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Madhya Pradesh secured a bonus-point victory on the back of an innings and 64-run thrashing of Uttar Pradesh in Hyderabad. UP, asked to follow-on after being bowled out for 176, slumped to 225 all out on the final day. Chandrakant Sakhure, the right-arm medium pacer, playing in only his third first-class game, finished with career-best figures of 6 for 40. MP’s 465 in the first innings was built around Harpreet Singh’s unbeaten 216. UP captain Suresh Raina, recovering from fever, didn’t bat in both innings.A double century from Manpreet Juneja helped Gujarat pull off a heist and pocket three points, courtesy a first-innings lead, despite conceding 544 against Baroda in Jaipur. Gujarat began the day needing 267 runs with six wickets in hand, to take a lead. The task appeared tougher when they lost the services of Rujul Bhatt, who retired hurt on 58. But Juneja found able support from Axar Patel, the left-arm-spinning allrounder, who made an unbeaten 109 as Gujarat went past Baroda’s score without losing a wicket on the final day.Railways’ push for an outright win was thwarted by Uday Kaul as Punjab salvaged a point after conceding a first-innings lead at Palam grounds in New Delhi. Set a target of 362, Punjab were 170 for 3 when play ended, with Kaul (61 not out) and Mandeep Singh (41 not out) having forged an unbroken 86-run fourth-wicket stand. Railways, who resumed on 180 for 2, lost five wickets for the addition of 65 runs before the declaration. Shivakant Shukla, who made 128 in the first innings, made 97 in the second dig. Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh had a disappointing outing, making 9 and 17 in his two outings.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s Test captain, has expressed confidence in international cricket returning to the country soon, and said it was ironic his team’s rise to No. 1 in the ICC rankings had to be accomplished without home-crowd support.The ICC chief executive David Richardson presented Misbah with the Test mace at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, after Pakistan had risen to No. 1 for the first time since the current Test rankings were introduced in 2003, by virtue of their 2-2 draw in England this summer. Pakistan are the fifth side after Australia, England, India and South Africa to top the ICC Test rankings.”There is nothing better than being No. 1 in the Test rankings,” Misbah said. “It’s one of the best days in my life; the happiest day in my cricketing career. And there can’t be a better location to receive the ICC Test Championship mace than this ground where we last played a home Test seven years ago. It is ironic for both the players as well as the fans that the journey to the No. 1 position has been outside Pakistan.”The players have missed on the crowd support, while the spectators have been unable to watch live some magnificent team and individual performances. But I am confident that things will change and international cricket will soon return to Pakistan.”I would like to congratulate everyone who has been part of this achievement and part of this journey; every individual, every coach, every selector who has worked hard for this No. 1 position.”The families of the players have really sacrificed a lot too. We have to spend almost six to seven months out of the country without them and that’s difficult [for both parties]. Credit should be given to the families. It’s a proud moment for all of us and I hope we can go together at the top for a long period.”Apart from a visit by Zimbabwe in 2015, no Full Member country has toured Pakistan since March 2009, when gunmen attacked the bus transporting the Sri Lankan team to Gaddafi Stadium on a morning of the Lahore Test. Since then, Pakistan have had to host their home fixtures at neutral venues, primarily the UAE.”Being part of a team that is ranked No.1 in Test cricket is a pinnacle achievement for any cricketer. Pakistan is a deserving recipient of the mace,” Richardson said. “It is all the more impressive that it has reached the number-one Test ranking despite not being able to play a series in front of its home crowd since March 2009.”Today is all about the team, today it’s all about Misbah. One of the things that makes Pakistan one of the most watchable teams in the world is the fact that they’ve got a man for all occasions. They’ve got batsmen who can deal with a tight situation, and on the bowling side, you can’t prepare seaming wickets against them because they’ve got the seamers to exploit those conditions, left-arm and the right-arm and of course you’ve got a world class legspinner, so you’ve got all the ingredients for a top team and we are looking forward to Pakistan if not staying at No. 1 then certainly challenging for good many years to come. A strong Pakistan side is good for international cricket.”Pakistan face a challenge to hold on to their No. 1 Test ranking. India, presently No. 2, will displace Pakistan if they beat New Zealand in the upcoming three-Test series at home. Pakistan’s next Test series is in October against West Indies in the UAE. The team that is No. 1 on April 1, 2017, will receive $ 1 million from the ICC.”The next target we have set for ourselves is to finish as the No. 1 Test side at the April 1 cut-off date,” Misbah said. “It is not going to be easy as we have series against formidable sides like the West Indies, New Zealand and Australia. But instead of getting overawed by our opponents, we need to trust in our abilities, focus on our strengths and try to be as consistent as possible.”

