Sibley triple-hundred piles pain on Durham as Surrey notch 820-9 dec

Surrey break 126-year record for their highest total after opener extends marathon innings to 305

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jun-2025Durham 59 for 1 trail Surrey 820 for 9 dec (Sibley 305, Lawrence 178, Jacks 119) by 761 runsDom Sibley’s ten-hour 305, plus quickfire hundreds from both Dan Lawrence and Will Jacks, propelled Surrey to 820 for 9 declared at the Kia Oval, the biggest first-class total in the club’s long history.Resuming on 407 for 3, they broke their 126-year-old county record after batting on until just after tea on day two and prolonging Durham’s suffering in scorching sunshine and sweltering temperatures above 30 degrees.And in 28 overs before the close, Surrey then held Durham to 59 for 1 in reply with some testing bowling and will look to put the visitors under further pressure on days three and four of this Rothesay County Championship Division One fixture.Matt Fisher struck at the start of his second over with the new ball to bowl Emilio Gay behind his legs for 7, and it could have been better for Surrey if they had clung on to catches offered by Alex Lees, on 11, and Will Rhodes on 12.Lees, who reached stumps on 33, cut Tom Lawes’ first ball to cover where Jordan Clark could not hold a low diving chance and Rhodes, unbeaten on 16 at the close, was put down by Sibley at second slip off Clark.Sibley, on 169 overnight, eventually added 334 in 53 overs with Lawrence, a fourth-wicket record for Surrey against Durham. Lawrence cruised from 58 at the start of the day to 178 – as with Sibley, his first-class career best – before slicing Daniel Hogg to point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lawrence struck four sixes and 19 fours in an eye-catching 149-ball effort, while Jacks was just as effortlessly brutal in his own 119 from 94 balls – also hitting four sixes. Sibley and Jacks put on a further 133 in 21 overs for the fifth wicket.The declaration came when Jacks skied Hogg to deep mid-off looking to hit a third successive six, after Surrey had opted to bat on after tea for what proved to be another 12 balls and 17 runs.But the first post-tea Jacks blow off Hogg, swung high and far over a short mid-wicket boundary, took Surrey past their previous highest total in first-class matches – the 811 scored against Somerset at the Oval in May 1899.Sibley’s 475-ball epic, featuring two sixes and 29 fours but for the main part a relentless display of risk-free accumulation, was the eighth first-class individual score of 300 or more by a Surrey batter, and the seventh highest.The former England Test opener joins an illustrious list topped by Bobby Abel and also including Kevin Pietersen, Walter Read, Sir Jack Hobbs, Tom Hayward, Andy Ducat and Mark Ramprakash. Two more Surrey players, John Edrich and Andy Sandham, scored triple-hundreds for England.Surrey’s total, meanwhile, was also the highest first-class total made against Durham, beating the 810 for 4 declared reached by Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1994. That was when Brian Lara hit his famous 501 not out, with Sibley joining Lara, Graeme Hick and Darren Lehmann as the fourth man to top 300 against Durham.When Sibley fell, to leave Surrey 745 for 5 in the 152nd over, he was only 24 runs short of becoming the first batsman to complete 1000 first-class runs this season and thoroughly deserved a standing ovation from a sizeable crowd boosted by the enthusiastic presence of more than 5000 schoolchildren.Clark, who contributed 24 in 16 balls, Josh Blake and Lawes all departed cheaply while Jacks continued to pile on the agony for a Durham attack missing Ben Raine, nursing an injury after bowling ten overs on day one.George Drissell, the offspinner, hit by Lawrence for 6, 6, 4 in successive balls at one stage, bore the brunt of Surrey’s hunger for runs. His 45 overs cost 247, the most runs conceded by a bowler in the County Championship, and he finished with just one wicket to show for his labours.

