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Five-wicket pacer Dillon Pennington helped Nottinghamshire complete a fourth win in seven matches, this one against Yorkshire at Headingley shortly before tea on day four, to strengthen their position at the Division One summit in the Rothesay County Championship.Struggling Yorkshire were set a 463-target during the third afternoon and closed on 176 for five, losing four of those wickets in the evening session, including one in the day’s final over to Pennington.Yorkshire started the fourth day well, with top-scorer Matthew Revis and George Hill sharing a 54-run partnership to raise hopes of avoiding a fourth defeat in seven matches. But they needed much more and were later bowled out for 299 inside 121 overs, slipping to a 163-run defeat.The part-time spin of Freddie McCann made the breakthrough by bowling Hill with the first ball of a solitary over shortly before the new ball. Pennington then removed Revis for 45 just after lunch and finished with a superb impressive season’s best five for 106 from 31 overs.Nottinghamshire claimed 19 points to Yorkshire’s three and reach the midway point in the four-day campaign well placed to claim a first Championship title since 2010.Not since 2011 have they won here at Headingley, a venue at which they have only ever won five Championship matches, including this.Pennington claimed three of his wickets today in easing batting conditions to keep Yorkshire second-bottom in the table.Revis and new England Lions all-rounder Hill, who contributed 26, batted pretty comfortably through the first 85 minutes of a gloomy and chilly day.Although the former took a painful blow on the right thumb from the seam of Brett Hutton, he played confidently through the off-side off front foot and back on the way to a season’s best score in his fourth appearance.But all Notts had to do was stay patient, and you felt success would come. And it did, even if it initially came via the most unexpected route.The off-spin of McCann was brought into the attack to bowl the 79th over, the penultimate before the new ball was due.He dragged his first ball down and Hill’s eyes lit up. He went to pull, but the delivery scooted through and uprooted middle stump, leaving the score at 230 for six.Then, seven balls into the afternoon, Pennington forced Revis – playing back – to feather behind to South African Kyle Verreynne with the score on 244.The same combination ousted Yorkshire’s stand-in captain Dom Bess for 21 and then Ben Coad for five.By that stage, at 277 for nine, the outcome of this game was all but certain.With light rain starting to fall, last pair Jack White and Jordan Thompson resisted for more than an hour – and almost 20 overs – to threaten that theory.But Mohammad Abbas got White caught behind by Verreynne, whose sixth catch in the innings and ninth in the match sealed the win.

Shadman Islam’s second Test century set a strong platform as Bangladesh went into a 64-run lead over Zimbabwe, with three wickets in hand, on the second day of the Chattogram Test. A flurry of late wickets, however, helped Zimbabwe stay in the hunt. Bangladesh headed into stumps with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam batting on 16 and 5 respectively.Debutant Zimbabwe legspinner Vincent Masekesa took three wickets, while Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza and Brian Bennett took one each.Bangladesh openers Anamul Haque and Shadman put together an enterprising stand, after Zimbabwe were bowled out on their overnight score of 227, with No. 11 Muzarabani lasting just one ball in the morning session. Shadman got off the blocks with a flurry of boundaries, which included couple of serene straight drives. He also struck the ball well through the covers, while Anamul, playing his first Test in more than two years, seemed to focus on reading the pace of the pitch. He struck four boundaries in the day’s first session, as the pair reached the century stand shortly before lunch.Muzarabani ended Zimbabwe’s wait for a wicket soon after lunch when he trapped Anamul lbw with a full delivery that held its line to beat the right-hander. Anamul made 39 off 80 balls and added 118 with Shadman for the first wicket. Shadman and Mominul Haque continued Bangladesh’s solidity with a 76-run second-wicket stand. Mominul struck a straight six among his three boundaries in his 33 off 64 balls, before hitting one straight to Ben Curran at deep midwicket.Brian Bennett ended Shadman Islam’s stay•MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty

Zimbabwe got another next ball when Brian Bennett trapped Shadman lbw for 120 off 181 balls. Shadman looked in control during the second session too, hitting a further seven boundaries including a six. Interestingly, it was only the second six in Shadman’s Test career.Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto deposited Bennett for a six each on either side of the tea break. Mushfiqur struck Bennett for two more fours in his next over, before he struck Masakadza for two fours, through backward point and with a slog sweep. Shanto clattered a pull against Richard Ngarava but fell shortly afterwards. Shanto gave Nick Welch a simple catch at short midwicket, handing Masekesa his first Test wicket.He added a second when he had Jaker Ali caught and bowled for 5 in the 75th over. Soon Mushfiqur was run-out after a misjudgement. He hared out of the crease after hitting Masekesa for a single towards mid-on. Wessly Madhevere threw down the stumps, with Mushfiqur well short of the non-striker’s end. Nayeem Hasan became Masekesa’s third victim when he edged to Sean Williams at second slip, after making three off 23 balls.

