Bryce sisters power The Blaze to eight wins in a row

The Blaze 140 for 2 (K Bryce 57*, S Bryce 54*) beat Sunrisers 137 for 7 (Scrivens 42) by eight wicketsKathryn Bryce continued her prolific Charlotte Edwards Cup form with an unbeaten 57 from 37 balls as The Blaze racked up an eighth straight success, coasting past Sunrisers at Lord’s.Bryce, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, registered her fourth half-century in six games, sharing a third-wicket partnership of exactly 100 with her younger sister Sarah, who struck 54 not out from 35.The Scotland international pair maintained their side’s 100 per cent record in the group stage, steering them to a comfortable victory with 29 deliveries still unused.Earlier, home captain Grace Scrivens top-scored with 42 from 38 as Sunrisers posted 137 for seven, but the result all but mathematically ends their slim hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.Scrivens was soon up and running after Sunrisers had been put in, cracking two boundaries from Grace Ballinger’s opening over – one wrong-footing the fielder thanks to a deflection off the bat of non-striker Mady Villiers.Having swept Sarah Glenn for four, Villiers was lbw attempting to give the spinner’s next ball the same treatment, but Lissy MacLeod maintained her side’s momentum, hitting over the infield to good effect in a brisk 16 from 11.Once MacLeod was bowled, beaten for flight by Gordon (two for 32), Sunrisers became bogged down during the middle overs – even more so after losing Scrivens to Marie Kelly’s direct hit from mid-off.Jo Gardner (22 from 26) and Jodi Grewcock (22 from 18) did their best to rebuild with a partnership of 35 from 31 before Heather Graham (two for 22) reasserted the visitors’ dominance with two wickets in three deliveries.Despite gleaning eight from Graham’s final over, Sunrisers’ total looked short of par – although their hopes gained a significant boost when Grewcock turned the first ball of The Blaze’s reply to send Tammy Beaumont on her way for a duck.The visitors would have been under more pressure if Gardner, running in from mid-on, had held on to Kelly’s miscued drive off Kate Coppack, but the opener capitalised on that let-off to clear the ropes twice in the next over.Kelly’s good fortune soon ran out when she speared Eva Gray to cover, but Sarah Bryce joined forces with her sibling in a measured partnership that ensured The Blaze were always ahead of the asking rate.The elder Bryce dispatched Nicola Hancock’s first two deliveries to the fence and brought up her half-century from 33 deliveries with another boundary, reverse-sweeping Villiers neatly beyond point.Sarah seized the initiative as The Blaze eased towards their target, hammering Gray for two sixes in as many balls and going on to post her first 50 of the tournament before applying the finishing touch with a square-cut boundary off Amu Surenkumar.

Jansen too hot for India as SA start dreaming of series sweep

Marco Jansen all but ensured the world Test champions South Africa a rare series win in India by bowling the hosts out for 201 and securing a first-innings lead of 288 on day three. On a pitch still hard to beat the defensive bat on, India collapsed from 95 for 1 to 122 for 7, losing all hopes of coming back to win and level the series. They were on the back-foot anyway after conceding 489 to South Africa, who also hold an unassailable 1-0 lead in the series.Things happened quickly in the second hour of the day as the odd ball turned or bounced more than usual for spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj. Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav then batted together for nearly 35 overs without trouble to show it was just the early moisture that helped the odd ball turn.But Jansen rose above the pitch with aggressive short-pitched bowling to take his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests to go with his momentum-shifting 93 and an excellent catch to get rid of India’s only half-centurion in the series, Yashasvi Jaiswal.3:51

‘SA might set 470 target and keep 120 overs’

Nobody has ever taken as many wickets with bouncers in a single innings in India since the advent of ball-by-ball records. Those nasty bouncers took out Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jasprit Bumrah on an otherwise placid surface. On Ian Botham’s birthday, Jansen’s six-for went a long way towards emulating the greatest all-round performance by a visiting player in India: a century and 13 wickets in 1980 in the Jubilee Test.Before Jansen broke the game open with a spell of 8-1-18-4 with a fairly old ball either side of the first session break, South Africa benefitted from some luck and possible panic in the young Indian batting line-up. Not since the 1960s have India had Nos. 3 and 4 with just one hundred and fewer than 1000 career runs between them. That this is being played in the east, that we have lost 10 overs on the first two days because of the early sunset, might have had something to do with some of the frenetic batting from India, who need a win in this match to prevent a second home series defeat in 12 months after 12 years of none.Only four balls jumped or turned more than usual in more than an hour after the fast bowlers operated for the first half hour. India looked solid in getting to 65 without any loss, but then two of those four balls that did more than usual ended up in the wickets of openers. One long hop settled with short midwicket, and two batters fell trying to force the pace when only one batter has been able to dominate the bowling in this Test: Jansen.5:17

Best Test allrounders: Jadeja, Stokes, and… Jansen?

