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The openers Travis Dowlin and Adrian Barath provided the best news of the tour for the struggling West Indians

Peter English20-Nov-2009West Indians 271 and 1 for 133 (Barath 65*, Dowlin 53) trail Queensland 7 for 617 (Kruger 172, Reardon 147, Townsend 100, Simpson 73) by 213 runs

Scorecard
Travis Dowlin overcame some nervous moments to post a confidence-boosting half-century at Allan Border Field•Getty Images

The openers Travis Dowlin and Adrian Barath provided the best news of the tour for the struggling West Indians as they reached 1 for 133 at stumps on the third day. Since the squad arrived in Brisbane last week they have lost their captain Chris Gayle, who flew to Jamaica to be with his sick mother, and received a tough initiation in their opening tour game against Queensland. Ramnaresh Sarwan, one of the two leading batsmen, has also been told by his doctor to stay off the field due to an infection.So after the Bulls declared at 7 for 617, with a lead of 346, the tourists needed something to cheer and Dowlin and Barath provided it during a 95-run opening stand. With Gayle increasingly unlikely to be back in Australia before Thursday’s first Test, the side is desperate for the remaining openers in the squad to be in form. The team management is still waiting to learn when Gayle is likely to return and the selectors are expected to meet over the weekend to consider possible replacements and whether to extend the outfit to 16 men for the three-Test series.Life has been tough and will become harder when they run into an Australia side preparing for their first series since the Ashes defeat. Dowlin, who went for 2 in the first innings, backed up with a much more authoritative display, striking seven boundaries in his 53 before he was caught behind off the unstoppable Nathan Reardon.Barath is expected to make his debut next week and he followed his first-day duck with a composed 65. He was dropped by Chris Hartley on 34 but held on to make it to stumps, taking advantage of some loose bowling by the legspinner Dan Doran to increase his boundary tally to nine.Reardon’s 147 was the major problem for the tourists on the third day as he became the third local batsman to register a maiden first-class century in the innings. Kemar Roach, the 21-year-old fast bowler, continued to run in hard despite his side’s situation and returned 3 for 135 from 32 overs, but he did not receive much help from his team-mates, who wilted against a modest batting line-up.The day began well for them when Hartley (12) edged a Roach short ball in the third over, but they were soon being pummelled by Reardon’s muscular stroke-play. Reardon, a 25-year-old in his second four-day game, joined Nick Kruger (172) and Wade Townsend (100) in raising centuries, which was only the second time in Australia three players have achieved their maiden first-class hundreds in the same innings. Reardon resumed on 45 and sped towards his century, equalling a state record with his seven sixes while taking advantage of the mediocre offerings.He was particularly brutal against the left-arm spin of Sulieman Benn, who was lashed for two sixes in one over and later launched on to the roof of Queensland Cricket’s offices at midwicket. Another Reardon sweep off Benn cleared the fence and the hitting was so strong that the bull mascot sitting in the back of a caged ute was asking to go back to the farm. After lunch he also pulled a tiring Roach high into the Matthew Hayden Stand before eventually falling caught behind to Dwayne Bravo.Chris Simpson, the captain, also blasted one on to the office roof off Ravi Rampaul, who continued to find life in Australia difficult. He was not the only one. Benn gave up 151 runs in 34 overs and Rampaul went for 131 in 29, while Bravo and Narsingh Deonarine also failed to make much of an impact. Simpson and Reardon clumped 156 in 30.4 overs for the sixth wicket before Simpson was bowled by Roach on 73, but the tourists were kept waiting before the innings was closed 40 minutes before tea. They needed the break.

