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Haris Sohail has been ruled out of the England tour with a grade 3 hamstring injury and will return to Lahore by the first available flight to undergo a four-week rehabilitation programme at the high performance centre. He was meant to make a comeback in ODIs after he was dropped last year after the Zimbabwe series.Pakistan have not named a replacement because they are carrying a large squad and have the options of Sohaib Maqsood, Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman to fill in.Sohail was dropped from the Test side as well after the New Zealand tour earlier this year and since then he only played four List A games – for Balochistan – in January. He scored an unbeaten century in four games in the Pakistan Cup, scoring 164 runs but he missed a big chunk of the tournament when he was in New Zealand. He was picked for the ODIs in England after missing out in the series against South Africa.Pakistan landed in England on June 25, started training on June 28, and Sohail complained about a strain in his leg muscle after two net sessions. He pulled out of the first intra-squad practice game on July 1 and later missed the second one as well. An MRI scan on Wednesday confirmed he had a tear in his hamstring. The PCB said he sustained the injury during a training session in Derby last week.”I was keenly looking forward to the ODIs as part of my objective to contribute in the side’s success and also cement my position in the side,” Sohail said after being ruled out of the tour. “I am disappointed that my tour has been cut short, but I will return to Lahore and undergo a rehabilitation programme so that I can fully recover for the 2021-22 season.”Sohail, who made his international debut in 2013, is considered one of the finest batters in Pakistan but was never able to cement his place. In 2015, he was “spooked” in his Christchurch hotel room and he returned home without playing for Pakistan after the frightful experience.Earlier this year he was named in the Test squad for New Zealand, but he missed the training sessions and practice match owing to a thumb injury. He later turned up to play both the Tests and scored 3, 9, 1 and 15 before being dropped across formats.In the last eight years, he has played 16 Tests (847 runs at 32.57), 42 ODIs (1685 at 46.80) and 14 T20Is (210 at 19.09, strike rate of 102.94).Last year he pulled out of the England tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic as he decided not to stay in isolation, which was a mandatory quarantine period for all foreigners travelling to the UK.Pakistan’s three-match ODI series begins later today in Cardiff, which will be followed by three T20Is on July 16, 18 and 20. The side will depart for the West Indies on July 21 where they will play five T20Is and two Tests from July 27 to August 24.

Alex Davies led Lancashire Lightning to an impressive seven-wicket victory over Derbyshire Falcons in the Vitality Blast North Group match at Derby.Davies hit 13 fours in an unbeaten 83 off 54 balls as Lancashire chased down a target of 197 with 10 balls to spare.Liam Livingstone, dropped before he scored, smashed four sixes in 45 off 29 balls and Dane Vilas accelerated to an unbeaten 40 from 18 as Lancashire romped to 197 for 3.Leus du Plooy scored a T20 best 92 off 56 balls and Harry Came made 56 from 37 in his third Blast appearance but 196 for 5 proved inadequate.Derbyshire rebuilt after Tom Bailey had Luis Reece caught at mid off and Billy Godleman was bowled in the second over.Came ramped Bailey for six and du Plooy repeated the stroke to take Derbyshire to 49 for 2 in the powerplay before du Plooy drove Tom Hartley onto the roof of the media centre.The pair also ran well between the wickets to take the Falcons to 93 for 2 after 10 overs and the stand was worth 100 in 11 when Came pulled Danny Lamb to long on.Derbyshire were aided by some sloppy ground fielding but there was little they could do when Critchley and du Plooy pulled Lamb for six to take 24 from the 17th over.Critchley holed out to long-on but Wood speared a no-ball down the leg side for four byes in another costly over before du Plooy’s outstanding innings ended when he drilled Bailey to deep midwicket in the last over.Lancashire’s chase began badly with Liam Livingstone dropped at third man by Conor McKerr on his T20 debut before Finn Allen was caught behind for a duck in the first over.Livingstone ramped McKerr for six, pulled George Scrimshaw for two more before twice dispatching Fynn Hudson-Prentice over the ropes as Lancashire ended the powerplay on 72 for 1.Livingstone was threatening to run away with the game when he was well caught by Critchley at long off but Davies reached 50 with his 10th four to leave Lancashire needing 84 off the last 10 overs.Jos Buttler hit two sixes before holing out to deep midwicket attempting a third but Dane Vilas and Davies took 18 off van Beek in the 17th over to settle it.

