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Pakistan’s home series against West Indies early next year is likely to be postponed until the following season. The two sides were to play a three-match T20I series in January but ESPNcricinfo understands both boards are happy to reschedule it for 2024.The resulting space in the calendar potentially allows players from both sides to become available for the various T20 leagues during that period. The ILT20 in the UAE, the SA20 in South Africa, the BBL in Australia and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) are all taking place in that month.West Indies have already visited Pakistan twice in the last 10 months, albeit because the Covid-19 pandemic split one white-ball series in December 2021 into two. The two sides played three T20Is that month, before a Covid outbreak in the West Indies camp meant the subsequent ODIs had to be postponed to June this year. They played the ODIs in Multan, as part of the 2023 World Cup Super League.This series of three T20Is was penciled in between New Zealand’s visit to Pakistan in the winter of 2022-23 and the Pakistan Super League next year. The three games will most likely be added to West Indies’ visit in February 2024 when they are due to play three Tests as part of the World Test Championship.Various West Indian players have already been signed up to take part in the BBL, SA20 and ILT20. Pakistan’s players did not feature in the SA20 auction because of a combination of – at the time – their international home schedule but also suspicions that they would not find a place in a league in which all six franchises are owned by IPL teams. No Pakistani players have been given NOCs for the ILT20 either. The beneficiary could be the BPL which emerges as a destination for some of them in that newly opened window.

Kane Williamson is pleased with the form of allrounder Michael Bracewell and opening batter Finn Allen as New Zealand build up to the men’s T20 World Cup.Bracewell, who is more of a batting allrounder for his domestic side Wellington, emerged as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the T20I tri-series in Christchurch, with eight strikes in five games at a scarcely believable economy rate of 4.94. Those returns fetched him the Player-of-the-Series award, though New Zealand lost the final to Pakistan on Friday.Related

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Allen, who was picked ahead of Martin Guptill, showed his explosive power at the top, striking at just over 145 across five games. Both players have now made strong cases to be in New Zealand’s starting XI for the T20 World Cup.”Both performed beautifully well and [they] played really valuable roles within the side,” Williamson said at the post-match press conference. “[They play] complementary roles too – Finn at the top is super aggressive and hits the ball really, really hard and looks to take it on, which has been great. And it complements Dev [Devon Conway] really well.”Michael – Man of the Series – incredible effort, especially to not win the series as a team. He showed his contributions throughout these five-six games. He was really disciplined with his lengths and made life quite difficult on these sorts of pitches as well.”In the final, Bracewell bowled two tight overs in the powerplay in which he gave up just four runs and drew a top edge from Babar Azam to midwicket. Mitchell Santner is usually New Zealand’s go-to powerplay spinner, but Bracewell has shown that he can also bowl the tough overs against top batters. Bracewell also tied down Mohammad Rizwan, keeping him to a run-ball 6 against him.”It [bowling in the powerplay] is something that I’ve practiced a lot now, particularly in the nets and had a chance to go out in the middle and bowl a few times in the powerplay,” Bracewell told . “It’s something that I am getting more and more comfortable with. Obviously, it’s pretty daunting bowling to Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. But it’s a challenge that I’m really enjoying.”In last season’s Super Smash, Bracewell took only six wickets in 25 overs at an economy rate of 6.84. Having done well for New Zealand – both at home and away – Bracewell feels he is a more rounded offspinner now than he was last summer.”I feel very fortunate for the opportunities that I’ve got. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can and soak up as much knowledge from the rest of the spin bowlers in our group,” he said. “Being able to play in different conditions all around the world is an absolute privilege. So, I’m really enjoying it and I feel I have a few more skills than I did eight months ago.”With New Zealand carefully managing their injury-prone quicks Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne, and Santner missing the early exchanges of the tri-series, the team management has had to juggle between finding their balance for the tri-series and preparing for the World Cup.Finn Allen “is super aggressive and hits the ball really, really hard,” Kane Williamson noted•Getty Images

