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Three uncapped players, Tumi Sekhukhune, Saarah Smith and Robyn Searle, have been included in South Africa women’s squad that will tour the Caribbean for a limited-overs series in September and October. The trio had impressed at an annual North v South competition in Pretoria, where 26 of the country’s most promising cricketers played three T20s on consecutive days.

South Africa women squad

Dane van Niekerk (capt), Chloe Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee (wk), Sune Luus, Mignon du Preez, Marizanne Kapp, Shabnim Ismail, Raisibe Ntozakhe, Masabata Klaas, Zintle Mali, Trisha Chetty, Robyn Searle, Tumi Sekhukhune, Saarah Smith

The three-match ODI series and the first T20I will be played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, before the sides will move to the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad for the remaining four T20Is.It will be a crucial tour for South Africa, with West Indies also serving as the hosts for the World T20 to be held in November, a month after the tour ends, and may foreshadow South Africa’s fitness to compete at the global event. They will look to put a disappointing tour of England in July behind them, where they lost 2-1 to the hosts in the ODI series, before also enduring a disappointing T20I tri-series, which also included New Zealand.”As a selection panel, we conducted a debrief from the England tour and also the successful Bangladesh tour prior to that,” national convenor of selectors Clinton Du Preez said. “We discovered that there were a few areas where the team was falling short and we realised we had to look at different options and different types of skill-sets to try and set ourselves up well for the West Indies tour with the World Cup not far behind after that.”Robyn Searle came and played something out of the ordinary during the North vs South tournament, she had a really good time at the national academy and she’s played some great knocks which has put her in good stead as she’s challenged for a place in the national team. Saarah Smith has come on board and shown a lot of intent in the national academy as well. She’s really pushed for her place and we’re looking forward to seeing what she’ll bring to the national side. Tumi (Sekhukhune) has used the opportunities that she has received in her two seasons at the national academy and shown tremendous growth and maturity in a short period of time and we’re interested to see how she will take to this new challenge in the national team.”Du Preez also said South Africa weren’t neglecting the ODI series, even as the World T20 loomed. They will look to secure direct qualification for the 2021 World Cup – to be held in New Zealand – and the three-match ODI series against West Indies has points leading to the qualification at stake.”We can’t lose focus on the IWC because that allows for qualification into the World Cup 2021, so we need to make sure we are still giving ODI cricket the attention it deserves.”

Rain had the final say in the one-day series between Bangladesh A and Sri Lanka A as the third match met an early end in Sylhet. The series ended tied at 1-1 after the umpires called off the match at 4:20pm after play was stopped at 2:55pm due to heavy rain.Sri Lanka A reached 240 for 9 in 45 overs, with the innings being disrupted once due to a shower. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Ashan Priyanjan struck 75 and 53 respectively, and shared a 130-run second wicket stand. Later, skipper Thisara Perera made a run-a-ball 44 as the home side fought back through Sunzamul Islam’s four-wicket haul.In reply, when the Bangladesh A openers had taken the score to 12 for no loss in the fourth over, heavy rain arrived at the Sylhet Stadium. Perera was named the player-of-the-series.Sri Lanka A had earlier won the three-match unofficial Test series 1-0.

ICC/Getty

South Africa continued their 16-day domination at home by whitewashing Bangladesh 3-0 with a 23-run win in a rain-curtailed T20I in Bloemfontein. After the match was reduced to nine overs a side (three overs of Powerplay), South Africa defended their total of 64 with key contributions from fast bowlers Marizanne Kapp (2 for 8) and Ayabonga Khaka (3-10).Put in to bat, Tazmin Brits, South Africa’s new 27-year-old opener, top-scored with a 22-ball 29. Only one other player – Dane van Niekerk – scored in double digits as Brits took them to the eighth over, in which South Africa lost two wickets. Captain and offspinner Salma Khatun picked up 2 for 18 from her two overs.In the chase, Bangladesh were strangled from the start. Shabnim Ismail began proceedings with a maiden, which was followed by Kapp and Khaka striking in consecutive overs. Khaka struck again, twice actually, in three balls in the sixth over, and reduced the visitors to 26 for 4. The result was a formality thereafter. Only opener Shamima Sultana (12) and No. 6 Fahima Khatun (10) faced more than 10 balls each.South Africa had also beaten Bangladesh 5-0 in the ODI series.

