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Darwin’s return as an international venue for the first time in 17 years has been confirmed with the hosting of two men’s T20Is between Australia and South Africa in August while India will tour for eight white-ball matches in 21 days ahead of the men’s Ashes which begins in late November.Cricket Australia confirmed their home international schedule on Sunday which will see the men’s team in action from mid-August, a couple of weeks after completing a tour of West Indies, with three T20Is and three ODIs against South Africa stage in northern Australia across Darwin, Cairns and Mackay, the latter hosting Australia’s men for the first time.Related

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Darwin last staged international cricket in 2008 when Australia played Bangladesh. Its return means the men’s team will play in all state and territories during the 2025-26 season.Northern Australia is also due to host a two-Test series against Bangladesh later in 2026 – which has been moved from March 2027 due to the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG – with Darwin in contention for one of those games alongside Cairns, Mackay and potentially Townsville.India, who were beaten 3-1 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy this season, will tour from mid-October for three ODIs and five T20Is before the Ashes, the fixtures for which had already been confirmed, starts on November 21 in Perth.The India series will also begin in Perth with the first ODI on October 19. Starting in the west is the preferred option to avoid a short turnaround into Perth matches with lengthy flights. One of the five T20Is will be staged on the Gold Coast in Queensland. There is also a larger gap between the India white-ball games and the start of the Ashes compared to they very short turnaround between the Pakistan and India series this season which gives a better chance of a full-strength home side being selected.Prior to India’s arrival, Australia will make a brief trip across the Tasman in early October for a three-match T20I series against New Zealand with those dates still to be confirmed.Following the Ashes, which concludes in early January, there will again be a window for multiformat players to appear in the BBL, dates for which will announced later in the year but it will fill largely the same window as the 2024-25 season.It is hoped that availability may extend to the finals before the T20I squad begins preparations for the T20 World Cup which will be staged in India and Sri Lanka from mid-February, although that will depend how much of a lead-in the Australia hierarchy decide on with an away series against Pakistan set to provide build-up. This summer, a number of internationals missed the BBL finals due to a training camp in Dubai ahead of the Sri Lanka Tests series.Australia A are also set for an extensive schedule, which will be confirmed at a later date, which is expected to feature a home series in the middle of the year. They are also due to tour India, with those dates to be announced by BCCI, as part of a new reciprocal arrangement for A tours across the men’s and women’s game.There are also expected to be Australia A fixtures against England Lions who will tour concurrently with the start of the Ashes series.

Australia Men 2025-26 home schedule

vs South Africa
August 10: 1st T20I, Darwin (N)
August 12: 2nd T20I, Darwin (N)
August 16: 3rd T20I, Cairns (N)
August 19: 1st ODI, Cairns (D/N)
August 22: 2nd ODI, Mackay (D/N)
August 24: 3rd ODI, Mackay (D/N)vs India
October 19: 1st ODI, Perth Stadium (D/N)
October 23: 2nd ODI, Adelaide (D/N)
October 25: 3rd ODI, SCG (D/N)
October 29: 1st T20I, Canberra (N)
October 31: 2nd T20I, MCG (N)
November 2: 3rd T20I, Hobart (N)
November 6: 4th T20I, Gold Coast (N)
November 8: 5th T20I, Gabba (N)Men’s Ashes (previously announced)
November 21-25: 1st Test, Perth Stadium
December 4-8: 2nd Test, Gabba (D/N)
December 17-21: 3rd Test, Adelaide
December 26-30: 4th Test, MCG
January 4-8, 5th Test, SCG

