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Dilara Akter, Jannatul Ferdus and Ishma Tanjim have been left out

Mohammad Isam23-Aug-2025Bangladesh have brought two teenagers into their squad for the Women’s World Cup, which the BCB announced on Saturday. They are Nishita Akter, the 17-year-old offspinner, and the 19-year-old batter Sumaiya Akter. Both were part of Bangladesh’s team at the Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia in February.Bangladesh have also picked the 28-year-old keeper-batter Rubya Haider, who has played six T20Is but is yet to make her ODI debut.Between them, these three relative new faces have played three ODIs and seven T20Is, and none of them has played for the senior Bangladesh side in 2025.Related

• WI's historic chase ends in heartbreak as Bangladesh seal World Cup spot

The selectors have offloaded Dilara Akter, Jannatul Ferdus and Ishma Tanjim from Bangladesh’s most recent squad, which played in the World Cup Qualifier in April. Bangladesh qualified from that tournament ahead of West Indies by a net-run-rate margin of just 0.013, but they haven’t played any international matches since then.Recently, the squad has played a number of matches against Bangladesh’s Under-15 boys side as preparation for the World Cup.Women’s chief selector Sajjad Ahmed was excited by the addition of the three young players. He said Rubya, who has played six T20Is, will be the squad’s back-up opener and wicketkeeper behind captain Nigar Sultana.”Rubya has earned her place through sheer hard work,” he said. “Her development over the last six months has been outstanding. We see her as a valuable option both as a reserve keeper and a back-up opener.”Nishita is still young, but she bowls with great maturity. She is consistent, calm under pressure and her ability to contain left-handers gave her an edge. We believe this experience will serve her well and add depth to our spin attack.”Sajjad added that Sumaiya’s patience would be an asset to the side, and her fielding a bonus. “Sumaiya has been knocking on the door for some time. She brings the ability to occupy the crease and accelerate when needed. With her skillset and fielding standards, she gives us an all-round option in the top order.”Apart from these three, the squad wears a familiar look with Nahida Akter as vice-captain to Nigar, and the likes of Fargana Hoque, Fahima Khatun and Marufa Akter bringing the experience that Bangladesh hope will cover for their recent lack of match practice.Bangladesh are scheduled to open their World Cup campaign against Pakistan in Colombo on October 2. India are the hosts of the tournament, with Colombo hosting all of Pakistan’s matches.

Bangladesh squad for Women’s World Cup 2025

Nigar Sultana (capt), Nahida Akter, Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider, Sharmin Akhter, Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Fariha Trisna, Sanjida Akter, Nishita Akter, Sumaiya Akter.
IN: Rubya Haider, Nishita Akter, Sumaiya Akter
OUT: Dilara Akter (wk), Jannatul Ferdus, Ishma Tanjim

Former Lancashire captain takes reins at Lord’s in first major coaching assignment

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jun-2025Middlesex have appointed former South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Dane Vilas as interim first-team coach until the end of the season. The move comes two days after Richard Johnson departed after three-and-a-half seasons in the role.Vilas, 40, retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2023 season after seven years with Lancashire, although he continued to play in the SA20. He has been based in London for some time and will take charge at Middlesex with immediate effect.The club are currently third from bottom in Division Two of the County Championship, having won just twice in the opening block of seven games. They are in a similar position in the Blast, winning for only the second time this season on Thursday evening, shortly before Vilas’ appointment was announced.Related

