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Her departure will be the second big blow for UPW who are already without their full-time captain Alyssa Healy because of injury

Vishal Dikshit18-Feb-2025Chamari Athapaththu is set to miss the final phase of the WPL for UP Warriorz (UPW) to join Sri Lanka on a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting March 4 in Napier. Athapaththu’s departure will be the second big blow for UPW who are already without their full-time captain Alyssa Healy because of injury.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that as of now, Athapaththu is going to be available for UPW until February 26, which is four more games for them, before she tends to national duties. After their game on February 26, against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru, UPW will fly to Lucknow for the final league phase of the tournament where they will play three home matches. They have played just one game so far and they left Athapaththu out of the XI in that clash they lost to Gujarat Giants.Athapaththu was named captain of Sri Lanka’s 16-member side released by SLC on Monday and the squad is scheduled to leave for New Zealand on February 22 for three ODIs and as many T20Is.Allrounder Amelia Kerr is the only New Zealand player in the WPL this season and she, unlike Athapaththu, is going to miss the bilateral series next month to play the entire WPL, including the knockouts if MI qualify for those again. If MI make it to the final, scheduled for March 15, Kerr will also miss the first two T20is slotted for March 14 and 16 in Christchurch. Last year too, Kerr had skipped the home bilateral T20Is against England to be available for the entire duration of the WPL.In 2024, the calendar clash between the final leg of WPL and the T20I series in New Zealand had become a much bigger issue when England captain Heather Knight (RCB) and Lauren Bell (UPW) had opted out of WPL completely to represent their national team. Coincidentally, Athapaththu had replaced Bell for UPW then.However, since then boards like the ECB have assured their players they won’t schedule international games during the WPL, which is set to move from the current February-March window to January-February 2026 onwards, according to the new women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP). To avoid such clashes between international series and other T20 leagues, the Hundred (August) and the WBBL (November) have also been given separate windows in the FTP that runs till 2029.

Notts on verge of Championship as hosts do their utmost to stay in Division One

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Sep-2025Hampshire 154 for 3 (Albert 37*) lead Surrey 147 (Sundar 3-5, Abbott 3-27, Fuller 3-46) by seven runsSurrey were rolled out for 147 to all but snuff out their Rothesay County Championship title-winning hopes, as Hampshire boosted their chance of remaining in Division One.The defending champions went into the last round 14 points behind Nottinghamshire – whom they lost to last week – but after they collapsed, their hopes of a fourth successive crown dwindled further.Kyle Abbott led the rout with three for 27 – taking his 50th Championship scalp of the season in the process – with James Fuller and Washington Sundar also picking up three-wicket hauls.Hampshire had eased themselves into a first-innings lead, picking up three vital bonus points in their fight for safety.Surrey chose to bat first and gave 17-year-old Ralphie Albert his first-class debut. The all-rounder wasn’t even born when Hampshire’s Liam Dawson made his professional bow.Surrey were massively depleted with Gus Atkinson, Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Tom Curran, Jordan Clark and Cam Steel all unavailable, but even still their display was surprising.Dom Sibley had already been dropped at second slip before he was lbw to Abbott, before the South African drew a loose drive out of Ryan Patel to celebrate his 50th wicket of the season.It is the sixth Championship campaign that Abbott has reached the landmark, and he would later add No. 51 when he bowled Albert.Fuller also grabbed three wickets to gut the rest of the top order, as Rory Burns wafted to a juggling Sundar at first slip before Ben Foakes was bowled by a nip backer and Dan Lawrence skied an attempted pull – the latter walked before the ball was caught having scrapped hard for his innings-high 36.The back end of the innings saw wickets fall to spin. Indian international Sundar was particularly wily in his 20 balls, in which he only conceded five runs while taking three wickets.Ollie Sykes went back to one that skidded into his stumps, Matt Fisher was undone by a stunner that ripped across him and into off stump, while compatriot Rahul Chahar guided to first slip. In the middle of it, Tom Lawes was caught and bowled by Dawson.Surrey were bowled out for 147 inside 44 overs – their lowest total of the season at the least opportune moment as the title slipped away from them.The pitch had offered a fair amount of movement, but not excessive, and wickets were mostly down to batting errors and high-quality bowling rather than the elements.Hampshire further suggested a poor pitch wasn’t to blame as Ali Orr glided through the opening overs.He smashed 18 of the second over of the innings and by the fifth over had already secured a partnership higher than anything Surrey had managed in their innings – their best being the 32 between Lawrence and Sykes.Orr’s fast start was undone by a careless swing down leg side but Fletcha Middleton and Nick Gubbins put on 50 to set the sort of foundation that the visitors couldn’t lay.Both the bowled Gubbins and leg-before Middleton fell to Lawrence – who ended the day with two for 12 after an exceptional nine-over spell of off-spin.But Hampshire avoided any serious wobble as Toby Albert and Ben Brown stayed cautiously positive to take them to close with a lead – despite 13 wickets falling on the opening day.

