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England 244 for 3 (Root 119*, Lawrence 91) vs West IndiesTwo Tests into the red-ball reset. Two Test centuries for the one man in England’s ranks who really didn’t require the Ctl-Alt-Del treatment. By the time the shadows had begun to creep at a rowdy Kensington Oval – a venue more packed with England fans than his own stomping ground of Headingley may end up being this summer – Joe Root had marched imperiously along to his 25th Test hundred, and his eighth in 19 Tests since the start of 2021.An anomalous Ashes campaign stands squarely in the way of Root’s otherwise normal service, but if the pressure of hoisting this Test team onto his shoulders had caused those knees to buckle in Australia, then Root has reaffirmed his desire to lead England’s rebuild in no uncertain terms.In six hours of ever-mounting authority, Root reaped what he himself had sown – in partnership with, first, the doughty Alex Lees, then the more free-spirited Dan Lawrence – as a morning session of 47 grimly-conceded runs gave way to returns of 89 in the afternoon and 108 in the evening, during which Lawrence’s 91 from 150 balls, the highest score of his young career, reinforced the can-do attitude that he had displayed in his declaration slog in Antigua last week.Related

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Alas for Lawrence, his innings would end in agonising anti-climax, from what would have been the penultimate ball of the day. He had reined himself in for much of the final hour, surviving in the process a spill at slip off the persevering Jayden Seales on 72. But then, with his blood pumping after racing into the 90s with back-to-back boundaries, Jason Holder lured him on the drive once more, and Lawrence stalked off cursing himself after picking out extra cover. Like Zak Crawley in the first Test, he may reflect that opportunities for Test centuries don’t come much better than this, least of all when you are privileged enough to share in a 164-run partnership with an acknowledged modern master of the game.For there aren’t many measures left by which to assess the zone that Root has entered into in the past 14 months. By the time he left the field with 119 from 246 balls to his name, Root had racked up 2018 runs since the start of 2021. England play more Tests than most opponents of course – and that can be a curse as much as a blessing when it comes to managing burn-out – but of his contemporaries, only Rishabh Pant (1077) and Dimuth Karunaratne (1068) have even crossed even the 1000-mark.Just as Root had begun his 2021 annus mirablis with scores of 228, 186 and 218 against Sri Lanka and India, and the sense that nothing and no-one could dislodge him, so he finished this first day as if in a force-field. West Indies delayed their new ball until the 85th over as Seales in particular began to locate some reverse-swing, but Root’s footwork was imperturbable as he sashayed himself into line, and set his stall for Thursday’s resumption.And yet, it hadn’t been quite such plain-sailing for Root in a choppy opening gambit, and after being offered nothing from another dog of a deck, West Indies were left to rue two priceless opportunities either side of lunch that could potentially have cracked open the rest of England’s still unproven batting.Joe Root and Dan Lawrence upped the tempo•Getty Images

