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ScorecardTim Bresnan celebrates a breakthrough•Getty Images

It did not matter that June was not so much bustin’ out all over as peering out reluctantly on a grey Leeds sky. The gates opened at Headingley at 9.30am and a minute or so later the first supporters were establishing their base camps at the Kirkstall Lane: coffee, woollies and, who knows, even Kendal mint cake. Such folk probably accompanied Scott or Shackleton. They probably thought the weather a trifle nippy; everyone else thought it was bloody cold.And just over seven hours later those hardy partisans were applauding Andrew Gale and his players after they had completed what was only Yorkshire’s second home victory in a Roses match since 1992. The fair-minded Lancastrians in the crowd will have applauded, too, for no one could seriously doubt the merit of this victory. When Gale’s men needed to take wickets on the final day, they did so; when Lancashire needed their leading batsmen, Alviro Petersen for example, to play major innings they fell to soft dismissals, albeit that the conditions remained as tricky for batting as they had been for virtually the entire match.For no one was the victory sweeter than Tim Bresnan, who scored 98 important runs in the game and also took six wickets, all of which is a useful way to mark your first Championship appearance of the season. Yorkshire have missed the allrounder’s accuracy with the ball and his uncomplicated style with the bat during the past six weeks. Bresnan’s return from injury, added to the fact that Yorkshire are now joint top of the Division One table on points without having played particularly well, are warning signs for the rest to ponder as the season gets into its fullest swing.”Our form doesn’t warrant us being top of the league,” Gale admitted. “But we’re finding a way to win games, and the teams that were successful before us, like Durham, always found a way to get back into a game, even when they were bowled out for 200. We know we haven’t played that well this season but we have really dug in and won the key periods in this game.”And as if a Roses encounter was not already sufficiently disputatious, Nigel Farage turned up at Headingley on this final morning. The UKIP leader is a strong supporter of the “Out” campaign in the EU Referendum but the Yorkshire bowlers seemed to have little need of his encouragement.Notwithstanding this apparent superfluity, Farage stood in the Long Room and watched the cricket. “Sit down, you’re blocking my view,” said a welcoming Yorkshire supporter. One hopes the bloke-ish Farage was not offended. Churchill, himself, might have copped a flea in his ear had he prevented a Yorkshireman watching even an over of the Lancashire match.And Farage’s visit might actually have brought him some solace. From where he was standing, he had an excellent view of a completely deserted White Rose stand. Yorkshire decided not to let anybody in to their former Western Terrace during this game, a policy of exclusion which the UKIP leader seems to think should be more widely employed.Those folk in the Kirkstall Lane End, however, had already been given at least four reasons to cheer when Farage’s battlebus eventually left Leeds. The first of these arrived in the seventh over of the morning, by which time the umpires had already decided that the light was too bad for the seamers to operate. This Yorkshire attack often makes light of such inconveniences, though, and they did so again as Haseeb Hameed was caught at the wicket attempting to cut a short ball from Adil Rashid in the over before Luke Procter’s attempt to at Adam Lyth merely edged a catch to Bresnan at slip. “Oh well, a bit of bad light might have done us good,” murmured the Yorkshire president, John Hampshire, contentedly.Without the help of the Headingley floodlights, of course, Yorkshire’s bowlers may have had few opportunities on this dullest of days to assert their superiority. Apparently, having the lights on costs the club £130 an hour. “It was worth it,” said a home supporter, which, so local rumour has it, is not something you hear that frequently from a Yorkshireman.When conditions improved a little, Bresnan returned to the attack and quickly removed Steven Croft, bowled when attempting to leave the ball, and Petersen, leg before when trying to clip a straight ball to leg. That left Lancashire on 98 for 5 and on the threshold of mild humiliation. That fate was avoided by the 63-run stand for the sixth wicket shared by Karl Brown, who made his first Championship half-century of the season, and Liam Livingstone, who seemed on course for his third until, in mid-afternoon, he thrashed a Rashid long hop straight to Liam Plunkett at deep square leg. That marked the beginning of a joyous ten-over spell for Yorkshire in which they took Lancashire’s final five wickets for 12 runs in 10 overs. Rashid took a couple more and finished with 4 for 17; Bresnan grabbed two as well and ended with 4 for 36.Gale later conceded that his top five batsmen are not “firing” as he would wish but he also surely knows that any attack which includes Bresnan on top form will present the rest of Division One with a tough old challenge. Yorkshire’s bowlers certainly combined superbly in this, their most important match of the season and it served to remind one of the argument that for all that their objective is to defeat rather than simply delight, bowling attacks are not unlike jazz quintets. Themes are shared yet individual skills are allowed to shine. “Oh, play that thing.”