The legspinner had been due to represent Rajasthan Royals but prioritised making sure he was fresh for the T20 World Cup

Andrew McGlashan11-Apr-20243:10

Moody: Green’s role in RCB has been confusing and unsettling

Adam Zampa opted out of IPL 2024 due to being “completely drained” from the previous 12 months while the uncertainty of how much cricket he would have played was also a factor as he switches his focus to June’s T20 World Cup.Zampa had been due to join Rajasthan Royals but withdrew on the eve of the season having been involved through Royals’ previous campaign. He was a key figure in Australia’s ODI World Cup last year triumph during which he had to battle various injuries. He then briefly stayed on for the start of the T20I series against India before leaving partway through.Related

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• Marsh declares Zampa Australia's 'most important player' ahead of the T20 World Cup

• Rajasthan Royals' Adam Zampa pulls out of IPL 2024

• 'Blank page' for Australia's Test batting reserves and Agar's strong World Cup chance

His home season consisted of the BBL for Melbourne Renegades where he made eight appearances followed by the white-ball series against West Indies and New Zealand.”There are several reasons why the IPL wasn’t for me this year. I think the most important one was the fact that it’s a World Cup year and I’m completely drained from 2023,” Zampa told the podcast. “I did the full IPL last year. Obviously, the World Cup was three months in India as well.”So I had the best intentions of trying to play the IPL again this year. But once push came to shove, I felt like I just couldn’t really offer the Rajasthan Royals the best version of myself and looking forward to the World Cup, that’s what’s more important to me, that’s for sure.”Zampa, who appeared six times for Royals last season where he took eight wickets, also wasn’t sure how many games he would get if he had gone through another long stint away from home with the franchise having Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin.Adam Zampa will be a key figure in Australia’s World Cup attack•Getty Images

“It came down to my decision being I probably need to put my body and my mental health first,” he said. “Then you throw a lot of other things into the equation as well, like the fact that I’ve got a young family. It’s not easy to spend nine weeks in India in my situation where I’m fighting for my spot in the team as well.”It’s not like I can say to myself, ‘well, that’s alright I’ve got 14 games to prepare for a World Cup’. I don’t know whether or not that’s actually going to be two games or four games or six games. So I kind of worked out that maybe just to rest, putting my family first, putting my body first, was better for me.”It’s not an easy decision because you’ve always got that voice in the back of your mind going, ‘pulling out of the IPL, what are people going to say? What happens the next time you want to go to the IPL? Do people kind of paint you with that brush?’. But I wasn’t too fussed about it once I made that decision, I knew it was the right one.”Zampa will be a key figure in Australia’s quest to unite all three men’s world titles at the T20 World Cup having taken the Test Championship and ODI crowns during 2023. Earlier this year, Mitchell Marsh, who is set to captain the side at the tournament, stressed how pivotal he was.”Zamps is by far our most important bowler and probably our most important player in this team,” Marsh said after the West Indies series.Having operated alongside Glenn Maxwell during the ODI World Cup as Australia’s spin pairing, there is a good chance Zampa will be joined by another spin option in the squad for the Caribbean with Ashton Agar in the frame for a recall.The initial World Cup squad needs to be named by May 1 but can be freely amended on May 25.