“It’s not really how we were looking at this [tri-series]. We were looking at this tournament in isolation a little bit,” Williamson said. “Having said that clearly, there’s a big tournament at the end of it, but trying to focus on what’s in front of us and play the cricket that’s in front of us. You can sometimes get carried away looking ahead and all these sorts of things; so, I thought that was good. There was some improvement throughout the series and some lessons.”I think it’s valuable as a team to get this sort of exposure and competition quickly before a tournament like that. Tournament sport – it’s different and not playing similar teams day in and day out. It’s thinking on our toes and adjusting as a side quickly with different venues and different oppositions.”New Zealand dropped at least eight catches in the tri-series, but Williamson wasn’t overly concerned by it. He drew confidence from New Zealand’s tidy effort in the field on Friday in isolation.”That [dropped chances] was definitely touched on [in team discussions],” Williamson said. “Not just the catches; it can happen, although it was a little bit out of character. As a side, it’s something that we pride ourselves on, but that energy and intensity how we operate… we definitely saw an improvement today, which is important and hopefully we can continue that standard going ahead.”New Zealand will open their T20 World Cup campaign against defending champions and hosts Australia at the SCG on October 22.

When Daniel Hughes holed out to deep-midwicket one boundary short of a century, he was spitting expletives under his breath as he walked off the field in the final over not because he missed out on three figures, but because he thought he may have just cost his team an unlikely victory. Having done so much heavy-lifting over the previous hour just to drag his team back into contention chasing a lofty target of 194, all of Hughes’ dirty work appeared to have been in vain when Glenn Maxwell induced a catch to Hilton Cartwright on the boundary.But Steve O’Keefe ensured that Hughes’ efforts were not reduced to a footnote on the night. A huge swing to a Maxwell full toss may have missed the bat, but it clipped enough of his thigh to deflect past Ben Dunk behind the stumps and race through third man for the Sydney Sixers’ winning runs with a ball to spare. With his primary death bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile off the field, Maxwell took it upon himself to defend 19 off the final over but was unable to do so. It meant his fiery first innings’ 125-run partnership with Nicholas Pooran was dimmed in defeat as the Melbourne Stars suffered their first loss of the 2020-21 BBL campaign.Daniel Hughes cracked a match-winning 96•Getty Images

Pooran pyrotechnics
The West Indies batsman left a memorable impression on the Gold Coast crowd with a 17-ball half-century. The Stars’ innings had been sedate upon his arrival in the ninth over with the score at 4 for 49, and Pooran similarly got off to a modest start with just four runs off his first six deliveries. But a bouncer to the helmet by X-Factor swap-in fast bowler Gurinder Sandhu stirred Pooran to come to life. The following two balls from Sandhu to end the 12th over were bashed over the leg side rope for six.Maxwell took the cue to call for the Power Surge for the start of the 13th. With pressure from the Stars captain and Pooran, the Sixers’ bowling unit short-circuited through the rest of the innings. The duo plundered 49 from the pair of Power Surge overs, including four sixes in the sequence from Pooran as he cleared long-on twice more, before carving a pair of sumptuous drives over the extra cover boundary. In his maiden BBL innings, Pooran brought up a maiden BBL fifty off just 17 balls with another six over extra cover off Carlos Brathwaite in the 16th. Maxwell took nearly twice as many balls to do the same, highlighting the swiftness of Pooran’s fury as the West Indian dominated their partnership before miscuing a drive off Sandhu to Jason Holder at long-off on the final ball of the 18th.Hughes refuses to lose
The bulk of the heavy lifting by the Stars was done at the back end of their innings. Despite losing wickets early in the chase – including Jack Edwards and James Vince, and both to a short ball plan for ducks – the Sixers’ captain kept his side above the Stars’ early rate, claiming the midway bonus point with an over to spare.Hughes was efficient early in his knock, flicking singles and twos to keep the required run rate in check, before seizing on Adam Zampa in the tenth over to begin his acceleration. He drove the legspinner for a pair of sixes in the over to chase him away from the attack. But brought back with 43 needed off 18, Hughes finished the 18th by sweeping Zampa twice for four and six, sandwiched around a lofted extra cover drive for another six, to bring the equation down to a very manageable 23 off 12.See-saw finish
Liam Hatcher produced a tidy 19th over, conceding just three runs while taking two wickets to put the Stars on the cusp of victory. Soon, Brathwaite driving to Maxwell at long-on and a yorker to bowl Ben Dwarshuis three balls later left Hughes with just a pair of tailenders to get his side over the line with 20 required off the final over.After a first ball six conceded by Maxwell to Hughes over long-on, Nick Larkin was the center of attention for a pair of gaffes at deep-backward square leg. Hughes flicked the second ball in the air toward Larkin, who went for glory trying to dive forward for a catch but the ball failed to carry, instead winding up to take a carom off his body in the process of going into the rope for a boundary. On the next ball, Hughes tried to muscle a full toss over Larkin, who tried to parry the ball back to Cartwright running over to assist from deep midwicket. However, he wound up flubbing the relay as the ball drooped into ground for another six. A two-ball sequence that at worst could have been limited to two runs ended up producing ten, as the equation turned into four off three balls to win for the Sixers.Maxwell darted a half-volley into the legs for Hughes to crack on the next ball, but despite plenty of power there wasn’t enough elevation to clear Cartwright. Last man Sandhu joined O’Keefe in the middle with both yet to face a delivery. O’Keefe failed to capitalise on another Maxwell full toss by swinging over it with the bat, but a delivery that deserved to go for four runs ultimately did so off the pads.

