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He expects to send down a few overs in the next Sheffield Shield match as part of a “slow build” to the Test series

Tristan Lavalette16-Oct-20241:26

How much will Australia miss Cameron Green?

Allrounder Mitchell Marsh will bowl in the upcoming Sheffield Shield round as he prepares to help cover Cameron Green’s absence during the India Test series.Marsh’s fitness and whether he can return to bowling have grown in significance for Australia since it emerged that Green will miss the entire season due to a stress fracture of his back.Green was heading to Christchurch on Wednesday for surgery and in an Instagram post said: “Heartbroken but let’s get a new back.”Related

• Australia's selection race: who is in the running to face India?

• Green out for the season as he takes surgery option

• Cummins to prepare for Test summer in Pakistan ODIs, Marsh and Head on paternity leave

• Australia quicks' unbroken summer could be an 'outlier'

There has been uncertainty if Marsh, who turns 33 on Sunday, can physically handle the rigours of bowling. Since tearing his hamstring during the IPL, Marsh has bowled just four overs – all of which were in the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s last month.Marsh made 13 and 94 as a specialist batter for Western Australia in their drawn Shield opener last week against Queensland at the WACA. While in the field he was mostly based in the slips and and occasionally helped carry the drinks.But Marsh said he felt “really good” physically as he builds up his bowling loads against Tasmania in the Shield fixture starting on Sunday at the WACA.”I won’t bowl too much for WA, it’s all part of the building process to get ready for that first Test,” Marsh told reporters in Perth at the launch of the 2025-26 Ashes fixtures. “It’s been a slow build. I’ve been really well looked after by Cricket Australia, Ronnie [Australia coach Andrew McDonald] and Patty [Pat Cummins], with our planning and when I bowl.”I love bowling, so I’m looking forward to bowling for Western Australia this week and build from there.”Mitchell Marsh’s overs could be vital this summer•Getty Images

With Australia’s frontline pace attack unchanged last summer, and with Tests played on bowler-friendly surfaces, Marsh wasn’t greatly needed with the ball but still did produce several handy spells.There has been an expectation that the five-Test series against India will be more gruelling, magnifying the importance of Marsh being able to provide support.With Steven Smith to move back to No. 4, Australia’s selectors will likely call in an opener rather than a like-for like replacement for Green. Marsh moving to the top of the order, following in the footsteps of his father Geoff and brother Shaun, has some support, including from legendary Australia batter Greg Chappell.But Marsh dispelled the notion with his focus firmly on contributing as an allrounder and he did not put a cap on how many overs he could bowl in the Tests. “Once you’re in the field of battle, you bowl as many overs as the captain needs you to bowl,” he said.
“I see the allrounder role as being really important, especially for when our bowlers need a bit of a break. I think if you look back at the last few seasons, our allrounders have bowled maybe 10 to 13 overs a game, which is not really a lot.”But those 10 to 13 overs can be really important. So for me, it’s about preparing to bowl as much as I can, as much as Patty needs me to.”Marsh said he was “shattered” for Green who is expected to be sidelined for six months.”From all reports he’s pretty good, initially there is always a shock. It all happened pretty quickly,” he said. “Certainly with stress fractures they can be quite a gradual thing, but this one came pretty quickly.”Someone like Cam with his attitude towards the game, he loves it. The thought of missing that much cricket is probably a little daunting for him, but he’s accepted it now and as an athlete you go through these things.”It’s an opportunity for him to come back better and I have no doubt that he will.”

Chinelle Henry will lead the team in the injured allrounder’s absence

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025Barbados Royals have suffered a significant blow on the eve of their WCPL title defence, with a shoulder injury ruling out their captain Hayley Matthews for the entire season.Allrounder Chinelle Henry will lead Royals in Matthews’ absence.Related

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• How Salonee Dangore went from track and field to the CPL

• Guyana Amazon Warriors sign Dane van Niekerk

Matthews is the WCPL’s leading run-getter (424 at a strike rate of 113.06) and wicket-taker (23 with an economy rate of 5.79), and a key player in Royals’ title-winning campaigns of 2023 and 2024. She was Player of the Match in the 2023 final against Guyana Amazon Warriors, scoring a 59-ball 82 and taking two wickets, and Player of the Series in the 2024 season.Royals announced the news of Matthews’ injury via X, formerly Twitter. They have not announced a replacement yet. Royals are set to play their first game of WCPL 2025 against Amazon Warriors on Sunday night.Matthews had picked up a shoulder injury on the England tour and opted for surgery during the WBBL. She was the Melbourne Renegades’ pre-draft pick but pulled out before the WBBL draft. She played the home series against South Africa and then the Hundred and was slated to undergo surgery after the WCPL.NaiJanni Cumberbatch, Trishan Holder and Steffie Soogrim were among a select group of emerging West Indian players who tuned up for WCPL 2025 with a stint at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in Chennai last month.

