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Ben Sears has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy with a hamstring injury. Sears, who was also part of New Zealand’s squad for the tri-series in Pakistan, felt pain in his left hamstring at the team’s training session in Karachi on Wednesday.A subsequent scan revealed a minor tear that would require at least two weeks’ rehabilitation, New Zealand Cricket said in a statement. That meant Sears would have been available only from the team’s final group match onwards, against India in Dubai on March 2, the decision was made to rule him out.Sears played both of New Zealand’s league-stage games in the tri-series, but went wicketless after 16 overs, conceding 104 runs in them.Related

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Jacob Duffy, who is also part of the tri-series squad, has replaced Sears for the Champions Trophy.”We’re all really feeling for Ben,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. “It’s always tough being ruled out of a major event at such a late stage, and it’s especially tough in Ben’s case given it would have been his first major ICC event.”The timeframes for Ben to be fit to play again meant he would likely miss the majority of the group stage, and given the short nature of the tournament, we felt it was appropriate to bring in a player who is fully fit and ready to go.”Ben is a player with huge potential and given the short rehabilitation timeframe, we’re sure he’ll be fit and raring to go for the home series against Pakistan back in New Zealand.”Duffy has played ten ODIs, in which he has picked up 18 wickets. In the home ODI series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, he took four wickets in two games.”Jacob showed with his performances in the recent home series against Sri Lanka that he is more than capable at international level,” Stead said. “He’s been part of the squad for the ODI tri-series so he’s fully acclimatised and he’s got plenty of experience in these conditions and is fit and ready to go.”He’s another player who will be experiencing his first senior ICC event, so it will be an exciting few weeks ahead for him.”New Zealand will face Pakistan in the tri-series final in Karachi on Friday. Their first match of the Champions Trophy is also against Pakistan, at the same venue, on Wednesday.

India batter Jemimah Rodrigues is glad to have ended her seven-year wait for a maiden international hundred, adding that her “patience” and the way she “shifted gears” helped her achieve the milestone. Her match-winning 102 against Ireland in the second ODI in Rajkot also helped India to their highest-ever ODI total of 370.”Feels great, it was a long-awaited one, and glad I could do it for the team today,” Rodrigues said. “I just tried to keep small targets and just kept achieving it. And I like the way that I shifted gears today. Initially I showed a lot of patience, which was again a big positive for me because it was important for me to spend time there to get those runs. And you know, I was getting the runs. But I was not spending enough time to make it bigger. So I was happy I could do that today.”Related

• Rodrigues' maiden international hundred seal series win for India

• Stats – India break partnership records, post their highest-ever ODI total

• Jemimah Rodrigues – a new star in the making

Rodrigues revealed she took inspiration from her Under-19 days to work towards three digits. It was her unbeaten 202 while playing for Mumbai against Saurashtra in the U-19 Women’s One Day competition that put her in the limelight back in 2017. Rodrigues explained how she kept her spirits high after falling for 9 in the first ODI.”I got angry with myself [the way I got out in the first ODI],” she said. “I needed to be positive towards myself because that works for me. If I keep being too harsh on myself, I go very low. But it was important for me to keep being positive rather than thinking, ‘okay, I got out but next match what could I do better’. I tried to get back to Under-19 where I’ve scored a lot of 100s, I’ve scored a 200 too. I tried to get back to what I used to do then and today I try to apply it, and it came off well.”Regular captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s absence meant it was “an added responsibility” for her to contribute, more so because she’s been pushed up the order to play at No. 4. While Rodrigues took time to settle in, bringing up her half-century off 62 deliveries, she shifted gears in the last ten overs taking just 28 balls to her ton. On her way, she also raised a 183-run stand with Harleen Deol, who scored an 89. Before their partnership, openers Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal had put together a total of 156 runs.”If your openers give you that kind of a start, you know it’s always much more easier for us to handle the middle overs and take it well,” Rodrigues said. “[There were] two back-to-back wickets, so Harleen and I had to just give ourselves some time because I think Ireland bowlers are also on top at that time. So I think one thing about 50-over matches, you know we can take a little bit of time and that’s what we did. We calculated well. We settled the 40s, just play risk-free cricket and we know we can always make up for it.”Rodrigues mimicked playing a song on her guitar with her bat after reaching her milestone, a celebration she’d been waiting to do “for the last seven years”. While she was relieved to have finally been able to do that, she hoped it was the first of many hundreds for her. Her next goal is also to help India get to the 400-run mark.”It feels good. But there are lot of places we can still improve as a team because we always look to keep improving. We’ve spoken that when we do well try and be a little more critical about how we can get better than that. So yeah, next game hopefully 400.”

