight Ranji titles with Mumbai. Since his retirement, he has coached age-group sides at the NCA, has been at the helm for Mumbai and has been part of the coaching staff at Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and South Africa [for their tour of India in 2019] briefly.Meanwhile, Arothe, a Ranji Trophy winner with Baroda, has had two stints with India women, most recently between April 2017 and July 2018. In this period, the team finished runners-up at the 50-over World Cup in England. Soon after, he resigned citing “personal reasons” after strained relations with a few senior players who he felt “needed to step out of their comfort zone.”Among the overseas names is Lewis, 53, who played County Cricket for Durham and Essex across a career that spanned 205 first-class matches and 236 List A games. He is the coach of the Trent Rockets in the Women’s Hundred, and was up for the England job as well but that went to a different Jon Lewis.While the BCCI is keen to have the new coach link up with the squad ahead of India’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh in July, it’s likely Kanitkar could be in charge of the squad in a stop-gap arrangement if he isn’t handed the reigns full-time. Kanitkar, the former India allrounder, is an NCA-certified coach and is currently in charge of the Under-19 probables camp in Bengaluru.India women haven’t played international cricket since the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February-March where they were the losing semi-finalists. In May, the BCCI had shortlisted a targeted group of 30 players and put them through a rigorous conditioning camp in Bengaluru.Their next assignment is a limited-overs tour to Bangladesh beginning July 9. The BCB expects the Indian team to arrive in Dhaka on July 6, but the BCCI’s selection committee is yet to name the squad for the tour comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is. It’s understood that the members of the “targeted group” that attended the NCA camp have all been asked to submit their passports for the BCCI to fast-track their visa applications.

Promotion hopefuls Glamorgan are pressing for victory after Derbyshire collapsed dramatically on the third day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match at Derby.After an opening stand of 165 between Luis Reece and Harry Came, Derbyshire lost seven wickets for 44 to be bowled out for 318 but following on, the pair again played well to close on 78 without loss, 125 runs behind.Reece scored 131, his first Championship hundred of the season, and Came 65 but the home side fell apart against the second new ball as Glamorgan secured maximum bonus points.Leus du Plooy made 41 to complete 1,000 Championship runs for the season but his dismissal started the slide with Timm van der Gugten finishing with 3 for 94.Until that second new ball, Derbyshire had looked comfortable as they accumulated steadily against accurate but mainly unthreatening bowling.On a rain-interrupted morning, Came and Reece played patiently with the former reaching his 50 from 162 balls as the pair recorded Derbyshire’s highest opening stand against Glamorgan at Derby.The bowlers were getting little out of a slow pitch and after a brief rain break, it was a lapse in concentration that brought about the breakthrough. Came was tempted into driving at a wide ball from van der Gugten and edged into the gloves of Chris Cooke.It had taken 64 overs but Glamorgan only had to wait another four balls as Brooke Guest, who scored centuries in both innings of the corresponding match last season, was trapped on the crease lbw for a duck.Another shower left Reece on 99 at lunch but he completed his hundred immediately after the resumption with an edge past the slips off van der Gugten for his 12th four.When du Plooy drove van der Gugten to the cover boundary, he reached 1,000 Championship runs in a season for Derbyshire for the first time and although he was dropped at slip off Mitchell Swepson on 33, the wheels came flying off shortly afterwards.Reece was caught off the glove sweeping Swepson and when the new ball was taken, Jamie McIlroy got some late movement to have du Plooy caught behind.Haider Ali went in the next over cutting at van der Gugten and Anuj Dal failed to make the most of a dropped catch in the slips before he had scored when he edged McIlroy behind.At tea, Derbyshire needed another 63 to avoid following-on but the last four wickets went for only two runs in 19 balls. Andy Gorvin was getting the ball to swing in the overcast conditions but Alex Thomson edged a big drive before Tom Wood missed a sweep at Swepson.Gorvin tempted Zak Chappell into a drive which secured full bowling points and when George Scrimshaw was run out, Glamorgan had no hesitation in putting Derbyshire back in.The good news for the hosts was that the sun was now out and batting became easier as Came and Reece combined again to frustrate Glamorgan.David Lloyd rotated his bowlers but Derbyshire’s openers played responsibly to bat 33 overs to the close and give their side a chance of saving the match with Reece unbeaten on 53.

