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Avesh Khan and Venkatesh Iyer have been asked by the BCCI to stay on in the UAE after the completion of the IPL to join Umran Malik as net bowlers for the Indian team during the T20 World Cup. As things stand, they are not part of the list of standby players, which currently includes Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar, though India – like the other teams – have until October 15 to make changes to their final squad for the competition.Related

• Venkatesh Iyer, the 'Stephen Fleming clone' who turned KKR's season around

• Shardul Thakur replaces Axar Patel in India's T20 World Cup squad

• Umran Malik to stay back in UAE as net bowler for India's T20 World Cup campaign

• Avesh Khan wants to be a bowler who can produce what his captain wants

Avesh had travelled with India to England earlier this year after a series of starring performances for Delhi Capitals in the first leg of the IPL. But he had to return home after injuring his thumb during a tour game, and while he has been on the fringes of the national team, Iyer’s inclusion in the list of “net bowlers” came as a bit of a surprise, primarily because while he bowls seam-up, it is as an opening batter for Kolkata Knight Riders that he has made a name.Iyer, a Madhya Pradesh player who made his List A and T20 debuts in 2015 and then his first-class debut in 2018, has been one of the finds of the second leg of the IPL in the UAE, where he has been a big performer, especially with the bat at the top of the order for Knight Riders. He has so far scored 265 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 123.25. He has also picked up three wickets in 7.3 overs – including 2 for 29 in a league match against Delhi Capitals – while returning an economy rate of 8.53.Avesh Khan is the Delhi Capitals’ leading wicket-taker in IPL 2021•BCCI

Avesh, meanwhile, has continued to be one of the stars for Capitals, and is their leading wicket-taker by far: 23 in 15 games with an economy rate of 7.50, eight strikes ahead of second-placed Axar Patel, who has 15.The third member of the net bowlers’ line-up, Malik, has been another outsider to have turned heads at the ongoing IPL, primarily because of his pace and ability to crank it up to above 150kph regularly. The 21-year-old Jammu & Kashmir rookie was promoted from net bowler to the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad proper after T Natarajan had to miss the second leg of the IPL because of Covid-19-related issues. A rank newbie, Malik was included in the XI for Sunrisers’ last three games, after the team had been knocked out of the competition, and he impressed with his pace, even though he didn’t end up picking up too many wickets – just two – and has tended to be a bit wayward at times.All the India players have been in the UAE for the past few weeks because of the IPL, and will get together in time for their first warm-up game, against Australia on October 18, three days after the completion of the IPL. Their second and final, warm-up game is against South Africa on October 20, and they will kickstart their campaign in the main tournament on October 24, against Pakistan.

Daryl Mitchell, the Worcestershire opener, will retire at the end of this season after nearly two decades at New Road.The 37-year-old Mitchell will call time on his career after his side’s final Championship match of the year against Leicestershire, beginning at New Road on September 21.Mitchell has made more than 500 appearances across all formats for Worcestershire since his senior debut in 2005. He has scored 13,874 first-class runs at an average of 38.75 and has 38 centuries to his name, putting him among the top-six century-makers for Worcestershire. He also has 3874 List A runs and 2310 runs in T20s and is the only Worcestershire player to have taken 100 T20 wickets.Mitchell captained Worcestershire for six seasons and spent four years as chair of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, where he is now director of cricket operations and the chair of its newly formed advocacy group. He will take up working with the PCA full-time in October.Related

• Doughty Danny Lamb, Tom Bailey make Nottinghamshire battle for vital victory

• Lyndon James, Tom Moores rough up Lancashire's bowlers

• Brett Hutton makes his stats count as Nottinghamshire seize the upper hand

• Matt Fisher trawls through Somerset once more as Yorkshire harvest two-day rout

• Worcestershire slip towards heavy defeat after Jack Leaning, Sam Billings lead way for Kent