Salman Agha’s first ODI century and Mohammad Rizwan’s fourth combined as Pakistan completed their highest successful chase in ODIs and secured a spot in the tri-series final against New Zealand on Saturday. Rizwan and Salman, Pakistan’s captain and vice-captain, shared in a record fourth-wicket stand of 260, the highest-ever against South Africa, and the fourth-highest by any pair while chasing. South Africa have never had a bigger score chased against them.On a pitch perfect for batting, Pakistan’s efforts trumped Temba Bavuma’s highest ODI score since September 2023, Matthew Breetzke becoming the player with the most runs after two matches (233) and Heinrich Klaasen’s fourth successive 80-plus score in the highest-scoring encounter between these two sides.It goes without saying that it was a difficult day for bowlers, and seamers in particular. Pakistan’s quicks conceded 206 runs in 28 overs, of which Mohammad Hasnain’s eight cost 72, and South Africa’s pace attack gave away 223 runs in 27 overs. South Africa have now lost six successive ODIs.Ultimately, South Africa will be more concerned about the loss of Klaasen to a thumb injury than the match. Klaasen left the field in the 32nd over and handed the wicket-keeping gloves to Kyle Verreynne, after a ball that kept low from Corbin Bosch struck him on the right thumb. There was no immediate update on Klaasen’s condition.Pakistan had never conceded more runs in Karachi and only once allowed South Africa to score more against them so their task was tough from the outset. But their chase got underway briskly when Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam put on 56 in the first six overs, and took apart both Lungi Ngidi and Corbin Bosch. Wiaan Mulder was introduced as first-change early, in the seventh over, and struck with his first legitimate ball. He cramped Babar for room as he tried to flick the ball away and struck him on the front pad. Babar reviewed immediately but Ultraedge confirmed there was no bat and the ball was going on to hit the middle stump.Saud Shakeel, brought into the side for this match, kept the pressure on and scored 15 off 16 balls before mistiming a pull off Bosch to Mulder at deep mid-wicket. Pakistan’s powerplay score of 91 for 2 was their third-highest since 2002 and set them up well.South Africa soon edged ahead when, four balls into the 11th over, Fakhar played inside the line of a Mulder ball, got an edge and Klaasen took a diving catch to his left. Rizwan had only faced two balls, and pulled one of them for four, when he was joined by Salman, with a rebuilding job to do.Pakistan scored only one boundary in the next seven overs and the required run-rate climbed over 7.3 but slowly, Pakistan started to find more boundaries. Salman picked on anything full from the spinners and the pair rotated strike well to take Pakistan to 163 for 3 at the halfway stage, still needing 190 runs.Senuran Muthusamy came into the attack at that point and by his third over, Rizwan lined him up and launched him over long-on to bring up the hundred partnership. By then, Rizwan already had fifty and Salman soon brought up his fifty off 51 balls.Matthew Breetzke and Temba Bavuma made 83 and 82, respectively•Associated Press