Sussex 528 and 126 for 3 (Haines 34, Hughes 33, Yates 2-29) lead Warwickshire 454 (Yates 115, Barnard 82, Davies 66, Mousley 63) by 200 runsWarwickshire and Sussex appear destined to start their Rothesay County Championship Division One season with a draw after three sun and run-soaked days at Edgbaston.Sussex closed the third day on 126 for 3 in their second innings, 200 ahead overall, having taken a first innings lead of 74. It is a solid advantage but taking ten wickets quickly on the final day on a pitch offering some turn but which remains batter-friendly would require something special from the bowlers.The match was pretty much consigned to a draw on the third afternoon when Warwickshire, replying to 528, reached 379 to avoid the follow on. They went on to total 454 thanks to Rob Yates with 115 off 159 balls and half-centuries to Ed Barnard, Alex Davies and Dan Mousley. Jack Carson took 4 for 92, a highly commendable effort in the excellent batting conditions.Sussex have a significant lead but, in such conditions, a last-day declaration would have to be very carefully judged as a run-chase would heavily favour the batting side.After Warwickshire resumed on the third morning on 223 for 3, Sussex struck early. Ollie Robinson needs to fire early this season to advance his case for an England recall and he has started strongly in this match with several hostile spells in conditions favouring the bat. He removed the well-set Yates with the 21st ball of the day, a perfectly-pitched leg-cutter which was edged behind.Robinson then unfurled another fine ball which Mousley, still to score, edged to slip, but Tom Alsop grassed the catch. Less impressive was his next wicket-taking ball – a full toss which Ethan Bamber belted straight to midwicket.At 252 for 5, still 127 short of the follow on, Warwickshire needed steadying and Mousley and Barnard provided the necessary stability with a stand of 124 in 32 overs. Mousley exploited his early reprieve to bat attractively but departed furious at himself for missing a sweep at Carson and falling lbw. Barnard struck seven fours and two sixes in an increasingly fluent innings before he fell lbw to a fine ball from Danny Lamb.Kai Smith’s punchy 27 from 32 balls ended when he lifted Carson to long on and Michael Booth fell in similar fashion after Tazeem Ali edged Lamb to second slip.Sussex were left with a session to bat and they spent it enhancing their lead in less than scintillating fashion for the loss of three wickets to the spinners. Yates added two wickets to his earlier century as he had Daniel Hughes caught at slip and Tom Haines lbw, half-forward.Tom Clark offered no shot to a sharply turning ball from Tazeem and was adjudged lbw. The degree of turn in that last dismissal offers some hope of purposeful cricket tomorrow but it will take some monumentally good or careless cricket for this match to yield a winner and a loser.

Fakhar Zaman has been named in Pakistan’s squad for the Champions Trophy, marking his return after he fell out with the PCB over a social media post in October 2024. In a squad that PCB called “horses for courses”, Faheem Ashraf, who last played international cricket in 2023, has also been called up. Khushdil Shah and Saud Shakeel are also included. The same squad will also play the ODI tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand in the build-up to the Champions Trophy.The squad confirms what was widely feared within Pakistan: Saim Ayub remains unavailable because of the ankle fracture he sustained during the Cape Town Test. At the time, it was announced he would be out for six weeks, but it was believed his chances of recovering in time for the Champions Trophy were exceptionally slim. Earlier today, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi confirmed Ayub’s return remained “at least four weeks” away.Abdullah Shafique’s loss of form has cost him a place in the squad. In the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa, which Pakistan won 3-0, he became the first player to be dismissed for a duck in every match of a series. It means Pakistan will go in with a completely different opening pairing, with Fakhar likely to pair up with either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, with the PCB citing Babar’s success opening in Test cricket as a potential factor to consider.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Fakhar’s opening partner could be either Babar Azam or Saud Shakeel, depending on various factors such as conditions, opposition and match strategy,” a statement from Asad Shafiq, a member of the selection panel, said. “Both players are highly capable at the top of the order, with Babar being particularly seasoned in the role, regularly opening in T20Is and also excelling in the Cape Town Test by scoring two half-centuries in Saim Ayub’s absence.”The squad also retains its pace-heavy element that saw Pakistan win three successive away ODI series towards the end of last year. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain are all part of the final 15, with only one specialist spinner in Abrar Ahmed. Neither Sufiyan Muqeem, who took four wickets on debut in the only ODI he played, nor Shadab Khan, who captained his side to Champions Cup glory in September, have made the final cut.Related