England will bring Rehan Ahmed, Jordan Cox, and seven fast bowlers to Australia this winter as part of an 18-man Lions squad. Andrew Flintoff’s team will shadow England’s main touring party for the first two Ashes Tests, providing a stable of potential reinforcements at close quarters.The Lions will provide England with their only competitive match practice ahead of November’s first Test in Perth and will then face a Cricket Australia XI (also in Perth) and Australia A (in Brisbane) alongside the first and second Tests. They are also expected to provide the bulk of the England XI to face the Prime Minister’s XI in a pink-ball tour match.Rehan and Cox were both overlooked for the main Ashes squad but will both be on standby at the start of the tour in the event of injury. Will Jacks was preferred to Rehan as the back-up spinner, while Cox’s omission came after England opted against taking a second specialist wicketkeeper, reasoning that Ollie Pope can take the gloves from Jamie Smith if required.Related

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Cox, who also features in England’s T20I squad to play New Zealand in October is expected to miss the final Lions match in order to play in the ILT20 after signing a lucrative replacement deal at Dubai Capitals.Raw seamers Sonny Baker, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack and Mitchell Stanley have all featured regularly in the Lions programme before, while Matthew Fisher – who won his only Test cap three years ago – is rewarded for his strong finish to the County Championship season with Surrey. Fisher’s county team-mate Tom Lawes and Nathan Gilchrist, who is joining Warwickshire from Kent, complete a seven-man pace battery.Thomas Rew, the England Under-19s captain, is one of four new Lions call-ups after impressing for Somerset in the Metro Bank Cup this summer and is named alongside his older brother James. Yorkshire’s Matthew Revis and Glamorgan’s Ben Kellaway and Asa Tribe – who has five ODI and 26 T20I caps for Jersey – are the other new names.Sussex’s James Coles is a notable absentee, but is understood to be prioritising short-form cricket this winter after encouragement from the ECB; he has a contract at the SA20 in early 2026, and is also hoping to line up deals in the Abu Dhabi T10 and the ILT20. Saif Zaib, the leading Championship run-scorer this season, is another curious omission.Sam Cook, who struggled in his maiden Test against Zimbabwe earlier this summer, has also missed out on the Lions tour with England already aware of what he offers them as a medium-fast new-ball option. He could yet come into contention as an injury replacement in the event one of their six Ashes seamers goes down.”There are some unbelievably talented players in this squad, and this is a fantastic opportunity for them to go to Australia, excel in the conditions, and thrive against quality players,” Flintoff said. “At the same time, these players will get a sense of what an away Ashes series is all about.”Meanwhile, Rehan’s youngest brother Farhan Ahmed will captain England’s Under-19s on their tour to the Caribbean in November, following Rew’s Lions call-up. They are due to play seven ODIs – two against USA, five against West Indies – as part of their preparation for the Under-19 World Cup in Namibia and Zimbabwe early next year.”Farhan has been exceptional whenever he has been with the U19s squad and he deservedly gets the opportunity to captain the team for this tour and show his leadership qualities,” Michael Yardy, their head coach, said. “These will be important matches as we begin to fine-tune our plans for the U19s World Cup early next year.”

England Lions in Australia

Squad: Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Jordan Cox, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Nathan Gilchrist, Tom Hartley, Tom Haines, Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Ben Kellaway, Tom Lawes, Ben McKinney, Matthew Revis, James Rew, Tom Rew, Mitchell Stanley, Asa TribeFixtures:
November 13-15: England vs England Lions (Lilac Hill, Perth)
November 21-24: Cricket Australia XI vs England Lions (Lilac Hill, Perth)
November 29-30: Prime Minister’s XI vs England XI (Manuka Oval, Canberra)
December 5-8: Australia A vs England Lions (Allan Border Field, Brisbane)

