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Left-arm seamers will split 14 games between them during Blast group stages

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2024Nottinghamshire have signed left-arm seamers Ben Lister of New Zealand and Fazalhaq Farooqi of Afghanistan for the T20 Blast group stages this season in the hope that they can replicate Shaheen Shah Afridi’s success for them last summer.Lister has won 13 limited-overs caps for his country but is considered unlikely to feature in their World Cup plans, and will join Notts for the first eight games of the Blast’s group stages this season before he being replaced by Farooqi. And subject to a No-Objection Certificate from the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Farooqi will feature in county cricket for the first time in his career, following the T20 World Cup, where he will spearhead Afghanistan’s seam attack.Shaheen took 22 wickets in his 14 matches for Notts last season, including four in a single over in a defeat to Birmingham Bears. But he will be unavailable for the Blast this summer due to a clash with the T20 World Cup, where he will captain Pakistan, thus leading Notts to turn to two alternatives.Related

• Alex Hales to miss Notts Blast fixtures after signing LPL deal

• Aaron Hardie withdrawn from Surrey stint to manage workload

“Given the success Shaheen had with us last year, bringing in left-arm seam options again made sense,” Peter Moores, Notts’ head coach, said in a press release. “It creates a different set of challenges for batters. In Ben and Fazalhaq, we have proven wicket-takers who can make an impact on the game in crucial moments, which is what we are after.”Ben is an exciting talent who is establishing himself on the world stage after consistent performances domestically. He’s made a difference in the teams he has played for, and has the potential to do the same with us. Meanwhile, Fazalhaq is a world-class player with experience on the franchise circuit and in international cricket, with a proven ability to bowl at the death. His knowhow under pressure will be important in our group stage run-in.”Notts had finished fourth in the North Group last year and were beaten by eventual champions Somerset in the quarter-finals. They will have a new-look Blast team this year following the departures of Samit Patel (Derbyshire) and Jake Ball (Somerset), with Steven Mullaney expected to feature predominantly for Notts Second XI after taking on a player-coach role.Alex Hales will also be unavailable for the second half of the group stages after signing a lucrative offer to play for Galle Marvels in the Lanka Premier League, while Jack Haynes, Dillon Pennington and Josh Tongue have all joined from Worcestershire. New Zealand’s Will Young will feature in the T20 set-up, and Joe Clarke will take over as T20 captain.

Webster posted his fifth century in his last 22 Shield innings to put his name up in lights

Alex Malcolm10-Oct-2024The Sheffield Shield’s leading allrounder Beau Webster has produced a timely century while Brad Hope posted his second Shield ton as Tasmania batted the entire third day against Victoria at the Junction Oval.Tasmania piled up 527 for 9 on a turgid surface to take a 99-run lead into the final day with Jordan Silk making 84 and No. 9 Kieran Elliott also making his highest first-class score of 63. But the surface is offering very little for the bowlers and it will be difficult for either side to produce a result.On a day when news emerged that Australia’s Test allrounder Cameron Green is facing a grim diagnosis on his injured back, Webster put his name up in lights scoring 113 to start the new Shield season as he finished the last. It was his 12th first-class century and his fifth in his last 22 Shield innings. He has averaged 69.94 in that time and made six other half-centuries including an unbeaten 97. Last summer he became only the second player behind Garry Sobers to score more than 900 runs and take more than 30 wickets in a single Shield season.But these runs came in a game where both sides have piled up more than 428 in their first innings and only 18 wickets have fallen in three days. Webster wasn’t getting too carried away given how placid the pitch is.”It’s a nice one to cash in on,” Webster said post play. “I’m batting well. I feel like I’ve been batting really well for 18 months now, and I’ve got a routine down pat. Whatever the conditions offer, I feel like I’ve got a game plan that can have some success.”He did note, however, that the media speculation surrounding Green was hard to shut out.”It’s hard to ignore,” Webster said. “It sits everywhere, all through the media, whether he’s going to bowl or not, or bat or not, or surgery and things like that. But there’s a lot of other good allrounders around the country, and lot of allrounders that have had good performances in the last 12 months. Hopefully I can just keep doing what I’m doing and if they see something they like, and I get an opportunity, I’ll jump at it and grab it with both hands hopefully. But not reading too much into it though.”Silk played with typical class and composure in a 149-run stand with Webster before Hope then cashed in.Hope made an unbeaten century as Victoria tried everything to find a wicket. Having removed Silk and Webster with two excellent deliveries from Sam Elliott and Fergus O’Neill respectively there was precious little support from the surface otherwise. At one stage late in the day, O’Neill bowled with the keeper up and eight catchers in front of square on either side of the pitch with a sole fine leg.Hope and Tasmania No. 9 Kieran Elliott shared a 127-run stand in the afternoon to take the score beyond 500 as Victoria took a third new ball. The partnership was finally broken by the new ball as Hope edged behind for 111. Elliott fell shortly after for 63.