Root’s first big let-off came on 23, in the second hour of the morning, when Jason Holder wriggled a length delivery through to the keeper via a tangle of bat and pad. West Indies, perhaps chastened by the misuse of an early review, chose not to send it upstairs, and sure enough, replays showed that Root had indeed got a thin inside-edge as the ball went by.Root’s big reprieve, however, came on 34 in the fourth over after lunch, when he deflected a leg-sided delivery from Kemar Roach straight off the face of his bat, only for Joshua da Silva to spill a low but catchable chance, diving to his left. Roach dropped to his haunches in despair, perhaps recognising how fleeting such opportunities would be on this unforgiving deck. Sure enough, Root barely offered another glimmer as he brought up a 125-ball fifty five balls after the drinks break with a punched single into the covers.After winning the toss, Root had had little hesitation in batting first, even though there was a hint of early assistance for West Indies’ seamers, not dissimilar to that which England had encountered in crumbling to 48 for 4 on the first morning of the first Test. At 4 for 1 in the fourth over, with Zak Crawley caught in two minds by a good seaming delivery from Seales, there was just the slightest threat of a repeat performance.Lees, however, settled quickly into his day’s work as the threat of the new ball dissipated, with another innings of self-denial that would be familiar to anyone who tuned into his warm-up maiden fifty at Coolidge last month. West Indies were perhaps guilty of bowling too few deliveries that were targeting his stumps after his consecutive lbws in Antigua, but Lees left the ball well with his minimalist footwork, and picked off his runs with uncomplicated resolve – his three boundaries, in fact, came via a clip, a cut and a push down the ground, a hat-trick of strokes that served Alastair Cook perfectly well in his under-stated career.But just when Lees seemed to have done the hard part, he was nailed plumb in front of middle for 30 as Veerasammy Permaul cramped him from over the wicket to break his drought after a wicketless second innings in Antigua.However Lees’ departure, at 80 for 2, singled a marked change-up in tempo, as Lawrence romped out of the blocks with a desire to bring the action. He came close to running himself out for 11 as he took off for a tight single to mid-on, moments after battering Holder for back-to-back fours, Holder’s first such indignity of the series (but not, as it would turn out, his last). But he was far from chastised when, three overs later, he skipped down the track to Permaul to launch England’s first six of the innings, to confirm the intent with which the remainder of a gutsy innings would be compiled.Until the relative fireworks of the evening session, England’s most dramatic developments arguably took place off the field, with the news that Yorkshire’s Matt Fisher had been drafted in for a last-minute debut, after Craig Overton had fallen ill overnight.With Saqib Mahmood already inked in for his own debut, England are fielding two debutant fast bowlers for the first time since the Lord’s Test of 2009, also against West Indies, when Graham Onions and Tim Bresnan made their bow. On this early evidence, the new pair will not be expecting quite the same assistance from the conditions that their forebears enjoyed.

Afghanistan roared back with an eight-wicket win to leave Bangladesh with the T20I series leveled. After Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai kept the home side down to 115, Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani helped them home inside the 18th over of the chase.Zazai struck his third T20I fifty and ended unbeaten on 59, but both batters took advantage of Bangladesh’s poor catching. Nasum Ahmed, who took four wickets in the first game, dropped Zazai’s skier in the first over itself off his own bowling when the batter hadn’t even opened his account. Afif Hossain and Mohammad Naim then dropped Ghani twice at deep midwicket – on 39 and 41, respectively – off Mahedi Hasan, before Ghani eventually fell for 47.Earlier, Afghanistan didn’t allow Bangladesh off the hook with the ball. Farooqi and Omarzai, young fast bowlers who have impressed on this Bangladesh tour, took three wickets each. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan also took one apiece, as Afghanistan never let the home side to get close to even the seven-run-an-over mark throughout the innings.Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored with 30 in his 100th T20I, as Bangladesh failed to replicate how they had batted in the first game.Farooqi, Omarzai all over Bangladesh
Omarzai removed the in-form Litton Das in the fifth over of the Bangladesh innings when the batter chipped one to deep square leg, where Sharafuddin Ashraf took a pretty good catch. And after Karim Janat’s direct hit caught an unsuspecting Mohammad Naim short in the ninth over, Omarzai also removed Shakib when he top-edged a pull.Captain Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur added 43 for the fifth wicket, but they couldn’t take the hosts out of trouble. Rashid sent in a straighter delivery with the arm, trapping Mahmudullah lbw for 21. Meanwhile, Mushfiqur was Farooqi’s first wicket, as his attempted loft over cover took the bat splice, resulting in Mohammad Nabi taking an easy catch.Fazalhaq Farooqi got two wickets with a yorker•AFP/Getty Images