Barbados Royals squad

Chinelle Henry (capt), Afy Fletcher, Aaliyah Alleyne, Kycia Knight, Steffie Soogrim, Shamilia Connell, Sheneta Grimmond, Qiana Joseph, Trishan Holder, NaiJanni Cumberbatch, Chamari Athapaththu, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Webb, Shreyanka Patil

RoI are still trailing Mumbai’s first-innings total of 537 by 248 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2024Abhimanyu Easwaran’s unbeaten 151 took Rest of India (RoI) to 289 for 4 at the end of day three of the Irani Cup in Lucknow. But with Mumbai posting 537 in their first innings, RoI still have a mountain to climb.In the morning, Mumbai could add only one to their overnight 536 for 9. In the third over of the day, Mukesh Kumar knocked out Mohammad Juned Khan’s off stump for his fifth wicket of the innings, leaving Sarfaraz Khan unbeaten on 222.RoI had a somewhat nervy start but with Shardul Thakur unwell, Mumbai were forced to bring spin as early as in the sixth over. Juned provided the breakthrough by having RoI captain Ruturaj Gaikwad caught at second slip. RoI had only 40 runs on the board at that point but Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan stabilised them with an 87-run stand for the second wicket.Sudharsan, though, failed to convert his start and was lbw for 32 off Tanush Kotian after lunch. Devdutt Padikkal didn’t last long either and was caught behind for 16 off the bowling of Mohit Avasthi. It was a similar story for Ishan Kishan. He scored 38 before edging Avasthi to the wicketkeeper.By contrast, Easwaran was looking comfortable. He eased to his hundred off just 117 balls, even though only 38 runs had come in boundaries. He slowed down a bit after his hundred but Dhruv Jurel kept the scoreboard moving with an unbeaten 30 off 41 balls.In the penultimate over of the day, Easwaran brought up his 150, which was followed by Jurel hitting Kotian for a four and a six off successive balls. By stumps, the two had added 61 in an unbroken stand for the fifth wicket.

Rookie left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty defended 13 in the final over for Karnataka

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2025Karnataka overcame a scare against Baroda to clinch a thriller by five runs and secure a place in the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Devdutt Padikkal’s 102 off 99 balls not long after he got off a flight from Australia won him the Player-of-the-Match award, but it was Karnataka’s catching that made a massive difference to the resultBaroda were cruising in their chase of 282, with their captain Krunal Pandya and centurion Shashwat Rawat bringing the runs required under 100. But from 185 for 2 in the 34th over, Baroda lost 3 for 16 to give Karnataka an opening.Wicketkeeper Krishnan Shrijith dismissed Krunal by flinging himself full stretch to his left to pull off a one-hand catch off V Koushik. In the next over, Shreyas Gopal had Vishnu Solanki lbw. Mayank Agarawal, the Karnataka captain, then ran back 30 yards from mid-off with the ball swirling away to catch Shivalik Sharma.Even as Baroda lost wickets, they had hope as Rawat approached a century. He eventually got to the mark in the 44th over and Baroda went into the last six needing 59 with four wickets remaining. Bhanu Pania, who had smashed an unbeaten 51-ball 134 when Baroda broke the record for the highest T20 score last month, went after Prasidh Krishna in a 15-run over.The wickets of Pania and Rawat in the space of three balls turned the game again. Having gone for 58 in nine wicketless overs, Prasidh bowled a slower bouncer that got Rawat’s leading edge to wicketkeeper Shrijith.Still, Bhargav Bhatt and Raj Limbani kept hitting the vital boundaries to bring the equation down to 13 off the last six balls. But rookie left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty was not fazed by the pressure. With Baroda needing 8 off the last two, they attempted to steal a second to get Bhatt on strike with six to get off the last ball, but an accurate throw by R Smaran at deep midwicket to the wicketkeeper had Bhatt run out to end the game.That Karnataka had a sizeable total to defend was down to Padikkal, who helped his team overcome the early loss of Agarawal on a pitch that had plenty of assistance for the quicks early on. Padikkal and KV Aneesh put on 133 for the second wicket to lay the foundation of the innings.Padikkal was severe on Baroda off spinner Mahesh Pithiya, using his feet regularly to score boundaries as Karnataka looked to accelerate. He fell soon after getting to a century off 94 deliveries, top-edging a pull to the wicketkeeper off Limbani. From 172 for 2, Karnataka lost a clutch of wickets, but cameos from Shrijith and Abhinav Manohar took them to a match-winning score of 281.

