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India Women will play a day-night Test against Australia at the WACA in Perth next March in what is expected to be the first international at the fully redeveloped venue.The Test, from March 6 to 9, forms part of a tour that also includes three T20Is and three ODIs which begins in mid-February following the WPL. India previously played a day-night Test on the Gold Coast in 2021. The MCG, which hosted the Ashes Test this season, was not an option due to work that is due to be taking place at the ground.Related

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The WACA hosted a Test against South Africa in February 2024, which was a day game, where Australia won by innings and 284 runs with Annabel Sutherland making a double century. The ground has been undergoing extensive building work in recent seasons which is hoped to be completed by next year’s Test.With the WPL moving to a new window in January, Cricket Australia has been forced to adjust when they play their major women’s series which means it now falls outside of the school holiday period although the schedule has been worked to have as many games as possible around weekends.T20Is will again be hosted at major venues with the SCG staging the first game (February 15), Canberra the second (February 19) and Adelaide Oval the third (February 21). The third ODI at Junction Oval in Melbourne on March 1 is planned to be the first day-night international at the venue which is due to have lights installed over the winter although there is currently opposition from local residents to plans.When the India tour starts it will have been more than a year since Australia played at home following this season’s Ashes.The ODI World Cup, which will be staged in India from late September, means there are no early-season internationals. Australia and India are set to meet in a one-day series in India ahead of that tournament.The World Cup, which could finish on November 2, will also have a knock-on effect to the WBBL, the dates for which will be announced later in the year, with that competition starting later than usual and running into early December, very close to the start of the BBL.India A are also due to tour Australia for a second consecutive season, before the senior side, with those fixtures to be confirmed at a later date.

Australia Women 2025-26 home schedule vs India

February 15: 1st T20I, SCG (N)
February 19: 2nd T20I, Canberra (N)
February 21: 3rd T20I, Adelaide (N)
February 24: 1st ODI, Allan Border Field (D/N)
February 27: 2nd ODI, Hobart, (D/N)
March 1: 3rd ODI, Junction Oval, (D/N)
March 6-9: Test match, WACA, (D/N)

It was Chennai Super Kings’ worst defeat by a runs margin at their fortress, the MA Chidambaram Stadium, and it ended an eight-match winning streak at that venue against their southern rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru. CSK were never really in the game after they slipped to 26 for 3 in a chase of 197, and their captain Ruturaj Gaikwad felt they should not have been chasing a target of that magnitude in the first place.Gaikwad suggested at the post-match presentation that 170 was a par score on a pitch that he described as “sticky”.Related

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“To be honest, I still feel 170 was a par score on this wicket,” he said. “It wasn’t that great to bat [on] but probably bad day in the field cost us really badly. [At the] end of the day, when you’re chasing 170, you bat differently, you kind of have little bit of time when you go in to bat, but when you’re chasing 20 runs extra on a wicket where you know it’s going to be sticky, and going to stop [on the batter] after the ball gets old, you have to bat slightly differently in the powerplay.”RCB captain Rajat Patidar was the chief beneficiary of CSK’s bad day in the field. Deepak Hooda and Rahul Tripathi put him down in the 12th and 13th overs, when he was on 17 and 19. Then, later in that 13th over, Khaleel Ahmed put in a dive at short third when Patidar, now on 20, edged one in his direction, only for the ball to fall marginally short of him.Patidar went on to top-score with 51 off 32 balls. All the drops, Gaikwad felt, prevented CSK’s spin attack of Noor Ahmad, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja from being able to put pressure on new batters at the crease.Ravindra Jadeja is distraught after Patidar is put down off his bowling•AFP/Getty Images