South Africa Women will tour the Caribbean for three T20Is and five ODIs starting August 31. The tour serves as preparation for both teams, with just seven months to go for the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand.All the matches will be played in Antigua. While the T20Is and the first two ODIs will be hosted by the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, the remaining three ODIs will be played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.”It’s fantastic to be able to announce our schedule to the West Indies,” head coach Hilton Moreeng said. “A timely coming back for us to competitive cricket after a lengthy period without game time.”Every ODI series for us carries even more weight as we have our sights firmly set on the cricket showpiece that will be taking place next year, and I believe it is just as important for our hosts as they strive towards qualification for the ICC Women’s World Cup.”South Africa last played an international series in India in March, when they won both the limited-overs series in Lucknow. However, a number of top players have had game-time lately. Mignon du Preez, Laura Woolvardt, Shabnim Ismail, Dane van Niekerk, Chloe Tryon and Lizelle Lee are all currently part of The Hundred in England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In comparison, West Indies are coming off a victorious limited-overs series at home against Pakistan in July. The upcoming series will help them prepare for the World Cup global qualifiers to be held in Zimbabwe this December, after failing to secure a direct entry for the World Cup.West Indies will have their third High Performance training camp, under head coach Courtney Walsh, as part of their preparations for the series. Three of their top players – Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews – are part of The Hundred competition in England, and will likely join the squad ahead of the series.”We are delighted to have more cricket on the horizon as this will be a vital part of our preparations for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers,” Walsh said. “We are at a crucial juncture as we prepare for this big event and again, we want to thank CWI for organising this camp to get the girls up to speed.”We were fantastic against Pakistan last month and we want to bring that winning momentum into this series of matches as well. We are going in the right direction, with the way we want. There is a lot to play for and we will be up for the challenge.”

Stumps It is difficult to take issue with a day of Test match cricket when you win the toss, field first and bowl the opposition out within the day for 217, but West Indies will realise they might have easily have had a much firmer grasp on this Test match by now. It was an 85-run partnership between Fawad Alam, who top scored with 56, and Faheem Ashraf – two men who have spent varying periods of time out of this Test side for similarly unsatisfactory reasons – that appeared to have pulled Pakistan back to parity.But a self-destructive run-out with an hour to play allowed West Indies back in, and their quartet of quicks flicked the switch back, romping through the lower order to skittle Pakistan. They might, however, have done their job a bit too well at the end, because it forced the hosts into batting for an awkward four-over period. During that time, Mohammad Abbas prised out Kieran Powell and Nkrumah Bonner for ducks with characteristically glorious seam bowling, leaving West Indies wobbling at 2 for 2 overnight.The first two sessions set up the day for a grand finale, and much of the moving happened in those final two and a half hours. Alam and Ashraf were still getting their feet under the table in a budding little partnership of 23 as they walked out after tea, but a counterattacking knock from the allrounder saw Pakistan hurtle past 150. On a day when the run rate barely tiptoed past 2.25, 52 runs came off the first ten overs in that last session.Ashraf might be at pains to insist he is a bowling allrounder, but he averages over 50 with the bat since his return to the side in December last year. The belligerent pull in front of square and the elegant drive in front of cover were both in full flow, and when West Indies turned to their spinners to give the pacers a break, the runs flowed even more steadily. It appeared Ashraf had helped bail Pakistan out of a tight spot once more, but as the 100-run stand approached, the visitors offered West Indies a gift all wrapped up with a bow on it.Alam and Ashraf set off for an unnecessary single, chancing the arm of Roston Chase, whose shy caught Ashraf short of his crease. The wicket gave West Indies a second wind, and despite a brief cameo from Hasan Ali, the fast bowlers found the quality that had subdued Pakistan for much of the first two sessions, and blew through Alam and the tail. The last three fell without a run being scored after Jayden Seales had Hasan hole out on the onside, while Jason Holder broke through Alam’s defences and had Abbas edge one for a golden duck.Once Pakistan were put in to bat on a morning when showers were forecast, they began stodgily as a potent new ball pairing of Kemar Roach and Seales prowled. Abid Ali and Imran Butt were viewed as the Achilles heel of the visiting side’s batting line-up, and both fell cheaply, leaving the rebuild to Pakistan’s two best batters: Azhar Ali and Babar Azam.Fawad Alam and Faheem Ashraf shared a half-century stand•AFP/Getty Images