Two balls later, Farooqi yorked Mahedi Hasan, reducing Bangladesh to 99 for 7 in the 17th over. Omarzai then had Afif caught at short fine leg, although there was a question about the height of the full toss. Soon after, Farooqi removed Shoriful to take his third with another yorker as Bangladesh finished on a meagre 115.Gurbaz’s angry few minutes
There was steam coming out of Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s ears when the umpire adjudged him lbw in the second over. As soon as the finger was raised, Gurbaz punched his bat while aggressively signaling for the review. And while he had a few words to say under the breath, the decision was then overturned by the third umpire.But a couple of balls later, when Mahedi had him caught at cover, Gurbaz threw his bat on the ground as it rolled over before settling in the covers. And after he picked it up, he still seemed to be fuming as he took off his helmet while walking back.Zazai in his elements
It took him a little while to get going, but Zazai smacked the ball well on Saturday. He struck Shakib for consecutive sixes down the ground, to go with his straight four off Shoriful Islam, apart from the fours he hit through point and fine leg. Zazai later struck Shakib for another two sixes in the 15th over – one hit flat towards his own dugout, and the other slightly to its left, and into the grand stand.Ghani struck the ball well too, playing Zazai’s perfect foil. He struck five fours and a six through midwicket, but also ran hard to keep the scorecard ticking over.

Big picture

As well as they would be celebrating the landmark win in Centurion on Friday, Bangladesh will have their eyes on a bigger achievement on Sunday. Beating South Africa in South Africa for the first time was huge, but if they can do it again in Johannesburg, and in the process win the series, it will be a massive success.Bangladesh produced a spectacular team effort. There were contributions right through the line-up – with Yasir Ali making a proper name for himself and Taskin Ahmed not too far behind. One more performance like that and this team will make even bigger history.South Africa, meanwhile, have a lot to work on. Temba Bavuma couldn’t work out why his bowlers didn’t push home the advantage they had after 15 good overs first up. They also leaked a lot of wides and no-balls, and in the back end, some of them didn’t bowl quick enough.The batters also have to find better ways to score runs. They were tied down by the Bangladesh seamers in the first Powerplay and in an effort to break free they lost too many wickets to the spinners. Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller batted well, but couldn’t finish the job. Bavuma himself struggled to rotate strike, while Aiden Markram lean patch continues to be a cause for concern.

Form guide

South Africa LWWWL (Last five completed matches; most recent first)
Bangladesh WLWWW

In the spotlight

David Miller landed punch after punch on the Bangladesh bowling attack towards the end of the first ODI, but an already out of control required run-rate and falling wickets at the other end meant his 79 off 57 went in vain. They had enough bases covered on Friday for Miller not to matter but Bangladesh will know it won’t always be the case. They’re going to need to find ways to stop the marauding left-hander.David Miller was the only South Africa batter who gave Bangladesh something to think about on Friday•AFP/Getty Images

Taskin Ahmed took 2 for 15 in his first spell in Centurion, before coming back to bowl two more tight spells, finishing with the big wicket of van der Dussen in his last over. He worried all the South African batters with his pace, movement and bounce. From looking almost clueless on his last tour to South Africa in 2017, Taskin is now a much improved, fitter fast bowler.

Team news

South Africa will consider bringing back Tabraiz Shamsi, especially if the Johannesburg pitch will provide a bit for the spinners.South Africa (probable): 1 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 David Miller, 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Lungi NgidiBangladesh are unlikely to change the playing XI that’s brought them three wins in the last four games.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Litton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Yasir Ali, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Four 350-plus scores for the sides batting first in the last seven day matches at the Wanderers should tell you what to expect on Sunday. Weather is set to be dry.