“Definitely a different scenario when you have three world-class spinners in your team,” Gaikwad said. “You want a new batter to face them. That’s where I think the game changes a lot as well, even the last game changed a lot, and it just didn’t really happen this time.”They just kept going, we dropped catches at crucial times, and there was always an extra six or extra boundary that was coming after that. So just think the momentum kept going and it didn’t really stop till the last over.”CSK lost Tripathi and Gaikwad early in their chase with both batters out while taking on the short ball notwithstanding Josh Hazlewood’s steep bounce. Gaikwad felt the magnitude of the target forced the batters to take more chances than they otherwise might have.”We know Rahul backs his shots, and I went and backed my shots as well. Sometimes it works, sometimes doesn’t. But as I said, there are times when you have par score in your mind, and probably when you’re chasing 20 runs extra, you always want to be a step ahead of the game while you’re chasing. That’s what the thinking was. Didn’t really work out but still happy that we didn’t lose by a big margin and at the end it was just 50 runs.”That Gaikwad described CSK’s biggest home defeat in those terms suggested he was making an effort not to overreact to the result; he said it was inevitable for teams to have results of this kind in a tournament of the IPL’s length.”We just have to turn up mentally and just look at which are the areas we can improve,” he said, when asked what CSK would do in the short turnaround between this game and their next one, against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Sunday. “Definitely you’re going to have a bad day batting and bowling in a tournament like IPL, but I feel the fielding has to improve a lot, and I think we should come back stronger in the fielding department.”

Big picture: Expect a hard-fought contest

Australia and South Africa brushed off poor pre-tournament results to record wins in their opening matches of the Champions Trophy and they meet each other with their batters in good form. Australia may be riding slightly higher after they completed the highest successful chase in tournament history – 352 – with 15 balls to spare. South Africa’s 315 for 6 against Afghanistan resulted in victory by 107 runs and put them higher on the points table thanks to a bigger net run-rate.All that, combined with expectations of a batter-friendly pitch in Rawalpindi, means the bowling attacks can expect a tough day out after already being challenged by absences in personnel. Australia are missing more than South Africa with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc all out of the tournament. But with Anrich Nortje and Gerald Coetzee also ruled out, South Africa had to look elsewhere for express pace. Still, they have five seamers and three spinners (if you include Aiden Markram) to choose from. Australia’s squad make-up is similar, and with Marnus Labuschagne turning his arm over, they have additional options. So the real point of difference may lie in selection and how the captains allocate overs to exert pressure on each other.Related

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Victory will not guarantee either team progression to the semi-finals but will leave the winner primed to top the group, so expect a contest that lives up to its billing, especially if the last one was anything to go by. In 2023, at the ODI World Cup semi-final, South Africa were restricted to an under-par total of 212 but had Australia seven down in the 48th when the winning runs were scored. That game had the tension of a low-scoring thriller. This one is likely to have the fireworks of a run fest.Whatever happens, given these two sides routinely bring out the most competitive streaks in each other, this will be one of the tournament’s showpiece matches in front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd.

Form guide

Australia: WLLLL
South Africa: WLLLL4:16

Carey: We know South Africa are a great team

In the spotlight: Nathan Ellis and Rassie van der Dussen

In a match where 707 runs were scored in 97.3 overs, conceding less than six runs an over was simply outstanding. That’s what Nathan Ellis did for Australia against England, where his ten overs cost just 51 runs in a display of immense control and maturity in just his tenth ODI. Ellis is unusual in that at 5′ 9″ he isn’t as tall as we’d expect a fast bowler to be and relies on consistency and variety rather than pace to make an impact. While he may not be an outright attacking bowler, in a tournament where restricting batting sides in the middle overs has already proven to be important, how he performs in that phase could be decisive in Australia’s campaign.Part of a powerful and in-form batting order, Rassie van der Dussen has the third-best ODI batting average of all time for South Africa and is among their most consistent performers despite a recent dip, and he may have started to feel the pressure of competition for his place. His 46-ball 52 against Afghanistan was his first half-century in 11 innings. South Africa are choosing between Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi and van der Dussen for two of three top-order spots and also have Tristan Stubbs on the bench, so van der Dussen will want to do all he can to keep proving his worth.

