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Mitchell Marsh has insisted there is no limit to the number of overs he can send down against India, having put his trust in the coaching and medical staff amid a cautious build-up to the series and then careful management ahead of the Adelaide Test, while Josh Hazlewood continues to push for a return to the side in Brisbane.Marsh has been nursing periodic back stiffness since the white-ball tour of the UK in September, where he bowled just once – in the ODI at Lord’s – which was the first time he’d had ball in hand since suffering a hamstring injury in the IPL in April.There had been plans for him to bowl in the Sheffield Shield early in the season but those were put on ice by the ongoing back issues. He took two wickets on the opening day of the Perth Test, sending down 17 overs in total for the match, after which he pulled up sore, which led to doubts over his place for Adelaide with Beau Webster called up as cover.Related

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Marsh didn’t bowl in the lead-up, with Pat Cummins saying it was a decision not to use up overs at training, before finishing with a innocuous none for 26 from four overs in the first innings.”Not in my mind, no,” Marsh said when asked if there was an upper limit on his bowling capacity for the series. “I’ll try and be ready to bowl as much as Patty needs me. Our allrounders haven’t bowled a hell of a lot in Australia the last few years, but I am really thankful for our medical staff and Ronny [coach Andrew McDonald] and Patty who have allowed me the space between that first and second Test to just get right for the game.”I didn’t bowl as much as I would have liked to in the lead-up to the series, but our medical staff, Ronnie and Patty were really clear. I trusted that.”Meanwhile, Hazlewood had another extensive bowl as he continues to overcome the side strain which kept him out of the second Test. With only short run-ups available in the Gabba nets and no spare centre wickets, Hazlewood went out to Allan Border Field to bowl off his full run alongside Mitchell Starc, under the eye of bowling coach Daniel Vettori. If he pulls up without problems on Friday he will be close to slotting back into side at the expensive of Scott Boland.Such was the speed with which Australia bowled out India twice in Adelaide, needing just 80 overs, that even Nathan Lyon was only required to send down a single over as Starc, Cummins and Boland went to work.In the Gabba Test against West Indies earlier this year, Australia used Marsh, Cameron Green, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne for a combined 23 overs.”I had an interrupted lead-in but I am really well placed,” Marsh said. “For me it is about being able to contribute. Whether that is five overs and bowling the occasional good ball and getting a wicket or just bowling overs to give our boys a chop out. Right now, it [the back] is feeling as good as it has felt.”Away from the bowling discussion, Marsh was involved in one of the more curious incidents during the Adelaide Test when he walked for an edge behind against R Ashwin only for replays to show he hadn’t hit the ball.”The reality is I thought I hit it and I didn’t,” Marsh said. “I didn’t speak to Heady [at the non-striker’s end]. I had a mare. When I got to the change rooms they asked if I hit it and I said ‘yeah, I smashed it’. And then the replay came up and the head went into the hands and about one minute later everyone else was laughing at me.”

Hard-hitting middle-order batter Bevon Jacobs has been handed his maiden New Zealand call-up by being picked for the upcoming three-match home T20I series against Sri Lanka.Jacobs was part of the New Zealand XI side that took on Sri Lanka in a 10-overs-a-side tour match in Lincoln on Monday, although he did not get a chance to bat.Jacobs’ call-up comes barely a month after he was picked up by Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 auction, joining New Zealand internationals Trent Boult and the new white-ball captain Mitchell Santner. Jacobs’ maiden IPL contract came after an impressive Super Smash campaign last season, where he hit 134 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 188.73 while batting as a finisher.Related

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“It’s obviously an exciting time for Bevon and his family,” NZC selector Sam Wells said. “He’s a promising player with a lot of talent and we’re looking forward to exposing him to international cricket.”He’s clearly got a lot of power with the bat, but he’s also shown in the longer formats that he has a decent technique and temperament.”Having come through the system at Auckland, Jacobs had made a switch to Canterbury for whom he made his List A and T20 debuts just over a year ago. But he returned to Auckland ahead of the ongoing home summer, and made his first-class debut for Auckland last month, with scores of 75 and 79.After narrowly missing out on another half-century in his second before, he racked up 80 against his old team, Canterbury.Fast bowler Zakary Foulkes, wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay and top-order batter Tim Robinson are also part of the T20I squad, and could play their first international home games, having made their debuts abroad earlier in the year.Foulkes and Robinson debuted in the T20Is in Pakistan in April, while Hay’s debut came in Sri Lanka in November. Hay is set to keep wickets in the T20Is, and will be cover for Tom Latham in the ODIs that follow.While Jacobs, Foulkes and Robinson have only been called up for the T20Is, Latham, Will Young and Will O’Rourke will join the squad for the one-dayers. O’Rourke has been rested for the T20Is after a heavy Test workload, having featured in all eight Tests against Sri Lanka, India and England.Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra will be back in white-ball action for New Zealand•Associated Press