Though the required run-rate hovered between seven to eight runs an over, neither Salman nor Rizwan panicked and they were supplied with enough boundary balls to keep the score ticking over. South Africa were guilty of offering too much width, failing to adjust their lengths and the occasional piece of ordinary fielding. By the time Pakistan got to their last ten overs, they needed 82 runs. South Africa had scored 110 in the same period, so Pakistan knew what was possible.Both set batters were on the doorstep of the 90s and Rizwan got there first when he launched Mulder over deep mid-wicket, off the 106th ball he faced. In the same over, Salman got to his milestone off a single. His hundred took just 87 balls. Pakistan brought 300 up in the 44th over and needed just 32 runs in the last five overs. Despite Salman falling before the winning runs were scored, Pakistan got there with six balls to spare, leaving South Africa wondering how many they left out there.They started strongly with a powerplay that saw them total 64 for 1 and both Bavuma and Breetzke in good touch. Breetzke, in particular, was soon striking at over 100, and allowed Bavuma to dial it down slightly as he approached his first fifty in 17 innings. He got there with a single off Salman, and then accelerated once again. In general, Bavuma played more riskily than we are used to and went for an expansive drive off left-arm spinner Khusdil Shah but edged past Rizwan. Later that over, he tried to slog Khusdil over square leg but top-edged. Naseem Shah misjudged the catch and put Bavuma down on 60.Pakistan were able to keep South Africa fairly quiet for the next eight overs, and they scored at under five an over but grew frustrated with their inability to break through. Breetzke brought up fifty off 46 balls before Hasnain thought he had him out lbw when he missed a leg-side whip and Rizwan was convinced to review but ball-tracking showed it going down leg.Sensing an opportunity to create something, Rizwan brought Shaheen Shah back on in the 27th over and he tested the batters with pace and personality. There were stare-downs and words. At one point, Afridi moved into Breetzke’s path as he was completing a single and there was contact. Breetzke didn’t back down, got in Shaheen’s face and the pair had to be separated by the umpires and team-mates. In the next over, Bavuma played Hasnain to backward point and raced away for a single before checking with Breetzke, who sent him back. It was too late.Saud Shakeel swooped in and with a one-handed pick up and throw ran Bavuma out and celebrated in his face for good measure. Bavuma was stranded on 82, with a golden chance at a century gone begging, but South Africa still had 21.5 overs to face.Klaasen was sent in at No.4 and faced 14 balls for seven runs before he remembered who he was. He smoked Hasnain for four fours in his sixth over, over mid-on, mid-off, square-leg and deep mid-wicket to bring up 200 and get the innings going again. That over cost 16 runs and the next four for 36 and South Africa were back in sight of a massive score.Breetzke was out to a stunning Salman catch when he tried to smash Khusdil through the covers but Salman, who dived across and reached out with his right hand to pluck the ball close to the ground. Mulder was caught at point in the next over and South Africa entered the final ten overs on 242 for 4 but with Klaasen there, would have been comfortable.He unleashed a 95-metre six five balls into that period, brought up fifty off 38 balls and then completely cut loose. His next 37 runs came off 18 balls and he spared no-one. Afridi was treated particularly severely as Klaasen took him for back to back sixes in an over that cost 20. When he tried to give Naseem the same treatment, Klaasen sent a low full toss to long-on. In the end, Pakistan’s two centuries to South Africa’s none was the difference.

Vijay Shankar, Swapnil Singh, M Mohammed and C Andre Siddarth were among the major buys at the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2025 mega auction that was held in Chennai on Saturday.Former UAE international Karthik Meiyappan, who has now moved back to Chennai, his city of birth, headed to Madurai Panthers for INR 9.2 lakh. The wristspinner had bagged a hat-trick in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and brings with him the experience of having played in the ILT20 and Global T20 Canada.In the lead-up to the auction, the likes of R Ashwin and Varun Chakravarthy (both Dindigul Dragons), Shahrukh Khan and Sai Sudharsan (both Lyca Kovai Kings) and Tamil Nadu captain R Sai Kishore (Tiruppur Tamizhans) were retained by the franchises.Vijay had kicked off the auction by triggering a bidding war, having at least four of the eight franchises, including Ashwin’s Dindigul, raising the paddle for his all-round skills before Chepauk Super Gillies scooped him up for INR 18 lakh. It was Mohammed who fetched the highest bid of INR 18.8 lakh, with Salem Spartans staving off competition from his former team Kovai Kings and Madurai.Mohammed hasn’t played in the IPL yet but has had a stint with Punjab Kings as a net bowler in the past. Swapnil, the UP-born left-arm fingerspinner, who often bowls in the powerplay for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), was picked by Chepauk for INR 10.8 lakh. In the IPL 2025 auction, RCB had used their right-to-match card to get Swapnil back for INR 50 lakh.Karthik Meiyappan bagged a hat-trick for UAE in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia•ICC via Getty Images

Swapnil, who had started his domestic career with Baroda, left the side during the Covid-19 pandemic after not getting regular game-time with them. He moved to Uttarakhand as an outstation player and since he has enrolled himself into TNCA’s first-division league, he is eligible to play in the TNPL.Sudharsan had returned to action from sports hernia in Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy quarter-final clash against Vidarbha recently, but his availability for the TNPL is unclear as he might be picked in the India A or India squad for the England tour. In a bid to fill that void, Kovai Kings snapped up Siddarth for INR 8.4 lakh. Siddarth, the nephew of former Tamil Nadu stalwart and current national selector S Sharath, has also broken into the IPL, earning a deal worth INR 30 lakh with Chennai Super Kings. Siddarth had also played for India Under-19s in the 50-overs Under-19 Asia Cup in late 2024.With Washington Sundar set to slot into Ashwin’s spot as the frontline offspinner in India’s Test side, and likely to miss a chunk of the TNPL, he went to Trichy Grand Cholas for a low price of INR 6 lakh.Dindigul are the defending champions of the TNPL, having won their maiden title under Ashwin’s leadership in August 2024.