Kusal Perera was the most high-profile local player to not attract a bid

Andrew Fidel Fernando21-May-2024Matheesha Pathirana has become the most expensive Lanka Premier League (LPL) player ever, commanding a US$120,000 price tag as he ended up with his old team, Colombo Strikers, for the 2024 edition of the tournament.The other big winner of the day was seamer Isuru Udana, who was bought by the new Galle Marvels franchise for $100,000, despite his base price being $30,000 and Marvels being the only franchise that bid for him. The auctioneer checked three times whether he had heard the bid from Marvels correctly. He had. They wanted to pay that much for Udana, who has not played for Sri Lanka since 2021.Dasun Shanaka also commanded a serious price tag, going to B-Love Kandy for $85,000. In his case, though, Jaffna Kings had been in a bidding war with B-Love.Related

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• As it happened – the Lanka Premier League auction

Among the fresh overseas signings, Afghanistan allrounder Karim Janat attracted the biggest bid, going for $80,000 to Dambulla Thunders, a franchise under new ownership this year. Rilee Rossouw was another headliner, joining Kings for $60,000.Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz – a wicketkeeper batter – and Hazratullah Zazai – a top-order batter – also got bids worth $50,000, going to Strikers and Thunders respectively. Spin-bowling allrounder Fabian Allen went to Kings for $32,000, and seam-bowling allrounder Dwaine Pretorius was bought by Marvels for $30,000.In general, it wasn’t a profitable auction for many overseas players. The likes of Lungi Ngidi, David Wiese, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Shoaib Malik, and Mushfiqur Rahim went unsold.Local spin-bowling allrounders like Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage did okay, though, going for $50,000 to Kings and Strikers respectively. Kusal Perera was the most high-profile local player to not attract a bid, with even former Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne getting a gig for $10,000 with B-Love Kandy.This version of the LPL has two new sets of owners. Thunders have replaced last year’s owners Dambulla Aura, while Marvels have taken over from Galle Gladiators.Kings, Strikers, and B-Love Kandy are the surviving franchises from last year. Kings are the only owners that have been around since 2022 or before.B-Love Kandy
Wanindu Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews, Dushmantha Chameera, Kamindu Mendis, Andre
Fletcher, Kyle Mayers, Ashen Bandara, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, Ramesh Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Mohammed Hasnain, Chamath Gomez, Pawan Rathnayake, Chaturanga de Silva, Kavindu Pathirathne, Lakshan Sandakan, Sammu Ashan, Azam Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammed Ali, Kasun RajithaColombo Strikers
Chamika Karunaratne, Thisara Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nipun Dhananjaya, Shadab
Khan, Glenn Phillips, Chamika Gunasekara, Dunith Wellalage, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Taskin Ahmed, Angelo Perera, Shevon Daniel, Garuka Sanketh, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Shehan Fernando, Kavin Bandara, Isitha Wijesundara, Muhammed Waseem, Allah GhazanfarGalle Marvels
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Lasith Croospulle, Niroshan Dickwella, Maheesh Theekshana, Tim Seifert, Alex Hales, Janith Liyanage, Dwaine Pretorius, Sahan Arachchige, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Sean Williams, Zahoor Khan, Malsha Tharupathi, Isuru Udana, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sadeesha Rajapaksa, Mohommed Shiraz, Kavindu Nadeeshan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Chamindu Wijesinghe, Jeffrey Vandersay, Yuri KoththigodaDambulla Thunders
Dilshan Madushanka, Nuwan Thushara, Dushan Hemantha, Praveen Jayawickrama, Mustafizur Rahman, Ibrahim Zadran, Lahiru Udara, Akila Dananjaya, Danushka Gunathilaka, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nuwanidu Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Ranesh Silva, Sohan de Livera, Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, Asela Gunaratne, Lahiru Madushanka, Rusanda Gamage, Mithun Jayawickrama, Ayana Siriwardhana, Sonal Dinusha, Haider Ali, Santhush GunathilakaJaffna Kings
Kusal Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Azmatullah
Omarzai, Noor Ahmad, Rilee Roussow, Fabian Allen, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pramod Madushan, Jason Behrendorff, Asitha Fernando, Vishad Randika, Lahiru Samarakoon, Wanuja Sahan, Eshan Malinga, Alex Ross, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Murvin Abinash, Arul Pragasam, Pathum Nissanka, Nishan Madushka, Theesan Vithushan, Nisala Tharaka