The series against Sri Lanka will also see Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Matt Henry make a return to the white-ball squads, having been rested during their tour of Sri Lanka to prepare for the home Tests against England.New Zealand will miss many big names, due to their commitments to various franchise T20 leagues. Lockie Ferguson, Finn Allen, Adam Milne and Tim Seifert are away at the BBL, while Kane Williamson and Devon Conway are part of the SA20, which is scheduled to begin on January 9.Ben Sears and Kyle Jamieson remain unavailable as they are still recuperating from knee and back injuries respectively.The team will be coached by Luke Ronchi, with regular head coach Gary Stead taking a break. Ronchi will have Jacob Oram for support as the bowling coach, while Craig McMillan will look after the batting and fielding.This will be New Zealand’s final ODI bilateral series before the Champions Trophy, where they will take on hosts Pakistan in the tournament opener.New Zealand also will play a tri-series in Pakistan, also featuring South Africa, before the Champions Trophy begins.”As with the squads that recently toured Sri Lanka, we’re keen to keep exposing new talent to the big stage and it’s nice to have an experienced core of players around them,” Wells said. “The Champions Trophy, like all ICC pinnacle events, is an obvious incentive for players and I know many will be keen to put their best foot forward in the ODI series to be in the frame for selection.”The T20Is will be played on December 28, 30 and January 2 before the ODIs on January 5, 8 and 11.

New Zealand T20I squad vs Sri Lanka

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitchell Hay, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Nathan Smith

New Zealand ODI squad vs Sri Lanka

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Mitchell Hay, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Will Young

Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Yash Dayal are the three players likely to be retained by Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.RCB will lose at least INR 36 crore for retaining two capped players and one uncapped player, and will have three right-to-match options at the mega auction, which they can use to buy back one uncapped Indian player and two capped players, or three capped players.Some of the high-profile players not retained by RCB include their 2024 season’s captain Faf du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green. RCB finished fourth in IPL 2024 and lost the Eliminator to Sunrisers Hyderabad.October 31 is the deadline by which the ten franchises have to submit their lists of retained players to the IPL. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals and two can be uncapped players. While the IPL has set minimum deductions from the auction purse for each player retained – INR 18 crore for the first player, INR 14 crore for the second, INR 11 crore for the third, INR 18 crore for the fourth, INR 14 crore for the fifth, and INR 4 crore for an uncapped player – the franchises are free to pay more or less than those amounts to their retained players.

India fast bowler Akash Deep has given a ringing endorsement of the country’s domestic system, saying it is so rigorous that players who make the step up from there to international cricket have already been battle-tested.”The structure the BCCI has for domestic cricket is so strong that by the time you get to this level, you have already played a lot of good-quality cricket,” Akash, who has played two Tests so far, said in Kanpur. “You know what your bowling is like and what you need to do. So I don’t find anything new here. The processes we follow to get here, we just need to follow those and take those forward.”India have invested a great deal into their pathways to create a strong pool of players capable of stepping into the national team in any format. Akash came through it himself, taking 35 wickets in the Ranji Trophy in 2019 at an average of 18.02 as Bengal made the final. From there he was picked to play for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy in 2022, the Deodhar Trophy in 2023, then onto India A cricket and, on the back of 11 wickets in two games against England Lions, a Test debut in February 2024. He picked up three wickets in his first spell, dismissing Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, and 2 for 19 in the first innings of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh.Related

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The seniors in the Indian team also help newcomers feel at ease in a new environment. “I am very fortunate to play for India under [Rohit Sharma],” Akash said. “He keeps things so simple. I had some hesitation when I came to the Indian team, about the pressure, some confusion… but when I got to the ground, [Rohit] made things so simple for me that I didn’t know if I was playing domestic cricket or international cricket. I don’t think in my life I could have asked for a captain who makes things so simple.”Having been put at ease, Akash drew on all that he had learnt on his way up to international level – he had come in on the back of 30 first-class, 28 List A and 41 T20 games, where he picked up 104, 42 and 48 wickets respectively – and worked on how to improve further.Akash Deep already feels at home in international cricket•BCCI

