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• ICC chief Wasim Khan accepts Tests and franchise leagues must learn to coexist

  Wasim Khan, the International Cricket Council general manager, accepts the landscape of the sport has changed as he urged countries and franchise leagues to find a way to “coexist”.

  Jason Roy last week became the first England player to cancel his national contract, an incremental deal worth between £60,000 and £70,000 per year, to pursue an opportunity in Major League Cricket in the United States, where he has reportedly been offered around £300,000 for two seasons.

  There has been speculation about the Indian Premier League offering annual contracts while the relevance of bilateral cricket keeps cropping up as internationals are crammed into an already busy programme.

  Khan admitted there is no putting the genie back in the bottle as the proliferation of domestic T20 competitions continues but he feels international cricket can live alongside these leagues.

  “Obviously the way the schedule is structured now and the emergence of these leagues, there has to be a way for us to coexist,” said Khan, the former chief executive of Leicestershire and Pakistan.

  “Nothing is going to be removed so we are going to have to coexist moving forward.”

  The growing unease about the possibility of elite talent putting club before country in future hangs over cricket ahead of the final of the World Test Championship happening next week at the Kia Oval.

  Khan, who expects “full crowds” for at least the first four days of the contest between India and Australia, thinks the format still holds some relevance and revealed the 12 full member nations have elected to keep hold of the World Test Championship for the next eight-year cycle.

  “The members have signed up for the next eight years,” said Khan. “We’ve heard some of the top stars from around the world continually talking about the importance of Test cricket.

  “We know that the emergence of these leagues does put pressure on the schedule but we’re confident that at least for the next eight years that continual context will be provided for red-ball cricket.

  “It’s important we continue to find an opportunity to coexist, to ensure our schedules moving forward provides something for everybody.”

  Ricky Ponting suggested earlier this month the ICC has a role to play in making sure players from smaller nations are well-remunerated in Test cricket so they do not go down the franchise route.

  Khan confirmed the former Australia captain’s assertion the issue had been brought up in a Cricket Committee meeting but was taken no further.

  “It was perhaps a misquote,” said Khan. “It was raised initially within the ICC Cricket Committee as a discussion point but there was certainly nothing taken forward around payments to players.”

  Khan, though, believes it is up to the boards of individual countries how much they pay players, pointing out all full member nations will receive a substantial increase on previous earnings during the new rights cycle from 2024-27.

  “The distributions the members will be receiving in the next cycle will be greater than what they received previously,” added Khan. “The payments they pay players is purely down to the members.

  “If there are player associations there, they will certainly be negotiating with those, but where there’s not, it’s down to the boards – and particularly with the key players within those boards – to decide what the payment structure looks like moving forward.”

• Tom Banton inspires Somerset to third win from three at start of Blast campaign

  Somerset made it three wins from three at the start of the Vitality Blast after Tom Banton’s belligerent fifty helped them see off Glamorgan by four wickets at Taunton.

  Glamorgan lost regular wickets and were all out for 153 in 19.4 overs, with slow left-armer Roelof Van Der Merwe taking three for 24, while Lewis Gregory and Peter Siddle each collected a couple of scalps.

  Banton helped Somerset off to a flyer by putting on 69 in 5.3 overs alongside Will Smeed, who was out for 28 off 14 balls, while there were also cameos from Tom Kohler-Cadmore (19) and Tom Abell (22).

  Banton’s 54 from just 28 balls contained nine fours and one six to break the back of the chase, with Ben Green and Craig Overton sealing a win with 5.1 overs to spare in front of a near full-house crowd.

  Alex Lees’ brilliant career-best 90 from 53 balls helped secure back-to-back wins for Durham and extended Yorkshire’s winless start to the season with a 28-run victory at Headingley.

  Captain Lees blended timing with power against his former club to lead Durham to a commanding total of 217 for three, with Ollie Robinson also thumping an unbeaten 64 from 30 deliveries.

  Adam Lyth bristled with intent at the outset of the chase with 24 off eight balls but Yorkshire’s pursuit fizzled out and they finished on 189 for seven, with Ben Raine taking three for 27.

  Tom Alsop’s unbeaten 51 off 42 deliveries and a classy 28-ball 48 from Michael Burgess swept Sussex to a five-wicket victory over Surrey off the penultimate ball at the Kia Oval.

  Sussex veteran Ravi Bopara rolled back the years with three for 18 as Surrey were skittled for 148 after 19.3 overs, where Sunil Narine top-scored for the hosts with 29 off 18 deliveries.

  Sussex slipped to 56 for four in the 11th over before a 77-run stand in 47 balls between Alsop and Burgess put them in the driving seat. They still needed 10 from the final over but Alsop got them home.

• Knight stars as Barbados complete CWI Super 50, T20 Blaze double

  Kycia Knight starred with an unbeaten half-century as Barbados defeated the Leeward Islands by eight wickets to claim the CWI Women’s T20 Blaze title, adding to their Super 50 crown won last week.

  The Leewards batted first at Warner Park on Saturday, making 121-5 off their 20 overs thanks to a 50-ball 33* from Divya Saxena.

  Theanny Herbert-Mayers was the best bowler on the day for the Bajans with figures of 2-12 from her four overs.

  The Barbados chase was then anchored be an 80-run opening stand between Knight and Aaliyah Alleyne who made 32.

  In the end, Barbados claimed victory in 17.3 overs, reaching 122-2. Knight faced 51 balls for her 66*, hitting nine boundaries.

  At St. Paul’s Sports Complex, Guyana won an extraordinary match against Trinidad & Tobago by one run to secure second place.

  Guyana took first strike and were bowled out for a horrendous 39 in 19.3 overs with only skipper Shemaine Campbelle reaching double figures with 13 against an excellent four-over spell from Anisa Mohammed which saw her claim four wickets while conceding just five runs.

  Steffie Soogrim and Shalini Samaroo also bowled eight overs between them, taking 2-7 and 2-10, respectively.

  Then, amazingly, Guyana was able to defend the paltry total, bowling out T&T for 38 in 18.4 overs.

  Mandy Mangru led the way with the ball with 4-11 from 3.4 overs while Ashmini Munisar took 2-8 from three overs.

  At Conaree Sports Club, the Windward Islands beat Jamaica by six wickets.

  Jamaica made 102-6 off their 20 overs batting first. Keneshia Ferron led the way with 32 off 41 balls while captain Stafanie Taylor made 22.

  Afy Fletcher took 2-11 off her four overs for the Windwards.

  The Windwards then needed only 17 overs to overhaul Jamaica’s total, reaching 103-4.

  Zaida James led the way with 28 while Fletcher got 23.

  The final points table saw Barbados and Guyana level on 16 points, followed by the Windwards (12), Jamaica (8), Trinidad & Tobago (8) and the Leewards (0).