“I’m in a lucky and privileged position to be able to transition from playing to that role and really excited about that for the future,” Mitchell said. “Hopefully, I can go out with a bit of a bang with a couple of hundreds and a couple of wins. That’s the plan.”I have nothing but fond memories here at New Road. I’ve had a brilliant career here and played with some fantastic people and I’m looking forward to coming next year as a fan. This place is very close to my heart, and I guess I’ll go full circle and bring the kids down next year just like my dad used to bring me.”Fanos Hira, Worcestershire CCC chair, said: “Daryl has been an outstanding, loyal and committed player for our club. He has been supremely impressive on the field, and having dealt with him on many matters off the field, I am sure he has a very healthy future in sports administration. In many ways, he is a role model for elite sportsman as they transition to a new life after sport.”

Suzie Bates continued her stunning form but it wasn’t quite enough•Nathan Stirk / Stringer

Reigning champions Southern Vipers lost their first game in this season’s Kia Women’s Super League despite another impressive innings by Suzie Bates.Bates has yet to be dismissed in the tournament after making an unbeaten 50 to add to earlier scores of 47 and 119.But Vipers’ pursuit of a target of 128 against Surrey Stars at the Ageas Bowl stalled when they lost four wickets for one run having reached 78 for 3 in the 13th over.Rain forced the players off after 16.2 overs with Vipers 100 for 7 as Stars won by four runs under Duckworth-Lewis to claim their third straight win and virtually seal their place in finals day at Hove on September 1.Bates and West Indies’ Hayley Matthews had launched the chase with a stand of 35 before Vipers lost three wickets in nine balls, two of them to England off-spinner Laura Marsh.Bates and Arran Brindle then put on 37 for the fourth wicket and looked to be steering the hosts to victory before the dramatic collapse.Brindle was leg before to Nat Sciver who then ran out Georgia Adams from midwicket in the next over. In her next over, Sciver bowled Vipers’ captain Charlotte Edwards round her legs and trapped Carla Rudd lbw two balls later.Vipers took 16 runs off the 16th over with Bates moving to her half-century with successive fours as they tried in vain to get ahead of Duckworth-Lewis before the rain got too heavy.Earlier, Stars were indebted to their two South Africans, Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp, to get them to 127 for 8 after winning the toss with 56 runs coming in the Powerplay.Lee, making her first appearance in the competition, crashed 40 off 24 balls with eight fours as she dominated to the extent that no other batsman scored a run until the fifth over. She looked in prime form until mis-timing a drive to extra cover in the seventh over.Kapp held the rest of the innings together with 42 from 48 balls but some accurate bowling restricted Stars to 50 runs between the 6th and 16th overs, during which time they lost three wickets including Sciver, who was run out by Matthews’ direct hit from mid-off.

ScorecardChris Rushworth ensured Durham’s hard graft earlier in the day brought reward•Getty Images

Glamorgan opener Nick Selman followed his match-winning century against Durham at Swansea last month with another hundred in the Specsavers County Championship match at Chester-le-Street.But Durham’s Chris Rushworth hit back with the second new ball, grabbing three wickets to finish with 5 for 40 as the visitors slipped from 182 for 3 to close the first day on 221 for 7.Having elected to bat in baking heat, Glamorgan ground along all day. losing only one wicket in each of the first two sessions in reaching 147 from 66 overs.Selman spent 249 balls over his hundred, getting there by inside-edging Rushworth for his 13th four. Three balls later he was lbw for 103.Offspinner Ryan Pringle conceded only 23 runs in 19 overs as Durham maintained their accuracy, with the other two wickets going to academy seamer Matty Potts in his second appearance.Despite a minute’s silence for the London fire victims at 11am, and a drinks break at noon, Durham got through 33 overs in an attritional first session.Jacques Rudolph fell in the seventh over when Rushworth was rewarded for an excellent spell by clipping the left-hander’s off bail.Andrew Salter, promoted to three in the absence of Will Bragg, cut and pulled Barry McCarthy for two fours but was otherwise restrained.He departed for 25 when he pushed forward and edged Rushworth to wicketkeeper Stuart Poynter to end a stand of 66 in 34 overs.Colin Ingram also made a cautious start but began to flourish when he drove Pringle through the covers then cut him for another four. He fell for 33 when Potts moved one away to have him caught behind.When Rushworth took the new ball his fourth delivery swung in to take out Aneurin Donald’s off stump. Then balls which nipped back had Selman and David Lloyd lbw, although neither seemed happy with the decision.Potts took the final wicket of the day when wicketkeeper Tom Cullen, handed his debut after Chris Cooke took a blow on the head in practice, was well caught at second slip by Pringle.