Team news: Heinrich Klassen to have fitness test

Australia don’t have reason to change things and Alex Carey suggested the XI would remain as is. They may consider a switch in their attack, and swap out one of their two left-arm quicks – Spencer Johnson and Ben Dwarshuis – for Sean Abbott.Australia: (possible): 1 Matthew Short, 2 Travis Head, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Alex Carey, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Spencer JohnsonHeinrich Klaasen missed South Africa’s opener against Afghanistan because of an elbow niggle and will have a fitness test to assess his availability for this match. If Klaasen is fit, South Africa are likely to change their opening combination to make room for him in the middle order, which would mean leaving de Zorzi out after Rickelton made himself undroppable with his century against Afghanistan. South Africa seem content to play one specialist spinner and have the option of four quicks, which could leave Tabraiz Shamsi on the bench again.South Africa (possible): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Ryan Rickelton, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Lungi Ngidi4:00

Agar: Australia’s bowlers need to control middle overs better

Pitch and conditions

Before this tournament, Rawalpindi had not hosted ODIs since April 2023, when Pakistan and New Zealand made scores of 288, 291, 336 and 337 in two matches. South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma and Carey said they expected another high-scoring encounter on what should be a flat surface. Bavuma also revealed that South Africa noted significant dew during a training session at the venue over the weekend and both he and Carey expected chasing to be easier than defending a target. The weather will be cooler than in Karachi or Lahore with a high of just 17 degrees, and there is some drizzle forecast in the afternoon which could impact the match.

Stats and trivia

• Australia’s chase of 352 against England was their second-highest successful chase in ODIs.
• In that game, Josh Inglis became the fourth Australian men’s cricketer to complete a hundred in all formats, after Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and David Warner.
• Since 2016, South Africa have batted first 12 times against Australia in ODIs and lost only two of those matches. The most recent of these defeats was the semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
• Travis Head has scored 62 runs off 55 balls off Kagiso Rabada in ODIs and been dismissed by him three times. Against Lungi Ngidi, however, he’s scored only 15 off 25 balls for two dismissals.
• Klaasen has scored 121 runs off 89 balls from Adam Zampa in ODIs and been dismissed twice by him.

Quotes

“We probably don’t want to chase 350 too many more times but our bowlers will learn a lot from that hit out.”
“We’re quite bullish about our chances. Even though in the [preceding] tri-series, we didn’t have all our guys, it still was an opportunity for us to get whatever intel that we can on the conditions and share that information with all the other guys who came in. Confidence is good. We’re quite optimistic about our chances and how far we can go in this competition.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins is in doubt for the Champions Trophy after it was revealed that he had been managing an ankle problem during the Test series against India.It was confirmed on Thursday that Cummins would miss the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka (paternity leave) and will undergo scans on his ankle in the coming days to determine whether he will be able to lead the team in the Champions Trophy, which will be held across Pakistan and the UAE next month.”We’ll have to wait and see when that scan comes back and see how it’s tracking,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “There’s a little bit of work to do. We’ll probably get a bit more information around where that’s at.”Related

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Cummins sent down 167 overs during the five Tests against India, the most by an Australian bowler, taking 25 wickets at 21.36.Australia’s opening game of the Champions Trophy is against England on February 22, and they have a one-off ODI in Sri Lanka on February 13 after the Test series, which is part of their preparation.Cummins captained Australia to the 2023 ODI World Cup title in India but has only played two games in the format since amid workload management.Australia have used a variety of stand-in captains in that period. Steven Smith led the side last season against West Indies before Mitchell Marsh had the role in England, with Smith again deputising for the deciding game of that series. Earlier this summer against Pakistan, Josh Inglis led the team in the final ODI in Perth.Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, is being earmarked for a return in the Champions Trophy after the selectors took a cautious approach to his recovery from the calf injury that ended his India series after Brisbane, which in itself was a comeback game after a side problem.Sean Abbott could make his Test debut in Sri Lanka•Getty Images

“Josh is working really hard and all the news of how he’s responding to his recovery from the calf injury is coming along really well,” Bailey said. “It’s just probably a little bit tight, given the amount of time that he would have missed and also with how we may structure up and the loads those quicks may be put under.”Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Sean Abbott are the three frontline quicks heading to Sri Lanka. Abbott could earn a Test debut on the tour, and it was his durability that earned him the nod.”In Sean’s favour, given outside of the conditions that we expect to face, he’s just robust,” Bailey said. “We know he can put a heavy body of work in should he be required.”

