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Hampshire 146 for 2 (Middleton 79, Weatherley 62) vs Worcestershire Worcestershire struck two late blows after Hampshire’s batters had laid a solid foundation on a truncated first day of their Rothesay County Championship match at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Hampshire, in search of their first championship victory since mid-May, closed on 146 for two having reached 127 without loss before losing openers Fletcha Middleton (79, 101 balls) and Joe Weatherley (62, 130) in a late burst of play in poor light.They were blows badly needed by Worcestershire, bottom of Division One and desperate for a win to sustain their slender hopes of survival.After a wet outfield prevented play before lunch, the home side chose to bowl in conditions still damp from morning rain, but the assistance for the seamers they hoped for did not materialise. Pakistan pace spearhead Khurram Shahzad was expensive as Weatherley and Middleton put 50 on the board by the 14th over.The Winchester-born openers, perhaps inspired by the adjacence of a cathedral, were little troubled by a Worcestershire attack bruised by last week’s heartbreaking defeat to neighbours Warwickshire. Having dominated the first half of the match at Edgbaston, the Pears suffered a devastating defeat as Warwickshire chased down 393 on the last day.Back on home turf, the Worcestershire attack, with Matthew Waite returning from paternity leave in place of Sussex loanee Bertie Foreman, again toiled. Middleton hurried to his half-century from 51 balls and Weatherley followed to his from 103.The openers were looking forward to a productive evening session only for the rain to return during the tea interval and prevent play until a late resumption at 6pm. Hampshire’s openers ventured back out with little to gain and everything to lose – and the home side took advantage of the murky, moist conditions. Middleton edged Tom Taylor to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick, who took a superb catch in front of first slip, and Weatherly edged Ben Allison to Ethan Brookes at second slip.The wickets were an unwelcome postscript to a hitherto excellent day for Hampshire but they have still set down a solid platform from which to push for a victory that would lift them away from the relegation zone – and pretty much sentence Worcestershire to end the season in it.

Stumps Reckon you’ve seen this before? You wouldn’t be wrong. Australia’s top order again failed to inspire on the opening day in Grenada before Beau Webster and Alex Carey performed a familiar rescue act amid another crucial call by the third umpire and further fielding woes for West Indies.Australia were wobbling t 110 for 5 when Travis Head fell, the TV umpire ruling Shai Hope’s brilliant take clean, having earlier been 50 for 3 as a solid base vanished. Webster and Carey then added 112 in 25 overs and the game was threatening to run away from West Indies but they were able to chip away at the lower order and bowl Australia out for 286 inside 67 overs, with Alzarri Joseph claiming four wickets. To the home side’s benefit, light prevented Australia from having a brief bowl with the umpires taking the players off just as they returned to the field.Related

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Although not on the level of Barbados, there was assistance for the quicks – Roston Chase said he would have bowled had the toss gone his way – and suggestions that uneven bounce could play a part later in the game, particularly with the delivery which scuttled to remove Pat Cummins. So the true value of Australia’s first-innings total will only become clearer tomorrow, although it certainly felt competitive.Webster, who brought up an 87-ball fifty, again played superbly to follow up his vital second-innings performance in Barbados, and the runs he scored in the World Test Championship final. He was assured in defence and picked his moments to attack, including a slog-sweep for six off Chase and one of the shots of the innings when he laced Jayden Seales through the off side. But he was left frustrated when he gambled on a second run to deep point in an attempt to keep the strike and was beaten by Keacy Carty’s throw. It meant 300 proved out of reach.Carey lived something of a charmed life. He could have been run out on 10 and 51; was dropped by Shai Hope from an attempted ramp on 46; reached his half-century from 68 deliveries with an edge between the keeper and a wide slip; and edged wide of slip again on 55.Alzarri Joseph picked up four wickets in the innings•Associated Press

But he was also quick onto anything loose, showing the same counter-punching skills that have been so evident in his game over the last 18 months or so. In all, 46 of his 63 runs came in boundaries, including a swivel-pull for six off Justin Greaves only for him to cloth a long hop from the same bowler to midwicket when a significant innings appeared for the taking.Australia’s earlier batting performance had been dominated by unconverted starts. Sam Konstas put away a strong early pull shot and played with more urgency than in Barbados, but he was also beaten on multiple occasions, including three times in a row by Seales. There was also a flashing edge over gully against Shamar Joseph, which Roston Chase got a fingertip to, although it would have been a spectacular catch had it been taken. Konstas followed that with a sweetly struck cover drive.He and Usman Khawaja, who went to 6000 Test runs when he reached 2, had taken Australia to a promising 47 for 0 when the innings took on a very different look. For the second time in the series, Khawaja was lbw to Alzarri Joseph from around the wicket that proved a bail-trimmer when Khawaja went to the DRS. Four balls later, Konstas drove at the recalled Anderson Phillip, who had been preferred to left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, and edged behind for an unfulfilled 25.Beau Webster celebrates back-to-back fifties•AFP/Getty Images