Daren Sammy has been named head coach of the West Indies men’s team across all formats. Sammy, who has been the coach of West Indies’ T20I and ODI teams since last year, will take charge of the Test side from April 2025 replacing Andre Coley, the CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe announced in St Vincent.”It’s always an honour to represent West Indies in any format or any position. For me, this news is not something I was expecting,” Sammy said at the press conference.”Coaching was never something I saw myself doing but I must admit the way that it’s been going, I’ve developed a much stronger passion and a love for the job… I believe in processes, something that we’ve been able to do in the white-ball formats and, with this new role, I’ve already mapped out some of the areas and some of the processes that we’ll have to follow in order for us to be successful [in Test cricket]. I’m a patient man and once I trust that process and understand the requirement from the director of cricket, then the plan gets into action.”So I’m really excited about the added responsibility and the new journey, one that I think myself and my team will be prepared for.”Under Sammy’s leadership, West Indies have won 15 of 28 ODIs since May 2023, winning four of seven bilateral series. In T20Is, the team clinched four series at home – against India, England and South Africa – and lost to Sri Lanka, Australia (both away) and England (home) – this is not counting the ongoing series against Bangladesh. Overall, they have won 20 out of 35 T20Is played during this period.In Tests, West Indies have lost seven matches, and won and drawn two each under Coley since May 2023, their high point being the pulsating eight-run victory against Australia in the Brisbane Test in January this year. They have not won even one series in this phase though, and are at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.”Post our our current World Test Championship campaign, we are going to be expanding Mr Sammy’s role to encompass all formats,” Bascombe announced. “So when we host Australia next summer, Daren Sammy will be the head coach of all senior men’s teams. I want to take this opportunity to thank Andre Coley, who has served well.”He still has to complete his World Test Championship campaign in Pakistan, and he will have our full support. But again, I want to congratulate Mr Sammy. We have been quite impressed with the way that he has charted a course for our white-ball teams, and he has guided them towards consistency of performance, and that is exactly what we want to see in our Test team.”Before he took over the West Indies role, Sammy’s leadership skills, both as a captain and coach, were central to St Lucia Kings’ success in the CPL. In 2020, he captained an unfancied Kings side to the CPL final. In CPL 2021, he was appointed Kings’ T20 cricket consultant and brand ambassador. In 2022, Sammy took over from Andy Flower as head coach and led them to the Eliminator, where Kings lost to eventual champions Jamaica Tallawahs.At the PSL, Sammy had coached Peshawar Zalmi in 2020 and 2021 before being reappointed to the post for PSL 2023. Sammy had been a mainstay for the franchise since the PSL’s inception in 2016, and had been one of the most popular overseas figures in the league.