Zak Crawley settles the nerves as he bounces back from Perth pair

Opener produces vital half-century to help revive England from another wobbly start

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2025After their combined tally of eight runs in four innings at Perth, it proved to be a day of revived fortunes at the Gabba for two of the most scrutinised batters in England’s ranks. While Joe Root secured the plaudits for his magnificent maiden century on Australian soil, Zak Crawley’s bounce-back from a first-Test pair proved a similarly cathartic display.Though he fell when well set, gloving a pull off Michael Neser shortly after the first interval, his 76 from 93 balls was nonetheless a crucial contribution, coming as it did after his first-Test nemesis Mitchell Starc had again struck hard with the new ball, dismissing Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope for ducks in his first two overs.Crawley, by then, had already driven Starc through the covers for four, to bring up his first runs of the series, and he carried on in a similar vein, picking off a total of 11 boundaries, the majority coming when Australia’s bowlers strayed into his arc.”I did feel good, to be honest,” Crawley told TNT Sports at the close of the first day’s play. “I felt much better than Perth. I was just trying to keep it simple, just trying to score straight on the leg side, and then if it was really full, maybe on the off side. Yeah, I was happy with my knock.”Crawley’s relative watchfulness outside off was the key feature of his innings, and a tribute to the hours in the nets that England have put in (in between some notable moments of downtime) since their two-day defeat in the series opener.”I think it’d have felt a long break if I’d have got two hundreds, to be honest,” he said. “It was big old gap after a two-day game. But yeah, it’s a good chance to get some practice in. And I felt comfortable. I felt calm today, and managed to settle the nerves. So I was pleased with how I played.”I had a clear plan and I stuck to it. There were still a couple of loose shots in there, as I tend to do, but got away with them, and I played nicely down the ground as well. By trying to score on the leg side, that made me leave a bit better outside off with the extra bounce today, and then when I got in, the ball started doing a bit less.”England’s close-of-play score of 325 for 9 looked significantly more healthy thanks to an unbeaten tenth-wicket stand of 61 between Root, who finished unbeaten on 135, and Jofra Archer, whose 32 not out was his highest Test score, in just his second innings at No.11.Until Australia have batted, it will be hard to tell how good that score actually is, but after the groundstaff had given the pitch a final trim to 3mm of grass before the match, Crawley knew it had been a good toss for England to win, notwithstanding their early collapse to 5 for 2.Related

  • Lyon 'absolutely filthy' after being left out of consecutive pink-ball Tests

  • Rip me up and start again: cricket's most thrilling art is also the most self-destructive

  • The world where Lyon doesn't play at the Gabba

  • Wood set to miss second Test after long road back from injury

“The last few days, it’s been really green here. So we all thought it’s going to be a green nipper again. And they obviously shaved it this morning, so it looked like a great wicket to bat on, with the overheads as well.”I was gutted to get out when I did, the pitch was just getting a bit flatter there,” he added. “But obviously we finished the day well with Rooty and Jof at the end there. So it’s good day.”At 264 for 9 with approximately half an hour of the day remaining, there had been some speculation that England might declare to insert Australia under the lights, much as they had done in their previous pink-ball Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui two years ago. But with Root going strong, and with memories of England’s infamous declaration at Edgbaston in 2023, Crawley said a repeat scenario had not been on the cards.”No talk of declaring,” he said. “We were talking about boys going really hard, and if they got out, then it was kind of a win-win situation. So they went hard, and they came off, and there’s a valuable 50 runs there for us.”Root will be on strike when day two gets underway, and will have the chance to extend England’s innings into the morning session, with six overs to come until the new ball is due. For now, though, he will have a chance to savour a significant landmark in his career, and one that may just confirm his credentials as England’s greatest Test batter.”I’m chuffed for him,” Crawley said, after Root’s 40th Test hundred and his first in Australia. “He hasn’t been speaking about it at all to us, that’s just the outside noise. He’s just very focused on just getting whatever score is needed on the day, and proved to be a hundred today.”But he’s the best player I’ve ever played with, or probably against as well. And he’s a champion bloke. I’m chuffed to bits for him.”

