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Who’s playing

Delhi Capitals vs UP Warriorz
Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, 7:30pm IST

What to expect: Battle of middle-orders

That Capitals have the most successful opening combination in the WPL meant that the middle order has escaped scrutiny. But not anymore, after they almost lost their opening fixture this season and then went down heavily to RCB. Capitals’ middle-order batters (Nos. 4 to 7) average 21.97, which is the lowest in the WPL. Jess Jonassen (13), Marizanne Kapp (12) and Jemimah Rodrigues (12) have batted the most innings in these positions for them.In stark contrast, UP Warriorz have the best average for these positions (28.44), with Deepti Sharma (14), Grace Harris (14) and Tahlia McGrath (9) being the regulars. This could partly be attributed to the fact that they have used five opening pairs across the three seasons.Related

• Athapaththu to leave WPL early to play for Sri Lanka

A stronger show in the middle order could end up having a say in which way the contest sways. Warriorz are yet to get off the mark, having lost their opening game to Gujarat Giants.

Team news and likely XIs

Capitals played their full-strength XI in the last outing against RCB. Expect them to go in with a similar structure that allows them batters till No. 11.Delhi Capitals (possible): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Annabel Sutherland, 5 Marizanne Kapp, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Sarah Bryce (wk), 8 Shikha Pandey, 9 Radha Yadav, 10 Arundhati Reddy, 11 Minnu ManiWarriorz could think of getting in Poonam Khemnar to shore up the lower middle-order firepower. There could also be a case to play Anjali Sarvani for the left-arm seam angle.UP Warriorz (possible): 1 Kiran Navgire, 2 Vrinda Dinesh, 3 Uma Chetry (wk), 4 Deepti Sharma (capt), 5 Tahlia McGrath, 6 Grace Harris, 7 Shweta Sehrawat/Poonam Khemnar, 8 Alana King, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Saima Thakor, 11 Kranti Goud

Players to watch: Shikha Pandey and Kiran Navgire

Overlooked from the Indian side after the T20 World Cup 2023, Shikha Pandey continues to grab the spotlight with performances in T20 competitions around the world. After the WPL last year, she played in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League, Women’s Big Bash League and Women’s Super Smash, picking up 25 wickets across them. She’s begun WPL 2025 on the right note – keeping MI in check in the opening game and conceding runs at 6.75 runs per over against RCB even when the scoring rate was close to nine. She has been the third-most economical bowler in WPL 2025 so far.Kiran Navgire opened the batting with Vrinda Dinesh for UP Warriorz•BCCI

In the WPL, Kiran Navgire takes a liking to spin. She has a strike rate of 156.84 against spin (95 balls faced) as opposed to 106.50 against pace (123 balls) in the competition. She has been dismissed 22 times by pace and only five times by spin in the WPL. When she hit 125 not out against Arunachal Pradesh in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy earlier this season, four of her five sixes came against the spin duo of Shivi Yadav and Reetika Agarwal. Is there a case for Warriorz to bat Navgire in the middle order? Or for her to see off fast bowling and wait for spin, in case she continues to open?

Key stats

• Deepti Sharma is one of only four players in the WPL with over 400 runs and 15-plus wickets.
• Meg Lanning, the leading run-scorer of the WPL, has been in a slightly lean patch in T20 cricket. She has only three half-centuries (one of them in the Hundred) and averages 21.34 since the last WPL.
• Since her ODI best of 3 for 62 against Australia, Saima Thakor has picked up just one wicket in nine outings across formats. She went wicketless in Warriorz’s first match.

Mitchell Owen had a rollicking Bellerive Oval crowd in the palm of his hands and capped a breakout season with the equal-fastest BBL century as Hobart Hurricanes powered to their first title in style.Hurricanes needed a seemingly tricky 183 runs, but they achieved the highest chase in a BBL final with ease after Owen produced an innings for the ages. He reached his century off 39 balls – within 10 overs – and finished with 108 off 42 including 11 sixes.Related

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• 'It's super special, it's a childhood dream' – Owen on Hurricanes' 'surreal' night

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• From 74 all out to the BBL final: Hurricanes a win away from history

