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Lancashire were closing in on a huge victory in their Vitality County Championship with Kent at Canterbury, having reduced the hosts to 143 for 6 at stumps on day three. Kent still trail by 162 with just four second innings wickets remaining, Charlie Stobo and Beyers Swanepoel the not out batters on 25 and 18 respectively.Lancashire declared on 549 for 9, a lead of 305, with Josh Bohannon making 205 and Matty Hurst 50, while George Garrett took 3 for 89.Will Williams and Tom Bailey then both took two wickets apiece to leave Kent six down at stumps. Ben Compton was their highest scorer with just 37 and the chances of them escaping with anything other than a heavy defeat to their relegation rivals are bleak.The only question at the start of day three was how long Lancashire were going to bat for, with a lead of 158 already in the bank, although for a side who’d been pummelled for four straight sessions Kent at least managed to stop Lancashire from scoring too freely.Bohannon reached his double-hundred with a pushed single off Matt Parkinson, before his former team-mate finally got him out lbw with a ball that might have been going down the leg side.Hurst eased to fifty with a single off Joey Evison but he was then stumped by Harry Finch when he tried to charge at Parkinson. It was 499 for 6 at lunch, during which a band called the “Useless Pluckers” performed, prompting one Lancastrian observer to remark: “They’re not Goons’N’Roses.”Garrett took all three of his wickets after the interval, which at least prevented an onslaught. Jack Blatherwick tried to hit him out of the ground and went for 18, caught by sub fielder Jaydn Denly. Garrett then had George Balderson caught behind for 42 and when Bailey skied him to Parkinson, Lancashire declared.They didn’t have to wait long for a wicket: Williams had Marcus O’Riordan caught at first slip by George Bell for 4 in the fourth over.Nathan Lyon came on after 12 overs but it was George Balderson who struck next, pinning Daniel Bell-Drummond lbw for 9 to leave Kent on 59 for 2 at tea.Compton always looked like being the key wicket but he inexplicably tried to slog Bailey and the ball flew in the air off his bottom edge. He spread his arms wide in despair well before Bell took the catch when the ball finally fell to earth.Williams sent Evison’s off stump flying for 10, Bailey had Tawanda Muyeye caught behind for a six-ball duck and Finch lasted for 56 balls for 23 until Lyon had him caught by Bohannon at mid-on.Swanepoel, who’d been unable to bowl, came out with O’Riordan as a runner and caused confusion by running anyway, but he and Stobo at least managed to drop anchor for the final 11.4 overs to take the game to a final day.

Durham have secured a key signing ahead of their first season as a Tier 1 women’s team in 2025, with the return of Dani Hazell, Northern Diamonds’ highly rated head coach, to Chester-le-Street on a three-year deal.Hazell, who made 141 appearances for England between 2009 and 2018, including two World Cups and three Ashes wins, is also head coach of the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers, a role she will retain alongside her Durham commitments.Having begun her playing career at Durham’s academy, Hazell was an obvious target for the club hierarchy as they set about establishing themselves as the new home of women’s cricket in the north of England, and her transfer may help to persuade other Leeds-based Diamonds’ players to commit to a relocation, rather than wait for Yorkshire to attain their own Tier 1 status in 2026.”It was clear from the off that Dani was the right person to lead Durham into our new chapter and begin to create history as a women’s professional team,” Marcus North, the club’s director of cricket, said. “She knows the club inside-out having played for us and worked within our women and girl’s pathway in recent years.”Dani has an excellent reputation following a successful period as Northern Diamonds and Northern Superchargers head coach, she had a winning mentality as a player and as a coach which is exciting for Durham. I look forward to working with her, as this exciting chapter for Durham Cricket begins.”Hazell, 36, took over as Northern Diamonds’ head coach in 2019, with the club winning the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2022, while Northern Superchargers reached the women’s Hundred final in 2023. She has also played a key role in the development of the Diamonds academy over the course of her tenure.”I’m delighted to take up the opportunity as head coach.” said Hazell. “This is an exciting new chapter for Durham Cricket and the whole of the region, and I wanted to be part of this historic new era for the club.”I feel aligned with the club’s ambitions and standards to continually grow and move forward in such a pivotal moment for women and girls’ cricket.”I knew after initial conversations; it was the right opportunity for me to return to my home club and I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead.”Tim Bostock, Durham’s chief executive, added: “We’re delighted that Dani has agreed to become the head coach of our women’s team and we are extremely excited to welcome her back to Durham. Her knowledge of the game globally is key, but also her knowledge of the game in Durham is vitally important for us, I believe she is the perfect fit for Durham Cricket.”