Roach and Seales – who now have two wickets each – found prodigious movement with the new ball, which they were careful not to waste. Captain Brathwaite had said yesterday his side had plans against each Pakistan player, and the way they went about dismantling the openers’ techniques suggested he had a point. Both were discomfited by deliveries that kept seaming back in of a length, and when the change-up from Roach targeted Butt’s stumps on the full, he was never in position to play the expansive drive he attempted. He found his off stump uprooted, and it had been coming.Abid had come off the back of an unbeaten double hundred against Zimbabwe, but against sterner opposition previously, his record remains remarkably mediocre. He got off to a streaky start with a thick outside edge that evaded the slips bringing him his first runs, but ever since, scoring opportunities were rarer than a dry day this series. Seales set him up with short deliveries through the over before pitching one up, and the Pakistan opener obliged by nicking it through to Joshua da Silva.Pakistan might have been content to lose just the two openers in the shortened first session, but in an extended second session in hot, humid conditions, West Indies ripped the spine out of the middle order. Their quartet of fast bowlers rose to the occasion, bowling expertly in partnerships – much more so than Pakistan batted in them.Azhar and Azam were removed within five deliveries of each other. Azhar in particular struggled dismally throughout an uncomfortable sojourn out in the middle, surviving no fewer than four reviews before finally nicking off to Holder. The next delivery Azam faced, he found Roach had beaten him on the inside edge, and when West Indies reviewed for a possible feather through to the keeper, Hawkeye supported their claim. All of a sudden, what had been a “nearly” session for Brathwaite’s side was transforming into a dominant one.It wasn’t ill-deserved, either. For the first 45 overs, the hosts stuck with the four pace bowlers, allowing them limited rest in oppressively humid conditions. Not for any extended period, though, was there a discernible let-up in intensity, a dropping of the shoulders or the pernicious creep-in of bad body language. The balls kept landing in the right areas, the pace didn’t fall away and Pakistan continued to be asked questions.Mohammad Rizwan would be the man to answer them, because Rizwan, apparently, does every job Pakistan require nowadays. His first ball was clipped away to midwicket for a boundary, and it soon became evident that that was how the wicketkeeper-batter would play. Seales was pulled away for four the first ball he bowled, and two further boundaries off the same bowler saw the run rate trend upwards.Rizwan fell shortly after, but it was during the Alam-Ashraf partnership, and the manic final hour which saw seven wickets fall that swung the game this way and that before leaving it finely poised overnight.

Hampshire will hope rain can stay away from the Ageas Bowl on day four of the LV = County Championship clash as they push for a crucial victory over Surrey.Showers over Southampton kept the players off the field until 5pm, but Surrey, who resumed on 42 for 4, ended a truncated day on 6 for 2 having followed-on after being bundled out for 72 in response to Hampshire’s 488.The visitors trail by 410 runs after the Hampshire bowlers ran amok with Brad Wheal striking with the last ball of the day to dismiss England opener Rory Burns for a duck after Keith Barker had dismissed Mark Stoneman – leaving nightwatchman Amar Virdi at the crease when play resumes on Wednesday.Related