Ben McDermott and Matthew Wade finished the job as Hurricanes rolled to a seven-wicket victory with 35 balls to spare.It was a disappointment for Thunder, who started brightly after being sent it with a 97-run opening partnership between captain David Warner and Jason Sangha before they were pegged back by quicks Nathan Ellis and Riley Meredith.Warner fell short of being a winning captain less than six months after having his lifetime leadership ban overturned.Owen decimates ThunderAs Hurricanes started their chase, ESPNcricinfo’s predictor had Thunder at a 61% chance of winning. It wasn’t long for Hurricanes to surge into heavy favourites after Owen’s whirlwind. After four overs, Hurricanes were 74 for 0 with Owen 58 off 18 balls having smashed six monstrous sixes and five boundaries.The promotion of seam bowling allrounder Owen from the middle-lower order to opener has been a masterstroke. Owen saved his best for last as he backed his successful formula of swinging hard and muscling the ball over hapless fielders.Mitchell Owen celebrates a stunning century•Getty Images

There was no stage fright for Owen as he got rolling by launching quick Nathan McAndrew over deep midwicket for six then hitting consecutive boundaries in an opening over yielding 23 runs.Warner reverted to the reliable option of left-arm spinner Tom Andrews, but Owen was undaunted and smashed a huge six over deep midwicket. He then continually thumped quick Wes Agar as he soon motored to his half-century off 16 balls – the third fastest in tournament history.There was no let up even with the fielding restrictions eased as he continued his assault. With giddy fans chanting his name, Owen eyed the fastest BBL century – a record set by Craig Simmons in 2014. He couldn’t break it, but he matched the long-standing mark to earn a standing ovation as he lapped up the applause. Owen finally fell in the 11th over but the damage was done.His heroics will certainly gain attention far and wide – from the national selectors to other franchise leagues.Thunder’s attack have no answers, Sangha tries his bestTo be fair, few attacks could probably have stopped Owen in that zone. But Thunder started sloppily and continually bowled right in his favoured hitting arc.They slumped in the field too with Matthew Gilkes at cover dropping opener Caleb Jewell on 5 and Warner in the same sequence missing a chance to run out Owen at the bowler’s end.The only bright spot was legspinner Tanveer Sangha, who finished the season strongly having bowled well since returning to the side after injury. He claimed Jewell and Nikhil Chaudhary in the eighth over to give Thunder hope before he succumbed to the Owen show.Ellis hauls Hurricanes back with superb slower deliveriesOvershadowed by their belligerent batting order, Hurricanes’ versatile attack has been just as important but nothing worked in Thunder’s opening 10 overs. Meredith was counterattacked with the new ball, while spinners Peter Hatzoglou and Chaudhary, both so miserly this season, were under an avalanche from Warner and Sangha.The drinks break came at an opportune time for Hurricanes and Ellis put the onus on himself to get his team back in the contest. He did exactly that by nicking off Warner before on the next ball completely deceiving Gilkes with a trademark slower delivery.Nathan Ellis struck twice in one over to change the game•Getty Images

Ellis came close to securing a hat-trick when Sam Billings nervously drove just short of mid-off, but he continued to have an impact. He made the right move in the 15th over and deployed Meredith, who justified the decision with a cracking yorker to clean bowl Billings.Ellis proved why he is right on the fringes of Australia’s white-ball teams with superb execution in the latter overs, dismissing Sangha with another slower delivery at a crucial time before the power surge. He then conceded just six runs in the second over of the power surge to finish a stellar season in style with 3 for 23 from 4 oversSangha and Warner silence crowd initiallyAll eyes were on Warner, but he was initially overshadowed by Jason Sangha who was playing just his third BBL game of the season. He made an impact at the top of the order in his return against Sydney Sixers in the Challenger, bolstering a thin Thunder batting order.After a cautious start, Sangha went after Meredith in the third over. Meredith had shaken up Sixers’ top-order in the qualifying final, but Sangha decided to meet fire with fire. He rocked on the back foot and hammered a six over deep square before smashing a boundary through backward point.Thunder got through the powerplay wicketless for just the second time this season. Sangha scored 30 of 40 runs before Warner got in on the act after the fielding restrictions were eased. He was inventive and reversed lapped Hatzoglou before reverse sweeping seamer Chris Jordan over gully. A feature was Warner’s running, racing between the wickets with such speed to belie his advancing age.Warner and Sangha continued to mix power with placement as they got through to drinks with Thunder well paced at 97 for 0. But Thunder could not capitalise on their platform and their lack of batting depth was exposed. Chris Green added a couple of vital boundaries in the last over, but it proved ultimately nowhere near enough.