Peter Handscomb is a strong contender to be included in Australia’s squad for their Test tour of Sri Lanka later this month with the Victoria batter joining the team in Sydney for the final match against India as a substitute fielder.Handscomb does not hold BBL contract so is free to be with the squad throughout the final Test. He will be joined by spinners Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann at various stages who are both likely to be part of the Sri Lanka trip, the squad for which is expected to be named shortly after the conclusion of the India series.Handscomb last featured for Australia on the 2023 tour of India where he played all four matches and is viewed as a subcontinent specialist given his prowess against spin. He made 145 runs in that series with a top score of 72 not out in Delhi, a Test Australia were well placed to win before a second-innings collapse against R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.Related

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However, he has previously spoken about how he does not want to be pigeon-holed as only a batter for certain conditions. “I’d like to play some home Tests,” he said before the start of the 2023-24 following his experiences in India.Previously, speaking to in 2022, Handscomb said: “If [being a good player of spin] does help me get on subcontinent tours, which it has done before, then that’s great. But also don’t forget I do like batting in Australia as well, where it is fast and bouncy and I can play a few cuts and pulls if need be.”Depending on how Australia structure their side in Sri Lanka, there could be a vacancy in the middle order with Travis Head having been earmarked to open although Sam Konstas’ move into Test side may alter the planning. Josh Inglis, also an excellent player of spin, is also understood to be another option to play as a specialist batter in Sri Lanka. He is currently recovering from the calf strain he picked up while fielding at the MCG but is expected to be fit for the tour.Overall Handscomb has played 20 Tests with an average of 37.20 having made is debut back in 2016.Handscomb was overlooked for the Australia A-India A four-day matches earlier this season, but the indication was that he was a player the selectors felt they knew enough about.He had a prolific 2024 across first-class cricket in Australia and England where he was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the world. In the first part of this Sheffield Shield season he has made 478 runs at 47.80.If Australia win the ongoing Sydney Test they will assured of a spot in the World Test Championship final against South Africa, otherwise they would need to win one of the Tests in Galle.

Darwish Rasooli’s maiden international half-century propelled Afghanistan to 153 for 6 before their bowlers delivered to help Afghanistan comfortably win the second T20I against Zimbabwe and draw level in the series with one to play.Zimbabwe won a last-ball thriller to post their first T20I victory over Afghanistan on Wednesday, but the visitors ensured there was no drama this time around, routing the home side by 50 runs with 14 balls to spare.Rasooli found support from Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib to prop up Afghanistan. Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan then picked up three wickets each, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman dealt a crucial double-blow in the middle overs.

Afghanistan stutter in the powerplay again

Afghanistan’s top order failed to fire for the second game in a row; they lost three wickets in the space of nine balls to finish the powerplay on 41 for 3 – a minor improvement on their 34 for 4 in the first T20I.Rahmanullah Gurbaz got going with a boundary punched through square in the first over, while Sediqullah Atal hit Blessing Muzarabani for two fours through the off side in the second.But Trevor Gwandu made an instant impact, striking with his first ball, Gurbaz spooning a catch to mid-off. Two balls later Zubaid Akbari was run out trying to pinch a single to backward point that was never there.Trevor Gwandu struck with his first ball of the match•AFP/Getty Images

Atal tried to keep Afghanistan’s momentum going, pulling Muzarabani in front of square for his third boundary off the seamer, but Muzarabani had the last laugh as he had Atal caught at cover point next ball.Afghanistan could have lost a fourth wicket in the powerplay thanks to another mix-up, but Azmatullah Omarzai survived. Rasooli got going with a pickup shot behind square off Gwandu, and then lofted Wellington Masakadza over extra cover in the first over without fielding restrictions.