The Bangladesh selectors naming Shakib Al Hasan in the Test squad for the first match against South Africa confirms that he will return to the country for the first time since May. Shakib is reportedly landing in Dhaka on Thursday, which allows him three days to prepare for his final Test match.Shakib announced his retirement in Kanpur on September 26, wishing to complete his Test career with at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. But he had expressed concern about his safety if he came to Bangladesh, given the number of Awami League leaders being arrested since August 5, the day their government effectively resigned from power after 15 years. Shakib was a member of parliament from his hometown Magura. He was one of 147 people named in an FIR for an alleged murder during the unrest.Although the BCB said that they couldn’t guarantee Shakib’s security, Bangladesh’s interim government confirmed – a couple of times – that he is unlikely to be arrested. But the sports adviser Asif Mahmud did say that the allrounder would be better off if he were to break his silence about the student protests. Shakib did that last week, when he put up an apology on Facebook.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Selector Hannan Sarkar said that Shakib was selected only after the BCB had given them the green light.”Shakib had expressed his desire to play his final Test at home. We also know that this was a government issue and BCB issue. We sought the BCB’s clearance so when they gave us the green signal that Shakib is available for selection, we picked him. We are proud to see our legend retiring from the home of cricket.Shakib is among four spin-bowling options in the squad, alongside Taijul Islam, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nayeem Hasan. Almost everyone that were part of the recent tours to Pakistan and India made it to this squad as well, except the fast bowler Khaled Ahmed, who was picked to play in Kanpur but bowled only four overs.Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan opened in all four Tests, while Mahmudul Hasan Joy has become their back-up. Mominul Haque and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto could continue at No. 3 and 4, rather than the other way around since Mominul got a century batting at No 3. Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das and Mehidy round out a long Bangladesh batting order.Taijul is usually picked in home Tests ahead of a third seamer. Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud should be the first choice, although Nahid Rana’s pace could be tempting.Bangladesh host South Africa for two Tests, in Mirpur from October 21 and in Chattogram from October 29. It is the first assignment under their interim coach Phil Simmons, who joined the squad on Wednesday, a day after the BCB removed Chandika Hathurusinghe from the position for disciplinary reasons.Bangladesh are currently seventh on the World Test Championship points table, after a 2-0 win in Pakistan and a 2-0 defeat in India. South Africa are fifth on the WTC standings, having most recently won a two-Test series 1-0 in the West Indies in August.

Bangladesh squad for first Test against SA

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana

Worcestershire have received a suspended two-points deduction for the next season’s Vitality Blast, after their allrounder, Josh Cobb, was deemed to have used an illegally-sized bat in their North Group match with Durham in July.Cobb admitted a breach of ECB Directives 3.2 and 3.3 after his bat failed a bat-gauge test during the Durham match, at which stage he had not yet faced a delivery. The Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) adjudicator originally imposed a straight points deduction, but this was amended on appeal to a suspended penalty, which will be imposed if Worcestershire commit a further breach of this nature.It is the second such penalty to be levelled in county cricket this summer, following the 12-point deduction that Essex were last month handed in the County Championship, following Feroz Khushi’s breach of the regulations during their opening fixture of the season, against Nottinghamshire in April.Essex issued a scathing riposte to that verdict, with Keith Fletcher, the club president, decrying it as “stupid”, not least because it wrecked the club’s hopes of challenging for the County Championship, with their final match of the season, at home to Surrey – who have already been crowned champions – taking place this week.Worcestershire were similarly aghast at the original verdict, and explained in their appeal that the loss of two points could mean the difference between reaching the knock-outs of the Vitality Blast and an early elimination.”Being docked points next year potentially/effectively puts a club of our size, with our resources, out of contention for qualification to the later rounds in 2025,” the club wrote to the adjudicator, Chris Tickle. “This has an impact on next year’s squad, coaching team, sponsors and, therefore, the club’s finances. This impact is potentially devastating to us and is disproportionate.”In his amended verdict, Tickle wrote: “Given those circumstances, I am persuaded that it is in the interests of justice to review my decision.”Dave Lewis, the interim director of the Cricket Regulator, said: “I am pleased that we were able to work with Worcestershire CCC and the Cricket Discipline Commission and that the adjudicator was able to reconsider their original decision in this case.”We also note that this is the second oversized bat case this year, and the Cricket Regulator will be working with counties, players, and officials to inform them about the issue with a view to preventing a recurrence next season.”The Cricket Regulator is the independent body which enforces the rules for domestic professional cricket as well as working to educate participants and prevent potential breaches. The Cricket Regulator investigates and prosecutes cases but does not decide on any penalties.The Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) is the independent adjudication body which hears cases, rules on responsibility for breaches of rules and issues penalties to teams and participants.