Jensen picked up the injury in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield final

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2025New Zealand will be without seamer Hayley Jensen for the ODIs against Sri Lanka after she picked up an injury while warming up in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield final. She has been replaced by left-arm spinner Fran Jonas, head coach Ben Sawyer said on Monday.”Jensen will be reassessed before the T20I series,” Sawyer said. “Hopefully she can get back in time but it will be up to the physios how she goes. Jonas will fly in tonight and join the team in the morning.”Related

• Athapaththu to leave WPL early to play for Sri Lanka

• Penfold ruled out of Sri Lanka, Australia series

• Bella James ruled out of Sri Lanka ODIs; Down named replacement

Jensen – who was set to make her comeback to the national side after a two-year absence – becomes the second Otago player to be ruled out of the ODIs against Sri Lanka. Bella James also picked up a hamstring injury during the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield competition, and was subsequently replaced in the ODI squad by Lauren Down.New Zealand are also without Sophie Devine – who has “prioritised her well-being” and taken a break from the game – while Amelia Kerr is set to miss the series due to her Women’s Premier League (WPL) commitment with Mumbai Indians. Lea Tahuhu, Rosemary Mair and Molly Penfold were not available for the ODI series either due to injuries. Suzie Bates is the stand-in captain in Devine’s absence.The three-match ODI series kicks off on March 4 in Napier before the teams move to Nelson for the next two encounters on March 7 and 9. New Zealand are trying to snap a three-game losing streak in ODIs while Sri Lanka want to bounce back after losing their last ODI series against Ireland in Belfast 2-1.

Chelmsford proves unhappy temporary home for Seaxes as they suffer 98-run thumping

ECB Reporters Network31-May-2024Matt Parkinson claimed a hat-trick as Kent thrashed Middlesex by 98 runs at Chelmsford to open their 2024 Vitality Blast campaign with a win.Parkinson, who made the move from Lancashire over the winter, shone for his newly adopted county, claiming the scalps of Jack Davies, Tom Helm and Henry Brookes in his third over on route to figures of 4 for 25.It meant the hosts, playing the first of two home games at Chelmsford in this campaign were hustled out for 107 to fall way short of their victory target of 206.Earlier, Joe Denly was the mainstay of Kent’s 205 for 8 with 56 in 33 balls complete with two sixes and seven fours. Daniel Bell-Drummond, another man to be the scourge of Middlesex in the recent past, provided good support with 38. Luke Hollman returned 3 for 27 and Blake Cullen 3 for 47 in his first match of the season.Bell-Drummond and England opener Zak Crawley made an explosive start, each striking Cullen for huge sixes in the third over as they posted a 50-stand within 23 balls.It took a super catch running back at mid-wicket by Leus Du Plooy to end Crawley’s effort on 26, but Bell-Drummond continued the assault, pummelling Henry Brookes back over his head for six before being dropped by Joe Cracknell in the deep.The miss wasn’t costly as Tom Helm pulled off a ‘worldy’ in the next over diving full length at deep mid-on to send Bell-Drummond on his way for 38. It was the first of two in two balls for the impressive Hollman as Sam Billing suffered a first-ball duck. Hollman would snaffle a third when Tawanda Muyeye struck him straight to Cracknell to leave Kent 79 for 3.Denly was though in no mood to see a collapse and played the innings of substance, striking the ball powerfully straight and employing the scoop to good effect in a well-paced effort. He was one of three late wickets for Cullen but nevertheless the target of 205 looked daunting.Middlesex promoted du Plooy to opener, but the move backfired as he fell for 11 bowled by Grant Stewart.Ryan Higgins’ stay was brutal yet brief, one huge six followed by a mishit which ballooned to mid-off, Beyers Swanepoel the bowler to profit and skipper Stephen Eskinazi also holed out on the fence to give Stewart a second wicket.Eyes were now on Max Holden who made 121 in the same fixture last season. There would though be no repeat as he drilled one straight to Crawley on the boundary at mid-off from the spin of Marcus O’Riordan and at 49 for 4 the hosts were in a mess.Cracknell down at an unfamiliar position of No. 6 rather than at the top of the order came and went bowled by Parkinson. Davies blossomed briefly but then came Parkinson’s party piece to hasten the end of the rout.