• Vilas announces Lancashire departure

• Johnson departs role as Middlesex first-team coach

“I am delighted to welcome Dane to the club as our Interim first-team coach,” Middlesex’s director of cricket, Alan Coleman, said. “He has a wealth of experience to offer our squad, and I believe that we will all benefit from his presence and leadership across the rest of this season.”Though Dane is still early in his coaching career, having only finished playing for Lancashire in 2023, I am confident that his leadership presence, competitive edge and experience of all formats, including franchise cricket, will have a huge impact on our squad.”It is the leadership qualities that were evident when he captained Lancashire that drew me towards Dane. The teams that he has led played hard, committed, never-say-die cricket and I believe that is a style that will resonate well with our players, staff group and members.”Dane will be supported by what I believe is an exceptional coaching team of Rory Coutts, Tim Murtagh and Ian Salisbury, who all bring variety and wide-ranging knowledge to our team.”I am sure you will all joining me in welcoming Dane over the coming weeks as we look forward to the rest of our season. There is still a lot to play for and I am excited to see where our talented playing group can take us.”Vilas played six Tests and one T20I for South Africa before joining Lancashire on a Kolpak contract. He was subsequently made club captain, leading the team to T20 Finals Day on three occasions and back-to-back runners-up finishes in the County Championship.Vilas said: “It’s an absolute honour to be here. Lord’s is such a special place and I’m looking forward to getting started with the squad. The potential is endless for the group and I’ll be keen to harness that and help grow their careers.”I’ve got good relationships with Rory Coutts, Tim Murtagh and Ian Salisbury, so to have the four of us together is fantastic and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Bangladesh allrounder hoping to pick from where he left off with the bat once he’s back in action

PTI12-May-2020Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who is serving a two-year ban (one year suspended) for not reporting a corrupt approach, says not taking things lightly due to “ignorance” is the biggest lesson he has learnt from this whole episode.Shakib was banned by the ICC in October last after he accepted three charges of breaching the global body’s anti-corruption code. He will be free to resume international cricket on October 29 this year.”I have realised that there are certain things that you just cannot take lightly due to ignorance, and probably that is the biggest lesson I learnt during this time,” Shakib, who is currently in the USA, told . “It is a very difficult time for me because at the back of the mind you always think that I am not playing or not being able to play. The good thing is that I was able to stay with my wife during the birth of our second child.”I could not do that when my first daughter was born and I am trying to be with them in the lockdown. For me making sure that I am not depressed is extremely important as I am locked down in my house.”Shakib was in sublime touch with the bat before the ban brought him down, having scored 606 runs at 86.57 at the 2019 World Cup. Once he’s back, Shakib hopes to pick up again from where he left off.”First of all, I want to return to the game. I will return to the game after four-five months. No other decision [will be taken] before that. The biggest challenge is to be able to start again from where I had stopped, that is what I’m expecting from myself.”Wish I can start from where I ended up. That is the challenge for me, nothing else.”Shakib was sensational at No. 3 at the World Cup, and he said South Africa’s AB de Villiers inspired him to bat in that position.”I was talking to de Villiers during the BPL before the World Cup. It was just a normal conversation. He told me that at times he has batted late [in an innings]. If he had batted at No. 3 then he could have contributed more to the team and scored more runs.”Thinking about the team, he always had to play at four, five, six. His theory was to play in the middle order and score 70-80, which sometimes gives the advantage to the team and sometimes it doesn’t work. But had he batted at three, then he could have scored 100-120 and might have won more.”