Adam Milne and Noor Ahmad put in the star performances with the ball as Los Angeles Knight Riders were bowled out for 124 to go down by 57 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2025Texas Super Kings were asked to bat for a second game in a row, put up an almost-identical score, and ran out victors again, this time against Los Angeles Knight Riders, to make it two wins in two in MLC 2025.Unlike in the first game, against MI New York, though, the batting effort was a combined one, with no one standing out with a really big contribution. The stars were in the bowling department – Adam Milne, again, and Noor Ahmad.The first partnership of any note for LAKR was the one between Alex Hales and Unmukt Chand for the second wicket. Coming together after Andre Fletcher had become Milne’s first victim in the second over of the chase of 182, Hales (25 in 17) and Chand (22 in 23) added 27 runs, but the going was slow. Chand then added 28 for the fifth wicket with Matthew Tromp, where Tromp showed some initiative on his way to a 12-ball 23, but Chand still couldn’t get any impetus.Milne started and finished LAKR’s fall, adding the wicket of Tanveer Sangha at the end to return 3.1-0-8-2, while Noor ran through the lower-middle order with the wickets of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Tromp – he had sent back Nitish Kumar earlier – to finish with 4 for 25.Earlier, asked to bat, Devon Conway scored 34 in 22 balls at the top, his partnership with Saiteja Mukkamalla, who scored 31 in 22, giving TSK a solid platform after captain Faf du Plessis fell for a low score again. Conway and Mukkamalla put up 57 runs in 5.1 overs, Mukkamalla clearly the aggressor there, and with 74 on the board after eight, TSK looked good for an above-par score.Daryl Mitchell (36* in 33), Shubham Ranjane (24 in 19) and Donovan Ferreira (32* in 16) made sure TSK got what they wanted, and it was way too many for LAKR on the day. In a low- and slow-scoring game on the while, Ferreira and Tromp were the only batters to go at at a strike rate of over 155 – Ferreira 200 and Tromp 191.66.

