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Gloucestershire 222 and 128 for 3 (Charlesworth 77*) trail Derbyshire 391 (Madsen 118, Came 83, Jewell 61) by 41 runsDerbyshire captain Wayne Madsen again left his mark on Gloucestershire with the 40th first-class century of his career on the second day of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match at Derby.The 41-year-old’s hundred was his sixth against Gloucestershire and put his side in a commanding position with support from Harry Came who scored 83 and shared a third wicket stand of 177.Madsen also completed 16,000 first-class runs during his 118 and with Zak Chappell adding a breezy 61 from 67 balls, Derbyshire reached 391, a lead of 169.Marchant de Lange with 3 for 31 was the pick of the bowlers for Gloucestershire who closed on 128 for 3, still 41 runs behind, with Ben Charlesworth unbeaten on 77.Gloucestershire went into day two well aware of the damage Madsen could do and under another cloudless sky, he made the most of some very accommodating bowling.The visitors’ attack, with the notable exception of de Lange, lacked the discipline and consistency to put Madsen and Came under pressure, serving up far too many short and wide balls that could be dispatched to the ropes.Madsen welcomed Zaman Akhter by upper-cutting the seamer for six before Came reached his 50, which contained nine fours, from 80 balls.Derbyshire cruised along serenely with 68 runs coming in the first hour with Madsen reaching an inevitable half-century and the 89th of his first-class career off 81 balls.Gloucestershire’s miserable morning got worse when Came on 64 edged Matt Taylor to second slip where Ollie Price fumbled the chance. Price made amends with the penultimate ball of the session, trapping Came lbw as he went back to work the ball to leg but at lunch, Derbyshire were 49 ahead with Madsen eight away from another hundred.Whatever was said in the visitors dressing room clearly made an impression because they had their best spell of the match after the interval. De Lange quickly had Brooke Guest caught behind and in his next over tempted Luis Reeve into a drive which Ollie Price pouched at second slip.When Anuj Dal was trapped on the crease by Tom Price, Derbyshire had lost four wickets in 26 balls for 10 runs and the Price brothers combined two overs later to remove Martin Andersson.As the wickets tumbled around him, Madsen went to his hundred, the 39th first-class for Derbyshire, from 144 balls, and although Ollie Price dropped him four runs later, the offspinner finally removed him when he missed a reverse sweep.But Chappell crushed any hopes Gloucestershire entertained of wrapping up the innings quickly by dispatching Ollie Price for two big sixes on his way to a 60-ball 50.Taylor returned to bowl Chappell and have Jack Morley caught behind but Derbyshire had reasserted their authority leaving Gloucestershire with a lot of batting to do.They started badly, losing Chris Dent cheaply when he got an inside edge into his stumps going half forward to Chappell in the seventh over. But Charlesworth and Ollie Price played with increasing authority to add 70 from 98 balls before Derbyshire set a trap which snared Price.Pat Brown posted a leg gully for Price who turned a ball off his hip into the waiting hands of Andersson and Reece struck another blow when Miles Hammond moved across his stumps and was lbw.Charlesworth and James Bracey negotiated the last five overs but they will need to bat for a long time tomorrow to keep Gloucestershire in the contest.

