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Bangladesh Women have named four uncapped players – Rabeya Khatun, Disha Biswas, Dilara Akhter and Marufa Akter – in their 17-member squad for three T20Is and as many ODIs in New Zealand.Biswas is a seam-bowling allrounder, Rabeya is a legspin allrounder, Dilara is a wicketkeeper-batter, and Marufa Akter is a seamer.Rabeya, Biswas and Dilara were also part of the Under-19 side that recently beat Malaysia at home. Disha took eight wickets against them, while Rabeya picked up six wickets. Dilara made 157 runs, including two fifties, in four innings.

IN: Marufa Akther, Rabeya Khatun, Dilara Akhter, Disha Biswas

OUT: Shamima Sultana, Sobhana Mostary, Shohely Akhter

Shamima Sultana, Sobhana Mostary and Shohely Akhter, meanwhile, were left out of the squad. Shamima, the wicketkeeper-batter, scored only 50 runs in three matches in the Asia Cup. Mostary also had a poor run recently, scoring 27 runs in her last six T20I innings. Shohely took two wickets in as many innings at the Asia Cup.The T20Is will be played on December 2, 4 and 7, and the ODIs on December 11, 14 and 17. The ODI series will be Bangladesh’s first assignment in the current cycle of the ICC Women’s Championship.Squad: Nigar Sultana (capt & wk), Sharmin Akter, Fargana Hoque, Rumana Ahmed, Ritu Moni, Lata Mondol, Salma Khatun, Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Jahanara Alam, Fahima Khatun, Sanjida Akther, Fariha Islam, Marufa Akter, Rabeya Khatun, Dilara Akter, Disha Biswas

Freya Kemp, the 17-year-old allrounder who made her England debut in the summer, has been ruled out of the rest of the ongoing tour to the Caribbean.Related

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Kemp was not involved in any of the three ODIs during England’s 3-0 clean sweep of the West Indies and has been suffering with back pain.”England Women’s all-rounder Freya Kemp has been ruled out of the rest of the West Indies series with back pain limiting her cricket,” an ECB statement said.”Kemp will now return to the UK for further exploratory scans.”She is the latest player ruled out of the tour through injury after Alice Capsey returned home with a broken collarbone.England and West Indies play the first of five T20Is in Antigua on Sunday night. The final four games take place in Barbados from December 14-22.

Hampshire have confirmed that Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis, their T20 Blast-winning overseas pairing, will return to the club to help their bid to defend the title in 2023.McDermott scored 494 runs in the Blast last season including five centuries, second only to his opening partner and captain James Vince among Hampshire players. He top-scored in the final against Lancashire with 62 – Hampshire’s next-highest score was 22 – and was also involved in 19 dismissals, the second-most in the competition.Ellis, meanwhile, took 15 wickets for Hampshire last year and finished the season with a remarkable economy rate of 6.87, despite predominantly operating as a death bowler.He was involved in a memorable climax to the final: Ellis appeared to have sealed the trophy when he bowled Richard Gleeson, but Hampshire’s celebrations were cut short when replays confirmed he had over-stepped. With three runs to win, he deceived Gleeson with a slower ball, and Lancashire could only manage one bye.Both players were initially signed, in part, through Hampshire’s ties to George Bailey, who captained the club in 2017 and has since become Australia’s lead selector. Bailey has a long-standing connection with Hobart Hurricanes, the Big Bash team that McDermott and Ellis represent.Related

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• Ellis keeps his cool – twice – to seal one-run thriller for Hampshire

“Both Ben and Nathan were fantastic for us last year and it’s a great boost to the squad to have them back,” Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said.”They made a big impact at the club and were exceptional on the field. The clarity that comes with continuity will hopefully help in our pursuit of another Finals Day in 2023.”Ellis may miss some early fixtures depending on Punjab Kings’ progress in the IPL. “After the success of last year it was a no-brainer to re-sign with the Hawks for this summer,” he said.McDermott, who does not have an IPL contract, is likely to be available for the whole season. “I’m over the moon to have re-signed with the Hawks and can’t wait to play in front of the Ageas Bowl crowd again,” he said.Both players also represented London Spirit in the Hundred last year, though only Ellis has been retained (on a £100,000 contract). McDermott has entered the draft on March 23 without a reserve price.

