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Bench strength, being ruthless and overcoming pressure are themes England Women will look to build on ahead of next year’s World Cup after winning a hard-fought multi-format series against India.The hosts had to win their final T20I at Chelmsford on Wednesday night to win the series – encompassing a one-off Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. England prevailed by eight wickets after Danni Wyatt’s unbeaten 89 to claim the overall trophy by 10 points to six.Apart from opener Wyatt’s return to form after going more than 18 months without an international fifty, and another excellent performance by Nat Sciver, Player of the Series for the T20I leg, England’s ability to withstand the pressure of a must-win contest was particularly pleasing for Heather Knight, their captain.”There’s always pressure but we knew it was the culmination of five weeks’ hard work,” Knight said. “We’ve been in a semi bubble for that time as well so there’s a few tired people around and a few people that are ready to go home so I think today was a real show of character that we were able to put in that sort of performance under pressure.”With the bigger picture of the World Cup in New Zealand next February and March in mind, Knight drew a positive from the fact that India’s competitiveness had meant the series replicated the sort of tense situation her side could find themselves in at the global tournament.India won the third ODI in Worcester, which was a dead-rubber in the context of the 50-over leg but which gave the visiting side valuable points in the series as a whole. They also won the second T20I in Hove when England lost six wickets for 31 in the space of 5.4 overs.England’s collapse negated their impressive batting depth on that occasion but, provided they could avoid a similar performance in the final match, India’s total of 153 for 6 looked slightly below par, despite an impressive 70 from Smriti Mandhana. England duly overhauled the target with eight balls to spare for the loss of just two wickets, with Wyatt and Sciver putting on 112 runs together.Related

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“We were definitely under pressure with the way they batted,” Knight added. “It was a very good wicket and I thought Smriti, in particular, played really nicely, put us under pressure and we’ve responded brilliantly to that.”It’s always nice to have those victories, when there’s more on the line, you feel like you’ve really earned them, so I’m very pleased. We’ve not had it all easy, we’ve been put under pressure at a lot of points and reacted reasonably well most of the time, so that’s great for us as a side.”We’ve learnt a lot. Being ruthless has been a bit of a theme and I’m really pleased that we’re able to do that because there’s been times I guess where we’ve maybe taken our foot off the gas a little bit and let India back in. That’s a really good lesson for us, to really make sure we’re ruthless, taking individual responsibility to finish games off for the team.”Wyatt was overlooked in favour of Lauren Winfield-Hill for the ODI leg of the tour and, after scores of 31 and 3 in the first two T20Is, she was under some pressure to make a significant contribution. “About time” were her first words when interviewed by Sky Sports upon receiving her Player of the Match award.”I’ve always encouraged her to try and play her natural game, and she’s gone back to that brilliantly,” Knight said. “She’s got that role for us at the top of the order, we want her to be positive, aggressive, and take the game away from teams like we know she can.”She’s not going to come off every time but to see her play like that and finish the game off, more importantly, I think was a massive boost for her and will give her the world of confidence.”With Wyatt having made the most of her opportunity, Knight noted that there were other players “knocking on the door” just to get a chance.”We’ve got a real competitive squad forming, which is great to see, and it’s obviously pushing us forward as individuals,” she said. “We’ve got world-class players that have missed out.”Anya Shrubsole hasn’t played in this [T20I] series and Fran Wilson has been been going very well and obviously can’t get in the side at the moment so having that competitiveness and different people performing at different times is great for us as a team.”England will host New Zealand in three T20Is and five ODIs from September 1.

KL Rahul left the field after being struck on the elbow in an injury concern for India ahead of the first Test, while Virat Kohli shrugged off speculation over his fitness but was one of several batters caught behind the wicket in an intra-squad match simulation at the WACA.After three days in the WACA nets, India ramped up their preparations a week before the series-opener at Optus Stadium with an XI featuring their main stars out in the middle against a side filled with mostly their fringe and India A players.In perhaps an indication that he is earmarked to open the batting if captain Rohit Sharma misses the first Test, Rahul opened alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in overcast conditions.Related