Jason Gillespie, Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin will further their coaching ambitions as part of a high-powered support staff to mentor Australia A on their scheduled tour of South Africa in July and August.The tour’s status is somewhat clouded as the first to commence after the June 30 expiry of the current pay deal between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association, with discussions continuing. Mitchell Starc spoke for leading players on Thursday when he said he is not interested in engaging in contract talks with CA until a deal is struck.

Aus A tour of SA schedule

Four-day matches:
July 12-15: v South Africa A
July 19-22: Australia A v South Africa A at Senwes Park
Limited-overs series:
July 26: v India A, Tukkies
July 30: v South Africa A, Groenkloof
August 1: v India A, Tukkies
August 5: v South Africa A, Tukkies
August 8: Final, Tukkies

Having previously served as acting head coach of Australia during their recent Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, Gillespie will helm the tour with assistance from Rogers during the first-class portion of the trip before Haddin subs in for the limited-overs triangular series that also features India A.”I’m thrilled to be appointed as head coach of Australia A for the series against South Africa A and India A, and I’m looking forward to working with Chris and Brad in the coming months,” Gillespie said. “While the squad has yet to be named, it will no doubt feature some of the country’s most talented players, and players challenging for the opportunity to play international cricket for Australia.”This tour will provide those players with the chance to push their claims for those opportunities, and to experience a really high standard of competition and life on the road. It’s a really exciting time to be involved in Australian cricket, and I can’t wait to join up with the squad and head to South Africa.”Pat Howard, the Cricket Australia team performance manager, had previously indicated that the nation’s young batsmen could do with some of the knowhow built up by Rogers over a lengthy first-class career. Having retired from the game last year, Rogers is currently working as an assistant coach with Somerset.”It’s extremely pleasing to have three quality people in Jason, Chris and Brad on-board to guide the Australia A squad in their upcoming Tour of South Africa,” Howard said. “All three have significant experience as players, in varying conditions across the world over their lengthy careers, which will no doubt be invaluable for the players touring with this squad.”Jason has substantial head coaching experience, both with the Adelaide Strikers and in an extremely successful stint as coach of Yorkshire in the England County Championship. He also impressed as an assistant coach of the Australian T20 side earlier this year, so we look forward to seeing what he can achieve with this side.”With Brad and Chris as assistant coaches, Jason will have plenty of support to call on. Brad has also already been involved in the Australian Cricket Team coaching set-up, as an assistant for the tour of South Africa in 2016, while Chris has been involved at underage level, as an assistant coach for the Cricket Australia XI at the under-19 National Championships.”A number of Australia A representatives in 2016, including the likes of Peter Handscomb, Hilton Cartwright and Chris Tremain, made their international debuts during the 2016-17 season, and we believe this coaching panel will help develop more cricketers ready to push for an international debut or a return to international ranks.”

England’s women will take on Australia in their first day-night Test match, as part of the 2017-18 Ashes schedule that has today been confirmed by the ECB and Cricket Australia.The series, which will take place during the build-up to the men’s Ashes in October and November, will once again feature three ODIs, three T20s and the one-off Test, in a continuation of the successful points-based system that has been utilised since 2013.

Women’s Ashes 2017-18

An ECB delegation has spent time in Australia this month assessing the Big Bash League as they step up preparations for a high-powered tournament of their own.Anthony Everard, the league manager of the Big Bash, said the delegation, led by the ECB’s head of commercial partnerships, Mike Fordham, “asked all the right questions” when they met. Fordham was joined by Gordon Hollins, the ECB’s chief operating officer, as well as two county cricket chief executives, Somerset’s Guy Lavender and Nottinghamshire’s Lisa Pursehouse.The travelling contingent are representing the “T20 working group”, which was established in December and also contains Rob Calder, the ECB’s head of marketing, and Tom Johnson, the head of business support as well as the chief executive of the PCA, David Leatherdale.It is understood that they are not looking to file a formal report from the BBL, but are observing and researching the way Cricket Australia and the clubs have pulled off the highly successful competition.Anthony Everard, league manager of the Big Bash League•Getty Images