Days after Major League Cricket’s (MLC) landmark player draft, a sanctioning dispute between USA Cricket and league organisers threatens to disrupt the start of the tournament this July. The dispute has reached the ICC, who has told its members to not issue NOCs to their players until the issue is resolved.In this latest manifestation of the age-old tradition of administrative strife on US soil, it has emerged that USA Cricket has not yet sanctioned either the MLC or Minor League Cricket (MiLC), the tournaments that are seen as the next big step in the evolution of the game in the country. That did not prevent the MLC from announcing a host of big-name foreign signings – including Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis and Quinton de Kock – in a draft in Houston on Sunday. But concerns are growing, especially as the ICC is currently classifying the events as “disapproved”.USA Cricket has previously given sanction to MiLC, for both 2021 and 2022, but in a communication recently sent out by the ICC’s operations department to Members, officials have flagged the issue for overseas players wishing to play in both competitions.”Members may be aware of the following two events that are proposed to be played in the USA,” the ICC said of the events, both administered by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE), the parent company which signed a 50-year commercial rights agreement with USA Cricket in 2019.Related

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• Fleming to coach Texas Super Kings in USA's Major League Cricket

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“Applications for sanction have been submitted to USA Cricket, but these events have not yet been sanctioned by USA Cricket. Consequently, without a sanction from the host member, both events are currently deemed to be Disapproved Cricket and as such, Members should not issue NOCs to their players to participate in either event.”On March 1, in a statement from USA Cricket, the interim board chairman Atul Rai said that the board of directors were “concerned about the plight of the players and the owners” of MiLC, though what exactly those concerns are has not been specified.”However, they are equally concerned about the operations of Minor League by ACE without any accountability and its failure to follow the USA Cricket guidelines, not to mention the lack of communication,” the statement continued. “USA Cricket has sent a letter to ACE that includes several questions on Minor League operations by ACE that we hope to get a quick response timely to allow for sanctioning of the event.”Rai was on the board in 2019 and voted in favour of signing the commercial partnership with ACE at the time. Then board chairman Paraag Marathe was the main driver of the deal and rubber-stamped the tournament going ahead in 2021 and 2022. Rai left the board in February 2020, but won an election to return in September 2022 and immediately replaced Marathe as chairman. Rai’s stance toward ACE and MLC seems to have changed in his second term.Observers see this dispute as a negotiating ploy by USA Cricket to revise terms of the original short-form agreement signed with ACE in 2019. In that agreement, ACE keeps 95% of all gross revenues generated by MLC while USA Cricket receives the remaining 5%.Organisers say, however, that the tournament is on course to begin its inaugural season on July 13, as is MiLC for a third season from June 10.”We are aware of the recent letter that the ICC sent to its membership regarding the status of MiLC and MLC,” MLC tournament director Justin Geale told ESPNcricinfo. “We don’t believe the letter was a warning at all, inasmuch as it was merely factual informational that the events are not yet sanctioned as the member boards need that confirmation in order to issue NOCs to the players.”We have been in regular communication with all concerned parties regarding the ICC sanctioning of these events for the past several weeks. These events already have the necessary sanctioning from USA Cricket under our agreement with them, and the completed ICC sanctioning applications for MiLC and MLC are presently with USA Cricket.”We have been assured that they will be processed in a speedy manner once received by the ICC. We believe that the recent staffing changes at USA Cricket may have contributed to any delays. However, we fully expect the events to receive complete sanctioning in the coming days, as all parties agree that MiLC and MLC are very important to the growth and development of cricket in the US.”Geale’s reference to staffing changes alludes to the resignation of USA Cricket’s interim CEO Vinay Bhimjiani over the weekend, after five months in the role.Rai told ESPNcricinfo that there were other outstanding issues that had prevented them from moving forward on the sanctioning. This includes USA Cricket’s desire for more favourable revisions from the short-form agreement, before signing a finalised long-form agreement between the two parties.”The board appointed a five-member working group to negotiate the terms of the Long-form agreement and they have started the conversation as I understand,” Rai told ESPNcricinfo. “I am not part of that committee and since the CEO resigned, he is no longer involved in the negotiations. Therefore, any sanctioning or approval will have to come as a recommendation from the committee to the board.”As for the 50-year commercial partnership agreement, the working group had sent a letter to ACE outlining the areas of problems in the contract as well as the failures. While there was a response from ACE, I believe that there is much to be discussed before any final agreement can be reached.”