Australia will go into a Test without a frontline spinner for the first time in more than 10 years after Todd Murphy was omitted for Old Trafford where the visitors can retain the Ashes with a draw and clinch the series with a victory.The final selection call came down to Murphy or Cameron Green with the allrounder, who missed the Headingley Test with a minor hamstring injury, winning out. It will give Australia a very deep batting order with Alex Carey pencilled in at No. 8 and Pat Cummins at No. 10.There had been a squeeze on selection after Mitchell Marsh, who replaced Green in Leeds, scored a superb first-innings century but it remains very unusual for Australia to forgo their spinner.The last time Australia did not field a specialist spinner was against India in Perth in 2011-12, early in Nathan Lyon’s career before he became a fixture and went on to feature in 100 consecutive Tests until the series-ending calf injury he suffered at Lord’s.Related

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Had Lyon been fit there would have been no question of leaving him out for this match, but the selectors have gone for a different route regarding the inexperienced Murphy who had a very limited role at Headingley, bowling just 9.3 overs.”Nathan Lyon is the greatest offspinner we’ve ever had so it’s not quite apples for apples,” Cummins said. “We are really excited by Todd, think he’s fantastic. Would have loved to use him a bit more last week, think conditions just favoured pace bowling.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We played a Test in Hobart last year in the Ashes where Nath didn’t bowl an over. It’s all conditions based, we are really excited by Todd, we think he’s a gun, we love having him around, he’s got a big future. It was more conditions or the way I used him, as opposed to how he bowled.”Lyon had played a key role in Australia’s win at Edgbaston, but the aggressive way England bat can mean less opportunity for a spinner to get into a match especially when conditions favour pace. They have only batted longer than 80 overs once in the series.Murphy’s omission will leave the bulk of any spin bowling Australia require in the hands of Travis Head, although Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne could also contribute. Head has become an increasingly useful option for Cummins with the past 12 months bringing all nine of his Test wickets at 17.55 although four of those came in very helpful conditions in Galle.”When Nath played he obviously hasn’t had to bowl much but still provides something a little bit different to Nath so have used him a little bit,” Cummins said. “Really confident [in him], he defends himself well, uses a bit of drift as much as spin and he’s quite clever. Lot a confidence in his bowling, and we’ve got Smithy and Marny who can bowl some leggies, too.”Moeen Ali, who has a good record at Old Trafford with 16 wickets at 18.50 from three Tests, argued that a frontline spinner was a must, but Australia have thought differently.”You have to play a spinner in a Test match no matter where it is, in my opinion, but Old Trafford especially,” he said. “I think the way they used him [Murphy], it was a difficult one, I think the chase was a difficult one because we would have preferred facing a spinner. [They] were missing Nathan Lyon, who has been a massive part of the team and does an amazing job for them.”