ECB delegations have become a regular feature of the Big Bash as the future of T20 in England remains undecided. “There is a mutual curiosity,” Everard told ESPNcricinfo. “We welcome the ECB, we spent the morning with them, and they asked all the right questions. There is common ground, but also apples and oranges.”The BBL model has effectively tapped its target market: anybody who had not been to a cricket match before. The ECB appreciates that due to a differing population spread and starting point (18 counties, rather than six states) they cannot simply replicate but they do seem increasingly determined to hold a comparable eight-team competition from 2020.Last year, ECB’s market research suggested that only 13% of fans at NatWest T20 Blast games were under 16, and that the average was between 48 and 49, prompting fears about where the next generation of fans would come from and strengthening determination that a shake-up was required.Progress on the project – which has received significant opposition from county members – is expected when the county chairmen and CEOs meet at the end of March.This is not the first time the ECB have visited the BBL – which is averaging 29,875 fans per match this season, as well as free-to-air TV ratings of more than 1m people per night – for inspiration for their own competition. Last year Sanjay Patel, the chief sales and marketing officer, travelled to Australia to assess the competition. Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, travelled to the USA in November to meet with Twitter, Facebook and other social networks to research how the competition’s media rights package could work.The ECB are not the only overseas board in town to pick the BBL’s brains. Damien O’Donohoe, the Caribbean Premier League’s chief executive, has also met with his Australian counterparts this week.

Vishnu Vinod’s maiden T20 fifty led Kerala to a 21-run victory over Andhra in Chennai. With him lasting as long as the 15th over, making sure both the first and the second wicket partnerships totalled 50 runs or more, Kerala were able to put up 175 for 7 in their 20 overs. Bandaru Ayyappa and KV Sasikanth were Andhra’s most successful bowlers, picking up 2 for 39 and 2 for 29 respectively. Kerala’s bowlers built on their batsmen’s momentum, with Sandeep Warrier (2-28) and Basil Thampi (3-18) handing out ducks to Andhra’s No. 3 Prasanth Kumar and their captain Hanuma Vihari. Although Ricky Bhui found back with 48 off 36 balls, supported by Dwaraka Ravi Teja (33 off 20) and Shoaib Md Khan (20 off 7), they couldn’t make up for the top-order mishaps.File photo – S Badrinath hit 49 off 22 in Hyderabad’s thumping win over Goa•BCCI

Hyderabad crushed Goa by 51 runs, thanks to Tanmay Agarwal’s career-best 91 that helped them post 224 in Chennai. Agarwal put on 111 for the opening wicket with Akshath Reddy (55 off 32) and 97 for the second with S Badrinath (49 off 22) before his 48-ball knock came to an end. With the exception of debutant legspinner Ganeshraj Narvekar (1-28), all of Goa’s bowlers went at more than 9.5 per over. In their response, Goa lost early wickets and were kept tight by medium-pacers M Ravi Kiran and Mohammed Siraj, who took 1 for 53 in the eight overs between them. Sagun Kamat (50 off 44) and Saurabh Bandekar (53* off 25) scored half-centuries, but Goa could muster only 173 for 5 in their 20 overs.Dinesh Karthik steered Tamil Nadu out of choppy waters•Sivaraman Kitta

A 55-run stand for the sixth wicket between Dinesh Karthik (45) and M Ashwin (34) helped Tamil Nadu overcome a middle order wobble to beat Karnataka by four wickets. They chased down Karnataka’s 144 for 9, achieved largely thanks to R Samarth’s 40, with four balls to spare. Karnataka were left to rue a poor fielding effort that resulted in them reprieving Ashwin twice in one over off R Vinay Kumar; Mohammad Taha put down the chances at long-on. Samarth aside, five other Karnataka batsmen made double figures; three of them made 16.