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Two scheduled restarts had earlier been scuppered due to brief but heavy downpours that drenched the outfield. But Hampshire more than made up for that lost time as Surrey lost 6 for 30 in just under an hour and were immediately sent back into bat again by stand-in skipper Kyle Abbott.The hosts will be without captain James Vince for the rest of the match after he and Surrey allrounder Will Jacks were sent to Cardiff to join up with England’s makeshift ODI squad to play Pakistan owing to a Covid-19 outbreak. Vince has been replaced by 18-year-old batting prodigy Tom Prest who makes his first-class debut.Abbott struck in the fifth over after the restart with a ball that nipped back and pinned debutant Ben Geddes, who replaced Jacks, on his crease to be lbw for four.Hashim Amla, a double centurion when the sides met at The Kia Oval in May, then fell to a peach of a delivery from Barker, who finished with 4 for 21, that uprooted his leg stump with the former South Africa Test batter top-scoring with 29.Jordan Clark and Rikki Clarke were both dismissed cheaply by Wheal with Abbott striking again to trap Jamie Overton lbw for four.Abbott then wrapped up the innings when he diverted a Kyle Jamieson shot onto the stumps of Virdi, leaving Surrey well short of a batting point.Victory for Hampshire, who sit third in Group Two will greatly enhance their hopes of a top-two finish ahead next week’s meeting with second-placed Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. Surrey’s, meanwhile, are hanging by a thread.

Big picture

They call it the seven-year itch, and after so long in the Test-match wilderness, India are ready for a change of scene that they and their opponents, England, hope will be anything but dull or scratchy. So rare are women’s Tests that there is a sense of pressure to provide excitement, not least to a live TV audience, as well as to fans who are just beginning to whet their appetites for witnessing the action in person as pandemic-enforced restrictions slowly ease.But more pressing for two professional sports teams is the will to win. England haven’t done so at home to India in eight completed Test matches while India are playing just their second Test since their last meeting in the format in 2014, having also played and beaten South Africa later the same year. In fact, India are on a three-match winning streak in Tests – if you can call it a streak given that that streak began in 2006 – and victory in Bristol would pull them clear of Australia to a women’s record number of Test victories on the trot.Related

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Both sides boast Test-match experience, with eight members of India’s squad and 11 of England’s having played the format before. The home contingent’s recall may be better given that it hasn’t quite been two years since their last match, the 2019 Ashes affair at Taunton that became a bit of a talking point for petering out to a rather dull draw.News that this match will be played on a pitch used for the men’s T20 Blast last Friday may boost hopes of a result but it doesn’t exactly buy in to the hype surrounding this match, which has been considerable given that the men’s WTC final between India and New Zealand starts on Friday. At least an otherwise iffy weather forecast is clear for the first day of the Women’s Test, offering them a prime chance to turn heads and perhaps even seduce a wider audience.It also sets the stage for more to come with the Test forming the first part of a multi-format series incuding three ODIs and three T20Is.

In the spotlight

Lauren Winfield-Hillwas identified early on in England’s preparations to open the batting alongside Tammy Beaumont. While experienced in Tests – she has played three, including the last time these two sides met – it will be her first since the 2017 Ashes. It also marks a comeback of sorts to the England set-up after struggles with Crohn’s disease caused her to battle for game time over the past year. But with her illness under better control, she has found form in lead-up matches – practice and domestic – which could make her one to watch.Punam Raut made a breakthrough of sorts during India’s 4-1 ODI series loss to South Africa in March. A match-winning century partnership with Smriti Mandhana followed by two fifties and an unbeaten 104 off 123 balls finally showed she has more than one dimension. While her long-earned reputation as slow accumulator is suited to the Test format, showing an ability to step up the scoring rate when needed suggests an emerging adaptability that could prove useful depending on the match situation.

Team news

England have settled on their XI but captain Heather Knight wouldn’t reveal her side before all the players had been told. Knight has spoken glowingly of fast bowler Emily Arlott since before she earned her maiden England call-up to the squad and has been further impressed during practice by her pace and “handy” form with the bat, suggesting she could be in line for a debut that would mark a stellar rise. Knight could be tempted to roll over some of her offbreaks with two left-handers in India’s line-up and having overcome a recent back problem that forced her to put bowling on the backburner in training for a while. She could call up another offspinner in Mady Viliers but left-armer Sophie Ecclestone seems too good a weapon to leave out.England (possible): 1 Tammy Beaumont, 2 Lauren Winfield-Hill, 3 Heather Knight (capt), 4 Amy Jones, 5 Nat Sciver, 6 Sophia Dunkley, 7 Fran Wilson/Georgia Elwiss, 8 Katherine Brunt, 9 Anya Shrubsole, 10 Sophie Ecclestone, 11 Emily Arlott/Kate CrossIndia are expected to opt for three frontline pacers in Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, and either Arundhati Reddy or Pooja Vastrakar. Their main spin option will come down to a choice between Poonam Yadav and Ekta Bisht bowling alongside Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur. It’s most likely fans will have to wait at least until the ODIs starting next week to see the exciting 17-year-old batter Shafali Verma in action with India’s top order well-stocked with experienced campaigners.India (possible): 1 Smriti Mandhana, 2 Jemimah Rodrigues/Priya Punia, 3 Punam Raut, 4 Mithali Raj (capt), 5 Harmanpreet Kaur, 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 8 Jhulan Goswami, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Poonam Yadav/Ekta Bisht, 11 Arundhati Reddy/Pooja Vastrakar