Shakib bowling action saga: BCB wait on results from Chennai before CT 2025 decision

He is in the mix for selection for the upcoming tournament with board president Faruque and ODI captain Shanto giving their nods already

Mohammad Isam08-Jan-2025Shakib Al Hasan is awaiting the result of a second test of his bowling action from Chennai in India after failing his previous assessment from UK’s Loughborough University that had left him suspended from bowling in top-flight domestic and international cricket.Shakib was reported for a suspect action during an English county match in September. This prompted the ECB’s action, and, in accordance with clause 11.3 of the ICC’s regulations for illegal bowling actions, his suspension was automatically recognised and enforced by the ICC in international cricket and by all national cricket federations in their respective domestic competitions.Shakib is expecting a result from the Chennai centre in a day or two, which is also keeping the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) from naming their Champions Trophy squad. Shakib is in consideration after board president Faruque Ahmed said on January 3 that he wants Shakib back in the team. It was also reported recently that Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto gave his nod to the BCB about Shakib’s return for ODIs.Related

  • Shakib Al Hasan fails second test of bowling action

  • Champions Trophy 2025: Shakib Al Hasan, and other topics on Bangladesh's selectors' plate

  • Shakib suspended from bowling in all top-level cricket, domestic and international

Shakib had been out of international cricket since he played the two Tests in India last year. He couldn’t travel to Bangladesh in the face of students’ protests. Shakib was a member of parliament of the Awami League government, which resigned from power in the face of student-led revolution in Bangladesh, on August 5.After the two Tests in India however, Shakib was reported for suspected action in England. The suspension came in December. He was already playing franchise cricket in UAE and Sri Lanka, as the BCB were also weighing his options for selection, to stay in line with Bangladesh’s interim government.BCB’s chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said on Wednesday that he heard that Shakib has undergone a second bowling action test in Chennai, but couldn’t confirm the details.”It was very shocking to hear that Shakib couldn’t pass the bowling action test [at Loughborough],” Gazi said. “I will have to find out whether he has tested himself again. We have to wait for this information. The board hasn’t instructed us fully on Shakib. I think every minute counts. I am sure we can clarify this in a day or two.”Mohammad Salahuddin meanwhile said that he has given some tips over a video call to Shakib in the last few weeks to help him correct his bowling action issue.”He already went through the test,” Salahuddin told on Tuesday. “I know the A-Z of Shakib’s bowling. I couldn’t go and train him (in India). I think he knows what to do. We discussed a few things about what he has to do with his arm. We don’t need a big change in his bowling action. He can do it quickly too. But when an allegation comes, a person usually has to think about it.”Salahuddin said that Shakib couldn’t bowl with a correct action in an effort to impart more spin on the ball during the county game in Taunton in September. Shakib was trying to get some cricket with a red-ball ahead of Bangladesh’s tour of India.”I think it was due to extreme workload. Maybe he tried to impart more spin on the ball, for which he needed to use his upper body,” Salahuddin said. “It must have been one or two balls which came into question. When you can’t get strength from your legs, you have to drive from your arms. It is natural. I think he can fix it.”

Two-day tour game expected to be 50-over match on Sunday after rain

The first day was washed out in Canberra

Alagappan Muthu30-Nov-2024The first day of the two-day pink ball game between India and the Prime Minister’s XI was washed out due to persistent rain.Chances of play were remote with a steady drizzle bedding in from almost 10am right through to about 5.30pm during which time the covers stayed firmly on. The Indian team did come over to the ground but there wasn’t much reason for them to stick around.The rain did stop, briefly, late in the day, and there was a flurry of activity, with the covers being peeled off and members of both teams’ support staff being briefed by the two umpires. But when the groundstaff restored the covers, packed up and left at 6.30pm, it was clear that there would be no cricket. Much heavier rain came through at 7pm.The game is expected to resume as a 50-over affair starting from 2.40pm on Sunday. Tickets for Saturday’s play will be refunded.The day-night match was going to be India’s only chance of getting any game time with the pink ball under lights, especially or India captain Rohit Sharma who joined the squad after missing the first Test in Perth, which India won by 295 runs. Sunday could also be the return for Shubman Gill, who missed the first game because of a thumb injury and had returned to the nets in Canberra on Friday.The second Test is a day-night game from December 6 in Adelaide, where India were bowled out for 36 in their last outing there.