“I have played a lot of cricket in the last two years,” he said. “Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, so we are used to playing cricket for long periods. I think that as a cricketer, it’s important to understand yourself. Suddenly if we are selected for a new team, there shouldn’t be any confusion. ‘I have done this in the Ranji Trophy, what am I supposed to do here?'”I have worked on that, worked on my strengths. What can I add to my bowling? I have spent time thinking about those things. It’s about the simple things. I don’t put pressure on myself, that I have to play in [November’s tour of ] Australia, or in any other big series. I stay in the present. I think about today, this match, which helps me keep things simple.”Akash was asked about “this match” and in particular the pitch in Kanpur. “Whatever the wicket is like, if I play, my job is to put the ball in good areas,” he said. “Even if the wicket is not favouring fast bowlers, I need to find a way to pick up wickets. From what I have seen, it’s a sporting wicket, not a batters’ wicket.” India face Bangladesh at Green Park for the final game of the series after taking a 1-0 lead in Chennai.Akash also opened up on a little connection that he has with the ground here. “I am from Banaras, which is not far from here. I had heard of the stadium – Green Park – when I was young, and I thought that it’s because the whole ground was green. I hadn’t seen any stadiums at the time. I remembered it after coming here, that the first stadium I had heard of was Green Park. It feels nice, that I am here, at the place I had heard of as a kid.”

Mushfiqur Rahim turned the tables on Pakistan on a hot and humid fourth day in Rawalpindi with an innings of 191 by being a figure of patience, and exhibiting controlled aggression and compact technique. His 11th Test hundred was also his first against Pakistan in the format.Mushfiqur’s two century partnerships poured water on any hopes the hosts had of taking a first-innings lead at the start of the day. Riding on his knock, Bangladesh first took a sizeable lead of 117 runs by putting up 565, and then adding to Pakistan’s jitters by dismissing Saim Ayub late in the day, with the hosts still trailing by 94 runs with three sessions left in the game.Bangladesh’s opening bowlers Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud swung the ball beautifully in the ten overs Pakistan had to see through. They drew multiple edges out of which only one carried, beat the edges of the bat consistently, and bowled stifling lines to create several tense moments for Pakistan to concede only 23 runs.Mushfiqur’s century partnership with Litton Das didn’t last long on Saturday, and when he added another hundred with No. 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, it made Bangladesh only the second team with two century partnerships after the fall of the fifth wicket in a Test innings against Pakistan. Mehidy gave Mushfiqur company in a massive stand of 196 runs for the seventh wicket with his seventh Test half-century – and only his second outside Bangladesh – which first loosened Pakistan’s grip on the game, and then strengthened their own by taking a lead after lunch.Bangladesh were 316 for 5 and trailing by 132 at the start of the day, which will make Pakistan rue the chances they put down to allow a wicketless second session. Seeing that there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers, and that Pakistan were without any frontline spinner, the visitors changed gears after a slow first hour.The only time Mushfiqur came close to getting dismissed in the first session was when Mohammad Ali trapped him in front, on 59, but a review overturned the on-field decision. Ali jagged one sharply into Mushfiqur with the help of movement off the pitch to hit him in front of leg stump. Mushfiqur, however, reviewed with success, with ball-tracking showing the ball missing leg stump. Bangladesh had started the day with all three reviews intact while Pakistan had none left in the bank.Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored 77•AFP/Getty Images

