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The left-arm quick took a career-best haul to lead Australia to a tight victory over Pakistan which clinched the T20I series

Andrew McGlashan17-Nov-2024Spencer Johnson is building some good memories of the SCG. For his second consecutive outing there he walked away as player of the match as a career-best 5 for 26 sealed the T20I series against Pakistan.They were the best figures by an Australia men’s quick in T20Is, moving above James Faulkner’s 5 for 27 also against Pakistan in Mohali in 2016, and it follows his title-winning performance in last season’s BBL final against Sydney Sixers where he claimed 4 for 26. Throw in 3 for 28 also against Sixers in early 2023, and he has 12 wickets at 6.66 in T20s at the ground.Related

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“That doesn’t really make any sense to be honest,” Johnson said of his figures on Saturday evening. “It’s nice to be back at the SCG. My last time here was the Big Bash final and the conditions were in the bowler’s favour.”Much like that BBL game, where he was struck for three boundaries off his four balls before turning things around, it wasn’t an ideal start in front of a crowd of 31,563 as his first ball went for five wides down the leg side and his third was taken first slip.But Johnson had confidence in himself, and in his second over removed Sahibzada Farhan. Then when he returned in the 10th over he put himself on a hat-trick with the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha before making the decisive blow by removing Usman Khan for 52 when he was threatening to turn the game back Pakistan’s way.”I’ve played enough T20 cricket to know game to game you can have good games and bad games,” Johnson said. “A lot of time it’s through no fault of your own. You can mis-execute. But I knew tonight I had three overs to bounce back. I felt like the first over in that Big Bash final was a bit under pressure, and I was thinking back to that game and that I still had three overs to contribute to the team.”Johnson is among a group of Australian quick bowlers who fight for their opportunities in white-ball cricket when the big three of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are absent as they are for this series. With that trio having spoken of Test cricket being a priority, there could be a chance of some renewal in Australia’s first-choice T20 attack ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup following their Super Eight exit at this year’s tournament although Johnson is not expecting rapid change.”I know the big three will be here for a long time,” Johnson said. “They’re not going anywhere, they are only getting better. To be able to chop in and be part of the squad a lot more will only help me there. They are unbelievably durable and have done it for so long. They are definitely the benchmark.”Johnson, who missed the UK white-ball tour in September with a side strain, admitted that backing up game after game remained the challenge for him. He is expected to play the final T20I in Hobart on Monday which would make it four games in a row having also featured in the deciding ODI in Perth and has his sights set on a Sheffield Shield outing for South Australia before the BBL with Brisbane Heat.”The durability question mark is there for me, and, hopefully, the more I play the more durable I get.” he said. “I feel like the body’s getting there. It’s taken its time.”

England big-hitter reminisces about his new IPL franchise: ‘When I was watching IPL years ago, if they were playing, I’d turn the TV on’

Matt Roller26-Nov-20246:59

Moody: ‘RCB’s top seven looks formidable with Tim David at No.7’

It is a situation that only the vagaries of the IPL auction can explain. Eleven months after attracting no interest from the 10 franchises, Phil Salt attracted a winning bid of INR 11.50 crore – around GBP 1.08 million or USD 1.37 million – from Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday night, and will spend next spring opening the batting with Virat Kohli at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.Despite his snub at last year’s auction, Salt became an integral part of Kolkata Knight Riders’ title-winning side in IPL 2024. Having signed as a replacement player, he scored 435 runs – at a strike rate of 182 – and formed a dynamic opening partnership with Sunil Narine. KKR bid aggressively to get him back on Sunday, but ended up running out of funds.KKR had retention rights on Salt before the auction, but opted to keep hold of six other players instead. “There wasn’t a whole heap of chat around retention,” Salt told ESPNcricinfo. “I feel like, having just won the IPL, they probably had the hardest job of all the franchises, figuring out which direction they were trying to go in with their retentions, so I just sort of left them to it.”Related

