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• Duckett century overshadowed as Khan brings about England collapse

  Ben Duckett's fourth Test century was overshadowed by Sajid Khan's spin bowling as England ended the second day of the second Test 239-6 in Multan. 

  England started confidently with the bat, but the loss of four wickets in three overs had the hosts in the ascendency at stumps, with Sajid ending the day 4-86.

  Pakistan resumed at 259-5 but lost the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan (41), Salman Ali Agha (31) and Sajid (two) early on, with Brydon Carse and Jack Leach doing the damage. 

  Leach would end with figures of 4-114 for the first innings, claiming the dismissal of Noman Ali (32) as England were set a target of 366 to chase. 

  Zak Crawley (27) fell after 12 overs having had two huge let-offs before being caught by Rizwan, then Ollie Pope (29) fell to Sajid, who would later demolish the rest of England's top and middle order.

  Sajid grabbed the wicket of Joe Root (34) before striking out Duckett, who had notched 114 runs from his 129 deliveries in a composed showing at the crease.

  However, Sajid was not finished there. Harry Brook, England's star from the first Test, was bowled out for nine, while Stokes was given his marching orders by Noman Ali, as the tourists lost four important wickets in just 18 balls. 

  Carse (two) and Jamie Smith (12) were able to halt the onslaught late on, and they will start day three at the crease with England trailing by 127 runs.

  Data Debrief: Duckett outshone by Sajid

  Duckett's knock of 114 was his fourth Test century and his second in Pakistan, with 23% of his runs so far coming from sweeps.

  Only one England player since 2006 (Joe Root versus Sri Lanka in 2018) has scored more of his first 100 runs in a specific Test innings with the sweep shot.

  But his display was overshadowed by Sajid's showing with the ball in hand. His spin proved difficult to manage on the Multan surface, and Pakistan will be hoping that he can continue that form on Thursday.

• Chase insists Windies undone by sharply turning pitch in 73-run loss to Sri Lanka

  Despite their crushing 73-run loss to Sri Lanka in the second T20I, West Indies vice-captain Roston Chase dismissed the notion that his team struggles to handle spin, as he insisted that they were undone by the sharply turning pitch.

  Chase was among a number of West Indies batters that fell cheaply, as they bowled out for a meager 89 in 16.1 overs, chasing 163 for victory in Dambullah on Tuesday.

  The Caribbean faltered on the turning wicket as Sri Lanka's spinners wreaked havoc. Only captain Rovman Powell (20), Alzarri Joseph (16), and Sherfane Rutherford (14) managed to break into double figures, a stark contrast to what transpired in the opening game on Sunday, which West Indies won by five wickets.

  However, Chase pointed out that the Caribbean side’s batting woes were more about adjusting to extreme conditions than a general inability to play spin.

  “Obviously, the first game, the wicket was a true wicket, and obviously, this game, the wicket was spinning a lot more. So I guess the (Sri Lankan) guys were scared to put us back on a good wicket after losing the first game. So they think they prepared wicket in their favour given their home advantage, and obviously we didn't come out on top,” a seemingly annoyed Chase said in a post-game press conference.

  “We're not accustomed to the wicket spinning like that. We are comfortable playing spin, but I guess when the wicket is spinning at that pace it's a bit different from what we are accustomed to,” he noted. 

  Sri Lanka's spin-heavy attack, led by debutant Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and captain Charith Asalanka, tied the West Indians in knots to level the three-match series at one game apiece.

  Wellalage proved especially destructive with 3-9 from his four overs, while Asalanka (2-6), Theekshana (2-7), and Hasaranga (2-32) shared six wickets between them. Seamer Matheesha Pathirana accounted for the other wicket.

  Chase, who himself thrives as an all-rounder, emphasized the importance of quick adaptation, especially in the conditions they are likely to encounter again in the decisive contest on Thursday.

  “Obviously, we have to probably bring out the sweep a bit more, probably reverse sweep and conventional sweep a bit more, and just try to work the ball a bit more for longer and then try to power the ball in the backend,” Chase reasoned.

  “So, we have to go in our team meeting and come up with the plans. Sit down, have a team talk, and obviously put ideas out there and see what's the best ideas we can come up with to counter the spinning ball,” he added.

  The turning wicket at Dambullah caught the West Indies off guard, and it wasn’t just the batsmen who struggled. Despite a few tight bowling spells from Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd, the team was also untidy in the field, allowing Sri Lanka to post 162-5.

  Pathum Nissanka, who topscored with 54 off 49 balls, and Kusal Mendis (26), went on the charge in a 77-run opening stand, while Kusal Perera chipped in with 24, and Kamindu Mendis contributed 19.

  A few dropped catches and misfields also aided Sri Lanka along the way, leaving the West Indies under added pressure when they took to the crease.