England Under-19s in West Indies

Squad: Farhan Ahmed (capt), Ralphie Albert, Will Bennison, Ben Dawkins, Caleb Falconer, Jamie Feldman, Matthew Firbank, Alex French, Alex Green, Manny Lumsden, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Isaac Mohammad, Sebastian Morgan, Joe Moores, Jack Nelson, Charlie TaylorFixtures:
November 13 and 19 – Youth ODIs vs United States (both St Vincent)
November 16, 22, 25, 28 and December 1 – Youth ODIs vs West Indies (all St Vincent)

India’s senior duo of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana is banking on the team’s recent form, collective confidence and their changed methods of preparation to “break the barrier” and lift India’s maiden ODI Women’s World Cup.The 2025 tournament, which features eight teams, will kick off on September 30, with India taking on Sri Lanka in the opening game. India failed to make the semi-finals of the last ODI World Cup, in 2022. Their best result at an ODI World Cup so far has been the runners-up place – twice, in 2005 and 2017, both times under Mithali Raj. They will hope to go one step further with home advantage and recent form on their side.”Playing in front of a home crowd, that is always special, and hopefully, this time we will give our 100% and try to break that barrier which all Indian fans and we are waiting for,” Harmanpreet said at an ICC event in Mumbai to start the 50-day countdown for the World Cup.India have had a good ODI year so far, having won nine of their 11 games. The results include a 3-0 whitewash of Ireland, a tri-series victory in Sri Lanka (also featuring South Africa), and most recently, a 2-1 series win in England, who are ranked second in ODIs.Related

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What are India’s confidence levels like right now heading into the World Cup? “To be honest, very high – because the amount of cricket we have played in the last couple of years, that has really given us a lot of confidence. And touchwood, the way we are playing [for] the last couple of years, we just want to continue with that. I think it is all about mindset and [the] fearless cricket we have been playing,” Harmanpreet said.The ODI series win against England also followed a 3-2 T20I series win – India’s first such win on English soil.”We were not surprised with the results [in England] because we knew the kind of preparation we have done,” Harmanpreet said. “We knew that we can do this easily. I think we have been working very hard for it, but I think at the same time, we kept things very simple, and we knew that we can easily win any series or any tournament. We were only talking about how we can win, how we can improve ourselves. So, for us, it was not like we have done something great. [The result] was because of our routines and we want to keep doing the same things, again and again.”Mandhana, the vice-captain in white-ball formats, said the recent team form was a result of their off-field preparations.”The amount of training we are doing and the efforts we are putting in our training camps, that is finally giving us a result and hopefully this World Cup will be very special for us,” she said. “In the last one-and-a-half month in UK, I just felt that a lot of things. Even off the field was very right about the team, in terms of how everyone came together and we, as a team, are really big on it in terms [of how] we are working hard here each day, day in, day out.1:37

Rodrigues’ memories of the 2017 World Cup as a 16-year-old

“For all the youngsters to come in… and I remember Kranti [Goud] taking six wickets [in the third ODI], I mean to watch her go was just amazing. So sometimes, the environment kind of really helps all of them.”Mandhana has had a dream run since last year, with a tally of 747 in 2024 (average 57.46) and 628 (average 57.09) this year, with a higher strike rate of 107.53 in 2025 compared to 95.15 in 2024. She has struck 12 sixes this year, the most for her in a calendar year, and she is also the highest scorer in ODIs in 2025.”I think more than my mindset, the work ethics have changed quite a lot in the last two or three years,” Mandhana said. “And because of that, there is a lot of calmness around how I want to go about my cricket. So that’s one thing which has changed massively. What happens in the field is a very secondary thing. Our primary job is to do the job. And not only for me – I think the whole team is heading into that direction, [where] we know where we actually have to work hard. So, we all are pretty clear with those sort of things. And that creates a lot of calmness.”I would say that in the last one-and-a-half-odd years, that’s been a massive change for me personally, and also, within the team.”The team’s recent change in regime and mindset has led to a winning streak this year•ICC/Getty Images

India have another assignment before the World Cup – a three-match ODI series at home against defending champions and world No. 1 Australia, which will finish just ten days before the World Cup kicks off.”Well, whenever we play against Australia, that is always challenging because they are very competitive and you always have to know where you are standing, and what are the areas you need to improve [on] as a team,” Harmanpreet said. “I think right before the World Cup, that series is going to give us a lot of clarity, and hopefully along with that, we will play our best cricket, and I think the same momentum will continue before the World Cup.”Australia had, however, failed to make the final of the T20 World Cup last year, which New Zealand won. To see two teams apart from Australia in the final was a welcome change, Harmanpreet said.”Now every team has improved a lot,” she said. “You don’t know which team is going to be there in the top four. So, I think that is something which is really good because earlier, as Smriti said, they were very dominating. One team was always sure they are going to play in the finals. But right now, it’s always open, so it’s only about playing good cricket on that particular day and giving your best.”