He sustained a blow to his right hand during nets; his replacement will be announced in due course

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Nov-2024Jordan Cox has been ruled out of England’s Test series against New Zealand after sustaining a fractured right thumb during a nets session ahead of the final day of their tour match against Prime Minister’s XI.The incident occurred on Sunday morning in Queenstown where England have been preparing for the first Test, which begins on Thursday at the Hagley Oval. Cox was taken to a local hospital for a scan that revealed the extent of the damage. The 24-year-old was all set to make his Test debut with regular keeper Jamie Smith missing the tour for the birth of his first child.A replacement will be announced in due course, with Durham’s Ollie Robinson expected to be handed a maiden call-up, ahead of England’s white-ball regular Phil Salt and Essex’s Michael Pepper, who toured the Caribbean with the limited-overs side. Other keeping options included Somerset’s James Rew and Lancashire’s Matty Hurst, both of whom are due to tour South Africa with the Lions. Jonny Bairstow, still with a year remaining on his central contract, is unlikely to be recalled at this juncture.Related

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Ollie Pope stood in for Cox for the culmination of the warm-up fixture, but England will not want to burden him with more responsibility on top of his duties at No. 3. Having averaged 11 on last month’s tour of Pakistan, a strong showing from Cox might have tested the selectors’ loyalty to the vice-captain.Cox will now have to wait a little longer to complete the set of caps having debuted in the ODI and T20I formats in the last two months. He will remain with the squad in Christchurch and may opt for a break in Australia before returning home having had little time off since the end of the English summer.”I’m gutted for Jordan (Cox),” Test head coach Brendon McCullum said. “He has been shaping up nicely, both with the bat and gloves, since we got to New Zealand.”That’s sport, and unfortunately, these things happen. We will get around him and look after him. He is resilient, and his time will come at some point in the future.”The immediate aftermath of Cox’s injury left England short of bodies for play on Sunday, resulting in James Anderson donning the whites four months after he was pushed into international retirement. With three players opting out of the match for extra time in the nets, Anderson subbed in the field, alongside captain Ben Stokes who had chosen to sit out the first day’s play.Jacob Bethell and Rehan Ahmed will join the rest of the squad in Christchurch on Monday after a few days off following the white-ball tour of the Caribbean which finished last week. Cox’s replacement should be on deck in the next 48 hours.