Jason Gillespie has resigned as head coach of the Pakistan Test side, according to the PCB. This was officially confirmed after a few days of lingering uncertainty, culminating in Gillespie refusing to board his flight to join the Pakistan Test team in South Africa. Gillespie’s scheduled flight to South Africa was at 6AM Adelaide time on Friday, but he informed the PCB he had no intention of boarding it, deciding instead to walk away as relations between the coach and the board hit an all-time low. Aaqib Javed will take over as Test coach on an interim basis for the series in South Africa; he is currently the interim coach of both white-ball sides.ESPNcricinfo had first reported that Gillespie’s days as head coach of Pakistan were done last month, and that Aaqib would take over across formats. At the time, the PCB responded by refuting that story, insisting Gillespie would be coach for the two Tests against South Africa, while pointedly declining to commit to stating that he would see out his contract. However, the relationship between the board and the coach only went from bad to worse, and Gillespie would not take charge of another Test for Pakistan again.As ESPNcricinfo first reported, Gillespie was left particularly angered after the PCB decided against renewing high-performance red-ball coach Tim Nielsen’s contract, and had been left considering his options. Gillespie was offended he wasn’t consulted, or even told, before that decision was taken, and is understood to have left a lack of respect on part of the PCB. Nielsen told ESPNcricinfo he was happy to continue, and fully available for Pakistan’s Test series in South Africa and at home against the West Indies next month, but he was informed his services would no longer be required.Related

• Gillespie: I was 'completely and utterly blindsided' by the PCB

• Ramiz on Kirsten's departure: 'Not going to be easy for Pakistan to hire international talent'

• Aaqib Javed set to replace Gillespie as Pakistan head coach

• Kirsten resigns as Pakistan's white-ball coach

This appears to have been the final straw for Gillespie. ESPNcricinfo understands he communicated his intention not to travel under present circumstances to the board. Whether the PCB have made contact with him to persuade him to travel is unclear; a source close to Gillespie said the PCB had made no contact with him over the past day.Either way, a relationship which has continually fractured over the past few months reached breaking point. Gillespie was hired by the PCB to great fanfare alongside Gary Kirsten in April, with chairman Mohsin Naqvi saying his “stellar track record” preceded him. But since October, the board has cooled on the Australian, initially removing him from the selection panel for the Test side. It left him believing he was merely a “matchday analyst” pointing out it wasn’t what he signed up for. He is believed to have had negligible input on the selection of the Test squad for the tour of South Africa, and was out of the loop for the decision not to extend Nielsen’s contract.There was limited communication between Gillespie and the board since the end of Pakistan’s white-ball series in Australia, where he coached the side on an interim basis after Kirsten quit. The PCB did initially ask Gillespie to take up that position until the Champions Trophy, but without an accompanying financial offer to reflect the increased scope of his role. It was another factor that led to relations between the board and the head coach being strained.Gillespie’s anger is understood to partly stem from what he felt was a great rapport Nielsen had developed with the players, a point he had made more than once in public. It is believed both Gillespie and Nielsen consider the fact that Nielsen is not based in Pakistan as the reason his contract hasn’t been extended, though, as Nielsen confirmed, he would have been available for the upcoming two tours in their entirety.While it is understood the PCB has not yet made a decision on any potential replacement for Nielsen, the current administration has sought to replace overseas coaches it appointed earlier in the year with Pakistan-based ones. Aaqib, who took over the white-ball teams on an interim basis next month, now becomes the all-format coach, and is also on the selection panel.Gillespie resigning potentially spares the PCB from paying out the entirety of the remainder of his contract, as they would have needed to if they had decided to sack him. It was believed to be a consideration in Gillespie’s initial reluctance to quit, even as it became clear the PCB no longer wanted him there.Pakistan play the first Test in Centurion on December 26, with the second in Cape Town starting on January 3.