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“One of the standout qualities of this side is its flexibility – an essential trait in today’s modern-day cricket,” Asad Shafiq, a member of the selection panel. “We are confident that this squad strikes the right balance between youth and experience, and has all bases covered. Each player has been chosen with a clear role in mind, ensuring the captain has versatile options at his disposal.”Irfan Khan, who was eyed by the selection committee as a key component of Pakistan’s middle order and feted for his fielding, also drops out. Faheem’s return comes off the back of limited ODI cricket, having had an indifferent Champions Cup in September. Strong showings with the bat in the President Cup in October, however, seem to have played a part in earning him what appeared an unlikely recall.Pakistan’s first game at the Champions Trophy comes against New Zealand in Karachi on February 19, following which they go to Dubai to play against India. They play their final group game against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27.

Pakistan squad for Champions Trophy 2025

Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Khushdil Shah, Salman Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Durban’s Super Giants (DSG), last season’s SA20 losing finalists, have been eliminated from playoff contention after a sixth loss and all-round disappointing campaign. They sit at the bottom of the points table, with one game left to play, and have only won one of nine matches so far (two were no results). Captain Keshav Maharaj put their woes down to “losing every powerplay whether batting or bowling,” and their lack of early run-scoring was glaring.In the seven matches in which they batted, DSG only scored more than 50 runs in the powerplay once (and that was the game they won, three weeks ago) and went wicketless twice. They rotated through four opening batters – Bryce Parsons, Matthew Breetzke, Brandon King and Quinton de Kock – in different combinations to collect the least number of runs among the six teams. In their nine matches, DSG’s top two individually scored 230 runs at an average of 16.42. For comparison, their opposition on Monday, table-topping Paarl Royals have used the same two openers – Joe Root and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, and top the run charts with a combined tally of 580 at 44.61 including five half-centuries.The most obvious error DSG made was starting with de Kock at No. 4, despite his success as opener at international level, because they hoped to preserve a left-right combination. “At the start of the competition, there was a sort of method to the madness with regards to Quinny batting at four and after five games we realised that it wasn’t really working out and we needed starts and then pushed Quinny up,” Maharaj said at the post-match press conference. “He showed glimpses of what he can do, but probably didn’t have the support around him to get those totals that we would have liked in the powerplay and to bat through.”De Kock made one fifty in four innings at No. 4, and then a 30-ball 43 against Royals last week but had no other scores of note through the SA20. The same is true for another of DSG’s marquee players, middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen, who has struggled all tournament. Klaasen scored 122 runs in seven innings and 66 of these runs came in one knock.Quinton de Kock was trialled as a No. 4 batter and it didn’t work for DSG•SA20

Overall, DSG topped 200 in their first match but have not gone past 150 in any of their games and had two scores below 120 which ultimately was not good enough to get them more wins in this tournament. And while most of their issues are in the batting line-up, the bowlers do not escape scrutiny. “We didn’t take enough wickets in the powerplay and in doing so we didn’t stem the flow of runs,” Maharaj said. “We were quite expensive in most of the powerplays and once you lose the powerplay it’s very difficult in the game of T20 cricket regardless of how well you bowl in that middle [period].”In total, DSG bowled eight powerplays (one in a match that was a no-result) and never took more than two wickets or conceded less than 41 runs, which is a shade under seven an over. Their difficulties may have stemmed from what seemed to be the absence of a leader for the pace attack in particular. Their two leading wicket-takers were wristspinner Noor Ahmad, who is fourth on the wicket-takers’ list with 10, followed by left-arm spinner Maharaj, with seven. Their leading seamer was Chris Woakes, who has taken five wickets in as many games. Naveen-ul-Haq and Junior Dala both have four wickets but while Naveen has played seven matches, Dala has only played five and Dwaine Pretorius, the allrounder who, on paper, could have been a key part of the squad only played twice.Ultimately, the unsettled nature of DSG’s XI may have contributed to their string of poor results and leaves their team management with plenty to ponder. Lance Klusener has been head coach throughout the SA20 and Maharaj has captained them for the last two seasons. Last season, he masterminded a turnaround that saw them go from second last on the table to the final and though they have now u-turned on that, Maharaj seems to still want to be the man in charge.”I love captaincy. It helps me think clearly at times, especially on the field and keeps me a little bit calmer than I normally am,” he said. “The one thing that I really try and get is the camaraderie amongst my team-mates. It is a short competition and that’s something that I feel I do really well: understanding my players and trying to get the best out of them. Sometimes it’s hard, it doesn’t transfer onto the field and I feel like it’s one of those seasons. Having said that, I’ve enjoyed it very much. I’m very proud of my team so far. We’ve still got a game to go. There’s a lot of pride to play for, a lot of meaning for this badge and for the owners that have invested in us, so we’re not just giving up.”DSG play their last game at the Wanderers, against Joburg Super Kings, on Saturday.