Stats and trivia

• Tamim and Litton put on 95 runs in 21.3 overs on Friday, which is a new Bangladesh record for both runs scored (previous best 46) and overs batted (previous best 11.1) by their openers in South Africa.
• Lungi Ngidi’s 1 for 75 in Centurion is now the worst bowling figures by a South African bowler against Bangladesh

Quotes

“Sunday is a must-win game for us. We have to up our game in all the departments. It will look after the points that we require. There’s no guaranteed points going into the game just because you are playing Bangladesh. We need to play the cricket that we know we can.”
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Kieron Pollard will play county cricket for the first time in more than a decade this summer after signing for Surrey for the Vitality Blast, where he will link up with his close friend and compatriot Sunil Narine.ESPNcricinfo revealed last month that Pollard had been approached by multiple counties after his international retirement to discuss the possibility of him playing in the Blast and that Surrey were front-runners after Sean Abbott’s involvement on Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka forced him to pull out of his deal.Surrey confirmed the signing on Friday and Pollard is expected to make his debut in their second home game of the T20 season against Gloucestershire at the Kia Oval on May 31. It will be his first appearance in county cricket since 2011, when his Somerset side were beaten by Leicestershire in the final; he was due to play for Northamptonshire in 2020 but his deal was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Related

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“It has been quite some time since I’ve played county cricket and I’m thrilled to be returning to the Vitality Blast competition in Surrey colours this year,” Pollard said in a Surrey press release. “The Kia Oval is a special place to play, especially in front of a full house.”Surrey have not won the Blast since its inaugural season in 2003 and failed to qualify for the knockout stages last year but are among the favourites for the title this season.They are likely to be without several England players – including Sam and Tom Curran, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Jason Roy and Reece Topley – at various stages due to the Test and ODI series against New Zealand and the Netherlands respectively, but securing Pollard and Narine for the majority of the season represents a significant boost to their hopes.Pollard and Narine have only played a handful of games together on English soil, most recently a one-off T20I at Chester-le-Street in 2017, but will resume their hugely successful partnership at the Kia Oval. They have previously played together for West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, Dhaka Dynamites in the BPL and Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL.Pollard spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons at Somerset•Getty Images

“We’re very pleased to bring Kieron to the club,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said. “He brings an incredible range of skills as well as experience at the very highest level of the sport. His all-round ability will make a significant difference to the depth of the squad.””This Surrey side is full of talent and should certainly be mounting a challenge for the title,” Pollard added. “I hope that my experience will add a vital ingredient to the club’s success this year.”Pollard has had a quiet season for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing IPL season, with 144 runs across 11 innings at a strike rate of just 107.46. He announced his decision to retire from international cricket and give up the West Indies white-ball captaincy midway through the tournament and has struggled with the demands of stringent Covid protocols in India, writing on Instagram last week: “bubble life isn’t easy”.Despite his lean run, Pollard remains one of the world’s most sought-after T20 players as a highly-experienced finisher, occasional bowler and leader. He will also offer support to Chris Jordan, Surrey’s new T20 captain, with whom he has played at Adelaide Strikers, Peshawar Zalmi and Trinbago.The move means Pollard will spend the majority of the English summer living in London. At last month’s Hundred draft, Pollard was the top pick for London Spirit and is expected to be available for the majority of the season before flying back to the Caribbean late in the group stages to play in the CPL.