Australia’s slide turned into 3 for 3 when Steven Smith, back in the side after the finger injury he sustained in the World Test Championship final, top-edged a pull against the lively Alzarri Joseph that flew high to fine leg where Phillip judged it very well. The scoreline read a familiar 50 for 3.The opening session ended with a dramatic over from Seales. Cameron Green, who had shaped up encouragingly even though he could have been run out on 16 if mid-on had collected cleanly, drove to cover where John Campbell spilled a regulation catch. But Green could still not make it through to the interval when, four balls later, he went for a big drive to the last delivery of the over and sent a thick edge to gully where Chase held it well.Head threatened to perform another rescue act but fell early in the afternoon following a brief delay for rain when the TV umpire, this time Nitin Menon, was back in focus as Hope took a brilliant catch low to his left when Head glanced a climbing delivery from Shamar Joseph. Hope was convinced of the catch but it went upstairs; unlike in Barbados, the decision went West Indies’ way and Head did not look thrilled as he walked off.Another quick wicket and Australia could have been bundled out but as they have tended to do, a couple of players found enough runs to give their high-class attack something to work with.

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav had a successful hernia surgery in Munich, Germany and is currently in recovery.Suryakumar was last seen at IPL 2025, where he was a crucial part of Mumbai Indians’ run into the playoffs. The 34-year-old middle-order batter set a new world record for consecutive 25-plus scores (16). On the back of that, he finished with a total of 717 runs, the highest by a non-opener in IPL and the highest by an MI batter in a single season.India’s immediate assignments are the ongoing Test tour of England, which carries on until August 4. Then they shift focus to a white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which contains three ODIs and three T20Is. Suryakumar isn’t a regular for India in 50-overs cricket – he hasn’t played the format since the 2023 World Cup final. Given this schedule, he had some free time on his hands to complete the surgery and his recovery before he takes charge of the T20 line-up in Chattogram on August 26.

Pakistan have retained Shan Masood as their captain for the first match of their three-Test series against England, which begins in Multan on October 7. Aamer Jamal has found a place in their 15-member squad following his return from a back issue, while Khurram Shahzad, who took a six-wicket haul in the second Test against Bangladesh, misses out having failed to fully recover from an injury to his left side.Left-arm spinner Noman Ali, who didn’t feature in the Bangladesh series, returns to the side as a second frontline spin option alongside Abrar Ahmed.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There was some scrutiny around Masood’s position in the aftermath of the 2-0 home Test series defeat to Bangladesh earlier this month, but he retains the role for now, with Pakistan looking to overturn a run of poor results in the longest format. They have lost each of their last five Test matches, all with Masood in charge, and they are on a 10-match winless streak in home Tests.One piece of positive news for Pakistan is the return of the fast-bowling allrounder Jamal, their most impressive performer on their 2023-24 tour of Australia. Jamal has been dealing with lower-back issues over recent months, and didn’t take part in the series against Bangladesh. He has since returned to 50-overs action in the Champions Cup.This is counterbalanced, however, by the absence of Shahzad. He picked up the side injury during the second Test against Bangladesh, and was expected to be fit in time for the England series when a fracture was ruled out, but he hasn’t yet staged a complete recovery.Top-order batter Kamran Ghulam and fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who were part of the squad for the Bangladesh series, have been left out. A PCB release said both “remain firmly in the selectors’ plans. However, due to the selection policy’s emphasis on consistency and continuity, and the belief that 15 players are sufficient for a Test, they have been advised and encouraged to continue representing their teams in the Champions One-Day Cup and the President’s Cup, starting on 3 October, to ensure they stay match-ready through competitive cricket.”The players selected in the Test squad have been withdrawn from the Champions Cup playoffs to enable them to rest before the start of the England series. The squad will assemble in Multan on September 30, with their pre-series training camp starting on October 1.

Pakistan squad for first Test against England

Shan Masood (capt), Saud Shakeel (vice-capt), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi.

There was confusion, and no little anger, as India were at the centre of an umpiring controversy during their women’s T20 World Cup match against New Zealand in Dubai on Friday, which India lost by 58 runs.They felt they had a legitimate wicket – a run-out of Amelia Kerr – but it wasn’t to be, with the umpires deciding the ball was dead when the dismissal was effected.The appeal for the run-out came after Kerr was caught short of her ground while attempting a second run at the end of the 14th over of New Zealand’s innings. Having hit the ball towards long-off off the last ball of Deepti Sharma’s over, Kerr and Sophie Devine took a single, and didn’t seem to have any plans to push for the second. Deepti asked the umpire to hand her cap back to her and was been given it.However, with Harmanpreet Kaur, the fielder, collecting the ball and ambling in with it in her hands, Kerr and Devine tried pinching a second. Harmanpreet fired the ball in, Richa Ghosh collected it, and broke the stumps with Kerr short of her crease.The umpires – Anna Harris and Jacqueline Williams – decided the ball was dead, and anything that came after, the dismissal in this case, would not count as having occurred with the ball “in play”. Section 20.1.2 of the dead-ball law says: “The ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler’s end umpire that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play.”For that moment when the bowler collected her cap and the batters seemed happy with just the single, it is reasonable for the umpire to deem the ball dead. However, the umpires omitted to send the batters back to their respective ends. Kerr should have been back on strike for the start of the next over, but it was Devine who took strike against Renuka Singh and nudged a single. Kerr was out off the following delivery when she hit the ball to Pooja Vastrakar at extra cover, to be dismissed for 13 off 22 balls.Related