Big picture: A new era for Bangladesh

Instead of a legend’s goodbye, the Dhaka Test will now be Bangladesh’s first Test in the post-Shakib Al Hasan era, after the government advised Shakib not to come to the country, due to security reasons. Bangladesh are also dealing with a change of head coach, as the BCB has sacked Chandika Hathurusinghe and swiftly appointed Phil Simmons.South Africa, meanwhile, are quietly preparing for their first Test in Bangladesh in nine years. To counter their lack of experience in Bangladesh, the visitors are reportedly spending long hours in the nets at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada are the only survivors from their last tour of Bangladesh, when rain forced both Tests to be drawn. Bavuma will miss the first Test due to an elbow injury, which means Aiden Markram leads the side. South Africa are likely to have at least one debutant in their top four to replace Bavuma. The T20 star Dewald Brevis could be the one stepping up.Related

• Shakib, from darling of the masses to enemy of the people

• Amid the drama, new coach Simmons wants Bangladesh to 'focus on the cricket'

• Hathurusinghe questions BCB's motives after sacking

• Shakib 'unavailable' for first SA Test, Murad called in as replacement

• BCB terminates Hathurusinghe's contract as Bangladesh head coach

South Africa’s batting will largely depend on Markram and his opening partner Tony de Zorzi, while David Briedingham and Tristan Stubbs have to handle the middle order. The experienced Keshav Maharaj leads the bowling attack, while Rabada could be required to do mostly holding jobs if the Dhaka pitch’s last rating is anything to go by.New Zealand captain Tim Southee called it “probably the worst pitch” he had ever seen, after the spinners completely dominated proceedings last December.Bangladesh already have three frontline spinners, before adding left-arm spinner Hasan Murad in place of Shakib. At least three are likely to feature in Dhaka, which could leave them with the dilemma whether to play four or five bowlers. There is no obvious replacement for Shakib of course, but Bangladesh will be hoping they can settle on a balanced XI soon.

Form guide

Bangladesh LLWWL (last five Tests, most recent first)South Africa WDLLL

In the spotlight: Hasan Mahmud and David Bedingham

Hasan Mahmud has made a promising start to his Test career. The slim medium-pacer bowls a mean line and length on a dime outside offstump. Debuting earlier this year, Mahmud has already taken five-wicket hauls in Pakistan and India. His 20 wickets in five Tests is easily the best start by a Bangladesh fast bowler. A home Test is always a challenge, particularly at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, but Mahmud’s discipline will come in handy.Fresh off a strong county season for Durham, David Bedingham has a new challenge in front of him: playing in the sub-continent for the first time. That means the stylish middle-order batter will be up against skillful spinners. It could be an important tour for the 30-year-old who has only six Tests under his belt.A lot of South Africa’s batting will depend on Aiden Markram and his opening partner Tony de Zorzi•AFP/Getty Images

Team news: Brevis could debut; Bangladesh mull five bowlers

Playing five specialist bowlers would mean Bangladesh promoting Mehidy Hasan Miraz to No 5. The other option would be to leave out one of the pacers, and bringing in Jaker Ali to debut in the middle-order.Bangladesh XI (probable): 1 Zakir Hasan, 2 Shadman Islam, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Nayeem Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Hasan MahmudTemba Bavuma’s injury could mean that Dewald Brevis debuts at No 4. South Africa have pace options, but the left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy could replace the injured Nandre Burger.South Africa (probable): 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Tristan Stubbs, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Bedingham, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Senuran Muthusamy, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Dane Piedt

Pitch and conditions: Has the Dhaka pitch improved?

The ICC rated the Dhaka pitch unsatisfactory in its previous Test in December last year, and it remains to be seen if the curator Gamini Silva has put in the work in the last ten months. There’s some rain in the forecast from the third day.