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Rahul looked in fluent touch and appeared to be handling short bowling well until he was struck on his right elbow by a rising delivery from quick Prasidh Krishna. The blow left him grimacing and he trudged off the ground after seeking medical attention.Rahul did not come out to bat later in the day as India’s main batters had another turn at the crease.Jaiswal started aggressively with a belligerent whack through the covers, but on 15 he nicked off to second slip in what would become a common sight through a simulation that lasted two-and-a-half hours before lunch.Amid reports that he has undergone scans in recent days, Kohli looked in fine touch and hit a couple of gorgeous shots through the covers. But on 15 he nicked seamer Mukesh Kumar to second slip before he then spent around 30 minutes in the nearby nets.Short-pitched bowling had been a priority for India’s batters on Thursday, with local club quicks unleashing rapid speed while some batters took part in a drill where a tennis ball was fired from close range aimed at their heads.The WACA surface so far in this simulation has had considerably less bounce and carry than Sheffield Shield matches this season. But there has been some movement off a length and India’s batters looked wanting.Rishabh Pant, who had struggled against the short ball at times during his net sessions earlier in the week, smoked a boundary through the off-side early in his innings but he seemed shaken after copping a blow to the groin. He was cleaned bowled by a quick delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was a standout after also later claiming Dhruv Jurel in the slips.KL Rahul walks off after being hit on the arm•Getty Images

No. 3 Shubman Gill started slowly and struggled to get the strike for his two-hour stay at the crease. He started looking more comfortable before on 28 fending to gully a short of a length delivery from quick Navdeep Saini who celebrated with gusto.The rare sight at the WACA of spin from both ends occurred just before the interval with Washington Sundar and Tanush Kotian bowling in tandem as the batting side reached the break at 106 for 5 after 28 overs.Befitting the simulation, with it not being an official match, India’s main batters had another go of it. It appeared there were more specific match situations being tested as Jaiswal and Gill, who was scratchy the first time around, went all-out attack.But they soon reverted to a cautious approach as they mostly dead-batted in a sedate passage of play as India’s coaching staff walked laps around the boundary.Jaiswal has looked the most comfortable against the short ball, including during the net sessions, and he was also ultra-attacking when spin came into the attack. He finished 58 not out, while Gill, who sometimes appeared anchored to the crease, made an unbeaten 42.After the final interval, Kohli and Pant returned and they were confronted by sharp short of a length bowling from Prasidh and Reddy. Kohli was particularly troubled and played and missed on several occasions. But he found his rhythm and played a few gorgeous backfoot strokes, including a pull shot to the boundary which damaged his bat and required a change.Kohli did not look in any discomfort, quelling injury fears, as he batted for an hour before finishing up on 30.Pant tried to counter the length by skipping down the pitch and he had mixed success. He was eventually bowled on 24 by the impressive Mukesh – the second time in the day his wickets had been rattled.Jurel returned and was joined by Akash Deep in the final passages as the batting side finished on 339 for 8 in a match simulation that lasted 75 overs.The simulation is expected to continue over the weekend.

Yorkshire dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on a four-wicket Vitality County Championship victory over Division Two pacesetters Sussex at Scarborough during the fourth morning to boost their hopes of promotion.Resuming on 28 for 2 from 10 overs in pursuit of 103, the home side clinched a 21-point haul in exactly an hour’s play despite losing four wickets to offspinner Jack Carson.Opener Adam Lyth top-scored with 40 as Yorkshire claimed their third successive Championship victory dating back to June, consigning the league leaders to only a second defeat in 10 matches this season. The excellent Carson claimed his four consolatory wickets to finish with a career-best 9 for 120 in the match.Yorkshire started this fixture in third, 27 points behind Sussex, but are now only nine adrift with four rounds remaining.The White Rose county have won three Championship matches in a row for the first time since the early stages of 2021 when they beat Kent and Sussex away and Northamptonshire at Headingley.Upon clinching victory, Yorkshire moved to second in the in-play Division Two table – but dropped back to third after Middlesex beat Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ School.Yorkshire and Middlesex face each other at Headingley from Thursday. Sussex, meanwhile, host Derbyshire at Hove next as they look to bounce back from a first defeat since May.Lyth set the tone in the day’s third over when he took back-to-back boundaries off Jaydev Unadkat’s left-arm seam – one flicked to fine-leg and the other cut through backward point.He then pulled Carson over midwicket and cut Ollie Robinson over backward point for sixes in the following two overs, taking the score to 59 for 2. The writing was on the wall for Sussex.They actually started the day minus three on the over rate, with counties deducted a point for each over they are behind the rate.So it was no surprise to see Carson employed early by captain John Simpson in a bid to speed things up. Realistically, improving that was their main target for the day, and they achieved it.Although Lyth led the way, he was importantly helped out by nightwatcher Dan Moriarty, who contributed 17 to a third-wicket partnership of 51. They came together at 18 for 2 late on day three and extinguished Sussex’s slim hopes of a turnaround.Moriarty, Yorkshire’s regular No. 11, was lbw to Carson – 69 for 3 – before the same bowler had Lyth caught behind down leg at the second attempt by Simpson with a further seven runs added to the total.Carson also trapped James Wharton lbw to bring Jonny Bairstow to the crease with only eight to win, and he holed out to deep midwicket for a two-ball duck. Yorkshire captain Jonny Tattersall hit the winning runs.