Under dark Durban skies, Sri Lanka had very nearly their perfect first morning of a first Test, their captain inserting the opposition, before his seamers removed four South Africa batters.But only 20.4 overs were possible on the first day before rain arrived just before scheduled lunch. It stayed put over Kingsmead, until play was called off at around 3pm.Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando had led Sri Lanka’s advances, zipping the ball around on a somewhat moist surface to frequently beat and occasionally collect the outside edges of South African bats.Vishwa, the left-arm quick, was especially disciplined, finding significant inswing in the air from over the wicket, as well as away movement off the deck. He took the wicket of Tony de Zorzi, who was caught by a diving Kamindu Mendis at second slip, soon after Asitha had Aiden Markram held in the cordon – both bowlers striking in their second over of the day.Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs scratched their way through to the drinks break, putting on 32 together, with many of those runs coming off the outside edge through deep third. But Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler, made amends for a wayward first over by having Stubbs fend one to third slip. Soon after, he nipped a ball through David Bedingham’s defenses to send his off stump cartwheeling – the most dramatic dismissal of a short day’s play.Sri Lanka could have had an even better morning but for two indiscretions. Bavuma, who survived 47 balls and ended the day on 28, should have been held by Dimuth Karunaratne for 1, but he grassed the low chance at second slip. That was off the bowling of Vishwa. Then, shortly before rain arrived to cut the session four minutes short, Bavuma edged a Kumara bouncer he was trying hook, but Kumara was found to have marginally overstepped. Bavuma was on his way to the dressing room when the umpires called him back. He was on 20 at that point.Bavuma, however, was perhaps the most restrained of South Africa’s batters. He covered the line of his stumps nicely as Sri Lanka’s opening bowlers plugged away in the channel, and though he frequently had his outside edge beaten, he did not appear especially eager to feel bat on ball. He had wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreyne for company when the showers came through.Though Kumara claimed two wickets, his four overs cost 35 runs. Asitha and Vishwa both went at less than three an over.The forecast for Thursday is for better weather. Sri Lanka will feel they did justice to the good bowling conditions they got by dint of having won the toss.