Ravi Shastri believes having Gautam Gambhir as the new India head coach is “refreshing” because he is “contemporary” and has “fresh ideas”.”He’s contemporary, he just had a great season in the IPL,” Shastri said on Gambhir on the ICC Review. “I think he’s the right age where he’s young, he’ll come with fresh ideas. He knows most of the players, especially in the white-ball format, having been part of teams in the IPL. So I think it’s refreshing.”And we know with Gautam, he’s a no-nonsense guy. He’ll have his ideas as well. And the good thing for him is he’s got a mature team. He’s got a settled team, a mature team. I think even though you might think you’re mature, you might benefit from some fresh ideas. So I think it’ll be interesting times.”Related

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Gambhir takes over from Rahul Dravid after India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign, and his first assignment will be the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka that starts with the three T20Is on Saturday in Pallekele.Gambhir takes over in all formats fresh on the back of an IPL win with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – he was team mentor and was credited with rallying the players together, for making Sunil Narine open again with the bat and lifting the confidence of newcomer Harshit Rana, among other things. With the Indian team too, he will have the big task of managing both junior and senior players, across formats.”Obviously, player management becomes the key as a coach,” Shastri said. “So it’ll be interesting to see how he goes. I think he’s got the tools, he’s got the goods for the job and he’s got the experience.”Shastri said Gambhir’s “most important task” will be to understand his players as people and their “temperaments”.”It’s a question of just understanding his players as quickly as possible,” Shastri said. “What their strengths are, what kind of human beings they are and what kind of temperaments do they have. What are their personalities. A lot goes behind the scenes to understand a human being.0:50

Gambhir: Any team would want to have Rohit and Kohli

“I think that will be his most important task, which I think again should not be a problem because he’s contemporary. He’s seen these guys from the outside, he’s dealt with a lot of guys who might have played with KKR as well and for Lucknow [Super Giants] when he was there.”And he’s been around the circuit, the moment he finished cricket – and that was not too long ago – and he still is around, plays a lot of the legends cricket as well.”In Tests, Gambhir’s major assignments will be the five home Tests starting in September (two against Bangladesh and two against New Zealand) followed by five Tests in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. In the white-ball formats, the ICC trophies he will be eyeing are the Champions Trophy in 2025 and the T20 World Cup in 2026.Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from T20I cricket, but Shastri did not see that as a problem for India, given the resources waiting on the fringes.”I think a lot of the players that won this T20 World Cup will still be around two years later,” he said. “You mentioned the three players who were retired, but barring them, I think most of the others will be still fit to be in that T20 World Cup team two years down the line in India.”So I don’t think there’s much to be done there. In fact, you will get a problem on your hands because you’ll have to choose from the new lot that’s coming and there’s some real exciting talent there.”So I think it’s the other way around. It’s how do you get those guys in there who are bursting at the [seams] to get it. There’s a queue out there and that will be his biggest challenge, but it’s a good headache when you have that kind of talent.”