Tom Abell hit a perfectly-paced century as Somerset chased down 410 to beat Warwickshire by five wickets on the final day of an absorbing Vitality County Championship Division One game at Taunton.The former club captain finished unbeaten on 152, off 207 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes, as his side made light of their mammoth target, winning with 4.2 overs to spare.Tom Banton contributed 81, James Rew 57 not out and Tom Kohler-Cadmore 49 after Warwickshire had declared on their overnight second innings total of 281 for eight.It was the second highest successful fourth innings run chase in Somerset’s history. They took 20 points from the game to go second in the Division One table, while Warwickshire had to be content with seven.Chasing such a big target, Somerset knew a good start was imperative. Andy Umeed played positively from the outset and had made 30 of the 44 runs on the board when wafting at a delivery from Oliver Hannon-Dalby and edging through to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.Kohler-Cadmore demonstrated admirable restraint to ensure a solid start, but lost another partner with the total on 77 when Tom Lammonby top-edged an attempted pull shot off Michael Booth and fell for 26, Ed Barnard taking a tumbling catch at fine leg.Having curbed his natural attacking instincts for much of the morning, Kohler-Cadmore opened his shoulders to hit left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell over long-on for six in the final over before lunch, which was taken at 117 for two, the former Yorkshire player unbeaten on 35.Abell was 25 not out and the afternoon session saw the pair complete a half-century stand off 92 balls. But, with the total on 144, Kohler-Cadmore aimed an expansive shot over the leg side off Hannon-Dolby and got a thick edge to third-man where Barnard pouched his second catch.Abell went to fifty off 92 balls with an on-driven boundary off Hannon-Dalby, but he and Banton sensibly took few chances in ensuring Warwickshire did not enjoy any more success before tea. Banton’s half-century occupied 76 deliveries and featured four fours and a six.Somerset went into the final session still needing 188 runs from a minimum of 33 overs. The century partnership between Abell and Banton was brought up off 158 balls and Banton immediately went on the attack, lofting Bethell for six over long-on.Somerset were starting to look favourites as runs started to flow more quickly. With 25 overs remaining, they needed a further 131 on what is traditionally a fast-scoring ground.Warwickshire desperately needed a wicket. It came with the total on 281 when Banton, who has made giant strides as a red-ball cricketer this season, attempted to force a short ball from Barnard through the leg-side and picked out Yates at mid-wicket. He had faced 109 balls and hit seven fours and two sixes.Somerset promoted Migael Pretorius in the bid for quick runs. The South African had managed 14 off ten balls when top-edging a catch to cover off Will Rhodes. At 299 for five, the hosts required 111 off the final 20 overs.That brought in Rew, who has struggled for runs this summer after a prolific 2023 season. The left-hander produced a classic extra cover drive for four off Rhodes before Abell went to a chanceless 171-ball hundred, which included nine fours, with a single off Barnard.The second new ball was about to become due. Rew slog-swept Bethell for four and followed up with a straight six next ball. With 85 needed, the umpires signalled the final hour and minimum of 16 overs left in the game.Warwickshire delayed taking the new ball, perhaps reasoning a softer one was more difficult to strike for boundaries. Instead, Rhodes turned to Dan Mousley, giving the off-spinner his first bowl of the match.It was a gamble that didn’t work as Mousley’s two overs went for 12. By the time Oliver Hannon-Dalby was handed the new ball, there were just 11 overs left and 54 runs required, Abell and Rew having completed a half-century stand off 51 deliveries.From there, the pair cut loose to finish the game with a flurry of boundaries, Rew completing a 51-ball fifty and Abell ending a memorable day with a pulled six off Booth.