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They entered a bidding war with RCB, but after spending INR 23.75 crore to bring Venkatesh Iyer back, found themselves pulling out. “As you saw, they went hard to try and bring me back,” Salt said. “But with the way the auction went for the different teams up to that point, maybe there wasn’t enough money in the room.”The result is that Salt will form part of a characteristically formidable RCB batting line-up, with head coach Andy Flower confirming he will open with Kohli. “I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Virat,” Salt said. “I’ve always had a bit of chat with him – and a laugh and a joke – when I’ve played against him in the past, so I’m looking forward to playing alongside him.”He looks like a natural fit for a franchise associated with fearless batting, and recalls watching Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers playing for them as a teenager. “They’ve got a very clear way of playing the game which is to go out and attack,” Salt said. “They’ve always had the fiery personalities and their batting line-ups have been world-class.”They’re one of a few teams who, when I was watching IPL years ago, if they were playing, I’d turn the TV on. Obviously they’ve got Andy there and Mo Bobat [as director of cricket], and I’m really looking forward to playing under them. Having been around them a little bit, I know that we’re quite similar thinkers on the game in some ways – and their track record speaks for itself.”Phil Salt made quite a mark at KKR at IPL 2024•BCCI

Salt followed the auction from the United Arab Emirates, where he is playing for – and captaining – Team Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi T10. “It was pretty cool,” he said. “Obviously it feels like a long way away at the minute, but I’m very, very excited for it.”He will have two England team-mates for company in Bengaluru: Liam Livingstone, who has spent the last three seasons at Punjab Kings, and IPL newcomer Jacob Bethell. “He’s very committed, and there’s not many people out there that have the skill that he’s got,” Salt said of Bethell. “Hopefully, he does well in his Test debut coming up.”Salt revealed his own ambitions to play Test cricket earlier this year, but his chance to press his case for selection in the County Championship was thwarted by his IPL deal and he has not played a first-class game in over a year. He was mentioned as a contender when Jordan Cox went down injured in New Zealand this week, but Ollie Robinson is the preferred replacement.Salt recently signed his first central contract with England, but has not yet sought talks with either Rob Key or Brendon McCullum to discuss a potential route into the Test side. In any case, there is unlikely to be a vacancy after the New Zealand tour when Jamie Smith returns from paternity leave.”It’s been said before that you don’t have to play a load of red-ball cricket to make a case,” Salt said. “But I’m pretty content with where I’m at, at the minute… It is tricky. I’d have liked to play more. I’d like to play all formats, but the way that the schedule is at the minute for me, that’s not the easiest thing to do.”

Rashid Khan and Nicholas Pooran set to move teams to align with other global franchise ties

Matt Roller19-Feb-2025The Hundred’s incoming investors are already wielding their influence on the tournament, with several teams using a revamped recruitment system to sign players who represent their new partners’ other overseas franchises.The new ‘direct signing’ model allows each team to sign two players – one men’s, one women’s – among their retentions before next month’s draft. New joint-venture agreements are still being thrashed out but ESPNcricinfo has learned that several teams are already leaning on their partners’ global networks to recruit talent for the Hundred’s ‘transitional’ 2025 season.Rashid Khan has agreed a deal with double-defending champions Oval Invincibles, having played for their new co-owners Reliance’s teams in the ILT20, SA20 and MLC. Manchester Originals have been discussing a short-term deal for Nicholas Pooran, who plays for their new joint-venture partners RPSG Group’s IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants.Southern Brave, where the GMR Group are taking over, are working on a deal to bring in Faf du Plessis, who they signed in November for the IPL franchise they co-own, Delhi Capitals. Elsewhere, Welsh Fire are in talks with Steven Smith – who plays for new partners Washington Freedom in MLC – and hope to finalise his signing before Sunday’s deadline.Steven Smith is in talks with Welsh Fire•Major League Cricket

Rashid and Pooran’s deals are particularly notable because they played for other Hundred teams last year: Trent Rockets and Northern Superchargers respectively. Rashid was the first pick at the Hundred’s inaugural draft back in 2019 and has been retained ever since, but is instead moving to The Oval.”The point of the direct signings was to attract high-end, better-quality overseas stars and I can only see it as a positive,” Daryl Mitchell, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) told ESPNcricinfo. “There will be regulations in place, but there are always going to be relationships in cricket – long-standing ones in some cases.”Mitchell said it was “par for the course” for players to extend their links with global franchises, though he encouraged the ECB to pay close attention. “The way that players move has been going on in cricket for a long time. There are always relationships that are already established between directors of cricket, list managers or coaches with certain agents and certain players.”Related