Progression to top division still in the balance for both teams after draw

George Dobell07-Jul-2021Warwickshire and Durham retained their hopes of qualifying for Division One in the LV= Insurance County Championship despite a frustrating final day at Edgbaston.The rain which had bedevilled this match throughout allowed just 28 overs on the final day. And while there was no lack of effort to get back on the pitch – quite the opposite, really – successive waves of rain rendered it all futile. Craig Miles, striking with the second delivery from the second new ball, completed a second five-for in successive Championship matches but David Bedingham was left eight short of a fourth century of the campaign.You could understand why everyone involved wanted to get back out there. With 20 overs left of Durham’s first innings in which both teams could earn bonus points (these are available in the first 110 overs of each first innings) and qualification for Division One looking tight, there was an obvious incentive.Both may yet come to rue dropped points here. Warwickshire, who took 11 points from this game (eight for the draw, one for their batting and two for their bowling) will feel that, from 195 for 3, they really should have made more than 237.Durham, meanwhile, let two points slip through their grasp due to a slow over-rate. So keen were they to make up that rate that it is understood that, from around mid-afternoon, they would have happily declared with Bedingham short of his century to have rushed through a few overs. It means they, too, took 11 points from the game.It all leaves Warwickshire the better placed of the teams going into the final round of games in the group. A high-scoring draw against Worcestershire at New Road should do it. Durham, meanwhile, probably need to beat Nottinghamshire. Both will have to watch out for Essex who, while someway off the pace at present, take on a weak Derbyshire team who are enduring a horrid season.If Warwickshire are to progress, though, they will do it with a squad stripped to the bones by injury and absence. Not only have they lost a coterie of seamers (Chris Woakes, Olly Stone, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Tim Bresnan, Carlos Brathwaite and Henry Brookes), but they are without their spinners, too, with Danny Briggs called up for England and Dan Mousley injured.It is understood they have enquired about various loan options – Surrey’s Dan Moriarty was one obvious lead – but with no luck. It is also understood they have had contact with various overseas players (including India’s Ravi Ashwin) but abandoned such plans as they felt it would be impossible to get a visa in time. Surrey’s plan to sign Ashwin may well stumble for the same reason. Kyle Mayers, who has been signed to play three T20 matches, could be drafted into the Championship side as a consequence.As a result, it seems likely that Jacob Bethell will win a first-class debut in their next game. He is only 17 and had a scan on a knee injury on Tuesday. But he is seen as an extravagant talent – albeit one whose primary skill is batting – and looked admirably calm in his two T20 appearances so far. Just as importantly, with Jake Lintott seen as a limited-overs specialist and the scan having cleared Bethell of serious issues, he is pretty much the only fit spinner available.Rob Yates may take issue with that description. He claimed his maiden first-class wicket in the final day of this game, luring Ned Eckersley into a chip to mid-wicket with one which dipped and turned a little. But it is Yates’ batting which is causing the excitement and you can understand why.After his first-innings dismissal here – his second shortly after completing a century this season – his coach, Mark Robinson, challenged him over whether he wanted to be a “good or great” batter. His point being, great batters go on and make double-hundreds. But given that Yates is 21, still a student and just recovering from an illness that kept him out of cricket for the best part of a month, and he is enjoying an outstanding season. Nobody in the land has made more centuries. A Lions call-up is starting to look like a possibility.The one man in this game whose batting impressed as much was Bedingham. He survived a chance on the third day and was fortunate, perhaps, to survive a leg before appeal on the fourth when he had 78. Liam Norwell was the unfortunate bowler.But he is clearly a class act. Like many of the best, he makes batting appear a simply business and, during the course of this innings, he extended his lead on top of the run-scoring chart to more than a hundred. Sooner or later, he will surely play international cricket with distinction.

Bowlers, Al-Amin shine as Central beat South by six wickets after bowling them out for 163

Mohammad Isam15-Jan-2022Central Zone completed a domestic double after they beat South Zone by six wickets in the BCL One-Day final held at the Sylhet International Stadium on Saturday. Central Zone took 42.3 overs to chase down 164 in the low-scoring tournament.Asked to bat first, South Zone were bowled out for 163 runs in 48.5 overs. They gave away a good start as they slipped to 99 for four after Anamul Haque and Pinak Ghosh added 51 for the opening stand. Nahidul Islam’s 31 took them past the 150-mark.Mossadek Hossain, Nazmul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Hasan Murad and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury took two wickets each for Central Zone. Soumya had the most economical figures, with 2 for 19 from his 6.5 overs.In reply, Soumya and Mizanur Rahman helped Central Zone get off to a brisk start. The duo added 65 for the opening stand in 12.1 overs. Al-Amin Hossain followed it up with an unbeaten 53, adding 88 runs for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Mosaddek, who remained unbeaten on 33.Captain Mosaddek was later adjudged the Player-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series for scoring 148 runs and taking six wickets in the tournament. Imrul Kayes was the only batter to score more than 150 runs in the competition while Soumya was one of the four bowlers to take seven wickets.Earlier this month, Central Zone had won the BCL first-class competition after they beat South Zone by four wickets in a tense final day.

