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Ben Stokes says England must shift up a gear to beat both Australia and the weather to keep their Ashes hopes alive with significant rain forecast throughout the fourth Test.After Australia won the first two matches, victory in the third Test at Headingley got England back into the series, with the squad arriving into Manchester buoyant they could square the series here to set up a decider at the Kia Oval next week.However, the persistent rain that greeted their arrival on Sunday will continue into the weekend. Showers of varying degrees are expected throughout all five days of the Test, which begins on Wednesday at Emirates Old Trafford.Related

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As captain, Stokes has been reticent to pay too much attention to forecasts, though England do keep an eye on the radar in the changing room in case they need to shift their approach during play. With Australia able to retain the urn with a draw here, the onus is on Stokes to try and squeeze a result out of however much play is possible if England are to prolong their hopes of a first Ashes win since 2015.”You never want to look too much into the weather but in the position we find ourselves in we might have to,” Stokes admitted. “We know we have to win this game to take it to the last game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back.”Going into the last game we were 2-0 down and knew we had to win that, so think that helped us a bit and maybe again with the weather that’s predicted that it might bring more out of us again knowing we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do. But we’ll just have to wait and see. If the weather is what it’s predicted to be then we might have to.”While he stopped short of declaring England will be more attacking than normal, the speed of play throughout this series has been conducive to quick results. The third Test, for example, which the hosts won by three wickets, lasted 230.2 overs – essentially, under eight sessions of play, with the match concluding on day four through a combination of wet weather and slow over rates.Last summer, England were able to beat South Africa twice within three days. The first came in Manchester by an innings and 85 runs, before a nine-wicket win in the decider at the Kia Oval. No play took place on the first two days following the passing of Queen Elizabeth, with the match officially getting underway on day three.This is also not the first time Stokes has considered getting funky to combat unhelpful conditions. During the Pakistan series last December, he posited the idea of forfeiting an innings when it looked like early morning smog in Multan would reduce each day’s play of the second Test. Though it did not come to pass, it is something England could employ here provided they bat first for a sizeable score.Though Australia can play this match and the weather straight, Pat Cummins has stated they will begin this Test focussed on victory as they seek a first overseas Ashes series win since 2001.”The first preference is always to try to win,” Cummins said. “We drew the 2019 series and we’ve all come back pretty clear we want to win this one. I think it’s one of things, as the game progresses you maybe start working out how risky you want to be, but looking at the forecast it looks like it’s okay so sure we’ll get a match in.And while Australia do not need to engage with anything England try and concoct, Cummins is excited to see what Stokes has in store.”It would be fun. Prepared for anything, really. We’ll see how it plays out. We have already seen a lot of different things from both teams this series. I’m sure this one will be another cracker with some random stuff thrown up.”

The schedule for the 2023 World Cup will be unveiled during the World Test Championship final at The Oval, BCCI secretary Jay Shah has said. The board has prepared a list of more than a dozen venues across India, and the final shortlist will be shared with the ICC soon.Shah made these comments during a media briefing after the BCCI’s special general meeting in Ahmedabad which will host the IPL final on Sunday. While the ten-team World Cup is set to be played between October 5 and November 19, the BCCI is yet to finalise the schedule, with just about four months left for the start of the tournament.Related

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A total of 48 matches, including the three knockout games, are set to be played across the 46-day period. Ahmedabad aside, the original shortlist of cities on BCCI list comprised: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, Rajkot and Mumbai and Trivandrum. It is understood that Nagpur and Pune, too, are under consideration. It is likely that the league matches will be hosted across 10 cities, with two more cities staging the warm-up fixtures preceding the main tournament.