Pitch and conditions

The match will be played on a pitch used for Gloucestershire’s T20 Blast match against Sussex last Friday, which Knight branded “not ideal” and tried in vain to have changed. The weather could well play a big part with warmth and bright sunshine forecast for the opening day, followed by a high chance of rain, particularly on Thursday and Saturday.Mithali Raj and Shikha Pandey seal victory for India in the 2014 Test•Getty Images

Stats and trivia

• England are seeking their first home Test win against India in eight completed matches
• The game will be Heather Knight’s 100th as England captain
• India will be playing their first Test in 2401 days
• If India win, they will break the record for most consecutive wins in women’s Tests pulling clear of Australia, with whom they are currently tied at three apiece.

Quotes

“You obviously want to be entertaining and want to put on a show, and show off the best of your skills and the best of women’s cricket, but our job first and foremost is to try and win and be successful. That’s at the forefront of our mind, and if we can do both at the same time, even better.”
“You ask any modern-day cricketer, they still want to play the longer format because they eventually know that the format tests the skill of a player.”

The Stump Out Sexism (SOS) campaign has called upon Marylebone Cricket Club to revoke its traditional invitation to Oxford and Cambridge universities to play the men’s Varsity match at Lord’s, unless a women’s game is also included.Replying to a request from the campaign to “step in” to find an “equitable solution” to a disagreement about gender parity in university cricket, the MCC chief executive, Guy Lavender, wrote in a letter on Friday that Lord’s would be “very happy to accommodate a men’s and women’s T20 double header on the same day next year” in response.But he also suggested the dispute was “primarily a matter for [the] respective universities” and stopped short of committing to intervene to ensure the match came to fruition.While that response has encouraged the organisers of the SOS campaign, who have noted they won more commitment from MCC in two days than they had from the universities’ cricket clubs in two-and-a-half years, they describe themselves as “not completely satisfied”.They argue that MCC could go further and use their power as hosts to insist on gender parity. The men’s varsity match has been played (in various formats) at Lord’s for almost 200 years. The women’s match has never made it beyond the Nursery Ground and this year, with Lord’s undergoing a redevelopment, has not even made it that far.Now, while expressing their appreciation for the MCC offer, the SOS campaign have called for a “further commitment to ensuring the Varsity fixture is equitable”.Related