India were far from their best on the field after they were asked to bowl by New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai. They put down as many as four chances, which came in pairs, both times in consecutive overs, first with the new ball and then in the middle overs off left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Here’s how the misses were recorded on ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary.6.3 – Mohammed Shami to Ravindra, 1 run, Shami fingertips a catch, it’s a drop and he calls the physio. He was in his follow-through, looked like he was getting upright but then realised the ball was going highish to his left. The hands might have come in the way of the eyes, he tried to take it with fingers pointing up. Left leg was dangling in the air as he tried to take it on the move. Ball burst past and landed behind him. Was a fullish length ball angling in towards middle and leg, Ravindra tried to punch it to the bowler’s right, but the bat twirled upon impactRavindra was on 28 at the time and got another life in the next over, on 29.7.1 – Varun to Ravindra, 2 runs, Another chance down, toughie again. Shreyas was running to the right from deep midwicket, he was sliding for a lowie, was fully outstretched and he made contact. He started quickly, ran 21 metres, slowed down towards the end, ball didn’t pop off the hands so much as poured below. He nearly fell face first and stayed there in disappointment as a team-mate cleaned up.The two chances didn’t cost India much as Ravindra was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav’s first delivery at the start of the 11th over for 37. But the misses kept coming.34.5 – Patel to Mitchell, 2 runs, Rohit drops a one-hander at midwicket. He leapt up, got his right hand up but tipped it over. He falls on his back as the ball rolls into the deep. He was 27 metres away, timed his jump okay, but was done for pace. Likely to be marked as a tough chance – 93ks ball wasn’t that short, Mitchell went for a powerful pull nonetheless, went flat.35.6 – Jadeja to Phillips, 1 run, Gill drops one this time, running to the left from deep square leg. He slid, a bit of the turf came off as the knee went into the ground. He reached out low to the left, got both hands on it but it popped to the left, into the ground. Replays show he tried to claw the ball with ball palms coming towards the centre from the side, but the grabbage doesn’t work. Jadeja raises his hands but manages half a smile. Was a shortish ball on middle, 102ks, didn’t rise as much as Phillips expected. He, like Mitchell, went through with the pull. Got it off the base of the bat.Phillips’ chance didn’t cost India much either. He was on 27 when Gill put him down and he was gone soon after for 34, foxed by Varun Chakravarthy’s googly. Mitchell, however, went on to make a half-century – he had been dropped when on 40 – and was eventually dismissed for 63 in the 46th over by Shami.New Zealand, in the second half, also put down a couple of chances, although the first of them was arguably the toughest chance that went down in the game. The last, though, was the simplest.6.2 – Jamieson to Shubman Gill, 1 run, Mitchell puts down a one-hander at midwicket. India missed a few half-chances, NZ have lost one. He leapt to his right, tried to take it just over head-height, his dive was stunted by the fact that he was too near to the ball. The hands extended, his left leg was up but the right leg and hand were flailing to the right, and the ball burst through. Graphic shows he was 24 metres away. Gill came down the track and tried to whip it. Off the bottom of the bat it came36.4 – Phillips to Iyer, 1 run, DROPPED by Jamieson at long-on! That is such a huge moment in the game. Floated on off, he charges down, gets too close to the ball and hits this straight to Jamieson who has dropped an absolute sitter.Iyer was on 44 when he was dropped. He added just four more runs before being dismissed. Gill, too, failed to cash in on his life in a major way, He was on 6 when he was dropped, and eventually fell for 31.

Hampshire have signed 18-year-old South African opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius as one of their overseas players for this year’s Vitality Blast. Pretorius has yet to be capped at senior level by South Africa, but finished as the leading run-scorer at the recently completed SA20.A hard-hitting left-hander who can also keep wicket, Pretorius made his T20 debut last year after impressing for South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup, and currently averages 27.60 with a strike rate of 147.17 in the format.He caught the eye of Hampshire’s coach, Adi Birrell, when scoring 97 off 51 in his first outing for Paarl Royals, against Sunrisers Eastern Cape at this year’s SA20, with Birrell also in charge at SEC.Related

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“It’s a real honour to play for Hampshire Hawks in this year’s Vitality Blast as my first experience of playing cricket in England,” Pretorius said. “The team is full of exciting names whom I look forward to playing alongside and sharing a dressing room with as we look to lift the trophy.”Hampshire, winners of the Blast in 2022, finished seventh in the South Group last season, missing out on the knockouts for the first time in four years.Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said: “Lhuan-dre impressed with his batting during the recent SA20 and played a number of eye-catching innings against some of the best bowlers in the world. He’s a special talent with a big future, and we are delighted that he is joining us for this year’s Vitality Blast.”

Migael Pretorius back at Somerset

Migael Pretorius made an impact with bat and ball last season•Getty Images

Somerset, meanwhile, have confirmed a return for allrounder Migael Pretorius. The 29-year-old made eight County Championship appearances last year, scoring 338 runs to go with 23 wickets. He is expected to be available for the duration of the 2025 season across all three formats.”I really enjoyed my time at Somerset in 2024 and I’m looking forward to joining up with the team again this summer,” Pretorius said. “There’s a really positive atmosphere around the club and I was impressed by the level of support that the players get at every game, both home and away. The team came so close to winning a trophy last year and hopefully I can help Somerset to get over the line in 2025.”Somerset director of cricket, Andy Hurry, added: “Following his time with us during 2024, Migael knows what it means to represent the club and understands what we are aspiring to achieve here.”He has a proven ability to impact games, and he will add further all-round quality as well as depth to our already impressive seam attack. Understanding how demanding the season is for teams competing across all three competitions, we feel that squad depth will be a vital factor for us.”

Harry Brook, England’s vice-captain, says that his team’s hopes of combatting India’s spin bowlers in the first T20I were hampered by an unusual but familiar foe to English touring sides – a thick layer of smog hanging over the ground in Kolkata.Brook made 17 from 14 balls before being bowled by a wrong’un from India’s legspinner, Varun Chakravarthy, who then dismissed Liam Livingstone in near-identical fashion two balls later. England collapsed from 65 for 2 to 109 for 8, and ultimately 132 all out, with India’s spinners claiming five wickets in all. Abhishek Sharma’s 79 from 34 balls then condemned them to a seven-wicket defeat with a thumping 43 balls to spare.Chakravarthy was the pick of the attack with 3 for 23 in his four overs, although his fellow legspinner Ravi Bishnoi proved every bit as tough to get away as he returned figures of 0 for 22. And speaking on the eve of the second T20I in Chennai, Brook suggested there had been an atmospheric reason for England’s struggles to pick their variations.”I didn’t face Bishnoi but Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler,” he said. “He’s tough to pick. I think actually with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick as well. Hopefully, the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier.”He’s an exceptional bowler and has got a lot of skills with extreme accuracy as well. Their spinners are their key threat, so we will look to put pressure on them, take them down, put as much pressure as we can on them, and hopefully they crumble from there.”It’s a familiar refrain from England touring sides. On their 1992-93 visit to India, England’s then-chairman of selectors, Ted Dexter, famously attributed his team’s emphatic defeat in the first Test, also at Eden Gardens, to smog. Though he was widely lampooned for his remarks, the issue has taken on a more serious aspect in recent years, with India’s Test against Sri Lanka at Delhi in 2017 having to be stopped after several players vomited due to the pollution.Related

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England are set to make at least one change to the XI in Chennai, with Brydon Carse included as a pace option in place of Gus Atkinson, who endured a night to forget with bat and ball at Kolkata. Jamie Smith has also been included in a 12-man squad, and could step in for Jacob Bethell, who missed training on Friday with illness.The emphatic loss on Wednesday marked a low-key start to Brendon McCullum’s tenure as England’s white-ball head coach, albeit he had warned “there’ll be some times we don’t quite get it right” during his pre-series comments to the media last week.Nevertheless, his appointment of Brook as Jos Buttler’s vice-captain is further proof of his desire to unite the red- and white-ball squads under a single philosophy, and with as many cross-over performers as possible. And the informal attitude that has powered the Test team’s displays in recent seasons was in evidence in the manner with which Brook was offered the deputy’s role.”We were sat in the bar the other night and Baz texted me from across the other side of the room,” he said. “He just said ‘Congrats, you’re the vice-captain’ and I just put: ‘Beautiful, thanks.’ There wasn’t really much conversation.”Obviously, I captained the ODIs in the summer so I kind of knew that it was going to happen. You don’t have to do too much as a vice-captain; Jos is extremely experienced, I’ll give him a few suggestions here and there and if he comes to me, I’ll give him my opinion but it’s up to him whether he takes it or not.”

Having gone through what went wrong at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, Australia rebounded with a series clean sweep of India as they build towards a defence of their 50-over crown next year.Australia outplayed India after two comfortable victories in Brisbane before finishing the series with an 83-run win in a topsy-turvy contest in oppressive conditions at the WACA in Perth.Australia entered the ODI series with an unfamiliar bitter taste after their semi-final defeat to South Africa in the UAE. Underlining an increasingly cramped women’s cricket calendar, the team and hierarchy did not get a chance to debrief due to the WBBL starting almost immediately after.Related

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Once the WBBL ended, the squad assembled in Brisbane and had to dissect their failed bid for a fourth straight T20 World Cup title. “I think it was just a really good touch point for our group to realise the things that we weren’t doing as well as probably what we could have,” Ashleigh Gardner told reporters after the third ODI. “We reviewed that game [against South Africa] and then… we were just really positive on where this group can get to.”And I think that’s the most exciting thing, that anyone that comes into this group is excited to be here, really wants to be here, and just striving to be better every day.”Australia had numerous players step up across the series against India. Their wins in Brisbane were highlighted by debutant Georgia Voll’s spectacular performances at the top of the order, while in Perth all-round efforts from Gardner and Annabel Sutherland overcame an Indian team mustering belated fight.It was a welcome return to form for Gardner, who shrugged off her struggles in the WBBL with 50 off 64 balls after Australia had collapsed to 78 for 4. It was her first ODI half-century in almost 18 months and she backed up with the ball to claim career-best figures of 5 for 30.Ashleigh Gardner scored her first fifty of 2024•Getty Images

“I felt it’s one of those things… you feel really confident in the nets but then it doesn’t replicate in the middle,” Gardner said. “For me, I knew that I just had to spend a little bit of time out in the middle and I came in at a pretty tough time.”I just love batting with Bells [Sutherland]. It’s always really positive, just keep each other going in those moments and knowing that if we just got through that tough little phase… it would be fine. And I guess that’s the messaging that I just tried to keep telling myself.”With Alyssa Healy on the sidelines for the entire series due to injury, Tahlia McGrath took the captaincy reins with the 27-year-old Gardner as her deputy. “I think T-Mac [McGrath] and I work really well together,” she said. “We’re obviously very different personalities, but I think we complement each other in that way as well.”She’s a very cool, calm person. And I guess what I challenged her with was to try and think outside the box. What I tried to throw to her was just different ideas at different points to get her mind ticking over.”Australia, however, did not submit a flawless performance in Perth having endured a ragged effort in the field marked by five dropped catches. It is an area they will hope to brush up quickly ahead of the three-match ODI series in New Zealand starting on December 19.”We want to be the best fielding team in the world and that certainly wasn’t on show tonight,” Gardner said. “I think there were glimpses of brilliance, but then there’s just those little moments where maybe it’s a lapse of concentration.”We do train really hard on our fielding but maybe it’s just training under pressure more, and try to do some different drills.”Australia took precautions ahead of the New Zealand tour with Voll and Sophie Molineux leaving the field after diving efforts left them feeling ginger, while the fitness of Healy will continue to be monitored.”Healy’s coming away with us, we’ll see how she goes. But she’s progressing well, which is really pleasing,” Gardner said. “I’m sure she’ll be chomping at the bit to play that first game in New Zealand.”The group’s just really excited. It’s a really cool little period. We’re only over there for ten days before the Christmas break. I think it’s going to really spur the team on to finish off what we’ve done here in this series.”I think this group’s in a really good place at the moment. We’ve been really successful in 50-over cricket. So it’s just kind of going on to the next progression and that’s obviously looking forward to the World Cup.”

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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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.