Josh Hazlewood will make his first appearance of the season for New South Wales as he builds up to the India Test series while Nathan Lyon has been rested.Hazlewood had been due to play last week’s One-Day Cup game against Victoria alongside Pat Cummins but withdrew on the morning of the match due to illness. It means the Sheffield Shield fixture against Queensland will be his first outing since the England tour finished in late September and will likely be his one competitive game before the first Test against India.It had been expected that Lyon would feature in three Shield matches before the Test series, but he has sent down 104 overs in the two matches he has played against South Australia and Victoria and it’s understood he is unlikely to have another run before facing India.A number of states have been significantly hit for round three of the Shield by Australia ODI and Australia A call-ups. From their previous XI, alongside Lyon, NSW are missing Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Sean Abbott, Sam Konstas and Josh Phillippe due to those concurrent series.Ollie Davies is also part of the Australia A squad but will only feature in the second four-day game next week at the MCG so is available to face Queensland. And in a boost for NSW, allrounder Jack Edwards is fit after a hamstring injury. Lyon’s absence means legspinner Tanveer Sangha will be able to return to the XI.Mitchell Swepson will captain Queensland with Marnus Labuschagne in ODI duty. They are also with Michael Neser (Australia A) and Mark Steketee (ankle), Gurinder Sandhu (calf), Callum Vidler (groin). Jimmy Peirson will be the wicketkeeper in the second Australia A match next week.Mahli Beardman is a chance to make his first-class debut for Western Australia after being named in a 13-man squad to play Tasmania in Hobart. Beardman was a shock selection on Australia’s recent limited-overs tour of the UK after playing just one List A game last summer. The Under-19 World Cup winner has played just one Second XI match for WA this summer returning figures of 1 for 30 and 1 for 25 from just 13.3 overs across the two innings. He’s also gone wicketless in his three WA premier cricket matches for his club side Melville.Uncontracted international spinner Ashton Agar has also been named in the squad with Corey Rocchiccioli rested ahead of his appearance for Australia A. Agar has not played a first-class match since his last Test appearance in January 2023. Joel Paris has been named for his first game of the Shield season. Cameron Bancroft (Australia A), Cooper Connolly (Australia A), Aaron Hardie (Australia ODI), Josh Inglis (Australia ODI) and Mitch Marsh (paternity leave) are all unavailable.Joel Curtis will keep wicket while Jhye Richardson has been named to play another Second XI game for WA as he continues to build his red-ball fitness. Lance Morris played a club T20 for Scarborough last Sunday but is still working back to full fitness from a quad injury.Tasmania have lost Beau Webster to Australia A duty but welcome back Gabe Bell and Lawrence Neil-Smith after the two seamers were rested from the last Shield clash with WA.South Australia are also missing key players with Nathan McSweeney captaining Australia A while pace bowlers Jordan Buckingham, Brendon Doggett and Nathan McAndrew are in the squad. Alex Carey, who has been in outstanding form, will captain against Victoria.Peter Siddle, who turns 40 later this month, has been recalled for his first Shield game of the season as Victoria are missing Scott Boland, Fergus O’Neill, Todd Murphy and Marcus Harris due to Australia A duty.New South Wales squad Jackson Bird, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hadley, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques (capt), Nic Maddinson, Blake Nikitaras, Kurtis Patterson, Tanveer SanghaQueensland squad 4. Mitchell Swepson (capt), Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Liam Guthrie, Lachlan Hearne, Usman Khawaja, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Jack Sinfield, Tom Straker, Jack WildermuthSouth Australia squad Alex Carey (capt), Harry Conway, Daniel Drew, Henry Hunt, Thomas Kelly, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Conor McInerney, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry ThorntonVictoria squad Will Sutherland (capt), Dylan Brasher, Ash Chandrasinghe, Sam Elliott, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Cam McClure, Jon Merlo, Mitch Perry, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Doug WarrenTasmania squad Gabe Bell, Jake Doran, Kieran Elliott, Brad Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Mitch Owen, Jordan Silk (capt), Charlie Wakim, Jake WeatheraldWestern Australia squad Sam Whiteman (capt), Ashton Agar, Mahli Beardman, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Joel Curtis, Sam Fanning, Cameron Gannon, Jayden Goodwin, Matt Kelly, Joel Paris, Ashton Turner, Teague Wyllie

Kagiso Rabada said he didn’t have his 300th Test wicket on his mind when the first Test against Bangladesh started on Monday, but was “really surprised at how the wicket played out” – 16 wickets fell on the day – and once the ball started seaming, he knew he was in business.”We thought it was going to turn, and not really nip, but with the new ball, there was a bit of movement,” Rabada said after the day’s play. “Not really much swing, but off the wicket, there was quite a bit of seam movement.”To be fair, that’s actually how it played in the nets. Generally, what you get in the nets is what you’ll get similarly in the middle. It’s turning for the spinners and seaming for the seamers too. We found that quite surprising. We don’t prepare the pitches, but that’s what was prepared, and it’s as simple as that.”Related