• Hundred squads face 2026 'reset' in bid for competitive balance

• Jason Roy handed Hundred lifeline with Southern Brave

• Lancashire: Originals not a consolation prize for LSG owners

• MCC 'leaning towards' egg-and-bacon kit for London Spirit

• Gould: Hundred IPL links won't affect Pakistan player involvement

The ECB has raised top men’s salaries from £125,000 to £200,000 for 2025 to ensure that the Hundred can compete with MLC and the CPL (which overlaps) for talent. The PCA criticised incremental increases to lower salary as showing a “lack of respect” for domestic players in December and are pushing for further increases when new owners are fully ensconced in 2026.The moves represent the latest step in a gradual shift towards a global contracting network in the T20 franchise world, though others will play against teams affiliated to their own IPL franchise. Trent Boult, who has played for several Reliance teams, has signed for Birmingham Phoenix, while David Miller, Pooran’s LSG team-mate, is set to join Northern Superchargers.The same dynamic is not yet affecting English players, who cannot move directly from one team to another without relying on the uncertainty of the draft. But the ECB have previously told prospective investors that they may be able to lock in England players on multi-year contracts in future years, meaning some could move teams based on their associations with IPL franchises.Players have represented franchises across multiple leagues ever since Kolkata Knight Riders made the unprecedented move to buy the Trinidad and Tobago CPL team a decade ago. But the trend has accelerated in recent years, especially after the 2023 launches of both the ILT20 and SA20, where IPL owners are heavily represented.”If you take a very long-term worldview, maybe, at some point, it wouldn’t be crazy to see some kind of roll-up of these teams and a combination of these tournaments,” James Sheridan, who chairs Manchester Originals, said last week. “That would need tectonic plates to shift quite a lot. But it wouldn’t surprise me if, in 10 years’ time, we are looking at something like that.”Sheridan suggested that the Originals, the Super Giants and Lancashire will create “joint development activities” in the years to come, but cautioned: “Contracting isn’t as straightforward as people might think in franchise cricket. You’ve got auctions, you’ve got drafts… But there is an obvious opportunity for collaboration.”Insiders believe that the Hundred teams whose new owners do not have links to other franchises overseas will face challenges when recruiting in future as a result. This applies particularly to Rockets – who have signed Marcus Stoinis after losing Rashid – and Phoenix, with the pull of Lord’s playing in London Spirit’s favour under their new Silicon Valley co-owners.The Hundred’s eight franchises are valued at nearly £1 billion between them•Getty Images for ECB

Kane Williamson was announced as the Spirit’s new men’s captain this week, and his deal also covers a stint with Middlesex, who are MCC’s tenants at Lord’s. Some host counties are keen for closer alignment in personnel with their Hundred teams, both in domestic and overseas players, which Mitchell believes has already started to happen.”The reality is that over the last four or five years, there are probably elements of county players aligning with Hundred teams,” Mitchell said. Is that likely to continue? I’d have thought so. The host counties are potentially going to be in control of the budgets of both the county and the Hundred teams as well.”Mitchell said the PCA’s priority is to ensure that players retain confidence that Hundred squads will be picked on merit. “Over the next 12-18 months, it’s about making sure there are guard-rails in place to make sure players are picked on performance and that everyone’s got a fair shot of getting an opportunity.”The ECB will retain overall control of the Hundred but is forming a new committee with representation from each franchise, which will discuss issues like recruitment. There is a growing expectation that the draft could be tweaked or revamped after this season, with an open-market system and an auction both raised as potential alternatives.The influence of new owners in recruitment has largely been confirmed to the men’s Hundred so far, with the women’s franchise circuit still in a nascent phase. Amelia Kerr (Manchester Originals) and Laura Wolvaardt (Southern Brave) were both confirmed as direct signings last month, with the Originals also retaining Beth Mooney.

