Teenager Rehan Ahmed is in line to become England's youngest ever Test player, while Jofra Archer has moved closer to a return to the senior fold.
Leicestershire spinner Ahmed has been with the England Lions during their red-ball training camp and has now been added to the main team for their upcoming tour of Pakistan.
If selected for the opener in Rawalpindi on December 1, Ahmed would eclipse a 70-year-plus record held by Brian Close to become the youngest Test representative for the country.
Despite a rough performance with figures of none for 73 over eight overs for the Lions in their inter-camp match with England, coach Brendon McCullum has no hesitation in adding him to his party.
"We know he's not the finished article and has raw potential, but [captain] Ben [Stokes], myself and the rest of the coaches like how he approaches his game," McCullum stated.
"The experience of being part of the squad in Pakistan will be hugely beneficial for him, and he will add to the make-up of our squad."
Archer meanwhile, a member of the 2019 T20 World Cup-winning squad who subsequently parachuted into the Test setup, has struggled for a regular place with England amid a series of debilitating injuries.
Running out for the Lions alongside Ahmed, Archer posted figures of none for 38 off nine overs, having not played for the senior team since March 2021.
Archer has taken 42 wickets across 13 Test matches so far for England, and could be eyeing a return when the team travels to South Africa at the end of January next year.
West Indies bowlers toiled early but struck back late to restrict Australia’s Prime Minister’s XI to 297-9 from 89.3 overs at the end of the first day of their four-day match at Canberra on Wednesday.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Prime Minister’s XI got a solid start as openers Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris shared in an opening stand of 134 inside 42 overs.
Jayden Seales broke the partnership when he had Harris caught by Kyle Mayers for 73.
Renshaw made 81 for the Prime Minister’s XI, who also benefitted from 55 from the bat of Peter Handscomb as the home side looked set for a score above 400 at 250-4.
However, Roston Chase led the West Indies fightback when he dismissed Aaron Hardie for 23 and then removed Handscomb as the Prime Minister’s XI slipped to 253-6.
Alzarri Joseph then bowled Ashton Agar for 33, Michael Neser for 10 and Joel Paris for two with the last ball of the day to finish with figures of 3-52 from 17.3 overs.
Chase’s two wickets in 21 overs cost 72 runs while Kemar Roach, Mayers and Raymon Reifer had one wicket each.
David Warner believes he can stake a claim to play in Australia's next home ODI – even if that means he must wait until 2024.
The opener struck a terrific 106 in Australia's thumping win over England on Tuesday that sealed a 3-0 ODI series victory.
He joined Travis Head (156) in an opening partnership worth 269 runs, which set a record for the first wicket at the MCG.
Australia prevailed by 221 runs under Duckworth-Lewis-Stern rules at the Melbourne venue where nine days previously England celebrated winning the T20 World Cup. It was England's heaviest ODI defeat, runs-wise.
The latest century for left-hander Warner was his fifth against England and a first since the Boxing Day Test in 2017, taking him to 3,067 runs across all formats against Australia's great rivals.
That is the most runs he has scored against any opposition, albeit he has faced England 69 times and no other team on more than 50 occasions.
Indeed, Warner's all-formats batting average of 34.46 against England is the lowest he has achieved against any international team he has faced more than twice.
He was rightly jubilant to get to three figures this time, though, saying: "I think we played fantastic in this series.
"We know that with England [winning] the World Cup, and a long tournament, these games are quite hard to get up for.
"But we played exceptional cricket, the bowlers did a fantastic job and the batters just went out there and tried to execute as well as we could, especially in the power play, and we managed to do that."
Addressing a long wait for the next ODI to be played at home, which is set to come when West Indies tour in early 2024, Warner said: "Look, 2024 is a long time away. There's a lot of cricket to be played in-between there, obviously in all three formats.
"If I can keep keeping fit, scoring runs and doing the best I can for the team, yeah, I might be here."
Warner will turn 38 in October 2024 and has indicated he could retire from Tests after next year's Ashes series in England, but he evidently sees the short format as an area where he might sustain his career for longer.
England captain Jos Buttler is thriving as a limited-overs specialist, even if his team came a cropper during this series.
"We tried our best. We fell a long way short. I thought Australia outplayed us in every department and all credit to them," Buttler said.
Yet he and England will return home as world champions in cricket's shortest international format.