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Wiaan Mulder started things off with a burst of three wickets, preying on the Bangladesh top-order batters’ expansive strokes. Rabada got among the wickets in his second spell at around the hour-mark, and also reached a special milestone – his 300th Test wicket, and he became the fastest to the landmark in all these years of Test cricket, beating Waqar Younis’ 24-year-old record.Before he bowled a ball, however, Rabada was worried about how South Africa were going to force the issue, having been asked to bowl first at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, a ground with a reputation of producing raging turners. But between them, Mulder and Rabada had the home side at 45 for 5 in the 20th over.When Mushfiqur Rahim became the fourth batter to fall, Rabada had his landmark wicket. And it was a special delivery that did it, swinging enough and nipping in slightly to take out both the off and middle stumps.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“When I came on to bowl this morning, I wasn’t really thinking about that final wicket,” Rabada said. “I was more focused on how we were going to win this Test, especially after losing the toss and bowling first. But when it happened, it was just a relief. Everyone plays for milestones, but it was a relief. The way my team-mates support me, we support each other, and that felt really good.”It’s a special moment. As for the record, I didn’t know about it, but I guess it motivates me to do even better.”Rabada became the sixth South Africa bowler to 300 Test wickets after Dale Steyn (439), Shaun Pollock (421), Makhaya Ntini (390), Allan Donald (330) and Morne Morkel (309).The early damage, however, had been done by Mulder, who picked up the first three wickets to leave Bangladesh at 21 for 3.”He bowled unbelievably. He’s looked good ever since our camp back in South Africa. Credit to him – he’s worked really hard, and it shows,” Rabada said. “He didn’t really have to adjust much because he’s been bowling like this since the camp. I’m not surprised by the reward he got this morning. He was phenomenal, and I’m really happy for him.”South Africa, responding to Bangladesh’s 106 all out, ended the day on 140 for 6, with Taijul Islam picking up five wickets. So spin after seam. To the inevitable question about whether this type of pitch was good for Test cricket, Rabada smiled before choosing the diplomatic route.”I think there needs to be a balance in Test cricket. You want a fair contest between bat and ball. That’s the type of wicket you want,” he said. “You could argue that a bowling unit hasn’t bowled well or a batting unit hasn’t performed, and that’s the balance you’re always trying to weigh.”But with 16 wickets on day one, I’d say it’s leaning towards the bowlers. Test cricket should offer a fair contest between bat and ball, where bowlers get something if they bowl well, and batters can score if they apply themselves.”

New Zealand tend not to do especially well in Galle. Of their five Test defeats from as many games at the ground, one has been by an innings, another by ten wickets, and one more by 202 runs. Their latest Test at the venue, which ended in a 63-run defeat to Sri Lanka on Monday, when they went into the fifth morning with an outside shot of victory – 68 more runs to win, with two wickets remaining – represents their closest result here.But two players, in particular, stuck out. In his first outing in steaming conditions, and on a dry deck, seamer Will O’Rourke was frequently menacing – often touching 140kph – while sending down short deliveries on a pitch not especially conducive to short bowling. Vitally, for a bowler in his third Test, there were also no hugely loose spells. His takings were 8 for 104. Six of those dismissals were of top- or middle-order batters. Captain Tim Southee was suitably impressed by the 23-year-old.”Will’s had a very short Test career so far, and he’s certainly announced himself,” Southee said after the match. “We saw in New Zealand how dangerous he can be. He’s got the skills to have a very good Test career. For him to come to his first Test in the subcontinent and walk away with a very impressive eight wickets for the match is nothing short of special. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, and he’s a big guy. So there’s a lot to like about Will O’Rourke.”Related

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On the batting front, 24-year-old Rachin Ravindra produced his second-highest Test score – a characterful 92 on a treacherous fourth-innings pitch – as New Zealand pursued a tall 275. Ravindra is not quite so new to internationals, of course, having lit up last year’s ODI World Cup in India. But he remains a batter still finding his feet at the top level, and the clear-headed approach he took on day four – pouncing almost unnerringly on errors of length, while endeavouring to keep the score ticking – was especially impressive in his third Test in Asia.”Rachin kept us in the hunt with that chase,” Southee said. “We knew it was [a] tough ask, and that it was going to take something special, with the wicket taking a lot of turn in these last couple of days. It was a great knock in those conditions.”It’s not easy to bat – the ball was spinning, and doing all sorts [of things]. For a young guy without a lot of experience in this part of the world to go out and get 90-odd was great signs for him as well. He’s another one that’s an exceptional talent, and he’s had a little taste of international cricket as well, and done exceptionally well. He’s a great young kid with a good head on his shoulders.”Tim Southee called Rachin Ravindra an “exceptional talent” after the Galle Test•AP

For Southee, it was New Zealand’s batting collapse on the third morning that was the definitive portion of the match. They had been 255 for 4 in their first innings overnight, only 50 runs adrift of Sri Lanka’s total. But they then lost six wickets for 71 runs, as the middle and lower orders succumbed to finger spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis. In the end, their lead was only 35, when it had threatened to be much more.”I guess the position where we got ourselves in, in the first innings, was good. But the last four or five fell for not many, and there was an opportunity to get a bigger first-innings lead,” he said. “We knew that that second new ball was going to be tough given the nature of the wicket and the quality of the Sri Lankan spin bowlers.”If you look at those moments, if we were able to press on and get more of a lead, things could have been different. It was still a good Test match. There’s plenty of good things we can take into the next couple of days.”