Amanda-Jade Wellington played a match-winning innings under pressure as Somerset beat Essex by four wickets at Taunton’s Cooper Associates Ground to register their first win of the Vitality Blast T20 campaign in their tenth game.The Australian international raised 29 from 23 balls, struck four fours and shared in a crucial stand of 45 off 29 balls for the fourth wicket with Fran Wilson, who contributed 41, as the home side chased down a victory target of 156 with three balls to spare.Esmae MacGregor claimed 3 for 19 to keep Essex in the hunt, but Wellington and Alex Griffiths, required to score 16 runs off the final 17 balls, held their nerve to carry the cider county to their first win of the season at headquarters.Returning from England A duty, Jodi Grewcock top-scored with 45 from 34 balls and shared in a stand of 58 for the third wicket with Cordelia Griffith, who contributed 31, as Essex posted 155 for 5 after being put into bat. The pick of the Somerset bowlers, Wellington returned figures of 1 for 25 from four overs.Deputising for the injured Sophie Luff, stand-in Somerset captain Niamh Holland won the toss, inserted the opposition and watched her bowlers reduce the visitors to 30 for 2 in 4.1 overs. Lauren Winfield-Hill plundered three boundaries in moving effortlessly to 19 from 14 balls, only to be cut down in her pomp by an Olivia Barnes delivery that pinned her in the crease. Three balls later, fellow opener Grace Scrivens followed the former England batter back to the pavilion after pulling a shortish ball from Erin Vukusic to midwicket for 6.Charged with the task of repairing the damage, Griffith and Grewcock advanced the score to 40 for 2 at the end of the powerplay and 66 for 2 at the halfway stage, despite finding boundaries hard to come by. The 50 partnership occupied 45 balls and Griffith, having raised 31 from 29 balls, was beginning to accelerate when she attempted to pull Mollie Robbins to the deep midwicket boundary and succeeded only in finding Griffiths with the score 88 for 3.That was the cue for Grewcock to take centre stage, the England A batter opening her shoulders to harvest three successive fours in an over from Barnes as the fielding side came under real pressure for the first time. Grewcock had made 45 from 34 balls and was eyeing a half-century when she gave the charge to Wellington’s legspin and holed out to Vukusic at long-on.Essex were 115 for 4 in the 16th over with work still to do as Jo Gardner joined Maddie Penna in the middle. These two staged a useful stand of 40 from 27 balls, Australian Penna scoring 21 at a run a ball and the forthright Gardner 22 from 12 deliveries, to hoist Essex to a competitive total.Somerset required the reassurance of a good start and Bex Odgers and Holland provided exactly that, adding 41 in five overs before the former blotted her copybook and top-edged to short third for 20 off the bowling of Eva Gray. Holland had also scored 20 when she surrendered her wicket in similar fashion next over, skying a catch behind off MacGregor as the home side slipped to 41 for 2.Buoyed by her half-century against Hampshire last time out, Wilson hit the ground running as Somerset passed 50 in the seventh, while debutant Ruby Davis calmed any nerves by straight-hitting Gray for four as the third-wicket partnership began to profit. These two added 46 in 36 balls and were threatening to take the contest by the scruff of the neck when Davis, having raised 19 from 16 balls, attempted to reverse sweep MacGregor and was adjudged lbw with the score 87 for 3 in the 12th.Wellington drove Grewcock down the ground and pulled Sophia Smale for four to serve notice of her intentions, but Abtaha Maqsood and MacGregor kept things tight to push the asking rate above eight. Somerset’s fourth wicket pair took 15 off the 15th, bowled by Smale, at which point they required 35 off the last five.Victory looked to be a formality, only for Wilson to dance down the wicket and lose off stump to MacGregor with 24 needed off 22 balls. Wellington then hit Scrivens to long-on in the final over, but Griffiths and Chloe Skelton saw the job through.