"We've got lots to be proud of," Buttler said. "You don't need a long memory to remember the scenes here last week. We got exactly what we wanted from coming here and we're very proud of that."
Travis Head and David Warner plundered stunning centuries as Australia crushed England by 221 runs at the MCG to seal a 3-0 ODI series sweep.
The openers forged an alliance of 269 runs as Australia posted 355-5 in a rain-interrupted match in Melbourne, with England only able to muster 142 all out in reply, suffering a third emphatic defeat.
Australia's innings was trimmed to 48 overs, which meant under the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern calculations England's target was set at 364 for victory, which they got nowhere near. Nine days after winning the T20 World Cup on the same ground, England's response to Australia's total was largely listless.
Head made an ODI career-best 152, while Warner was out for 106, his 19th century in this format. They put on the ninth-highest first-wicket stand in ODI history, second only for Australia to the 284 that Head and Warner themselves amassed in January 2017 against Pakistan.
It was their second 200-plus partnership, and only Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga, who have managed three, have achieved more as a pairing in ODIs.
Olly Stone eventually removed both openers in the same over, the 39th of Australia's innings, on the way to bowling figures of 4-85 from 10 overs.
England's opening partnership, in stark contrast, was worth only 15 runs, with Dawid Malan falling for just two to Josh Hazlewood in the third over. Jason Roy top scored with 33, as Adam Zampa took 4-31 in the rout.
Warner beats Hayden record
Warner now has 6,007 runs from 139 ODI innings, becoming the 10th Australian batter to reach 6,000 runs in the format. He has reached the milestone in the fewest innings of all Australians, beating Matthew Hayden's previous record of 154 innings.
Head rush
Head's 152 goes down as the second-highest score by an Australian player in the history of men's ODIs against England, bettered only by Shane Watson's unbeaten 161 in January 2011. The thrashing gave Australia's men just their second whitewash of England in a multi-game bilateral ODI series, 29 years after the first, also a 3-0 victory.
Rain dashed New Zealand's hopes of a drawn T20 series with India, as the two sides tied their final match on DLS after the heavens opened at McLean Park.
Half-centuries for Devon Conway (59) and Glenn Phillips (54) helped the hosts post a total of 160 all out in Napier, as they sought to level their three-game contest with the tourists. Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj each took four wickets for India.
But hopes of a grandstand finish were dashed when both sides were pulled from the field with India on 75-4 in pursuit after nine overs.
That meant Hardik Pandya's side had matched the par score under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, ensuring that with no restart, the match became a rare tie in T20 international cricket.
After a washout in Wellington saw no result, India had run out convincing victors in Mount Maunganui on Sunday to take the lead heading into this final contest.
They therefore hold on to win the series 1-0, with the two teams now set to meet in a trio of ODIs starting on Friday in Auckland.
India restore pride after World Cup
Having fallen short in the T20 World Cup earlier this month, victory over the Black Caps has been a restorative process for India over the past week, despite the weather.
With four wickets down on the scoreboard, there would have been a question over whether they were likely to catch New Zealand's total – but the weather means they have a series win to their name.
Conway and Phillips' efforts in vain
With close to 75 per cent of New Zealand's total posted between them, Conway and Phillips rescued what could have otherwise been a worryingly low score for New Zealand.
Ultimately, with Tim Southee having taken 2-29 off three overs, their efforts might have been enough to see them home, had the weather not intervened.
“A nice and competitive game,” is what West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite expects when his team continues their preparation for their two-match series against Australia by taking on an Australian Prime Minister’s XI in a four-day game warm-up fixture beginning on Tuesday in Canberra.
The Windies already have one warm-up fixture under their belt, a high-scoring three-day match against a combined NSW/ACT XI which ended in a draw on Saturday.
That game saw the Windies get scores of 424-9 declared and 114-4 while their opponents got 426-4 declared.
“Everyone is feeling good. We had a nice, competitive three-day game. The pitch was more batting friendly but I think our bowlers got a good run out as well.”
Australia’s PM’s XI will feature players with a lot of international experience and Brathwaite says this will give his side a big test ahead of the series.
“This second game is obviously a different team; a much more competitive team so we look forward to that challenge,” he said while also noting how important it will be to get used to the pink ball ahead of the first test.