Kathryn Bryce spearheads bowling as Freeborn-Wraith stand falls short of rescuing Warwickshire

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Jul-2025A rain-hit 50-overs match on a club ground might bear little resemblance to a T20 at the Kia Oval but The Blaze will draw some confidence from a 47-run victory over Warwickshire Women in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup as a dress rehearsal of sorts for Sunday’s Vitality Blast semi-final.After Marie Kelly’s List A career-best 66 and opening partner Georgia Boyce’s 46 had laid the foundations for a total of 218 for 6 after opting to bat first in a match reduced to 39 overs-a-side, The Blaze dismissed Warwickshire for 171, despite a determined effort by Abbey Freeborn (56 off 73 balls) and Nat Wraith (75 off 71) to give the visitors a chance after being reduced to 13 for 4.Kathryn Bryce (3-18), Georgia Elwiss (3-26) and Grace Ballinger (3-26) shared the bowling honours for The Blaze, for whom Sarah Bryce had made an unbeaten 32, with two wickets each for Warwickshire’s Georgia Davis and Amu Surenkumar.Winning the toss and electing to bat in a match reduced to 39 overs per side after morning rain at the Lindum Sports Club Ground in Lincoln, The Blaze established a strong foundation as Kelly and Boyce shared an opening stand of 106, Kelly hitting eight fours and a six.Kelly, making her first List A appearance of the season, pulled Surenkumar for her maximum early in the innings, generally driving and pulling strongly. She found the boundary three times in the same over off Davis, completing a 47-ball half-century against her former county when she swept Millie Taylor for her seventh four.Taylor, making her List A debut for Warwickshire and unique in the English county women’s game as a left-arm wrist spinner, broke the stand when she turned one past Kelly’s bat for a stumping. Boyce, back with The Blaze after playing for Yorkshire in the Women’s Vitality Blast, was in sight of a fifty of her own when she miscued to mid-off.Kathryn Bryce – reprieved when given out leg before on 13 on the grounds of being distracted by bowler Hannah Baker’s cap dropping out of her pocket – added another 10 before she was stumped.Elwiss, Heather Graham and Ella Claridge all fell cheaply, but Sarah Bryce (32 off 19) and Sarah Glenn added 37 off the last 18 balls of the innings – 26 at the expense of England seamer Issy Wong.Needing to chase at 5.6 an over, Warwickshire suffered a disastrous start, slumping to 13 for four inside five overs.After Bethan Ellis had been caught at square leg off the next, Ballinger took wickets with the last ball of her second over and the first of her third as Lucy Higham took a fine catch at backward point to remove Davina Perrin and Sarah Bryce an easy one as Sterre Kalis skied a top edge, Kathryn Bryce holding a return catch as Surenkumar departed.An inswinging delivery from Bryce accounted for Katie George, leaving Warwickshire 28 for 5 after 10 overs.Freeborn and Wraith rebuilt well, the former clocking up her third half-century off 60 balls, Wraith her second of the campaign off 50, with three boundaries each and some enterprising running between the stumps, their partnership passing 100 in the 28th over.Yet once the breakthrough came, breaking the stand at 112, the home side made it count. Freeborn, who had survived a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to Kirstie Gordon on 52, fell shortly afterwards, leg before attempting to ramp Elwiss. Wong then came and went quickly, top edging Elwiss into the off side, before catcher Glenn combined with Elwiss again to run out Taylor off the next ball.Ballinger returned to have Davis caught on the legside boundary before Wraith departed as the last wicket to fall, caught at wide mid-off off Elwiss.

Kapp unbeaten on 80 as Sri Lanka’s 230 target is hunted down with 14 balls to spare

Firdose Moonda13-Apr-2024South Africa 233 for 3 (Wolvaardt 110*, Kapp 80*) beat Sri Lanka 229 (Athapaththu 51, de Klerk 3-23, Khaka 3-28) by seven wicketsLaura Wolvaardt’s third century since taking over the captaincy, and sixth overall, led South Africa to the highest successful chase in a women’s ODI in Kimberley and an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series against Sri Lanka. In the process, Wolvaardt became South Africa’s leading run-scorer in ODI cricket, in her 94th game.Crucially, South Africa have secured two more points on the women’s championship to solidify their spot in second place. Sri Lanka remain outside the automatic qualification zone for the 2025 World Cup, in eighth spot.Wolvaardt was supported by Marizanne Kapp, who brought up her third half-century in seven innings, and shared in a 143-run fourth-wicket partnership with her captain. On a pitch with low bounce at one end, both batters were strong down the ground and Sri Lanka’s attack lacked the threat to cause them any serious problems.The tone was set in the afternoon, when South Africa’s opening bowlers gave away very little in the opening exchanges and Sri Lanka only scored 15 runs in the first overs before Ayabonga Khaka got an early reward. She removed Vishmi Gunaratne for 7 in the sixth over. Kapp kept the pressure on with an opening spell of 5-0-8-0, including 22 dot balls.The change bowlers were unable to maintain the same stranglehold, especially against the experience of Chamari Athapaththu. She hit the first ball she faced from Eliz-Mari Marx for four and went on to score five more boundaries off her, including four successive fours in the 14th over. Athapaththu and Hasini Perera, who was dropped by Sune Luus at slip, put on 58 for the second wicket before Perera was caught by Delmi Tucker off Nadine de Klerk’s bowling.Athapaththu went on to bring up her 16th ODI half-century off 66 balls but was also dismissed by de Klerk, with more than half the Sri Lankan innings remaining. Hansima Karunaratne and Kavisha Dilhari combined for 61 off 69 balls for the fourth wicket, and Karunaratne hit the only six of the innnings, and Sri Lanka were on track for 250-plus on 152 for 3 after 35 overs.Wolvaardt brought Khaka back and Karunaratne was dismissed and Sri Lanka found the going tough again. Nonkululeko Mlaba took two wickets in her sixth over, and Sri Lanka lost 3 for 20 in less than four overs. A seventh-wicket partnership of 41 off 51 between Oshadi Ranasinghe and Nilakshika Silva pushed them over 200 and they were bowled out with a ball remaining for 229. That left South Africa with the task of completing the highest successful chase in Kimberley, after they claimed the previous best when they hunted down 223 against New Zealand in 2016.Though scoring rates have increased since then, South Africa had to do it without two of the frontline batters. Opener Tazmin Brits was ruled out of the series with a meniscus tear and sprained ligament on her left knee. She will undergo surgery next week and will be in a race against time to regain fitness ahead of the T20 World Cup. And Anneke Bosch was also forced out of the encounter with a mild concussion after being hit on the head at Friday’s training.Lara Goodall, who has not played an ODI since September was brought into the XI and looked tentative on her return. She was out lbw to a full Achini Kulasuriya ball in the seventh over. By then, Sri Lanka should have long been rid of Wolvaardt, who was dropped on 0 by Anushka Sanjeewani. The Sri Lankan wicket-keeper who went for the catch off Wolvaardt’s outside edge one-handed while driving to her right and could not hold on.Sri Lanka’s fielding not only cost them Wolvaardt’s runs but they also allowed Luus – given a life on 11 off a top-edge and went on to score 21 – and Kapp – dropped by Athapaththu in her follow through on 25 – to get away.Lightning strikes were visible throughout the evening and got closer to the match venue as South Africa’s innings went on. The players were taken off the field after 34.2 overs, with the score at 157 for, with South Africa 25 runs ahead of the DLS. They returned soon afterwards to complete the chase. Wolvaardt brought up her century off 133 balls in the 44th over, with South Africa needing 22 runs to win. They got there with 14 balls to spare.

He will join the team during their ten-day preparatory camp in St Kitts and Nevis

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2024The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed former West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, to be held in the Caribbean and the USA. Afghanistan have already arrived in St Kitts and Nevis and are expected to begin a ten-day preparatory camp, during which Bravo will join the team.Bravo, part of the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies side, called time on his international career after the 2021 T20 World Cup but continues to play in T20 leagues around the world. Earlier this year, he featured in the ILT20, where he played for the eventual champions MI Emirates. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 625 scalps in 573 games.Apart from his playing experience, Bravo is also the bowling coach of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, a position he took over after retiring from the IPL in December 2022.Afghanistan play their first warm-up game against Oman on May 29 followed by the second one on May 31 against Scotland. At the World Cup, Afghanistan are placed in Group C alongside West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. They start their campaign against Uganda on June 5 in Providence.Kieron Pollard, another former West Indies player, will be at the England camp having been appointed their assistant coach for the tournament.

What the contenders need to do to qualify for the World Test Championship final

S Rajesh02-Oct-2024 • Updated on 24-Oct-2024India
Despite the loss in the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, India stay in a healthy position at the top of the table. For them to get enough points to seal their place in the WTC final regardless of other results, they need at least four wins and one draw (52 points) in their remaining seven Tests, which will give them 65.79 percentage points. South Africa can get up to 69.44 if they win each of their remaining six Tests, but Australia can only reach 62.28 with four wins and one draw (assuming they lose two to India and draw one, and win the other four Tests).If India get fewer than 52 points, then there is a possibility of them not being in the top two. For instance, if they win four Tests (48 points, 64.04%), then it’s possible for Australia and South Africa to overtake them. Sri Lanka can finish with more than 67% too, but wins for them will be at the expense of points for both Australia and South Africa. That will work in India’s favour as Australia and South Africa could then both finish below India. New Zealand can finish as high as 64.29% if they win each of their five remaining Tests.Australia
Currently in second place at 62.5%, Australia can finish on a maximum of 76.32 if they win each of their remaining seven Tests. The two teams against whom they play their remaining series, India and Sri Lanka, are also strong contenders for the final, so wins against them will doubly help Australia’s cause. Five wins will lift their percentage to 65.79, but India and South Africa can still go past them. Things will be clearer by the time they start the series against India, though, as the visitors would have finished their three home Tests against New Zealand.South Africa
South Africa’s victory against Bangladesh in the Mirpur Test has kept them in the race for a top-two finish. If they win each of their five remaining Tests they will finish with 69.44%, which will surely be enough for qualification, as only one out of India or Australia can go past that number. Four wins and a draw will leave them with 63.89, which will still keep them in contention, while four wins and a defeat will lower the percentage marginally to 61.11, which will still give them a chance if other results go their way. The second Test against Bangladesh, ahead of four home Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan later this year, is shaping up as a crucial fixture.Sri Lanka
With a full 24 points gained from their last two Tests, Sri Lanka have made a strong push towards a top-two finish in this WTC cycle. Their four remaining Tests are against two opponents who are also contenders for the final. If they win each of those matches and take home 48 more points (keep in mind over-rate deductions are always a threat), they will finish on 69.23% and assure themselves of a place in the final regardless of other results. If they lose one and win three they will end up at 61.54, which will still leave them with a chance of qualifying, depending on other results.Australia would have a clearer picture of qualification ahead of the home Tests against India•AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand
New Zealand can still finish with a percentage as high as 64.29 if they win all five remaining Tests, but that remains a tough ask despite their victory in the first Test against India in Bengaluru. Even if they win three of those five Tests and lose two, they will finish at only 50%.England
After winning and losing their first two Tests in Pakistan, England can no longer finish with more than 60 percentage points. For them to qualify with that score, they will need several other results to work in their favour.Bangladesh
The two defeats in India and now one at home to South Africa have hurt Bangladesh badly – from 45.83% they have dropped to 30.56. Even if they win each of their three remaining Tests, it is unlikely to be enough for a place in the top two.Pakistan
Pakistan’s win against England in Multan has pushed their percentage points above 20, but they can’t get above 60 even if they win all their remaining matches in this cycle.West Indies
West Indies have already played four series and have only scored 20 points out of 108. Even if they win their last four Tests, they can only finish on 43.59%.

England seamer starts to see rewards of revamping her action while playing on the international stage

Valkerie Baynes03-Jul-2024Tears, drama and disagreements… but it all felt worth it as Lauren Bell claimed her maiden international five-wicket haul to help seal a 3-0 sweep for England in their ODI series against New Zealand.Speaking after her figures of 5 for 37 from nine overs had helped contain an improved White Ferns batting performance, Bell went into detail for the first time about the difficulties of remodelling her bowling action while playing on the international stage.”It’s been a tricky few months, so yeah, it was nice to come out of today with some real success, it was a great day,” Bell said, after half-centuries from Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones had helped ensure her efforts did not go to waste. “I got back from the series in New Zealand and we just thought to push my career on, make me a better bowler, we’d changed a few things with my action.”But obviously when you bowl a certain way for however long, it has been tricky. I don’t really have a training block, I’ve just been playing, but it’s definitely for the best in the long term and I guess today shows that it is going to push me forward. But yeah, it is obviously hard doing it on an international stage.”Related

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Bell returned from England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year with a remit to bowl more upright, and an emerging by-product of that has been an ability to swing the ball both ways.Hints were there during successful her white-ball series against Pakistan at the start of the English summer and Heather Knight, England’s captain, lauded Bell and others for their bravery in trying new things in match situations.And while Bell’s wickets on Wednesday – her first five-wicket haul since she played at Under-15 level – largely came from a back-of-a-length, top-of-the-stumps approach, the tall seamer said she had felt immense support from her team-mates and England’s coaching staff throughout the process.”I fell away a lot, and so we thought if we could get me more upright, it’d be safer. It means I can bowl more and it means I should be quicker and from being taller I get more bounce,” she explained. “So it came from that point of view initially, to add pace to my bowling, pace and bounce, and leading me to be more upright allowed me to then be able to swing it both ways.Key among her supporters has been England Women’s fast bowling coach Matt Mason.”I think he would’ve felt like a proud dad today,” Bell said. “There’s been tears, there’s been drama, there’s been disagreements. We work really closely and he’s put in a lot of time to get me here.”I think my bowling coach knew that one thing was going to lead to another,” she added. “I guess it got really exciting and now it’s just honing in on the consistency of being able to swing it both ways and bowl a wobble-ball obviously. It’s something I’m just going to learn, but hopefully in the long run will be really exciting.”The breakthrough, lightbulb we’ve had in the last couple of weeks has been a lot to do with the mental side of it and how I approach it in a game. Training’s been great, but you get to a game and it’s a totally different story, so I’ve done a lot of work on my focus and my concentration. I think I’ve gone in two-feet, I’m in now, there’s not really any turning back. So I’m committed to it and I know it’s for the best.”I’ve gone a long time not really having to think much about how I bowl. Now, my change in action, I very much have to concentrate on it, so I’ve learned that I need to focus and I’ve got a couple of cues that help me with that. I reset every ball and I focus in on my cues. It is a bit of a routine that I’ve picked up in the last couple of months that I think will take me a long way, especially in pressure situations.”Bell, who is just 23, made her England debut in the 2022 Test against South Africa at Taunton, where she was presented with her cap by Anya Shrubsole, the World Cup-winning seamer who had just retired at the time and for whom Bell was seen as a replacement.Since then, she has played three Tests, 14 ODIs and 20 T20Is and is seen as a linchpin of England’s seam attack, which has made it all the more difficult for her see beyond the short-term effects on output, and focus on long-term benefits – until now.”I definitely haven’t been used to having a few games in a row not quite going my way,” Bell said. “But everyone I’ve spoken to has said, unfortunately that is what professional sport is, whether it’s because you’ve changed something or you just go through a tough patch of form, it’s going to happen and it’s probably going to happen again, and it happens to the best players in the world. It’s another experience I’ve got under my belt that should push me forward in the future.”

Central finished day two with a lead of 235 runs after South Zone folded for 149 on day one

Ashish Pant12-Sep-2025Centuries from Rajat Patidar and Yash Rathod, on the back of a 53 from Danish Malewar, gave Central Zone firm control of the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.Patidar scored 101 off 115 balls while Rathod remained unbeaten on 137 as Central finished on 384 for 5 on the second day, leading South Zone by 235 runs.The day began with Central in arrears but by only 99 runs. The conditions were in the bowlers’ favour: it was overcast and windy, and Vasuki Koushik was on point. He sent Akshay Wadkar back with a peach of an inswinger that pitched outside off and decked back in sharply. Wadkar, who had shouldered arms, lost his off stump.With Kerala’s MD Nidheesh not as incisive, Gurjapneet Singh was brought into the attack early, and he immediately made the Central batters uncomfortable. He bowled in the mid-130kph range, and got the ball to move both ways.Gurjapneet was soon rewarded when Shubham Sharma tried to drive a fuller-length delivery outside off, and got a thick inside edge which sent his middle stump cartwheeling. Malewar reached his fifty off 113 balls, driving Gurjapneet on the up through covers, but fell soon after edging the fast bowler to first slip.Gurjapneet Singh dismissed Danish Malewar and Shubham Sharma before lunch•PTI

At 93 for 3 in the 33rd over, and with the ball moving around, South would have eyed a few more wickets. But Patidar drained all their optimism. He got off the mark by punching Koushik off the front foot past mid-off, and then clipped him through midwicket. In his next over, Patidar drove Koushik on the up past mid-off again. Rathod, at the other end, took a little more time to get going, with Gurjapneet testing him outside the off stump.Patidar, however, was untroubled as he continued to consistently fetch the boundaries. The confidence rubbed onto Rathod, who sent Nidheesh for two successive fours in the 43rd over.This was the first time Patidar and Rathod were batting together in first-class cricket. While there was some miscommunication early, once they settled in, the quick singles to mid-off and mid-on became a feature of their partnership. Patidar took Central into the lead in the last over before lunch by sweeping Ricky Bhui to the deep square leg fence, as he and Rathod went into the break unscathed.Patidar had a slice of luck in the first over after play resumed, when, on 44, he shouldered arms to a straight delivery from Ankit Sharma, and was struck on his pad. Up went the umpire’s finger, but while the replays showed the ball to be clipping off stump, Ankit had overstepped. The Central captain reached his fifty off 72 balls, gliding Ankit past point before nudging him fine again through the same region.A key feature of Patidar’s innings was the way he manouvered the field. That was on display in an over from Bhui, when he first whipped the offspinner through midwicket, then slog swept him over wide long-on, and again swept him behind square.Yash Rathod was unbeaten on 137 after day two•PTI

Patidar then went after Gurjapneet, first driving a half-volley through covers before upper-cutting him for six over deep third’s head. Patidar had raced into the 90s with Central’s lead going past 60.There are no fans allowed to watch the Duleep Trophy final, but around 20 of them found a small opening from the side of the road to witness Patidar reaching his 15th first-class century. He got there with a single to mid-off, and while there were muted celebrations, Central’s lead had swelled.Rathod also reached his fifty, clipping Gurjapneet through midwicket and then driving Ankit through covers. The 167-run fourth-wicket stand between the two finally came to an end when Patidar edged a sharp, short-of-a-length delivery from Gurjapneet down leg to depart for 101. Central lost Upendra Yadav, too, with Nideesh strangling him down leg, but Rathod kept going.It didn’t take Rathod long to reach his seventh first-class century after tea, getting there with a push to point. He roared in celebration before removing his helmet and gloves and pointing upwards. With the milestone complete, Rathod attacked Ankit, thumping him over wide mid-on and pulling him through midwicket.New batter Saransh Jain, fresh from a half-century in the semi-final, also got going, with the lead past the 200-mark. South took the new ball only in the 101st over, but with the pitch flattening out, both batters had no trouble dealing with it. They added 108 runs in the last session off 32 overs, with Central ending the day firmly on top.