Asia Cup to be formally discussed at ACC meeting

Shah, who is also the current president of the Asian Cricket Council, said an emergent meeting of the ACC will be held to finalise whether the hybrid model proposed by the PCB for the 2023 Asia Cup is feasible.On Sunday, Shah will be meeting his counterparts from Sri Lanka Cricket, Bangladesh Cricket Board, and Afghanistan Cricket Board to informally discuss their views on the Asia Cup.Pakistan are the hosts of this year’s Asia Cup, scheduled for September, but with India declining to travel there, the ACC has been looking at alternatives. Recently, the PCB had suggested a hybrid model for the six-team tournament, where four of the 13 matches will be held in Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan are grouped together along with Nepal. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are part of the second group.The biggest challenge about the hybrid model concerns the travel involved. Shah said “two or three countries” had sent in their views, which will be formally discussed at the ACC meeting in the next ten days.Shah said, in his capacity as ACC chairman, he wanted the Asia Cup to go ahead this year. The tournament has not been be hosted in Pakistan or India since 2008 due to the political differences between both countries.

Hardik Pandya has hailed Rashid Khan’s athletic outfield catch to dismiss Kyle Mayers that broke Lucknow Super Giants’ strong opening stand as a “match-changing” effort, after Gujarat Titans prevailed by 56 runs in Ahmedabad.Chasing 228, Mayers had powered to 48 off 31 balls in a partnership of 88 with Quinton de Kock in just 8.1 overs. Then, he top-edged a pull over square leg off a Mohit Sharma slower ball. Rashid came sprinting in, running diagonally from fine leg, then slid and dived to take the catch to his right after making a last-minute adjustment.Super Giants lost momentum after losing Mayers and scored only 33 runs between overs 9 and 14, leaving them with too much to do in the last six.Related

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Hardik said that Rashid’s catch was the game-changer at a time when his team was under pressure. “The way the game changed after that… at one point of time at the eighth or ninth over we were even-stevens but that catch just changed the momentum and we were able to squeeze in a couple of tight overs,” he said after the match. “And after that I think they were chasing the game more than us.”We started controlling the game. Before that they were taking [us] on and we had to chase the game and make sure that we don’t concede as many runs and let them get into the game. So I think that catch was match-changing.””I think we both were driving at 100 kilometers per hour as a team but I think that bump in their innings cost them the game and got us back in the game.”Hardik also praised his team-mates for producing a match-winning performance after only one day’s rest. Titans’ last game was on Friday night and their match against Super Giants was the afternoon game on Sunday.”I don’t think I can ask anything better from the boys, Hardik said. “Especially, playing after one day’s gap and playing an afternoon game, the boys showed up and how.”Mohit, who gave Titans that vital first wicket, finished with 4 for 29, his best figures in the IPL since 2014. He has 12 wickets in eight matches in IPL 2023 with an economy rate of 6.96 despite bowling many of his overs at the death.”We keep discussing how to go about it, especially once the ball gets a little old how we can mix it up,” Mohit told broadcasters after the game. “And if I get the chance with a new ball, then what can I do with it. Today it was a day game so I knew that the wicket could get a little drier and be on the slower side so how we can mix it up in those conditions, that’s the kind of stuff I discuss with Shami.”I have practiced the knuckle ball, but I have a slight injury on my fingers so it’s not holding, so I am not able to bowl the knuckle ball. But I am using back-of-the-hand deliveries. When it’s the second innings and there’s a bit of dew, I can’t pitch it up too much, I have to bowl it away from the batter. So I am trying to stay as far from the batter’s range as possible.”I keep talking with Ashu Pa [Nehra] off the field. We talk a lot about bowling, what kind of balls I can bowl to different batters. Especially how we can mix up the length ball,” Mohit said. “He keeps saying that it shouldn’t be too short. It should be around top of off.”The win against Super Giants was Titans’ eighth victory in 11 games, giving them a three-point lead over Chennai Super Kings at the top of the table.

