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One spot left, three teams in contention and there’s the complication of rain as well

S Rajesh08-Nov-2023New ZealandNew Zealand’s net run rate of 0.398 is the best among the three teams, but their recent form is the worst: they have lost four on the trot. The last of those defeats came against Pakistan in Bengaluru, the same venue where they will face Sri Lanka on Thursday.Given their superior run rate (NRR), a win will significantly boost their chances of making the semi-finals, as Pakistan and Afghanistan will need victories by massive margins go past on NRR. However, if New Zealand lose, the only way they can qualify is if Pakistan and Afghanistan also lose and stay on eight, in which case New Zealand could sneak through on NRR. That will also mean a team qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals despite losing five out of nine games.There’s also the chance of a washout in Bengaluru, with rain predicted on Thursday. If that happens then New Zealand will finish on nine points, and again, the only way they can make the cut is if Pakistan and Afghanistan lose (assuming their matches aren’t washed out).PakistanPakistan’s NRR is the second-best among the three teams. Hence, if New Zealand lose to Sri Lanka, or if their match is washed out, then a win for Pakistan against England will put them in an extremely strong position to qualify.However, if New Zealand win then Pakistan will not only need to beat England, but also beat them by a handy margin: if, for instance, even if New Zealand win by just one run after scoring 300 in a 50-over game, Pakistan will have to win by 130 to go past their NRR.AfghanistanAfghanistan’s NRR of -0.338 is the worst among the three teams, which means their best bet is to hope that neither New Zealand nor Pakistan win their last game. In that case, any win margin against South Africa will suffice. If New Zealand don’t win their last match and Pakistan beat England by a run, then Afghanistan will have to beat South Africa by 140 runs to go past Pakistan’s NRR. If New Zealand win by a run in a full 50-over game, though, then Afghanistan’s victory margin will need to be 273 runs (assuming first-innings totals of 300). There have been two larger margins of victories in this tournament, but you’ll have to be an extreme optimist to believe that Afghanistan will pull off a win so comprehensive against South Africa.

Former club captain drops red-ball cricket in attempt to find better balance

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2023

Sam Billings has signalled his intention to step back from red-ball cricket after signing a white-ball-only contract with Kent. Billings said that he had “tried juggling all formats” but had found it “very challenging personally” and had taken the decision ahead of the arrival of his first child.The contract extension, which runs until at least the end of the 2025 season, will see Billings captain Kent in the T20 Blast and also allow him to pursue overseas opportunities in franchise cricket, according to a statement by the club.”I’m delighted to remain a Kent cricketer for the foreseeable future,” Billings said. “Kent Cricket means a huge amount to me and I’m very grateful for the club’s openness and understanding during discussions around my future.Related

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“In an ever-changing landscape of our sport, I’ve tried juggling all formats for some time and have found it very challenging personally on and off the field. With the addition of a child on the way it feels like the right time to try and find more balance so I can perform at my best whenever I pull on the Kent shirt.”As always, the support of the members and everyone at the club has been brilliant. I’m always most proud to wear the Kent jersey and represent the club at every opportunity. I’m thrilled to be the Kent Spitfires’ T20 Captain and I’m looking forward to focusing on that format in 2024 and beyond.”Billings has played three Test matches for England, most recently in the summer of 2022, as well as being capped 65 times in limited-overs internationals, but is set to spend an increasing amount of time maximising his opportunities to play in T20 leagues.Despite being Kent club captain, he made himself unavailable for selection in the County Championship during the 2023 season after experiencing a trough of form with the bat that saw him average 9.20 from six matches. He subsequently stood down from captaining the red-ball side, with Daniel Bell-Drummond appointed as his successor.Billings, who led Oval Invincibles to their first Hundred title last summer, is currently in action in the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat and will be among the English players up for auction in the IPL next week.In first-class cricket, he scored 3628 runs in 88 matches, with six hundreds and an average of 31.27.Simon Cook, Kent’s Director of Cricket, said: “This new agreement reflects a mutual commitment from both Kent Cricket and Sam to navigate a fast-changing cricketing world.”He is a well-travelled and well-respected player that has spent a lot of time overseas, winning the biggest prizes in T20 cricket, and building relationships with players who have in turn become Kent Spitfires off the back of his off-field work.”Sam is an outstanding white-ball cricketer and we’re extremely pleased that he will be a Spitfire for at least another two seasons.”