  “I thought myself and [Gudakesh] Moti bowled well, but obviously Moti bowled to two right-handers, and I thought they didn't really take much risk to him. And then obviously, they knew that we only had two spinners, so they mainly took the chances against the pace,” Chase shared.

  “I think if we had a next spinner, yeah, I think it would have been better for us. But we can't dwell on that after the team is selected. So it's just for us to go back to the drawing board now and obviously think about playing spinning ball a bit more,” he ended.

• Matthews, Joseph star as Windies Women seal semi-final spot with stunning victory over England

  Qiana Joseph and Hayley Matthews guided the West Indies into the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 with an emphatic six-wicket victory over England.

  Both openers hit rapid half-centuries, with Joseph finishing on 52 and Matthews on 50, as the 2016 champions easily reached their target of 142 with two overs to spare and knocked England out in the process.

  Nat Sciver-Brunt hit an unbeaten 57 to help set the West Indies 141 to win, but it was not enough in the face of a dazzling batting performance from Matthews and Joseph.

  The West Indies progress from Group B alongside South Africa courtesy of both sides boasting superior net run rates than England, with all three teams finishing on six points.

  With the win, West Indies topped the group and will play New Zealand on Friday while Australia take on South Africa in the first semifinal on Thursday.

  England felt their way into the innings, but openers Maia Bouchier and Danni Wyatt-Hodge soon found an early groove, with a boundary apiece in the opening four overs.

  Scores: England 141-7 (20 overs); West Indies 142-4 (18 overs)

  But the West Indies quickly brought that nascent partnership to an end as Deandra Dottin took a superb catch off Hayley Matthews’ bowling to dismiss Wyatt-Hodge for 16.

  The West Indies kept up the pressure with the wicket of Alice Capsey (1) just five balls later thanks to more impressive fielding from Dottin.

  This time she produced a terrific throw directly into Shemaine Campbelle as England tried a quick single to secure a run out with Capsey well out of her ground.

  Two quick wickets rapidly swung the momentum towards the West Indies, and the dismissal of Bouchier (14) only continued that trend as England were reduced to 34 for three after the opener looped one to extra cover off Afy Fletcher.

  

  But England were able to steady the ship through the experienced pair of Nat Sciver-Brunt and captain Heather Knight, who stymied the West Indies attack while keeping the scoreboard ticking over nicely.

  Knight led from the front with 21 off just 13 balls but was then retired hurt in the 13th over.
  Replacement Amy Jones looked to continue where Knight left off but was dismissed for seven when she found the hands of Dottin at backward point with a sliced shot off Fletcher.

  It was almost two wickets in two balls, but new batter Charlie Dean was put down Chedean Nation. Dean was caught just under two overs later for five runs having helped guide England past the 100-mark, as Fletcher took her third wicket of the match thanks to captain Matthews pouching a comfortable catch at cover.

  All the while, Sciver-Brunt kept England quietly ticking over and brought up her half-century with two boundaries in an over.

  Dani Gibson and Sophie Ecclestone both added seven each before falling late on, with Ecclestone hitting a six in the final over to help England push to a final total of 141.

  The West Indies made a lightning-fast start in response, with Matthews hitting 14 from the first over, including a six from just the second ball of the innings.
  Her opening partner Qiana Joseph began in similarly emphatic fashion with a four from her first ball as the West Indies powered to 44 from the first four overs.

  England were not without their wicket chances despite West Indies’ rapid scoring, with Capsey dropping Joseph on 31 as West Indies brought up 50 in 27 balls.

  The partnership of Matthews and Joseph continued to keep up their heavy scoring and took full advantage of any mistakes in the field, with Joseph hitting another six through the hands of Bouchier.

  

  Joseph then brought up her first international T20 fifty and then took the West Indies past 100 before finally falling for 52 from 38 balls as she was caught by Wyatt-Hodge on the boundary off of Sciver-Brunt just one ball after surviving another catch chance.

  Captain Matthews then brought up her half-century and then fell to Sarah Glenn just two balls later on 50 from 38.

  The pair of quick wickets proved to slow down the West Indies attack, but Deandra Dottin and Shemaine Campbelle were able to keep their side moving towards the target.

  Campbelle was run out for five as West Indies closed in on victory before Dottin was bowled by Ecclestone two balls later, but her quickfire 27 left her side needing just six runs to win.

  Aaliyah Alleyne got four of those from the first ball she faced before she finished off the chase with 12 balls to spare to cap a remarkable victory for West Indies.

  The West Indies and South Africa have also confirmed their places at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, along with hosts England, thanks to their top three finish in the group stage, while Australia, New Zealand, and India made it from Group A.

  Apart from the top six teams in this tournament, the next two highest-ranked teams in the Women’s T20I rankings as of October 21, 2024, will also qualify. The remaining four teams will qualify through a global 10-team qualifier.