ScorecardFile photo – David Miller stroked his fourth List-A century in a big chase to give South Africa A a five-wicket win•AFP

David Miller slammed his fourth List A century to help South Africa A nail a 288-run chase with five wickets in hand against National Performance Squad in the quadrangular series on Wednesday. Both teams are out the race for a spot in the finals, however, after Australia A sealed the second spot with a one-run win over India A on Tuesday.Miller’s unbeaten 124 off 104 balls took South Africa to 288 for 5 in 46.3 overs at the Ray Mitchell Oval in Mackay. That was after the NPS batsmen put together a collective display to steer them to 287 for 7.Miller strode out with South Africa having lost both their openers with 54 on the board. That would soon become 62 for 3, when he was joined by Qaasim Adams and the pair strung together a 91-run partnership in 102 balls. Adams was dismissed for a 52-ball 44, before Andile Phehlukwayo joined Miller for a 35-run stand. Thereafter, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas and Miller shut the door on NPS, coming together for an unbroken 100-run sixth-wicket partnership. Miller had hit nine fours and six sixes; Vilas stayed not out on 45 off 39 balls, helped by four fours.The spinners Matthew Short and Kyle Gardiner took two wickets each, while Hilton Cartwright accounted for opener Khaya Zondo.NPS had to rebuild early after choosing to bat with Matt Renshaw perishing in the fourth over for 16. Caleb Jewell and Sam Heazlett then struck half-centuries and added 115 for the second wicket, before the rest of the middle order made handy contributions to drive NPS to 287.The two teams will clash again in the third-place play-off on Saturday. The final takes place the following day at the same venue.

Steve Elworthy, a senior figure at the ECB, has been appointed managing director of the 2019 World Cup, which will be held in England and Wales.Elworthy, the former South Africa pace bowler, has previously been the Tournament Director for the 2007 and 2009 World T20s and the 2013 Champions Trophy.In his new role, which will be based at Lord’s, he will oversee the lead-up and running of the 2019 World Cup as well as the Champions Trophy and Women’s World Cup, which the ECB will host in 2017.Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, said: “It’s vital cricket in England and Wales capitalises fully on the unique opportunity we’ve been given to stage three major ICC events in the next three year – and Steve is perfectly qualified to provide the leadership and detailed planning required for all three.”He has an outstanding track record of delivering fan-friendly tournaments which have been widely admired not just in cricket, but across the wider sports industry.Elworthy said: “The UK has an outstanding record of hosting world-class events which set a benchmark for other countries, and other sports, to follow and I am very keen to maintain that tradition over the next three years.