Thunder ended their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a five-wicket victory against Western Storm in an entertaining and spirited game at Emirates Old Trafford.Half-centuries from Emma Corney, Sophia Smale and skipper Sophie Luff led Storm to 250 for 7 with Thunder spin duo Olivia Bell and Liberty Heap taking three wickets apiece.In reply, Thunder captain Ellie Threlkeld and Naomi Dattani posted the highest-ever partnership of 177 for Thunder, with both players making career-best List-A scores of 107 not out and 82 respectively to chase down their target with 20 balls to spare.Corney and Smale made the perfect start for the Storm after Luff won the toss, compiling a 98-run partnership across the opening 20 overs.Corney, who played a confident range of shots on both sides of the wicket including a six over midwicket off Bell, reached an excellent 57-ball fifty but perished for 53 after hitting Bell to Tara Norris at long-on.The introduction of Bell in the 14th over had started to apply the brakes to the Storm run-scoring and the off-spinner next bowled Fran Wilson for 24 to give Thunder some further relief.Sophia Smale responded in fine fashion reaching her fifty off 77 balls before slicing a drive back to Bell who took a good diving catch to claim her third wicket. It was a sensational effort by Bell who bowled her ten overs in one spell that produced a return of 3 for 30, and the 19-year-old has now taken 25 wickets from her last eight Thunder outings.Heap backed that up with a further three wickets to bring Thunder back into the game, bowling Niamh Holland for a duck and Nat Wraith for 8 with two sharply turning deliveries to have Storm 160 for 5 in the 35th over.Heap (3 for 39) then broke a good 39-run partnership between Luff and Katie Jones when the latter top-edged a pull to Dani Collins at backward square leg for 16.Luff, who had arrived at the crease at the fall of the second wicket, played a gem of an innings using all her experience to rotate the strike and keep the score moving steadily, and she next joined forces with Chloe Skelton in an enterprising partnership of 50 off 51 balls over the closing overs.Visiting skipper Luff went to a 63-ball half-century in the penultimate over of the innings before falling in the last, caught for 54 off Norris with Skelton unbeaten on 21.Chasing 251, the Thunder made a disastrous start to their reply losing three wickets for 17 runs inside eight overs.Heap was run out without scoring, Seren Smale fell lbw to namesake Sophia for 3 who then held onto a good caught-and-bowled offering at the second attempt when Fi Morris drove back up the wicket having made 11.Dattani and Threlkeld stopped the rot with a steadying partnership that initially added fifty inside 11 overs and the pair kept the momentum going, reaching the halfway point of the innings on 115 for 3 with 136 required.Once established, the Thunder duo played their shots and ran cleverly putting the visitors under increasing pressure with both reaching fifties, Threlkeld from 54 balls and Dattani off 83.It took a spectacular one-handed diving catch by Holland off her own bowling to break the partnership and dismiss Dattani, leaving Thunder on 194 for 4 and needing 57 off 67 balls.Threlkeld expertly finished the job, reaching a fabulous century from 107 balls and getting good support from Laura Delaney (22) and Dani Collins (12 not out) before hitting her 14th boundary to win the game in the 47th over.

Sunil Narine starred with bat and ball as Oval Invincibles won a thriller against their rivals London Spirt by three wickets at Lord’s.Narine was at his eccentric batting best to pummel 12 runs in three balls from the final set of five bowled by Nathan Ellis, including a six which just cleared the rope as the visitors scrambled to a target of 132 with one delivery to spare.Earlier, the Trinidadian mystery spinner had produced his customary wizardry with the ball to return 2 for 14, his spin twin Nathan Sowter having blown the game open with 3 for 34.The pair choked a promising start from Spirit for whom Adam Rossington top-scored with 39 including three big sixes, the hosts capitulating from 76 for 2 after 41 balls to 131 all out from the last delivery of their innings.