Pakistan have decided to stick with almost exactly the same T20I squad that beat West Indies 3-0 in Karachi earlier this year for the two-match series against Scotland. The only change is batsman Haris Sohail coming in for the injured Babar Azam.Batsman Asif Ali, left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi and allrounder Hussain Talat, who made their international debuts in the series against West Indies, come back into the side to play their first games away from home. Ahmed Shehzad also returns, while Mohammad Amir, who appeared to be suffering from stiffness in his right shoulder on the final day of the Leeds Test, has been named in the squad.The two games will be played on June 12 and 13 in Edinburgh to wind up a tour that has seen Pakistan play Ireland’s first ever Test match, in addition to two Tests against England. Pakistan beat Ireland by 5 wickets in Malahide, before drawing 1-1 against England.T20 squad: Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Khan, Shaheen Afridi

Abhishek Sharma continued his magnificent tournament, following up his 39-ball 74 against Pakistan with a 37-ball 75, but Bangladesh still held India to a total of 168 for 6 after sending them in.India’s innings followed a pattern not unlike Pakistan’s against their bowlers on Sunday: a strong start followed by a dramatic slowdown when the ball became older and harder to time. India scored 95 runs in overs 4-11, when Abhishek ran rampant, and just 73 runs in the 12 overs either side of that stretch.Bangladesh made things difficult for Abhishek and Shubman Gill with new-ball swing in the first three overs, and then by varying their pace and using the grip on offer when the ball got old. In between, Abhishek played an incandescent innings, hitting five sixes to jump up to joint No. 7 on India’s all-time T20I six-hitting charts. He has now hit 58 sixes in just 21 innings; Suresh Raina, with whom he drew level, hit 58 in 66 innings.It’s a different sport now, and Abhishek lives on its cutting edge, and Bangladesh seemed to have no answers when he was cutting their bowling to ribbons. They could, however, have dismissed him for 7 off 8 in the third over, had the wicketkeeper held on to an edge off Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who came into an XI with as many as four changes and bowled brilliantly with the new ball, swinging it prodigiously while also hitting the deck hard.The wicketkeeper who shelled that chance – and Bangladesh’s captain on the night – was Jaker Ali, standing in for Litton Das who was ruled out with a side strain.That miss seemed to be costing Bangladesh dearly when India were 112 for 2 at the start of the 12th over. But a brilliant bit of fielding from Rishad Hossain – diving to his left to stop a dab from Suryakumar Yadav and springing up, ready to throw, in one motion – sent Abhishek back, run out, and changed the complexion of the game. India only scored 56 runs across their last nine overs. Hardik Pandya – who was out off the last ball of the innings for 38 off 29, did the bulk of the scoring.Their slide looked worse for coming against the backdrop of batting-order changes that didn’t come off on the day. India promoted Shivam Dube to No. 3, and sent in Hardik, Tilak Varma and Axar Patel above Sanju Samson, who did not get to bat at all.With batting usually a little easier in the second innings in Dubai, Bangladesh have a genuine chance of tripping India up and firming up their hopes of getting into Sunday’s final.

Devdutt Padikkal scored his seventh first-class hundred to lead India’s response as the first four-day game in Lucknow ended in a high-scoring draw.India A resumed the day on 403 for 4 with Padikkal on 86 and Dhruv Jurel on 113. Jurel could add only 27 to his overnight score but Padikkal carried on. Along with Tanush Kotian, he added 41 for the sixth wicket. Padikkal hit 14 fours and a six in his 150 before falling to Corey Rocchiccioli’s offspin.Soon after that, India declared their innings, on 531 for 7, one run behind Australia’s first-innings total. The Australian openers, Sam Konstas and Campbell Kellaway, came out to bat for 16 overs, in which they added an unbroken 56.Just like the previous three days, rain once again interrupted play on Friday.”Unfortunately, the rain probably didn’t help us over the four days,” Rocchiccioli said. “I think if there were no rain, it probably would have allowed for a result somewhere along the line. But it was an invaluable experience with the group that we have picked. The players who have played here… first hit out for some of them in a while. So to be able to play in some foreign conditions, learn your game a little bit better, have some really good conversations in the change rooms, I think has helped everyone be better for these conditions and move forward to the next game.”Rocchiccioli was the most successful Australian bowler, picking up 3 for 159 in 36.1 overs. Apart from dismissing Padikkal, he got rid of Shreyas Iyer and Kotian.”Look, there’s actually probably no direct plan,” he said when asked about the Iyer lbw. “I was just hoping to land the ball on the stumps. I probably didn’t bowl my best leading into that moment. Luckily enough, one sort of spun and took his pad. He is obviously a really big player that we looked at a lot during the pre-game, but there was nothing there that I thought was a weakness or anything. I just knew that I had to bowl good balls and ask good questions and I was lucky enough to have the wicket at that moment.”The second four-dayer will also be played in Lucknow, from September 23.