Sussex prevail thanks to Clark 82 as elimination creeps up on hosts

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025Sussex 277 for 9 (Clark 82, Hannon-Dalby 3-53) beat Warwickshire 258 (Barnard 82, Davies 74, Lenham 5-48) by 21 runs (D/L)Warwickshire suffered Metro Bank One-Day Cup heartbreak after a 21-run (D/L) home defeat to Sussex caused qualification to slip through their fingers.In a match reduced to 48 overs per side, Sussex totalled 277 for nine with only Tom Clark (82 from 77 balls) building an innings beyond the cameo stage. Olly Hannon-Dalby’s three for 53 was well-supported by the spinners who shared five wickets.Warwickshire’s D/L target was adjusted to 280 from 48 overs and they were bowled out for 258 in 45.1 overs. Ed Barnard struck 82 (75) and Alex Davies (74, 90) but Archie Lenham took his maiden List A five-for – five for 48 – as the middle and lower order imploded.That left Warwickshire’s players clinging to the hope of Middlesex losing to Lancashire – but half an hour later those hopes were extinguished as Middlesex snuck home by one wicket at Old Trafford.Sussex chose to bat and soon lost Henry Rogers, caught by a diving Hamza Shaikh at extra cover off Hannon-Dalby, but Clark sped to a 45-ball half-century. After a short rain break, Daniel Ibrahim tickled a potential leg side wide from Rob Yates to wicketkeeper Kai Smith.The fluent Clark was 18 short of emulating his championship century at Edgbaston in April when he lifted Tazeem Ali to deep mid-wicket. Batters throughout the tournament have learned that you attack the young leg-spinner at your peril – Tom Alsop joined the list when his top-edged slog landed in the hands of mid on.John Simpson fell lbw, sweeping at Jake Lintott and as the innings stalled against the spinners, it needed late impetus. Danny Lamb provided some with a run-a-ball 42 before reverse-sweeping Lintott to deep point. Bertie Foreman (30, 33) lifted the total over 250 but, on a good batting pitch, Sussex appeared around 27 under par.Warwickshire quickly lost Yates, who sliced a wide Sean Hunt half-volley to point. Zen Malik assured a brisk start with 27 from 25 balls but then hoisted Clark to long leg.Barnard and Davies shifted the game their side’s way with a stand of 107 in 99 balls. Barnard was imperious, deploying sparkling footwork to the spinners, but his departure, caught at extra cover off Troy Henry, triggered a collapse.Although out of the qualification picture, Sussex back fought back with great heart. Foreman ousted Shaikh, who reverse-swept to short third, and Lenham removed Davies, caught at extra, and Vansh Jani, bowled cutting, with successive balls.Lintott swept Lenham to deep mid-wicket, Kai Smith played on and when Adam Sylvester edged to slip, Vaughan had his five for. When Hannon-Dalby swung and missed at Henry Crocombe, the Bears were left hoping for a Middlesex defeat. They hoped in vain.

Only one wicket falls all day as Somerset toil in vain at Trent Bridge

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2024Nottinghamshire 360 and 425 for 2 (Slater 168*, Hameed 91, Young 68*, Stone 63) drew with Somerset 470 (Abell 111, Pretorius 95*, Pennington 5-96) Nottinghamshire opener Ben Slater turned the 13th hundred of his career into an unbeaten 168 but a lifeless final-day pitch had consigned this Vitality County Championship match to a draw long before that conclusion was reached with an exchange of handshakes at ten minutes to five as the home side declared on 425 for two.Only one wicket fell in 72 overs on the day, Slater finishing on a score he has bettered only twice in his career, with overseas batter Will Young making 68 not out after Olly Stone had been out for 63 nine overs after lunch, the England fast bowler again showing off his batting skills with a half-century in each innings for the first time in his career.There was too little in the pitch to encourage much interest for the bowlers, however, and it was hardly surprising that Nottinghamshire showed no interest in setting Somerset a target, given that their prospects of taking 10 wickets were almost non-existent.The 13 points they take ensure they remain at a comfortable distance from the relegation places in the Division One table; Somerset’s 15 keep them third.After sharing an opening partnership of 172 with Haseeb Hameed that was broken shortly before Tuesday’s close, Slater found two more long-term companions in Stone and Young.Stone ostensibly joined him as nightwatchman with Hameed’s demise but is making a strong case to be recognised as a genuine all-rounder.The 30-year-old England fast bowler had made only one half-century in 47 first-class matches before surprising onlookers with a very good 90 against Lancashire on this ground in May but now has three in his last five innings.This time he chipped in with 63 to go with his first-innings 83 batting at nine. Not all of his nine boundaries came off the middle of the bat, yet his defence was solid and he had helped Slater add another 136 before Jake Ball, using a belatedly taken second new ball, thudded one into his front pad as he played across the line.Slater, meanwhile, whose stand with Hameed had been the highest for Nottinghamshire’s first wicket since two shared an unbroken 236 against Worcestershire in 2021, was by then into three figures for the first time this season, reaching the century mark with a six and 12 fours, a good proportion of which clunked into the advertising boards on the short Bridgford Road side as the left-hander cut and pulled to profitable effect.When Stone departed, Nottinghamshire’s lead was 198 and, with little in the pitch to excite bowlers of any variety, Somerset could only hope a declaration might keep them in the game.Yet the docile surface meant that realistically there could be only one winner in such a scenario and there was nothing in the way Slater and Young went about their business to suggest that such a course of action was even being considered.Meanwhile Slater – dropped on 21 – pushed on past 150 for the third time in his career, having ticked off that milestone from 317 balls with 19 fours to go with the one six. By tea, at 396 for two, the lead was 286 with 37 overs remaining.New Zealand Test opener Young, whose only noteworthy score in a disappointing season so far was his unbeaten 174 in the drawn match between these sides at Taunton, almost missed out on a half-century, dropped at short midwicket by James Rew, who had handed the wicketkeeper’s gloves to Tom Kohler-Cadmore and later became the ninth Somerset player to have a bowl.