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The men’s Varsity match, a 50-overs a side affair, is scheduled to be played on May 23. Despite previous requests from figures involved in the SOS campaign (notably the former Oxford University captain, Vanessa Picker) to share the day with the women’s teams (meaning the men’s match would become a T20), the universities’ cricket clubs have been reluctant to do so. While SOS were delighted to gain such a swift reply from MCC, they have now called upon them to go a step further and compel the clubs to comply.”We do not accept that, as their letter states, this is primarily a matter for the universities,” SOS said in a statement. “The MCC have control over their own calendar and thus have the power to influence the parameters of fixture invitations and to raise the bar further.”We, therefore, ask the MCC to specify that the offer of next year’s Oxbridge Varsity match being played on the main ground is entirely conditional upon both the men’s and the women’s teams being involved equally. If the clubs continue to insist that any date should be exclusively for the men, the invitation must be revoked.”A tentative offer of a double-header T20 Varsity event in a future season (which is still contingent on the clubs agreeing to do this) does not make up for years of exclusion.”While acknowledging that “it may indeed be too short notice” to convert this year’s Varsity fixture at Lord’s into a T20 double-header – not least because is being used as a test event to enable MCC to gain a license to host the first Test against New Zealand 10 days later – the campaigners have requested a “women’s match to be scheduled for later this season.”Their statement continues: “We request that the MCC utilise one of the days currently unallocated on the 2021 fixture list (of which there are still 95) to schedule at least a 100-ball format match for the women.”It is perhaps worth noting that, among those taking to Twitter to express their support for the SOS campaign was Beth Barrett-Wild, the Head of The Hundred Women’s Competition and Female Engagement at the ECB. She played in three Varsity matches – all on the Nursery Ground at Lord’s – and also previously worked in the MCC communications department. She is, therefore, not without influence.In the longer term, though, the disagreement could compromise the future of Varsity cricket at Lord’s. The MCC executive is already acutely sensitive to the club’s reputation towards inclusivity – a reputation they feel is out-dated – and may have little tolerance for being dragged into what they see as someone else’s fight. Their attitude might be summed up with a phrase uttered by many a frustrated parent: if you can’t share nicely, you won’t get to play at all.MCC have, over the last couple of decades, pumped millions of pounds in university cricket (as sponsors of the MCCU scheme), funded numerous leagues and coaching schemes in the community, started to recognise the achievements in women’s internationals on the ground on honours boards and recently announced the appointment of their first female president (former England captain Clare Connor starts the role in October). As a result, they are more than a little peeved at any suggestion they may be the villains of the piece.At the same time, the disagreement may also draw attention to the somewhat antiquated tradition of hosting Varsity matches at Lord’s at all. There are many other organisations (not least other universities) with equal claims on the basis of cricketing merit and Oxbridge’s connotations with privilege and entitlement may not be helpful to the modern MCC.SOS campaigners have also confirmed they will be approaching the cricket clubs at both universities to request “confirmation that they will respond favourably to the MCC’s invitation for a men’s and women’s T20 double-header”. They are also asking “that an apology be made by the clubs for failing to address this issue sooner despite repeated requests”.ESPNcricinfo contacted MCC and officials at both university cricket clubs for comment. MCC declined; officials from the cricket clubs had not, at the time of publication, responded

At a time when the vast majority of people have not seen others regularly, one person has overstayed his welcome over the last three months from the South African point of view. With two hundreds, two fifties, and two forties in nine innings, and a T20I average of 135.50 in 2021, Mohammad Rizwan has been ever-present, and shows no signs of having had his fill.It was Rizwan, who scored 115* to set South Africa a target of 370 in the Rawalpindi Test, which Pakistan won by 95 runs. It was Rizwan, who blitzed his way to a first T20I hundred to set up a three-run win in the first match in Lahore. And though South Africa kept him quiet in the ODIs, today, it was Rizwan’s 74* off 50 balls that helped Pakistan to their highest successful T20I run chase.This time, he got a little lucky upfront. He was dropped in the second over when he hadn’t yet scored, when George Linde put down a difficult return catch.Related

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Then, he got luckier and was gifted deliveries in his scoring zone. Sisanda Magala, on debut, began by angling the ball down the leg side, where, later, South Africa captain Heinrich Klaasen noted Rizwan likes getting the ball. “He hits in a different angle to a normal power-hitter, so, for us, it’s to stay out of his hitting zone, which is quite a lot on the leg side,” Klaasen said.Rizwan scored 58 of his 74 runs on the leg side, including both his sixes and seven of his nine fours. He took advantage of any delivery that was angled in from off stump and he did not seem to be rushed in his approach at any stage.To start with, though, Rizwan had decided he could give himself a sighter, something he picked up after watching Fakhar Zaman score 193 in the second ODI at this ground. “It was a bit of a tricky track in the second innings. Fakhar’s ODI innings was on my mind today, on how to play on this surface by taking some time early on,” he said.His first eight balls brought just four runs before he cleared the front leg to hit another newcomer, Lizaad Williams, over long-on for four. It was another five balls before he found the rope again and continued to pace his innings to meet the situation. Rizwan stayed calm even when Babar Azam was dismissed in the powerplay, and when the required run-rate climbed to over ten an over. He left Zaman to take on Linde, before doing so himself after the halfway mark. Even when Mohammad Hafeez was stumped off Tabraiz Shamsi, and Pakistan needed 79 runs off 41 balls, Rizwan believed they were still in it. “International cricket is always about pressure,” he said. “The message was coming from the dugout to keep going and I knew that we have power-hitters in the middle order for the last overs.”While South Africa scored just 37 runs off the last five overs. Pakistan needed 57 runs in the same period. Beuran Hendricks started that quarter of the innings with two wickets in two balls. But then, he lost his lengths completely and bowled four full-tosses in a row at the start of the 18th over for Rizwan to crack the chase. From off stump, he drove Hendricks over mid-off, midwicket and behind square to score 14 runs off the first three balls and leave the rest of the death bowlers with too much to do.While there are gaps between the talk and the walk, South Africa need not be too hard on themselves•AFP/Getty Images