“Gearing towards the first test, it will be good to get used to the pink ball and the conditions here in Australia. It will react differently off the surface, especially when the lights turn on. It tends to do a lot more at night so that is something we have to keep on our minds,” Brathwaite added.
The match gets underway on Tuesday at 10:00pm Jamaica time (11:00pm ECT).
Shaheen Shah Afridi's recovery from an injury suffered in the T20 World Cup final rules him out of Pakistan's 18-man squad to face England in a three-match Test series in December.
Afridi landed awkwardly while catching Harry Brook in Pakistan's defeat to England in the final, though he was cleared him of a serious knee injury and it was announced he would need a fortnight of rehabilitation.
However, the paceman then underwent surgery on his appendix and the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed he will not feature in a Test series that starts at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on December 1.
Haris Rauf's impressive white-ball performances have earn him a Test call-up, but Hasan Ali misses out after taking just five wickets in his past four Tests.
Fawad Alam is another notable absence after scoring only 58 runs in four Test matches in 2022, a distinct downturn in form from the previous year when he recorded 571 runs in nine matches.
Uncapped bowlers Mohammad Ali and Abrar Ahmed are included following some impressive displays in first-class cricket.
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood.
David Warner has welcomed the chance to have his lifetime ban from captaining Australia reviewed following a change in Cricket Australia's (CA) code of conduct, while lamenting the delay in allowing him to appeal.
CA ruled that the opening batter would never hold a leadership role again due to his part in the 2018 Newlands ball-tampering scandal.
Warner, who was said to have played a key role in Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during the Test against South Africa in Cape Town, had been touted as a candidate to replace Aaron Finch as ODI skipper following his retirement from the format in September.
While Pat Cummins was named as Finch's successor last month, the door may be open to Warner captaining his country in the future after CA amended its code of conduct.
Players were previously unable to appeal against sanctions after accepting them, but Warner is relieved to have the opportunity to seek a review of his ban under a new policy.
"I'm not a criminal," Warner said on Monday. "You should get a right of an appeal at some stage. I understand that they put a ban in place, but banning someone for life, I think it's a bit harsh.
"Where it's been disappointing is it's taken this long to get to where it has. It was brought up in I think February this year. So it's been drawn out.
"It's traumatic for me and my family and everyone else that was involved in it. We haven't needed to go back into that detail. We don't need to relive what happened.
"But it's good to get in a position where we are now today. It gives me an opportunity to ring up the integrity unit to have a word to them and put forward my case of, I guess, the 100 hours [of community service] that I did in 2018.
"Basically, all this good behaviour stuff that I've done, I think I have to put forward, so I'm happy to do that."
In a statement released on Monday, CA said: "Players and support staff can now apply to have long-term sanctions modified.
"Any applications will be considered by a three-person review panel, comprising independent code of conduct commissioners, which must be satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to justify modifying a sanction."
CA's new policy allows for the panel to modify punishments if it is felt the recipient has "demonstrated genuine remorse" or shown good behaviour since the ruling, while they will also consider the length of time which has passed since a sanction was issued.
The Jamaica Scorpions had two of the top three leading run scorers in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 competition that ended on Saturday night with the Jamaican franchise defeated the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force by three wickets in a tense encounter at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Captain Rovman Powell ended the tournament with the highest aggregate of 346 runs, just four more than Red Force captain Nicholas Pooran (342) and nine more than his teammate Brandon King (337). But it was success of his bowlers that led the Scorpions to their first regional 50-over title since 2012 when Tamar Lambert led Jamaica to victory.
Four Jamaican Scorpion bowlers are among the top 10 wicket takers in the tournament – Odean Smith and Nicholson Gordon each took 15 wickets and shared the prize of leading wicket taker with Red Force and former West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel. Not far behind were spinner Dennis Bulli with 14 wickets and Jeavor Royal with 12.
Asked about the impact of Smith and Gordon, Powell said the two pace bowlers were key to the team’s success this season.
“They were very, very important in the sense that every time I gave them the ball they delivered right throughout the tournament,” he said.
“As a captain, it is very good when you find bowlers that give you wickets in crucial times of the game and both of them have been fantastic throughout the entire tournament. Not the most fast-bowling friendly wickets to be honest but they have been very good.”
Smith took his 15 wickets at an average of 19.26 and economy of 5.25 wicket while Gordon was slightly more expensive at 21.26 and economy of 5.94.