ScorecardMichael Klinger helped ensure a comfortable chase•Getty Images

First met second in this top of the South Group clash in the Natwest T20 Blast in Cardiff, and it was Gloucestershire who secured victory against Glamorgan to become leaders. Going into this game the teams were level on points with only net run-rate separating them.Wickets for Graeme van Buuren and tight bowling from Benny Howell and Tom Smith restricted Glamorgan to 119 for 6. It was never enough runs to defend and an unbeaten stand of 97 between Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain took Gloucestershire home. Both men reached fifty as they secured victory with 23 balls to spare.A slow pitch with low bounce confronted the teams at Cardiff and it was surprising that Glamorgan chose to bat first on a pitch that was used for the match against Sussex on Thursday night. Right from the start of the home side’s innings the Gloucestershire bowlers were on top. A steady batting Powerplay took Glamorgan to 40 without loss but the introduction of spin bowling helped the visitors take control.Van Buuren took two wickets with his slow left-arm bowling in this first over, and they were the scalps of Glamorgan’s two in-form T20 batsmen. First David Lloyd looped the ball off a leading edge to Michael Klinger at mid-off and two balls later Colin Ingram was pinned lbw by a quicker delivery.From there the Glamorgan batsmen struggled to find any timing against some canny Gloucestershire bowling. It became clear very early on that pace off the ball was the way to go, and the Gloucestershire attack was perfectly suited to doing just that. Howell conceded just 13 runs from his four overs of medium pace and van Buuren finished with 3 for 19.It looked as if Glamorgan would fail to reach 100, but 32 from Graham Wagg, which included the only two sixes of the innings, helped them set a target of 120. Wagg scored 18 runs off the 20th over, bowled by Andrew Tye, to give his team a chance, albeit a slim one.A Glamorgan attack that featured the pace of Shaun Tait and Timm van der Gugten was far less equipped to cause real issues on this tired Cardiff pitch, and the extra pace allowed the Gloucestershire batsmen to time the ball with much greater ease than the opposition.The early wicket of Hamish Marshall, well caught down the leg side by Mark Wallace off van der Gugten, gave Glamorgan some hope but from there Gloucestershire cruised to victory. With a lack of slower bowling options available to him Rudolph brought himself on to bowl his part-time legspin for the first time in the T20 Blast this season in attempt to try something different. By then the run rate was down to four an over and there was no need for Gloucestershire to take any risks.This defeat is a setback for Glamorgan but they still have four matches left in this competition and are well placed to secure a quarter-final spot. For Gloucestershire one more win from their remaining two matches and they are mathematically certain of qualification for the knockout stages.

Alastair Cook believes that boards should continue to explore the notion of day-night Test cricket but has echoed the views of his Australia counterpart, Steven Smith, in saying that the Ashes does not need such a concept.South Africa have now agreed to play a floodlit Test against Australia in Adelaide later this year, having initially been reluctant about the idea. This means there will be two day-night Tests in the Australian season, with Pakistan also playing under lights at the Gabba.England look set to play their first floodlit Test next year, against West Indies at Lord’s or Edgbaston, although the ECB did approach the Bangladesh Cricket Board about the possibility of playing one on the tour to Bangladesh in October.

ACA chief wants day-night conditions worked on

The Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Alistair Nicholson has called for Cricket Australia find ways to optimise the conditions and tools required for day-night Test cricket, so that the quality of the cricket is not compromised.
“Over the next five months Cricket Australia needs to invest time and money to develop the best quality ball and the best wicket so we get the highest quality of Test cricket,” Nicholson said. “That’s what the players want and the fans deserve.”
He stressed that the players’ views have to be taken seriously. “The concerns of the players run deep, and with Alastair Cook’s comments we see they also run internationally. When the best players in the world are all expressing concerns they must be listened to and their concerns must be addressed.
“The message from players all over the world is clear: ‘We want the best quality Test cricket. To achieve this there is a lot of work to be done on the pink-ball format.'”