Eden Gardens will host the IPL opener as well as the final, on May 25

Nagraj Gollapudi12-Jan-2025IPL 2025 is set to start on March 21 with Eden Gardens hosting both the season opener and the final on May 25. It is also understood that WPL 2025 will be held between February 7 and March 2.Ahead of the mega auction in November, the IPL had shared with the franchises the windows for the next three seasons (2025-27). For 2025, the window was between March 15 and May 25. However, with the 2025 Champions Trophy final scheduled for March 9, the IPL decided to keep close to a two-week gap between the tournaments. The full IPL schedule is expected to be out later this month.As has generally been the case, the home venue of the defending champions will host the opener and final. This season it’s Eden Gardens, home base of Kolkata Knight Riders who won IPL 2024. While Eden Gardens will also host Qualifier 2, the first two playoff matches – Qualifier 1 and Eliminator – will be played in Hyderabad.The 2025 season will comprise 74 matches, the same as the last three seasons – ten fewer than the 84 games a season listed by the IPL in 2022, when media rights for the 2023-27 cycle were sold. In the tender document for the new rights cycle, the IPL had listed a varying number of matches per season: from 74 games in 2023 and 2024, 84 in 2025 and 2026, and a maximum of 94 games for the final year of the deal in 2027.

Four venues shortlisted for WPL

The BCCI has also added two new venues for the WPL. Along with Mumbai and Bengaluru, Baroda and Lucknow will also host WPL games this year. The exact number of matches at each venue is not yet known as the WPL schedule is not yet out for the season scheduled to begin on February 7.

No thrilling finish but draw with Gloucestershire is enough for Foxes combined with stalemate at Lord’s

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025There was no thrilling finale on the field but Leicestershire could celebrate nonetheless after securing the draw with Gloucestershire that, in the event, ensured their promotion to Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.With two fixtures still to play, the result at the Uptonsteel County Ground combined with the draw between Middlesex and Derbyshire at Lord’s guarantees that Leicestershire will finish in the top two in Division Two and end a 22-year-exile from the top division.Set 316 to win from a minimum 74 overs when Gloucestershire, who felt their outside chance of a promotion required them to win here, declared four overs before lunch on 175 for 3 in their second innings, Leicestershire were 93 for 1 from 30.3 when the afternoon’s third interruption for rain proved heavy enough for the final day’s play to be abandoned at around 4.10pm.It is a first promotion for Leicestershire since the County Championship adopted its current two-division format in 2000. Led for most of the season by Australian international Peter Handscomb – now back home preparing for his domestic season – Leicestershire have been the dominant side in Division Two all season after winning five of their first seven matches and suffering only one defeat.They last played in Division One in 2003 and have since become almost perpetual stragglers, finishing bottom of DivisionTwo on eight occasions. In four of those, the last as recently as 2022, they failed to register a single victory, famously going 37 matches over 933 days without a Championship win between September 2012 and June 2015.Leicestershire, whose next target is to secure the points they need to guarantee they are crowned Division Two champions, went into the final day in the comfortable knowledge that while a victory would seal the deal in terms of confirming promotion, a draw might do it anyway depending on the result at Lord’s, or at worst leave them needing minimal gains from their final two fixtures.Gloucestershire’s need for a win, therefore, put the onus on them to set up a finish, to which end they added 165 in 21 overs before declaring just before lunch, setting the home side 316 to win in a minimum 74 overs.Against a Leicestershire attack that was a man down because of Ben Mike’s ongoing hamstring problems, 21-year-old opener Joe Phillips further enhanced his growing reputation with an unbeaten 69 from 73 balls.Ben Charlesworth cleared the midwicket boundary off Logan van Beek and landed back-to-back sixes off Chris Wright in his 56-ball 61 before a miscue to deep third man ended his charge. Ian Holland limited Ollie Price to just 8 but Miles Hammond plundered another 28 from 26 before top-edging into the off side, Holland veering away in his follow-through to be under the ball when it came down.Gloucestershire asked Leicestershire to face four overs before lunch possibly more in hope than expectation. The wicket of Sol Budinger perhaps came as a bonus, the opener making no attempt to rein in his natural attacking instincts but perishing after just 13 deliveries, tempted by a widish ball from Ajeet Singh Dale despite having collected three boundaries already and picking out the fielder at wide third.The visitors’ cause was not helped by showers after lunch, which eventually washed out 43.3 overs of the scheduled 74.Yet there never seemed enough jeopardy in the fourth-day surface to make 10 wickets a realistic possibility. Rishi Patel finished unbeaten on 42 with acting captain Holland on 27. Gloucestershire’s frustration was cushioned a little by taking 15 points for the draw, but the gap between themselves and second-placed Glamorgan remains at more than 30 points.