Alastair Cook was left ruing missed chances in the field as England succumbed to an innings defeat in Mumbai.While Cook admitted England had erred in selection – picking four seamers on a pitch where India’s spinners claimed 19 wickets – he felt the defining moments of the game came when England failed to take chances to dismiss all three of India’s centurions in the relatively early stages of their innings.Jonny Bairstow missed a stumping opportunity off M Vijay when he had 45, Virat Kohli was put down by Adil Rashid – a difficult caught and bowled chance – on 68, and Joe Root put down Jayant Yadav at slip when he had eight. Vijay went on to score 136, Kohli made 235 and Yadav 104.The frustration for Cook is that these things keep happening. The series against Pakistan was littered with missed opportunities – and Rashid also put down a tough chance off Kohli in Visakhapatnam when he had scored 56. He went on to make 167.”I keep going back to the chances we missed,” Cook told . “That’s why we lost this game.”Yes, we would have liked another spinner. But with the side we had, we had opportunities to bowl India out for 400 and we just didn’t take them.”Obviously Virat played an extraordinary innings, but we had a chance to get rid of him on 60-odd. Yadav got a 100 and we had a couple of chances to get rid of him. And those are the things the game is changing on. This team, at the moment, we’re not taking those chances. It’s those opportunities that have cost us.”Cook also admitted England “didn’t need that extra seamer” in Mumbai. Going into the match with six bowlers – two spinners and four quicks – Cook was obliged to ask Rashid and Moeen Ali to deliver more than 50 overs, while none of the seamers bowled more than 20.”That was a mistake,” he said. “It’s kind of the problem when you don’t have any games between Test Matches. We really wanted to see what four seamers looked like, because they are the bowlers so far on this tour who have given us the most control and our two best spinners have been Mo and Rash.”Maybe if we’d bowled first we’d have more control with the four seamers. But clearly when you bat first, you didn’t need that extra seamer.”Whether it would have changed the game… we were in this game with the balance of that side. We had an opportunity when they were 307 for 6 to restrict India’s lead. Historically, 180 is a good score here in the third innings and it’s very hard to score much in the fourth innings. So we would have been in the game.”But would have, could have isn’t really good enough and that’s the bottom line: we haven’t been good enough to get over the line.”Cook had praise for Kohli, though: “He’s in incredible form. He’s having one of those series you dream of as a player and a captain. You lead from the front and you score a hell of a lot of runs and that’s a huge amount of credit to him. He’s clearly one of the great batsmen of our generation. And certainly in these conditions, he’s very hard to bowl at when he’s in this form.”

ScorecardTammy Beaumont made 78 from 79 balls•Getty Images

Tammy Beaumont anchored England’s run-chase with 78 from 79 balls to secure a 3-0 series lead against Sri Lanka in Colombo, with the fourth and final ODI to come at the same venue on Thursday.Despite losing the toss and being asked to field first, England seized control of the contest from the outset, pinning Sri Lanka down to a run-rate of three an over with a disciplined bowling performance in which their three spinners, Laura Marsh, Alex Hartley and Danielle Hazell, each picked up two wickets apiece.Sri Lanka’s innings never really gathered any momentum. Nipuni Hansika, the opening batsman, top-scored with 29 from 66 balls, but she was the second wicket to fall, bowled by Hazell in the 21st over, and England never relinquished their stranglehold. The hosts were all out for 161 with two balls of their innings left unused, having lost their last eight wickets for 82.In reply, England lost Lauren Winfield and Danni Wyatt in the space of six deliveries to slip to 60 for 2, but a fourth-wicket stand of 67 between Beaumont and Fran Wilson (30) carried the team to the brink of victory.Both players fell in the space of two runs to take the gloss off the win – Wilson was caught behind off Chamari Atapattu before Beaumont became Sugandika Kumari’s only wicket of the innings with six runs still required. But Georgia Elwiss and Amy Jones wrapped up the win with 20.3 overs left unused.

Match facts

October 9, 2016
Start time 1000 local (0800 GMT)

Big picture

Having been clouted to all parts of Centurion, the Wanderers, and most brutally in Durban, Australia’s punch-drunk bowlers will be seeking some respite in Port Elizabeth. Equally, Steven Smith, the touring captain, will be eager to add some respectability to a series score line that is as stark as the contrast between crestfallen Australia and jubilant South Africa on Wednesday night at Kingsmead.Unfortunately for Smith, and coach Darren Lehmann, Australia’s options for an improved line-up are slim. Scott Boland arrived as one of the more experienced members of the attack, but was promptly dropped after game one, while Joe Mennie’s fast-medium pace also lasted only one match before he was shuffled back out. The spectre of defeat invariably leads to players starting to think of their own positions in the team, and it will be critical for Lehmann and Smith to ensure minds remain focused on the task.Lehmann has stated that he believes the biggest problem for Australia’s bowlers has been an inability to replicate training patterns under the spotlight of crowds, television cameras and confident opponents, something for assistant coach David Saker, and Ryan Harris, the bowling assistant, to ponder.”We’ve got to find a way to get some early wickets and put some pressure back on South Africa, and at the moment, we’re not doing that,” Lehmann said after Durban. “And we’re not doing the good things that we do in the nets and taking them out into the middle in front of a packed house. At the end of the day, the blokes have trained really well and prepared well, and bowled really well in the nets, but international cricket is quite pressurised. They’ve just got to get used to that.”For South Africa, Port Elizabeth will be about seeking to avoid a let-down following the heights of Kingsmead and the sealing of the series. Acting captain Faf du Plessis appeared somewhat shocked to have been on the winning end of that match, something for which he had David Miller to thank, with a century that was scored having picked up a groin injury that has proved bad enough to leave him sidelined. The hosts will also be mindful of trying to keep Australia’s batsmen under slightly more control than they managed in game three, even if a mighty total ultimately proved inadequate.