Tilak Varma has become the fourth player to retire out in the IPL. The Mumbai Indians (MI) batter walked off the field with seven balls left in the match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Friday, after coming on as an Impact Player and scoring 25 off 23 balls in a chase of 204.When Tilak left the field, MI needed 24 off seven balls with five wickets in hand. They couldn’t cross the line, though, with LSG closing out a 12-run win.In his post-match press conference, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene said it had been his decision to retire Tilak out.”He just wanted to get going but he couldn’t,” Jayawardene said. “[We] waited till the last few overs, hoping that [he would find his rhythm], because he had spent some time there so he should have been able to get that hit out of the way, but I just felt that at the end, I just needed someone fresh to go, and he was struggling.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“These things happen in cricket. Not nice to take him out but I had to do that, it was a tactical decision at that point.”When Tilak walked out to bat, MI were on track at 86 for 3 after 8.1 overs in a 200-plus chase. Tilak put on 66 off 48 balls with Suryakumar Yadav for the fourth wicket, but where Suryakumar contributed 46 off 30 to the partnership, Tilak struggled for fluency as his share of 17 off 18 showed.By the time Suryakumar fell, MI’s required rate had shot up; they now needed 52 off the last 23 balls. Tilak managed to score eight off his last five balls at the crease – four of them came via an edged boundary – before he went off as MI grew increasingly desperate. Hardik Pandya, MI’s captain, was at the other end when they took the decision to retire Tilak.”I think that was obvious,” Hardik told the broadcasters after the match. “We needed some hits, and he was not [able to get them]. Sometimes in cricket one of those days comes, when you really want to try but it does not happen, but the decision [speaks for] itself, why we did it.”

Aaron Finch is itching to get out. More or less his final commitment after two weeks of hotel quarantine in Sydney following the IPL is to preview Australia’s ODI series against India via Zoom, the only means by which he has been able to plan for the contest with team-mates and coaches.In a way, the conclusion of quarantine so close to the start of cricketing hostilities between Australia and India is an apt reminder of the unprecedented circumstances for the summer, played out against the backdrop of Covid-19 and all its associated health and biosecurity measures. But if Finch is impatient for a few more freedoms, he is also hopeful that the national selectors will be similarly eager to get the 22-year-old Will Pucovski into their Test team this season.Much of the debate around Pucovski’s chances of usurping Joe Burns has fallen into the question of team chemistry and balance. That has ranged from head coach Justin Langer and David Warner’s thinly veiled preference for Burns to the trenchant views of Ian and Greg Chappell, insisting that Pucovski be hurled in to face Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami with the new ball. Finch, though, has one of the more valuable perspectives, having been tried and failed as a mature-age Test opener in 2018-19. Finch was handed over his Test debut during the first Test against Pakistan in Dubai in October 2018 while Warner was serving a ball-tampering ban, but was quickly discarded after just five matches, where he averaged 27.80 with a highest score of 62.In an ESPNcricinfo interview this week, Finch suggested that he wished he had got that chance at the age of 25 rather than 32, the better to learn from it and return a better player. Speaking in the context of Pucovski, Finch went further, saying it was impossible to know how you would handle the most pressing challenge in the game until you experienced it; so the sooner, the better.”When you have your first chance at 32 and you miss that trick, there’s probably not a huge amount of scope to get back into that side,” Finch said. “So I would’ve loved to have that opportunity at 25 because I think the lessons that I learned from that were crucial in my development – not just as a player but as a person [too].”I think when you’re talking about young guys – especially hugely talented guys like Will – there’s going to be ups and downs in their careers no doubt. So I think being exposed to the highest level early on, I think that might seem tough at the time if things don’t go well straightaway. But the lessons that you learn from that, the way that you approach the game – the way you approach it mentally probably more than anything – I think is some really valuable lessons, and something that can’t really be taught.”You can speak to everybody about how to go about it [and] how you’re going to feel, but until you walk out and mark centre or bowl your first ball [or] first over in Test cricket, you don’t really understand what your reaction to it is going to be.”Timely education applies as much to life as it does to cricket, epitomised by how the Australian team’s understanding of the issues around this year’s Black Lives Matter movement has been greatly enhanced in recent weeks. Their decision to form a Barefoot Circle in acknowledgement of Aboriginal Australia and racial injustice prior to Friday’s opening game against India is a signifier of the way in which Finch and others have progressed from his clumsy construction in England a few months back that “education around it is more important than the protest”.Marnus Labuschagne looks on during practice•Getty Images