Surrey 382 for 7 (Burns 113, Jacks 88) lead Somerset 180 (Worrall 3-28, J Overton 3-34, Atkinson 3-40) by 202 runsSomerset supporters casting their eyes skywards in dismay at Surrey’s strengthening grip on this match could always find solace in the beauty of the peregrine falcons wheeling overhead. The falcons nesting at Taunton Minster, across the town, are rearing four fledglings this summer and in the past week or so have begun teaching them to fly. They rested on the floodlight pylons periodically as Surrey built a commanding lead below them, awaiting a fast-food delivery before embarking upon the return journey.Nature Notes aside, news in the West Country was not as uplifting. Somerset had a day of toil as Surrey, with the authority of Championship leaders, turned their overnight 56 for 1 into 382 for 7. Rory Burns completed his second Championship hundred of the summer in his recognizable, idiosyncratic style and Will Jacks, who played the most attractive innings of the day, should have made the second of his first-class career only to be bowled through a sizeable gate, for 88, by Marchant de Lange’s inswinger.The casualties from Jamie Overton’s helmet-hitting escapade on the opening day had mounted overnight. de Lange had been summoned from Abergavenny when Craig Overton suffered delayed concussion symptoms; Overton will be reassessed on Tuesday to determine whether he can play in Somerset’s sell-out Blast derby against Gloucestershire on Friday. Kasey Aldridge, a former England U-19 all-rounder from Bristol, had already replaced Josh Davey, another concussion victim, and revealed a good, repeatable action with the suggestion of more pace to come.Burns is less peregrine falcon than wryneck, another bird also seen in gardens in these parts, slightly larger than a sparrow and possessing an ability to twist its neck almost 360 degrees. The Burns neck jerk to the leg side as the bowler approaches is also quite something, presumably designed to stop him falling over to the leg side, before he shifts his head above the top of off with the bowler about to deliver. Add his mane sweeping from the back of his helmet and it makes him one of the most distinctive batters on the circuit. If birdwatching and cricket-watching ever merge in some dystopian future [I think they just have… Ed], he might one day find an army of twitchers descending upon his every innings.Cricket’s wry neck might have attracted wry remarks during 32 Tests (his average of 30 might be modest but it does bear comparison with any England opener of recent vintage), but he remains a highly effective batter at county level and he dominated the morning session, reaching 50 with a hooked six against Peter Siddle and making busy use of a good batting surface as Somerset’s bowlers, who tend to hit the pitch, found little of the swing available to their Surrey counterparts on the opening day.Nine Surrey batters currently average more than 40, a benchmark only achieved by two Somerset players – and one of them, the Australian Matt Renshaw, is not playing in this match – which even in favourable batting conditions does not auger well for their chances of saving the game.One player below that 40 average is Jacks, whose success remains largely in white-ball formats, and yet his stylish, upright approach insists that he has the ability to transfer his skills to the red-ball game. He, too, was struck on the helmet, this time by Siddle, armed with the second new ball, when he was 42, and a booming off-drive, on 45, immediately after tea, almost caused his downfall when it landed at de Lange’s feet on the half volley and left the big man limping and stretching.Perhaps that contributed to a wilder final spell from de Lange who had bowled with commendable accuracy earlier in the day. He is an immensely strong man as became clear on Somerset’s pre-season media day when, with rain falling, he helped to clear away, carrying a bench, one-handed, above his head while others were struggling away in pairs.Surrey were also disrupted with Hashim Amla unable to resume his innings because of illness. Ben Geddes helped to settle their day before edging de Lange to first slip. Aldridge claimed a maiden first-class wicket that his persistence deserved when Jamie Smih edged to first slip. Burns departed soon afterwards, perhaps unwisely playing back to Roelof van der Merwe’s first ball and edging the left-arm spinner to first slip.A dubious lbw decision against Cameron Steel again gave Somerset hope, but Jacks and Jordan Clark (dropped at slip on 30 off Tom Lammonby) batted them out of the game. Jamie Overton made a late appearance, but this time his damage was limited to the shabby old sightscreen with a clubbed six off van der Merwe. If Somerset are to save this game, their own fledglings must learn to fly.

The ECB have insisted they are “committed to driving progress and increasing the reach” of the Vitality Blast after the competition’s 20th season saw a 15 percent decline in ticket sales compared to pre-pandemic numbers.The Blast’s 2022 season concludes with Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, which will be the competition’s earliest-ever finish. The Blast has been squeezed into a shorter window at the start of the summer in order to accommodate the month-long window for the Hundred, which starts on August 3.Several counties were unhappy about their fixture lists, with many games taking place on week-nights during term-time, and ESPNcricinfo understands that the total attendance figure for the tournament will be around 800,000 – including a sell-out crowd at Edgbaston on Saturday.That figure is down from around 920,000 in 2019, the most recent Blast season in which full crowds were permitted. The 2020 season was played behind-closed-doors in its entirety, while full crowds only returned for the knockout stages in 2021.”After the impact of Covid and the restrictions that were in place for two summers, in addition to the changing consumer habits that has impacted other sports and entertainment, it has been heartening to see crowds returning up and down the country,” Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of county cricket, wrote in a blog post.”We are undergoing research to further understand the changing consumer habits and how we can develop the Vitality Blast’s offer to fans. What is certain is that there has never been more ways to watch and follow the Vitality Blast, whether it is at-venue or across the various digital platforms, and we’re committed to driving progress and increasing the reach of a competition that has become much loved since its inception in 2003.”The Vitality Blast is a short-format competition unlike any other, partly due to age-old county rivalries that play out every year across the country. Over the years, all 18 first-class counties have established their own rich history in a competition that continues to attract top players from across the world and also provide a stage for homegrown players to develop their skills.”Related