Northamptonshire Steelbacks maintained their 100% start in this year’s Vitality Blast when they defeated Lancashire Lightning by 24 runs at Emirates Old Trafford to make it five wins in succession.Having posted 180 for 6, in which skipper David Willey top-scored with 37, the visitors produced a determined display in the field, George Scrimshaw leading the way with career-best T20 figures of 4 for 19 from his four overs, as Lancashire ended on 156 for 9.The prize wicket of Liam Livingstone, who was playing his first match after his IPL triumph, was claimed by Lloyd Pope who finished with 2 for 27. Having won their first three T20 games, Lancashire have now lost two on the trot, both at homeBoth the batters to depart in Lancashire’s powerplay were caught at mid-on off James Anderson, whose first three overs cost 21 runs. Matthew Breetzke was pouched by Chris Green for 9 and Ricardo Vasconcelos by Ashton Turner for a 15-ball 32.But the four fours and two sixes hit by Vasconcelos reflected the pace of scoring at the other end and the Steelbacks were 57 for 2 after six overs. Lancashire enjoyed another success two overs later when Justin Broad was caught behind off Jack Blatherwick for 13 which left the visitors on 70 for 3, leaving Willey and Ravi Bopara with the task of rebuilding the innings while maintaining an aggressive approach.The experienced duo managed this with a stand of 60 in seven overs before both were dismissed in the space of six balls. Having made 28, Bopara lofted Anderson to Blatherwick on the cover boundary and Willey was caught by Jennings at cover off Livingstone for 37.Undaunted by these reverses, Saif Zaib and Lewis McManus put on 42 in 24 balls before McManus fell to Livingstone in the final over for an enterprising 28. At the same time, the Steelbacks’ final total of 180 for 6 seemed about par on a good wicket.Livingstone finished with 2 for 35 from four overs although Luke Wells was also impressive, conceding 23 runs from his four wicketless overs. Anderson took 3 for 31 but, rather puzzlingly, the England slow-left-armer, Tom Hartley, was not required to bowl.The in-form Ben Sanderson and his captain, Willey, ensured Lancashire’s reply got off to a poor start by dismissing Wells and Keaton Jennings inside the first 13 balls of the innings and although Matty Hurst and Livingstone hit four sixes in seven balls, Northamptonshire struck another blow in the powerplay when Hurst skied Luke Procter’s first ball to long stop was caught for 17, Scrimshaw running across from third man to take the catch.The Australian legspinner Pope took the vital wicket of Livingstone in the next over when the IPL winner with Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled him straight to Vasconcelos at midwicket and departed for 18.Pope took his second wicket when he had Turner caught down the leg side by McManus for 23 and with seven overs left to be bowled Lancashire needed another 76 runs to win. That task immediately became harder when Green skied Scrimshaw to Willey on 15.Michael Jones tried to salvage the game but he fell to Scrimshaw for 32 when he was caught by Breetzke who took three catches in the innings and also dropped two. With the outcome of the game all but certain, the final few overs of the match were anti-climactic.

South Australia 314 (Hunt 136, McInerney 51, Whitney 5-57) and 352 for 9 dec (Carey 123*, McSweeney 72) beat Queensland opener Matt Renshaw did himself no favours in his bid to push for the vacancy at the top of Australia’s Test batting order, dismissed cheaply on the final day of the Sheffield Shield clash with South Australia.Already an outsider for the India series after being overlooked for Australia A, Renshaw had begun the summer with scores of 6, 15 and 2 and needed a big total on the final day of the Shield match at Allan Border Field, won by the visitors by 129 runs after wicketkeeper Alex Carey and Nathan McAndrew starred.There appeared little need for Renshaw to play at McAndrew’s delivery wide of off stump, but he mistimed his cover drive and edged the ball straight to Carey after compiling 21 runs.Bulls skipper Marnus Labuschagne said Renshaw’s failures had not helped his Test cause, but added that all was not lost.”I certainly think it counts against him. If other guys are making runs and it is going to be a tight call, it is always going to work like that,” Labuschagne said.”That doesn’t mean he can’t bat well in the next two [Shield[ games and maybe change people’s opinions or views.”Test opener Usman Khawaja (39) joined Renshaw in the pavilion, also edging to Carey without kicking on as Queensland chased 359 for victory.Labuschagne (10) and Ben McDermott (0) were dismissed either side of lunch as the hosts stumbled to 79 for 4.Jack Clayton fought hard to make 91•Getty Images