Brevis reprieve helps table-topping MICT to get out of sight in Qualifier 1

Firdose Moonda04-Feb-2025Mumbai Indians Cape Town will play in their first SA20 final after beating Paarl Royals by 39 runs in Qualifier 1 and turning around their fortunes from finishing last in both previous editions of the tournament. MICT have won five matches in a row and are running hot ahead of Saturday’s final at the Wanderers.Their yet-to-determined opposition will all be in action over the next two days with two-time defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape to play Joburg Super Kings in Wednesday’s Eliminator and the winner to take on Royals in Qualifier 2 on Thursday.While MICT’s win was comprehensive, and set up by them asking Royals to complete the highest successful chase at St George’s Park, it was not without controversy. They were 133 for 4 with a ball left in the 16th over when Dayyaan Galiem thought he had Dewald Brevis out for 16. Brevis pulled a full toss to deep backward square and an umpire review ruled the delivery a waist-high no-ball.Law 47.1 states that “any delivery, which passes or would have passed, without pitching, above waist height of the striker standing upright at the popping crease, is unfair. Whenever such a delivery is bowled, the umpire shall call and signal no ball.”Brevis’ front foot was outside the popping crease and he was not standing upright at the time of the shot but despite Paarl captain David Miller’s protests, the call stood. Brevis hit the next ball, a free-hit for six and Galiem was taken out of the attack in his next over after delivering another waist-high full toss which was judged a no-ball. That delivery also went for four. Mitch Owen completed the over, which ultimately cost 27 runs. MICT scored 60 runs in their last four overs and Brevis finished unbeaten on 44. After 15.5 overs in Paarl’s chase, their score was 136 for 6 which illustrates how impactful the no-ball and what followed was on the result.Miller was visibly upset on-field and when Galiem addressed at the post-match press conference, he confirmed that Royals did not feel the ball was high enough to be judged a no-ball. “That is obviously tight but that’s the match officials, they have to make the decisions,” he said. “it could have gone either way. We did feel like he was in a bent position and the shot was out in front of him as well, so potentially if that ball carried on going and it was in line with his body it perhaps could have been a touch lower. It was a touch and go and on another day that’s given and everything changes from there, but again I think we could have still been better in certain situations of the game.”One of those situations was Galiem’s no-ball in his next over, and he did not hesitate to acknowledge that. “I just misexecuted those two deliveries,” he said. “Such fine margins as well. I felt really confident after my first over as well and I just wanted to hit a yorker and I just didn’t want to miss on the short side. I misplaced the ball a little bit.”Rassie Van Der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton lifted MI Cape Town in the powerplay•SA20

He wasn’t the only one to misstep. Another tactical question arose when Galiem was taken out of the attack and Royals, despite having what Miller called “enough bowlers to pick from” in the post-match television interview chose not to use Andile Phehlulwayo. On the slower St George’s Park surface, his medium-pace may have been handy, but Phehlukwayo has not bowled at all in the tournament, even though two of his three appearances have come in the absence of Lungi Ngidi.All that suggests Royals have a few selection issues to deal with as they head into the Eliminator, including how they are going to find runs with Joe Root no longer part of the squad. Root left for national duty last week and though Owen is a promising replacement, he has done more with ball than bat so far. “He is obviously just adjusting to South African conditions but he’s an amazing player, we saw what he did in Australia and we know he’s got that about him, so it’s only a matter of time,” Galiem said.The team that has time now is MICT. Victory in the qualifier means they have three days to prepare for the final, albeit one of those will be a travel day, while the other team that qualifies will only have one. They recognise that as an obvious advantage. “It would have been first prize not to play another game heading into the final. We are glad that we ticked that off,” Kagiso Rabada said. “We are not taking anything for granted.”While Paarl have lost their last three games, MICT have not lost in seven matches, including a no-result, and are living up to their hype as the franchise with some of the biggest signings. “We have always had the players, but now I think we got together.” Rabada said. “The senior group had a lot to do with it in terms of pulling everyone together. There is also a familiarity between the players. That hunger is there. The hunger has always been there, but I think we just got together more as a team to put in those crucial performances at crucial times. I think that is what is getting us over the line.”Given the run of form they’ve had, they go into Saturday’s final as favourites, irrespective of who they play, and some would say the trophy looks like theirs to lose.