Allrounder Mitchell Marsh will bowl in the upcoming Sheffield Shield round as he prepares to help cover Cameron Green’s absence during the India Test series.Marsh’s fitness and whether he can return to bowling have grown in significance for Australia since it emerged that Green will miss the entire season due to a stress fracture of his back.Green was heading to Christchurch on Wednesday for surgery and in an Instagram post said: “Heartbroken but let’s get a new back.”Related

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There has been uncertainty if Marsh, who turns 33 on Sunday, can physically handle the rigours of bowling. Since tearing his hamstring during the IPL, Marsh has bowled just four overs – all of which were in the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s last month.Marsh made 13 and 94 as a specialist batter for Western Australia in their drawn Shield opener last week against Queensland at the WACA. While in the field he was mostly based in the slips and and occasionally helped carry the drinks.But Marsh said he felt “really good” physically as he builds up his bowling loads against Tasmania in the Shield fixture starting on Sunday at the WACA.”I won’t bowl too much for WA, it’s all part of the building process to get ready for that first Test,” Marsh told reporters in Perth at the launch of the 2025-26 Ashes fixtures. “It’s been a slow build. I’ve been really well looked after by Cricket Australia, Ronnie [Australia coach Andrew McDonald] and Patty [Pat Cummins], with our planning and when I bowl.”I love bowling, so I’m looking forward to bowling for Western Australia this week and build from there.”Mitchell Marsh’s overs could be vital this summer•Getty Images

With Australia’s frontline pace attack unchanged last summer, and with Tests played on bowler-friendly surfaces, Marsh wasn’t greatly needed with the ball but still did produce several handy spells.There has been an expectation that the five-Test series against India will be more gruelling, magnifying the importance of Marsh being able to provide support.With Steven Smith to move back to No. 4, Australia’s selectors will likely call in an opener rather than a like-for like replacement for Green. Marsh moving to the top of the order, following in the footsteps of his father Geoff and brother Shaun, has some support, including from legendary Australia batter Greg Chappell.But Marsh dispelled the notion with his focus firmly on contributing as an allrounder and he did not put a cap on how many overs he could bowl in the Tests. “Once you’re in the field of battle, you bowl as many overs as the captain needs you to bowl,” he said.”I see the allrounder role as being really important, especially for when our bowlers need a bit of a break. I think if you look back at the last few seasons, our allrounders have bowled maybe 10 to 13 overs a game, which is not really a lot.”But those 10 to 13 overs can be really important. So for me, it’s about preparing to bowl as much as I can, as much as Patty needs me to.”Marsh said he was “shattered” for Green who is expected to be sidelined for six months.”From all reports he’s pretty good, initially there is always a shock. It all happened pretty quickly,” he said. “Certainly with stress fractures they can be quite a gradual thing, but this one came pretty quickly.”Someone like Cam with his attitude towards the game, he loves it. The thought of missing that much cricket is probably a little daunting for him, but he’s accepted it now and as an athlete you go through these things.”It’s an opportunity for him to come back better and I have no doubt that he will.”

Bangladesh 107 for 3 (Mominul 40*, Shanto 31, Akash Deep 2-34) vs IndiaFor the second consecutive day, there was no play in the second Test between India and Bangladesh in Kanpur. Unlike Saturday, there was not a single drop of rain today but a wet outfield resulted in play being called off at 2pm. Ironically, as soon as the umpires made that decision, the sun emerged from behind the clouds.After three days, Bangladesh are 107 for 3 in the first innings of the Test. There are still two more days left but the chances of a result have reduced drastically.The day started with the covers being removed from the outfield, with an inspection scheduled for 10am. Soon, the ground staff removed the main cover as well and started marking the crease on either side of the pitch.But when the umpires came out for the inspection, they found certain areas in the outfield, especially mid-off, mid-on and the bowler’s run-up from the media box end, too soggy to start play.They planned the next inspection at noon. But things hardly improved, much to the frustration of fans who, given it was a Sunday, turned out in good numbers.All this while, the ground staff seemed to be relying solely on the sun to do its magic. Another inspection was planned for 2pm, when the umpires decided that was it for the day.