Debutant Lachlan Hearne (44) and Jack Clayton (91) got the Bulls back into it with a 106-run stand for the fifth wicket.Wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson (10) was unlucky to be given out caught behind to a lifter from speedster McAndrew as South Australia turned the screws to bundle Queensland out for 229.McAndrew completed a stellar match after taking three wickets in the first innings and making a vital 46 in the second dig.Carey was named player of the match. His first-innings 42 followed by an unbeaten 123 stamped his class, and the Test gloveman snared 10 catches, including seven in the second innings.”He has been excellent for us since coming back from his Test duties,” South Australia captain Nathan McSweeney said.”Last week he scored a 90 and a hundred for us as well. The way he plays and the runs he makes are match-winning.”It is never easy coming up here to Queensland and winning. This game has been good for our team morale. After having a couple of tough years, hopefully it is the start of a good year for us.”

Bangladesh’s selectors have recalled Mehidy Hasan Miraz to the T20I squad for the three-match series against India starting next week. Mehidy played the last of his 25 T20Is in July last year, missing Bangladesh’s last 24 matches in that format while being a key allrounder in the two longer formats.There were also recalls for opener Parvez Hossain Emon and left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan.Related

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Shakib Al Hasan is the big absentee but this was expected following his announcement on Thursday that he was retiring from both Tests and T20Is. Soumya Sarkar is the other player who featured in the T20 World Cup earlier this year who has been left out.Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain paid tribute to Shakib, saying Bangladesh would have a tough time replacing him, and hoped Mehidy could step up to a batting-centric role in Shakib’s absence. Ashraf explained that Mehidy had been picked to bat higher up the order without a set bowling role.”The great Shakib Al Hasan has already announced that he has played his last T20I for Bangladesh,” Ashraf said. “We don’t have anyone to replace his experience and performance but we feel that Mehidy Hasan Miraz is a good batter who can handle the middle order. Mehidy can play as a batter. We didn’t pick him in the previous [T20] World Cup as we usually feel that he has a strong role as an allrounder in Tests and ODIs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We didn’t feel his bowling was a great option in the powerplay in T20s. We didn’t want to disturb his rhythm in the other formats. This is why he wasn’t in our T20 World Cup plans, which we had clearly communicated to him. We are hopeful of seeing him higher in the order, just above the finisher’s role.”The new role will be quite a challenge for Mehidy, who currently has 248 runs in 20 T20I innings at an average of 14.58 and a strike rate of 118.66, with a highest score of 46. He has opened the batting twice, and batted once each at Nos. 5 and 6.Ashraf said that Parvez, the left-hand opener, impressed the selectors in various camps during the off-season. He added that Rakibul got the nod due to an injury to left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam.”We have made changes in the opening, middle order and spin attack while keeping the pace attack intact,” Ashraf said. “We have brought in Parvez Hossain Emon in Soumya Sarkar’s place. We have observed him in the recent camps. He is part of our future plans. Rakibul has taken Tanvir’s place, as the latter is recovering from a broken hand. Rakibul is useful with the new ball.”Ashraf said the selectors still believe the veteran Mahmudullah can do a job in the T20I side, despite his mixed-bag performance in the T20 World Cup earlier this year. “We have our future squad in mind,” he said. “We will give value to experienced players. We have belief in Mahmudullah. The captain will have all the options for combinations in this squad.”Bangladesh’s T20Is against India are in Gwalior (October 6), New Delhi (October 9) and Hyderabad (October 12).

Bangladesh squad for T20Is against India

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rakibul Hasan.
IN: Parvez Hossain Emon, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rakibul Hasan
OUT: Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan.