Once Litton edged one behind off Naseem Shah’s short delivery outside off which he failed to get on top of, Mushfiqur hit the pedal – especially against the spinners. Soon after Mehidy, whose technique wasn’t as compact as Mushfiqur’s in the first session, collected fours in consecutive overs off Khurram Shahzad, Mushfiqur raced from 73 to 100 in just 20 balls. He punished Shahzad for two more fours in an over – a deft steer through gully, and a punch through the covers – before also driving Shaheen Shah Afridi straight for four in the next over, to reach 88.With Bangladesh chipping away at the deficit and Pakistan desperate for wickets, Masood brought on spin from both ends with 12 minutes left for lunch, and Mushfiqur cashed in. He smote Ayub for back-to-back fours, first against the turn over midwicket and then to the long-on boundary to reach 96, and in the next over nudged one to the leg side for two to spark off animated celebrations for his hundred.In the second session, the temperature had crossed 35 degrees Celsius, Pakistan had bowled over 100 overs already, and it was going to take something extraordinary to take the remaining four wickets quickly. Mehidy looked a lot more assured after lunch, while Mushfiqur continued to play the ball late and right under his eyes to collect runs. Ali soon resorted to a short-ball plan for Mehidy by placing six fielders on the leg side, but his wayward lines failed to create opportunities, and Pakistan moved away from that tactic a bit too soon.The scant Pakistan crowd at the ground thought Mushfiqur, on 126, was finally gone when he nudged a ball from Agha Salman to square leg, but the ball actually fell just short of Saud Shakeel. Mushfiqur wasn’t deterred though; he then lofted Salman over Shakeel two balls later to bring up the century stand as Bangladesh soon took the lead, and when he reached 140, Mushfiqur had overtaken Tamim Iqbal as Bangladesh’s top-scorer in away Tests.The real chance of dismissing Mushfiqur came after he reached 150, when he tickled the ball down leg where Babar Azam put down a catch at leg slip to his left. Mehidy, meanwhile, moved along to his half-century, and in the last over before tea, Mushfiqur smacked Salman for four over extra cover and then almost for a six to the long-on boundary to further stamp Bangladesh’s authority on the day.Once Mushfiqur fell in the last session by edging Ali behind just before the third new ball was taken, Shoriful gave his side the kind of attacking and late lift Afridi had given Pakistan, with 22 runs off 14 balls, while Afridi took two of the last three wickets with the new ball to help Pakistan take 4 for 37 and wrap Bangladesh’s lower order up.Among the Pakistan bowlers, Salman toiled the most by bowling a spell of 24 overs, split by the tea break, which saw 16 overs on the trot in the second session.

Gull Feroza and Muneeba Ali helped secure Pakistan’s spot in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 with their second straight century stand, sealing the first ever ten-wicket win in the tournament’s history. Pakistan’s spinners, who took seven of the eight wickets to fall, set up the ten-wicket thumping of UAE in Dambulla.Sadia Iqbal was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 11 at an economy of 2.75. Nashra Sandhu and Tuba Hassan contributed with two-fors, the former taking the first two wickets after UAE’s openers made their way out of the powerplay and the latter dismissing Theertha Satish.UAE scrapped their way to 103 for 8 but Muneeba and Feroza hunted the total down with 35 balls to spare. As a result, UAE ended their campaign with three losses.

Feroza, Muneeba’s scratchy start

Feroza bagged the Player-of-the-Match award in successive games, backing up the 57 against Nepal with an unbeaten 62 against UAE. She could’ve been out first ball but an edged cut off Samaira Dharnidharka flew between the wicketkeeper, who initially moved in the wrong direction, and first slip.Her edgy start continued with another streaky boundary in the following over from Kavisha Egodage. But it came after she middled a lap sweep. That got Feroza up and running.Muneeba Ali overcame a scratchy start•Asian Cricket Council

Muneeba found her first slice of luck against Heena Hotchandani in the fourth over with UAE captain, Esha Oza, dropping a catch off the leading edge. More notably, she charged down and got beaten in the flight by Hotchandani in the following over and almost did a full split trying to slide back into the crease. While it looked like she hadn’t made it back, the third umpire, after a few replays, gave it not out.Pakistan ended the powerplay on 42 for 0, with the asking rate under 4.5.

Pakistan pick up pace to hasten the end

The pressure was further dissipated in Vaishnave Mahesh’s opening over which offered seven extras – three byes and four wides – and Feroza used the width to pick up a boundary and a two. Muneeba picked up two boundaries off the front foot off offspinner Suraksha Kotte as Pakistan started hurrying towards victory.Feroza brought up a 46-ball fifty by punishing a short and wide ball from Hotchandani. The duo did it in ones and twos from there on until Muneeba got a streaky boundary to finish the game.