“We sat down and discussed it as a group,” Finch said. “A lot of people have had some input into it and we think it’s the right way to connect with our Indigenous people. There’s obviously zero tolerance to racism in our sport, in our society, or there should be anyway. So I think this is a way we can connect with our Indigenous people that have faced a lot of adversity for a long time – for generations – so this is our way of supporting that cause.”I think it’s about education – not just for me but for our group. The more that we can educate ourselves and educate each other, I think we can go on a journey of learning a lot more about the injustices over the last 230-odd years in Australia, and I suppose to raise some awareness of issues that might not be as commonly known.”Individually, Finch has been able to use his quarantine time to recalibrate his batting also, aided by the presence of two trusted mentors in the form of Andrew McDonald and Ricky Ponting. Their training sessions have ensured that Finch, after an underwhelming IPL, will enter the ODI series with a tightened game for the 50-over format, the better to build innings of substance after some months of more combustible T20 thinking.”T20 cricket can be really difficult when you’re not quite at your very best, when you’re trying to be really aggressive at the start of an innings, take risks early in the game,” Finch said. “I think that’s a time when if it’s not going 100%, you can get into a pretty bad run quite quickly. But just a few balance things – head position in my stance and small things like that. I sometimes can forget about it when you’re focusing just on T20.”You can tend to get a bit one-paced with your training and almost focus on power-hitting rather than a few minor technical things that can help you out. It hasn’t been anything huge, it’s just a few steps that I generally go to when things haven’t been as smooth as I would’ve liked.”Australia’s balance has been altered slightly through the availability of Steven Smith – after concussion kept him out of the England series – and the absence of Mitchell Marsh due to an ankle injury which had ruled him out of the IPL. This will leave allrounder duties primarily with Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, though Marnus Labuschagne can be expected to chime in with a few overs also. Whoever comprises the fifth bowler, Finch counselled too that his top-line bowlers would be handled carefully for reasons of mental health as much as workloads.”Since the last World Cup, we’ve probably a bit more clear in how we want to structure up our team, and that’s with a couple of allrounders in there to take the load of that fifth bowler generally,” he said. “Obviously, that’ll change depending on conditions and whether you’re in the UK or India or South Africa. That’s always a floating plan of what we have. In terms of the rotation of the bowlers, I think it’s going to come down to how they’re feeling personally, whether it’s mentally or physically.”Guys are at totally different points in their preparations and workloads. Some guys are coming off quite a decent [Sheffield] Shield start to the season, some are coming off T20s.”So it’ll just be about managing that. We know in the current environment with guys being away from so long – away from families and in hubs and bubbles and things like that [and] quarantine – it’s really important to look after people’s mental health as much as anything. Whether you give them a week off or a couple of days just to get home and get in their own bed is going to be crucial.”

Big picture: Pakistan and Bangladesh hope rain stays away

It has not been a tournament to remember for either Pakistan or Bangladesh, and the team talks ahead of their last game, against each other in Rawalpindi, are likely to be similar: play for pride, etc. With some chatter about the poor weather – if it continues, as the forecast says, the long faces in the two dressing rooms will get longer.Pakistan’s numbers in the Champions Trophy matches against New Zealand and India don’t make for pretty reading. Their top-order batters haven’t pulled their collective weight. With Fakhar Zaman out injured, Imam-ul-Haq came in and didn’t do much. Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam have both hit a half-century each, but not been able to have any major impact. Mohammad Rizwan hasn’t looked in any sort of form despite scoring a century in the tri-series at home before the Champions Trophy. Pakistan could bring in Kamran Ghulam just to freshen things up, but who do they drop?After the top four, it’s no better. Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir seem to be playing similar roles, which has led to stagnation in the middle. Faheem Ashraf, potentially, could have balanced the side a bit, but hasn’t been given a go. And the quick bowlers have struggled to control the flow. India took apart Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. Naseem Shah has been better, but has looked below his best. Abrar Ahmed has bowled one great delivery that was overshadowed by his celebration.Related