Form guide

South Africa: WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: LLLWW

In the spotlight

Early in South Africa’s chase in Durban, Quinton de Kock was subjected to plenty of verballing by the Australians in reference to a slow start that was soaking up balls. That baiting seemed primarily to wake de Kock from his initial slumber, and he went on to hammer 70 from a mere 49 balls to get South Africa off to the start they needed to stand a chance. Off the back of his punishing 178 in the opening game, his wicket looms as vital to Australia’s chances.John Hastings’ reputation for miserly spells has taken something of a hit in recent days, as he has not been able to quell South Africa’s scoring in ways that he has previously managed against other teams. As the most experienced member of the bowling attack on tour, Hastings will be expected to step up in Port Elizabeth and lead a better collective display.

Teams news

The groin injury which Miller sustained during his monumental matchwinning hundred will keep him out of the rest of the series which is likely to mean a recall for Farhaan Behardien. The rest of the recast batting order, which made room for Hashim Amla by shuffling Rilee Rossouw down the order, can be expected to be retained. Dale Steyn, however, may be rested now that the series is decided as could Kagiso Rabada with the possibility of playing an extra spinner.South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien , 7 Dwaine Pretorius, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Dale Steyn/Kyle Abbott, 10 Kagiso Rabada/Aaron Phangiso, 11 Imran TahirScott Boland may be in line for a recall by Australia’s tour selectors, after the bowling attack was hard-hit once again in Durban. Usman Khawaja is also waiting for his next chance.Australia: (possible): 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Steve Smith (capt), 4 George Bailey, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Mathew Wade (wk), 8 John Hastings, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Chris Tremain, 11 Daniel Worrall/Scott Boland

Pitch and conditions

Spin, and pace off the ball will likely play a role on one of South Africa’s slower pitches. The weather forecast for Port Elizabeth is for fine conditions, with periods of cloud cover.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won four of the seven ODI encounters between the two teams at Port Elizabeth, though South Africa have won the two most recent contests, in 2009 and 2011
• Australia haven’t lost four matches in an ODI series since England won 4-0 with one match rained out in 2012

Quotes

“I think we worked out we’re taking pretty much seven of our first-choice one-day team out of the bowling attack, and when you go through that it’s some high-quality bowling. But it’s an opportunity for the young guys to learn, to learn quickly and learn what they need to do to step up in international cricket. At the moment, we’re failing in that and they’ve got to get better.”

Batsman Shai Hope and allrounder Rovman Powell have been picked in West Indies’ squad for next month’s tri-series in Zimbabwe, after the selectors decided to drop Kieron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin. Pollard and Ramdin’s exclusions are the only changes to the squad that suffered a 3-0 defeat in the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this month.

WI ODI squad for Zimbabwe

Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder (capt), Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels
In Shai Hope, Rovman Powell
Out Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin

Both Pollard and Ramdin had poor returns in the limited-overs series in the UAE. Pollard managed 43 runs in the three T20s, and bowled two overs, going wicketless. In the three-match ODI series, Pollard scored 42 runs at an average of 14.00. He took one wicket in the 12 overs he bowled across the three matches. Ramdin, who was recalled to the ODI squad, compiled 79 runs at 26.33 in the three ODIs and did not feature in the T20s.Hope, who is a part of the Test side in the UAE, is uncapped in limited-overs internationals, but has played six Tests since May 2015 scoring 171 runs at an average of 15.54. He scored 76 in the three-day tour match against the PCB Patron’s XI, played under lights with the pink ball.Powell, uncapped in international cricket, had been named in the T20 squad for the UAE tour following a promising performance in CPL 2016. His only match on the tour was the practice T20 game against the Emirates Cricket Board XI where he scored 38 and bowled two overs for 14 runs.The Zimbabwe series will begin on November 14 with a match between the hosts and Sri Lanka. West Indies’ first match in the series will be against Sri Lanka on November 16. The final will be played on November 27.