Steven Smith admitted his Australia side “got away with one” after rain forced an abandonment in their ICC Champions Trophy match against New Zealand at Edgbaston.Smith criticised his seamers for “one of the worst bowling displays that we’ve put on for a very long time,” as New Zealand amassed 254 for three at the end of the 39th over. And while he felt they clawed back some ground in the final six overs of the innings – New Zealand lost seven wickets for 37 runs in that period – he still accepted Australia would “have preferred to been in New Zealand’s position” when the rain came.”I thought it was probably one of the worst bowling displays that we’ve put on for a very long time,” Smith said after the match. “We bowled both sides of wicket. We gave them a lot of freebies. It was pretty ordinary.”We certainly would have preferred to be in New Zealand’s position when we came off the end there. We still had a lot of work to do and they’ve got a quality bowling attack as well. So we perhaps got away with one there.”Australia were wobbling at 53 for 3 when the match was abandoned. Both sides took a point from the game and realistically have to win both their remaining matches if they are to progress to the semi-finals.While Smith suggested “rust” might have been a factor in the performance – Mitchell Starc hasn’t played a white-ball match since February and any sort of cricket since early March, while Josh Hazlewood played just one warm-up match in a similar period – both he and opposing captain, Kane Williamson, noted the aggression of the New Zealand top order as a factor in unsettling the Australian attack.”Let’s hope it’s rust and let’s hope it’s gone,” Smith said. “Because that was, as I said, was pretty ordinary.”But credit to them. They came out quite hard and played quite well up top. And Kane timed his innings beautifully and played really well throughout the middle.”With Luke Ronchi, once an Australia player, thrashing a brisk half-century, New Zealand raced to 117 for one in the 16th over. Willaimson felt that approach may have been partially responsible for the off-colour performance from the Australian bowlers.”I thought the opening partnership from us was very, very good,” Williamson said. “And put them under a bit of pressure on a good batting surface.”I thought Ronchi was outstanding setting the tone today. Martin Guptill as well. That was a very good partnership at the top of the order against a very good bowling attack. It was a great effort by Luke and very good innings.”Both captains agreed the result was “not ideal” and accepted their sides had to win their final two games in the group stages to stand a reasonable chance of progressing.”The nature of this tournament is that every game is basically knockout,” Williamson said. “We played some good cricket and we can’t control the weather. Although it is a little bit frustrating.””It’s obviously not ideal to have a washout,” Smith said. “So for us now it’s about making sure that we’re playing each game like a final and winning the next two. It’s a pretty quick tournament. You can’t really afford a washout or a loss.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
3:47