Bulli snared wickets at an average of 18.64 and economy of 4.75 while Royal took his 12 wickets at an average of 21.91 and economy of 3.92.
Meanwhile, the team has been praised by the Jamaica Cricket Association on its triumphant season.
The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) congratulates our national senior men’s team “The Jamaica Scorpions” on winning the regional CG United Super 50 Championship. This achievement is the end product of teamwork, intense preparation and exemplary leadership,” said President Billy Heaven in a statement released on Sunday.
“Under the astute leadership of Captain Rovman Powell and guidance of Head Coach Andrew Richardson and Assistant Coach Nikita Miller, the world witnessed the Jamaica Scorpions win five games back to back. The collective performance of the entire team has made Jamaica proud.”
According to Heaven, strategic planning by the JCA that places emphasis on a player centric approach built an ‘exceptional team’ that claimed the trophy in a year when Jamaica celebrates its 60th year of independence.
“Cricket is known as the Gentleman’s Sport and on November 19, 2022, as the world celebrated International Men’s Day, Jamaica Scorpions provided the perfect celebration of the day winning the CG United Super 50 Championship in fine cricketing style,” Heaven said.
“This year Jamaica celebrates its 60th year of independence and cricket has always been a rich part of our history and legacy. The JCA is therefore extremely proud that our senior men’s team provided this gift to a proud nation on its diamond jubilee. Gentlemen we raise our bats to you.”
Jamaica Scorpions Captain Rovman Powell said he hoped fans of the team enjoyed their winning the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 title on Saturday night which ended a decade-long wait for the Jamaicans, who had not won a regional title since 2012.
Suryakumar Yadav struck 111 not out off 51 balls to guide India to a 65-run victory over New Zealand in Sunday's second T20I at Bay Oval.
The sides were foiled by rain in the opening game of their three-match series without a ball being bowled, but India deservedly came out on top in Mount Maunganui.
Suryakumar hit seven sixes and 11 fours to further underline why he is the world's top-ranked T20 batter, while Ishan Kishan chipped in with 36 as India's next highest scorer.
The Men in Blue reached 191-6 and New Zealand fell well short as they were skittled for 126 in the 19th over, with skipper Kane Williamson (61) supplying almost half their runs.
Rain at times threatened the contest, with India 50-1 in the seventh over when players were forced off the field, but play resumed and India wasted no time in wrapping things up.
Spinner Deepak Hooda starred with the ball by taking 4-10 off 2.5 overs, including the last three scalps in the space of four balls.
India shake off World Cup blues
India suffered T20 World Cup semi-final disappointment last week, as did opponents New Zealand, but they bounced back with this well-earned victory.
They have now won each of their past four T20Is with New Zealand, including each of the past four, making this their best ever winning run against the Black Caps in the format.
Southee flourish not enough
Tim Southee gave New Zealand some hope when removing skipper Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Deepak in the final over for his second career hat-trick.
But the damage had already been done by Suryakumar, who raced to a 49-ball hundred en route to 111 in his latest dazzling display with the bat.
Jamaica Scorpions spinner Dennis Bulli has credited a strong showing in the CGI insurance Super50 tournament with getting a good opportunity to showcase his talent.
The 35-year-old Bulli was one of the standout bowlers for the tournament and claimed an impressive 14 wickets in 6 matches, with an economy rate of 4.76. Despite playing two fewer matches, the spinner was just one wicket off the top spot occupied by Shannon Gabriel (15), Odean Smith (15), and Nicholas Gordon (15).
In Saturday’s final, the left-arm spinner's mesmerizing skills were on full display when he left Trinidad and Tobago Red Force batsman Darren Bravo bamboozled all ends up, to take the crucial wicket of the dangerous batsman and end with figures of 1 for 44.
With a tournament best of 4 for 32, against the West Indies Academy, Bulli, who has not always managed to find consistency, was one of the key reasons the team was able to win the first Super50 title in 10 years.
“I’ve had times but I never got a good enough chance to express myself but this has been one of those times,” Bulli said of his performances this season.
“The first time I really got a chance to express myself was in 2019 and I did well. I got called up for the President’s XI team and got injured, got picked for the CPL, and got covid. So this is another opportunity and a good time for me to show what I can do.”