England have handed first white-ball call-ups to Jacob Bethell, Josh Hull and Dan Mousley for next month’s home series against Australia. Brydon Carse returns after serving a three-month suspension for betting breaches, while the uncapped John Turner is also included in both squads.There was no place for veterans Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali or Chris Jordan, all of whom were involved at the T20 World Cup in June, while neither Tom Hartley, who was with the squad in the Caribbean but has yet to be capped in T20Is, nor Rehan Ahmed are included. Mark Wood also misses out through injury.England will be led by Jos Buttler, alongside interim head coach Marcus Trescothick, for three T20Is and five ODIs. Buttler has not played since the T20 World Cup, having strained a calf while preparing for the Hundred, but is hoping to be involved in Lancashire’s T20 Blast quarter-final at Hove next week, ahead of the first T20I against Australia on September 11.England white-ball squads to play Australia•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bethell and Mousley, the Warwickshire spin-bowling allrounders, had been tipped for inclusion on the back of their T20 Blast and Hundred form, while Leicestershire’s 6ft 7in fast bowler Hull has now been called up by England for all three formats in the space of two days. Bethell and Hull have been named in both squads, while Mousley is only included for the T20Is.Jordan Cox is another player who could make his T20I debut, almost two years after he was first called up for England’s tour of Pakistan. Cox was a member of the Oval Invincibles side that sealed back-to-back Hundred titles a fortnight ago and is currently the spare batter with the Test side. Saqib Mahmood, Player of the Match in the Hundred final, is also back in contention in T20Is after two years interrupted by back stress fractures.Carse, who was banned after an anti-corruption investigation by the Cricket Regulator, has not played any cricket since May – his suspension is due to lift later this week. He will add to England’s pace-bowling options alongside Turner, who toured the Caribbean last winter and has continued to impress for Hampshire and Trent Rockets.Related

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The ODI series with Australia will see England begin to focus on next year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Five members of the Test squad, who could not be involved in the T20I series due to the short turnaround after the series with Sri Lanka, are included – Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith and Matthew Potts – but Joe Root has been rested.Jofra Archer was also named in both squads, and is set to play his first ODI since the 2022-23 tour of Bangladesh, after which he suffered a recurrence of his elbow injury.England T20I squad: Jos Buttler (capt), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John TurnerEngland ODI squad: Jos Buttler (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner

Cricket South Africa (CSA), in consultation with the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), will make a decision by the end of this week on whether the Test team will travel to Bangladesh for two matches next month.The series, according to the Future Tours Programme, is scheduled to start on October 21 but South Africa’s willingness to tour Bangladesh depends on the security reports, which are currently being completed.The Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, which was originally scheduled in Bangladesh, was moved out of the country after the anti-government protests there in early August. CSA sources told ESPNcricinfo the information they have is that the situation in Bangladesh has settled and that South Africa are hopeful they will be able to tour, but they emphasised that they will not travel if any risks were identified in the security assessments.Related

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A decision will be made collectively, which means it is unlikely that CSA will leave it to individual players to decide whether they are comfortable with travelling to Bangladesh.South Africa only have six Test matches left in the ongoing World Test Championship [WTC] cycle. They have already played six games, having won two, lost three and drawn one Test. They are currently seventh on the points table and need to win at least five of their remaining games to have a chance of qualifying for next year’s final at Lord’s.All six of their series in this cycle have been limited to two Tests as CSA prioritised the launch of the SA20, their domestic T20 franchise competition, and cost-cutting. It is understood that there is no thought of playing the Bangladesh Tests elsewhere at the moment.If they do travel to Bangladesh, South Africa are unlikely to go with Marco Jansen or Gerald Coetzee with both fast bowlers expected to be back in action only by November. South Africa will next travel to the UAE for a white-ball series against Afghanistan and Ireland with plenty of fresh faces in the mix.

England have gone top of Group B at the women’s T20 World Cup with a game to play after demolishing Scotland by ten wickets in Sharjah. By chasing down a modest target of 110 with ten overs to spare, they overtook South Africa, who are also on six points but have played a game more, on net run-rate.The manner of the victory, sealed with a boundary by Maia Bouchier, whose unbeaten 62 is now the tournament’s highest individual score, also saw England boast an NRR higher than West Indies. They square off on Tuesday in what is a knockout encounter, though both teams could mathematically still go through together at the expense of South Africa.Danni Wyatt-Hodge also registered a half-century, 51* off 26, in an opening stand with Bouchier that now ranks as the highest at this World Cup. It was a boundary-laden affair – 76 runs coming in fours – that ended Scotland’s maiden women’s World Cup campaign with a fourth straight defeat.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Scotland were able to sign off with their highest total after winning the toss and electing to bat. Skipper Kathryn Bryce’s 33 off 28 – the only Scottish batter to strike at more than a run a ball – provided the backbone of the innings, as she batted through to the end of the 17th over, having arrived for the start of the ninth. Her sister Sarah Bryce opened with 27 from 31, the only other score of note, though Alisa Lister had the honour of hitting Scotland’s first six at a major tournament when she slog-swept Sarah Glenn in the 13th over.England kept their opponents in check throughout, though they did fail to take a wicket in the powerplay for the first time in six matches as Sarah and Saskia Horley made it through the opening six overs, albeit for just 29. Sophie Ecclestone, as ever, was the pick of the bowlers, the left-arm spinner finishing with 2 for 13 from her four overs.Lauren Bell, making her first appearance of the tournament with England keen to make use of a pitch now conducive to seam, finished with 1 for 16. She was one of two changes for Heather Knight’s charges, with Sophia Dunkley replacing Alice Capsey. Capsey had been unwell in the week, with the management deciding not to take any risks, especially with the heat in England’s day game of the competition.Bell bowled Lorna Jack-Brown, who ended her international career with a three-ball duck. She finishes as the most-capped player in Scotland’s history.Danni Wyatt-Hodge scored a half-century in just 26 balls•ICC/Getty Images