England produced an electric all-round display to set up a series decider at Bristol on Sunday, as they thrashed Australia by 186 runs at Lord’s. Harry Brook’s sublime 87 formed the backbone of the innings which was capped off by the thunderous hitting of Liam Livingstone in a ground-record 25-ball half-century. Jofra Archer then briefly rekindled memories of 2019 with the best spell of his latest comeback, while Matthew Potts bagged a career-best 4 for 38 in an overwhelming performance.Harking back to last year’s dramatic Ashes Test, there was also, briefly, a moment with an Australian wicketkeeper in the spotlight. On 17, Brook glanced Mitchell Starc down the leg side and was given out but queried whether the catch had carried to Josh Inglis, who had been recalled to the side after injury. The replays showed the ball pitching just before his gloves. The crowd booed as the pictures came on the big screen, accompanied by a few chants of ‘same old Aussies, always cheating’, but it was a tame interlude compared to 2023.Following his maiden ODI hundred in Durham, Brook cruised to a 37-ball fifty, adding 79 in 53 balls for the third wicket with Ben Duckett and 75 in 47 with Jamie Smith for the fourth, as England went through the gears in a game cut to 39 overs by heavy morning rain. Livingstone produced a grandstand finish to the innings with a mighty display of striking, including four sixes off the last over bowled by Starc, whose 28 runs conceded amounted to the most expensive over by an Australian bowler in men’s ODIs. England amassed 156 off their last 15 overs.Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh gave the daunting chase a promising start – Head launching a gigantic pull out of the ground over the Tavern Stand – and after the eight-over powerplay Australia were 66 without loss compared to England’s 34 without loss. Overall, the 16 sixes hit in the match was a record for a Lord’s ODI. However, sustaining the tempo was a tall order. Head swung across the line at Brydon Carse and Steven Smith edged an ugly charge at Potts.Then Archer produced something special. An off-cutter at 88.2mph initially shaped in at Marsh before straightening to beat the edge and clatter off stump. It was a gem of a delivery to give Archer his first Lord’s wicket since 2019 and he rightly wheeled away in celebration. When his next ball clattered into the forearm of Marnus Labuschagne, the 2019 flashbacks were in full flow, albeit in coloured clothes, and Archer also added Glenn Maxwell during Australia’s collapseBefore long, however, his ball to Marsh had a contender for delivery of the game (or series) when Carse found an unplayable offering to flatten Labuschagne’s off stump. It was a collective effort from England’s quicks who shared nine wickets – Potts taking three wickets in four balls to rush through the lower order – before Adil Rashid finished things off.Matthew Potts starred with four wickets•Getty Images

Under heavy cloud, the ball nipped around early after England had been put into bat. Phil Salt fell shortly after the powerplay, skewing the excellent Josh Hazlewood to backward point, and Will Jacks picked out the same fielder to give Marsh a wicket in his second over – the first he had bowled since April 3. On a day when Cameron Green was revealed to have a back injury, it was not insignificant that Marsh was back with the ball.Brook initially appeared to be playing a different game to the other batters, as he skipped out of the blocks with three leg-side boundaries prior to his near-dismissal, and England’s momentum built around him. Sean Abbott’s expensive series continued – by the end of the innings his combined figures for three outings were 19.4-0-165-0 – while both Brook and Duckett took on Adam Zampa as well as the other overs of spin from Maxwell and Labuschagne.Duckett, who had offered a tough return catch to Starc before scoring, sent Zampa over long-on for six before moving to a hard-working 51-ball half-century one ball later, before top-edging the legspinner to deep backward square. Smith continued the aggressive approach against Zampa, sending him over wide long-on, and Brook added a second six in the same over to deep midwicket. The 12 overs of spin went for 106.A moment of absent-mindedness nearly did for Smith when he only just avoided being run out when he didn’t run his bat in at the non-striker’s end, although the ball ended up costing Australia six runs as the deflection went to the rope. By then, Brook was challenging for England’s fastest ODI hundred at Lord’s – 61 balls by Jos Buttler – but picked out long-on as Zampa ended his stay from his 58th.Smith fell in the next over, slicing Maxwell to short third, but any concerns the innings may limp to a finish vanished as Livingstone provided stunning late power. A huge blow over midwicket off Hazlewood was followed by the dismantling of Starc’s figures, including two sixes into the pavilion, to the increasingly joyous roars of a large crowd. Unlike last summer, an England-Australia series goes to the final game 2-2, although the weather in Bristol may yet have the final say.