UAE start slow with the bat

Nida Dar had won the toss earlier and put UAE in. Oza, who would have done the same, started the match with a boundary but couldn’t get going. She faced the first two overs, got beaten twice and could add only three more runs. Theertha got a couple of powerplay boundaries, but like Oza, soaked up dots as UAE made 24 for 0 in the first six.Oza saw Sandhu’s introduction as an opportunity to go big, but she miscued three shots and the fourth one – a swipe across the line – was taken by Aliya Riaz running back from mid-off. Sandhu struck in her next over, courtesy of another brilliant catch as Sidra Amin ran to the right from long-on and took a low, sliding catch to dismiss Rinitha Rajith.Sadia Iqbal was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers•Asian Cricket Council

Dar brought herself on after Theertha chanced her arm and picked up eight runs off Sandhu. With her first ball, Dar trapped Egodage but Theertha hit her for two boundaries in the space of two overs. Khushi Sharma then got a couple of twos to take the run rate up to five for the first time since the first over.Tuba and Iqbal came back on with extra pace after Sandhu bowled out, which led to a wicket in each of the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th overs. It started with the well-set Theertha chopping a pull on to her stumps. UAE’s lower order took them over 100 with a theme that underscored the entire innings.

UAE’s frenetic running, Pakistan’s sloppy ground fielding

The first instance came in the eighth over when Theertha tried to sneak a single to point. Not only did Riaz not pick up the ball, but also she fumbled to allow the second run.In the next over, another hurried single to point was completed with the fielder there inadvertently kicking the ball while trying to pick it up. Three balls later, Egodage, who had just come in, got off the mark with a risky single to midwicket as the fielder missed the direct hit.UAE’s regular loss of wickets led to further chaotic running in the back half of the innings. Khushi turned one into two in the 15th over as the fielder at deep midwicket waited for the ball rather than running towards it. Dharnidharka survived a freak run-out, but only just, as the throw from long-on deflected off her body onto the stumps.The last three overs had three more missed chances, including on the final ball of the innings on which the throw was wide of the bowler. Pakistan’s catching, on the other hand, was on point and they’ll hope for more of that with a spot in the knockouts theirs.

Durham 344 for 4 (Lees 111, de Leede 72, Ackermann 59) beat Lancashire 287 (Bohannon 147, de Leede 3-33, Ackermann 3-37) by 57 runsCaptain Alex Lees starred with a superb 111 added to impressive all-round contributions from Dutch internationals Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann as Durham claimed an opening day Metro Bank One-Day Cup win over Lancashire at Sedbergh School.Opener Lees cleanly struck eight fours and a six in a 126-ball innings which underpinned 344 for four – Durham’s sixth highest List A total. De Leede contributed 72 off 63 and Ackermann 59 off 33.In ideal batting conditions, and in front of approximately 2,000 spectators, Lancashire’s task of chasing was tall. Josh Bohannon top-scored with an excellent career best 147 off 119 balls, an even better innings than Lees’s. But Ackermann and de Leede equally shared six wickets in 287 all out – a Durham win by 57 runs.Lees made the most of his decision to bat first, hitting all of his boundaries on the leg-side and driving George Balderson’s seam over long-off for his only six.Every Durham batter contributed. Fellow Under 19s international Ben McKinney opened with a pleasing 43 – he shared 87 with Lees – before Scotland international Michael Jones added a late 41 off 21 against his birth county.Durham paced their innings beautifully against a Red Rose attack who failed to gain control. Only Balderson – one for 57 from 10 overs – went at less than six in over in a six-man attack.Lees and de Leede shared 129 inside 20 overs for the second wicket, advancing from 87 for one in the 20th. It was a Durham partnership record for the second wicket in List A matches against Lancashire.Lees reached a 117-ball century but didn’t last much longer.He followed de Leede’s departure, the skipper caught at long-off against Harry Singh’s off-spin – 250 for three in the 44th over.After that, 81 came from the last six overs as Ackermann and Jones set about a thrilling acceleration.New ball seamer Tom Bailey conceded 27 off the 47th – 308 for three. Jones hit a six and four and Ackermann two sixes and a four.Lancashire’s reply started well despite George Bell’s early departure. He cut Paul Coughlin to backward point.At 91 for one in the 16th over, their hopes would have been high as captain Keaton Jennings and Bohannon both approached fifties.But their second-wicket partnership was cut short at 72 when the former was run out for 44 at the non-striker’s end going for a third to deep midwicket, sparking a match-defining collapse of four wickets for 46 – Lancashire now 137 for five in the 23rd.Ackermann’s off-spin (three for 37 from six overs) accounted for three of them, bowling Balderson and Tom Bruce added to George Lavelle caught at backward point. The latter two fell in as many deliveries in the 23rd over.Bohannon shared a calming 61 for the sixth wicket with Singh, but the latter was one of two wickets to fall in the 34th to de Leede’s seam, leaving the hosts 202 for seven.Singh pulled to deep midwicket for 25 and Tom Aspinwall was bowled.De Leede (three for 33 from eight) bowled Bailey shortly afterwards before Bohannon reached a second List A century off 93 balls.But a win was the prize he craved. Unfortunately for him, that ship had long sailed as no team-mate could support him until it was too late.He also shared 62 for the ninth wicket with Will Williams, who fell to Jonathan Bushnell’s seam.The same man completed the visiting success when he bowled Bohannon in the 45th over after the England Lions captain had struck 13 fours and half a dozen sixes.