Bangar: Knight Riders not showing any complacency

How long is 20 overs? Ask Delhi Daredevils’ batsmen, who once again found time to wander aimlessly in the middle overs and then stumble at the end. In a repeat of their first match against Kolkata Knight Riders, Daredevils got off to a flier – 53 in the Powerplay in both matches – but lived up to their well-earned reputation of being the slowest in middle overs and couldn’t manage a finishing kick to boot. The most prolific pair this IPL – Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir – then made light of the 161-run target.In what was the first signs of this being Groundhog Day, the captains walked out for a toss that was purely academic. Daredevils wanted to defend because they don’t want their inexperienced batting active in decisive moments, Knight Riders wanted to chase because they last lost chasing at Eden Gardens in 2012. Sanju Samson then continued his schizophrenic IPL: bomb the quicks, go comatose against spin, and then find yourself under pressure and either kick on or fail. Failure is likelier if you keep putting yourself under that pressure, and it didn’t help that Chris Morris, Rishabh Pant and Corey Anderson couldn’t do much either.Narine pulls them back
Samson once again displayed his outrageous talent of clean striking and raced away to 25 off nine balls. Then came Sunil Narine with a record of 56 balls against Samson, Karun Nair and Anderson for just 49 runs and three wickets. On cue he produced his first Powerplay wicket this season: Karun Nair, out sweeping. Daredevils 48 for 1 in the fifth over.Slow bowlers, slower battingSamson has scored just 81 runs off 76 balls of spin this season. Against pace he has looted 203 off 119. It was a mild surprise Narine was not introduced sooner. Brakes came on immediately with either Narine or Kuldeep Yadav manning one end in the middle overs. The result was a partnership between Shreyas Iyer and Samson that reached 50 in 7.3 overs. Forty-six legal deliveries went without a hit to the fence. Every such delivery meant one fewer for the big hitters to face.When Samson scored his hundred this season, he went through a similar pattern: a flying start of 35 off 19, then only 13 off the next 19, and then the final kick. Against Knight Riders in Delhi, he did the same, going from 27 off 12 to just 13 off the next 13 balls. Here, too, he put himself under pressure of going big in the end. Like in Delhi, he failed to kick on here, scoring just 35 off the last 29 balls he faced, despite two late sixes.Iyer’s innings was more damaging. He found himself in a desperate situation after scoring 18 off the first 21 balls he faced. They both tried to go hard the moment Colin de Grandhomme was introduced in the 13th over, but Daredevils needed something big from them or from Morris, Pant and Anderson to salvage the situation.Pace stifles DaredevilsUmesh Yadav got Samson lbw with one that swung back in. Needing quick runs Samson was caught playing a low-percentage flick to square leg. The came back Nathan Coulter-Nile to eliminate the big threat of Pant with a straight near-yorker. Iyer again took high risk in the same over and perished. Corey Anderson was dropped twice, but Morris ran him out. Chris Woakes and Coulter-Nile then finished off for Knight Riders with just one boundary coming in the last four overs. Coulter-Nile has taken two or more wickets in each of the four matches he has played.The leaveWhen Daredevils scored an underwhelming 168 in their last match against Knight Riders, the quality in their bowling made Gambhir’s side sweat over the chase. Daredevils are one of the sides that can be backed to do something with small defences. Even though Zaheer Khan walked off with what looked like a pulled hamstring in his second over, Daredevils got off to a heartening start. Kagiso Rabada burst through Narine’s defence, and soon had Uthappa top-edging. The ball fell near the square leg umpire with ample time for at least three fielders to converge. Samson and Mishra came the closest. Neither of them called. Neither of them went for it. Had the catch been taken, Knight Riders would have been reduced to 37 for 2 in the sixth over, with Gambhir still going at a strike rate of 100.The endgameA long one at that. Gambhir, still one of the best players of spin in India, welcomed Mishra with two boundaries in his first over. Uthappa tore into Morris at the other end. In eight overs, Knight Riders had knocked off half the runs. If Daredevils had seven boundary-less overs after the quick start, there were only two middle overs in the Knight Riders innings that didn’t feature a boundary. When Gambhir pulled an innocuous short ball from Anderson for a four in the 13th over, the asking rate dropped under a run a ball. The game was over long ago.