Baartman successfully defended seven runs in the 20th over to give SA a stirring come-from-behind win

Madushka Balasuriya14-Jun-20243:06

Morkel: Nepal’s bowling made life difficult for SA

It was heartbreak for Nepal and their fans in Kingstown, as they fell short by only one run against South Africa in a nail-biting encounter.Fans and players alike were in tears since the result also eliminated Nepal from Super Eight contention at the T20 World Cup 2024. South Africa made a clean sweep of the group stage with four wins in four, riding on Tabraiz Shamsi’s 4 for 19 that dragged them back with a stunning 18th over.But for so very long, the game seemed Nepal’s to lose. Their spinners had spun a web to limit South Africa to a subpar 115 for 7 – even on a difficult, turning track – and then with the bat had brought the equation down to 25 needed off 30 balls, with seven wickets in hand.Related

• Shamsi: 'We've been put under pressure every game and stood up to it'

• Nepal captain Paudel: 'We were very close but a little far'

• Scenarios: How can Bangladesh, Netherlands still qualify?

Shamsi though, in for Keshav Maharaj, turned the game with a double-wicket 18th over, including that of the set Aasif Sheikh (42 off 49). The dots that followed raised the required rate, but two powerful late strikes from Sompal Kami and 18-year-old Gulsan Jha took the game down to two off two balls. But Ottneil Baartman bowled two dots as Nepal failed to get bat on the ball both times, and a desperate attempt at a last-gasp run left them inches short in the end.

SA’s overly cautious start

Possibly scarred by their earlier outings in the tournament, South Africa began the game a touch too cautiously, and in the process batted conservatively when conditions for batting were at their best.While their 38 for 1 in the powerplay was their best of the tournament, South Africa were guilty of waiting for loose deliveries instead of putting the bowlers off their lines early on. Nepal for their part, rarely strayed in their lines and lengths and once the spinners took hold, they never looked back.

Nepal spinners make SA crumble

Sandeep Lamichhane’s first delivery spat 6.2 degrees as it gripped and turned past Reeza Hendricks’ defence, and that set the tone as South Africa rarely looked comfortable against the turning ball from that point on. While Lamichhane would end wicketless, his probing spell went for just 18 runs in his first outing of the tournament in Nepal’s first game outside the USA. But in Dipendra Singh Airee (3 for 21) and Kushal Bhurtel (4 for 19), Nepal had enough overs of spin to exploit the conditions, with the pair accounting for all seven South African wickets.2:32

Morkel: South Africa need to have more intensity with bat

South Africa did their best to negotiate the conditions with a steady approach, but despite run-a-ball stands of 22 and 46 for the first two wickets, they struggled to up their gears. Only Tristan Stubbs, who scored 27 in 18 balls from No. 8, scored at a strike rate of over 100.In all, Nepal bowled spin for 14 overs, including the final over of the innings. There Bhurtel grabbed two wickets for nine runs, and Nepal had conceded only 58 runs in the back end for six wickets, after conceding only 57 in the first ten.

Sah, Aasif steady the chase

Nepal were provided an early reprieve when Kagiso Rabada dropped a catch. After that, Nepal opted for risk-free cricket as they lumbered to 32 at the end of the powerplay without losing a wicket. With spin playing such a pivotal role though, Shamsi’s introduction was always going to prove critical in the game and so it proved.In just his first over he disturbed the stumps of both Bhurtel and Rohit Paudel to bring South Africa roaring back into the game. After seeing out Shamsi’s next over, both Aasif and Anil Sah sought to rebuild. Sah was the first to raise the ante as a pair of boundaries off Anrich Nortje boosted their rate, before a six off Shamsi brought about genuine belief of a win. Sheikh joined in an over later taking Rabada for six and four, with the pair reaching their fifty partnership off just 36 deliveries.