The PCB is confident that Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the National Stadium in Karachi will be ready in time to host the Champions Trophy next year, though ongoing work could continue to impact their bilateral commitments this season, including the Test against England in Karachi.The board has already moved the second Test against Bangladesh, originally scheduled in Karachi, to Rawalpindi. Speaking to reporters on Monday in Lahore, Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, acknowledged that “matches [during the season] may move back and forth but the main target is that these stadiums are ready before the Champions Trophy”.England play their second of the three Tests in Karachi, from October 15-19. In announcing the switch of Bangladesh’s Test to Rawalpindi on Sunday, the PCB did not exactly nail down Karachi as a venue for England.Related

• Gaddafi redevelopment picks up pace as Champions Trophy nears

• Pakistan women miss out on daily allowances at training camp

• Pakistan vs Bangladesh Test moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi

“At this stage, we will not like to speculate on the hosting of the second Test in Karachi from 15-19 October and will continue to work closely with the architects and construction experts on the safe and secure hosting of the match, while keeping the England and Wales Cricket Board updated,” the statement said.The fluidity of the situation is evident in how the switch in venues for Bangladesh occurred. Two days after posting ticket prices online, the PCB announced the Karachi Test would be played behind closed doors with no spectators. Then on Sunday they announced they were moving it to Rawalpindi, because they wanted to ensure the renovation work went on uninterrupted and that hosting a game while such major work was being undertaken could have an impact on the game.Naqvi confirmed on Monday the reasons for the move. “Our calculation was that we could do matches without crowds, but various security institutions and the police said that even if there are people working inside, you shouldn’t host a match.”That talk with journalists has led to some reports that Naqvi implied a change in venues or dates for the Champions Trophy from the draft schedule the PCB has submitted to the ICC. In a statement on Tuesday the PCB emphatically denied that was the case.”During the media talk, which is available on the PCB’s official YouTube channel, the PCB chair clearly stated that the redevelopment and redesign of the three designated stadia would be completed on schedule, ensuring readiness to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The PCB chair also mentioned that while some domestic matches may need to be shifted to facilitate uninterrupted construction work, this in no way pertains to the ICC Champions Trophy, which remains a priority for the PCB as a premier eight-team international event.”During that media talk, Naqvi did point to the pressing need for this renovation work. “Our stadiums and those abroad, there is a massive difference,” he said. “In no way were our stadiums international-standard stadiums. None of our stadiums could qualify internationally. Not the seats, not bathrooms, and a view that looks like you are watching from 500 metres away. If I want to stay in a 1980 model then great, but the world has gone far ahead.”Naqvi pointed out that while both stadiums in Lahore and Karachi are eventually undergoing total upgrades, partial renovation between now and early next year will mean they are ready in time for the Champions Trophy.”Right now we have five months,” he said. “In that time, definitely the two enclosures on either side [in the Gaddafi stadium] and the main building [will be ready], that is the focus for now.”The stadiums will be totally upgraded. Not just this but we plan to have a new stadium in Islamabad, in Abbottabad, we want to work on that as well. A few stadiums that we don’t operate – we’ve written to the local authorities that either you upgrade it or hand it to us so we can host domestic and even international cricket there. These stadiums will be 100% upgraded but in the next five months, the target we have, we hope to complete that.”The New York stadium [for the T20 World Cup] was completed in the last 10-15 days. We will be ready well before that timeline.”

