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• West Indies 2025 home Test series against Australia expanded from two to three games

  Australia will play three Tests during their 2025 tour of the West Indies after Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket West Indies (CWI) agreed to expand the original schedule of two Test matches which is set to take place in June-July.

  The series will be part of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, which asks for a minimum of two Tests between participating teams.

  Australia’s previous Test series in the Caribbean took place in 2015, where the Michael Clarke-led side dominated with victories in Dominica and Jamaica. Since then, Australia has toured every Test playing nation except the West Indies.

  This upcoming tour will be the first time the teams have played a three-match series in the West Indies since 2012, when Australia secured a 2-0 victory.

  The most recent clash between the sides, held in Australia earlier this year, ended in a 1-1 draw. The highlight of the series was West Indies pacer Shamar Joseph’s heroics at the Gabba, where he guided a rare Test win over Australia, breaking a 21-year drought.

  After taking a five-wicket haul on debut at the Adelaide Oval, Joseph backed it up with a famous second innings haul of 7-68 in Brisbane to spearhead the tourists to an eight-run win.

  While the exact venues are yet to be confirmed, according to ESPNCricinfo reports, Barbados, Grenada, and Jamaica are potential hosts.

  The tour will also feature three ODIs and three T20Is. Meanwhile, Australia is eyeing a place in this year’s WTC final at Lord’s and will aim to carry momentum into the next cycle.

  For the West Indies, the series is a significant opportunity to play against one of the world’s strongest Test teams on their home turf.

• Atkinson and Bethell star as England dominate day two against New Zealand

  Gus Atkinson's hat-trick set England on their way to a dominant second day of the second Test with New Zealand in Wellington.

  Atkinson took the final three wickets of Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee as the hosts were bowled out for 125, before the tourists' knock of 378-5 put them 533 runs to the good.

  The 26-year-old scored the first away hat-trick by an England bowler in 16 years, while it was also the first ever to be recorded at the Basin Reserve.

  "The hat-trick ball I was running up thinking: 'I'm getting a wicket this ball, I'm getting a wicket this ball' - I did feel it," he told BBC Sport.

  "I haven't really thought about a hat-trick too much before. You want to play to get five-fors as a bowler, you don't think about hat-tricks as much, but getting a hat-trick is special, it's definitely more rare than a five-for.

  "It's been a very special year. I'm just looking forward to playing as much Test cricket as I can in the next few years and, hopefully, continuing with the form."

  Atkinson's surge left New Zealand 155 runs adrift of England, whose second innings was spearheaded by Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett (92).

  Between them, they added 187 for the second wicket, with Bethell (96) narrowly missing out on becoming the tourists' youngest Test centurion since 1939.

  Harry Brook chipped in with 55, while Joe Root and Ben Stokes notched unbeaten contributions of 73 and 35 respectively.

  That took England to 378-5 at stumps, as they closed in on their first Test series victory in New Zealand for 16 years.

  Data Debrief: Hat-trick hero Atkinson joins exclusive group

  Atkinson continued his incredible 2024, in which he took 12 wickets on his Test debut against West Indies in July, while notching up a century and five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka the following month.

  The first hat-trick in Test cricket since South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj's against West Indies in 2021, it is the 14th recorded by an Englishman.

  Atkinson also joined Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Johnny Briggs as the only England players to score a Test century and hat-trick.

  England became the first nation to score 500,000 Test runs during day two, while Root passed 50 for the 100th time at this level.

• Holmwood Technical completes ISSA rural area Netball double; St. Catherine, Wolmer’s Girls win urban area titles

  Defending all-island champions Holmwood Technical retained their ISSA rural area Under-19 netball title with a 38-30 victory over Denbigh High in Thursday's decider at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

  The May Pen-based won the first quarter 9-8 before the defending champions rallied to lead 15-14 at the half and 37-24 at the end of the third quarter.

  The victory for Holmwood completed the double on the day as their Under-16 team had earlier secured the crown with a 21-16 win in an all-Manchester affair over defending champions Manchester High in a repeat of last year's final.

  In the urban area final, St Catherine High captured their third straight Under-19 title with a 32-24 win over The Queen's School. The St John's Road-based school led all quarters 11-3, 20-12 and 23-16.

  Meanwhile, Wolmer's Girls took the Under-16 crown after beating St Hugh's 27-21 in their decider.

  Manchester High defeated Glenmuir 46-44 to claim third place in the rural area Under-19 category while Mile Gully High claimed third in the Under-16 category with a 32-17 win over Titchfield.

  In the urban area, Gaynstead High claimed third in both the Under-19 and Under-16 categories with wins over St. Catherine High and Camperdown High, respectively.

  They beat St. Catherine 34-19 and Camperdown 37-23.