Kyle Abbott wreaked more havoc on Somerset’s batting as Hampshire assumed a dominant position on the second day of the Vitality County Championship Division One game at Taunton.The visitors gained a first-innings lead of 60 in the battle for runners-up spot by extending their overnight score of 62 for 5 to 196 all out, Toby Albert making 77 and Jack Leach claiming 5 for 52.Then Abbott went to work, following his four first-innings victims with 3 for 11 as Somerset slumped to 60 for 4 by stumps on another rain-shortened day. The 37-year-old seamer has now taken 67 wickets against them during his prolific career, more than against any other county.Heavy rain overnight and morning drizzle meant a major mopping up job for groundstaff and an early lunch was taken at 12.15pm. After two pitch inspections, play eventually got underway at 12.55pm.Somerset surprisingly began with seam bowling at both ends, but when left-arm spinner Leach was introduced with the total on 76 for 5, his second ball saw Felix Organ, on 12, edge to Kasey Aldridge at second slip.Albert, who had been dropped before scoring by Aldridge on day one, moved to an immensely valuable 116-ball half-century, with five fours. Normally one of Somerset’s best fielders, Aldridge was at fault again when spilling a straightforward chance at square leg, offered by Ben Brown on 10.Albert hit straight sixes off Leach and Shoaib Bashir as the seventh-wicket partnership with Brown prospered and took Hampshire into the lead before the opener’s 162-ball innings ended, caught behind flashing at a delivery from Aldridge.Brown departed for 35, caught at backward point, aiming to reverse sweep Leach, to make it 159 for 8. But Somerset’s hopes of restricting the lead suffered a blow when Bashir dropped Abbott at mid-on off Leach.On 2 at the time, Abbott went on to score 18 before driving a catch to short cover off Lewis Gregory. James Fuller then hit Archie Vaughan for six over long-on before perishing in the same over, caught at deep extra cover for a rapid 25, aiming another big hit.Somerset had paid dearly for dropping three catches. But soon they were benefitting from one as Tom Lammonby escaped a low chance to third slip in Abbott’s first over. It didn’t prove costly for Hampshire, however, as Lammonby fell for only a single, edging a catch behind off Mohammad Abbas.Soon Abbott was wielding his customary spell over Somerset. Bowling from the River End, he pinned Vaughan lbw for 25 and then induced edges from Andy Umeed and Tom Abell, who both fell to slip catches as their side stumbled to 38 for 4, still 22 runs behind.Tom Kohler-Cadmore picked up a delivery from left-arm spinner Liam Dawson over mid-wicket for six as 16 runs were added before a short rain break, which saw eight overs lost when play resumed at 5.20pm.Only 2.2 had been bowled when another heavy shower sent the players off again, Somerset just having written off the first-innings deficit. A downpour followed and the umpires abandoned play for the day at 5.45pm.

The club vs country issue is beginning to hurt New Zealand, with high-profile names opting out of central contracts. As they get ready for a burst of nine Test matches in the next few months, Test captain Tim Southee acknowledged the issue, but put it down to “the changing landscape of international cricket”.He recently expressed hope that the cricket boards and the franchise leagues find a way of “working together” to resolve the issue, and ahead of New Zealand’s departure for India to play Afghanistan in a one-off Test in Greater Noida, said that his country’s board was “trying to come up with what’s best for both parties”.”There are plenty of offers out there that weren’t around years ago,” he said. “But yeah, at the moment it’s concentrate on playing for New Zealand and giving that everything at the moment.”Related

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• Rashid takes a break from Test cricket on medical advice

• Southee may not play all upcoming subcontinent Tests

It won’t affect the team, he said: “We’ve seen a number of guys who haven’t taken contracts, guys that are sitting on this plane with guys with contracts.”Among the players who have refused contracts in recent months are Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, and Adam Milne. Of them, Williamson is in the squad for the Afghanistan Test, which will be the first of six Tests in the subcontinent (with two in Sri Lanka and three in India to follow), after which New Zealand will host England at home in November-December.”If you look at it as a whole – six Test matches in the subcontinent – it’s exciting,” Southee said. “It’s probably something we haven’t done, in my time anyway. It’s a great challenge for the side.”First up: Afghanistan.When they played each other at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, Afghanistan won by 84 runs after bowling New Zealand out for 75 in Providence.”They are still new to the red-ball format, but we’ve seen in the other formats what a side they can be,” Southee said. “Just recently in the T20 World Cup, last year in the one-day World Cup [where Afghanistan finished sixth], they are an improving side. They’ve had great success in those two formats, and I am sure as a country they want to have success in the longer format as well.”Every time we have come up against them in a world event in the last five or six years, we know they are an improving side and a dangerous side. Especially in their part of the world. We just saw them making the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, a couple of upsets last year, and the one-day World Cup as well. So we know they are a very good side in those conditions.”Six Tests in the subcontinent could well mean the quick bowlers taking a backseat at times and the spinners taking centre stage. New Zealand have a good bunch in their tournament party: there is the left-arm spin of Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner, and the offspin of Michael Bracewell, to go with the part-time offspin of Glenn Phillips. Afghanistan’s spin threat, of course, is a real one.1:14