KL Rahul got the first of the good ones, bowled by Maharaj at 79kmph, well slower than any of India’s fingerspinners. Harmer, who has been excellent – sharp turn or not – then bowled the second one. Jaiswal had looked in control both when defending and attacking, but he checked a back-foot shot when this delivery stopped and stood up. Jansen, who had already denied him six runs on the cut with his long levers at backward point, took the catch diving forward. Not many could have even got to this on the full.B Sai Sudharsan, back as the No. 3 after being left out in Kolkata, was conscious to not get caught back to full deliveries, which has been his undoing in the past. He played two lovely cover-drives, but ended up pulling a short ball from Harmer to the left of short midwicket, where Ryan Rickelton took a rebound while diving.It was all Jansen after this – plus a little bit of chasing the game. Jurel was kept runless for 10 balls when he tried to hook a wide bouncer from Jansen. It was too high and too wide for him to be able to control. That this came about in the last over before tea made it worse.Post-tea, captain Rishabh Pant tried to counterattack by charging at Jansen. All he managed was an edge to the keeper. Reddy and Jadeja got brutes. Reddy had to throw his hands in front of his face in self defence, and Aiden Markram took a catch to match the earlier two, diving from second slip to gully. Jadeja tried to sway out of one’s line, but it followed him, hit the shoulder and then took the periscope on the way to second slip. On average, Jansen could bowl a metre fuller than Siraj for the ball to be a bouncer, giving them less time to adjust. He also bowled when the pitch had lost pace and bounce.With Jansen done, the moisture drying out and the push for a comeback win dissipating for India, Washington and Kuldeep defended with ease. No. 3 in the last Test, Washington came close to scoring only the second half-century for India this series, but was outdone by a lovely offbreak from Harmer just before the second new ball became available. Kuldeep registered his longest Test innings, turned down a single to protect Jasprit Bumrah, but couldn’t keep Jansen out. Not that Bumrah could be protected anyway: Jansen ended the innings with another nasty bouncer.Without even a full day’s rest, India’s bowlers were back on the park again. Bumrah created a chance in the first over of the third innings, but it flew wide of second slip. South Africa went into stumps 314 ahead, only a couple of sessions away from batting India out of the series.

Webster misses Sheffield Shield opener with ankle injury

Australia allrounder Beau Webster has been ruled out of Tasmania’s opening Sheffield Shield match of the season against Queensland after picking up an ankle injury although it is not considered to be a major concern.Webster will be reassessed ahead of the One-Day Cup match against Queensland on Thursday. The second round of the Shield, where Tasmania will face Western Australia in Hobart, starts on October 15.Related

  • Silk, Weatherald, Hope shine as Tasmania rally from rocky start

  • Webster hopes his all-round skills can help push for ODI honours

  • Sheffield Shield preview: Ashes selection race adds intrigue

  • No Ashes restrictions: Cameron Green maps out bowling plan

Webster had earmarked playing all four of Tasmania’s Shield matches ahead of the start of the Ashes. Although he has made an excellent start to his Test career with four half-centuries in seven matches in tricky batting conditions there is talk he could be under pressure for his place when England arrive.Cameron Green is expected to be back on unrestricted bowling duty by then and, depending on which players stake a claim for top-order positions, there is a scenario where Green is moved back down the order although he has also been endorsed as a long-term candidate for No. 3.If Green is retained in that position, where he finished strongly against West Indies, there is a good chance he and Webster can continue to feature in the same XI.”It’s one thing that’s coming up a lot is obviously Greeney’s back bowling and I’ve got my chance, I suppose, through him being a batter only,” Webster told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the season. “He was an allrounder for Australia for years before that along with Mitch [Marsh] and, when I answer the question, I’d love to see both of us in the team. If you’re scoring runs in the top six batters for Australia if you can bowl it’s a bonus.”Absolutely I’d love to play in a team with Greeney. He’s a fantastic batter. I really hope he bangs it out of the park at the top of the order and I can stay at No. 6 and we can both contribute with the ball and in the field and win games for Australia.”Webster started his domestic season with five wickets in two One-Day Cup games and 81 off 95 balls in the second match against Victoria.

Hardie ruled out of Australia A tour with shoulder injury

Allrounder Aaron Hardie has been ruled out of the Australia A tour of India due to a shoulder injury to add to the list of pace-bowling options to be sidelined.Hardie will be replaced by Victoria allrounder Will Sutherland, who was already part of the one-day squad for the tour and will fly out to India in time for the second four-day game in Lucknow. A replacement for Hardie in the one-day squad will be named at a later date.It is hoped that Hardie will be able to recover in time for the early rounds of Sheffield Shield matches – Western Australia’s opening game is against New South Wales at the WACA on October 4.Related

  • Maxwell named for 50-over return for Victoria despite ODI retirement

  • Morris ruled out for up to 12 months after opting for back surgery

  • Vidler ruled out of Australia A tour of India with a partial stress fracture

  • No regrets for Konstas as he prepares to fight for Ashes berth

Hardie featured in the recent T20I and ODI series against West Indies and South Africa but he struggled against the latter and had not been selected for the short New Zealand trip for three T20Is, instead being included in the A squad. Depending on how his recovery tracks, he may come into consideration for the white-ball series against India.Though an allrounder rather than a specialist bowler, Hardie’s injury adds to a growing list of players sidelined heading into the season. Pat Cummins is the most significant with question marks over whether he will recover from his back injury in time for the Ashes.Lance Morris, a team-mate of Hardie’s at WA, has been ruled out for 12 months having undergone back surgery, while promising quick Callum Vidler has been diagnosed with a stress fracture. Morris had been due to feature in the four-day leg of the A tour and Vidler the one-dayers. Brody Couch had initially been Morris’ replacement but he suffered a side injury during the Top End T20 final with South Australia’s Henry Thornton subsequently called up.The first four-day game against India A starts on September 16 followed by the second on September 23. The three one-dayers, which will all be in Kanpur, are on September 30, October 3 and 5.