Stats and trivia

Spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Rob Keogh combined forces again to share seven wickets and give Northamptonshire the upper hand on the opening day of their Vitality County Championship game against Leicestershire.The pair, who bowled Northamptonshire to their first victory of the Division Two campaign last week, dismissed the visitors for 203 at Wantage Road, with Chahal taking 4 for 82 and Keogh 3 for 20. Opener Sol Budinger’s 56 was the only score of note for Leicestershire, who opted to bat after winning the toss but struggled to get to grips with the home spinners.Paceman Scott Currie picked up two wickets as Northamptonshire reached stumps at 134 for 3 in reply, with James Sales undefeated on 34.Rishi Patel, who blazed a majestic hundred during Leicestershire’s Vitality Blast visit to Northampton earlier in the summer, registered a duck this time as he fell to Saif Zaib’s low catch at point.Budinger, back in the Foxes’ four-day line-up for the first time since late June, cracked Ben Sanderson for successive off-side boundaries, while Ian Holland looked more skittish at the crease. Holland batted almost an hour for 12 before he fell victim to Chahal’s third ball, bowled attempting an ambitious reverse paddle – and the Indian leg-spinner was unlucky not to gain further reward prior to lunch.Chahal had strong lbw appeals against both Lewis Hill and Budinger turned down, but it was fellow spinner Keogh who achieved the breakthrough just before the interval, castling the Leicestershire skipper for 32 with one that pitched and turned. Rehan Ahmed should have followed without scoring soon after the resumption, driving Chahal straight to mid-on only for Sanderson to fumble the catch, one of several instances of sloppiness in the field.Despite that, Northamptonshire captured wickets at regular intervals, with Budinger – having reached his first half-century of the campaign – leg before to Jack White and Louis Kimber nudging Sanderson behind. Rehan belted Chahal over the top for two sixes in his quickfire 30, but picked out the long-off fielder when he tried it a third time before Ben Cox swung and missed to provide the spinner with another wicket.Liam Trevaskis, who survived what looked suspiciously like a bat-pad catch off Keogh, did enough to shepherd the Leicestershire innings beyond 200, finishing unbeaten on 25 as the spinners cleaned up the tail on the stroke of tea.Luke Procter launched the home side’s response with an unconvincing edge off Holland that whistled between first and second slips, but the skipper soon settled down and advanced the scoring rate with a series of cleaner strokes. Having rattled off an uncharacteristically rapid 38 from 36 balls, Procter was caught behind swishing outside off stump at Currie – who also pinned George Bartlett in front for a fifth-ball duck in his next over.Gus Miller batted solidly, digging out a vicious yorker from Currie before he began to play with greater freedom and looked on course for a maiden half-century as he dispatched successive Tom Scriven deliveries to the rope.However, those hopes were dashed when Miller was given out lbw to Scriven for 37, despite appearing to get a thick edge onto his pads and it was left to Sales and Keogh to steer their side through to the close.

Left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera, 38, has been named in Sri Lanka’s women’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad, with 21-year-old seamer Kawya Kavindi making way. Ranaweera had been left out of the squad for the women’s Asia Cup, which Sri Lanka won, in July. She had also been omitted from Sri Lanka’s squads to Ireland, more recently.But with the T20 World Cup likely to be played on pitches that favour spin in the UAE, the experienced Ranaweera has been recalled. Although her bowling has not been especially penetrative in the shortest format this year, she does have 91 T20I wickets from 82 appearances for Sri Lanka, with an economy rate of 5.86.Kavindi’s omission, however, means Sri Lanka have just three main seam-bowling options in their World Cup squad: Udeshika Prabodhani, Achini Kulasuriya, and Ama Kanchana.Related

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Their spin cupboard is fuller. Ranaweera joins Inoshi Priyadharshani, Sugandika Kumari, and Kavisha Dilhari, who may all play a role throughout the campaign. There is also always the offspin of captain Chamari Athapaththu.On the batting front, a Sri Lanka squad has never looked stronger. In addition to their talisman Athapaththu, the likes of Harshitha Samarawickrama, and 18-year-old Vishmi Gunaratne have also been among the runs in the last few months. Their triumph in the Asia Cup will give them confidence that they can push for a place in the final four of the T20 World Cup.The World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 3. Sri Lanka are in Group A for the first round, alongside Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

Sri Lanka squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilshari, Nilakshi de Silva, Hasini Perera, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sachini Nisansala, Udeshika Prabodhani, Inoshi Priyadharshani, Achini Kulasuriya, Inoka Ranaweera, Shashini Gimhani, Ama Kanchana, Sugandika KumariTravelling reserve: Kaushini Nuthyangana