It wasn’t quite the comprehensive mismatch Friday’s game was, but that didn’t mean the outcome was ever in any doubt. A sumptuous Babar Azam century, his ninth in T20s – he’s now behind only Chris Gayle – powered Pakistan to 192. Babar was supported by a half-century from Mohammad Rizwan and a useful unbeaten 19-ball 33 from Iftikhar Ahmed as Pakistan posted another total well above par.Babar and Rizwan more than made up for their failures yesterday with an outstanding opening partnership. After taking three overs to get set, they caught up with the rate superbly across the first half of the innings, powering at about ten an over across their 99-run stand. And while a cluster of wickets immediately after threatened to derail Pakistan’s progress, an unbroken 87-run stand between Babar and Iftikhar in 43 balls ensured Pakistan were firmly on top once more.In response New Zealand offered a more representative account of their abilities than they had in the first game, with a classy half-century from Mark Chapman headlining the chase. Showcasing both his technical ability and long-range hitting, he clubbed an unbeaten 40-ball 65 in what was largely lone resistance, keeping his side’s flame flickering until the final three overs.But the damage Haris Rauf was doing at the other end proved too much to counter. He followed up his career-best performance last night with another scintillating display, ripping through the New Zealand middle order and killing off any hopes of a nascent chase with figures of 4 for 27. Shaheen Afridi and Zaman Khan snuffed out the chase at the death, and even as Chapman finished off the game with a magnificent six over cover, Pakistan coasted to a 38-run victory.The stutterAs was the case yesterday, there was a wobble midway through the Pakistan innings, and just like yesterday, it was Matt Henry-inspired. After Pakistan’s crisp start, Henry sent down a priceless 11th over that saw one run scored and two wickets fall. Rizwan was the first to go, miscuing a slog soon after he brought up his half-century. Then, for the second successive game, Henry found himself on a hat-trick, forcing Fakhar Zaman to chop one back onto his stumps. Saim Ayub kept his first ball out to deny the fast bowler consecutive hat-tricks, but New Zealand were suddenly on top.Matt Henry struck twice in two balls to pull Pakistan back•Pakistan Cricket Board

For Ayub lasted just one more ball before Rachin Ravindra struck to send him packing, drawing him into holing out at deep midwicket. Pakistan couldn’t find a way to stanch the bleeding at this point as Imad Wasim feathered Jimmy Neesham through to the keeper in the following over. Pakistan had lost four wickets for six runs over two overs, and New Zealand had stormed back into the game.Final-overs frenzyHaving slowed down somewhat after the powerplay, as Babar is wont to do, not even his most ardent backers entertained notions of a ninth T20 hundred for the Pakistan captain. With three overs to go, Babar was still 35 runs away, but two sixes and a four of Henry’s final over saw him climb into the 80s. A canny penultimate over from Ben Lister though, with Babar deprived of the strike, looked to have dashed those hopes once more. He was still 15 away with the innings’ final four balls to go, and Gaddafi began to dream once more.By the time Neesham was powered back over mid-off for six and Babar crept into the 90s, the crowd had been whipped up into a fervour. Seven runs away with two balls to go, he thumped another over mid-off for four to take it down to the wire. And, almost as if it were scripted, he would save his best shot for last, a glorious drive over cover that sailed to the boundary and brought up the most unlikely of his nine hundreds. He rocked back and let out a roar, and Lahore roared with him.Babar Azam roars after getting to his ton•Pakistan Cricket Board

Rauf razes through middle orderIf Chapman had someone to keep him company at the other end, New Zealand would have found themselves in with a real shot, but Rauf guaranteed that wouldn’t be possible. After a fledgling third wicket stand with Will Young where a 95-metre Chapman six off Shadab Khan was the highlight, Babar turned to Rauf for the wicket he wanted.Pakistan’s fastest bowler answered his captain’s call, and then some. With his fourth ball back, he beat Young for pace, forcing him to hole out to Shadab Khan to set New Zealand back, but he was only getting started. He topped and tailed his third over with two more wickets. First, Daryl Mitchell found the speed too hot to handle, before he sent in a bouncer to new man Neesham who could only fend it to Shaheen Afridi at mid-off. And there was no escape for Rachin Ravindra from Rauf’s wiles either, as the young allrounder lobbed an offcutter straight to deep midwicket to effectively end New Zealand’s resistance.