The Jamaica Scorpions are champions of the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 after a three-wicket win over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the final at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.
The Scorpions won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Red Force openers Kjorn Ottley and Amir Jangoo put on 46 before the latter was caught off the bowling of Scorpions skipper Rovman Powell for 23 in the 13th over.
Ottley was next to go four overs later for 33 off the bowling of Jeavor Royal to leave the Red Force 57-2.
One became two for Royal when he dismissed the experienced Jason Mohammed for just three in the 19th over to leave the Red Force 66-3.
Dennis Bulli then got into the action with the crucial wicket of Darren Bravo for 14 in the 22nd over to leave the score at 79-4.
The Red Force brought up their 100 in the 26th over but then found themselves in further trouble as 100-4 quickly became 101-5 as Odean Smith removed captain Nicholas Pooran for eight in the 27th over.
Yannic Cariah (39) and Akeal Hosein (20) brought the Red Force past 150 in the 36th over. One over later, the Red Force found themselves 157-6 after Cariah was dismissed hit wicket off the bowling of Nicholson Gordon for 43.
The Red Force lost their seventh wicket in the 41st over when Terrance Hinds was dismissed by Gordon for 17 with the score on 184.
A Sunil Narine six off Peat Salmon in the 45th over brought up the Red Force’s 200. In the same over, Salmon took the Scorpions’ eighth wicket, removing Akeal Hosein for 37 with the score on 206.
Gordon took his third wicket and the ninth overall when he dismissed Narine for 12 in the 46th over with the score on 208.
Shannon Gabriel was the last man to go for one as the Red Force were bowled out 217 in 47 overs, their lowest total in the tournament.
Nicholson Gordon ended with 3-51 from eight overs and got good support from Jeavor Royal (2-22 from four overs) and Odean Smith (2-29 from six overs).
Scorpions openers Brandon King and Chadwick Walton brought the score to 24 in the sixth over when King was dismissed by Shannon Gabriel for 12.
Walton (27) and Andre McCarthy (11) combined to bring up Jamaica’s 50 in the 11th over.
In the 20th over, Walton brought up his first fifty of the tournament off 60 balls.
The Scorpions’ 100 was brought up one over later through a boundary from Walton off Yannic Cariah.
McCarthy was next to bring up his first fifty of the tournament, and 13th in List A cricket, off 75 balls in the 30th over.
The final ball of the 32nd over saw Walton being dismissed by Cariah for a well-played 80 to leave the Scorpions 150-2 needing 68 to win from 108 balls.
McCarthy was next to go for 55 in the 35th over with the score on 155. Four overs later, with the score on 172, Alwyn Williams became the fourth Scorpions batsman dismissed when he was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Kharry Pierre for three.
Captain Powell was next to go in the 44th over for 25 with the Scorpions only needing 18 more to win from 39 balls. With 344 runs in total, Powell finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer.
With the Scorpions needing 14 more runs from 29 balls, Dennis Bulli was bowled by Terrance Hinds for two. The next over saw Peat Salmon going for 11 with just eight runs needed to win from 23 balls.
Odean Smith was the hero in the end with a six and a single in the 47th over bring the score to 218-7 to give the Scorpions their first CG Insurance Super50 Cup title since 2012, when they also beat the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final.
West Indies' batsmen missed a chance to find their groove on Australian pitches before their tour game against an NSW/ACT XI was declared a draw.
The visitors were 114 for 4 in their second innings on Saturday at Manuka Oval when play was called off, the hosts declaring earlier in the day on a mammoth 426 for 4.
Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, made just 4 after not batting in West Indies' first innings effort due to illness.
Jermaine Blackwood, who retired on 42 in the first innings, made just 1.
West Indies were 77 for 4 before Roston Chase (31*) and Joshua Da Silva (12*) ensured no further damage was done.
Earlier Blake MacDonald finished unbeaten on 177 after No. 3 Oliver Davies had smashed 115 off just 106 balls on Friday in a wake-up call for the West Indies attack.
Final scores: West Indies 424 for 9 dec (Thomas 77*, Brathwaite 75, Brooks 56, Holder 50) and 114 for 4 drew with Combined NSW & ACT XI 426 for 4 (MacDonald 177*, Davies 115).
The tourists will play a four-day twilight fixture against a strong Prime Minister's XI from Wednesday before Tests against in Perth and Adelaide.
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