Justin Langer has arrived in the IPL. It took just one game of tired old T20 cricket, and the consequent heavy defeat of course, for Lucknow Super Giants to burn that book of conservative T20 cricket and play with much higher intent. As a result they didn’t have the ideal players operating in the death overs of each innings, but they had done enough damage in the middle overs on both occasions to win by 21 runs.The 103 that LSG scored in the middle overs is the second-highest in their history; both the efforts featured Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis batting a higher number of balls unlike in the first match when they were held back for the death overs. With the ball, LSG unleashed Mayank Yadav’s extreme pace – highest being 155.8kmph – and awkward bounce to take five wickets for 84. As it turned out, they lost out on some runs in the final few overs and had to bowl Krunal Pandya in the 19th, but the game was over by then.The first step – either made easier by a quad strain or a huge tactical move considering how it is near-impossible to remove Indian captains – was to give the captaincy to Pooran, leaving KL Rahul with just batting responsibilities.

The enterprising start

It would be indulging in pop psychology to say if that meant Rahul batted with more intent because he had only one field to make an impact in, but the change was there for all to see. Having taken the dew on by batting first, LSG needed all the intent from everyone. Rahul began attacking from the fourth ball he faced, didn’t stop after hitting a six and a four in the next over, and Quinton de Kock batted the way he usually does.The intent might have resulted in two wickets but LSG managed 54 runs in the powerplay.

Pooran, and best-laid plans

The first two overs after the powerplay suggested it might be difficult to take down spin, but in the third, Stoinis, batting much earlier than in the last game, punished Rahul Chahar’s errors in length brutally with two sixes, and got out trying for a third six in the same over.The introduction of Pooran as early as in the ninth over meant Kings took off both their spinners despite Harpreet Brar’s four-run first over and a decent record against left-hand batters this IPL.Two overs in, it was plain why spin was taken off. Pooran slogged a wrong’un from Chahar over the longer boundary for a six followed by a cut for four in front of square and then just a nonchalant loft back over his head for another six.

The slightly slower finish

This kind of batting can, at times, result in wickets. LSG had played only three overseas players in the first XI so their choice of the fourth would be between Ashton Turner and Naveen-ul-Haq. When de Kock fell in the 14th over for 53, or when Pooran did in the 16th for 42, LSG didn’t make any panicked move, trusting Naveen over the limited marginal impact a batter could make over Krunal and Ayush Badoni.Krunal did his part of the job well by scoring 43 off 22. The last nine balls got LSG only 10 runs, but they had effectively decided the extra runs they could have got off such deliveries was not worth giving up middle-overs runs for.Jonny Bairstow and Shikhar Dhawan put on a 102-run opening partnership•BCCI

Kings set off running

Under the lights, a bit of dew, and nice medium pace to work with, Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow made a quick start to their chase, taking 61 in the first six overs. Dhawan got to a fifty off just 30 balls, the exact required rate to win the match. Like Stoinis did after the spin slowdown in the first innings, Bairstow broke the shackles with two sixes off Bishnoi in the ninth over.

Enter Mayank Yadav

Langer is not the only who “arrived” on Saturday night. Mayank is a 21-year-old fast bowler from Delhi who has had to struggle with injuries. LSG scouted him and looked after him while he was injured during the Ranji Trophy season. When they unleashed Mayank, Kings needed to go at pretty much the same asking rate as at the start of the innings and had all their wickets in hand.They weren’t quite prepared for the unerring pace of Mayank, though. He kept bowling uncomfortable lengths, went past 155kmph, and took out three batters, all three with the short ball, all three late on the shot. Bishnoi did his job at the other end, bowling the 11th over for just three. Mohsin Khan kept the pressure up. An injury to Liam Livingstone, which reduced him to hobbling between the wicket, didn’t help Kings.Dhawan went from 50 off 30 to caught on 70 off 50. He later acknowledged how he tried to use Mayank’s pace by moving around, and Mayank immediately started bowling yorkers at the stumps.LSG kept going for wickets, which is acknowledgement that even the best can get hit at the death so they are probably better off bowling in phases that have more correlation between quality and outcomes. By the time that they went to that one “weak” over, LSG had 48 to defend in the last two. Krunal conceded only seven.