Khalid Latif, the Pakistan batsman charged with six breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code during the PSL in February, appeared before a three-member tribunal in Lahore on Friday, a week after skipping the first hearing citing ill health.Latif and his legal team agreed to the PCB’s adopted timelines, with a formal hearing set for May 15 in Lahore. He was given a deadline of May 5 to respond to his alleged code-of-conduct breaches. The PCB said in a release that it “may, at its discretion, file a rebuttal by May 10”. The final trial is expected to start on May 18.The charges laid on Latif, who represented Islamabad United but returned without playing a match because of the suspension, included failing to disclose suspect approaches.The same tribunal, comprising Justice Asghar Haider, former PCB president Tauqir Zia, and former wicketkeeper Wasim Bari, will also hear the case of Sharjeel Khan, Latif’s Islamabad United team-mate who is facing similar charges relating to the opening match of this year’s PSL. Both players have denied some of the alleged breaches but admitted to at least one of the more minor charges.Meanwhile, fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who has been banned for one year from all forms of cricket and fined PKR1 million for failing to report an approach during the same tournament, has been handed a lifeline by the PCB. He will be able to return after six months if he assists the board in its ongoing investigations into the PSL corruption scandal, and doesn’t breach the board’s anti-corruption code in that time.Shazaib Hasan, provisionally suspended from all forms of cricket for a similar offence, wants to contest charges laid by the PCB. He has submitted a response to the PCB charge sheet and will wait to hear about a possible referral of his case to the tribunal. He was also pulled out of the tournament failing to report a suspect approach in time and in full detail, and also for allegedly inducing players in corruption indirectly.

The inquiry into a suspicious first-class match in January will take “two to three” more weeks, SLC has said.SLC had appointed a committee to head an inquiry into a Premier League Tournament match between Kalutara Physical Culture Club and eventual Tier B winners Panadura Sports Club, when a rival team made allegations that the result of that match had been artificially engineered. Though it was hoped that committee would produce a final report on their findings within a few weeks, with the case having since become more complex, further time was required.”The inquiry might take a little longer – maybe two or three weeks,” SLC vice-president K Mathivanan said. “There are so many witnesses who have to be heard from. Also, they will be allowed to be examined by the Panadura and KCC lawyers. Then there will be natural justice. It’s like a court scenario, but justice will be done.”That match had drawn suspicion primarily because of the nature of the third and final day’s scoring rates. Panadura, who were still making their first-innings response to Kalutara’s 390, hit 223 at a run rate of 10.34 to begin the last day, and the scoring continued at this breakneck pace. Kalutara were all out for 197 in 22.5 overs, in their second innings; Panadura then chased down the target of 165 inside 14 overs. All told, a staggering 587 runs were scored in a single day.The result proved to be pivotal to the league’s outcome, as Panadura went on to beat Sri Lanka Ports Authority Cricket Club to the Tier B title.

Twenty-year old quick Lungi Ngidi has not recovered from the hip injury he sustained during the third T20 against Sri Lanka in Cape Town two weeks ago and will not travel with South Africa’s limited-overs squad to New Zealand. David Miller, who is sitting out the rest of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka after he required stitches to his hand, has recovered and will travel with 14-man group to play one T20 and five ODIs, starting next Friday.The only addition to the outfit that leads Sri Lanka 4-0 with a game to play is that of Cobras’ bowler Dane Paterson, who will travel as cover for Dwaine Pretorius who is awaiting the birth of his first child. Paterson was capped for a T20 against Sri Lanka but has yet to make his ODI debut. He will travel with the squad from Saturday and is expected to remain with them for the lone T20 and the first ODI. He will return home once baby Pretorius arrives and Dwaine is available to travel.”We, as selectors are very happy with the way the squad has gelled over the past 6 months and consistency in selection is very important as we continue our build-up towards the ICC Champions Trophy tournament,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors said.The lack of changes to the South African squad comes after they won two successive series at home – 5-0 against Australia and the victory over Sri Lanka which may yet become a whitewash – and suggests South Africa have largely settled on their Champions Trophy squad. After the New Zealand series, they will play three ODIs in England in May in preparation for the tournament and if they were going to trial any different combinations, they would have used their time in New Zealand to do so.With Paterson only included as a short-term replacement, though, there may yet be a spot for Ngidi, who will likely play in the domestic one-day cup when he regains fitness. South Africa have yet to decide who will take the new ball and have experimented between Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell and Pretorius.South Africa will expect New Zealand to present a sterner challenge than Sri Lanka, especially since they recently beat Australia in an ODI series, but will also place an emphasis on conditions which could be similar to England’s early season. If South Africa beat Sri Lanka in the final ODI on Friday, they will travel there as the No.1 ranked ODI side. New Zealand are in third place.South Africa squad: AB de Villiers (capt), Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi

The PCB has issued a strong rebuttal of the security advice given by the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) over the planned staging of the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore. The report strongly suggested that overseas players should decline to participate due to concerns over safety.Pakistan’s board swiftly and fiercely rejected the FICA assessment via a strongly worded press release. “FICA has done great disservice to the cause of cricket in general and Pakistan cricket in particular by advising players not to play in the PSL final in Lahore next March because of ‘security reasons’,” read a statement. “FICA has cited unnamed expert security consultants for updated security advice that claims Pakistan is at an extremely elevated state of insecurity.”The FICA statement came shortly after the PCB had announced that the final would be played in Lahore on March 5, as planned, whether overseas players take part or not. If they decline to travel, they will be replaced by players from Pakistan or foreign players who are ready to make a trip. Apart from the final the entire tournament will be played in the UAE – as was the 2016 edition. The two finalists will then meet at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.In the report, FICA warned that the risk level in Pakistan remains “at an extremely elevated state” and that “an acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed”. The report, which FICA said was based on “updated security advice” from expert security consultants, states that: “Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist attacks across the country and westerners have in the past been directly targeted and killed in Pakistan.”Indiscriminate and targeted attacks are likely to continue, and expert advice is consistent with all Government Agencies and Diplomatic Missions, who generally advise to reconsider the need to travel. There have been attacks at sporting events, which have had significant security overlay in the past, and terrorist groups in Pakistan have demonstrated the intent and capability to launch attacks anywhere in the country. Locations including luxury hotels are also at high risk of being targeted by militant groups.”In its response, the PCB said: “This is a careless and cavalier approach to an issue of great importance. FICA sits thousands of miles away from Pakistan and cannot name even one credible security expert, yet makes a sweeping negative statement about the security situation in Lahore. FICA’s claim that ‘westerners and luxury hotels have been attacked’ is contrary to the facts on the ground that prove that not a single foreigner or hotel has been attacked in Lahore in the last five years.”Pakistan has been a no-go country for major international teams since the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. Zimbabwe are the only Full Member to tour Pakistan since, when they visited for a limited-overs series in 2015. There was an attempted suicide attack during that short tour, during the second ODI at Lahore, but it took place nearly 800 metres away from the stadium premises. The tour went ahead. During more than six years of isolation, the PCB has also hosted several Associate and Affiliate countries – Afghanistan, Kenya, Hong Kong and, currently, Malaysia.Recalling previous incoming tours, the PCB’s statement further read: “PCB has recently hosted Kenya, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh (Women), Afghanistan and Malaysian national cricket teams in Lahore and Karachi without any problem. In the case of PSL final in Lahore for one day, the government has guaranteed protection by over 3000 army and police personnel in Lahore. PCB will provide armoured buses for travel along with VVIP security protocols.”The statement noted the names of a number of former players, including Brian Lara, Jonty Rhodes, Damien Martyn and others, who had visited Pakistan in recent years in relation to their work as TV experts. Without expanding, the statement also added that the PSL had “already received confirmation from top international players to play in Lahore and PCB is determined to bring cricket home to Pakistan”.