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Before that, though, play was held up for over seven minutes, with India head coach Amol Muzumdar visibly upset at the ruling, engaging in an animated chat with the fourth umpire, while Kerr was near the boundary before being called back.Speaking after the game, Jemimah Rodrigues said, “I was not there when the umpire gave the cap to Deepti, but, I mean, New Zealand were pretty sure that it was a double run and Amelia went for it, which showed that the over was not called out yet. And we all thought that, okay, we got that run-out.”What if that run-out wouldn’t happen? Would they give us a two for that. So I think, honestly, that’s not in our control at the end. We respect the decision of the umpire and we were okay with that. But yeah, it’s a bit harsh when Amelia herself walked out because she knew she was out.”Devine, who was batting alongside Kerr, explained she hadn’t heard the umpire call the over and they were trying to pinch a second run. “My understanding is that the ball is dead when the umpire calls ‘over’ and I didn’t hear the umpire call ‘over’,” she said. It was an interesting one, and I guess it broke a little bit of momentum and maybe stalled them [India] a bit.”That’s part of cricket. Interpretation is going to be slightly different. We were always trying to pinch runs here and there because you never know when one run is going to change things. The umpires have a job to do and we respect that, and I sometimes push the boundaries a little bit.””We know how important Amelia’s wicket was, at that moment it felt a little [like] why didn’t it go in our favour,” Rodrigues said. “But, at the same time, I think we did what we can.”We spoke to the umpire. Then we had to accept the decision of the umpire and move on. So 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 works for us.”

Harry Came scored a maiden List A hundred as Derbyshire moved to the top of Group A in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a thumping nine-wicket victory over Middlesex at Derby.Derbyshire’s second win in the competition was set up by Came and Luis Reece, 88, who shared an opening stand of 216 off 202 balls. Came was unbeaten on 110 from 130 balls as Derbyshire reached their target of 267 with seven overs to spare to condemn Middlesex to a second defeat.Joe Cracknell top-scored for Middlesex with 56 but the loss of three wickets in 19 balls undermined them before Martin Anderrson, 46, and the lower order lifted the total to 267, with Daryn Dupavillon taking 3 for 47.After being put in, Middlesex had looked on course for a more substantial total until a middle-order collapse forced them to regroup in the second half of the innings. Sam Robson appeared set before Sam Conners found some late movement to have him caught behind for 32 off 28 balls in the 10th over.Cracknell struggled initially but a pulled six off Conners got him going although he was dropped at slip off Dupavillon on 33. England Under-19 fast bowler Harry Moore again impressed with his control and he got one to lift to have Nathan Fernandes caught behind in the 17th over.Cracknell reached his 50 from 74 balls by lifting Reece over midwicket for his fifth four and with Mark Stoneman starting confidently, Middlesex were well placed at 117 for 2. But Stoneman then flashed at a wide ball from Dupvaillon and Jack Davies skied a pull to deep midwicket before Cracknell missed a sweep at Samit Patel to reduce the visitors to 131 for 5.Andersson and Luke Hollman had to temper aggression with the need to get their side up to a competitive score and they worked the ball around to add 61 from 77 balls. The return of Moore broke the stand when Hollman cut him to point but Josh De Caires helped Anderrson push Middlesex towards 250.He put a dent in Patel’s figures by launching him over long off for six but the Derbyshire skipper responded by bowling Andersson as he made room to cut. De Caires made 23 from 19 balls before he pulled Zak Chappell to deep midwicket but Middlesex were back in the game.To have a chance of building on the recovery, they had to bowl well from the start but both Noah Cornwell and Blake Cullen conceded five wides in their opening overs. Reece climbed into Cullen’s second over, pulling him into the car park and whipping him over the ropes at long leg before driving the last ball past mid off for four.Ethan Bamber also gave away five wides in his first over and Reece and Came sailed along serenely at six an over with Middlesex struggling to contain them. Reece reached his 50 from 48 balls and Came brought up his half-century off 72 by pulling Cornwell for his sixth four.Stoneman rotated his bowlers to no avail as the openers did much as they pleased with Came straight driving Hollman for six in the 30th over. The stand was finally broken when Reece was lbw sweeping Hollman but Came reached his century off 116 balls as Derbyshire cruised home in the early evening sunshine.