A round-up of the second day’s play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League 2009-10

Cricinfo staff18-Nov-2009

Group B

Scorecard
The contest between Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala in Jammu has proved a closely-fought one. A four-wicket burst from Abid Nabi helped the hosts bowl out Kerala for 133, and gain a lead of 31. Raiphi Gomez (39) and Sachin Baby (32) provided some resistance but Kerala couldn’t capitalise after having bowled out the opposition for 164 on the first day. Though they fought back well in J&K’s second innings, the hosts still held the edge at stumps. An unbeaten 57 from Hiken Shah steered J&K to 157 for 6 at stumps – Sony Cheruvathur took three wickets an increased his match tally to nine – and took the lead to 188.
Scorecard
There was no play possible as rain played spoilsport on the second day of the game between Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha in Vijaywada.

Group A

Scorecard
Assam reached a position of advantage against Jharkhand in Guwahati. First, their bowlers, led by Sairaj Bahutule’s 5 for 53, bowled out Jharkhand for 261; then their batsmen responded by notching up 149 at stumps with the loss of just one wicket. Jharkhand will rue the fact that their middle-order batsmen failed to consolidate on starts. Five reached double-figures, while three – Saurabh Tiwary, Rajeev Gupta and Shahbaz Nadeem – reached 30-plus scores but didn’t press on. Assam, in response, were boosted by opener Parvez Aziz’s 85 and an opening stand of 128. Dheeraj Jadhav is still there, unbeaten on 49, and will look to take his team to a substantial lead tomorrow.
Scorecard
Goa, buoyed by Swapnil Asnodkar’s century, reached a dominant position against Rajasthan in Margao. They began the day on even terms, on 149 for 4, but a 128-run stand between the two overnight batsmen, Asnodkar and Rahul Keni, tilted the balance in Goa’s favour. Fast bowler Pankaj Singh bagged 4 for 92, but Goa had posted a competitive 338. In reply, two quick wickets from Saurabh Bandekar dented Rajasthan in their innings and left the visitors in a precarious situation at stumps.
Scorecard
The first day of the game in Nagpur was washed out, but the hosts were pegged back on the second as Tripura limited them to 217 for 9. The Vidarbha score could have been much worse had it not been for a 59-run sixth-wicket stand between Ravi Jangid (45) and Himanshu Joshi (38). The lower order stepped up with some important contributions but Wilkin Mota, who grabbed 3 for 39, ensured Tripura stayed ahead of the eight-ball. Tripura used nine bowlers in the innings, and Mota was supported well by the rest in keeping the opposition in check.

Saif Zaib passes 1000 runs for season but Northants wobble again after conceding 364 deficit

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Jul-2025Northamptonshire 261 (Zaib 82, Higgins 4-51) and 64 for 3 trail Middlesex 625 for 8 dec by 300 runsRyan Higgins moved to the top of Middlesex’s wicket-taking chart for the season as his side closed in on a Rothesay County Championship victory over Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ School.Higgins finished with 4 for 51, with Noah Cornwell taking 3 for 48 as the visitors were made to follow on 364 behind – and the medium-pacer then grabbed two quick top-order wickets second time around to further improve his season’s tally to 32.Northamptonshire stumbled to 64 for 3 at stumps and their plight would have been deeper but for rain stoppages and Saif Zaib’s first-innings 82, which made him the county’s first player to register 1000 first-class runs in a season since Ben Duckett in 2016.Zaib was almost the fastest to that landmark across the Championship circuit, but the 27-year-old narrowly missed out to Surrey’s Dom Sibley, who got there just 15 minutes earlier at Scarborough.Middlesex rotated their seam quartet when the visitors resumed on 126 for 4, but their spin options were limited after Zafar Gohar, tumbling to deal with George Bartlett’s cover drive, landed awkwardly on his shoulder and had to leave the field.Bartlett, having steered Tom Helm neatly through gully for four, repeated the stroke later in the over and picked out the fielder this time, but Zaib continued to progress steadily as he built a partnership with Rob Keogh.Keogh, who had injured a finger while fielding on day one, did well to withstand a couple of Helm deliveries that rose sharply down the slope and helped Zaib to add 55 before Cornwell had him caught down the leg side.The left-hander went on to pass 50 for the ninth time in this season’s Championship, ushering Northamptonshire’s total beyond 200 before rain arrived to send the players off for an early lunch.Dom Leech provided spirited support, finding the boundary four times in his knock of 22 while Zaib capitalised on successive short balls from Leus du Plooy, pulling the slow left-armer for six and four. Higgins broke the seventh-wicket stand of 64 with two dismissals in as many deliveries, with Leech caught top-edging a hook before Ben Sanderson was lbw without scoring to leave the visitors eight down.A more persistent spell of rain held up play for the next hour and a half – but it took just three balls for Cornwell to wrap up Northamptonshire’s first innings, knocking out Zaib’s off stump with one that seamed back before cleaning up Yuzvendra Chahal with a yorker.After another weather-induced delay, Higgins reclaimed centre stage, winning what looked like a borderline lbw decision against Ricardo Vasconcelos and castling Aadi Sharma next ball to leave the visitors reeling at 10 for 2. James Sales began redressing the balance with a series of positive shots in his knock of 26, but he attempted one too many and lost his middle stump to Toby Roland-Jones.Stand-in skipper Lewis McManus remained defiant, punching Helm off the back foot to the fence to reach 21 not out before the light deteriorated sufficiently for the umpires to bring play to a close.