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There has been controversy surrounding the non-availability of six England players for Finals Day in Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, David Willey (all Yorkshire), Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone (both Lancashire) and Craig Overton (Somerset), who will be playing in Sunday’s deciding third ODI against India instead.The ECB were forced to reschedule the white-ball leg of the India series due to the postponement of the fifth Test last summer, prompting the clash between Finals Day and the end of the ODI series, but Tom Abell, Somerset’s captain, said that the occasion would not be “diminished in any way” by their absence.”The Blast can still take pride of place,” Abell said. “If there are really good games in the Blast, that creates huge interest and excitement around the competition in itself. Everyone really buys in and you really see the passion for it. If you’re getting good sides playing against each other, that fuels the passion for the T20 Blast and for county cricket.”Tim David, Lancashire’s overseas player, said it was “frustrating” to be without several England players. “Personally, I think it’s disappointing when you have clashes with international fixtures,” he said. “As a team, of course you want your best players available – but it happens everywhere. You have fixture clashes. I think it can be done better but I’m not going to offer any solutions at this stage.”Obviously there is some really high-quality stuff happening in the Blast but there’s also some different challenges with the scheduling and the number of teams,” David added. “It’s a different intensity to other tournaments: guys will be off playing a four-day game and then the next day, they’ve got a T20 match. It’s certainly a different challenge to franchise tournaments.”Five venues reported record T20 attendances this season: Edgbaston, Taunton, the Ageas Bowl, New Road and Grace Road, where Leicestershire reaped the benefits after deciding to cut their prices significantly midway through the group stages. “Last week’s quarter-finals attracted a combined 42,000 spectators – the most ever for the last-eight stage,” Snowball said.The new TV deal signed between the ECB and Sky Sports this week includes a 50 percent increase in the number of televised group-stage games, as well as a weekly highlights show on free-to-air television. Snowball said that the deal “reiterates the value and importance that is placed” on the Blast and “reflects the loyalty and passion fans have for it”.

Will Williams, the New Zealander who has played domestic cricket for Canterbury for the last decade, has joined Lancashire as a local player for the next three-and-a-half years with the use of his British passport. Williams joined Lancashire last month on a short-term overseas deal but has now been registered as a non-overseas player across formats, and is available with immediate effect. The move effectively ends his Canterbury career.Williams has a remarkable record in his first-class career, with 123 wickets at 23.15 bowling right-arm medium fast, and has also taken 81 wickets across the white-ball formats.”It was a big life decision to use my British heritage to take up local player status and give up my ability to play back in New Zealand,” Williams said. “However, I felt this was an incredible opportunity to learn and grow my game. I would like to thank the club – particularly Mark Chilton [director of cricket] and Glen Chapple [coach] – for making it happen.”The lads have made me feel at home here already and I am now looking forward to playing at Emirates Old Trafford for the first time in front of our members and supporters and helping this great club to challenge for trophies again.”Chilton said that Williams had been identified as a potential overseas player last winter before the club had learned that he held a British passport and was “considering the option” of moving to the UK to play as a local player.”Due to injuries and international selection, we required a seamer at short notice for last month’s County Championship matches,” Chilton said. “Following Will’s performances in those matches, and through conversations with him since, we have taken the decision to turn his short-term overseas contract into a local player contract.”This is an exciting opportunity for us, and for Will, and he has already been a really nice fit into the club in terms of the type of cricketer he is and we look forward to him developing with us over the course of the next three-and-a-half seasons.”Thanking the coach and support staff at Canterbury, Williams said that it was an “absolute dream” to play for the club.”Right from a young age it was my absolute dream to play for Canterbury, so I felt very fortunate every time I got to put the cap on. I’d like to say a massive thanks to all the staff at Canterbury Cricket and in particular, Peter Fulton, Brendon Donkers, and Dayle Hadlee, all of whom have helped me endlessly over the last 10 years.”Fulton, the Canterbury coach, had mixed emotions on seeing one of his bowling mainstays leave but wished him the best.”On a personal level, I am really pleased for Will as this is great opportunity for him to secure his future as a cricketer. Lancashire is a club with great history and I am sure Will is going to be an excellent addition for them.””Obviously we are really disappointed to be losing Will from a Canterbury Cricket perspective. He has worked incredibly hard over the last 8-9 years to become a mainstay in our side. His skill with the ball and his durability will be hard to replace. We wish him well and thank him for the years of service he has given to the province.”