Bouchier and Wyatt-Hodge choose aggression

The peculiarity of England’s day was clear when they left their hotel for this match as Bangladesh were checking out to head home. The 2009 champions had only played two so far while some other teams had completed their group-stage programme.That included South Africa, who sat top of Group B on Sunday morning, with West Indies level on four points with England but in second with a greater NRR – by 1.055 – but having played a game more.With everything laid out before England, the calculations at half-time were straightforward. Reach the necessary 110 in 11.5 overs or fewer to wrestle away the top spot from South Africa, and 9.3 overs or fewer to trump West Indies’ NRR. Though they did not manage the latter, Bouchier’s step across and heave over the leg side for four at the end of the tenth over saw England achieve both side quests with the necessary win.Though Scotland were particularly wayward with their lines, Bouchier and Wyatt-Hodge were brutal. They struck England’s first century opening stand in T20 World Cups since 2012, from just 54 deliveries. They also pocketed the fastest team fifty of this edition in just 4.4 overs, and the largest powerplay at 66 for 0.Bouchier began the chase with three fours from the first three balls, delivered by left-armer Rachel Slater, on her way to a third career half-century from just 30 deliveries. Wyatt-Hodge’s 17th 50-plus score in T20Is was six balls quicker. Nothing summed up the pair’s understanding of the assignment more than the ten clinical fours they hit in a 16-ball sequence from the start of the fourth over.England can do it the easy way by beating West Indies on Tuesday•ICC/Getty Images

Get the calculators out

The winners of England versus West Indies on Tuesday will be guaranteed a spot in the final four of this World Cup. But the losers could still make it through in the event of two extreme scenarios.Should West Indies make 201 or more and win, England could still sneak in if the margin of defeat is just a single run. Similarly, they could lose in a Super Over and make it through provided they match a West Indies score of 194 or more in the regulation 20 overs.Both seem highly unlikely given the way the pitch has been playing at Sharjah. But fans of South African cricket know all too well that World Cup heartbreak can take many peculiar forms…Lorna Jack-Brown fell for a duck in her farewell match•Getty Images

Growing pains for Scotland

It was dispiriting for Scotland to end their first women’s World Cup with three heavy defeats. Callous ones at that, given West Indies, South Africa and England knew they had to match each other’s dominance against the international tournament debutants.After a promising opener against Bangladesh, the gulf between Scotland and the top tier of women’s cricket has been made abundantly clear over the last seven days. But the tournament as a whole has been a necessary growing pain for a team looking to establish themselves at this level.There were flashes of promise alongside the expected quality of Kathryn and Sarah Bryce, who ended as the team’s leading run-scorers. Had Olivia Bell held on to a return catch from Bouchier when the batter had just 17, she would have maintained her streak of taking a wicket in every match. That three of their four matches were day games – this was England’s first – was its own unique challenge, with temperatures in Sharjah constantly in the mid to late 30s.Considering they were granted ODI status in 2022, with professional contracts only introduced in 2023, this can be marked down as another important step in the right direction for Scottish women’s cricket.