Emily Windsor fifty, Lindsey Smith three-for help strengthen bid for knockout spot

ECB Reporters Network09-Sep-2023Georgia Adams went past 400 runs and 15 wickets in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy as Southern Vipers continued their march for a knockout spot with victory over Thunder.Adams scored a classy 71, during a pivotal 114-run stand with Emily Windsor – who scored a boisterous 59 to help shore up Vipers before another collapse saw them post 237. Linsey Smith ripped out the Thunder top order as they slipped to 33 for 5, with Adams getting two wickets, before eventually losing by 64 runs – despite Fi Morris’ 52.Vipers moved up to second in the table, having played a game more than those around them, while Thunder’s hopes of progression took a massive hit with two games to go.Ella McCaughan and Abi Norgrove set a platform after Vipers had won the toss and chosen to bat first. But after reaching 45, Vipers lost three wickets in eight overs as Hannah Jones’ introduction swung the momentum towards the visitors.The left-arm spinner struck with her first delivery to bowl McCaughan for a spritely 29 off 33 balls before the more sluggish Norgrove was lbw for 16 off 44. Jones also got her fingertips to an Adams straight drive to run out Georgia Elwiss while backing up.But Adams and Windsor righted the ship with a counter attack to lay the foundations for a score which had the potential to get close to 300, especially after Jones quickly completed her 10 overs.Adams was particularly strong running between the wickets in the Arundel heat, while Windsor showed uncharacteristic power – having worked on her hitting at Welsh Fire during the Hundred.Adams brought up her fifth half-century of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 53 balls, while Windsor followed with her second of the competition in 63 deliveries. The duo put on 114 to boost Vipers to 193 for 4 with 14 overs to go, but after Adams clipped Ireland international Laura Delany to midwicket they collapsed.Windsor skipped past Morris in the following over before Smith, Alice Monaghan, Rhianna Southby and Ava Lee all fell as the hosts lost seven wickets for 44 runs in 60 balls – Morris and Olivia Bell both taking three wickets. Vipers ending up on 237 in 47.5 overs.Thunder’s slump was even more severe as their top order disintegrated. Smith was the main instigator as she had Liberty Heap lbw in the second over, Naomi Dattani caught at backward point and Ellie Threlkeld sweeping to backward point. The spinner’s first six-over spell result in in 3 for 17.Mary Taylor picked up Southern Brave team-mate Seren Smale with an in-ducker while Delany was bowled by Adams.Morris and Daisy Mullan dug their side out of the hole, while still staying in touch with the required run rate in a 57-run stand. Morris struck a run-a-ball 50 but both fell in quick succession as Morris was bowled by talented young offspinner Lee and Mullan was caught and bowled by Adams.Phoebe Graham and Tara Norris slowed up Vipers’ hunt for victory, they saw off Smith – who ended with 3 for 29 – but Graham was cleaned up by Taylor.Taylor’s slower ball accounted for Norris, who picked out long-on, and Bell lobbed to midwicket to give Taylor best figures of 4 for 39.