England’s all-time leading run-scorer is content to be preparing for a season on the county circuit. But that won’t stop people asking the question

Alan Gardner02-Apr-2019Here’s a fun game to occupy the coming months. Which is likely to happen sooner (if at all)? Parliament will gather round, agree on a course of action, and complete the first stage of Brexit. Or the England selectors will gather around, agree on a course of action, and put in a phone call to Alastair Cook.If you thought Theresa May’s attempts to get a different answer to the same question on her EU withdrawal bill were becoming monotonous, just imagine how Cook must feel every time he is confronted with a microphone as England’s search for a Test opener (or two) continues. All it took was a bread-and-butter hundred against the students of Cambridge MCCU last week for the murmurs to strike up – although this time Cook had his Essex captain, Ryan ten Doeschate, to thank for fuelling the speculation.Every time Cook raises his bat during ten rounds of the Championship that will precede the Ashes later this summer, someone is liable to ask: could England’s all-time leading run-scorer be tempted out of retirement? In terms of occupying your time on Twitter, it surely has to beat discussions of backstops and customs unions.ALSO READ: I’d love to bat at No. 3 for England – FoakesThere is something in the stubbornness of May (a proclaimed Geoffrey Boycott fan) that surely chimes with Cook. He clung on for so long with England that there seemed an element of relief when he let it all go – his departing force channelled into one last valedictory Test hundred at The Oval in September. Now he seems equally set on enjoying the last few years of his career with Essex. “I’ve played my last game for England,” he says early in the piece during the club’s media day at Chelmsford.Although, that said… For a man who has given so much for the cause, that definitive full stop is hard to contemplate. In his maiden stint as a radio commentator for the BBC during England’s tour of the Caribbean, Cook let slip a tantalising “never say never”, and although he is happy to make the case for others to take up his mantle, the sense of possibility will linger for as long as he continues harvest runs in the shires.Leaving centre stage is understandably hard. After winning his fourth rowing gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, Steve Redgrave, another sporting knight, said: “Anybody who sees me in a boat has my permission to shoot me.” Four years later, he was wearing a fifth gold around his neck in Sydney.

Harmer named T20 captain

Simon Harmer, Essex’s former South Africa offspinner, has been made captain of the T20 Blast side, taking over from Ryan ten Doeschate, who will continue to lead in the Championship and 50-over competition.
While Essex won the Championship under ten Doeschate in 2017, their limited-overs form has been less impressive in recent seasons, and last year they managed just two wins in the Vitality Blast South Group.
“It’s an exciting challenge,” Harmer said. “I think there’s going to be a lot of expectation going forward as we haven’t performed to the levels we know we’re capable of, but it’s a challenge that I wanted and I’m really looking forward to leading the team in the right direction.”