A lot is happening in Bangladesh cricket at the moment, but new head coach Phil Simmons wants the focus to be firmly on the upcoming Test series against South Africa.Things are messy. Simmons took over as Bangladesh’s head coach on Tuesday, replacing Chandika Hathurusinghe, who was sacked earlier this week and has since hit back at the BCB. Shakib Al Hasan, who hasn’t returned to Dhaka because of protests against him (for political reasons), has withdrawn from the Test side.When Simmons attended Bangladesh’s training session at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Saturday, protests for and against Shakib were on. All this, two days out from the first Test.Related

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“[Keeping distractions away from the players] is a big part of our job over the next few days, to make sure the focus is on the cricket, and not on the outside of cricket,” Simmons said. “We can control how we prepare for Monday, that’s how we are trying to get the team to focus.”The good thing is we have a very important Test match to prepare for. We win the next few Tests, and we are in contention for the [WTC] final. My first port of call is cricket and about getting the squad ready for Monday. The last two days [of training] have been brilliant. We have tried to leave out the confusion that’s around the cricket, and concentrate on preparing for Monday.”Simmons comes in with vast coaching experience, having worked with Zimbabwe, Ireland, West Indies, Afghanistan and PNG as well as several T20 franchises in the last 20 years. He was one of the candidates interviewed for the Bangladesh job in 2017 – to fill the role left vacant by Hathurusinghe – but was not selected.”All these experiences [with other teams] will help me in the next few days to get me ready for Monday,” Simmons said. “Afghanistan helped me with the language barrier sometimes. Ireland helped me with developing young players. It all comes in [handy] at the end of the day. I have to use all those experiences in this assignment.”Conversation with the captain [Najmul Hossain Shanto] has been about his thoughts on players and direction he wants to take the team. It was also about what we do before Monday. It is generally about how we go into the first Test match. As we get to know each other, there will be more discussions about ODIs etc. Now it is about Test cricket, and what we are going to do in these two matches.”Shakib Al Hasan’s fans show their support for the cricketer outside the Shere Bangla Stadium•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Simmons said he took more interest in the role after Bangladesh’s 2-0 Test series win against Pakistan and was particularly impressed by the youngsters in the side.”The interest comes from seeing the quality of the young players. They handled themselves well against Pakistan,” he said. “They didn’t do well in the T20Is against India but they played against the best T20 team in the world, so you have things to take out of there. It all added up to an assignment, which I enjoyed. One, [there are] young players to develop. Two, there’s Tests and ODIs involved. It wasn’t a hard decision [to take the job].”He believes Bangladesh have a good chance to beat South Africa, who haven’t won a Test series in the subcontinent in the last ten years, but was wary of taking them lightly.”It is definitely a good opportunity. Bangladesh are usually very strong at home. So it is a very good opportunity for us to win the Test series,” Simmons said. “South Africa has that [record in the subcontinent] hanging over their head but they are a resilient team. They will work hard to change that.”

A blistering Lizelle Lee backed up a record century with another ton, becoming the first player to score hundreds in consecutive WBBL matches.The Hobart Hurricanes opener cracked 103 off 59 deliveries as her side beat a struggling Adelaide Strikers outfit by 28 runs. Lee’s knock, which featured 13 fours and four sixes, came after she notched the highest-ever WBBL score of 150 not out against Perth Scorchers on Sunday.Hurricanes posted 191 for 2 and restricted the last-placed Strikers to 163 for 3 to jump to the top of the ladder with three matches in hand before finals.South Africa’s Lee, who retired from international cricket in 2022, had to change bats after hitting a six in the second over. She was dropped twice in the 20s off the spin of Anesu Mushangwe in the fourth over and made Strikers pay dearly. She brought up her half century off just 35 balls with a six before reaching triple figures in the 14th over with a boundary.Lee was run out in the next over at the non-striker’s end after a ball touched bowler Jemma Barsby’s hand and ricocheted into the stumps. Across the past two matches, Lee has hit 253 off 134 balls with 25 fours and 16 sixes. She also equaled Alyssa Healy with the most WBBL centuries.Lee was supported well by Nicola Carey, who made an unbeaten 64 off 46 balls, and skipper Elyse Villani’s 23 not out from 14 at the death.Smriti Mandhana got Strikers’ chase off to a flying start, but when the India international fell to Lauren Smith in the eighth over her side’s chances dipped.Young legspinner Amy Smith put the breaks on Strikers in the middle overs and finished with an impressive 1 for 16 from four overs. South African import Laura Wolvaardt was unbeaten with 63 off 40 but it wasn’t enough.