Allrounder staves off threat of follow-on as title-chasing Notts settle for draw

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay25-Jul-2025 Nottinghamshire 578 for 8 dec (James 203*, Haynes 103, McCann 79, Hutton 71) and 108 for 1 dec (McCann 52*, Hameed 50*) drew with Hampshire 454 (Organ 122*, Varma 112, Weatherley 52, Middleton 52)Hampshire’s Felix Organ scored his fourth Rothesay County Championship century to dash any final-day excitement for title-chasing Nottinghamshire at Utilita Bowl.Organ patiently collected his highest first-class score of 122 not out to make sure Hampshire avoided the follow-on to turn the day into a wait for the inevitable 4.50pm draw.The 14 points Nottinghamshire take from the match puts them level with Surrey at the top of Division One – with four rounds still to play.Hampshire’s 12 points leaves them sixth but just 13 points above the bottom two, having only won twice in the Championship this season.Organ is Hampshire’s version of James Milner. He fills in with whatever role his side needs.He began his career as an opening batter but more often finds himself in the side when a spinning pitch is expected, where he slots in lower down the order to lengthen the batting options.He is a fairly reliable insurance in both his skillsets, and it was his batting that took the fore on this occasion.He’d begun the week by scoring 101 out of 171 for his Southern Premier Cricket League side St Cross Symondians, where he also took a five-for to secure a victory.He ended it by making sure his county didn’t lose, and slip deep into the relegation battle.Organ had already scored 70 on the third evening, largely in a 126-run partnership with Indian sensation Tilak Varma, but returned this morning with 61-runs still required to avoid the follow-on.He needed others to stick with him.Nightwatcher Eddie Jack fell leg before to Josh Tongue – who produce a ferocious early morning spell – but James Fuller hung around for over and hour to score 16 in 40 balls to get Hampshire within a sniff of their target before he was bowled.Kyle Abbott simply went dot, four, six, six to alleviate any fears of defeat and beat the follow-on requirements. It left just over four hours to reach the earliest possible finish time.Each of Organ’s three previous centuries have bettered his previous best score. His maiden effort was exactly 100 back in 2019, before scoring 107 at home to Gloucestershire and then 118 in the reverse fixture in 2022.The trend continued after he went to three-figures in 266 with a six, as he was left unbeaten on 122 after Abbott was castled by Farhan Ahmed and Sonny Baker – who took 35 balls to get off the mark – was lbw.Nottinghamshire boasted a first-innings lead of 124 but there was little chance of setting up anything. Ben Slater calved to point before the last half an hour turned into a classic bore-draw farce.Wicketkeeper Ben Brown gave his pads and gloves to Varma to bowl some left-arm in an attempt to add to his one first-class wicket, while Fletcha Middleton showed off his medium-pacers for the first time in professional cricket.Haseeb Hameed and Freddie McCann reached the easiest half-centuries of their career in a 99-run stand before 4.50pm and handshakes rolled around.