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• Aaqib Javed's post mortem: Lack of experience in the ranks hurt Pakistan

• Shanto fears Bangladesh are 'taking it lightly' after exit

• Pakistan slide feels like a terminal, slow decline

Bangladesh haven’t been too different, bar their quick bowling. Their batting has been one-dimensional, and not been able to go through the gears, with the lower order having to bail them out. Their top order caved in against India, while Michael Bracewell’s offspin got rid of their middle order in the other game. Najmul Hossain Shanto showed form against New Zealand, while Jaker Ali has been consistent – they might have to do even more against Pakistan. As is the case with Towhid Hridoy, who scored an impressive century against India.1:58

‘Disappointing to see Bangladesh’s big players go missing in a must-win game’

But they will want veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah to sign off from what could be their last ICC game with a bang and not a whimper. Their lack of fire has been disappointing to see, though, in Mahmudullah’s case, it’s just been one match and one failure.Taskin Ahmed and Nahid Rana have to do the heavy lifting again on Thursday, with Mustafizur Rahman continuing to be steady without being spectacular. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain, the lead spinners, have a lot to do, too, especially in Rawalpindi where they should have a more central role.But the two teams will also be looking beyond this game. They have to set their priorities right in the domestic circuit and then look for improvement in their international teams. They will both have to go back to the drawing board ahead of the next ICC tournament, and figure out how they can make a better fist of it, especially with a transition of sorts possibly around the corner.

Form guide

Pakistan LLLWL
Bangladesh LLLLL

In the spotlight: Abrar Ahmed and Jaker Ali

His send-off after the wonder ball to Shubman Gill has attracted all the attention, but Abrar Ahmed has been one of the few success stories for Pakistan in the last couple of weeks. He’s posed a wicket-taking threat. He’s been economical as well. But Bangladesh handled him well last year in the Rawalpindi Test so it will be interesting to see what happens on Thursday.Jaker Ali has been a revelation for Bangladesh in the lower-middle order in the last few months. It has been just seven ODIs, but he averages 50-plus with two fifties. He is a strong hitter in the death overs, often finding the boundaries, but wouldn’t mind having another specialist batter at the other end for at least a part of the time. Jaker can also offer his wicketkeeping if Bangladesh look to tinker with their XI and leave out Mushfiqur.For Mushfiqur Rahim, as well as Mahmudullah, this could be a final appearance in an ICC tournament•ICC via Getty Images

Team news: Will the teams ring in the changes?

Could Pakistan leave out one of their star quick bowlers to give Mohammad Hasnain or Faheem Ashraf a chance? They also have batting options in Usman Khan and Kamran Ghulam.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq/Usman Khan, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Saud Shakeel, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Tayyab Tahir, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi/Mohammad Hasnain, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar AhmedBangladesh are likely to field the same line-up that played against New Zealand.Bangladesh (possible): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 3 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 4 Tohwid Hridoy, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Jaker Ali, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Nahid Rana

Pitch and conditions: An eye on the weather

Pakistan will hope that their farewell from their own Champions Trophy is not rained out. There is rain in the forecast. The previous match at the venue, between South Africa and Australia, was abandoned because of rain too. The pitch would have been under cover for a lot of the last three days by the time the game starts, and there’s always the chance of extra moisture around the square.

Stats and trivia: Bangladesh’s pacers slightly better

• This is the first Pakistan vs Bangladesh contest in Champions Trophy history
• Pakistan beat Bangladesh in their only previous ODI in Rawalpindi in 2003
• Pakistan have a 12-0 overall home record against Bangladesh in ODIs
• The fast bowlers across the two teams have taken 11 wickets, but Bangladesh’s group has a bowling average of 44.83 and have conceded runs at 5.12 per over, while Pakistan’s have an average of 63.50 and an economy rate of 7.18.