Mahika Gaur and Lauren Filer showed off more than a glimpse of a bright future for England, each taking three wickets on ODI debut to set up their side’s seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Durham.Combined with three wickets for legspinner Sarah Glenn and Amy Jones’ prowess behind the stumps – becoming the first England wicketkeeper to take five catches in a women’s ODI innings – the duo helped bowl Sri Lanka out for 106 inside 31 overs and the home batters reeled in their paltry target for the loss of just three wickets with 32 overs to spare.Gaur, who at just 17 had played 19 T20Is for UAE before making her England debut in the format with two matches against Sri Lanka during this tour, was handed her maiden ODI cap by retired seamer Katherine Sciver-Brunt and she honoured the changing of the guard with 3 for 26, including the prize dismissal of captain Chamari Attapaththu for just 10. Impressive quick Filer then got in on the act, snaring two wickets in two balls and three in total for figures of 3 for 27 after England won the toss.Legspinner Glenn was England’s only frontline Spinner with Sophie Ecclestone injured – although she would have been rested for the series anyhow – and offspinner Charlie Dean overlooked. She also took 3 for 20 as Sri Lanka failed to halt their slide, sparked – and ended – by Gaur.Gaur’s second delivery in ODI cricket resulted in five wides, a length ball to Anushka Sanjeewani swaying down the leg side and evading wicketkeeper Jones’ attempt to gather. Seven dot balls followed from the tall teen, however, including a gem which shaped back past Sanjeewani’s bat and bounced over the stumps and another which beat Attapaththu’s outside edge after jagging away from an off-stump line.Attapaththu, Sri Lanka’s captain and danger player after playing a decisive role in both her side’s T20I wins over England, chipped a low full toss over midwicket off Gaur two balls later but, at the end of her next over, Gaur snared a prize wicket with a beauty which angled in then moved away to clatter into the top of Attapaththu’s off stump, gone for just 10.When Gaur bowled Sanjeewani with a full inswinger that smashed middle stump, her debut struck dream territory and England were off to the best start they could have hoped for, their opponents reduced to 26 for 2.Glenn trapped Vishmi Gunaratne lbw and then Filer was brought into the attack to excellent effect. Where England had struggled against Sri Lanka’s spinners in losing the last two T20Is, the tourists had no answers for Filer’s raw pace.Filer came on in the 14th over then struck with the third ball of her next, when she did Hasini Perera for pace and bounce, pulling back her length and brushing the glove as Jones did the rest. Then, in the 20th over, Filer claimed the back-to-back wickets of Kavisha Dilhari and Nilakshi de Silva, both caught behindJones also removed Harshitha Samarawickrama off Alice Capsey when England overturned umpire James Middlebrook’s not-out decision and Oshadi Ranasinghe attempting to cut a turning Glenn delivery. Then Glenn bowled Achini Kulasuriya through the gate with one that gripped the surface.Fittingly, it was Gaur who closed out Sri Lanka’s innings with another stunning delivery that nipped into Udeshika Prabodhani, slid between bat and pad and kissed the top of leg stump.Having twice been bowled out inside 20 overs during their defeats to Sri Lanka, England welcomed back ODI openers Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb to the 50-over format and the pair guided their side to 61 without loss before Beaumont fell for 32 attempting to cut Inoka Ranaweera only to find the hands of Hasini, diving low to her right at slip. Lamb was gone in the next over, chipping Ranasinghe to mid-off.Despite Heather Knight gloving her attempted sweep off Dilhari behind with eight more runs needed, Maia Bouchier – another making her maiden ODI appearance – struck the winning runs, a four off Athapaththu through the covers to make it a day for the debutants.

Warwickshire 147 for 4 dec (Rhodes 44, White 3-37) and 176 for 8 (Burgess 78*, Sanderson 5-42) beat Northamptonshire 250 (Nair 78, Gay 77, Hannon-Dalby 7-46) and 72 for 0 dec (Gay 31*, Hassan 30*) by two wicketsNorthamptonshire’s relegation from LV=Insurance County Championship Division One was effectively sealed by a two-wicket defeat to Warwickshire at Edgbaston.The home side overcame a top-order implosion caused by a hat-trick by Ben Sanderson (5 for 42) to chase down an artificially created target of 176 in 60 overs. They lurched to 24 for 5 following Sanderson’s hat-trick, but sixth-wicket pair Michael Burgess (78 not out,rom 128 balls) and Ed Barnard (41, 71) added 70 and Burgess batted with skill and composure to see his side home in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 52 with Olly Hannon-Dalby.Needing a win to preserve any realistic hopes of survival, the visitors had to accept any equation offered to them on the last day of the rain-affected match. Warwickshire vindicated their caution by collapsing early on, but recovered to record a win that pretty much buries Northants. Jon Sadler’s side is not mathematically relegated but needs a highly unlikely combination of maximum-point wins from their last two games (Surrey and Essex) and Kent or Middlesex collecting no points at all.Delivering the agreed target required a morning of faffing about. Warwickshire declared 103 behind and then opened the bowling with wicketkeeper Burgess. Hassan Azad (30, 70 balls) and Emilio Gay (31, 65) enjoyed an outdoor net to add 72 in 22.3 overs before the declaration arrived ten minutes before lunch.With their side’s recent top-order travails in mind, Warwickshire’s supporters were taking nothing for granted and duly saw the top five depart for a combined 20 runs in 10.2 overs. Kraigg Brathwaite’s unproductive start to his Warwickshire career (42 in four innings) continued when Jack White clipped his off stump and Sanderson then delivered a masterclass of an over.