Cook was never quite so given to melodramatic pronouncements, but he is sticking to the script for now. “I was asked a very interesting question on a panel show, with about 18 different circumstances, and I said ‘you can never say never’. But look, I’ve played my last game for England. There’s always that one thing, if there’s an absolute emergency or something… But I’m nowhere near that mindset. I saw Tendo say something the other day, but I’ve had 12 amazing years of playing for England, it’s time for the next generation of players – certainly top-order players – to try to make their mark.”In terms of pulling on that cap and playing cricket – in one way it’s a sad thing it’s never going to happen again, but I’ve had my time. I had an amazing journey, I’ve loved it, but towards the end I wasn’t the player I was and things had to move on… They won’t be making the phone call to me anyway, and no matter what happens I’ve got the summer with Essex and I’m looking forward to spending it with the Eagles.”The Eagles certainly won’t mind having Cook around as he attempts to quietly unwind after more than a decade on the treadmill with England. Adjusting to the more mundane rhythms of a county season was not the sort of challenge that enthused his predecessors as England captain, Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan, but Cook has always played the game at his own tempo. As well as the challenge of winning a few more trophies with Essex – he played his part in their memorable 2017 Championship title – there is the simple pleasure of taking to the field with your mates.”It’s going to be different, it’s the first time I’ve ever played a game without the lure of England selection there, and that’s probably going to take a little bit of time to get used to,” he said.”It was important for me to have something to look forward to. The transition period, I spoke to a couple of people about retiring, and they were very clear that you’ve got to have something to do. I’m not saying I’m just here ‘to do something’ but I needed a date in my diary, and in my mind, that I could have the winter [to myself] and then come back to it.”I didn’t know what else to do, in one sense, but also I’ve spent a lot of time playing cricket here at Essex. I know a lot of the guys here really well, people like Ryan and Ravi [Bopara]. Ravi I played against at Under-11s, the next year I was playing in an Essex team with him. That’s a lot of time and I wanted to carry on playing cricket with people like that – Nick Browne, Tom Westley, people I get on really well with, I want to share a dressing room with.”On who might finally lay an irrefutable claim to his spot in the Test side, as with Brexit, there are no easy answers. Cook is circumspect – “you’ll have to read my column,” he joked – but he more than anyone knows the value of seizing an opportunity when the spotlight is on you. An Ashes summer without Cook to face down the new ball seems a disconcerting prospect; but it is up to his would-be successors to quell talk of a return.”Places are up for grabs, I think everyone who’s played has showed glimpses of good stuff, to be in the side for a long period. It’s certainly not an easy place to bat, and it’s a challenge, but whoever they pick’s got a great summer to go in with, an Ashes summer, always a very exciting time. It’s a great opportunity to do something special. You score a hundred in an Ashes Test match at the top of the order, then you get remembered.”

Duo fall in the 70s but England secure victory by six wickets with 29 balls to spare

Valkerie Baynes19-Jun-2022It wasn’t exactly “Fireworks Friday” but half-centuries to Phil Salt and Jason Roy saw England to victory by six wickets and an unassailable 2-0 series lead against Netherlands at Amstelveen.Set 236 to win a match reduced to 41 overs per side after a wet outfield delayed the start by nearly three hours, England overhauled the target with 29 balls to spare ahead of the final fixture on Wednesday.Scott Edwards, standing in as captain for Pieter Seelaar – who announced his retirement while sitting out the match with a persistent back injury – led Netherlands to 235 for 7 with an excellent 78 off 73 balls.England’s response wasn’t without its hiccups, losing captain Eoin Morgan and Liam Livingstone cheaply and with Jos Buttler, the star of their world record-breaking victory in Friday’s series opener, sitting out for the chase.Roy, playing his 100th ODI after he had missed out on England’s charge when he was dismissed in the second over of the first match, helped himself to 13 runs off the first over of their reply on Sunday, including three fours off Logan van Beek, and he smashed two more off Vivian Kingma in the next.After the eight-over powerplay, the visitors were 47 without loss, compared to 33 for 1 for Netherlands, and by early in the 11th over England had already surpassed the 11 fours Netherlands scored for their entire innings.Roy brought up the team hundred with a deft cut off Aryan Dutt through backward point for four and two balls later he crunched Dutt for six over the longest boundary at deep midwicket.Two fours in three balls off Bas de Leede brought Salt to his fifty and he drove and swept three consecutive fours off Dutt before Roy chimed in, advancing and crashing Dutt over mid-off to the boundary. Having shared a 139-run opening stand with Salt, Roy got carried away next ball however, and gifted a catch to Shane Snater at short third man, clearly angry with himself to be gone for 73 off 60.Salt, too, left with a sense of promise unfulfilled but that was only by the lofty measure of his century in the first match. Eyeing back-to-back tons, he followed Roy out a short time later for a still-admirable 77 off just 54 balls, beautifully bowled by Dutt as he tried to step down to the spinner.Related

• England re-write record books with mammoth 498 in crushing win over Netherlands