Codi Yusuf will be the third debutant for South Africa, who play a Test against Zimbabwe for the first time since 2017

Firdose Moonda27-Jun-2025

Big Picture: A first for South Africa in over a decade

South Africa have not even had the time to take the mace on tour and they’re headed off on their next assignments, though it is not a part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. They’re hopping across the border, without seven of the XI that won the WTC final less than two weeks ago (though Lungi Ngidi will join them for the second Test), to visit neighbours Zimbabwe, where they have not been for 11 years.Indeed, the two countries haven’t met in a Test since December 2017, and that was an experimental affair. It was South Africa’s first (and to date, last) dalliance with pink ball Tests and lasted a little more than a day. Of those who played in that fixture, only Keshav Maharaj, Craig Ervine and Blessing Muzarabani will feature in this one – a sign of how much things have changed.Maharaj will captain an inexperienced South African side after Temba Bavuma was ruled out, still nursing the hamstring injury that he batted, and battled, through in the WTC final. Three debutants – Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis and Codi Yusuf – will start the first Test and there is the possibility of two others – Lesego Senokwane and Prenelan Subrayen – being used for the second as South Africa mine their depth with an eye on the future.Related

• Ahead of Test debut, T20 star Brevis wants to be 'the same guy that plays all formats'

• Glimpse into South Africa's future: Young squad set for Zimbabwe challenge

• Conrad confident Maphaka can be 'main dog' in SA pace attack

Ervine leads Zimbabwe and will do so during their busiest period. They have already played five Tests this year and are due six more, all at home, and will also host a white-ball series against Sri Lanka and the T20 World Cup Qualifiers.The volume of matches has not caused a reversal in results, with Zimbabwe still struggling for wins, though they pulled off their first in four years when they beat Bangladesh in April.Muzarabani, the other 2017 survivor, is their headliner but there’s lots of other talent on offer. They have a good mix of youth and experience across the team including the longest serving active international in Sean Williams and newcomers Brian Bennett and 19-year-old left-arm seamer Newman Nyamhuri.Blessing Muzarabani is one of the bigger names in the Zimbabwe team•AFP/Getty Images

Still, on paper, you’d be forgiven for reading this as a mismatch of the biggest kind. South Africa are world champions, with not as much Test cricket as they’d like to have, while Zimbabwe don’t even compete in the WTC, much as they would want to. But the countries share a border, and a vision for the 2027 World Cup, they will co-host with Namibia and this is the start of closer relations.Zimbabwe are even rumoured to be planning a celebration for South Africa, to congratulate them on their WTC win and perhaps bask in some of the glory.

Form Guide

Zimbabwe: LLWLL
South Africa: WWWWW

In the spotlight: Brian Bennett and Dewald Brevis

Bennett, who spent a year at South African school Kingswood, has had a dazzling start to his Test career. In seven matches, he has two centuries, one in Bulawayo and one in England, which was Zimbabwe’s fastest in the format, and two half-centuries, both in Bangladesh. Though he has been up against Josh Tongue, Sam Cook and Gus Atkinson, South Africa’s pace attack will likely be the quickest he has faced and could present him with his sternest challenge and/or his biggest opportunity. Bennett likes to take the ball on, and is particularly confident against the short stuff and with South Africa announcing an XI with four quicks, he maybe licking his lips at the prospect of cashing in.It is finally time for Brevis, regarded as a prodigy on the South African scene since he topped the run-charts at the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, to strut his stuff on the big stage. Brevis has had a stellar summer, finishing second on the first-class run-scorers’ list with a strike-rate of 88.69 alongside good returns in the domestic one-day cup (also the second-highest run-scorer), SA20 (sixth-highest) and IPL. Coach Shukri Conrad is most impressed by the maturity Brevis has shown since first making his international debut (in T20Is) two years ago and then facing questions over his readiness to step up. Conrad also sees him as offering them a bowling option with “not-so-filthy” legspin and is being primed for a big role in future.Dewald Brevis caught everyone’s eye at the 2022 U-19 World Cup•ICC via Getty Images

Team News: Three debutants for SA

Ben Curran’s broken finger has opened the door for Bulawayo’s own Prince Masvaure to make a return after a year on the sidelines. Nick Welch, who missed the outing in England as Zimbabwe opted for an extra spinner, should return to No. 3 to shore up the batting line-up. With Richard Ngarava injured, Muzarabani and Tanaka Chivanga could make up the seam contingent and they will likely have three spin options in Wellington Masakadza, Vincent Masekesa and Wessly Madhevere.Zimbabwe: (probable) 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Prince Masvaure, 3 Nick Welch, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Craig Ervine (capt), 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Vincent Masekesa, 10 Tanaka Chivanga, 11 Blessing MuzarabaniSouth Africa will hand out three new caps to Pretorius, Brevis and Yusuf, who was preferred over Subrayan in an XI that will include four quicks. Wiaan Mulder, who batted at No. 3 in the WTC final, will do so again in this series and form part of a pack that includes Corbin Bosch, Kwena Maphaka and Yusuf.South Africa: 1 Matthew Breetzke, 2 Tony de Zorzi, 3 Wiaan Mulder, 4 David Bedingham, 5 Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Codi Yusuf, 11 Kwena Maphaka

