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A superb six-wicket return from Mohammad Abbas and second half-centuries in the match for Ben Slater and Joe Clarke helped Division One leaders Nottinghamshire seize control of this Rothesay County Championship clash with Yorkshire on day two at Headingley.Pakistani Test seamer Abbas was the chief protagonist with 6 for 45 from 17.3 overs – four of his wickets coming either side of lunch to secure a 49th career first-class haul of five wickets or more – as Yorkshire were bowled out for 159 in reply to a first-innings 228.Former England batter Dawid Malan impressed with a counter-attacking 64 off 45 balls as second-bottom Yorkshire, who started the day on 10 for 2, lost regular wickets. But it wasn’t enough.From early afternoon onwards, Nottinghamshire’s pursuit of a fourth win gathered even more steam, with opener Slater top-scoring with 78 off 125 balls in 227 for 3 from 61 overs, a lead of 296. Clarke provided important support with a fluent unbeaten 72 not out off 92.Left-handed Slater bettered his opening day 52 and shared half-century partnerships with Haseeb Hameed and Clarke, who top-scored with 64 in the first innings.As 35-year-old Abbas claimed his second haul of five wickets or more in three matches for Notts this season, it meant Yorkshire have now only posted first-innings totals of 250 or more on three occasions in seven matches in 2025.They have a mountain to climb to avoid a fourth defeat in seven games this season.Nottinghamshire captain Hameed shared 73 inside 16 overs for the first wicket with Slater in their second innings to more than double a commanding lead of 69. Hameed’s 33 was confidently compiled on a largely gloomy Leeds day.Just as Yorkshire will have been frustrated with their efforts with the bat, they would have been with the ball too. Conditions remained helpful for the seamers, but they failed to apply any pressure.Hameed was caught behind off a beauty from Jordan Thompson which bounced and nipped away before Freddie McCann was unlucky to have been given caught behind off Ben Coad for 15 shortly before tea with the score on 113 for 2, a lead of 179.But Slater, who was eye-catching on the drive, continued. He reached a well-paced fifty off 68 balls and shared 70 for the third wicket with Clarke before edging behind one which nipped away from Matthew Revis’s seam.Clarke went on to reach his fifty off 55 balls and shared a day-ending unbroken 54 partnership for the fourth wicket with Jack Haynes, 13.Earlier, Yorkshire reached lunch at 119 for 7, with seamers Dillon Pennington and Brett Hutton striking twice apiece and 35-year-old Abbas once as Notts strengthened their grip.En-route, they had to survive a counter-attacking half-century from Malan, who played a series of eye-catching shots and made it look like he was batting on a featherbed pitch.Malan drove imperiously and hoisted his quartet of sixes over the leg-side, reaching his fifty off only 34 balls upon his return to the side following three games out with a groin injury.After the early departure of James Wharton – caught at first slip off Pennington, 15 for 4 – Malan shared 37 for the fifth wicket with nightwatchman Jack White, who chanced his arm for 18 before he also edged Pennington into the slips.Hutton had Harry Duke caught behind and Malan lbw playing to leg, and when Abbas claimed his first wicket of the day by rocking back George Hill’s middle stump with one which kept low and jagged back, Yorkshire were 107 for 7 in the 34th over of the innings.After lunch, Abbas claimed his fourth and fifth wickets in successive balls as Yorkshire slipped to 124 for nine. Captain Dom Bess edged to fourth slip and Thompson to first.Revis, with 27, and Coad shared 35 for the last wicket, but it was only brief respite as the former dragged on to Abbas, leaving the visitors with all but two sessions of batting to do through to close. They did it expertly.

South Africa will not host any men’s Tests next summer, in accordance with the Future Tours Programme (FTP), and only have one inbound tour – a five-match T20I series against West Indies – in the 2025-26 season. This is the first time since readmission that South Africa will not host men’s Tests with the next long-format home fixtures scheduled for October 2026 against Australia.The lean schedule will allow for Cricket South Africa to focus on stadium upgrades ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Several of the country’s premier grounds will have makeovers including new floodlights and drop-in pitches, which will be prepared well ahead of time and tested before the main event.It will also give the South African women’s side the spotlight, as they host Ireland and Pakistan for three T20Is and three ODIs each. They will play matches at all of South Africa’s big five venues: Newlands in Cape Town, St George’s Park in Gqeberha, the Wanderers in Johannesburg, SuperSport Park in Centurion and Kingsmead in DurbanThe women’s team will visit the smaller centres in Paarl, Benoni, East London, Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein and Kimberley as well, meaning they will have a match at all the country’s major grounds in the same season. The Pakistan series also marks the first round of the new Women’s Championship cycle, leading up to the 2029 ODI World Cup.”We are looking forward to seeing our women take on Ireland and Pakistan,” CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said in a release. “These tours not only provide our team with strong competition but also give our fans an opportunity to watch the Proteas Women compete at their favourite venues across the country.Moseki explained the men’s international window as being “unusually shorter next season due to outbound bilateral tours,” with South Africa’s white-ball sides touring Australia and England in August and September and the Test team due to play two-match series in Pakistan and India in November and December.The absence of home Tests has also allowed the SA20 to move into the festive window for the first and only time. It will be played between December 26 and January 26, with the West Indies series to follow immediately afterwards. The five matches are spread between the coastal venues and the Highveld but neither Gqeberha nor Durban will host a game. South African players will therefore have six weeks of T20 cricket before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, which starts in February.CSA have also arranged one A tour, against New Zealand A, which will include three one-day matches and two four-day matches at the start of the summer. The games will be played in Pretoria and Potchefstroom.The dearth of home Tests next summer will be followed by a boon in the 2026-27 season when South Africa’s men will host England and Australia for three Tests each and Bangladesh for two matches while the women’s team will play Tests against India and Australia for a total of 10 Tests.

A late collapse which saw them lose five wickets for 19 runs was not enough to prevent Haryana from beating Gujarat and advancing to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.Haryana bowled Gujarat out for 196, thanks to an all-round display, before they completed the chase in 44 overs in Vadodara.Arsh Ranga had got Haryana off to a rapid start in their modest chase, scoring 25 off 16 in a 29-run opening stand. His opening partner, Himanshu Rana, then ensured Haryana stayed on course with half-century partnerships with captain Ankit Kumar and Parth Vats.Ravi Bishnoi gave Gujarat an important breakthrough with Rana’s wicket for 66, but Vats held steady at the other end, his 35-run stand with Nishant Sindhu putting the game beyond Gujarat’s reach.Sindhu’s wicket triggered a collapse as Haryana went from 173 for 3 to 192 for 8, with Bishnoi picking three of those wickets, but the contributions from their top five meant they managed to stay ahead of the game.Gujarat had started well, with the openers Urvil Patel and Aarya Desai racing to 45 in seven overs. Then, Gujarat lost three wickets in the space of two overs after which Chintan Gaja dropped anchor at one end.But when Saurabh Chauhan and Gaja fell in quick succession after a 34-run stand, and Bishnoi was dismissed not long after, it looked like Gujarat would struggle to cross 150. However, Hemang Patel dominated a 54-run partnership for the ninth wicket to take Gujarat close to 200. He finished with 54 off 62 balls.Sindhu and debutant Anuj Thakral took three wickets each, while Anshul Kamboj struck twice.

Perth Scorchers import Finn Allen says it was fair for fans to doubt him following four consecutive failures, and he hopes he’s now won them back over.Allen, a devastating top-order batter for New Zealand, started the BBL season with scores of 6, 4, 0 and 0. But a rollicking 50 off 23 balls against Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve and 68 off 31 in Friday night’s four-wicket loss to Sydney Thunder have Allen back in the groove.Allen’s fireworks against Thunder set the 46,471 Optus Stadium crowd alight, with one fan even holding up a sign saying “sorry I doubted you”. The 25-year-old could see the funny side.Related

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“I scored 10 runs in four games. I probably should have been doubted,” Allen said. “It’s nice, a few less people hate me [now]. T20 is pretty fickle. You’ve got to laugh, otherwise you’ll cry.”It is what it is, you know. People are going to get upset when you don’t do well, and they’re going to love you when you do well.”Allen said the backing from the team’s coaching staff, including head coach Adam Voges, was crucial for him rediscovering his mojo.”V was just saying he backs me in to just keep playing my natural game,” Allen said. “I think for me, it was just being brave.  It’s always easy to go into your shell after four failures, but that’s not what’s going to bring out the best of me and the best of my game.”It’s almost harder, but I had to be brave, and I guess go out there and play the way I play.”Allen looms as a key cog for the Scorchers (3-3) as they attempt to snare a finals berth. They will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host Melbourne Renegades.Spinner Ashton Agar (back spasms) is a chance to return for that match, but there are doubts over allrounder Aaron Hardie after he appeared to injure his side while batting on Friday night.Hardie winced in pain and grabbed his side/rib region after attempting a reverse sweep, and he didn’t make it out on the field for the Thunder’s innings.He missed the start of the season with a quad injury, and he has been scratchy upon his return with scores of 24, 2 and 10.Scorchers will have to wait to see whether Mitchell Marsh, who was axed from the Test team, and Jhye Richardson will be given clearance by Cricket Australia to play against Renegades.

Melbourne Renegades squeezed out a two-wicket win over Perth Scorchers on a much-criticised Marvel Stadium surface to end a six-match losing streak against the West Australian team.Social media fired up over a patchy-looking outfield which looked well below its best following a university graduation ceremony last week attended by tens of thousands of people, plus several recent concerts from Pearl Jam and Coldplay, among others.Chasing Scorchers’ 8 for 143, Renegades were well placed at 3 for 96 in the tenth over, but lost 5 for 44. Captain Will Sutherland scored the winning runs with one over to go.Scorchers’ batters found the going tough on a seaming wicket after being sent in, with Renegades paceman Tom Rogers (3 for 22 off four overs) instrumental in another strong bowling performance.Cooper Connolly (66 off 50 balls) and BBL debutant Matthew Spoors (29 off 26) were the only double-digit scorers for Scorchers. While Scorchers limped to 4 for 48 at halfway, Renegades bashed 42 off their four powerplay overs.They remained well ahead of the run rate through cameos from Tim Seifert (28 off 14), Jacob Bethell (30 off 22) and Laurie Evans (24 off 18).Scorchers spinners Ashton Agar (1 for 20 off four overs) , Connolly (1 for 17 off three) and captain Ashton Turner (1 for 3 off one) slowed the run rate, as well as took wickets. A brilliant direct-hit run-out by Matthew Kelly at deep midwicket reduced Renegades to 7 for 128 after 16 overs, and Fergus O’Neill was caught at mid-off with four needed off nine balls.One of the game’s major features was an outstanding fielding performance from Renegades’ livewire Mackenzie Harvey. He pulled off a sensational catch at midwicket, taking a leaping backward one-handed grab to dismiss Spoors. Mackenzie also executed a direct hit run-out and saved several runs with his fielding.Scorchers took 11 balls to score their first run, and O’Neill (1 for 18 off four overs) didn’t concede any up to his ninth delivery – and then only from a misfield.Australian one-day and T20 representative Connolly scored just one off his first 12 balls, but blasted Scorchers to a respectable score, belting six sixes – including two off successive balls over cover off quick Kane Richardson.Renegades improved to 2-1 while Scorchers dropped to 1-2 after successive loses.

Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi has said he wants to retire from the ODI format after the Champions Trophy 2025. Nabi revealed his plans at the end of the ODI series against Bangladesh in the UAE, while claiming his Player-of-the-Series award in Afghanistan’s 2-1 series victory.”In my mind, from the last World Cup, I was retired but then we qualified for the Champions Trophy and I felt if I could play that, it would be great,” Nabi told the host broadcaster after the third ODI.It is understood he has communicated the decision to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and will continue playing T20Is. To the ACB media team, he said: “We will see, but no, I will not play for long. God willing, after the Champions Trophy, we will say goodbye to the ODIs.”With 167 appearances in the format, Nabi is Afghanistan’s highest-capped ODI cricketer and the current World No. 1 ODI allrounder according to the ICC rankings.He has represented Afghanistan ever since their debut ODI against Scotland in 2009. With the bat, his 3600 ODI runs puts him at second on the list of Afghanistan’s highest run-getters. He has also hit 17 fifties and two centuries at 27.48. As an offspinner, he has 172 wickets, the second-highest for Afghanistan, at an average of 32.47.The 2025 Champions Trophy will be Afghanistan’s maiden appearance at the event. They made the cut by virtue of finishing sixth at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The eight-team Champions Trophy features the top seven teams from the latest ODI World Cup, along with hosts Pakistan.In both T20Is and ODIs, Nabi has been a constant in Afghanistan’s rise up the ranks that culminated in ODI, T20I and Test recognition. He was ODI captain in Afghanistan’s maiden 50-over World Cup appearance in 2015, and featured in the 2019 and 2023 editions too. He retired from Tests in 2019.

Fatima Sana, Pakistan’s captain, doesn’t want to her team to feel any pressure ahead of their match against India, but believes it’s inevitable given the magnitude of the occasion.Pakistan opened the tournament with a resounding win over Sri Lanka, and are riding a recent wave of success in terms of development, not just results.For example: Pakistan posted 181, their highest T20I total, during their recent series at home against South Africa. In that innings, they hit as many as six sixes, significantly higher than their average of one every 19 overs between the 2023 and 2024 T20 World Cups.Related

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Mohammad Wasim, their current coach, has incorporated some best practices from the Pakistan Super League, such as the influx of data wherever available, as well as an improved focus on range-hitting that was on full view in that match against South Africa, with Sana at the center of it herself.Six-hitting comes with a certain mindset that Sana believes is slowly being ingrained into Pakistan’s batting DNA. She believes it wasn’t always that way.”If you look at the last series of South Africa, a lot of our girls have improved in power hitting,” Sana said. “In the last South Africa series, our team hit six sixes in one match.”I think the girls believe that even if the fielders are standing behind, if they hit, they can go for six. It’s a good thing that all the girls are confident in this. Personally, I used to bat a lot before, but I didn’t know if I could hit or not. But with that belief now it’s become a lot easier.”Fatima Sana scored 30 off 20 in Pakistan’s win over Sri Lanka•ICC/Getty Images

Wasim has had the support of Hanif Malik, whom he worked with at Islamabad United, to help with the range-hitting. Sana believes that adopting different methods to try and improve – irrespective of results – is a good starting point.”First of all, we always wanted to play attacking cricket,” Sana said. “I have been watching that whichever team we played against – we’ve [tried to play] attacking cricket. As a bowler, I used to feel that whoever used to bowl against us, used to hit us from the first ball. I wanted our team to have batters who can punish the bowler from the first ball. We have worked a lot on this and you will see the result soon hopefully.”Sana believes the best way to bring about this change on the batting front is to lead by example herself. On Thursday, Sana’s crucial 20-ball 30 provided Pakistan the late impetus they needed to apply the squeeze on Sri Lanka.Ahead of the India match, Sana was among the first in for range-hitting with the coaching staff, spending considerable time on her backswing and head position while striking the ball. These improvements come from a deep desire to be the “number one allrounder.””I always wanted to be the number one all-rounder – because obviously bowling is a team sport, but the team wins when you are good at it all – even when you are good on the field,” she said. “So that’s why I was trying to prove myself always in helping the team win. So, I think that was the only challenge for me.”That I should take my batting along. Sir [Wasim] has played a big role in this. He has helped me a lot. Our power-hitting coach, he has helped a lot of girls. I think all the credit goes to him because he has given us the belief that you can become an all-rounder. So he gets the credit for this.”

England Lions 324 and 122 for 3 (Yates 57*) beat Sri Lanka 139 and 306 (Madushka 77, Dhananjaya 66, Mathews 51) by seven wicketsRob Yates anchored England Lions with a 68-ball half-century, as Sri Lanka’s tourists slipped to a seven-wicket defeat in their first-class warm-up at Worcester.Chasing a modest 122 for victory after bowling Sri Lanka out for 309 on the third afternoon, the Lions had resumed with victory in sight on 47 for 2 overnight, and needed just 19.5 overs to seal the deal on the final morning.Yates, who had reached the close on 17 not out, added 40 more runs at the top of the order, with Sri Lanka’s only success in the curtailed day’s play coming when Hamza Shaikh, England’s Under-19 captain, was pinned lbw for 16 by Milan Rathnayake.However, James Rew, another recent mainstay of the Under-19 set-up, joined Yates in an unbroken 53-run stand for the fourth wicket, finishing on 23 not out from 41 balls as he picked off the winning single off Dhananjaya de Silva.Sri Lanka now head to Emirates Old Trafford, where the first Test against England gets underway on Wednesday.

Scotland have called up right-arm quick Charlie Cassell and medium pacer Jasper Davidson for their first-ever bilateral men’s T20I series against Australia this September in Edinburgh. The 15 players who played the men’s T20 World Cup in June make up the rest of the squad, which will be captained by Richie Berrington.Cassell made a sensational start to his international career, taking 7 for 21 – the best ODI haul on debut – against Oman in the Cricket World Cup League 2 in July. He’s played two ODIs for Scotland so far and was also recently part of three matches in the One-Day Cup for Somerset.Davidson also made his ODI debut in the CWC League 2, against Oman, and took four wickets in that game.”After coming into the squad at CWCL2 and doing so well, it’ll be great for Jasper and Charlie to have the experience of what it’s like playing against the best, in front of a fairly large crowd,” Doug Watson, Scotland’s head coach, said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to play one of the best teams in the world, and I’m pretty sure that our players won’t need any motivating for this series. It’s a great opportunity for them to share the field with world-class players. They’re wanting to put in some huge performances and compete, and really push this Australia team.”The goal for us is to win this series. The first game is really important – if we can win that, it’ll set up the next two matches. The whole week will be brilliant for the squad, staff, supporters, and all of Scotland.”It will be Australia’s first tour of Scotland in 11 years. The sides will meet just three months after their T20 World Cup 2024 game in St Lucia, where Australia won a close match by five wickets. The games will be played at The Grange on September 4, 6 and 7.

Scotland T20I squad vs Australia

Richie Berrington (capt), Charlie Cassell, Matthew Cross, Brad Currie, Jasper Davidson, Chris Greaves, Ollie Hairs, Jack Jarvis, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Charlie Tear, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal

Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed made unbeaten centuries as Nottinghamshire Outlaws bounced back from defeat at Leicester in their opening match with a eight-wicket victory over Sussex Sharks in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup match at the picturesque home of Welbeck Cricket Club in the north of the county.Opener Slater, who averages more than 53 in the List A format, again demonstrated his penchant for 50-over cricket by scoring 107 with Outlaws skipper Hameed making 101 not out as they shared a county List A third-wicket record partnership of 209 to inflict a heavy opening-match defeat on their Group B opponents, who managed only one win in the competition last season.Sussex were bowled out in the 48th over for 216 despite Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s 90 from 109 balls. The all-rounder hit nine fours and a six but found himself ploughing almost a lone furrow in an under-par performance by his side, who have up to now enjoyed a successful season, booking a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast and building a healthy lead in Division Two of the Vitality County Championship.Luke Fletcher (three for 35) and Toby Pettman (three for 44) were the most successful Outlaws seamers, although Brett Hutton, who took one for 41 bowling his 10 overs in a single spell, made a strong comeback after three months out with an Achilles injury. Left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White (two for 35) also impressed.The Outlaws stuttered at the start of their chase, finding themselves eight for two after losing Freddie McCann for two and Jack Haynes without scoring, but Sussex were unable to make any further inroads as their opponents cruised home with 50 balls to spare.The 19-year-old McCann, in his second List A appearance following his debut at Leicester on Wednesday, spooned a catch to mid-on off Ari Karvelas, while Haynes registered his second consecutive duck with a loose shot that had him caught behind, after which Slater was fortunate with a top-edge off Karvelas that flashed just out of the wicketkeeper’s reach.But with a required rate of only 4.34 runs per over and a quick outfield, Slater and Hameed did not need to take risks and were able to comfortably pace their innings once the newness of the balls had worn off, moving the total to 48 for two from 10 overs, 93 for two from 20, and 140 for two from 30.Slater found the gaps regularly enough to pass fifty for the 18th time in this format from 54 balls with eight boundaries, Hameed reaching his from 69 balls with his third four, a return to form he will have enjoyed after enduring a lean time in 2023, if not the shot that took him there, a streaky edge off the leg-spin of Archie Lenham.The left-handed Slater was seldom troubled, reaching his seventh List A hundred when he pulled Karvelas for his 13th boundary as the Outlaws closed in on their target, Hameed hitting the same bowler for six, four, four and one to complete his.Sussex found the going tough from the outset after opting to bat first. The pitch seemed to lack pace and, in the face of excellent, tight bowling at both ends from Hutton and Fletcher, they lost both openers for 33 by the second ball of the 11th over.Tom Clark nibbled at one outside off stump off Hutton before Tom Haines edged his drive against Fletcher, Tom Moores doing the rest behind the stumps.Joined by Hudson-Prentice, Oli Carter sought to rebuild but the arrival of Pettman in the attack made scoring no easier.The 26-year-old seamer, who has had limited opportunities in his four years with Nottinghamshire, was making his first senior appearance since last August but made it count with two wickets in two balls as a frustrated Carter found the fielder at mid-on and Sussex captain John Simpson was leg before.Simpson’s dismissal exposed Sussex’s inexperienced middle-order and Hudson-Prentice soon lost two more partners as 19-year-old Daniel Ibraham was caught at slip and 18-year-old Henry Rogers, on debut, skied to long-on as Patterson-White found immediate turn.Hudson-Prentice and 20-year old off-spinner Bertie Foreman added 64 before some smart relay fielding involving extra cover Ben Slater, bowler Lyndon James and ‘keeper Tom Moores ran out the younger player.Fletcher returned to dismiss Lenham caught behind and Karvelas via a miscued pull, in between which Hudson-Prentice cracked consecutive boundaries off Pettman before he was caught at mid-off, as Sussex were all out with almost three overs wasted.