He suggested the looming five-Test series played a part in the issue quickly being put to bed

Andrew McGlashan06-Nov-2024David Warner has called on Cricket Australia to fully explain what happened when the ball was changed on the final day of the Australia A-India A game in Mackay.The Indian players, particularly wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, were angry when a different ball was handed to them by the umpires before play. Audio picked up over the stump microphone heard umpire Shawn Craig saying there were scratches on the previous one and telling Kishan he would be put on report for calling the decision “stupid.”Related

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“You scratch it, we change the ball,” Craig said. “There will be no more discussion, let’s play.”Hours after the game finished, a CA statement said the ball had “deteriorated” and that no further action would be taken. “Both teams’ captain and manager were informed of the decision prior to the start of play,” the statement added.Warner, who said he was not across the whole incident but had seen the exchanges in the middle, suggested the issue had been “squashed” ahead of the imminent arrival of India for the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”The ultimate decision is with CA isn’t it?,” Warner said. “I think they have obviously squashed it as fast as they could, given that India is coming out here this summer. But if the umpires deemed something happened, I am sure there will be a follow up. I think the umpires or the match referee should be standing here answering questions.””I think the match referee should be coming out and addressing his own staff which are the umpires. And if they’re sticking by the umpire’s decisions, you have to stand up for that. That’s obviously a statement CA have to release. I have not seen anything.”It’s understood there is no footage available of anything untoward being done to the ball.Under the laws, a five-run penalty is imposed if the umpires change the ball after they consider it to have been unfairly altered. However, the CA playing conditions include an extra clause which mean the umpires can make a change without implementing penalty runs if it’s unclear how the ball came to be damaged.Warner’s comments came on the day he was unveiled as Sydney Thunder captain following the overturning of his lifetime leadership ban imposed for his role in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018.”The punishment that was handed down was there for a reason and I thoroughly accept that,” he said. “You’re always going to be disappointed that you can’t lead but what was done was done and I moved on from that.”But I get the opportunity to lead the Thunder and share my wealth of knowledge about the game and hopefully some of the youngsters can come ask me some questions after the game, decisions that I’ve made or some errors that I might have made and have that confidence and hopefully one day they can grow into a captain as well.”

Australia allrounder set to play T20 group stage as well as two rounds of Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2025Will Sutherland, the Australia allrounder, has agreed to join Yorkshire as one of their overseas players for the Vitality Blast. The 25-year-old will also be available for two rounds of the County Championship in June/July.Anthony McGrath, Yorkshire’s new head coach, had previously tried to bring in Sutherland when in charge at Essex, only for a back stress fracture to rule him out of a stint at Chelmsford during 2023. Sutherland signed to play for Somerset last season but was forced to withdraw with another back injury.Sutherland, who has been capped twice in ODIs, will join up with Yorkshire in May for the start of the Blast and play the entire group stage, as well as being involved for Championship fixtures against Nottinghamshire and Essex.Related

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“Yorkshire are a Club with big ambitions, and I want to do all I can to contribute to a successful year,” Sutherland said. “I know how hard the guys will have worked to get promoted last season and I’m looking forward to putting in the hard yards with the team.”I’ve worked closely with Mags [McGrath] and Mick [Lewis, Yorkshire bowling coach] previously over in Australia so the opportunity to join them both again was one I couldn’t turn down.”Headingley and its atmosphere is famous in Australia, and I can’t wait to experience a Roses game. I know it’s the first fixture so many look out for, and I was no different.”Captain of Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash, Sutherland has taken 36 wickets in 63 appearances with an economy of 8.80. He strikes at 134.32 with the bat, and made his highest T20 score earlier this month – 70 off 45 balls – to help his side beat Perth Scorchers.McGrath said: “Will is someone I have admired for a long time and feel he can add something extra to our bowling attack for that middle period of the season as well as offering us an added dimension with the bat.”I know the Australian selectors think highly of him, and they know a thing or two about allrounders, so I am confident Will can hit the ground running and deliver for us in both red and white ball games.”Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket, added: “Will is an immense talent. His record is impressive, and I’m delighted that we have got his signing over the line.”Having discussed this opportunity with Will over recent weeks, it quickly became clear that he was aligned to our philosophy for the year ahead and his ambitions matched ours. We look forward to welcoming Will to Yorkshire.”

The main focus on Saturday was to give a lot of batting practice to the bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-20252:01

How might India shape their attack for second Test?