In the end, South Africa might ask themselves if Hendricks was the right choice to use so close to the end of the innings, especially as Klaasen acknowledged there were probably other candidates: “Magala and Lizaad are two probably our two best yorker bowlers.”Magala bowled the penultimate over and Williams the final one, but Magala had an over in hand and Andile Phehlukwayo, who has been used at the death in ODIs, had two. The problem for Klaasen was not the personnel or the plans. “We just need to execute,” he said.While there are gaps between the talk and the walk, South Africa need not be too hard on themselves. They are playing with second – and in some cases, third – choice players thanks to the IPL and injuries, and they still managed to be competitive. There are selection questions – such as why Kyle Verreynne didn’t play in this game – but there are also experiments which are slowly starting to work. Like Aiden Markram.This is only the fourth time in his last 11 international innings that Markram has gone past 39 and he played with a freedom that has been lacking previously, particularly in the one-day series. There, Markram looked like a million dollars but found ways of getting out just as he got in. Here, he got in and made it count. He pierced the off side in front of and behind square with drives off the front and back foot, and would be disappointed that he didn’t bat through the second half of the innings.But he has made a statement about his attempt to belong. “He has been fighting hard to get back into this white-ball side,” Klaasen said. “In the one-day series, he needed a few runs just to kick on and not get out after good starts. Today, he got that.”Similarly, this was Klaasen’s first international score of over 17 this summer, and first since his difficult journey through Covid-19. Klaasen has been burdened with captaining the depleted T20I side in two series and so perhaps it should not be surprising that he hasn’t been able to build on his Player-of-the-Series performances against Australia last year. In this match, Klaasen showed some authority, with 50 off 24 balls, with four sixes, three of them off short balls that he sent over the leg side. Interesting angles, maybe.

Any changes to the domestic schedule in the 2021 English season are likely to be limited to a handful of high-value games, after the government revealed a roadmap out of lockdown last week.While the government’s roadmap does present some challenges for a county game desperate to maximise ticket revenues, various meetings between the counties and the ECB have concluded as much will be lost as is gained by widespread fixture changes.The T20 Blast starts on June 9, nearly two weeks ahead of the government’s anticipated date for the lifting of social-distancing measures on June 21. As a result, games played in that window will have attendances limited to a maximum 50% (and probable 25% according to current regulations) of ground capacity.But while some counties hoped they might be able to swap the rounds of County Championship cricket scheduled for the weeks starting July 4 or July 11, they have now accepted this would not be practical. Several of the Championship games due to be played over that period are at ‘festival’ grounds such as Scarborough, Cheltenham and Chesterfield, with the counties involved confident of good attendances.There would also be issues with TV schedules – Sky Sports have plans to show T20 games in the period before the lifting of social-distancing measures – and ground availability, with the Ageas Bowl likely to host the World Test Championship final from June 18. Plans to play the entire group stage of the Blast in the period after social distancing has been lifted were also abandoned as impractical as there were only 29 days available in which to play the tournament. As a result, it has been decided the published fixture list will not be changed.Related

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There are a few exceptions. ESPNcricinfo understands that a handful of games which might be expected to sell heavily and disproportionately impact the finances of the host county could still be rearranged so they are played after all social-distancing measures are lifted. Among those games are the Middlesex vs Surrey fixture, scheduled for Lord’s on June 10, and Durham vs Yorkshire, scheduled to be played at Chester-le-Street on June 11.It is likely those matches will be swapped with T20 fixtures deemed less likely to attract full-house crowds currently scheduled to be played later in the tournament. Tickets for the majority of fixtures in the Blast were put on sale by counties on Monday.While Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, originally said social distancing measures would be from June 21 at the earliest, there are some hopes the government may accelerate the end of lockdown. With the number of Covid-19 cases falling steadily at present and the number of those vaccinated rising sharply, there are those around the counties hopeful full houses may return in time for the entire Blast schedule. Wales’ roadmap out of lockdown – which will affect Glamorgan’s preparations for the season – is yet to be announced.One alteration to the Championship schedule has been confirmed, with Surrey shifting their home fixture against Gloucestershire, which starts on May 27, from Guildford to The Oval in anticipation of being able to accommodate a limited number of members. Counties have begun to unveil their pre-season schedules, with fixtures starting from the end of March.