Wyatt half-century, Bell and Moore three-fors as Superchargers fall well short

Matt Roller27-Aug-2023Anya Shrubsole signed off from professional cricket by lifting the Hundred trophy at Lord’s, captaining Southern Brave to their first title in their third final. After successive defeats to Oval Invincibles, they comprehensively outplayed Northern Superchargers in front of a record 21,636 crowd at Lord’s.Brave’s batting let them down in their first two finals and they were 8 for 2 after nine balls on Sunday, Smriti Mandhana and Maia Bouchier falling cheaply after Superchargers opted to bowl first. But they recovered to set a target of 140, Danni Wyatt making 59 off 38 and Freya Kemp contributing an invaluable 31 off 17 from No. 5.Lauren Bell struck twice in her first eight balls in Brave’s defence, including removing Superchargers’ leading run-scorer Phoebe Litchfield who was well caught by Kemp at deep cover-point, and Superchargers were always behind the game.Rhianna Southby, Brave’s 22-year-old wicketkeeper, has played a crucial role for them despite not facing a ball this season: she effected three stumpings in the chase, and finished the Hundred with a tournament-high 11 dismissals.Jemimah Rodrigues opened the batting for Superchargers and was starved of the strike: when she was caught at extra cover for 24, she had faced just 14 of the first 73 balls bowled. Bell and Kalea Moore took three wickets each, and the winning moment came when Bell whipped off the bails to run No. 11 Grace Ballinger out after a mix-up.Shrubsole had been due to bowl the final five balls but Superchargers were bowled out with six to spare. Having left international cricket after last year’s World Cup, she opted to play on as Brave captain this year and her impending retirement has been a source of motivation for the squad throughout the season, who were determined to send her off with a trophy.Shrubsole looked uncharacteristically emotional in the aftermath of the final wicket, and admitted her overwhelming emotion was one of relief. “We feel like we’ve played some brilliant cricket,” she said, “coming into this we’d won 20 out of 25 games which is an unbelievable record. Not to have won the trophy was tough to take so it felt like this was just deserts.”For Charlotte Edwards, their coach, this was a third short-form trophy this year, after success in the Women’s Premier League with Mumbai Indians and with Southern Vipers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. Brave have been the best team across the three seasons of the Hundred, and lifted an overdue trophy as the fireworks were set off at Lord’s.Danni Wyatt notched the first half-century in a Women’s Hundred final•ECB via Getty Images

After walking around the boundary from the stage in the Compton Stand, Shrubsole was given a guard of honour by both teams as she walked back towards the pavilion, holding the H-shaped trophy aloft as she did so. It was a fitting send-off for a great of England women’s cricket.Mandhana hit the first ball of the final for four through point but slashed the second to gully, and when Bouchier skied Kate Cross to extra cover, they were forced to rebuild through Wyatt and Georgia Adams.They had 45 off the first 43 balls of the final before Wyatt cut loose with back-to-back boundaries off Lucy Higham, at which point Superchargers became ragged in the field. Wyatt, who finished the tournament as leading run-scorer, swept Higham for four to bring up a 35-ball 50 and lofted Georgia Wareham for the first six of the game.She was primed to accelerate at the death when she was on the wrong end of a freak dismissal: Adams drove the ball straight back at her at the non-striker’s end as she started to take a run, and Cross executed a simple run-out as it popped up into her hands. When Adams holed out to midwicket after a chancy 27 off 28, Superchargers had an opening.But Kemp added 31 with a streaky cameo, hitting five boundaries to keep Brave on track. She eventually chopped Cross’ cutter onto her stumps; while Cross fumbled both a catch and a run-out chance off the penultimate ball, she was the pick of Superchargers’ attack with 3 for 21 off her 20.Bell thought she had struck with the first ball of the chase, trapping Marie Kelly on the pad only for her to successfully review the on-field decision. It hardly mattered: Kelly was dismissed by the next delivery she faced, with the ball ricocheting off her pad and onto the base of the stumps.When Litchfield lofted into the deep, Brave had two early wickets and were in control of the game. Southby’s sharp work gave Moore a wicket with her first ball, stumping Hollie Armitage, and her fast hands accounted for Bess Heath soon after, Chloe Tryon making amends for a drop on the square-leg boundary by beating her on the outside edge.Shrubsole had Alice Davidson-Richards lbw to leave Superchargers five down, and a brilliant catch by Bouchier – running in off the long-on boundary, then diving forwards at full stretch – meant Rodrigues was their last hope. Having tried and failed to build partnerships by knocking singles, she looked to loft Moore over extra cover but picked Adams out.Southby pulled off her third stumping as Leah Dobson charged Moore and missed, and Bell administered the last rites, having Higham caught at short fine leg then completing a straightforward run-out at the bowler’s end to cue the celebrations.