• Phil Salt on fast track behind trailblazer Jason Roy

• Pieter Seelaar announces retirement due to persistent back injury

England were 168 for 2 before Morgan made his second duck in as many innings, top-edging Tom Cooper to Snater at backward point. It extended a lean run for Morgan who has been troubled by injuries this year and managed just one international half-century in 18 months.Livingstone, who had shrugged off the calf muscle tightness which took him from the field during Netherlands’ futile chase in the first game, came in ahead of Buttler.His quick-fire 66 in the previous match suggested England were still on track to romp to victory but his stay was brief on this occasion when he provided Tim Pringle with his maiden wicket on international debut. Left-arm spinner Pringle, the son of former New Zealand and Netherlands medium-pacer Chris Pringle, sent down a gem that enticed Livingstone forward, beat the outside edge and pinged to top of off stump.There was still no sign of Buttler when Moeen Ali came to the crease and there were hearts in mouths when Dawid Malan, another centurion from the first fixture, was given out lbw to Dutt but he survived on review with Hawk-Eye showing the ball was headed over the stumps.Moeen levelled the scores with six then four off Pringle and after a plucky maiden from van Beek, Moeen clubbed the winning runs with a four off Snater through square leg.Earlier, David Willey had dismissed Vikramjit Singh cheaply for the second time in the series before Adil Rashid entered the attack in the ninth over and struck almost immediately, tempting Max O’Dowd into a slog-sweep with Malan leaping a long way to his left at square leg to pouch a sharp catch.Brydon Carse, in the England side for Sam Curran who is managing his return from a back stress fracture, then struck with his second ball to remove Cooper, pinned lbw by a nip-backer that struck in line with middle and leg stumps and looked to be clipping the top of leg.With just one run to his name, Edwards overturned his lbw dismissal to a Rashid delivery which was shown on review to be spinning past off stump by just enough to earn him a reprieve. He shared a 61-run stand with de Leede, whose enterprising 34 included whacking Rashid over cow corner into commentary box window.Edwards moved to 47 by slogging Livingstone over the fence – the ball dropped short of the commentators’ perch this time – and he brought up his fifty with a mow down the ground for six off Carse.With the crowd finding their voices following a subdued start given the earlier delay to proceedings, they roared to life when Willey beat Teja Nidamanuru’s attempted straight drive with one that shaped in a little to peg back his middle and off stumps, ending a 73-run stand with Edwards.Edwards prompted more cheers as he reverse-scooped Willey over third man for six to move past his unbeaten 72 scored in the first match. He was eventually run out by an excellent direct hit by Willey running in from deep midwicket and throwing down the stumps at the striker’s end as Edwards, returning for a second, dived in vain.Pringle was out for a second-ball duck, outdone by an excellent googly from Rashid, and it fell to Snater and van Beek to bump up the Netherlands’ total, Snater snatching 17 off 10 while van Beek managed 30 off 36.

Yasir Shah has returned to the top ten after his 14-wicket haul, while Jonny Bairstow and Mominul Haque made gains in the batting rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2018Kagiso Rabada has returned to the No. 1 spot in the ICC bowling rankings, moving above James Anderson after the England bowler sat out the third Test in Colombo. Anderson, who had claimed the top ranking in August after taking 9 for 43 against India at Lord’s, lost 10% of his points, falling behind Rababa, who is next in Test action against Pakistan in December.Yasir Shah has returned to the top ten, following his career-best 14-wicket haul in Pakistan’s victory over New Zealand in Dubai. Yasir is now ranked 10th, with Neil Wagner dropping to 13th in the world.There were also moves in the batting rankings, following match-defining hundreds from Jonny Bairstow, in Colombo, and Mominul Haque, in Chattogram. Bairstow moved up six places to 16th, while Mominul leapt 11 places to be ranked 24th in the world. Azhar Ali, who made 81 in Dubai, moved up three spots to 12th, while Kusal Mendis is now ranked No. 20 after making 86 in Colombo.Ben Stokes, who scored 99 runs and took 4 for 55 at the SCC as England completed a 3-0 series win, has moved up one place in the allrounder rankings to No. 5.