'It will always be there' – Botha warns Kuhnemann after suspect action report

Kuhnemann’s Brisbane Heat coach Johan Botha fears a long road ahead for the spinner even if he is cleared of a suspect bowling action

Alex Malcolm13-Feb-2025Former South Africa offspinner and current Queensland and Brisbane Heat coach Johan Botha believes Matthew Kuhnemann will always wear the stigma of having his action reported regardless of whether he is cleared or not when he undergoes testing in the coming weeks.Kuhnemann, who plays under Botha at Heat, was reported by match officials for having a suspect bowling action during Australia’s second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last week.Related

  • Kuhnemann cleared of suspect bowling action by ICC

  • Kuhnemann's action to be tested despite thumb injury

  • Lyon 'extremely proud' of Kuhnemann's courage

  • Kuhnemann reported for suspect action after Sri Lanka Test

Botha had problems with his bowling action throughout his career and said Kuhnemann faces a difficult road ahead even if he is cleared.”It is a long process and unfortunately either way if you get cleared or not it will always be there,” Botha told SEN in Brisbane. “Guys think it’s a one-off and you get rid of it. That is not how it is. It is a bit of a process. For now he will have to bowl at a very similar speed and revolutions as he did in the Tests. Nothing gets changed now.”He needs to try and prove himself not guilty and from there on if it is a ball or so over 15 degrees he will obviously have some work to do, then a long process starts. It never goes away because there is always someone in the crowd, someone in the opposition, or a match referee who wants to have a say or wants to feel a part of it.”Unfortunately this will be part of it now. It is never the guy who gets 0 for 100. It is the guys who get wickets and affect games. They are the ones under scrutiny. Guys want to have a look at it and try and find fault.”Kuhnemann has never been reported previously in an eight-year professional career, including when he first played ODI cricket for Australia in Sri Lanka in 2022 and when he made his Test debut and played three Tests on the 2023 tour of India.Johan Botha has his action tested in 2006•Getty Images

Botha added it is possible his action came under scrutiny at the back end of the second Test because of fatigue.”He bowled quite a lot balls in the Test series. As you get tired your action gets put under pressure,” Botha said. “I know he likes to bowl. He bowled quite a lot during the Big Bash. He went to Australia training when they were at the Gabba during the Big Bash.”I’d be interested to see when the umpires thought or the match referee thought it was not as clean as they would have liked it. And I would guess it could be later in the game. When you start getting tired, the ball is older and softer and you have to try and generate a little bit more pace. Whereas with the new ball it obviously comes off the wicket a bit quicker so I don’t think you need to force it so much.”Botha said his own experience had taught him that it is hard to recognise problems in your own action. He was first reported soon after his debut Test in January 2006 and was subsequently banned from bowling by the ICC. Another examination in August that year found his action to be illegal once again and he was cleared to bowl only in November.In 2009, following an ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth, Botha was reported once again and this time the ICC ruled that his action while bowling the doosra was illegal and he was banned from bowling it. His other deliveries, however, were found to be within permissible limits.Botha was again cited in 2013 while playing an Australian domestic 50-over match for South Australia. He was once again tested and was cleared entirely.”I’ve looked at my stuff over the years and it doesn’t feel like it looks at times,” Botha said. “There’s a whole lot of different things. It’s a big process.”Hopefully for Kuhney’s sake it’s just a little hiccup and it’s nothing serious. I really thought in the last couple of days about things I did to change it which I might pass onto him. But I think for the first bowling test you’ve got to go and bowl as close to as you did in the Test match. There’s no use trying to change things now. That could make it worse.”Kuhnemann will now have to undergo independent testing at an ICC-accredited centre with Brisbane the likely location. Bowlers are permitted 15 degrees of flex in their elbow during their bowling action but anything more than that is deemed illegal.Kuhnemann is still available to play Sheffield Shield or Dean Jones Trophy (Australia domestic 50-over games) matches while undergoing testing but he cannot play in international matches during the process. He did not play in Tasmania’s 50-over clash with Victoria on Thursday.