Sussex 528 (Simpson 181*, Clark 140) and 313 for 7 dec (Alsop 82*) drew with Warwickshire 454 (Yates 115, Barnard 82, Davies 66, Mousley 63) and 104 for 2 (Yates 65*)Warwickshire and Sussex banked solid points from a draw after their high-scoring Rothesay County Championship Division One match drifted up the predictable cul-de-sac at Edgbaston.Sussex declined to set up a contest on the final day, batting themselves safe before finally declaring their second innings on 313 for 7 after Tom Alsop’s unbeaten 82 from 131 balls. That set the home side a notional target of 388 in a minimum of 44 overs.Warwickshire closed on 104 for 2, Rob Yates ending unbeaten on 65 to complete his excellent start to the season with 180 runs for once out, three wickets and a catch in the match.If the fourth day offered less than thrilling fare for the spectators, there was plenty of satisfaction from the match for both teams – Sussex on their return to Division One and Warwickshire having narrowly avoided relegation last year – at making a solid start to the season.After Sussex resumed on the final morning on 126 for 3, James Coles soon lifted Yates for a handsome straight six but the spinner hit back with his third wicket when nightwatcher Jack Carson scooped to Vishwa Fernando at short fine leg.Coles was on the threshold of his second half-century of the match when he became Fernando’s first victim for Warwickshire, caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Kai Smith.In the hour before lunch it became clear that the match was going nowhere as Alsop and John Simpson plodded through a partnership of 47 from 15 overs. Simpson fell lbw to Dan Mousley just before the interval, after which Alsop continued to put his first innings first-baller firmly behind him by moving to a compact 100-ball half-century.Alsop and Fynn Hudson-Prentice added 71 in 15 overs before their alliance ended in slapstick fashion. The batters were on different wavelengths over the merits of a third run and found themselves at the same end, the latter run out for 30 off 53 balls. The declaration soon followed.Warwickshire reached 27 without loss at tea at which point they faced the tempting challenge of scoring 361 from 36 overs in the last session. They resisted the temptation.Jayden Seales pinned Alex Davies lbw with the first ball of the evening session and Carson bowled Hamza Shaikh with a beauty for the second time in the match. Thereafter, Yates and Sam Hain saw out time as the match petered out in a similar way to Sussex’s first ever Championship visit to Edgbaston in 1905 (the famous match in which Bradford-born left-arm spinner Albert Cordingley made his 15th and last appearance for Sussex).

Captain Matthew Short returned from a toe injury in spectacular fashion with a blistering century against Brisbane Heat as Adelaide Strikers revived their finals hopes after making the second highest total in BBL history.Sent in to bat on a very flat Adelaide Oval surface, Strikers smashed 251 for 5 highlighted by Short’s 109 off 54 balls after he missed the last three matches. He reached his ton in 49 balls to set a new franchise record.Heat never seriously threatened in the chase and were bowled out for 195 after 20 overs.The result has breathed life into Strikers’ season (three wins in eight games) having entered the match in last position and they moved within striking distance of fourth-placed Heat.Short/Lynn rampage before Carey’s brief knock in season debut There was a lot of anticipation over the season debut of Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey, who was listed at No.3 but made to wait until almost the ninth over after a destructive 121-run opening partnership between Short and Chris Lynn.During Short’s absence, Lynn moved up to open from three and such was his success that he stayed in the position. He dominated the powerplay and thrashed quicks Michael Neser and Xavier Bartlett, normally so reliable with the new ball.Lynn raced to 42 off 13 balls as Strikers motored to 62 for 0 in the most runs hit by a team in the powerplay this season. Short then took over with two sixes off left-arm quick Spencer Johnson as Strikers moved to 81-0 after five overs.Hogging the strike, Short soon sped past Lynn to reach his half-century off 24 balls. In the first seven overs, Short and Lynn smashed seven sixes while they failed to score off just 11 balls.Matt Short and Chris Lynn turn the crowd into umpires•Getty Images