England 360 for 7 (McCann 174, Thain 66, Kalupahana 5-81) beat Sri Lanka 330 (Perera 64, Weerasinghe 57, Benkenstein 4-77) by 30 runsA superb innings of 174 by Nottinghamshire’s Freddie McCann put England Men U19s on course for a stirring 30-run victory against Sri Lanka at Hove to level the three-match ODI series at 1-1. In the first match, at Chelmsford on Friday, Sri Lanka won by 65 runs.After a measured start, the left-handed McCann cut loose in the second half of his innings to present Sri Lanka with a formidable total. And when Pulindu Perera and Gayana Weerasinghe put Sri Lanka well ahead of the asking rate, with a second wicket partnership worth 110 in just 14 overs, it was McCann who ended the alliance with a diving outfield catch to dismiss Weerasinghe (57) off the impressive bowling of Farhan Ahmed – younger brother of England’s leg-spinning prodigy Rehan Ahmed.Sri Lanka made a much more positive start to their innings – they were 53 runs ahead of England’s score at the halfway stage of their innings – but their scoring rate declined as they lost wickets regularly as they attempted to take on England’s disciplined attack. Four overs after the dismissal of Weerasinghe, Perera was lbw to Warwickshire’s Tazeem Ali for 64 off 59 balls, with eight fours and a six, and Sri Lanka were unable to find another batsmen capable of dominating the England bowlers. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 330 in 49.2 overs, with Luc Benkenstein, son of South Africa’s Dale, taking four wickets.The England innings had been based around a partnership of 127 in 24 overs between McCann and Noah Thain in which the Sri Lankan fielders were driven to distraction – quite literally. In the course of the partnership, with the fielders becoming increasingly vociferous, the umpires Jack Shantry and Nigel Llong spoke with the captain, Dinura Kalupahana, and told him that they had awarded England five penalty runs for distracting behaviour.England had made a steady start and had scored 36 when Keshana Fonseka was caught in the slips off the last ball of the 6th over, the first bowled by Kalupahana. The 50 came up in the eighth and at the halfway stage England were 120 for one – they would score 240 from the second 25 overs.While they were together, Essex’s Thain was even more impressively commanding than McCann. He swept Paveen Maneesha to long leg for four to reach his fifty from 60 deliveries and when he was out, pulling Kalupahana to backwared square-leg, he had scored 66 from 76 balls, with eight fours and a six.McCann, who had reached his century from 97 balls, with 15 fours, now accelerated away, so his final figures were 174 off 139, with 22 fours and three sixes. There were cameos from Charlie Allison (46 off 43) and Dom Kelly, who hit four fours and two sixes in an 11-ball 32 not out. But Rocky Flintoff – the son of former England allrounder Andrew Flintoff – who came in near the end, was bowled leg stump for just three off five. Kalupahana was the most successful Sri Lankan bowler with five for 81 from his ten overs.

Glamorgan 177 for 7 (Northeast 67, Carlson 54, Brooker 3-31) beat Middlesex 173 (Andersson 57, Crane 3-28, van der Gugten 3-30) by three wicketsSam Northeast made it over 400 runs in his two visits to Lord’s this season as Glamorgan beat Middlesex by three wickets to win their first ever T20 encounter at the home of cricket.Northeast, who made a record red-ball score of 335 on the hallowed turf in the County Championship back in April struck 67 in 45 balls (1×6 8x4s) as the visitors chased down a target of 174 with 10 balls to spare, despite 3 for 31 for Middlesex quick Henry Brookes.Northeast was aided by Kiran Carlson (54), whose landmark came in only 21 balls with five sixes.Earlier Middlesex were given a wonderful start by Martin Andersson 57, from 34 – his first T20 half-century as he and skipper Stephen Eskinazi (48) shared an opening stand of 108. However, Mason Crane (3 for 28) began the collapse before Timm Van der Gugten’s triple-wicket maiden (3 for 30) including the scalps of Luke Hollman, Tom Helm and Brookes saw Middlesex collapse to 173 all out.Eskinazi provided early impetus before Andersson, employed as a pinch-hitter in the continued absence of Leus Du Plooy, smote Van Der Gugten back over his head for six.Another followed before he was dropped at short fine leg on 29, Dan Douthwaite the unlucky bowler, the ball travelling to the fence. To rub salt in the wound, Andersson struck three further boundaries in the over.With Eskinazi plundering two sixes off Crane the hundred stand came up in the ninth over. However, Andersson’s dismissal stumped attempting a reverse sweep, ending a stand of 108, changed everything.Max Holden went cheaply to Crane and when Eskinazi fell in identical fashion later in the over the hosts hit the skids.Only Luke Hollman cleared the ropes in the remainder of the innings and Van der Gugten’s party piece in the 19th over, helped by a stunning catch from wicketkeeper Cooke left Middlesex looking well short.Noah Cornwell had Eddie Byrom caught at slip from the first ball of Glamorgan’s reply, but Carlson came out bristling aggression, striking first Helm and then Brookes for six.Helm switched to the Pavilion End only for Carlson to club him straight for another maximum as the 50 came up inside five overs.Pace gave way to spin but all were alike to the 26-year-old who planted successive balls from Josh De Caires over extra cover into the Compton Stand to race to 50 in 21 balls.The fun ended when he holed out at deep mid-on from the bowling of Ryan Higgins and when Australian Test opener Marnus Labuschagne was trapped in front by Hollman, at 84 for 3 the Seaxes sniffed a way back.De Caires bowled the dangerous Colin Ingram to heighten the intrigue, but first Northeast and then Cooke were given lives in the 13th over bowled by Hollman, wicketkeeper Davies missing a regulation stumping to reprieve the former on 44, before the latter was spilt at backward point.Middlesex paid for their profligacy, Northeast reaching 50 from 38 balls, while Cooke, who made an unbeaten 113 in this fixture last season, thrashed a Higgins delivery over extra cover for six.Northeast’s first six came soon afterwards and though he and Cooke fell before the end Glamorgan got home.