A career best 73 for Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman set Pakistan up for a convincing win over Australia in Harare

The Report by Daniel Brettig05-Jul-2018
Pakistan gained a mental advantage over Australia by dominating Aaron Finch’s team in a match that served as a dress rehearsal for Sunday’s Twenty20 triangular tournament final at the Harare Sports Club.Having beaten Pakistan comfortably in their first meeting, the Australians put in an unfocused performance, dropping far too short with the new ball after Finch sent Sarfraz Ahmed’s side in to bat to allow Fakhar Zaman to fire off a succession of pull shots on his way to the highest score of the match. They then lost a series of early wickets to the late moving ball in the hands of Faheem Ashraf and the 18-year-old left-armer Shaheen Afridi.Having slid as low as 75 for 5, Australia never looked likely to get close to their target, though the wicketkeeper and vice-captain Alex Carey played another intelligent innings down the order. Pakistan’s victory also served the purpose of preventing Australia from taking their place at the top of the ICC’s T20 international rankings.Both sides had already qualified for Sunday’s tournament final, making this game chiefly a chance to gain information and psychological high ground. Australia kept the same side that delivered comfortable wins over Pakistan and Zimbabwe to be the first team to reach the decider. Pakistan included the youthful Afridi for his second T20I in place of Hasan Ali, while Usman Khan came in for Mohammad Nawaz.4:18

‘Steven Smith is the toughest batsman to bowl to’

On a cold morning in Harare, Billy Stanlake failed to induce the sort of early collapse he had been responsible for in Monday’s match. While Jhye Richardson enjoyed the good fortune of having Haris Sohail clip his first delivery straight to square leg to depart for a golden duck, the Pakistan top order were able to feast on a generous helping of short stuff.Fakhar was the major beneficiary, flashing nine boundaries and a trio of sixes on the way to the highest score of his T20I career thus far – he is Pakistan’s leading run-maker in this tournament by a distance, and will require far more careful planning by Australia’s pacemen and coaches ahead of the decider.They reached 80 inside nine overs before Hussain Talat was cramped for room by Glenn Maxwell’s off-breaks and bowled, and from there a series of nifty partnerships ensured that Finch’s side was unable to restrict the run rate. A particularly heavy toll was taken from the bowling of Ashton Agar, while 18 runs from the final over rather disfigured Aaron Tye’s previously excellent figures.Needing a rapid start given the task they were facing, Finch and D’Arcy Short were instead confounded by Pakistan’s fast men pitching the ball much further up to the bat and finding movement both in the air and off the seam. Finch was cornered by an Afridi delivery bending back at him and was caught behind off the inside edge, then Travis Head’s minimal footwork was exposed when Faheem Ashraf seamed one back to pluck out middle stump.Maxwell managed a pair of boundaries before he played around a late inswinger from Afridi that pinned him in front of middle stump, and the innings of Nic Maddinson – who made the squad despite being cut from the New South Wales contract list – lasted only eight balls before he misread a well-pitched wrong’un from Shadab Khan and was comfortably stumped.Short had persevered without timing the ball with anything like the power of which he is capable, but was well and truly beaten by the yorker Afridi served up on his return to the bowling crease. From there it was largely a matter of damage limitation for the Australians, as Carey knocked the ball around with the sort of resourcefulness that is quickly becoming his trademark without ever looking likely to threaten a distant target.Pakistan will now go into the final with plenty of confidence, while the Australians must face Zimbabwe before reconsidering their approach to Fakhar, Afridi and the rest of Sarfraz’s team.