Shamsi’s 18th-over heist

With just one frontline spinner in the XI, South Africa knew they’d have to time Shamsi’s reintroduction perfectly. Aiden Markram, with his part-time offbreaks, had ended the Sah-Sheikh stand, but Airee was determined to stick in with the set Sheikh.But enter Shamsi. His third delivery of the 18th turned down the leg side, but Airee’s attempted pull got a feather touch to Quinton de Kock. So light was the touch that Airee reviewed thinking he hadn’t touched it. Shamsi then grabbed the big fish off his final delivery, ripping one through Aasif’s bat and pad to clatter into the stumps. By the time he was done, Nepal needed 16 off 12.

Baartman holds his nerve

Shamsi’s over was backed up by Nortje, who bowled four consecutive dots to start the penultimate over – including one which took off the top of Kushal Malla’s middle stump. That left Nepal needing 16 off eight, with them needing at least one big hit before it got too late.Kami then unleashed a monstrous 105-metre pull that sent the ball sailing out of the stands to bring the equation down to eight off the final over. When the teenager Jha found a boundary over cover to make it four runs off three balls, the Nepal fans stood up, with their phones out, to capture a potentially historic moment.A hard-run two off the next delivery showed that Nepal understood the brief precisely, but a pair of expertly executed slower bouncers by Baartman off the final two deliveries proved too good to get away.A desperate run off a bye off the final ball might have led to a Super Over, but as the ball deflected off Jha, it was picked up by Heinrich Klaasen lurking near the stumps and he flicked to the non-striker’s end. Jha was short and Nepal were out.

The India captain emphasised that the team management doesn’t want to tamper with the batters’ mindsets

Alagappan Muthu24-Dec-20244:16

Rohit on Gill and Jaiswal: Such tours can be challenging to score big runs

India’s batting is in transition and two men who are expected to take it forward have had an up-and-down time during the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Yashasvi Jaiswal has suffered some soft dismissals since his 161 in Perth and Shubman Gill hasn’t made the most of the starts he’s had.Their captain Rohit Sharma, speaking ahead of the Boxing Day Test, backed both players to succeed using their own methods.”When you have a guy like [Jaiswal] in your squad, in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset,” Rohit said. “Let him be as free as possible and not overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, you know.Related

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• Gill needs to show his substance outside Asia to prove his worth

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• MCG pitch to have 'pace, bounce and excitement', but what about runs?

“Every venue here has different challenges. So, it’s just about adapting to those challenges, playing on different pitches. The bowlers are the same.”So, it’s just about understanding what they usually do and what are their plans against certain batters when we come out to bat. And then just going out there and doing their thing.”Talking about Gill, I mean, look, he is quality, we all know that. It’s just about backing that quality and making sure, you know, we give clear messaging to him and not, again, like Jaiswal, we don’t want to complicate too many things with him.”So he knows how to score big runs. So it’s just making sure that when you get those 30s, 40s, you try and get on to a big one. Because getting in here is the toughest part. And when you get in, that is when you cannot leave that opportunity of scoring that big runs.”Rohit batted for over half-an-hour in India’s final training session before Boxing Day. He didn’t look in any trouble after taking a blow to his knee earlier.There were some crisp shots, including a couple that brought a crowd of about 200 or so people to raptures. They’d asked for the pull and they got one off the front foot right as his session ended. Rohit didn’t engage with them while he was batting but once he’d pulled his pads off, he did go over for a playful word or two.Rohit Sharma backed Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to succeed using their own methods•Getty Images