Jasprit Bumrah returned to the nets on Saturday during India’s optional training session and bowled for at least half an hour. A decision on whether Edgbaston will be the second of the three Tests he will play is yet to be taken. On Friday, Bumrah didn’t bowl in the nets, but on Saturday he went full tilt. The final call on Bumrah’s involvement at Edgbaston will involve how he feels about his body going into the Test.Except for the centurions – captain Shubman Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant, openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal – from the first Test, everybody turned up for the optional training session.The main focus in the nets on Saturday was to give a lot of batting practice to the bowlers after India endured collapses of 7 for 41 and 6 for 31 in Leeds. The last four partnerships aggregated 18 and 29. On their last two tours to England, India’s last four partnerships averaged 19.11 in 2021 and 16.35 in 2018. India will be striving to get similar contributions from the lower order.Related

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A usual trend in Test cricket is that home lower orders tend to contribute more than their counterparts, largely because of familiar conditions and the superior depth in their own bowling, which means visiting attacks are likelier to tire out or lose sting sooner. Be it through their own bowling or some contributions of their lower order, India’s recent years of being competitive outside Asia and the West Indies featured their lower order matching the home lower orders.India will now take a day off on Sunday before returning for an exhaustive training session on Monday. On the day before the match, they will take it easy. Most likely, only the batters who want throwdowns will turn up. Fast bowlers likely to play the Test on Wednesday will likely take Tuesday off.

Ishan Kishan is named captain of the 15-man squad, which includes Abhimanyu Easwaran, Akash Deep, Riyan Parag and Mukesh Kumar

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2025Mohammed Shami has been named in the East Zone squad for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy.Ishan Kishan, who scored two half-centuries in two innings for Nottinghamshire in the ongoing County Championship Division One, was named captain of the 15-member squad, which also included Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and Riyan Parag. Abhimanyu Easwaran, part of India’s Test squad in England, was named vice-captain.Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who struck the fastest century in youth ODIs on India Under-19’s tour of England last month, was among the six standbys.Related

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Shami, 34, was last in action in IPL 2025, where he picked up six wickets in nine matches for his new team Sunrisers Hyderabad. His last first-class game was for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy in November 2024. That was his only red-ball outing since his last Test match for India – the World Test Championship final in June 2023.There was no place in the East Zone squad for Sudip Chatterjee, Bengal’s leading run-getter in last season’s Ranji Trophy, while Sudip Kumar Gharami, their second highest run-getter, was part of the standbys.Virat Singh and Sharandeep Singh, Jharkhand’s top-two run-scorers in the previous Ranji Trophy, were part of the squad, as well as left-arm spinner Manishi, who took 22 wickets in seven matches.The six-team Duleep Trophy is returning to the zonal format, with squads picked by the zonal selectors, and the tournament will kickstart the 2025-26 domestic season. Last season, the tournament had four teams – India A, B, C and D – that were picked by the national selectors. East Zone will play the domestic season’s opening game against North Zone from August 28 at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

East Zone squad

Ishan Kishan (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami

Playing their first final, Kerala were left with several moments to look back on

Shashank Kishore02-Mar-2025Vidarbha put the ghosts of 2023-24 to bed in the most emphatic manner possible – snatching a thrilling battle for the first-innings lead in style – and then grinding Kerala down for nearly five sessions in the second innings to be crowned Ranji Trophy champions for the third time. It made it all the more special that they achieved this feat in front of nearly 3000 home fans who had trooped into the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on a Sunday afternoon, and saw Akshay Wadkar’s team lift the trophy.A heartbroken Kerala squad were left to rue what could’ve been. Would things have been different had Sachin Baby middled his slog sweep on 98 with a lead within touching distance? What if Akshay Chandran had taken second-innings centurion Karun Nair’s catch early on day four? What if DRS had not reprieved half-centurion Danish Malewar after Vidarbha had lost two early wickets?