Burl pegs Afghanistan back with a double-strike

Omarzai, who took some time to settle, pulled a Sikandar Raza half-tracker over midwicket for the first six of the match in the tenth over.He followed that up with another six down the ground in the next over but holed out trying to hit Ryan Burl in the same areas. Brian Bennett took an excellent catch running across to his left from long-on, catching it high and throwing it up before taking one step outside the boundary rope and coming back in to complete the catch.In his next over, Burl dropped one short and Nabi miscued a pull to deep midwicket’s left and Wessly Madhevere held on to a screamer at full stretch. Now Afghanistan had half their side back in the hut.

Naib fined for breaching ICC code of conduct

Gulbadin Naib has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second T20I. He breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”

Rasooli gives Afghanistan late surge

Rasooli slapped Gwandu over mid-off in the next over before going downtown again when Burl almost pulled off yet another fantastic parried-grab on the boundary, but replays showed he had made contact with the ground outside the boundary rope at the wrong moment.Naib then edged a four off Raza, as Afghanistan collected 22 runs from the two overs after Nabi’s wicket.The best was yet to come. In the penultimate over, Rasooli hit Ngarava for three fours on the trot, bringing up his maiden T20I fifty in the process. That was 17 for the over, and Afghanistan were in sight of 150. Gwandu got him in the final over and conceded just the six runs though, to keep Zimbabwe’s target down to 154.

Omarzai, Naveen deal early blows

Zimbabwe started to build momentum from the second over of their chase, with both openers hitting Mujeeb for a four each before Bennett dispatched Naveen over deep midwicket for six.But soon enough Naveen spotted Tadiwanashe Marumani coming down the track and pulled his length back and the batter ended up slashing it to deep backward point.Omarzai struck with another short ball, having Dion Myers caught at deep backward square.Brian Bennett could not carry on after getting a good start•AFP/Getty Images

Mujeeb derails Zimbabwe’s chase

Mujeeb came back in the attack immediately after the powerplay and had Madhevere hitting a drive straight to short cover.In his next over, he bamboozled Bennett as he got one to turn past his outside edge and just clip the off bail.Rashid then joined in the fun when he trapped Burl in front trying to sweep and at 57 for 5, Zimbabwe were on the ropes.

Naveen, Rashid close the game out

Tashinga Musekiwa, who hit the winning runs off the final ball of the first T20I, took Mujeeb on in his final over, driving him through extra cover and launching him over long-on off consecutive deliveries.But Musekiwa’s counterattack was short-lived; Naveen rushed him with pace in the next over and he miscued a simple catch to cover.Rashid then struck twice in an over and the game was all but done.Naveen had Raza caught at deep midwicket in the 17th, and Fareed Malik finished things off castling Muzarabani next over.

Rangpur Division stormed to a win by an innings and 81 runs against Chattogram Division in the opening round of the National Cricket League in Bogra.Batting first, Rangpur declared on 273 for 9 after the first day’s play was abandoned due to rain. Khalid Hasan and Mim Mosaddeak stuck fifties as Rangpur batted at 4.7 runs per over. Fahad Hossian took four wickets for Chattogram.But Chattogram’s batting crashed twice. They were first bowled out for 103 runs with five bowlers, including legspinner Rishad Hossain, taking two wickets each.It got worse in their second innings, after Rangpur asked them to follow on. Chattogram were bowled out for 89 runs, with all the Rangpur bowlers taking at least a wicket each. Abdullah Al Mamun returned figures of 3 for 10, while Mukidul Islam, Chowdhury Md Rizwan and Rishad took two each. Rizwan was named player-of-the-match.Dhaka Metropolis beat Barishal Division by eight wickets at the Academy ground in Sylhet.Dhaka declared for 408 for 5, with centuries from their captain Marshall Ayub and Aich Mollah. Marshall struck his 25th first-class century, though he became the first batter in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket history to be dismissed obstructing the field. He had stopped a throw from the covers while trying to complete a single.Marshall added 174 runs for the third wicket with Mollah, who struck his maiden first-class century. Mollah made 122 with 15 fours and a six, while Marshall struck identical number of boundaries in his 127 off 199 balls.Barishal were bowled out for 219 runs in reply, with Iftakhar Hossain Ifti hitting 98. Ashraful Islam took five wickets for Dhaka Metro. Barishal made 251 in their second innings after being asked to follow on. Tasamul Haque struck a fifty while Shohidul Islam and Ashraful returned three wickets each.Dhaka Metro reached their 63-run target in 15.4 overs. Ashraful was adjudged player-of-the-match.Al-Amin Hossain took his eighth First Class five-for (file photo)•Associated Press

Defending champions Dhaka Division drew with Sylhet Division in Khulna. Batting first, Sylhet were bowled out for 146 with Anamul Haque and Nazmul Islam taking three wickets each.Mahidul Islam Ankon struck his third first-class century but Dhaka were bowled out for 224 runs. Mahidul slammed five sixes and eight fours in his 118, and was named player of the match. Khaled Ahmed took four wickets.Sylhet finished on 257 for eight with fifties from Pinak Ghosh, Amite Hasan and Asadulla Al Galib in their second innings. Nazmul took four wickets.Rajshahi Division and Khulna Division also started their NCL campaign with a draw in Sylhet. Batting first, Rajshahi posted 426 runs with Tanzid Hasan hitting his fourth first-class century. Tanzid struck 19 fours and four sixes in his 133-ball 141. He added 105 runs for the third wicket with Pritom Kumar, before Farhad Hossain and Shakhir Hossain struck fifties.Al-Amin Hossain took his eighth five-wicket haul before SM Meherob took 6 for 35 in Khulna’s innings. Khulna were bowled out for 194 with fifties from Amit Majumder and Ziaur Rahman.Sabbir Hossain struck 150 off 139 balls in Rajshahi’s second innings, laced with 13 fours and six sixes. The quickfire knock helped Rajshahi allow Khulna to bat almost a day and a half, but could not bowl them out. Openers Majumder and Soumya Sarkar made eighties as Khulna made 311 for 7 in 123 overs. Sunzamul Islam took three wickets.

Emilio Gay will join Durham on loan for their County Championship clash with table-topping Surrey at the Kia Oval on Tuesday, after the club captain Scott Borthwick was ruled out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury.Gay, 24, has enjoyed a prolific season at the top of Northamptonshire’s order, scoring 919 runs at 57.43 in ten matches, including a career-best 261 against Middlesex in April.However, he was out of contract at the end of the season, and having agreed to join Durham on a two-year deal from 2025, he has now brought forward his time at the club to include their final two Championship matches, against Surrey and Kent.Alex Lees will take over as Durham’s captain for the remainder of the season.Gay’s arrival is a boost for Durham, who are currently fifth in Division One in their first season back in the top flight for eight years, and who will face a Surrey side still smarting from their shock defeat against title challengers Somerset at Taunton last week. Surrey currently lead Somerset by eight points, and have still to face Essex in their final match at Chelmsford, starting September 26.Surrey’s morale took a further dent on Saturday when Somerset also ended their hopes of a domestic double in the T20 Blast semi-final at Edgbaston.With England’s ongoing white-ball series against Australia limiting player availability, Surrey were shorn of four key players in that contest. They now face missing more personnel for the last rounds of the Championship, with Gus Atkinson already ruled out with injury, and Ollie Pope rested for the final two rounds with England due to fly out for their Test series against Pakistan in just over two weeks’ time.