Imam-ul-Haq joins Yorkshire after Ruturaj Gaikwad withdraws from deal

Opening batter arrives in time for four-day clash with Surrey at Scarborough; Jewell back at Derbyshire in 2026

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2025Imam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan opening batter, has joined Yorkshire as an overseas signing for the remainder of the season.Imam, the nephew of Pakistan great Inzamam, has scored three hundreds in 24 Test appearances, and a further nine in 75 ODIs, and has previously represented Somerset in the County Championship in 2022.He will go straight into Yorkshire’s squad for their Championship clash with Surrey at Scarborough, and will remain with the team for their Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign, and the culmination of the Championship in September.Related

  • Surrey sign Sai Kishore for two-game County Championship stint

  • Gaikwad pulls out of county deal with Yorkshire due to personal reasons

  • Nathan Gilchrist agrees Warwickshire move, Tom Price heading to Sussex

In March, Imam helped Pakistan Television win the President’s Cup, Pakistan’s domestic tournament. He arrives at Yorkshire after Ruturaj Gaikwad, the India batter, withdrew from his planned stint at the club for personal reasons.”We’re delighted that Imam has joined us and that he will be available immediately,” Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket, said. “Whilst we were naturally disappointed that Ruturaj couldn’t join up with the squad, in Imam we have an exceptional player of proven international quality.”Imam has an impressive record and is already familiar with domestic cricket in this country which will stand us in good stead for a crucial block of fixtures.”We are grateful for the speed in which he has arrived in the country and everyone at the club is looking forward to working with him through until the end of the season.”

Jewell signs for Derbyshire return in 2026

Derbyshire, meanwhile, have confirmed that Australia A batter Caleb Jewell will be back at the County Ground next summer after signing a contract for the 2026 season.Jewell has been a key part of the Derbyshire side that is currently second in Division Two and looking to secure promotion for the first time in more than a decade. The left-hander is fifth on the division’s run-scoring list, with 821 runs at 54.73, including a career-best 232 against Kent.”Caleb has performed brilliantly in the first half of the season, despite adapting to new conditions, and we were keen to get a deal done quickly,” Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said.”As well as his stellar performances, Caleb has also settled into our dressing room really well. He brings real grit and determination to our ranks, the exact qualities you want from an overseas signing.Jewell said: “I’ve loved my time with Derbyshire so far and I’m really happy to have signed for next season already. There’s a great bunch of players at this club, they’ve all made me feel so welcome and that’s been reflected on the field with positive results, particularly in red-ball cricket.”Hopefully we can have a strong 50-over competition and then focus our efforts on staying in the hunt for promotion, to give our supporters a really memorable season.”

Southern Brave make history with 100% league record

Lauren Bell triggers 8 for 27 collapse to consign Welsh Fire to bottom of the pile

ECB Media28-Aug-2025Southern Brave 106 for 8 (Adams 30*, Matthews 2-16) beat Welsh Fire 77 for 9 (Beaumont 28, Bell 4-6) by 29 runsIn the final match before The Hundred Eliminator on Saturday – and with the teams already inked in for that game, which will decide who takes on the Southern Brave in Sunday’s final – this top versus bottom clash was a chance for the home side to maintain their unbeaten record, a feat never before achieved in The Hundred, or for the Fire to find a spark from the dying embers of their campaign.And it looked for all the world like the visitors would do just that, a disciplined bowling performance restricting an experimental Brave batting line-up to just 106 for 8. It took skipper Georgia Adams’ resolute unbeaten innings (30 off 26) to get them up to that mark, with no batter able to break the shackles imposed by Hayley Matthews and Katie Levick.The Fire, low on confidence as they doubtless were, will have gone in at the break believing they could chalk up a statement victory.For the home side, Danni Wyatt-Hodge (24 off 23) and Freya Kemp (18 off 19) were the only other batters to manage double figures, while Sophie Devine’s appearance at No.8 showed that the Brave were looking to give some other batters time at the crease before Sunday’s high-stakes final.A sprightly start by Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont (28 off 29) did nothing to dispel the Fire’s belief but slowly, surely, the Brave’s superb and well-marshalled bowling attack started to turn the screw. 50 for 1 in 56 balls became 56 for 5 in 68 and the Fire had lost four wickets for six runs in 13 deliveries as a slow and low pitch made strokeplay difficult. The Brave, brimming with confidence, took full toll.Freya Kemp’s brilliant run out of Georgia Elwiss, who had just hit the Fire’s first boundary for 40 balls, was the icing on the cake and Fire’s race was run shortly after.Lauren Bell continued an outstanding tournament by finishing with the stunning figures of 4 for 6 off her full allocation – becoming this year’s leading wicket-taker in the process – as the Fire limped to 77 for 9, having lost eight wickets for 27, to lose by 29 runs.Meerkat Match Hero Lauren Bell said: “It’s been a really good tournament and I feel in a good place. We bowled exceptionally as a unit; we talk about how dots are really important and we fielded great – we are an unbelievable fielding unit.”It’s massive to get eight from eight and we can take that momentum into the final now. We didn’t want to slip up here, and at Lord’s on Sunday we’ll keep our plans really clear, keep doing the basics and enjoy the day.”