Southee: Afghanistan ‘an improving and dangerous side’

“That part of the world, spin is going to play a big part. They’ve got some quality spinners, mixed in with some quality quicks as well,” Southee said. “We’ve seen in other formats that’s been their strength, their bowling unit, particularly their spinners. It’s going to be an exciting challenge.”[The role of the spinners] might change from venue to venue, change from India to Sri Lanka and back to India. We have the options. We have guys that can bowl spin, offspin, left-arm spin, so we’ve got a good mix, mixed in with some quality pace as well. It’s exciting for all the spinners. We were in Bangladesh last year, so as a spin bowler, I’m sure you’re looking forward to this challenge.”As for his own game, Southee acknowledged, not for the first time, that he wasn’t “at my best towards the end of the summer”. But “the body is good,” he said as a bunch of New Zealand players left Auckland for India, adding, “The cricket I have played since [the last summer] has been pretty good, so I have enjoyed a bit of a break and enjoyed a bit of the cricket as well.”The Test against Afghanistan will be played from September 9 to 13 after which New Zealand will travel to Sri Lanka before returning to India.

The UAE, India and Sri Lanka are in the shortlist to be back-up venues in case the ICC is forced to shift the women’s T20 World Cup later this year out of Bangladesh.Bangladesh has been rocked by anti-government agitations over the last few weeks, leading to several deaths. On Monday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and flew to India, with army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman assuming charge with a view to establishing an interim government. Among properties belonging to members of Hasina’s Awami League party that were destroyed by the protestors was former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza’s residence in Narail, roughly 150 kilometres from Dhaka.As it stands, the ten-team women’s tournament is scheduled to be held from October 3-20 but the ICC has informally jotted down alternative venues.An ICC official said on Monday that the situation in Bangladesh was being monitored and all options had been kept open. “The ICC is closely monitoring developments in co-ordination with the Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB], their security agencies and our own independent security consultants,” an ICC statement said. “Our priority is the safety and well-being of all participants.”Following Monday’s developments, the governments of at least three countries that will be part of the event – Australia, England and India – have issued travel advisories to their citizens against visiting Bangladesh.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the ICC has started working on options for the back-up venue. While India and Sri Lanka are well equipped to host a multi-nation tournament on short notice, some questions remain. With Sri Lanka, there is a threat of rain in October, while with India, the issue of visas for the Pakistan team could be a hurdle.The BCB, meanwhile, has postponed the Bangladesh A team’s departure for Pakistan for a series with the Shaheens “by 48 hours”. The Dhaka airport was closed on Monday from 6pm to midnight, and it’s not certain if the scheduled flight will take off on Tuesday.”The BCB has confirmed to the PCB their men’s ‘A’ cricket team’s departure for Islamabad has been delayed by 48 hours due to unforeseen circumstances,” the PCB said in a statement on Monday. “The BCB and PCB have been in regular contact for the past two days and will continue to work together on the revised tour itinerary with further details to follow in due course. The Bangladesh ‘A’ cricket team was due to arrive in Islamabad in the wee hours of Wednesday for two four-day and three 50-over matches from 10-27 August.”The Bangladesh senior team’s departure for Pakistan is slotted for August 17 and, as things stand, there is no change in that. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB has suggested to the BCB that the Bangladesh Test team be sent to Pakistan in advance so that they can train and practice in Rawalpindi before the Test series, which starts on August 21. The BCB has not responded to the PCB yet.The last instance of a government abdicating or falling, in January 2007, led to the National Sports Council dissolving the BCB’s board of directors, and appointing an interim body.The last time the ICC moved a global tournament to a back-up venue was in 2021 when the men’s T20 World Cup was shifted out of India to the UAE and Oman because of the Covid-19 pandemic.