No play Persistent rain allowed no play, not even the toss, on the first day of the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. The umpires had an inspection at noon, even though the rain had not stopped, and called it off for the day. The chances of play were so bleak that the teams had not even left their hotel.There is a forecast for more rain later in the day; it is expected to be overcast for much of tomorrow as well. On Thursday, too, the teams had to cancel their practice sessions because of rain.Bangladesh lead the two-match series 1-0 after registering their maiden Test win over Pakistan in the previous outing. Pakistan had fielded an all-pace attack then but included legspinner Abrar Ahmed in their XII this time. For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed is fit and is expected to replace fellow fast bowler Nahid Rana. But we will have to wait at least until Saturday morning for the playing XIs.According to the original schedule, this Test was supposed to be played in Karachi but the PCB shifted it to Rawalpindi because of ongoing construction at the National Stadium.

Middlesex 319 for 5 (Stoneman 83, Fernandes 83, Broad 3-65) beat Northamptonshire 317 for 9 (Shaw 76, Miller 73, Zaib 58, Hollman 3-49) by five wicketsMark Stoneman and Nathan Fernandes shared a stand of 128 to get Middlesex’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign up and running with victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Radlett.The left-handed duo were joint top-scorers for the home side with 83 apiece before Martin Andersson (35 not out from 23 balls) and Jack Davies (31 not out from 17) completed the job with 11 deliveries to spare.Gus Miller struck a career-best 73 from 68 for the Steelbacks, with Prithvi Shaw and Saif Zaib also scoring half-centuries before Justin Broad hammered an unbeaten 38 from just 20 at the back end of the innings, enabling his side to post 317 for nine.But, although Broad took three for 65, including two wickets in as many balls, it was not enough for the visitors – who now slip behind Middlesex at the foot of Group A after three consecutive defeats.Having won the toss and chosen to bat, the Steelbacks suffered early setbacks as both Emilio Gay and Ricardo Vasconcelos perished to edges behind off pacy left-armer Noah Cornwell (two for 54).Shaw was soon into his stride, however, overcoming the often unpredictable bounce to slam a series of boundaries and pulled Ishaan Kaushal for the first six of the game as he sped to his half-century from 33 deliveries.The India international (76 from 58) shared a partnership of 77 with George Bartlett, only for the pair to depart in successive overs – each repeating strokes they had previously been fortunate to get away with and enabling Josh de Caires to take his tally of catches to three.De Caires soon snapped up a fourth when Lewis McManus drove Henry Brookes to mid-off, but Northamptonshire’s sixth-wicket pair rebuilt steadily, with Miller the more aggressive as he struck the ball cleanly and powerfully.Having advanced beyond 50, Miller slog-swept Luke Hollman over the fence before cutting him to backward point later in the over, while Zaib – having taken an hour to find the boundary – also began to accelerate.Although Zaib holed out for 58, Broad’s late flurry lifted the Steelbacks well above the 300 mark, with the final over from Brookes disappearing for 22.Middlesex began their reply briskly, with Joe Cracknell cutting and pulling to good effect and he and De Caires passed 50 during the eighth over before the latter was pinned in front for Miller’s maiden career wicket.Cracknell (49 from 52) seemed to become bogged down as he neared what would have been his second half-century in as many games and feathered one behind off Broad, who then knocked back Sam Robson’s off stump with his next delivery.At 90 for three, Middlesex needed a substantial partnership and Stoneman took charge of his alliance with Fernandes, dominating the strike and pulling Raphy Weatherall crisply to the fence to reach his half-century at a run a ball.While Stoneman found the boundary with regularity, the required rate escalated above eight an over and Middlesex hopes were dented when the captain chopped on to Broad with 100 still needed.But Fernandes picked up the baton, launching Zaib for three consecutive fours before he was caught in the deep and Davies slammed 20 off Broad’s final over before clipping Weatherall for another boundary to wrap up the win.