Ben Stokes has signed a fresh two-year England contract, providing the clearest indication yet that he intends to play in the 2027 Ashes series on home soil.Stokes, 34, has tapered his schedule significantly due to injury, to the extent that the only side he has represented in the past 12 months is England’s Test team. He has been sidelined with hamstring and shoulder issues this year and has not played a limited-overs international since November 2023, but his new contract suggests he has no plans to stop soon.Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, is under contract until the end of 2027 and Stokes’ new deal suggests that the coach-captain combination could continue for another two years. England have won 25 and lost 14 Tests since McCullum and Stokes took over in June 2022, but are yet to register a series win over a “Big Three” opponent ahead of the imminent Ashes tour to Australia.Related

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Stokes is one of 14 players to have signed a new two-year central contract, with a further 12 players under contract until October 2026 and four more signing development deals. The ECB announced the list on Tuesday, which director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, said reflected “the depth and strength of talent” in the English game.Five players have signed their first central contracts: Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Luke Wood. A further six players were not offered deals after their contracts expired: Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, and Chris Woakes, who has retired from international cricket.Key said that multi-year contracts – which were introduced two years ago – were designed to help the ECB manage workloads of all-format players and to ensure that, in the case of players in high demand on the franchise circuit, “England remains their priority”.England central contracts 2025-2026•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

These include Adil Rashid, whose new deal implies that he will continue until at least the 2027 50-over World Cup, while Sam Curran’s two-year contract marks a return to favour after he spent the first half of this year outside England’s white-ball squads. Jos Buttler has also committed to a two-year deal despite stepping down as white-ball captain earlier this year.Notably, several members of England’s Test side have only signed one-year contracts, leaving open the possibility of a post-series clear-out in the event of a heavy defeat in the upcoming Ashes. These include Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Mark Wood, who is now in the final year of the three-year contract he signed in 2023.Four seamers in the England Lions squad to tour Australia have been awarded development contracts for 2025/26: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes and Mitchell Stanley. Hampshire’s John Turner, who missed most of the 2025 summer after a back stress fracture, has lost his development deal.”This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible,” Key said.The most notable omissions from the contracts list are Tom Banton, an ever-present in England’s T20I side since Brook took over as white-ball captain, and Jordan Cox, who has been a regular squad member across formats in the last year.

England men’s central contracts

Two-year contracts: (until Sep 30, 2027) Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes, Josh TongueOne-year contracts: (until Sep 30, 2026) Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, Luke Wood, Mark WoodDevelopment contracts: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, Mitchell StanleyLapsed contracts: Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, Chris Woakes, John Turner