Stephen Eskinazi maintained his rich vein of form with a second successive century – and Middlesex’s highest-ever 50-over score – to steer his side to victory in their Royal London Cup derby against Surrey.The 28-year-old Seaxes skipper, who had struck his previous best of 146 not out three days earlier against Durham, eclipsed that effort with a majestic 182 at Radlett that included 17 fours and six sixes.Eskinazi, who passed 1,000 List A career runs during his 136-ball knock, shared a third-wicket stand of 142 with Pieter Malan (64 from 60) and batted almost right through to underpin the Middlesex total of 351 for 7.”I’m enjoying my cricket at the moment and feel like I’m playing with a sense of freedom,” he said. “I guess I’ve got a bit of a point to prove after being left out of the Hundred and the best way to silence critics and put my name in that hat is to win games for Middlesex and put in performances like I did today.”Ryan Patel’s resolute effort of 118 from 99 kept Surrey in the hunt but, once he was caught in the deep trying to force the pace, the visitors folded for 249 with 50 deliveries unused.Invited to bat, Middlesex made a steady start as Eskinazi and Mark Stoneman put on 61, but they were pegged back by the introduction of Conor McKerr (three for 38).McKerr’s additional bounce took Stoneman by surprise and the left-hander slapped one to point, while Sam Robson played on after a brisk 18 that included a six and four off Nick Kimber.However, that paved the way for Eskinazi and Malan to join forces and the pair calmly proceeded, with the South African advancing to his second half-century of the tournament.Teenage spinner Yousef Majid – who bowled tidily to finish with two for 51 – achieved the breakthrough, trapping Malan leg before as he attempted to sweep and that triggered a middle-order Middlesex wobble.With runs drying up and wickets falling regularly to Majid and Cameron Steel, the home side drifted to 273 for seven before Eskinazi regained the initiative in the death overs, slamming two McKerr full tosses over the fence.Although Eskinazi departed with three balls remaining, Josh Blake pulling off an impressive one-handed grab behind the stumps, the captain’s efforts were enough to lift Middlesex above the 350 mark.Surrey were beset by problems at the start of their reply, with skipper Ben Geddes dragging on to Umesh Yadav in the third over and Steel forced to retire with concussion, having been struck on the helmet by a ball that leapt off a length.Blake, who replaced the stricken Steel at the crease, was soon making the return journey after flashing outside off stump at his first ball from Ethan Bamber – leaving the visitors 23 for three in effect.However, Patel rose to the challenge, clubbing Bamber for the first six of the innings and punishing some loose Martin Andersson deliveries as he and Tom Lawes (27) added 79 from 74.The left-hander crashed consecutive leg-sixes off Yadav to reach his hundred, but he gradually began to run out of partners as Andersson’s smartly-judged boundary catch removed Lawes and Bamber (three for 46) returned to bowl both Nico Reifer and Nick Kimber in his second spell.Patel eventually skied Andersson into the hands of long-off and, although Middlesex were held up by debutant Nathan Barnwell’s spirited 31 from 27, it was not enough to alter the outcome and Yadav (three for 52) wrapped up victory with two wickets in three balls.