Yorkshire are closing in on victory over Division Two leaders Sussex at Hove following Ben Coad’s new-ball five-for at Scarborough, setting up a victory target of 103 late on day three.Sussex started the day on 26 without loss in their second innings, 111 runs behind the league’s third-placed side, and were bowled out for 239 as seamer Coad returned five for 69. His wickets came with the first and second new balls.Half-centuries for Tom Alsop and captain John Simpson, who top-scored with 67, meant the visitors were not over-run. But they realistically needed more to defy a Yorkshire attack who kept on coming at them.The hosts then closed the day on 28 for 2 from 10 overs and require 75 more to seal a third win in as many four-day games. Sussex were teetering at lunch against their third-placed rivals, 66 for three in their second innings and still 71 runs in arrears. Only their second defeat of 2024 looked like it might come quickly.However, Alsop with 61 – his second fifty of the match – and Simpson held things up with a fifth-wicket partnership of 85, compiled through the majority of the afternoon.A 45-minute rain delay from 11.10am cut 10 overs from the day’s allocation of 103. Yorkshire still had enough time before lunch to prise out three Sussex wickets.George Hill claimed two of them with his seam after Fin Bean had helped Coad strike with a stunning one-handed leaping catch above his head at third slip to remove the Australian opener Daniel Hughes. That wicket had come in the opening stages of the day, before the rain.Afterwards, Hill had Tom Haines caught by Bean at first slip and Tom Clark caught behind by Jonny Bairstow – his first catch of the match. Both Toms were out playing loosely.By now, Sussex were faced with a pitch showing significant signs of invariable bounce. Clark, for example, faced balls which rapped him on the gloves from Jordan Thompson and shot past his ankle from Hill en route to 17. Thompson himself struck in the early stages of the afternoon when he uprooted James Coles’ leg stump.But that paved the way for the Sussex fightback, with Alsop and Simpson – their two most prolific batters this season – wiping out the remaining 53-run deficit and claiming a lead. Largely, they advanced with caution, though Alsop, who drove nicely, did reverse sweep one of his boundaries off Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin.By the time tea arrived, Sussex were 164 for 4, 27 ahead and Alsop had reached a 125-ball fifty. Their partnership was closing in on three figures when Alsop was caught behind at the second attempt by Bairstow on the cut.And when Fynn Hudson-Prentice was run out at the striker’s end having been sent back by Simpson, with Jonny Tattersall from backward point and Bairstow combining, Sussex were 179 for six in the 78th over, leading by 42 and with the new ball on the horizon.That new ball worked immediately for Yorkshire, with Coad getting Jack Carson caught behind. At 188 for 7, the earlier good work of Alsop and Simpson was threatening to be undermined. So it proved.As Simpson reached his fifty off 129 balls, Ollie Robinson clubbed a quick 28, only for him to be caught behind off Coad. Bairstow’s fourth catch of the day left Sussex 226 for eight, leading by 89.Coad had Jaydev Unadkat caught at mid-on shortly afterwards before bowling Simpson, who tried to ramp a second six as he was shorn of partners, to wrap things up with his 35th wicket of the campaign. No bowler has taken more in Division Two this season.Unadkat and Robinson then had Bean and Thompson caught in the slips – 18 for 2 – to at least give Sussex a glimmer of hope that they can achieve what would be a remarkable turnaround.