Multan Sultans continued their dream start by handing defending champions Lahore Qalandars their third straight loss in the Pakistan Super League on Wednesday. Iftikhar Ahmed smashed 24 runs in the penultimate over, and earned Sultans a five-wicket win over defending champions Qalandars in a rematch of last season’s final.Qalandars’ much-trumpeted pace attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, has now failed to defend in three successive games, as Haris Rauf continued to struggle and Zaman Khan also proving expensive (2-52).Sultans now sit pretty on top of the table with six points from three straight home wins, while Qalandars are yet to get first win under their belt.Skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who was dropped on 40 by Afridi, went on to compile this season’s top-score of 82 off 59 balls before Ifthikar charged against Zaman’s pace in the 19th over, smacking two sixes and three fours, and guided the home team to 170 for 5.Iftikhar wiped the hopes of Qalandars for its first win with a robust knock of unbeaten 34 off 11 balls after the home team needed 21 off the last two overs.The inclusion of left-arm spinner George Linde (1 for 26) of South Africa seemed to have beefed up Qalandars’ bowling in the absence of injured Rashid Khan when he bowled brilliantly in the middle overs after Qalandars posted 166 for 5, but Iftikhar’s onslaught against Zaman sealed the game.Earlier, Rassie van der Dussen (54) scored his second half-century in three games and Fakhar Zaman made 41 as they put on 94 runs for the second-wicket stand and pushed for a daunting total before Sultans pulled back despite dropping four catches.Khushdil Shah, who dropped two catches in the last game against Islamabad United, floored two more chances on Wednesday, but fast bowler Mohammad Ali (2 for 28) continued to impress with his swing and variations which restricted Qalandars in the end.

Cricket Australia will consult BBL clubs over potential changes to contracting rules in a bid to try and keep overseas stars for future finals series.The BBL celebrated a return to life this summer with the shorter home-and-away season coinciding with a 27 per cent increase in average crowds. There were crowds of beyond 40,000 in five matches for the first time since 2017-18, while the Melbourne Renegades saw their average increase by 63 per cent.But officials know challenges still loom. Six overseas players will miss the finals having jetted out for the UAE’s lucrative ILT20 after the last round-robin week of competition. Perth Scorchers’ Laurie Evans, Brisbane Heat’s Sam Billings and Colin Munro, Sydney Sixers’ James Vince and Adelaide Strikers’ Jamie Overton and Adam Hose will all be absent.Related

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Clubs were aware of the player availability when they were picked in the draft, with the huge money on offer in the UAE from clubs often owned by players’ IPL franchises hard to resist. Officials hope to find an answer for future seasons and finals series, with an overwhelming message from players that they would like to stay.It is understood that contractual discussions are likely to feature in end-of-season talks when the embargo period ends after Wednesday’s final. One suggestion, floated by Billings, is more security for overseas players out of the draft, with multi-year deals one idea to offer more certainty when negotiating arrival dates with rival leagues.”We have seen this year the role overseas players continue to play in the BBL,” BBL boss Alistair Dobson told AAP. “They have been great performers on the field, they are fan favourites and the broadcasters love them.Laurie Evans has left the BBL for the ILT20•Getty Images

“However, we need to continue to evolve our competition and make our competition appealing to the players to come and play in the BBL. And ideally, [to] have them play as many games as possible has been and will continue to be a clear focus for us.”A more compressed schedule next season with no break for the Perth Test is also expected to aid in luring overseas talent for more matches.In a big summer for the BBL, first-placed Brisbane had average crowds increase by 45 per cent before Friday night’s grand-final qualifier against Sydney Sixers on the Gold Coast. Perth were also up 35 per cent, while attendances in Melbourne grew by 39 per cent.The rise comes despite five abandoned matches included in the figures, with numbers close to what they were in 2018-19 before the competition’s slide.The reduction from 56 regular season games to 40 is part of that, allowing organisers and broadcasters to return to the every-game-is-an-event mantra that the BBL thrived on its early years.”This year it has only got stronger and gives us a bigger platform for next year and beyond,” Dobson said. “Fewer games adds scarcity, but it also provides capacity and oxygen to our schedule and ensures every game is promoted in a bigger and better fashion.”