Fast bowler Adam Milne has been included in New Zealand’s squad for the T20 World Cup after missing recent tours due to an Achilles problem.Milne was part of last year’s tournament in the UAE after being called up as a replacement for Lockie Ferguson. During a career interrupted by injuries, he has taken 32 wickets at 26.68 in 31 T20Is. He forms the frontline pace options alongside Ferguson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult.New Zealand coach Gary Stead said they will want to see how Milne went in the tri-series against Pakistan and Bangladesh early next month, but was confident he would be ready for the World Cup.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We’ve had a lot of conversations with Adam and the medical crew around him and we are confident that if everything goes well for him that he’ll be available for the tri-series games beforehand,” Stead said. “I guess that’s ultimately a final test for him to make sure he’s where we want to be. We believe he’ll be ready and that’s why he was selected.”Also included in the 15-player squad are Finn Allen and Michael Bracewell who will appear at their first World Cup. Devon Conway will be the frontline wicketkeeper while Mark Chapman and Ish Sodhi retain their places.There is no specialist back-up for Conway with the gloves, but Stead indicated that Allen or Glenn Phillips could step in if needed at short notice.”We felt that in the last World Cup that Devon did a really admirable job and you expect in Australia that probably even less balls will go through to the keeper,” he said.Allen, the hard-hitting opening batter, has made a promising start to his international career and already has a T20I hundred – 101 off 56 balls against Scotland – while striking at 169.54 from his 13 matches.Stead said that he had a first-choice 12 in mind for the World Cup, but the tri-series will be used to fine-tune plans including the combination they go with at the top of the order with Allen, Conway, Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill all options to open. Daryl Mitchell will be used in a middle-order role.”I’ll hold those cards close to my chest on what we will do [with opening], but think we’ll see during the tri-series we’ll be trying a few different people there,” he said.Kyle Jamieson was not considered for selection as he continues his recovery from the back injury he picked up in England.Guptill will become the first New Zealander to appear at seven men’s T20 World Cups.The same squad will play the T20 tri-series involving Pakistan and Bangladesh which will be staged early next month in Christchurch although extra players may be called in to manage workloads of those heading to Australia.”Along with the all-important game time, those matches will be a great chance to refine our combinations and game-plans ahead of our departure to Australia,” Stead said.New Zealand open their T20 World Cup campaign against hosts Australia, at the SCG, on October 22.

Ireland allrounder George Dockrell took part in the T20 World Cup Super 12 match against Sri Lanka on Sunday despite testing positive for Covid-19.In a release, Cricket Ireland said Dockrell has been identified as “potentially positive” and is being “managed in line with current local, national and ICC guidelines”. According to the release, Dockrell’s symptoms are very mild, and a medical staff in the team will manage his movements and interactions in line with tournament and current government protocols. Cricket Ireland has also notified the ICC chief medical officer, the opposition team and stadium staff.Dockrell walked in to bat at No. 6 in the 11th over of the match following Curtis Campher’s dismissal. He made a 16-ball 14 before being bowled by Maheesh Theekshana.According to ICC’s playing conditions, the Biosafety Advisory Group (BSAG) will be the final arbiter as to the Covid status of any player and his consequential availability to participate in a match.A positive Covid-19 test does not impede Dockrell’s ability to play or train, but he will travel separately from the squad on match and training days to keep away from the rest of the squad.In August, Australia women’s allrounder Tahlia McGrath took part in the Commonwealth Games gold-medal match against India despite testing positive. It was the first case in international cricket where a player known to have Covid-19 took part in a match.