Pitch and Conditions: Low and slow

Pitches at Queens’ Sports Club are known to be hard work for both batters and bowlers, with runs coming at 3.34 to the over, with spinners slightly more effective than seamers. In five Tests since 2023, spinners have taken 85 wickets at 29.62 and seamers 71 at 34.74. What has yet to be tested is the threat that out-and-out pace will pose, which may become evident in this series. The weather is set fair for the next few weeks but mornings will be chilly with temperatures in single-figures Celsius.Craig Ervine, who is one of three players who played the last South Africa vs Zimbabwe Test, will lead his country•AFP

Stats and Trivia: Sean Williams on top of the world

• Zimbabwe have not won a Test in Bulawayo since beating Bangladesh in 2001. Since then, they have played 20 Tests at Queens and lost 15. They have also not won a home Test since 2013, when they beat Pakistan in Harare. They have hosted 17 matches since then, lost 13 and drawn four.
• South Africa are currently on an eight-match winning streak, one fewer than their longest run of nine Tests, between 2002-03. A series sweep in Zimbabwe will give them their longest winning run.
• Williams, who has been playing international cricket for two decades, has the highest batting average among players who have scored more than 1,000 runs since 2020.

Quotes

“I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to captain the side once again and in my favourite format of the game. It’s a privilege. I’m a very laid-back captain. I’m always open to advice, but I also allow the bowlers to come up with their own plans because I always believe in growth. I am someone that if I need to put my foot down, I will. I just want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable so that they can execute their skill best on the field.”

Veteran will hang up boots after helping Foxes back into Division One of the Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2025Leicestershire’s Chris Wright has announced he will retire at the end of the 2025 season.The 40-year old seamer, who came through at Middlesex before playing for Essex and Warwickshire, has been at Grace Road since 2019 and will depart with the club returning to Division One next season for the first time since 2003.A veteran of over 200 first-class matches, he has the chance to move to 600 career dismissals before hanging up his boots. Wright will also finish with 202 dismissals across List A and T20I cricket.By far the most productive period of Wright’s career came at Warwickshire. On the verge of being released by Essex without a county in 2011, he was recruited to Edgbaston by bowling coach Graeme Welch and struck up a devastating partnership with left-arm seamer Keith Barker.An initial loan stint was made permanent for the 2012 season. Wright immediately repaid the faith with 62 wickets as Warwickshire secured their seventh County Championship title. He also helped the Midlands club to T20 Blast and One-Day Cup glory in 2014 and 2016, respectively. All in, he took 325 wickets for the county.In 2024, Wright missed the start of the season after admitting two breaches of the ECB’s anti-doping rules after testing positive for ostarine, a drug which has similar effects to testosterone, in September 2023. A nine-month suspension was backdated to October 2023, allowing Wright to return to action in July that summer.In a statement released on social media, Wright said: “When I moved to Leicestershire in 2019, my goal was clear – to help the club return to first division cricket. Now that this has finally been achieved, and having celebrated my 40th birthday, it feels like the perfect time to announce that I will be retiring at the end of the current season.”Becoming a professional cricketer was a dream that began when I watched my dad play club cricket and joined him on trips to see Hampshire at their old county ground, Northlands Road. To have lived that dream for so many years has been the greatest privilege.”I’m incredibly grateful for the support I’ve had throughout my career – from the coaches who guided me at every stage, to the team-mates who made every day memorable. Most of all, I want to thank my family and my partner Carly, whose selflessness and encouragement have allowed me to chase my goals for the past two decades.”I’ll cherish the trophies and the wins, but it’s the daily moments with team-mates – the laughter, the challenges, and the friendships – that mean the most. Now it’s time to give back to the game I love, helping the next generation of players achieve their own ambitions! Forever grateful!”