But Lynn did lose his rhythm and was also ailed by a tight hamstring before being knocked over by a quicker delivery from left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann.Carey finally came to the crease, but only lasted eight deliveries after being bowled by another faster ball from Kuhnemann. He did, however, hit arguably the best shot of the innings after a classy check drive sailed prettily over extra cover and into the crowd.Short was unperturbed as he fittingly reached his ton with a boundary. Travis Head had held Strikers’ previous fastest century with his famous 53-ball ton against Sydney Sixers on New Year’s Eve in 2015.It was a brilliant knock from Short, who has recently opened for Australia in white-ball cricket, marked by staying still at the crease and clean ball striking. He ruthlessly targeted the shorter boundaries on the legside before finally holing out to deep midwicket.Alex Ross clubbed 44 not out from 19 balls at the death to ensure Strikers’ momentum continued.Spinners Kuhnemann, Swepson try their best With their star quicks Neser, Bartlett and Johnson having rare off performances, unable to hit their lengths, spinners Kuhnemann and Swepson took five wickets between them in battling efforts.They weren’t spared, with 91 runs hit off their eight overs, but at least ensured Strikers didn’t reel in the BBL record score of 273 for 2 set by Melbourne Stars three years ago.Kuhnemann, in his first match since being selected to the Test tour of Sri Lanka, got some zip off the surface, while Swepson cleverly mixed up his bowling to be the most economical of the five bowlers used.Debutant quicks face tough initiation, D’Arcy Short takes four wickets On a surface that rivalled some of the unforgiven pitches seen in the IPL, Strikers debutant quicks Liam Haskett and Jordan Buckingham faced a difficult initiation.Haskett impressed last season for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, but had a delayed start to this summer due to a back injury. The tall left-arm quick was unleashed in the second over, but struggled with his lengths initially and whacked over the legside for successive sixes by Neser.D’Arcy Short finished with 4 for 15•Getty Images

Haskett was later pulled for six by Nathan McSweeney and caught, remarkably, by his father in the terraces. He returned later to dismiss Tom Alsop to finish with 2 for 43 from 3 overs.The 24-year-old Buckingham was given a chance in the BBL having impressed in the Shield in recent seasons. Like almost every other bowler in the match, he copped some punishment but claimed the key wicket of Matthew Renshaw in the 14th over.With bowlers sporting bowling figures that were an eyesore, D’Arcy Short’s handy legspin was used to good effect as numerous Heat batters holed out to him. He finished with 4 for 15 off 3 overs.Munro bats well down the order after injuries in the field Heat’s monumental task was made harder with skipper Colin Munro batting well down the order after dislocating a finger in his left hand and suffering a shoulder injury in a torrid time in the field. He came out at No.7 and made a second ball duck.Neser was promoted to open and ordered to go for broke, but it didn’t do the trick. McSweeney played fluently with several gorgeous drives and he made an attractive 43 off 24 balls.But he was run out attempting a second run as Heat’s slim chances effectively ended despite entertaining cameos from Renshaw, in-form Max Bryant and Johnson, who hit 27 from 13 balls at No.11.

Sir Geoffrey Boycott has put his personal collection of cricket memorabilia up for auction, including the bat with which he scored his 100th first-class hundred, against Australia at Headingley in 1977, and a stump from England’s famous Ashes victory at Headingley in 1981.The 130 lots went on sale on Tuesday, with bidding due to close on November 16. Christie’s, the auctioneers, described it as “one of the last great collections of cricketing memorabilia left in private hands … chronicling the career of the Yorkshire and England legend.”It is unclear quite why Boycott has decided to part with his memorabilia now, although he turned 80 earlier this week, and having missed this summer’s international coverage due to the Covid outbreak, he has not had his contract with BBC’s Test Match Special renewed, after 14 years in the role.The auction will open with the sale of an original scorebook from his home debut for Ackworth Cricket Club in Yorkshire as a 13-year old in 1954, which is inscribed with the entry ‘J. Boycott batting at 8 scores 9 not out’.Other lots include a range of caps worn by his international opponents, including Greg Chappell’s Baggy Green and Viv Richards’ maroon West Indies cap – which have a reserve price of £3200 and £4000 respectively – as well as the shirt worn by Michael Holding at Barbados in 1981, when he bowled Boycott for a duck in one of the most fabled overs of all time.In addition to his 100th hundred bat, which could fetch in excess of £30,000, Boycott’s collection includes the bat with which he went past Garry Sobers’ then world-record Test runs total of 8032, at Delhi in 1981, and the one with which he scored his Test-best 246 not out against India at Headingley in 1967 – an innings for which he was then dropped for slow scoring.