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) will let its members vote on the club’s growing involvement in the Hundred at a special general meeting in September. MCC plans to accept the ECB’s proposed gift of 51% of the shares in London Spirit and intends to retain its position as majority shareholder, but has asked members for their approval.The ECB publicly confirmed last week its intention to attract private investment in the Hundred’s eight teams and the appointments of the Raine Group and Deloitte as advisors. Under a proposed model, the eight Hundred ‘hosts’ – seven counties plus MCC – will be given majority stakes in their respective teams, with the ECB selling the remaining 49% to interested parties.Guy Lavender, MCC’s chief executive, wrote to the club’s members on Thursday outlining the committee’s support. “Subject to the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations between the various parties, we are firmly of the view that MCC should accept ECB’s offer of the 51% equity share in the London Spirit franchise and participate fully in a tournament which will grow the men’s and women’s game,” Lavender wrote.While some hosts may sell part or all of their stake, Lavender said the committee’s “initial thinking” is that MCC should retain its 51%. “We wish to retain control of the franchise and believe the tournament will grow over time,” he wrote. “Pragmatically, we will need to keep that position under review both through the initial sales phase and in the future.”Related

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But MCC has made clear that, despite the club’s support for the ECB’s proposals, it will not move forward without member approval. It will continue to consult with members over the coming weeks and will hold an SGM on the week starting September 9, at which members will vote on the club’s acceptance of a 51% equity share in London Spirit. The results will be announced the following week.MCC will “retain the right of veto” on any bidder to become the minority shareholder in London Spirit. “This decision is not about accepting the highest bidder,” Lavender wrote. “It is about finding the right partner who has the skills and expertise to help us grow the franchise, whilst also recognising and understanding the history, values and uniqueness of MCC.”Lavender said MCC are “unclear” whether it is practical for members to vote on the identity of a potential partnership, but suggested that the prospect of them voting to reject a proposed investment partner could be “hugely damaging” to the ECB and the counties’ plans to generate revenues to support English cricket as a collective.London Spirit is expected to be the most valuable Hundred franchise due to its association with Lord’s. “Those MCC members are sitting on a bit of a goldmine,” Andrew Umbers, the co-founder of Oakwell Sports Advisory told the podcast. “With the scarcity premium of the two London teams, jeez, it’s [worth] a lot. I’m sure Reliance and the Ambani family are going to be really interested in one of the big two in London.”The seven other Hundred-hosting counties are evaluating their own positions on the competition’s future. They are: Surrey (Oval Invincibles), Hampshire (Southern Brave), Glamorgan (Welsh Fire), Warwickshire (Birmingham Phoenix), Nottinghamshire (Trent Rockets), Lancashire (Manchester Originals) and Yorkshire (Northern Superchargers).Hampshire is a private club rather than member-owned but the other six counties have not publicly committed to giving members a direct vote on the Hundred’s privatisation and it remains to be seen if MCC’s decision has set a precedent. At Surrey, for example, members are represented on the general committee which in turn advises the club’s board on their stance.”This shows that the MCC recognises the significance of the decision not just for the club but the game as a whole, and was sincere in its recent promise to listen to and respect members’ views,” Alan Higham, the coordinator of the County Cricket Members Group, told ESPNcricinfo. “We expect all well-run boards of member-owned counties to want their members’ approval before agreeing to such seismic changes.”