The key aim of the day-night Tests is to attract more spectators, when they are able to attend after work, but both Cook and Smith think current crowds for the Ashes are strong enough to stay with tradition.”A lot of the games have really good attendances and it’s probably not a series where you need to do it exactly at this time,” Cook said.Smith agreed. “I think it works pretty well with the red ball. Playing against England, we always get the viewers and the crowds out, so I don’t think there is any issue there.”Cook said the key to the format’s success in the longer term remains the quality of the pink ball. For the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide last year, when Australia faced New Zealand, extra grass was left on the pitch in a bid to ensure the ball retained its colour.Cook has experience of facing the pink ball when he played for MCC in Abu Dhabi in 2015 and does not feel it has the same qualities as the red ball.”No disrespect to the guys who make it, but on the two occasions I’ve played it doesn’t seem to behave the same way as the red ball,” he said. “I’ve got no idea why. But it’s one of the great things about Test cricket, sometimes the ball swings conventionally, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it reverses, but my occasions with the pink ball it didn’t do any of that, then it nipped all over under twilight. The quality of the ball is vital.”My general view of day-night Tests is that it’s definitely something cricket authorities need to keep looking at because it’s the way to keep the game moving forward with the times, making it more possible for spectators to come and watch.”Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland however said having day-night Tests in the Ashes would be a “natural progression” and would also attract more audience in the UK because of more suitable timings.”I respect the views of Steven and Alastair… the Ashes is a great contest and will no doubt attract a huge audience both at the grounds and on television, but the facts of the matter are by playing day-night Tests, we’re going to get even bigger audiences at the game and on television,” Sutherland said.”We’ve played one day-night Test match and this summer we have two in the schedule, so I think there’s a natural progression for us to get to a point where Ashes Test matches are played as day-night games. The Ashes series is still a long way off and we want to get through this summer first, but we will play somewhere between zero and two day-night Tests during the Ashes in 18 months’ time.”The time [of day-night Tests] shifts games into a more appealing time of day in the UK. We all need to stay very open-minded to this [and] continue to progress and build everyone’s confidence.”Sutherland also said there will not be any changes to the format of matches in Sydney (traditionally the venue of the New Year’s Test), Melbourne (traditionally the venue of the Boxing Day Test) and Perth. “There’s no doubt from our point of view Sydney and Melbourne are landmarks in the calendar and they work very well as day games at that time of year when everyone is on holiday. Perth is already time-shifted into the eastern states with the three-hour time difference.”

Jofra Archer declared his performance in third ODI against South Africa at the Utilita Bowl as “one of those times you don’t want to put the ball down”, after routing his opponents with four powerplay wickets en route to England recording the largest margin of victory ever in a 50-over international match.Archer’s superb figures of 4 for 18 in nine overs weren’t enough to salvage the series for England, after their contrasting defeats in the first two matches at Headingley and Lord’s. However, in reducing South Africa to 18 for 5 in the space of his first 4.5 overs, he set up a thumping 342-run win that bettered England’s previous largest victory in the format by exactly 100 runs.With Brydon Carse claiming two wickets in his own opening spell, and with Temba Bavuma absent with a calf strain, South Africa were reeling at 24 for 6 in the ten-over powerplay, before Adil Rashid’s three wickets sealed the victory in 20.5 overs – the same figure that South Africa themselves had needed to complete their series-opening run-chase at Headingley last week.”I told Carse, when we were bowling, let’s just do it so nobody else has to bowl,” Archer said afterwards. “Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out that way, but we definitely did try. They were either going to get them or they were going to get bowled out trying to get them, and everyone’s figures are pretty good today. It’s good to win a game by that margin.”For Archer, the performance continued a hugely uplifting summer in which he has re-established his credentials across formats, including with his recall to the England Test team during the series against India in July.Related

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He admitted, after being named Player of the Match, that he had not expected to feature in his third match in a row, in light of the previous regime’s caution about his workload after numerous injuries. However, he acknowledged it “meant a lot” to be able to put in another strong performance for his team.”To be injury-free is always a plus,” he said. “This summer is a tick for me.”Archer’s first wicket came with the second ball of his spell, as Aiden Markram flashed outside off to nick off for a duck. But thereafter, he was nigh on unplayable, bowling back-to-back wicket maidens as Ryan Rickelton also edged to the keeper, before Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs were both dismissed by extra bounce.”There are some spells that you bowl like you hardly bowl a bad ball,” he said. “You can bowl good balls that go for boundaries. But when every single ball that you’ve released, you’re happy where it landed, today was one of those days.”Archer did, however, claim he had felt in even better rhythm in the series opener in Leeds, where his superbly economical figures of 5-1-8-0 were overshadowed by the brutal treatment meted out to Sonny Baker (7-0-76-0) on debut at the other end.”I felt I bowled better at Headingley, but obviously I didn’t get the wickets to show,” he said. “But for the first four or five overs, well, actually the first 10 of the powerplay today, it was overcast. The ball was hard, the pitch was nipping. I don’t know if a red ball would have done the same thing, but that’s probably one of the times you don’t want to put the ball down. I tried my best not to put it down today either.”Asked how it felt to be a part of such an emphatic victory, Archer admitted he had not known the specifics of the victory, mouthing “wow” when told that 342 runs was a world-record margin.”To be honest, I didn’t really look at the scoreboard much,” he said. “I actually don’t know what they finished on, we were so focused on just trying to get off. But it was exciting. There was an ‘ooh’ or an ‘aah’ every single over.”

There’s no secret to Dewald Brevis’ big-hitting except perhaps a divine one if you believe the man himself, after his record-breaking antics in the second T20I against Australia in Darwin.Brevis scored 125*, which is the highest by a South African in T20Is and he became the youngest South African centurion in the format. He also put on one of the best examples of clean stroke-play down the ground. Brevis hit more than half his runs in the “V”, including six of his eight sixes, in what his captain Aiden Markram told the post-match broadcast was a “freakish display” of talent that Brevis himself can’t really explain.”That’s just my natural way of hitting,” he said at the press conference afterwards. “I’ve hit thousands of balls and I just want to go out there, enjoy it and have fun and just watch it and then if it’s there, it happens. I don’t try to do it, I’m just trying to be myself and have fun and watch the ball and then it happens.”Related

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But that was only after he made a commitment to himself a little more than eight months ago. “I believe God blessed me with a talent to play like that, to play aggressively. Last year, on 28 December, I made that commitment. I got a few people, they know who they are, who I trust and the main thing was just to be the original Dewald and to be on that side of it and every ball, wherever it is, to watch it and to hit it.”The words “be myself,” and “original Dewald,” are the most notable because when Brevis first made his name it was actually by a nickname: Baby AB. He earned that moniker around the same time as he finished as the leading run-scorer in the 2022 under-19 World Cup and embraced it. AB de Villiers, after whom Brevis was named, is still a role model to him but walking around as his successor weighed heavily on Brevis. Only five runs came from his first T20Is, in 2023, and he was sent back to the domestic set-up to grow his game and, as it turns out, his own name.Since then Brevis has torn up record books at home and is also the holder of the country’s highest score in domestic T20s: 162. Last summer, he was a key figure in MICT’s run to the SA20 title and also the second-highest run-scorer in both the first-class and List A competitions. Being dropped turned out to be just the opportunity he needed to prove himself.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I’ve always believed that this is where I need to be and where I will be, so I never had any doubt or anything,” he said. “It’s all about cricket, how things work out. It is a roller coaster, you have your ups, you have your downs but I have never ever doubted myself.”But did he wish it could have happened as quickly as everyone thought it would? “I would have loved to be here earlier but that’s all a part of your journey and that’s what makes you stronger. That’s why I’m here now,” he said. “It’s a reason for how I’m playing now. I had to make all those mistakes that all of the senior players actually warned me I would make. They told me to watch out for this, do this, do that and then I basically did exactly the opposite, so it’s important to go through that and to be able to be here now.”Some of those mistakes included buying into the hype of a label he didn’t ask for; others were going too hard too early and the most recent of them was not knowing whose record he broke as the holder South Africa’s highest individual score in T20Is. “It’s Jacques Kallis,” he said confidently, before being told it is actually Faf du Plessis.”So I got it wrong,” he laughed. “I didn’t know, but it’s obviously a privilege and an honour and there’s not a lot of words, I’m just extremely grateful and excited for what lies ahead.”And already he has promised it will be plenty as he hinted this innings was just a taster of what’s to come. “This is just the start, if I could say it like that,” he said. “I just want to keep working hard, do the same things and the next match is the next match. So this 100, I can enjoy it now, think a bit about it, watch it maybe, but then when the next match comes, it’s completely a new match and anything can happen.”

Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel echoed his coach Jason Gillespie’s comments about Pakistan’s game plan, saying his side were looking to use England’s aggressive tactics against them in their three-Test series. England’s reputation for playing high-risk, high-reward cricket under current coach Brendon McCullum means Pakistan are sniffing an opportunity to draw them into making mistakes, according to Shakeel.”England always play attacking cricket, and that always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them, and to use their mistakes to stay in the game,” Shakeel said at a press conference in Multan.Shakeel, who was Pakistan’s second-highest scorer during their series against England in 2022, said Pakistan would draw inspiration from that tour, despite England ultimately beating the hosts 3-0. “The last series we played against England, there were times we were quite close to winning, such as Rawalpindi and Multan, but we couldn’t finish it off.”Related

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It was in Multan, where the first Test starts Monday, that Pakistan ran England closest last time, with Shakeel almost steering his side home. Needing 355 for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan were securely placed at 290 with half the side still to bat, and Shakeel on 94. But two wickets from Mark Wood on the stroke of lunch ended Pakistan’s resistance, with England ultimately edging to a 26-run victory.The idea of exploiting England’s mistakes is not exactly novel. Most recently, Sri Lanka managed it with relative success in their three-Test series in England, winning the third Test after inducing England collapses in each innings. Pakistan’s ability to execute such a plan, though, is far from guaranteed, given recent struggles with both bat and ball, badly exposed by Bangladesh.Saud Shakeel finished as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer when they last played England•AFP/Getty Images

“We’re struggling with the bat from time to time, and unable to convert starts into huge scores,” Shakeel said. “That’s a point of concern. The series that’s over is now in the past. Admittedly we didn’t play well there. Our focus is on what’s ahead.”But we don’t follow any particular style playing cricket, we play according to the requirement of any situation, which gives us flexibility.”Pakistan have been trying to carve out their own identity, something new head coach Gillespie has tried to nail down. In July, he told ESPNcricinfo he wanted his side to find a style of cricket “authentic to Pakistan”, admitting he didn’t yet know what that was.Earlier this week, he told the that Pakistan would look to “hang in there, keep being disciplined” and “strike at the right moments”, suggesting the quest for an identity is temporarily being shelved in the hunt for the results Pakistan have been starved of.”The strategy is often decided on the spot depending on how England play,” Shakeel said. “Reverse swing may also come into play depending on the weather and the pitch [that is] prepared. If a team is being aggressive, it can be easy to get sucked into their style of play and over-attack. If they’re attacking, and we just let them make their mistakes, that might work out better for us.”

Samoa batter Darius Visser has broken the men’s T20I record for most runs in an over, against Vanuatu in the T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Region Qualifier in Apia on Tuesday. Visser finished with a score of 132 off 62 balls.In just his third T20I, Visser, 28, smashed six sixes in a 39-run over from Nalin Nipiko. It was the fourth time a batter had hit six sixes in an over in men’s T20Is and the first time that a team scored more than 36 runs in an over.The record was broken in the 15th over of Samoa’s innings. Visser hit the first three deliveries from Nipiko over the deep midwicket boundary after which there was a front foot no-ball. The free-hit was hit for six over the leg side, followed by a dot ball when Visser’s straight hit struck the stumps at the non-striker’s end.Nipiko overstepped for the second time and then bowled another no-ball, for height, that Visser pulled over fine leg for six. The last ball of the over was a low full toss outside off stump that Visser flicked over deep square leg to achieve the 39-run over.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Previously, there were five instances of a team scoring 36 runs in an over in men’s T20Is. India’s Yuvraj Singh was the first batter to hit six sixes in a T20I, off England’s Stuart Broad in the 2007 T20 World Cup. West Indies’ Kieron Pollard repeated the feat against Sri Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya in 2021, and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee did it earlier this year.The other two instances of 36-run overs that did not contain six sixes came when West Indies – aided by Nicholas Pooran – scored 36 against Afghanistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and when India’s Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh combined to score 36 against Afghanistan, also in 2024.Visser is the first Samoa batter to score a T20I century and his 14 sixes were the fifth highest in a men’s T20I innings. His score of 132, out of Samoa’s total of 174, was also the highest percentage of runs scored by a batter in a team’s innings. The second-highest score for Samoa against Vanuatu was 16 by their captain Caleb Jasmat. Visser scored 75.86% of his team’s runs surpassing the previous record of 75.1% by Australia’s Aaron Finch.According to a report in St George & Sutherland Leader, Visser grew up playing in Sydney and was a fast bowler before nagging injuries and stress fractures made him switch to legspin and batting. He also picked up a wicket as Samoa restricted Vanuatu to 164 for 9 to win the game by ten runs.