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• Faf du Plessis continues red hot form as Texas Super Kings secure nine-wicket win over MI New York in MLC Eliminator

  Captain Faf du Plessis once again led from the front as the Texas Super Kings secured a nine-wicket win over defending champions MI New York in the eliminator of Major League Cricket 2024 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Wednesday.

  The Super Kings, after winning the toss and electing to field first, restricted New York to 163-8 from their 20 overs.

  Rashid Khan (55) and Monank Patel (48) were the top run scorers for MI against an important 2-18 off four overs from Marcus Stoinis. Aaron Hardie also took two wickets while Dwayne Bravo finished with 1-21 from 1.3 overs.

  Texas then needed only 18.3 overs to reach 167-1 thanks to a 47-ball 72 from du Plessis, his third fifty of the season, including six fours and three sixes.

  That knock now brings du Plessis’s run total to 375 from seven games, form that he will hope translates to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) where he will captain the St. Lucia Kings beginning August 29.

  Devon Conway capitalized on some missed chances from the MI New York fielders to finish 51* while Hardie followed up his two wickets with 40* off 22 balls.

  The Super Kings will now face the loser of the Qualifier between the Washington Freedom and San Francisco Unicorns in the Challenger on Friday for a place in Sunday’s final.

  Full Scores:

  MI New York 163-8 off 20 overs (Rashid Khan 55, Monank Patel 48, Marcus Stoinis 2-18, Aaron Hardie 2-22)

  Texas Super Kings 167-1 off 18.3 overs (Faf du Plessis 72, Devon Conway 51*, Aaron Hardie 40*)

   

   

• Brook keen to focus on Test cricket amid England captaincy uncertainty

  Harry Brook has stated that while Test cricket is his main priority, gaining leadership experience in the Hundred could see him throw his hat in the ring for England’s white-ball captaincy one day.

  The futures of skipper Jos Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott are up in the air after England's failure to successfully defend their 50-over and T20 World Cup titles.

  Brook, who has risen to third in the ICC Test batting rankings, a place behind his team-mate Joe Root, is a possible candidate to take on the captaincy.

  The 25-year-old starred in England's win over the West Indies last week, scoring a fifth Test century at Trent Bridge from 139 balls in their 241-run triumph. 

  Brook is due to lead Northern Superchargers in the 100-ball tournament under coach Andrew Flintoff, who was England’s assistant coach at the T20 World Cup in June.

  "This is my first captaincy role with the Superchargers," Brook said. "We'll see how that goes and then maybe I'll have a different answer in a couple of months.

  "I don't see anything happening any time soon, so I'll just stay in the moment and focus on Test cricket."

  Brook will join up with the Superchargers following England's third and final Test against West Indies at Edgbaston, which begins on Friday. 

  England’s schedule makes it difficult for Brook or any other Test regular to captain the white-ball team. The first T20 against Australia is the day after the Test series against Sri Lanka finishes.

  The ODI series later that month ends a couple of days before England fly to Pakistan to play Tests. That series finishes on October 28, with an ODI series in the Caribbean beginning three days later.

  "I want to play every Test match I can for England," said Brook. 

  "Test cricket is my priority. I don't want to think too far ahead. The Ashes is a long way away and we have a lot of Test cricket before then. My main focus is to stay in the moment and not get ahead of myself."

• Windies players register positive moves on ICC Test rankings despite crushing defeats to England

  Despite two crushing defeats to England so far in their ongoing ICC Test Championship three-match series, West Indies players remain on the up, at least where the ICC Men’s Test rankings are concerned.

  Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.

  Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.

  The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75^th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.

  On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.

  Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.

  Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.

  Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.

  Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.

  In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.