India were able to practice on significantly quicker pitches in the nets on Christmas Eve, pitches that might bear closer resemblance to the one for the match. Rohit had a look at it on Sunday when it had some grass on it. The curator Matt Page said there won’t be excessive seam movement but that it would provide a thrilling contest.”In the previous two or three Test matches, the wicket didn’t have that much grass on it,” Rohit said. “It was dry. But this certainly doesn’t look to me like a dry wicket.”The first day of the MCG Test is expected to be seriously hot with temperatures reaching 40 degree Celsius but then it should cool down. India are weighing up the option of playing an extra spinner – Washington Sundar, who had a bat against the main bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah and who also enjoyed himself bowling to KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the nets – or an extra seamer – Prasidh Krishna, who hasn’t played on this tour but has put in a lot of work in the nets over the last month.The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is tied 1-1 with two Test to go and those results will also have an implication on both teams’ hopes of making the World Test Championship final in June. Australia or India, if they can win in Melbourne and Sydney, will qualify for that game regardless of other results.

Five-wicket win opens series at Western Province CC in Cape Town

ECB Reporters Network17-Jan-2025England Under-19 91 for 5 (Mayes 51) beat South Africa Under-19 87 (Minto 3-15) by five wicketsA dominant bowling performance from England Men U19s paved the way for a comfortable five-wicket win over South Africa Men U19s in the opening Youth ODI at Cape Town.New-ball duo Harry Moore and James Minto did the damage up top taking five wickets between them as the hosts were skittled for just 87.Opener Ben Mayes then broke the back of the chase with 51 from 48 balls while debutant captain Archie Vaughan added 26 as the Young Lions reach their target in 18.3 overs.Moore and Minto immediately got to work after the hosts opted to bat and subsided to 33 for six.The tone was set for an impressive Lions display in the field when Joe Moores held a sharp catch at backward point when Adnaan Lagadien arrowed a backfoot drive off Derbyshire right-armer Moore.Durham left-armer Minto had already had opener Shaylen Pillay caught by wicketkeeper Thomas Rew on his way to figures of innings-best three for 15.Spinners Taz Ali and Farhan Ali ensured the wickets continued to tumble before Worcestershire’s Jack Home – one of three debutants alongside Vaughan and Aaryan Sawant – ended the innings.Home first had Enathi Kitshini caught at backward point by Moores before pulling off a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to run out Nqobani Mokoena.Mayes and Vaughan then combined in a 64-run stand for the second wicket to ensure there were no jitters for the Young Lions. Mayes took the lead role, reaching his half-century from 45 balls, and despite some late wickets the tourists were always on course for a comfortable win.The Lions can secure the three-match Youth ODI series on Sunday when the second match is also played at Western Province CC in Cape Town.

The wristspinner recently played for MI Emirates in the ILT20 and has also played one T20I

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-20242:36

Will SRH miss Hasaranga as the pitches dry out?

Sunrisers Hyderabad have signed 22-year-old Sri Lanka legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth as a replacement for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga at his reserve price of INR 50 lakh. Hasaranga was officially ruled out of IPL 2024 on Saturday owing to chronic pain in his heel that initially delayed his arrival for the tournament.Viyaskanth first rose to prominence in December 2020, when he became the youngest player at 18 years and 364 days to feature in the Lanka Premier League for Jaffna Stallions. In that tournament, he also became the first born-and-bred player from Jaffna, in Sri Lanka’s northern tip and once the epicentre of a three-decade-long civil war, to appear in an internationally televised game.He represented Sri Lanka at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou in one T20I. He also impressed with eight wickets in four outings at an economy of 5.43 for title winners MI Emirates – where Mahela Jayawardene is the global head of performance – at the ILT20.Vijayakanth Viyaskanth picked up three top-order wickets•SLC

Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket and head coach Kumar Sangakkara had brought him in as a net bowler for the team in the IPL last season. He will now be working with another former Sri Lanka player, Muthiah Muralidaran, the bowling coach of Sunrisers.He has also represented Chattogram Challengers in the Bangladesh Premier League. In 33 T20s, Viyaskanth has 42 wickets at an average of 18.78, an economy of 6.76 and a strike rate of 16.6.Until early last week, the Sunrisers were hopeful of Hasaranga’s participation at some stage and were awaiting details of his consultation with a specialist in Dubai. On Sunday, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) communicated to the BCCI that Hasaranga had to be withdrawn from the IPL with an eye on the upcoming T20 World Cup in June-July.Hasaranga was bought by Sunrisers at his base price of INR 1.5 crore (approx USD 181,000) at the 2024 IPL auction in December, after Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who paid INR 10.75 crore for him in 2022, released him.