Hick takes England Masters to title

England Masters comprehensively defeated South Africa Masters by eight wickets to take the Cricket Legends of Barbados International Cup

Cricinfo staff06-Dec-2009
ScorecardEngland Masters were winners of the inaugural Cricket Legends of Barbados International Cup. They comprehensively defeated South Africa Masters by eight wickets with one over to spare to take the Cup and the US$50,000 prize money.Graeme Hick, who was Man of the Series, was at the forefront of the victory with a breathtaking, unbeaten 67. He and acting captain Mark Ramprakash, who chipped in with an attacking 51 not out, put on a wonderful 116 in 14. 2 overs for the third wicket.Ramprakash finished the tournament in grand style, driving through extra cover for a boundary. He hit two fours and one six, while Hick smashed three fours and three sixes.Graham Thorpe made a quick 32 from 19 deliveries with five fours and one six to give the innings the early impetus before he skied a catch to cover.The South Africans were put into bat and made 156 for five. They were reduced to 38 for 3, but Dale Benkenstein (52) and Lance Klusener (43) pulled things around with a stand of 71 in 9.2 overs for the fourth wicket.Benkenstein hit two fours and a pair of sixes, while Klusener lashed two huge sixes in John Emburey’s final over.Pat Symcox (18) and Adrian Kupier (15) and added 33 vital runs for the sixth wicket in 3.1 overs. In the end, another 20 might have made the difference.Fast bowler Devon Malcolm picked up the first three wickets to claim three for 17 from four overs and was named Man of the Match.

Ghosh, Ahuja script stunning comeback as RCB complete WPL's biggest chase

They put on an unbroken 93 off just 37 balls as RCB chased down 202 in a canter against Gujarat Giants in Vadodara

Shashank Kishore14-Feb-2025A run-fest that produced the highest aggregate as well as the highest successful chase in the WPL ended with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru chasing down 202 in a canter in Vadodara.Richa Ghosh, who was dropped first ball, showed there was more to her game than just brute force. Her 23-ball half-century injected momentum into RCB’s chase after Ellyse Perry’s dismissal for 57 left them needing 93 off 46 balls. Ghosh’s unbeaten, 26-ball 64 included a stunning takedown of Gujarat Giants captain Ashleigh Gardner in a 23-run 16th over to turn the game on its head.Ghosh was supported by the diminutive left-hander Kanika Ahuja, who scored an unbeaten 13-ball 30. Their unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 93 off just 37 balls completed a sensational RCB turnaround, consigning Gardner’s scarcely believable 37-ball 79 not out from earlier in the evening to second best.

RCB maintain an early leash

Renuka Singh struggled for accuracy in her first two overs, but her first attempt at bowling stump-to-stump rather than searching for devious inswing led to Laura Wolvaardt being bowled for 6 in the fifth over. D Hemalatha came in at N0. 3 for Giants rather than Harleen Deol, and they were two down when she sliced the offspinner Ahuja to point. Giants were 41 for 2 in the seventh.Ashleigh Gardner smacked 79 not out off 37 balls•BCCI

Mooney ups the ante

Beth Mooney shifted gears in the 10th over after she successfully overturned an lbw appeal through DRS off legspinner Georgia Wareham, whome she hit for three back-to-back fours while bringing up a 37-ball half-century. Mooney then stepped out and lofted legspinner Prema Rawat inside-out to the extra-cover boundary, but fell in the same over when she picked out Smriti Mandhana at midwicket for 56.