Warwickshire 328 for 3 (Barnard 173) beat Essex 324 for 7 (Browne 75, Hannon-Dalby 3-69) by seven wicketsEd Barnard continued his summer love affair with the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford, by hammering his highest score in List A cricket.Warwickshire’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup captain followed up his personal-best 165 in the Vitality Championship reverse in May by carrying his bat with a 140-ball 173 to underpin a seven-wicket victory over Essex. Barnard, whose previous best was 161, was ably assisted in match-defining stands by Rob Yates, Will Rhodes and Michael Burgess as last year’s semi-finalists eased home with 14 balls to spare.Essex, who won just one game in the 2023 campaign, were again on the receiving end after being put in a green-tinged wicket in front of a crowd of 2,462. And that despite Nick Browne claiming his fourth List A career half-century with seven fours, one of them all run, in an innings of 75 from 90 balls.The left-handed opener shared stands of 51 with Feroze Khushi, 71 with Robin Das and 55 with Charlie Allison, who went on to contribute a 72-ball 69 and engage in a swashbuckling partnership of 70 with Luc Benkenstein. Olly Hannon-Dalby, meanwhile, chipped in with three wickets in nine balls to finish with 3 for 69.Chasing a target of six and a half an over to record their highest successful List A run chase, Warwickshire had 97 on the board inside 16 overs when Yates played across one from Tom Westley and was lbw for 42. Both he and Barnard clubbed Noah Thain for sixes with Barnard pulling Ben Allison for another over square leg.Barnard reached fifty from 39 balls, three figures from a further 50 and 120 balls in t4otla for his 150. He was not finished there, adding a third maximum over long-off against the luckless Thain, and then bringing up the century partnership with Will Rhodes in a further 16 overs. A fourth six marked his 150.The stand had moved on to 107 when Rhodes, on 41, skied one from Jamal Richards so high that three players converged before debutant wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes put his name to the catch.Hamza Shaikh did not trouble the scorers, but Burgess was quickly into the groove by sweeping the wicket-taker Benkenstein for six in an over that eventually went for 18 runs. He repeated the dose with an enormous drive off Aaron Beard over long-on and another from a Ben Allison free-hit to bring up the century partnership for the fourth wicket. His own half-century took just 34 balls as he finished on 59 not out from 42 balls.Earlier in the day, Khushi had bought up Essex’s opening fifty by pulling Barnard for four and six off successive balls before he fell next ball to one that nipped back and bowled him.Barnard had a second when Tom Westley was beaten by a slower delivery and went lbw. Das hung around for 14 overs until he tried to swing Rhodes over midwicket for what would have been only a third four in his 52-ball 35 and was bowled.Browne reached his half-century from 60 balls and celebrated by executing an uncharacteristic reverse sweep for four. He was finally fourth man out with the score on 199 when he picked out midwicket halfway back to the boundary to give Rhodes a second wicket.Of the young guns who took over in the middle, Allison was particularly strong through extra cover where the majority of his seven fours came, while Benkenstein launched sixes over extra cover and long-off.Benkenstein had reached 44 from 27 balls when he wafted at Hannon-Dalby and didn’t wait for the umpire before turning on his heels and walking off. That was the first of the Warwickshire pace bowler’s quickfire treble with Thain and Allison perishing in the deep.

Sri Lanka 93 for 5 (Gunaratne 50, Dilhari 28, Ramharack 2-29) beat West Indies 92 (Williams 24, Dilhari 4-20, Athapaththu 2-8, Kulasuriya 2-16)Vishmi Gunaratne’s half century and Kavisha Dilhari’s star turn with bat and ball secured a five-wicket win for Sri Lanka in the second ODI against West Indies in Hambantota, and with it a series victory as they went 2-0 up with a game to go. It is Sri Lanka’s first series win against the West Indies since 2008.After Sri Lanka were set a target of just 93, Gunaratne’s run-a-ball 50 broke the spine of the chase on a sluggish Sooriyawewa surface. It was particularly impressive as it followed the early dismissals of both Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama inside the first 10 overs.With Dilhari (28 off 38) for company, Gunaratne made it seem as if she was batting on a different surface to the rest, plundering nine fours and a six in her innings – West Indies as a whole had hit only 13 boundaries.When Gunaratne fell, mistiming a full-toss to mid-off, Sri Lanka needed just 14 more for victory. Karishma Ramharack grabbed the wickets of Hasini Perera and Dilhari shortly after, to finish with innings best figures of 2 for 29, but there would be no late jitters as Sri Lanka sauntered to victory with 172 balls to spare.It was a win set up by the bowlers, particularly the spinners. Dilhari’s figures of 4 for 20 were the best of the innings, but she was ably supported by the left-arm orthodox pairing of Sachini Nisansala and Sugandika Kumari, who kept up the pressure from the other end.The visitors for their part struggled to turn over the strike effectively, with an alarming number of dots played out through the innings. Of their total, 52 runs came in boundaries and just 40 from running between wickets, despite their batting out 31 overs.Rashada Williams showed patience at the top of the order with a 62-ball 24 but was cleaned up by a Kumari arm ball. The pace pairing of Udeshika Prabodhani and Achini Kulasuriya were also miserly at the start of the innings, with the latter rewarded for a seven-over opening spell with the two wickets – the pinpoint yorker arrowed in on leg stump to Shermaine Campbelle a particular highlight.After West Indies stumbled to 54 for 6, Aaliyah Alleyne and Afy Fletcher opted for an aggressive approach, and it worked briefly. Their 28-run seventh-wicket stand came at better than run-a-ball but was snuffed out when Alleyne missed a straight one from Aththapathu. Fletcher was the penultimate wicket to fall, lbw off Dilhari, who wrapped up the innings a ball later.