Hosts prevail in thrilling finish despite Mady Villiers’ heroic final over

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Sep-2024Ireland 155 for 7 (Lewis 72) beat England 153 (Beaumont 52, A Maguire 5-19) by three wickets (DLS)Ireland’s women held their nerve in an exhilarating finish to their ODI series in Belfast, as Alana Dalzell overcame a team hat-trick in Mady Villiers’ final over to strike a last-ball four, and seal her team’s first victory over England since 2001.The winning moment was aided by a terrible misfield from Hollie Armitage at long-on, who ran past her attempted gather while looking into the sun, with nothing less than a boundary needed for victory.Up until that moment, Ireland’s cruise towards victory had seemingly been derailed by a collapse of five for 13 in 22 balls – including three in three, as Villiers bowled both Alice Tector and Jane Maguire for first-ball ducks after Una Raymond-Hoey had been run out coming for a second run.And yet, Ireland’s result was richly deserved, not least after the efforts of Aimee Maguire, who landed a five-wicket haul just two days after her 18th birthday, and Gaby Lewis, who top-scored with 72 from 56 balls, and whose dismissal at 137 for 3 was the cue for her team’s jitters.After a four-and-a-half-hour rain delay, the skies cleared sufficiently for a 25-over contest, which was then reduced to 22 a side after a further interruption early in England’s innings.As it transpired, Ireland needed only 20.5 overs to roll England aside for 153, with Maguire – the left-arm spinner – claiming career-best figures of 5 for 19 in 3.5 overs.England had won very comfortably in the opening two fixtures, with their senior pros, Kate Cross and Tammy Beaumont, the stand-out performers with 6 for 30 and 150 not out respectively.And though Beaumont was once again England’s stand-out batter, with 52 from 42 balls, the support proved to be lacking from the rest of the order, and Maguire was primed to take advantage.Emma Lamb was the first wicket to fall, brilliantly caught by Maguire’s sister, Jane, at cover, to end a disappointing series with scores of 4, 18 and now 11. Hollie Armitage then over-reached on a sweep to be caught behind for 15 (65 for 2), but England still seemed well placed when Beaumont reached her fifty from 39 balls, the fastest of her career.However, Jane Maguire made the key breakthrough three balls later, as Beaumont holed out to deep midwicket, before her sister launched her killer spell with the first-ball dismissal of Freya Kemp, who ran past a slog to be stumped for 3.Paige Scholfield had been badly dropped in the deep on 16, but Orla Prendergast’s error was not costly, as Aimee Maguire lured her into a big swipe across the line to be bowled for 21. Freya Sargent continued the spin dominance as Bess Heath top-edged to short fine leg, and the collapse had reached crisis proportions at 118 for 7 as Cross dragged on for 3 to give Aimee Maguire her third.Ryana Macdonald-Gay stopped the rot with a cameo of 17 from 13 before falling to Prendergast, whereupon Aimee Maguire picked off Mady Villiers and Lauren Filer in the space of five balls to complete her superb spell.In reply, Lewis set the tempo in emphatic fashion, dominating the powerplay with five early boundaries to set Ireland on their way. Aimee Hunter contributed a run-a-ball 18 before she was bowled by Kemp at 51 for 1 after 6.2 overs, and though Prendergast was kept to 11 from 14 before falling lbw to Villiers, Lewis’ 41-ball half-century had her side in total command going into the back-end of the innings.When she was caught behind off the extra pace of Filer, however, the rest of the chase didn’t prove quite so straightforward.

Jack and Matt Taylor finish on losing side as Tymal Mills wins on captaincy debut

ECB Reporters Network31-May-2024Sussex Sharks scrambled a bye off the final ball of the game to get their Vitality Blast campaign off to a successful start with a three-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Hove.Chasing 168, the final over began with Sussex needing ten to win but Fynn Hudson-Prentice, whose 47 appeared to have taken them to the brink of victory, was caught behind to give Matt Taylor his third wicket. With eight needed off three deliveries, Jack Carson swung a six onto the pavilion roof and then scrambled a single to leave Nathan McAndrew facing the final ball.McAndrew failed to make contact, but James Bracey missed his shy at the stumps and Sussex, who only won once at the 1st Central County Ground in last year’s tournament, had completed a breathless triumph.Gloucestershire will feel it was a game they should have won, in particular the Taylor brothers Jack and Matt. Skipper Jack Taylor got them up to what looked to be a competitive total of 167 for 8 on a hybrid pitch offering decent pace and carry with 52, then Matt became the third bowler in the match on a hat-trick when Ollie Carter failed to control a short ball and Ben Charlesworth dived full length to his right at short third to brilliantly cling one-handed onto Tom Alsop’s full-blooded cut shot.When James Coles was bowled making room to manoeuvre David Payne through the off side and debutant Daniel Hughes played around a straight one from left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren, Sussex were 53 for 4 in the eighth over and up against it, but John Simpson joined Hudson-Prentice to add 56 off 37 balls and get the chase back on course.Simpson made 36 off 19 before pulling a ball from Marchant de Lange to midwicket, but Lamb and Hudson-Prentice maintained the momentum with 47 off 32 to take Sussex to within 13 of victory with two overs remaining. There was another twist when Ajeet Singh Dale deceived Lamb with a slower ball and conceded just three runs to set up a thrilling final over but Sussex got over the line.Jack Taylor clearly benefited from a move up to No. 5 as he made his third fifty in the format before becoming one of three victims in the final over for Sussex’s new skipper Tymal Mills, who finished with 4 for 25.Taylor came in halfway through the innings and took the initiative after McAndrew had picked up two wickets with successive balls in the 14th over to leave Gloucestershire on 111 for 5.He helped plunder 19 off the penultimate over, swinging Lamb over midwicket and out of the ground for his third six before Mills showed all his experience at the end of the innings, conceding just three runs and removing Taylor to a catch at deep square leg and foxing van Buuren and Matt Taylor with his slower ball. It was to prove a crucial contribution.Gloucestershire had been in good shape when openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft added 59 but it was a good night for Carson, who was making his T20 debut and took two wickets in his only over to remove Hammond and Bracey.Bancroft looked untroubled until a searing yorker from Australian compatriot McAndrew spectacularly split his leg stump in two, but Jack Taylor helped wrest back the initiative by adding 64 off 35 balls with Charlesworth and his sibling maintained Gloucestershire’s momentum before Sussex fought back.