Adam Voges, who will likely be in the frame to coach Australia when Andrew McDonald finishes, will step down as Western Australia head coach at the end of the 2025-26 season in order to pursue opportunities in franchise cricket.Voges took up the role in 2018-19 following Justin Langer’s appointment as Australia coach and oversaw an incredible run of success for WA with a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield titles and four One-Day Cup trophies, doing the double in three consecutive seasons from 2021-22 to 2023-24 in the process.Last season, they finished bottom in both competitions but are currently third after four rounds of this summer’s Shield after a thrilling one-wicket win over Queensland.”I’m incredibly thankful to have had the opportunity to be in the role of WA men’s team head coach over the past eight seasons,” Voges said. “We have enjoyed an incredible amount of success over the past four seasons, which is a credit to everyone involved with the side.”It’s also been really pleasing to oversee many players from WA take the step to international duty and excel playing for their country. While it wasn’t an easy decision to make, I’m looking forward to pursuing more coaching opportunities in franchise cricket.”Earlier this month, ESPNcricinfo had reported that Voges was in talks to join Trent Rockets in the Hundred as an assistant coach. He has previously coached Australia A and worked with the national side.WA Cricket are continuing discussions with Voges about staying on as Perth Scorchers head coach in the BBL.McDonald’s current contract as Australia coach runs through to 2027 and he has indicated he is unlikely to seek an extension having been in the job since early 2022.Voges, who played 20 Tests and finished with the incredible average of 61.87, has been in charge at WA during a time where they have had significant Australia representation. Cameron Green and Josh Inglis are part of the current Test squad.There is a new generation coming through the WA system including allrounder Cooper Connolly and fast bowler Mahli Beardman.

Sussex 288 for 7 (Carter 68, Carson 50*, Cohen 4-65) beat Kent 287 for 9 (52 Evison, Hudson-Prentice 3-65) by 3 wickets A remarkable and unbroken eighth wicket stand of 88 in 11 overs between Jack Carson and Archie Lenham saw Sussex to an unlikely three-wicket win over Kent with ten balls to spare in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup at Arundel.Kent looked home and dry in their opening game when they had Sussex 200 for 7 in the 38th over. They had weathered a fifth wicket stand of 90 between Oli Carter (68) and John Simpson (50) and then dismissed the dangerous Danny Lamb for 16.But Carson struck his maiden List A fifty off 43 balls, with five fours and a six. And Lenham made 45 off 38 with six fours and a six. The match was still in doubt with 22 needed off the last three overs. And it was leg-spinner Lenham who settled the argument when he hit Michael Cohen for 14 off three balls, an on-drive for six, a square slash for four and an off-drive for another boundary.That left Sussex needing five from the last two overs and Carson hit the first two deliveries from Fred Klassen for four.Earlier, Cohen, a South African-born left-arm seamer who is qualified to play for France, looked set to be the hero of the day. He had made a memorable first appearance for Kent when he took three wickets in his opening spell before returning to dismiss danger man Carter.Cohen, whose debut had been delayed by injury, struck with his second ball when he had Danial Ibrahim lbw and broke through again with the first ball of his second over when he bowled one across the left-handed Tom Haines to have the batsman caught behind.Fynn Hudson-Prentice looked anxious to dispel local concerns that he was batting too high in the order at No 4 when he flicked Cohen for two leg-side fours before driving him for two more. But Sussex kept losing wickets. Tom Clark had his middle stump knocked back by Klaassen as he went for an extravagant off-side stroke to make it 50 for three and in the next over the dangerous Hudson-Prentice was caught at backward square-leg.Sussex, who had lost their opening game against Durham, decided to bowl first on a slow pitch and made a good start. Jaydn Denly, driving, was well caught by Henry Crocombe at backward point off the last delivery of the first over and opening partner Ben Compton was caught behind off Ari Karvelas to make it 27 for 2 in the sixth over.Kent rebuilt through Joey Evison and and Chris Benjamin, who added 81 in 14 overs before both were dismissed by exceptional pieces of fielding. Lamb came on to bowl the 20th over and off his first delivery he produced an outstanding one-handed catch, flinging himself to his left, to dismiss the bewildered Benjamin. And in the next over Carter held on to a stinging catch at short midwicket to end Evison’s innings, a 54-ball 52 which included ten fours.For the second time Kent, winners of the competition in 2022, regrouped again, first through captain Harry Finch – a former Sussex player – and the Orpington-born Ekansh Singh, a recent century maker for the England Under-19 side, who put on 89 in 17 overs, and then again through Jack Leaning and Mo Rizvi, making his debut in the competition. They put on 75 before the innings ended as it had started, with a flurry of wickets.