Tilly Corteen-Coleman, the 17-year-old spinner who made a strong impression in this year’s Women’s Hundred, has been named in a 15-player squad for the Women’s Under-19 World Cup, which is due to take place in Malaysia early next year.Corteen-Coleman was still 16 when she made an instant impression on her Hundred debut for Southern Brave in July, catching Australia’s Meg Lanning off her own bowling for a notable maiden wicket. Domestically, she also impressed for South East Stars, claiming 5 for 19 against Northern Diamonds in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, including four wickets in five balls, before helping her team reach the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Davina Perrin is also included, having been a part of the England squad that lost to India in the inaugural Under-19 tournament in South Africa in January 2023. A captain is set to be named nearer the time.Sixteen teams will feature in the 41-match event, across 15 days of competition from January 18 to February 2, 2025, including the hosts Malaysia who will be making their maiden tournament appearance, as will Samoa.England have been drawn in Group B, alongside Ireland, Pakistan and USA, with all their group-stage matches set to take place in Johor.Chris Guest, who was last week appointed as Performance Lead for the women’s Under-19 set-up, oversaw that 2023 campaign as head coach, and looked forward to guiding another group of young players through their maiden global event.”What excites me most about working with the under-19 age group is the constant cycle of new talent and new groups coming through,” Guest said. “We’ve named a squad which features some players who have been involved at this age group before and some who haven’t.”This World Cup is a part of these players’ journey, not the end or the start and our message to them is to embrace the challenge, evolve ourselves and enjoy the ride. Naturally we want to do well but the programme is about developing these players in the future and for the long-term.”It was really exciting to see Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Hannah Baker, Seren Smale and Charis Pavely feature for the senior team in Ireland after representing the U19s in the first edition of this World Cup in 2023 and this acts as real inspiration for this group and demonstrates how important this tournament can be for a player’s development.”Guest will be joined by two assistant coaches, Dan Helesfay and Beth Morgan, the former batter who played a key role in England’s two World Cup wins in 2009, across the 50- and 20-over formats respectively. Morgan currently works as a Regional Talent Manager for Southern Vipers, while Helesfay is an assistant coach at South East Stars and Welsh FireRichard Bedbrook, Head of England Women Performance Pathways, said: “It is always an exciting time to be able to name an U19 World Cup squad and all those chosen, including the non-travelling reserve group, can be very proud of this achievement.”The quality in the group highlights the work of each of the regional teams across both their senior and Academy environments and I, plus colleagues, are indebted to them on the development work they continue to put in.”We hope each individual takes a huge amount from the experience they are about to have and uses it to continue developing themselves as a person and player.”This also goes for the staff group, a number of whom across various roles are also employees of the Regional teams and who will hopefully take huge amounts of experience and enjoyment from being a part of the programme.”Five non-travelling reserves have also been selected. The reserves won’t travel but will take a full part throughout the preparation phase and act as stand-by players should a replacement player be required:England Women U19 squad: Phoebe Brett (Central Sparks), Olivia Brinsden (Thunder), Tilly Corteen-Coleman (South East Stars), Trudy Johnson (Northern Diamonds), Katie Jones (Western Storm), Charlotte Lambert (South East Stars), Abi Norgrove (Southern Vipers), Eve O’Neill (Southern Vipers), Davina Perrin (Central Sparks), Jemima Spence (South East Stars), Charlotte Stubbs (South East Stars), Amuruthaa Surenkumar (Sunrisers), Prisha Thanawala (The Blaze), Erin Thomas (Northern Diamonds), Grace Thompson (Northern Diamonds)Non-travelling reserves: Maria Andrews (The Blaze), Sophie Beech (Central Sparks), Daisy Gibb (Southern Vipers), Poppy Tulloch (Southern Vipers), Annie Williams (The Blaze).