England have signalled their intention to place Jamie Smith at the heart of their revival across formats, handing him a lucrative two-year ECB central contract that will commit him to their plans for both next year’s Ashes tour of Australia and the 2026 T20 World Cup.Smith, 24, was one of the breakout stars of England’s home Test summer, scoring a maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before being named as the PCA’s Young Player of the Year at their annual end-of-season awards dinner.Though his opportunities in white-ball cricket have so far been limited by his workload, Smith showed glimpses of his potential in the recent home ODI series against Australia, and though he is due to miss the Test tour of New Zealand as he goes on paternity leave, he looks set to be a central figure in England’s plans for their white-ball tour of India in January and the subsequent Champions Trophy.Fast bowler Gus Atkinson, another impressive addition to England’s plans across formats, has also received a two-year deal (a one-year extension of his existing offer) while Joe Root, Harry Brook and Mark Wood have been retained on the second of the three-year deals that they signed in the last round of contracts for 2023-24.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Brendon McCullum already secured as England’s head coach across formats for the next three years, England have now tied both their red- and white-ball captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, to two-year deals. As reported last week, Stokes has agreed to extend the one-year deal that he signed last year, having then taken a punt that his value to the team would rise in the interim.Buttler’s deal, meanwhile, is a show of faith in England’s white-ball captain despite an absence from professional cricket that has now extended to five months as he recovers from a persistent calf injury. It comes on the same day that his long association with Rajasthan Royals was ended by his omission from their list of retained players for the 2025 IPL.England rejigged their contracts system in September 2023 to reflect the mounting pressure on international cricket from the T20 franchise circuit, with 18 of those initial 26 offers being multi-year deals. That policy came in for criticism, however, particularly in the wake of England’s disastrous 50-over World Cup defence, because it limited the potential to overhaul an under-performing squad. Notably, 19 of this year’s 29 deals are for one year only, including that of Jonny Bairstow, who was dropped from all three formats earlier this year, midway through his two-year deal, and seems unlikely to feature in England’s plans in the near future.Related

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In addition to Smith, four other players have signed their first central contracts: Shoaib Bashir, Phil Salt, Olly Stone and Will Jacks, who was the notable omission from England’s plans last time around. Three further players have been handed development contracts, including two new additions in Jacob Bethell and Josh Hull, and John Turner, the fast bowler who could make his England debut in the Caribbean this week.Seven players have been cut from England’s list for 2024-25, including Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and James Anderson, who have retired from international cricket, and the fast bowlers Matthew Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, who had been on development contracts after making their Test debuts in the Caribbean in 2022.The most notable absentees, however, are Ollie Robinson and Ben Foakes, the Test wicketkeeper who made way for his Surrey team-mate Smith in the summer. Both men last featured on the tour of India in February, and their hopes of a recall in the current regime would now appear to be over.”The strength and depth of talent across England Men’s red and white-ball cricket is clear in the quality of players who are centrally contracted,” Rob Key, England men’s managing director, said. “These contracts reward the players we believe will play an important role for our England Men’s teams. Both our captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, have signed two-year central contracts that showcase the commitment of all the players to prioritise playing for their country.”I want to congratulate all the players who have signed new central contracts ahead of what is set to be an exciting period for England Men’s cricket.”