Updated Australia A four-day squad

Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Liam Scott, Will Sutherland (second game only), Henry Thornton

Updated Australia A one-day squad

Cooper Connolly, Harry Dixon, Jack Edwards, Sam Elliott, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachie Shaw, Tom Straker, Will Sutherland, Henry Thornton (one to be added)

Kate Cross struggling to get her head around 'savage' World Cup snub

Kate Cross has revealed that she is “struggling to get [her] head around” her “savage” omission from England’s squad for the 50-over World Cup in India.Cross, 33, has been a regular in England’s ODI side since the last World Cup and took her 100th career wicket in the format earlier this summer. But she was dropped during their series against India last month and was left out of the squad altogether on Thursday as a result of England’s decision to pick an extra spinner for subcontinent conditions.”It’s hard to take, because I don’t feel like I’ve done enough to deserve not being on that plane,” Cross said on , her podcast with Alex Hartley. “Everyone that is a current player who doesn’t get selected is going to disagree with selections and going to think that they should be there.Related

  • Kate Cross questions future after losing England contract

  • Cross, Sutherland level up as Northern Superchargers clinch Women's Hundred title

  • Van Niekerk in line for SA comeback after u-turn on retirement

  • Gardner: India a 'huge threat' in World Cup

  • Knight set for World Cup return

“But what I’m really struggling to get my head around is it all feels like it’s happened so quickly that I’ve just clearly fallen out of favour with Lot [England coach Charlotte Edwards]. That’s a hard bit to get my head [around]. If I’d had 14-18 months of being pretty average at cricket and not performing in an England shirt, then I think I’d understand it a bit more.”I guess to an extent I have, because I didn’t have the best summer in an England shirt and I had a really tough winter and missed out a lot through the back injury. But I think leading into that, I definitely didn’t feel like I wouldn’t be on the plane. Being in the best XI [is] a different conversation, but [not even] being on the plane… It feels savage.”Cross was first left out by Edwards for a rain-reduced game against India at Lord’s – she is not involved in England’s T20I set-up – and did not regain her place for the series finale in Durham. “There’s so much for me to get my head around, and I haven’t processed it,” she said. “It’s still really raw.”England have only picked three frontline seamers for the World Cup in Em Arlott, Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer, with captain Nat Sciver-Brunt on track to recover from injury in time to offer another option.”It’s what you sign up for,” Cross said. “You don’t get to have those amazing highs without having these real lows, but it doesn’t make the lows any easier knowing that they’re going to be there. I probably had a good indication that I wasn’t going to be in this, or it would be tough to come back from being dropped in that last game… But it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Earthquake stops Bangladesh vs Ireland Test for three minutes on third morning

Play had to be halted for three minutes after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake caused severe tremors in parts of Bangladesh and India in the morning session of the third day of the ongoing second Test between Bangladesh and Ireland in Dhaka.There was immediate panic in the stands as the jolts were felt, and the players and umpires gathered near the pitch. Both dressing rooms emptied at around 10.38am (10.08am in India). The small crowd looked for open areas to escape to. Some went out of the stadium while others tried to get close to the ground. The media centre, a five-storey building at the north end of the stadium, also emptied quickly as people tried to go out to safe spaces.While there was some confusion about the magnitude of the earthquake, local media in Bangladesh has reported that it was recorded at 5.5 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in Madhabdi, a municipality around 40 kilometres east of Dhaka. There have been reports of at least two damaged buildings in the capital city but no confirmed reports of casualties.”I have been personally involved in in a couple of earthquakes,” Ireland coach Heinrich Malan said after the day’s play. “I have lived in New Zealand for a while. It’s never a nice feeling. You are trying to understand what is happening at the minute around you. But also you have to think about some bigger impacts, about where the earthquake obviously struck, and hopefully that’s not too bad. Everything stood still for a couple of minutes, and we got back to business. We are just thinking and hoping that there wasn’t too much damage done. We will obviously find out about what that happens as we go.”Reports from Kolkata, across the border from Bangladesh in India’s West Bengal, said tremors were felt there too, as was the case in Guwahati, the venue of the second Test between India and South Africa from Saturday, and in other parts of northeastern India.Play resumed in the Dhaka Test after the pause, with Ireland losing two more wickets in the first session to go to lunch on the third day at 211 for 7 in reply to Bangladesh’s 476.

Game
Register
Service
Bonus