The Australia captain says he’s never seen Smith as energetic as he has been since his opening role was confirmed

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2024Australia captain Pat Cummins has been in contact with Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris to reassure them that they remain firmly in Test consideration despite being overlooked following David Warner’s retirement.With Steven Smith promoted to open, Cameron Green returning at No. 4 against West Indies in Adelaide, and Matt Renshaw selected as the reserve batter, the other two specialist openers remain on the outer.Bancroft was the leading Sheffield Shield run-scorer last season and is in the same spot midway through the latest campaign, while Harris holds a central contract and was the reserve batter on the Ashes tour last year.Related

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“Obviously private phone calls, but no real surprises,” Cummins said in Adelaide. “We love what they both are doing in first-class cricket. We love what they bring to any side they’re playing in. They’re doing all the right things. Unfortunately, they both just missed out on this one. So [the] message was ‘don’t change’.”In international cricket, there’s always injuries or these guys [the incumbents] aren’t going to be around forever. Marcus and Cam are still relatively young, as is Renners. So once that opening comes up at some point, any one of them we’re confident can jump straight in and do a really good job.”When Cummins was asked after the Sydney Test about replacing Warner, he appeared lukewarm to the idea of a batting-order reshuffle but has now said that once the option of Smith had been seriously considered, it made a lot of sense by allowing Green back at a more natural position for him.Smith has spoken of not enjoying the wait to bat from No. 4 and while he hasn’t specifically addressed whether the move will lengthen his Test career, he has committed to the shift not being a short-term solution. At training, Cummins has already noticed a difference.”Seeing someone who’s basically achieved everything in the game get really excited for a new challenge, you’ve got to entertain that,” he said. “You can already see his mind whirring about how he’s maybe going to go about it a bit differently.”I’ve never seen him as happy and as energetic as I’ve seen him around the nets the last couple of days. He can’t wait to get out there. Also think the new ball, maybe [there will be] a few more scoring options. It’s something that excites him. So that makes sense and getting Greeny a spot where we think he is set up to succeed.”The retirement of Warner and Green’s return will also see a reshuffle in the cordon with Usman Khawaja taking up first slip, followed by Smith and Mitchell Marsh, with Green in the gully where he has already made a considerable impression with a string of spectacular catches.Green also provides Cummins with another frontline bowling option, meaning he effectively has a six-man attack plus the offspin of Travis Head.

Visiting captain finishes off the game himself as South Africa go down heavily in second Youth Test

ECB Reporters Network06-Feb-2025England U19s 353 (Sawant 130, Fonseka 52, Rossouw 5-74) and 25 for 0 beat South Africa U19s 224 (James 84, Hansen 63, Jack 3-42) and 153 (Rowles 71, Vaughan 6-19) by 10 wicketsYoung Lions captain Archie Vaughan put the finishing touches on a comfortable 10-wicket win over South Africa Men U19s in the second Youth Test at Cape Town.Vaughan helped tidy up the home tail on the fourth morning to return 6 for 19 before he and Ben Dawkins knocked off a victory target of 25 in just 3.1 overs.The tourists needed two wickets to end the Young Proteas’ second innings when play resumed and Vaughan, who did the damage on the third evening with five wickets, immediately made an impact bowling Sandiswa Yeni for a duck.Eddie Jack wrapped up the innings when Nqobani Mokoena hit out to Alexander Wade in the deep as the hosts were bowled out for 153.The England Men U19 openers made light work of the chase, with Vaughan lap-sweeping Mokoena for six before Dawkins crunched Nathan Rossouw to the rope to win the game.England Men U19s won the series 1-0, after falling one wicket short of victory in the first Youth Test last week. South Africa Men U19s had won the preceding Youth ODI series 2-1.