While Steyn and Philander aren’t out of contention for a World-Cup spot, the immediate focus will be on giving more experience to a younger set

Firdose Moonda10-Aug-2018They have only little more than a quarter of the number of caps of South Africa’s most lauded new-ball pair, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, but Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi have made captain Faf du Plessis “really excited” ahead of the 2019 World Cup. While Steyn, who has 116 caps, remains in contention for the tournament, Morkel, who played 117 matches, has retired. But du Plessis has seen enough of Rabada and Ngidi in the 59 matches they’ve played between them to believe the future is in good hands.”I’m really excited about our new-ball combination of Kagiso and Lungi. They’re strike bowlers, they get early wickets,” du Plessis said, on his return from Sri Lanka on Friday.While Rabada’s pedigree has been on display since his 6 for 16 on ODI debut more than three years ago, Ngidi has properly announced himself in the current series. With four of the five matches played, Ngidi’s leads the wicket-takers’ charts, with 10 scalps at 20.10, and his combination of pace and control should make him a shoe-in for next year’s show-piece.But du Plessis was careful not to rule Steyn, who has been vocal in the media about his desire to play at the World Cup, out of contention despite his focus on red-ball cricket at international level since his spate of injuries. Du Plessis even included another experienced name, Vernon Philander, in the mix, although Philander has not played an ODI in three years. “Of course, Dale and Vern are in the frame,” du Plessis said. “Anyone can still put their name on that list, there’s still plenty of time.”Earlier this year, coach Ottis Gibson also indicated Steyn and Philander could be considered for the tournament. But Gibson said, if they were to play, it would only be in the last 10 ODIs before the tournament (which are against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at home) so South Africa could experiment beforehand. Du Plessis reiterated that sentiment now. “The senior guys don’t need any more experience, it’s about trying to help the younger guys gain as much experience a possible,” he said.To that end, South Africa’s pace attack in Sri Lanka on this tour have a combined total of 94 caps – without Rabada’s 51, the remaining four bowlers have only 43 matches between them. Of those, Andile Phehlukwayo has had the most match time, with 29 caps, and his experience shows. After a poor first game, Phehlukwayo has performed well with a wily display of cutters.The other half of the squad – the batsmen – still rely on their old-timers, with du Plessis, Hashim Amla, David Miller and JP Duminy forming the spine of the line-up. Duminy leads the run-charts and appears re-energised following his retirement from Test cricket last year and he could have a big job to do at the World Cup. “The biggest shift I’ve seen is in the real discussions we’ve had on where his head needs to be and he’s in a really good space,” du Plessis said. “The decisions he’s making, especially when batting, are positive. It fits in with the fearless brand of cricket we want to play. He’s been exceptional in this series.”Amla has re-found form after a lean run in Tests and has started to “free up and play the type of Hash innings we’re used to”, and Quinton de Kock has been promoted to a senior, along with the additional role of stand-in captain. While du Plessis could not confirm whether de Kock’s elevation is part of the succession plan, he said it was intended to help de Kock develop. “We certainly felt that when Graeme (Smith) left the team, there were limited opportunities for the young players to learn, to get one or two occasions to captain a bit and few young guys with leadership capabilities. For a guy like Quinton, I feel he’ll grow a lot just by getting a bit of extra responsibility. As a player, it’s easy just to focus on your own game and when you’re captain, you don’t have that luxury. This will teach him a different side of game. It’s a nice opportunity to learn a few new tricks about himself.”But, ultimately, Aiden Markram’s name continues to crop up as someone to whom leadership “comes more naturally” and now du Plessis hopes he can find the confidence to come out of his first patch of poor international form. “For a young guy going through a tough time I can see he’s got a very mature head on his shoulders. He’s understanding that it’s part of cricket, going through the up and downs, that good times can be followed by bad ones. The conversations have been that you don’t become a bad player overnight. He’s really excited about having to try and figure out what he needs to do to become an even better player.”Markram will continue to get opportunities high up in the batting order but knows that others, like Reeza Hendricks who scored a century on debut, are also around. That could make World Cup selection a problem of plenty, something du Plessis will be more than happy to have. “We’ve got some nice young batters coming through as well, putting some pressure on the others. Obviously with AB (de Villiers) leaving, we’re playing with ideas on what might be the best line-up but there’s still enough time to answer a few unanswered questions.”