A maiden century in only his third first-class innings from the 19-year old, locally raised left-hander Freddie McCann helped take Nottinghamshire’s reply to 405 at Trent Bridge despite a caree-best seven for 129 from Surrey spinner Will Jacks. Batting again, Surrey ended the third day of their Vitality County Championship match 133 ahead on 13 for 1.Play was soured in the afternoon, however, when Jacks, selected in both England’s white-ball squads for their games against Australia in September, smartly fielded a pull on the bounce at short mid-wicket and threw the ball hard and high towards the wicketkeeper causing McCann to take evasive action.Umpires James Middlebrook and Paul Pollard immediately summoned Surrey skipper, Rory Burns, and applied five penalty runs under Law 42.3.1 for “throwing the ball at a player in an inappropriate or dangerous manner”. The matter will also now be referred to Surrey for any further disciplinary action they deem condign.Half an hour later McCann became the fourth victim in the innings of Jacks’s off-spin, slog-sweeping to long-on for 154. And Jack Haynes soon went for 68 to the same all-rounder but the follow-on target of 376 was passed just after tea with six wickets down.On 144 for 3 overnight after the nightwatcher had gone to what proved Friday’s final ball, the home side lost Joe Clarke in the morning’s fourth full over when, rashly, he advanced to launch a straight drive at Jacks only to be stumped as the ball spun sharply out of the rough trough thew gate. Clarke, gone for four, was Jacks’s third success in 11 balls after his breakthroughs the previous evening.He remained a threat at the end from which fellow off-spinner Farhan Ahmed had taken seven wickets on the opening two days. But, with Haynes surviving an early alarm when edging a Cam Steel leg-break between wicketkeeper and slip on three, resistance of some character brought lunch at 231 for 4.The partnership had added 154 when McCann departed after 268 balls of high application straight after Haynes had posted a sixth fifty in his 15 innings since joining from Worcestershire. None of these though has passed 77 and the pattern continued when, glancing, his thin legside edge was taken behind.Kyle Verreynne, the South Africa wicketkeeper in his maiden county innings after arriving as Nottinghamshire’s third overseas player this season, was joined by Lyndon James to see the innings to 369 for 4 at tea. But two overs after they had averted the follow-on, James, slicing a drive to backward point for 23, gave Steel his first success in completing 22 of the 110 overs.With bonus points decided as five to Surrey, four to Notts, Liam Patterson-White was leg-before, one run later, giving Jacks his only six-wicket bag since his success at Rawalpindi in the first of his two Tests, against Pakistan in 2022. He had bowled a mere six championship overs hitherto this year.Rob Lord, on debut, came and went for 10 to Steel and Ahmed to Jacks without score as the final four fell for 21 in 30 balls, leaving Verreyyne unbeaten on 50 from just 60 balls. Leading by 120 on first innings, Surrey then faced spin at both ends from the off.It took Ahmed eight balls to add to his match tally when Dom Sibley clipped to mid-wicket but after seven overs bad light intervened with eleven of the day’s quota left unbowled. Surrey’s pursuit of an eighth win in nine games and a third successive championship title was put on hold for the night.

Chamari Athapaththu will not be available for Sri Lanka’s T20I series in Ireland due to her commitments with Oval Invincibles in the Women’s Hundred, where she is set to compete in all the group-stage games. Invincibles’ last group match is on August 14 while the T20Is will be played on August 11 and 13. She will link up with her national team-mates for the ODIs, which are part of the 2022-2025 ICC Women’s Championship cycle, starting August 16.Athapaththu, who was named Player of the Tournament in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024, will no doubt be a considerable miss for Sri Lanka, but it will also serve as an opportunity for the younger members of the squad to show that they can step up in her absence. Harshitha Samarawickrama was the last designated vice-captain, though there was none mentioned for the Ireland tour. She could be in line to captain Sri Lanka in Athapaththu’s absence.Wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana has been included in the 16-member squad, in what is the sole addition to the one that lifted the Asia Cup last week. Nuthyangana, who is yet to make her ODI debut, will serve as backup to regular wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani.In terms of the batting, much of Athapaththu’s burden will fall on the shoulders of 18-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne – who has the fifth-most runs in women’s T20Is in 2024 with 416 in 17 matches – and Samarawickrama, who starred with a Player-of-the-Match effort in the Asia Cup final. Spin-bowling allrounder Kavisha Dilhari, meanwhile, has also begun to show more consistency with the bat, as showcased by her blistering 30 not out off 16 balls against India last week.It’s below those three, though, where some uncertainty may lie, though all of Hasini Perera, Nilakshika Silva and Sanjeewani have produced exciting cameos over the past year. With the rest of the squad made up of bowlers, Nuthyangana will also likely get game time as Sri Lanka do not possess another batting replacement in the squad for Athapaththu. Four frontline spinners and three seamers make up the bowling options.

Sri Lanka squad for the tour of Ireland

Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Vishmi Gunaratne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Kawya Kavindi, Sachini Nisansala, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Kaushini Nuthyangana