Tristan Stubbs admitted that he was “proper nervous” and just tried to control his breathing as he struck an unbeaten 47 off 41 balls to shepherd a tricky chase and take South Africa over the line by three wickets in the second T20I against India.”I was just trying to breathe,” he said with a smile after the game. “It’s my favourite place to play cricket and I was nervous, proper nervous, so I was just trying to control my breathing.”Stubbs grew up in Knysna, a small town about 260 kilometres up the road from Gqeberha and has played all his domestic and franchise cricket at St George’s Park. This knock was even more special for Stubbs as it was his mum’s birthday and he had plenty of his family and friends in the crowd who had driven down to the ground to celebrate.”Normally there’s a whole bunch of them [his friends and family], probably I reckon 30 to 35 of them,” Stubbs said. “They come through normally once a year for the SA20 and they’ve made a trip now. It’s my mom’s birthday too, so it’s sort of a celebration.”Before I met the team I went and said hello to everyone at the house that they’re staying at. So yeah, it’s been a really good day.”Coming into bat at 33 for 2 in the sixth over with South Africa chasing 125, Stubbs saw his side slip to 66 for 6 in the 13th. That soon became 86 for 7 in the 16th, but he got vital support from Gerald Coetzee with whom he shared an unbroken 42-run stand for the eighth wicket off just 20 balls.”Fortunately, the run rate never got away from us,” Stubbs said about the chase. “Once we lost the wickets, I had 30 in mind off the last three and then G [Coetzee] really came and played an innings to help that out and then, fortunately, we got over the line.”He walked in and he said straight away we can win this. I believed it all the time. We were always two hits away from being back to run-a-ball and then we had the crowd behind, which was just amazing.”Stubbs was caught right in the midst of an intense Varun Chakravarthy spell, who ran through South Africa’s middle order with a career-best 5 for 17. Ravi Bishnoi also kept things tight at the other end, but Stubbs bided his time before taking on the fast bowlers at the death. He later admitted the South Africa batters were out-skilled by the two spinners on a surface that was “typically staying low” but was pleased to stay till the end to take his side home.’They got the better of us in the middle there by just outskilling us,’ Stubbs said of India’s spinners•AFP/Getty Images

“They both [Chakravarthy and Bishnoi] were doing just enough to beat you on either side,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to come in and just rotate even, let alone take them on. They are two of the best spinners in the world so when they are on, it’s really tough and they got the better of us in the middle there by just outskilling us.”So yeah, it was really nice to get the team over the line and be there not out at the end. I think as someone who bats in the middle, that’s your whole goal when chasing, get the team over the line but do it by being not out at the end.”It’s been quite the breakthrough year for Stubbs. In February, he became just the 11th batter to score a first-class triple-century in South Africa while in the last month and a bit, he’s racked up his Test and ODI centuries. Stubbs also played a key role in Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s second-successive SA20 title while he finished the IPL 2024 as Delhi Capitals’ second-highest run-getter with a terrific strike rate of 190.90.What’s brought about this maturity in Stubbs’ game?”I don’t actually know how to answer that. It’s just been nice,” he said. “I really enjoy the longer format because you can spend more time in the middle without feeling like you need to play a big ball and I really enjoy the graft of batting long.”I think the longer form cricket just naturally helps your T20 game and the batsmanship and spending time in the middle and not having to make a play really helps the rest of the formats. So I think that’s been the biggest thing.”

Haryana fast bowler Anshul Kamboj became only the third cricketer to take all ten wickets in an innings in the Ranji Trophy. He achieved this feat when he dismissed Kerala’s Shoun Roger at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli, to finish with figures of 30.1-9-49-10 in the first innings.Two other bowlers had taken all ten wickets in an innings in the Ranji Trophy previously: Bengal’s Premangsu Chatterjee in 1956-57 and Rajasthan’s Pradeep Sunderam in 1985-86. Overall, Kamboj is the sixth Indian to achieve this feat in first-class cricket after legspinners Subhash Gupte and Anil Kumble, and Odisha seamer Debasis Mohanty. While there have been 90 instances of bowlers taking all ten wickets in an innings in first-class cricket, Kumble along with England’s Jim Laker and New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel are the only ones to do it in a Test match.