Wicketkeeper-batter Regis Chakabva has been named Zimbabwe captain for the upcoming ODI series against Bangladesh with regular captain Craig Ervineruled out with hamstring and knee injuries. Allrounder Sean Williams will also miss the series, with Zimbabwe Cricket saying he had been granted leave to “attend to some personal matters”. Blessing Muzarabani, who missed the T20I series against Bangladesh with an injury, continues to remain unavailable.Zimbabwe have also brought in fast bowler Brad Evans in place of the injured Tendai Chatara. Evans is yet to play an ODI, but was influential in Zimbabwe’s win in the third T20I, taking two wickets to hamper Bangladesh’s chase.Left-arm pacer Richard Ngarava returns to the ODI side, while quick Victor Nyauchi and left-arm spinner Wellington Masakadza are also included. Masakadza was the third highest wicket-taker in last season’s Logan Cup (Zimbabwe’s domestic 50-over tournament) with 35 wickets in seven games while Nyauchi finished fourth on the list with 32 wickets in seven matches.Allrounder Tarisai Musakanda and batters Tadiwanashe Marumani and Tony Munyonga have also been added to the squad. Musakanda, who has played 15 ODIs so far, last played for Zimbabwe in the format in 2021. Marumani made his debut in the ODI series against Bangladesh last year – where he scored 21 runs across three matches – and has not played in the format for Zimbabwe since. Munyonga, meanwhile, is yet to make his ODI debut.Chakabva, who made his Zimbabwe debut in 2008, will lead the side for the first time.”It is an honour, one that I will definitely cherish,” Chakabva said. “I am a cool, calm guy so I will try to be myself as I always am. A bit unfortunate to lose Craig, who I have learned a lot from. I don’t think I will do anything different from my normal character. I will try to rally the guys.”While they have lost their last two ODI series, against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in January and June this year respectively, Zimbabwe have been on a roll in T20Is. They have won seven of their last eight T20Is, including an unbeaten qualification campaign that has earned them a spot in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. They followed that by beating Bangladesh in last week’s T20I series 2-1 – the first time Zimbabwe have won a T20I series against Bangladesh.Chakabva said the ODIs would be a different prospect. “Bangladesh are a strong side. We have been playing some good cricket. We look forward to a good challenge with these guys. We expect to keep playing that way. The results will follow from that.”Obviously, ODIs are a different challenge. You have to play well for longer. It won’t be a T20 in a one-day game. We are looking to play positive cricket for a longer period of time. Points or no points, it is still a big series for us. We are looking forward to be as challenging as we can. We have India and Australia after this, so in some way, it is just one preparation for us leading up to those series.”The first ODI will be played on August 5, with the second and third to follow on August 7 and 10 respectively. All three matches will be played in Harare.Zimbabwe squad: Regis Chakabva (capt), Ryan Burl, Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tarisai Musakanda, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba

Dawid Malan’s sensational 98 not out freewheeled the Trent Rockets to a record-breaking men’s win over Manchester Originals as the Hundred shone on a glorious day at Emirates Old Trafford.Rockets won their third game in a row – leaving Originals with three defeats from three – as they chased a record 190 to triumph by eight wickets with six balls remaining.Malan was powerful to leg and classy through the off side as he replied with gusto to Originals’ 189 for 3 – at the time, the second-highest score in Hundred history. The left-hander hit nine of the 24 sixes in the match, facing 44 balls.Related

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Phil Salt hit an unbeaten 70, but his 46-ball innings was dwarfed in front of a 14,207 crowd in the baking Manchester sunshine.Salt and captain Jos Buttler, who had lost the toss, shared 84 for the first wicket in 51 balls, the England white-ball skipper contributing an entertaining 41.Salt was the bystander in a 34-run partnership for the third wicket with Tristan Stubbs, who took on his compatriot Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wristspinner, with four consecutive sixes in his 27 off 10.