A host of Australia white-ball players will be back in first-class action amid the race for the final

Alex Malcolm29-Feb-2024A host of Australia’s white-ball stars are set to play in the next Sheffield Shield round with Matthew Wade, Spencer Johnson, Josh Inglis and Matthew Short all named for their respective states but Glenn Maxwell will not turn out for Victoria.Wade has been named to open the batting for ladder-leading Tasmania against Victoria while Short has been included in Victoria’s side on return from the New Zealand series.Related

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Johnson and Inglis will also play their first Shield matches of the season for South Australia and Western Australia respectively but Aaron Hardie has been ruled out with his ongoing calf trouble.Wade played two games for Tasmania earlier this season including making 105 in a record chase of 432 against Queensland, but has been unavailable since due to T20I commitments for Australia.He hasn’t opened the batting in a first-class since he was asked to do it four times in his last Test series against India in 2020-21. Wade will replace the struggling Tim Ward at the top of the order for Tasmania. Ward has been dropped after three consecutive ducks.Maxwell still has ambitions to play Test cricket again for Australia and remains on the radar for the tour of Sri Lanka next year but he will not play for Victoria this week. Maxwell has appeared in just two first-class matches since 2019 with both coming last year after returning from his broken leg. He hasn’t played a red-ball game since a one-off appearance for Warwickshire in July.Inglis will make his first Shield appearance the season for WA against Queensland at the WACA ground having missed the first seven due to international white-ball commitments. But Hardie has been ruled out with the calf issue he suffered in the last match against Tasmania. There was a hope he might be able to play as a batter only but was not passed fit after also being ruled out of the T20I tour of New Zealand and the Marsh Cup final.Johnson is in line to play his first match of the season and just his fifth first-class match overall after being included in South Australia’s 12-man squad to face New South Wales in Sydney. Johnson has not played a first-class game since Australia A’s tour of New Zealand last April. He took bags of six and seven in his first two Shield matches last summer.New South Wales have included uncapped legspinner Smit Raval, who moved to Australia from India in 2018, in their squad as they aim to push for spot in the final.Under-19 World Cup star Callum Vidler could make his debut debut. The fast bowler took 14 wickets at 11.71 during Australia’s recent success in South AfricaTasmania squad Jordan Silk (capt), Gabe Bell, Iain Carlisle, Jake Doran, Jarrod Freeman, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Riley Meredith, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Beau WebsterVictoria squad Will Sutherland (capt), Xavier Crone, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris, Campbell Kellaway, Nic Maddinson, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Mitch Perry, Will Pucovski, Matt Short, Peter SiddleWestern Australia squad Sam Whiteman (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright, Keaton Critchell, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Liam Haskett, Josh Inglis, Joel Paris, Corey Rocchiccioli, D’Arcy Short, Charlie Stobo, Teague WyllieNew South Wales squad Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Moises Henriques (capt) Daniel Hughes, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, Jack Nisbet, Smit Raval, Chris TremainQueensland squad Jimmy Peirson (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Max Bryant, Jack Clayton, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Gurinder Sandhu, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Mitchell Swepson, Callum Vidler, Jack WildermuthSouth Australia squad Wes Agar, Kyle Brazell, Jordan Buckingham, Brendan Doggett, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann (capt), Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Harry Nielsen