Gardner takes charge

That brought in Deandra Dottin, and she took just four balls to announce herself. She first thumped Kim Garth over mid-off and then played a neat little glide past the keeper to the deep third boundary.At the other end, Gardner continued from where she had left off at the Women’s Ashes earlier in the month by taking toll of Rawat’s inexperience and hitting her for three consecutive sixes. After hitting the first two over long-off and long-on, she pummelled the half-tracker that followed over deep backward square leg.Gardner was able to sustain this momentum against Wareham in the following over when she hit her for back-to-back fours. The Dottin-Gardner partnership had surged to 63 off 26 balls when Perry dropped a set Dottin at long-on, but it wouldn’t cost RCB much as she fell four balls later.Gardner ended the innings in a blaze, taking down the teenaged seamer VJ Joshita as Giants hit 49 off the last three overs. Garner’s innings was studded with three fours and eight sixes.Ellyse Perry led RCB’s repair job after they lost two early wickets•BCCI

Giants turn sloppy after Gardner’s big strike

Gardner came into this match having dismissed Mandhana more often than any other bowler in T20s, and the head-to-head now gained a ninth dismissal. After starting the innings with back-to-back fours, Mandhana was lbw in the second over to a Gardner slider. In the same over, Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell attempting a slog on her RCB debut.At this point, Giants turned sloppy. Left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar put down Perry off her own bowling in the fourth over, when she was on 2, and Deol then dropped her at long-on in the eighth over when she was on 19. In between, wicketkeeper Mooney failed to collect a throw from Simran Shaikh at midwicket when Raghvi Bist and Perry were both mid-pitch following a mix-up. Bist, on debut, was on 15 then.RCB quickly went from 55 for 2 to 89 for 2 from overs 7 to 10.

Enter Richa Ghosh

Ghosh faced her first ball in the 12th over with RCB needing 101 off 53. That’s the only ball she might have faced but for Shaikh putting down her slog-sweep at deep midwicket. But the agony of that dropped chance seemed to dissipate when Perry was out caught at long-on in the next over, leaving RCB needing 93 off 46.It should have galvanised Giants, but things turned pear-shaped instead. The big momentum shift came in the 16th, when Ghosh clubbed Gardner for four fours and a six. A superb cocktail of muscle and finess allowed Ghosh to scythe a wide yorker between deep cover and long-off with two fielders out as easily as she slog-swept the offspinner when she fired it into her hitting arc.The 23-run over brought the equation down to 40 off 24, at which stage Ahuja joined in the fun. Ghosh brought up her half-century off just 23 balls in the 18th. Giants were deflated, and RCB soon brought up victory with nine balls to spare.

Radha Yadav replaces Asha Sobhana in India's XI after toss

The swap – because Asha picked up an injury while warming up – needed Australia’s nod since the playing XIs had already been announced

Shashank Kishore13-Oct-2024In a late swap that needed Australia’s consent, India brought in left-arm spinner Radha Yadav in place of legspinner Asha Sobhana into the playing XI for their final group fixture in Sharjah on Sunday.Asha was seen hobbling in the middle of a warm-up session just after the toss and was quickly taken out of the playing area for treatment by the support staff. She also didn’t subsequently line-up for the national anthems. Since Asha had already been named in the playing XI, India needed Australia’s nod to make the change, which came through.Australia themselves had a big blow in the lead up with Alyssa Healy, their captain, ruled out with a leg injury. Healy, who had injured her right foot in Australia’s previous game, had to use crutches to walk. In another injury update, fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup after dislocating her right shoulder in the same match.”Asha Sobhana is unable to participate in the today’s game against Australia after she suffered a knee injury during the warm-up on the sidelines of toss,” a BCCI statement said. “The ICC Match Referee requested the Australian captain [Tahlia McGrath] who agreed to the request for a replacement in India’s Playing XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring Asha’s progress.”Radha’s addition offers India not just a bowling option but also some lower-order batting depth. Radha didn’t start in the first three games but made a massive impact in their win over Sri Lanka by taking arguably one of the catches of the tournament at extra cover when she had come in as a substitute fielder.On match-eve, Radha was one of the bowlers who had a long one-on-one bowling session on a side net with head coach Amol Muzumdar.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus