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A fourth Sheffield Shield century from wicketkeeper Josh Inglis ensured Tasmania’s gamble to send Western Australia in to bat failed to pay day-one dividends at Bellerive Oval.Western Australia were bowled out minutes before stumps for 300, but Inglis held the innings together after the visitors’ much-vaunted top-order slipped to 4 for 110.Inglis was the penultimate wicket to fall, caught behind off Jackson Bird for 116 off just 134 balls.Related

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At stumps, Tasmania were 1 for 5 with Caleb Jewell failing to survive the three overs before the close when he was caught behind.Tasmania are one of four teams sharing second spot and eyeing a ticket to next month’s final, with the decider almost certain to be hosted by runaway leaders Western Australia.Tasmania’s aggressive approach paid early dividends with the Shield’s leading scorer, Cameron Bancroft, falling victim to a superb Tim Paine catch behind the stumps off the bowling of Bird for just 1.There were steady contributions in the top half of the WA order from Sam Whiteman (40), Teague Wyllie (28) and Hilton Cartwright (56).WA went to tea after a rain-impacted middle session at a relatively precarious 5 for 184, but Inglis scored with regularity until his late dismissal with the last four wickets adding 80 valuable runs.

Jasprit Bumrah has become the first India quick to reach the top spot in the ICC’s Test bowlers’ rankings. Bumrah, who climbed three places to be ranked No. 1, replaces his team-mate R Ashwin in the position. Before this, his highest ranking had been No. 3.The previous highest ranking achieved by an India fast bowler was No. 2 – on the retrospective Test bowlers’ table – by Kapil Dev from December 1979 to February 1980. Apart from Bumrah, Zaheer Khan has also occupied the No. 3 spot, in October-November 2010.Bumrah’s rise follows a match haul of 9 for 91 in the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, where he was named Player of the Match as India levelled the series 1-1. Six of those wickets came in the first innings, when he picked up his tenth five-for in only his 34th Test, a match he finished as the fastest Indian to 150 Test wickets.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He put India on top with a spell of two-way reverse swing, getting Joe Root to edge to slip before cleaning Ollie Pope up with a searing inswinging yorker to dismantle both middle and leg stumps. He later dismissed Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes to give India a 143-run first-innings lead.Bumrah also had an impact in the second innings, where he picked up 3 for 46. With Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley threatening to keep England alive in their chase of 399, Bumrah had Foakes caught-and-bowled, foxing him with a slower offcutter.Bumrah is currently the leading wicket-taker in the series, with 15 strikes at 10.67. He picked up six wickets in the first Test in Hyderabad, which India lost by 28 runs.Meanwhile, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal also made big gains among Test batters. Jaiswal raced up 37 places to No. 29 following a career-best knock of 209 in Visakhapatnam. His England counterpart Zak Crawley also had a good Test, scoring 76 and 73 to climb eight spots to No. 22.Kane Williamson continues to occupy the top spot among Test batters, having cracked 118 and 109 in the first Test against South Africa in Mount Maunganui.

Cameron Bancroft was sent to hospital after a cycling accident left him concussed and ended his Sheffield Shield title dreams, with Western Australia captain Sam Whiteman expressing relief that his opening partner avoided further injuries.Bancroft, a keen cyclist, fell off his bike and landed on his head on Sunday. He was riding by himself when the incident took place and he’s since been ruled out of the final against Tasmania starting on Thursday at the WACA.”[I’m] pretty gutted, but nice to hear he’s okay and out of hospital,” Whiteman told reporters on Wednesday. “I think it’s pretty lucky that it wasn’t much worse. He’s got plenty of scratches. Hopefully we’ll see him around the WACA this week, and I know that he’s gutted to miss it, but he’ll get around the team.”He’s done a lot of heavy lifting this year to get us into the final.”Related

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Bancroft’s loss is a huge blow for WA’s bid for a hat-trick of Shield titles after another impressive season where he is the second-highest run-scorer with 778 at 48.62.WA’s batting order is built around the reliable opening partnership of Bancroft and Whiteman, who this season became the state’s most prolific first-wicket pair. But Bancroft’s absence means WA will need to rejig their opening combination with D’Arcy Short and Teague Wyllie in contention to come into the XI, while No.3 Jayden Goodwin could be promoted.The experienced Short has only played one Shield match this season although he did make a gritty 49 batting at No.5 against Queensland on a tough WACA surface earlier this month.Goodwin, the son of former Zimbabwe Test batter Murray Goodwin, has enjoyed a breakout season and stamped himself as WA’s No.3 with a maiden first-class century against Queensland. He also scored 85 in difficult batting conditions at Bellerive Oval against Tasmania last month.WA’s hierarchy may be reluctant to move Goodwin, 22, from the No.3 position with Wyllie firming as the likeliest candidate to replace Bancroft at the top of the order.Teague Wyllie is in-line to replace Cameron Bancroft•Getty Images

But Wyllie, 19, has not played in the Shield since early February after struggling this season with an average of 17.80 from six matches. He started the season with a gutsy 94 off 251 deliveries at No.3 against a full-strength Victorian attack but fell away and was unsuccessfully moved down the order.Wyllie, who played in WA’s two previous title-winning teams, particularly struggled against the seaming ball and was often stuck on the crease. But he’s found form in WA premier cricket with two centuries in his last three innings for Rockingham-Mandurah.Wyllie opens at club level but has never performed the role in first-class cricket. “He’s been an opener his whole career. It’s where he feels most comfortable,” Whiteman said. “He hasn’t had the best season but I love the way he’s been constantly trying to improve himself.”We’ve seen some big innings from him over the last few years. So if he gets his opportunity, I’m sure he can step up.”Tasmania captain Jordan Silk said his team would not underestimate Bancroft’s replacement.”I’m sure whoever they bring in… they’ve got Shield hundreds and I think [WA] will be confident they can replace him,” Silk said. “[Bancroft’s] obviously one of the batters you talk at length about in team meetings, because he’s such a prolific run scorer and he’s hard to remove.”You want the best players playing on this stage, so my thoughts go out to him.”

Jos Buttler admitted that – for one night only – he would be an Australia fan, after his England team did the needful against Namibia, albeit in deeply stressful circumstances in Antigua.Needing a win of any description to keep their T20 World Cup hopes alive, England had to endure a three-hour rain delay at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, as a series of torrential downpours threatened to wash out their final group-stage fixture, and hand Scotland a pass to the Super Eight, even before their own clash with Australia – an eventual five-wicket defeat with two balls remaining – could get underway in St Lucia.But with the cut-off time looming, the clouds finally broke, and an 11-overs contest was able to get underway – which in turn was reduced to 10-a-side after another short break for rain. Buttler duly lost the toss, and was then bowled for a four-ball duck as Namibia’s seamers found the sweaty conditions to their liking in the powerplay. But with Harry Brook’s 47 not out from 20 balls leading the way, England reasserted their dominance to secure a 41-run win.”It’s a big relief,” Buttler said at the post-match presentations. “It was certainly a stressful day when the rain was coming down. But I thought we put in a really good performance. I think everyone managed that situation well. We were well prepared when we did play, and we played well.”I thought that was a really good score on that wicket,” he added, after England recovered from a dicey 13 for 2 in the third over to post a competitive 122 for 5. “After I got out, I was thinking 85-90 might be a really good score, with the way the ball was sticking in the wicket. But credit to [Jonny] Bairstow and Brook, a fantastic partnership with great cameos from Moeen [Ali] and Livi [Liam Livingstone]. They are class players.”The victory still would not have been enough if Scotland had managed to cap their impressive form in the tournament by overturning Australia in their final Group B match, which was due to get underway some two hours after England’s match had finished. Asked by Mike Atherton at the presentation whether he would be supporting Australia in the circumstances, Buttler replied: “Absolutely…”With that contest eventually going the way of Australia – albeit not without a stiff challenge from the Scots – England will progress to the Super Eight without a clear idea of where their form is at. Their frustrating run of recent fixtures has included two wash-outs against Pakistan in England last month, a 36-run loss to Australia in Barbados, and three matches against Oman, Scotland and Namibia in which they have batted for a total of 13.1 overs.”That’s just how it is,” Buttler said. “I think everyone’s dealt with everything that’s been thrown at us really well. Sometimes when you haven’t had a chance to spend much time in the middle, you can create things in this format. So credit to those guys, they’ve been hitting the ball well and they put together a vital partnership today. We’ve done all we can do. We’ll see what happens.”

Hampshire 298 and 88 for 2 (Middleton 58, Gubbins 24*, Mousley 1-0) lead Warwickshire 254 (Bethell 69, Mousley 57, Barker 6-74) by 132 runs Keith Barker reminded Warwickshire’s fans of the skills they lost in 2018 as he bowled Hampshire into control on the second day of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.Barker’s left-arm swing earned him 14 hauls of five wickets or more as a Warwickshire player. He bagged his ninth for Hampshire with 6 for 74 to give them the upper hand in a gripping contest in the Birmingham sunshineIn reply to 298, Warwickshire were dismissed for 254 by Barker and Kyle Abbott (3 for 64) despite impressive resistance from young batters Jake Bethell and Dan Mousley.A lead of 44 is handy in conditions which have given the seamers some encouragement and Hampshire built on it in the final session to reach 88 for 2 as Fletcha Middleton struck his second half-century of the match.After Warwickshire resumed on 51 for 2, the ground echoed to perhaps the earliest ever cry of ‘get on with it’ when, at 11.01am, a long delay ensued while the ball was inspected and then changed. Barker wielded the replacement to spectacular effect with a burst of 3 for 17 in 25 balls. He trapped Danny Briggs lbw, had Sam Hain superbly caught by Ben Brown, standing up, and hit Ed Barnard’s off-stump.From 83 for 5, Mousley and Bethell applied themselves diligently. Destructive batters in the Blast (Bethell smashed 50 from 15 balls last week – this time he scored just two from his first 15), they showed they also have the technique to dig in against good bowling. They added 74 in 22 overs before Mousley was lured into driving away from his body at Barker and edged behind.Michael Burgess joined Bethell to add 64 in 21 overs before Barker returned to strike twice more. Bethell edged a big drive to first slip where James Vince accepted that catch and another two overs later when Chris Woakes edged a footwork-free waft.Craig Miles smote three quick fours but then played down the wrong line to Abbott. Mohammad Abbas finally collected a deserved wicket when Burgess chopped on.With the evening session to enlarge their lead, Hampshire began badly when Toby Albert edged Olly Hannon-Dalby’s second ball to slip, but then advanced meticulously. Middleton continued his good form from the first innings to reach a 60-ball half-century and Nick Gubbins (24 not out in over two hours) unfurled an innings of low entertainment for the spectators but high value to his team as the advantage ticked upwards.Middleton edged Mousley behind 14 balls before the close and though Hampshire are well on top, Warwickshire are very much still in the game. This intriguing match may have a fascinating second half in wait for those spectators, particularly those who are connoisseurs of threes. With a very long boundary on the Pershore Road side of the ground, this has been a veritable festival of threes – there have been 15 already.

MS Dhoni has resorted to a wait-and-watch approach before deciding on his IPL future. As the IPL chalks out the auction and retention plans ahead of the 2025 season, Dhoni wants to see what rule changes come into effect, especially with regard to player retention, before he makes a decision on whether to play another season or not.”There is a lot of time for it,” Dhoni, who turned 43 in July, said at an event in Hyderabad. “We have to see what decision they take on player retention etc. Right now, the ball is not in our court.”So, once the rules and regulations get formalised, I will take a call, but needs to be in the best interest of the team.”Related

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The BCCI met franchise owners and officials on Wednesday evening in Mumbai, to discuss a host of rules. On the meeting’s agenda was the Impact Player rule, how many players are to be retained, and the existence and frequency of the mega auction (one is due before next season) among other points.Questions on Dhoni’s future at the IPL have cropped up at the end of and between seasons for the previous few years now, and one part of those questions – regarding the succession plan at Chennai Super Kings (CSK) – was answered earlier this year when he handed over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad days before the season started.CSK narrowly lost out on a playoffs berth under Gaikwad when they finished fifth on the table with 14 points, the same as RCB on fourth spot but behind on net run rate.Dhoni played the role of six-hitting specialist in the death overs last season. He mostly walked out in the dying moments of the CSK innings and smoked 13 sixes and 14 fours in the 73 balls he faced across the season, translating to roughly three balls per boundary. His strike rate was a whopping 220.54 – the first season where he struck at over 200 – and he finished unbeaten in eight of his 11 innings.

Rangana Herath and Vikram Rathour have linked up with the New Zealand Test squad, who are set to play six Tests in Asia over the next two months. Herath will be the spin-bowling coach for New Zealand’s next three Tests – one against Afghanistan and two in Sri Lanka – while Rathour will only be with the squad for the one-off Afghanistan Test in Greater Noida, India, starting September 9.”Both men are held in high regard in the world of cricket and I know our players are really looking forward to the opportunity to learn from them,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.”For our three left-arm orthodox spinners in particular, Ajaz [Patel], Mitch [Santner] and Rachin [Ravindra], having the chance to work with Rangana across three Tests on the subcontinent will be hugely beneficial.Related

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“Rangana has taken over 100 Test wickets in Galle which is the venue of our two Tests against Sri Lanka and so his knowledge of that venue will be priceless.”After the Sri Lanka tour in the second half of this month, the New Zealand side will return to India for three Tests in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. Out of these six Tests, only the one against Afghanistan will not count for the World Test Championship (WTC).Apart from Ajaz, Santner and Ravindra, New Zealand will also have offbreak spin options in Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips for the Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Tests. They have not announced the squad for the India Tests yet.Herath, with 433 Test wickets to his name from 93 matches, replaces former Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq who is now among the five mentors the PCB named to uplift their domestic cricket. Herath was a spin-bowling coach with the Bangladesh side until recently.Rathour, who played six Tests for India, was most recently India’s batting coach. His contract ended when India lifted the T20 World Cup in Barbados in June and he was also a national selector in 2012.

How India bounce back from their T20 World Cup upset at the hands of New Zealand will demonstrate the character of the side, Jemimah Rodrigues says.It will also have a huge bearing on their semi-final prospects with Group A – the tournament’s ‘group of death’ – delicately poised just two days in following New Zealand’s 58-run victory in Dubai on Friday and Pakistan’s fightback against Sri Lanka in Sharjah on the opening day.Australia, the defending champions and title favourites, open their campaign on Saturday against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, South Africa defeated West Indies by 10 wickets in the earlier game on Friday to join Bangladesh at the top of Group B, with Bangladesh to play England on Saturday.And it will require some turnaround from India. Bowled out for 102 chasing 161 for victory, none of their batters passed captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s 15 runs from No.3, and only five reached double-figures, including Rodrigues with 13 batting at No. 4. For New Zealand, seamers Rosemary Mair and Lea Tahuhu took 4 for 19 and 3 for 15 respectively.”Today would be the game we would like to forget, because this is a World Cup,” Rodrigues said. “We need to keep moving on and keep picking ourselves up. We can’t stay stuck at this game. We need to pick ourselves up, and I think that will show the character of this team.”We know every game from here is so crucial for us. We know that, but at the same time, we’re going to go one game at a time and just make sure we stick to our process and do our job well. If we can do that, I think we play our best cricket, I think we can win matches.”New Zealand laid the foundation for victory with a 67-run opening stand between Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer, who attacked the powerplay, followed by captain Sophie Devine’s powerful 57 not out from 36 balls.Related

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It was quite the turnaround for a side whose T20 World Cup in 2023 was over as soon as it had begun with heavy defeats to Australia and South Africa, and who lost all eight games they played – including five T20Is – against England in June and July.But Rodrigues said her side wasn’t necessarily caught off-guard by New Zealand attacking in the powerplay.”They came out with a lot of intent,” she said. “We did create opportunities, but unfortunately we didn’t make the most of them. Then the way we came back after the start was … I mean, not many positives in this game, but still, going forward, we need to have the right approach because the tournament is not over. We need to take some positives from this game and a lot of learnings from this game.”It’s not the easiest of conditions, it’s really hot here in Dubai, but I think we’ve got enough time to get used to the conditions so we don’t give an excuse, like it’s too hot or whatever it is. We just need to do our job and win the match for the team. So when it comes to conditions, I think we are very used to the conditions. It’s got better from the first day we’ve come here. So I think we are very prepared for this and all of us stay in India, so we are very familiar to such conditions.”Rodrigues also said India weren’t rattled by a controversial moment in the 14th over of New Zealand’s innings. India thought they had run out Amelia Kerr, who had hit a Deepti Sharma delivery towards long-off and run a single with Devine. As Harmanpreet Kaur gathered the ball, the batters attempted a second run, just as Deepti took her cap back from the umpire. Harmanpreet threw the ball in and Richa Ghosh broke the stumps with Kerr short of her ground but the ball was deemed to have been dead, sparking heated discussions between Harmanpreet and the India team management with the umpires. As it turns out, Kerr was dismissed two balls later.”We know how important Amelia Kerr’s wicket is and yes, at that moment it felt a little, ‘why didn’t it go in our favour?'” Rodrigues said. “But at the same time, I think we did what we could. We spoke to the umpire, then we had to accept the decision of the umpire and move on. I think that’s what we did really well, that we just moved on from that and we got her out pretty soon. So that worked for us.”

Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the remainder of the ODI series against Afghanistan in the UAE after picking up a finger injury in the series opener that Bangladesh lost by 92 runs.”Towards the end of Afghanistan’s batting innings, Mushfiqur injured the tip of his left Index finger while keeping wickets,” team physio Delowar Hossain said in a BCB statement. “An X-ray after the match has confirmed a fracture on his left Index near the DIP joint. He is under conservative management and is not available for the second and third ODIs. Further updates on his condition and expected recovery period will be provided in due course.”Related

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After picking up the injury, Mushfiqur batted as low as No. 7 as Bangladesh lost their last eight wickets for only 23 runs. He was stumped for 1 off three balls.Bangladesh, trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, have not named a replacement. With no Litton Das (recovering from fever) in the squad either, Jaker Ali is expected to take over wicketkeeping duties.With Bangladesh set to tour the West Indies for a mult-format tour of two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is later this month, Mushfiqur’s finger injury also leaves question marks over his availability for the Tests and ODIs. He retired from T20Is in 2022.After the Afghanistan ODIs end on November 11, Bangladesh are set to fly to the Caribbean for a tour game in Coolidge starting November 15 before the first Test begins in North Sound on November 22. They have not yet named a squad for the West Indies tour.

Wicketkeeper Polly Inglis has received a maiden call-up to New Zealand’s squad for the three-match ODI series against India starting later this week. Inglis, 28, plays for Otago Sparks in the Women’s Super Smash and earned her first New Zealand Cricket (NZC) central contract earlier this year.Batter Lauren Down has also made been included in the 15-member squad after she made her return from maternity break in July. The pair’s inclusion is the only change to the squad that helped New Zealand win their maiden Women’s T20 World Cup title.From the victorious squad, fast bowler Rosemary Mair has been rested, keeping in mind her workload management following her return from a serious back injury, while offspinner Leigh Kasperek has been left out.Related

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The core of the T20 World Cup-winning team, including the senior trio of Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu are part of the touring party. Devine will continue to lead them in the ODIs following her decision to step down as the T20I captain after the World Cup.Inglis’ strong performances in domestic cricket first helped her earn a contract and then a spot in the national squad. She scored 324 runs – the second-most in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield 2023-24, the 50-over competition – at an average of 54 and a strike rate close to 80, largely batting the middle order. She also scored 103 in the three-match one-day series between New Zealand A and England A that they won 2-1.”We’re really excited to introduce Polly for her first tour,” Ben Sawyer said in a NZC statement. “She put her hand up in last season’s Hallyburton Johnstone Shield one-day competition and throughout the New Zealand A series against England, so it’s a great next step for her.”Touring India is one of the great experiences in world cricket. It’s such a special place to come and I know everyone is looking forward to the challenge ahead.”The three ODIs, to be played in Ahmedabad, are part of the Women’s Championship. New Zealand are currently placed sixth on the table with a three-match series against Australia to follow. The top five teams plus hosts India qualify directly for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year.

New Zealand squad for the women’s ODIs against India

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Izzy Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis (wk), Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu