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Our team-by-team guide on Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2023AustraliaOverviewAustralia come into this T20 World Cup having lost just one match – and that was via a Super Over against India – since the start of January 2022 and 14 of those 18 matches were played away from home. Their depth has been unquestionable, which was evident in the way they played in Meg Lanning’s absence for a good part of last year and with her back at the helm, Australia will be a strong contender. They have been cricket’s perennial entertainers and achievers on the international stage, winning three of the last four T20 World Cups, and they will go all guns blazing to defend the title in South Africa.SquadMeg Lanning (capt), Alyssa Healy (wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia WarehamPlayer to watchIt’s hard to not put Tahlia McGrath in the spotlight. The allrounder has emerged as a vital cog for Australia. After Beth Mooney, she has the second-most runs for the team in T20Is since the start of 2022, amassing 463 runs in 18 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 142.02. She recently overtook her team-mates Lanning and Mooney and Smriti Mandhana to be the No.1 T20I batter after impressive knocks of 41* and 70 against India. McGrath’s big-match temperament was evident at the Commonwealth Games last year and, going by her current form, one can expect a similar performance at the World Cup.Predicted finish: ChampionsNew ZealandOverviewNew Zealand are on a positive run, even if against less robust competition than they are likely to face in this competition. After their bronze-medal finish at the Commonwealth Games last year, they downed West Indies 4-1, including a Super Over triumph, at home before blanking Bangladesh 3-0 in December. The only major concern they face is over the fitness of captain Sophie Devine, who is managing a stress fracture to her foot, an injury which kept her out of three unofficial practice games against England in Pretoria. Encouragingly, left-arm spinner Fran Jonas returned from a calf injury sustained while at the Under-19s World Cup to bowl in those warm-ups.SquadSophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Eden Carson, Lauren Down, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Fran Jonas, Amelia Kerr, Jess Kerr, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea TahuhuPlayer to watchSuzie Bates heads into what could perhaps be her last T20 World Cup in red-hot form. Playing for Otago Sparks, she scored 293 runs in the Women’s Super Smash, the fourth-highest in the competition. Her strike rate of 128.50 was the best among the top five run-scorers in the tournament to the end of January. She also picked up four wickets with her offspin. With Devine returning from injury, Bates’ all-round form will be critical to New Zealand’s quest for a world title.Predicted finish: Semi-finalistsSouth AfricaOverviewDrama is never far where South Africa are concerned, especially at World Cups, and the build-up to this one has delivered. South Africa go into the tournament without their regular captain Dané van Niekerk, who was ineligible for selection after failing her two-kilometre time trial, prompting speculation about her, and her wife – star allrounder Marizanne Kapp’s – future. Without Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez, who both retired last year, and Trisha Chetty, who has a back problem, South Africa will rely heavily on Kapp, Sune Luus, Shabnim Ismail, Chloe Tryon and Laura Wolvaardt, who have formed the core of the squad in recent years albeit with mixed results. After reaching the 2020 semi-finals, then winning series against Pakistan and India, South Africa have beaten Ireland and recently won a tri-series involving India and West Indies.SquadSune Luus (capt), Chloe Tryon (vice-capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Laura Wolvaardt, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Delmi Tucker, Annerie Dercksen.Player to watchMarizanne Kapp has the potential to be a match-winner with both bat and ball and was South Africa’s most impactful player at the fifty-over World Cup last year. With the ability to find swing, she sets the tone with the new ball and even more so as a big-hitting finisher with the bat. She scored her second T20I fifty in the tri-series against West Indies and if used consistently in the top four could pose a major threat to opposition attacks.Predicted finish: Group stage. Their own goal is to reach the final but it’s difficult to see them getting into the semi-finals in a group with Australia and New Zealand.Sune Luus will be leading hosts South Africa in a T20 World Cup for the first time•ICC/Getty ImagesSri LankaOverviewAfter a forgettable Commonwealth Games campaign where they failed to win a match, Sri Lanka turned it around at the Women’s T20 Asia Cup. They only lost to India and Pakistan in the league stage before tumbling Pakistan in the semi-final to make the title clash, although they were thumped by India in the final. Moreover, they head into the T20 World Cup with no cricket behind them, having not played an international since that clash in Sylhet in October 2022.SquadChamari Athapaththu (capt), Oshadi Ranasinghe, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshi de Silva, Sathya Sandeepani, Kaveesha Dilhari, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Kaushani Nuthyangana, Malsha Shehani, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Vishmi Gunaratne, Tharika Sewwandi, Ama KanchanaPlayer to watchSri Lanka have long been over-reliant on Chamari Athapaththu. Harshitha Samarawickrama, who has played a couple of T20 World Cups and a 50-over World Cup, is one of their key batters in the middle order with experience to count on. She was the second-highest run-scorer in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup with 202 runs, including 81 against Thailand. In a line-up minus Hasini Perera, Samarawickrama’s returns could well decide how Sri Lanka fare, especially in the game against Bangladesh.Predicted finish: Group stageBangladeshOverviewBangladesh do not have a good history at T20 World Cups, winning just two of their 17 matches so far, and those victories were against Ireland and Sri Lanka (both in 2014). As far as their current form is concerned, they have won ten of 17 T20Is since the start of 2022, but they have faltered against teams such as India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan. That said, Salma Khatun and co. did give Australia a bit of a scare at the ODI World Cup last year, and one cannot take them for granted on their quest to rewrite history.SquadNigar Sultana (capt & wk), Marufa Akter, Dilara Akter, Fahima Khatun, Salma Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Shamima Sultana, Rumana Ahmed, Lata Mondol, Shorna Akter, Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Ritu Moni, Disha Biswas, Sobhana Mostary.Player to watchNigar Sultana has been a reliable figure in the Bangladesh batting line-up for a few years now. She was the highest run-scorer for the team last year in the shortest format, notching up 367 runs in 16 innings at an average of 28.23 and was also leading run-scorer for the side at the Asia Cup. That the wicketkeeper-batter has done reasonably well since taking over as captain last year augurs well for Bangladesh.Predicted finish: Tough to go past the group stage

South Africa’s batsmen outperform bowlers, Australians below par, and Rashid flies high

Sruthi Ravindranath13-Nov-2020England take the honoursEngland’s players made a huge impact for their respective sides in IPL 2020, scoring high on several Smart Stats parameters. Among countries who had five or more players in the tournament, England’s players had the highest average impact per player per match – an impact rating of 37.1. Their batting impact rating of 38 was also the highest for any country, while their bowling impact rating of 17.86 was the second highest, among countries with at least five representatives.ESPNcricinfo LtdJofra Archer, who was IPL 2020’s Most Valuable Player, had a Smart Economy of 4.24, the second best overall and the best among pace bowlers. He took 20 wickets in the tournament, which were worth 26.8 Smart Wickets. Archer carried the Rajasthan Royals bowling almost single-handedly, but his England and Royals team-mates Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes made some important contributions with the bat. Buttler had a Smart Strike Rate of 150.88, whereas his conventional strike rate was 144.49. The only England player with a better Smart Strike than Buttler was Eoin Morgan, who had a Smart Strike Rate of 152.45, the tenth best among all batsmen in IPL 2020, given a minimum of 100 balls faced.Sam Curran was the standout performer in the out-of-sorts Chennai Super Kings team this season. He excelled with both bat and ball, a fact brought out clearly through Smart Stats. His 13 wickets were worth 16.6 Smart Wickets, while his Smart Strike Rate of 139.2 was the second best for the Super Kings, given a minimum of 20 balls faced. Among the England players who didn’t hit top gear but had a couple of good outings nonetheless were Jonny Bairstow and Chris Jordan, while the likes of Moeen Ali, Tom Banton and Tom Curran warmed the benches for a majority of the tournament.Ain’t no party like a West Indies batting partyNobody does T20 batting better than the West Indies players, and even the numbers say so. The West Indies players in IPL 2020 had an average Smart Strike Rate of 166.44 this season, miles ahead of other nationalities. Given at least five representatives, the second best Smart Strike Rate from a country was South Africa’s 150. Kieron Pollard’s eye-popping conventional strike rate of 191.42 translated to a Smart Strike Rate of 224.06, the best in the season – without qualification. Archer is next with 203.7, but he faced only 63 balls this season. Nicholas Pooran is the only other batsman with a Smart Strike Rate of over 200, clocking in at 200.73, whereas his conventional strike rate was 169.71. Most of the West Indies brigade scored high on Smart Strike Rates. Shimron Hetmyer and Sunil Narine both finished at over 140, while Andre Russell, who didn’t have as much impact as expected, still had a Smart Strike Rate of 155, with his cameos coming in crucial phases, even if they didn’t last too long.ESPNcricinfo LtdChris Gayle made a belated, but spectacular, entry into the second half of the tournament. His inclusion sparked a turnaround for Kings XI Punjab, who won five straight games once he was included in the XI, before losing the last two. Gayle’s only real failure came in the last league match against the Super Kings, when he laboured to 12 off 19. That caused his Smart Stats numbers to dip a little, and his eventual Smart Runs (287) and Smart Strike Rate (132.22) were slightly below his conventional numbers (288 runs at 137.14).Boult keeps the New Zealand flag flying highNew Zealand’s bowlers had the most impact (minimum five players from one team) on their respective sides this season, with a bowling impact rating of 24. Trent Boult ruled the powerplay this season with 16 wickets in the phase, and was significant in Mumbai Indians’ triumph. Expectedly, he was one of the major contributors to the high rating. His 25 wickets this season were worth close to 31 Smart Wickets, since he consistently dismissed top-order batsmen early. New Zealand’s five bowers took a total of 35 wickets in the tournament, which were worth 42.51 Smart Wickets. Lockie Ferguson instantly impressed after being brought into the Kolkata Knight Riders’ starting XI in their ninth game, and he also contributed to the impact New Zealand’s bowlers had, with his Smart Economy of 7.16.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe New Zealand batsmen didn’t fare as well though, with their average batting impact rating of 20 being the lowest among countries who had at least five representatives. Kane Williamson was consistently good, though, as both his Smart Runs (331.7) and Smart Strike Rate (140) show, both higher than his conventional runs and strike rate (317 and 133.76).Udana, the lone representative from Sri LankaSri Lanka had just one representative in the tournament in Isuru Udana, who was signed at his base price by the Royal Challengers. He featured regularly for them this season, and made useful contributions with the ball. The eight wickets he took were worth 9.16 Smart Wickets, but his Smart Economy of 10.67 was much higher than his conventional figure of 9.72.Rashid Khan, the unstoppable forceWithout considering any cut-offs in terms of number of players from a country, Afghanistan led the charts thanks to the superlative performances of Rashid Khan. Although Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also featured in IPL 2020, they played just three matches combined and went wicketless in them. Afghanistan’s high rating is all down to Rashid, with a bowling impact average of 42.85, and a player impact average of 45.00. Rashid picked up 20 wickets, worth 22.54 Smart Wickets. His conventional economy rate of 5.38 was stunning enough, but his Smart Economy figure of 3.81 was astonishing. Not surprisingly, he had the best Smart Economy in the tournament.ESPNcricinfo LtdSouth Africa bowlers make merry…but impact?Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje finished with a combined 52 wickets, Quinton de Kock piled on more than 500 runs, Faf du Plessis was the Super Kings’ highest run-scorer, Chris Morris gave the Royal Challengers’ bowling a much-needed lift and AB de Villiers was, well, AB de Villiers. However, the Smart numbers say that not all these performances were equally weighty. South Africa’s bowlers took 74 wickets in the season, but that translated to only 70.91 Smart Wickets, which meant they were the only country whose Smart Wickets tally was fewer than the conventional one.Rabada was the highest wicket-taker of the season, but according to the Smart Stats algorithm – which quantifies the pressure, the opposition batsman/bowler and the situation the player finds himself in at every ball of the innings – his tally of Smart Wickets (26.54) is lower than the actual wickets he took (30). That is because Rabada got a lot of wickets towards the back end of the innings, where they usually count for a lot less than at the start. Similarly, Morris’ Smart Wickets and Nortje’s Smart Economy also see a dip against their conventional numbers.The batting held up, thanks to de Villiers and de Kock’s spectacular returns. South Africa had the third-best average batting impact, behind England and West Indies, clocking in at 31.8. They also had the second-best Smart Strike Rate at 150. The value of de Villiers’ knocks is evident when his already elite conventional strike rate of 158.74 translated to a stunning Smart Strike Rate of 174.82. He scored 454 runs in the tournament, which swelled to 500 Smart Runs. de Kock also had better Smart numbers than conventional ones. He had 523.51 Smart Runs (503 runs) and a Smart Strike Rate of 146.23 (strike rate 140.5).A dull season for the AustraliansAustralia had the largest overseas contingent this season with 17 players, but their impact was spread thin. The Australians’ batting impact was a middling 25.79 and their bowling impact of 9.43 was the lowest among all teams. The batting impact suffered due to several big names not having great returns in this season. David Warner started tepidly and then found his groove, but the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch and Josh Philippe had a tournament to forget, while Steven Smith and Shane Watson had only the odd good performance.Australia’s bowlers also proved expensive, with 12 bowlers tallying a combined Smart Economy of 8.75, the most expensive for teams with at least five representatives. Pat Cummins went wicketless in eight of 14 matches for the Knight Riders, while the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa did well but didn’t get too many opportunities due to team combinations. Chris Lynn and Billy Stanlake didn’t get a single game, although the Mumbai Indians’ fast-bowling duo of Nathan Coulter-Nile and James Pattinson had decent outings.The player that stood out was Marcus Stoinis. The allrounder made 352 runs in 17 matches at a Smart Strike Rate of 159.71 (conventional strike rate 148.52), the highest among all Australians. He also picked up 13 wickets in as many matches but was on the expensive side, with an economy rate of 9.54, which translated into 10.42 in Smart Economy terms.

For months now, Cubs fans have been wondering who No. 30 is and what he's done with right fielder and designated hitter Kyle Tucker.

Tucker, whose gaudy early-season numbers helped turn Chicago into one of the most exciting teams in baseball, slashed just .218/.380/.295 in July. He has been even worse in August, posting a .148/.233/.148 slashline in 15 games. His last extra-base hit came on July 30.

On Wednesday, Cubs fans received a reported explanation for Tucker's struggles. According to a report from ESPN's Jesse Rogers, Tucker has been playing through a hairline fracture in his right hand suffered June 1 against the Reds.

"Tucker, 28, wanted to keep playing for the then-first-place Cubs, choosing against an (injured-list) stint as he compiled a .982 OPS that month. But his numbers have tanked since the beginning of July, leading to him getting several days off this week for a reset," Rogers wrote.

Even with the reported injury, Tucker is 10th in the National League among position players with a bWAR of 4.1. If Chicago can get him remotely healthy by the end of the season, its prize offseason acquisition could turn into a dangerous October wild card.

If India defied losing the toss and getting the worst of the conditions, theoretically, in Cuttack, South Africa did the same in New Chandigarh to come roaring back into the T20I series, which is now locked 1-1 with three matches to go.India captain Suryakumar Yadav noted at the toss that the outfield was already dewy when the players were going through their pre-match warm-ups. It was a no-brainer to chase. But Quinton de Kock put India under pressure with a 46-ball 90 studded with seven sixes, and Donovan Ferreira finished brilliantly with an unbeaten 16-ball 30, taking South Africa to an imposing total of 213 for 4.Imposing, but not dew-proof; certainly not given how India’s bowlers had struggled with the conditions and bowled 15 wides — including seven in one Arshdeep Singh over — and 13 full-tosses.Related

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But the dew never got a chance to test South Africa, as their new-ball bowlers made the best possible use of early movement to take three wickets in the first four overs. These included the Test-match-style dismissals of both India openers.It was all steeply uphill from 32 for 3, and India never really challenged the visitors, with Tilak Varma’s 34-ball 62 standing out for its fluency and enterprise on a difficult night for his team. South Africa bowled India out with five balls still remaining, with Ottneil Baartman hastening their end with three wickets in the 19th over.

De Kock keeps clearing the ropes

This pitch wasn’t a complete featherbed, with the ball occasionally stopping on the batters and making them mistime shots. Two members of South Africa’s top three, Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram, scored 37 off 36 balls between them.The other member, however, was in an entirely different mood, taking full toll of anything remotely too short, too full, or especially too straight. De Kock kept clearing the ropes whenever he had half a chance, particularly with his pulls and pick-up shots square and behind square on the leg side.This put India’s bowlers under tremendous pressure. They couldn’t attack de Kock’s stumps, because that ran the risk of being whisked over the leg side, and they couldn’t afford to give him width either. This pressure led India to attempt yorkers and wide yorkers frequently, and the pressure combined with the dew to produce errors in the form of wides and full-tosses.Arshdeep suffered the most from this, sending down seven wides in the 11th over — all to de Kock – and nine in all.Ottneil Baartman took four wickets•Getty Images

Ferreira and Miller finish in style

Jitesh Sharma’s alert run-out of de Kock — who wandered out of his crease instinctively after bottom-edging the ball towards the keeper — in the 16th over, followed by Axar Patel’s dismissal of Dewald Brevis in the 17th threatened to stall South Africa at a critical stage of their innings. But Ferreira and David Miller made sure they cleared 200 by a good margin, putting on an unbroken 53 off 23 balls for the fifth wicket.The highlight of the partnership was an 18-run final over during which Ferreira hit Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes: a full-toss drilled straight, and a good short ball that followed the batter’s premeditated movement pulled authoritatively over the leg side.In all, Bumrah conceded four sixes, the most he has gone for in a T20I.

Ngidi and Jansen make the new ball talk

Given all the dew around, it was imperative that South Africa made the new ball count. They did that emphatically. Ngidi set things in motion with a first-over jaffa to Shubman Gill, squaring him up in defence with one that straightened from a good length and having him caught at slip. Jansen followed up in the next over with the mirror-image dismissal of Abhishek Sharma; angling in, straightening, squaring up the batter and catching the outside edge.Abhishek’s wicket was particularly crucial, since he’d already hit two sixes, in just eight balls.Suryakumar followed the openers to the dressing room in the fourth over, sending a thin edge to the keeper — confirmed after South Africa reviewed the not-out decision — while looking to steer Jansen behind point.Lungi Ngidi landed the first blow for South Africa•Getty Images

Tilak stands out in the rubble

India never threatened to make a match of it, particularly with Axar Patel — promoted to No. 3 — and Hardik Pandya struggling for fluency, scoring 41 off 44 balls between them.But there was one bright spot for the home team in the form of Tilak, who looked in excellent rhythm right from the time he walked in, and combined that with his awareness of the field to find the boundary frequently even while his partners got stuck. Against Ferreira’s 110kph offspin rockets, for example, he made room to use the pace and steer him behind point, off the stumps. Then, against George Linde’s left-arm spin, he collapsed his back knee smartly to reverse-sweep over backward point for six. A slog-swept six off an Ngidi slower ball took him to a 27-ball half-century in the 14th over.Jitesh, who came in at No. 7, also made good use of the V behind the wicket, scoring 27 off 17, but the result was already certain by the time he walked in, with India needing 96 off 34 balls at that point.

The game also saw Arjun Sharma and Mohit Jangra claiming hat-tricks in the same innings, the first time this has occurred in the Ranji Trophy history

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2025In a record-breaking event, Services defeated Assam in just 90 overs, making it the shortest completed match in Ranji Trophy history.The match set a new mark in terms of balls bowled (540) to reach a result, surpassing the previous record of 547 from the 1961-62 clash between Delhi and Railways. Only 359 runs were scored and 32 wickets fell.The game also saw a historic feat: two bowlers from Services – left-arm spinner Arjun Sharma and left-arm seamer Mohit Jangra – claimed hat-tricks in the same innings, the first time this has occurred in the Ranji Trophy’s 91-year history.

A first in Ranji Trophy

Arjun Sharma Mohit Jangra

hat-tricks for Services in their game against Assam

This was the first instance in Ranji Trophy history where two different bowlers claimed hat-tricks in the same innings

Scorecard https://t.co/serZLq3IXR… pic.twitter.com/FxeVcHMK1q

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) October 25, 2025