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Queensland claimed a late wicket to leave them well placed to push for victory at the Gabba

AAP10-Feb-2025Queensland will hunt a vital Sheffield Shield win at the Gabba after Matt Renshaw’s unbeaten century kept them in the box seat against NSW.The opener cruised to 125 before the hosts declared at 289 for 3 and left NSW a target of 418 for an unlikely victory in Brisbane.Related

• McAndrew's 7 for 11 blows WA away for 66 in five session game

• Konstas falls cheaply but Edwards ton rescues NSW

• Weatherald's dominant century gives Tasmania chance of victory

NSW were 11 for 1 at stumps on Monday, Nic Maddinson out without scoring after shouldering arms to a straight Michael Neser delivery. Sam Konstas was unbeaten on 9, while nightwatchman Ross Pawson survived 26 balls for one run in the shadows of stumps.Earlier Renshaw and Jack Clayton consolidated Queensland’s advantage after NSW captain Jack Edwards had done his best to keep NSW in the conversation.Clayton, fresh off 134 in the first innings, seemed destined for twin hundreds in the match before he pulled up with a hamstring complaint and retired hurt.Renshaw pushed on, accelerating into triple figures and finding a friend in Jimmy Peirson. Former Test opener Renshaw began the Shield season slowly and was overlooked for a berth against India. But he found form later in the year and now has two red-ball centuries either side of some dominant one-day and BBL innings.”I had a really good bit of momentum in the last two, three Shield games after that first hundred,” Renshaw said. “I wanted to keep that momentum going … and today kept it nice and simple.I back our bowlers to do the job. It might be at 5pm, might be at 3pm.”NSW made 259 thanks to Edwards, but still conceded a 128-run lead after winning the toss and opting to bowl first.Sent home ahead of Australia’s second Test in Sri Lanka, Konstas will have his chance under pressure in what is his first match at the venue.Queensland have just one win and three draws from six matches this season, but could jump fourth-placed NSW with a victory and remain in the hunt for a top-two finish with three games remaining.

Rahul stroked a composed half-century before Pant’s chaotic cameo took India’s lead to 357 by lunch

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2025Lunch
Rishabh Pant’s chaotic cameo helped India stretch their lead to 357 on the fourth morning at Edgbaston, after KL Rahul’s calm half-century laid the foundations for him. Dropped on 10 by Zak Crawley, Pant threw the bat – quite literally, collecting it from square leg after losing grip – to reach 41 not out off 35 balls at the lunch interval.Rahul, resuming on 28, ticked over under gloomy skies, with the floodlights on throughout the first session. Brydon Carse caused him some problems, but was all over Karun Nair: he hit him on the grille with a lifter, had him edging into the gap between first and second slip, and finally had him caught behind on the drive for 26.Rahul progressed serenely to his half-century but was cleaned up by Josh Tongue, who was rewarded for sticking to his full length despite being driven for boundaries. Angling the ball in from wide on the crease, Tongue found some late movement away off the seam to beat Rahul’s outside edge, and remove his middle stump.

Pant made his intentions clear by charging his fourth ball and slapping it back over Tongue’s head for six, and was reprieved when Crawley put a straightforward chance down at mid-off off Ben Stokes. He responded by slog-sweeping Tongue for another six, and hauled Shoaib Bashir for three boundaries in as many overs.Shubman Gill batted with more composure at the other end, and faces a decision later in the day around how many runs India should look to set England. It was three years ago today that England completed their record run chase – against the same opponents, at the same venue – but they will likely need far more than 378 to take a two-nil series lead.

Half-centuries for senior pair ensure Somerset cannot capitalise on morning declaration

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 25-Jun-2025Warwickshire and Somerset harvested the predictable Rothesay County Championship draw as a forgettable match finally petered out on the final day at Edgbaston.Set a notional victory target of 377 in 69 overs, Warwickshire plodded to 161 for four as Tom Latham (52 from 103 balls) and Sam Hain (68 not out, 157) escorted their team to safety and the match to stalemate.Somerset had extended their second innings in the morning to 229 for eight (James Rew 61, 81) but not as quickly as they hoped due to interference from Australian off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli who took five for 67 on debut.It had always appeared that a bland pitch would blunt the victory aspirations of either side and so it proved. Both shored up their positions in the middle of Division One with a solid points haul from a match which offered less than vivid entertainment. The deployment of two short mid-wickets and two short extras for Latham off Migael Pretorius was about as exciting as it got for the slumbering Edgbaston faithful.Somerset resumed on the final morning on 116 for three, 283 ahead overall, and started purposefully. Rew completed a 66-ball half-century but two wickets for Rocchoccioli slowed the momentum and changed the plan. The spinner unfurled a lovely turning delivery which Rew edged to wicketkeeper Kai Smith. Tom Banton missed a sweep and was lbw.Bowling coach Steve Kirby had suggested after day three that Somerset would need 80 overs to try to bowl Warwickshire out, but that point arrived with the lead only 317. That would have been a very attractive target on a pitch still good for batting.Tom Abell (42, 63) and Archie Vaughan (38 not out, 59) batted watchfully to prevent a collapse then expanded to add 65 in 14 overs before Abell charged and missed at Rocchoccioli. Pretorious had his off-stump rendered askew by Ethan Bamber and Rocchoccioli’s five-for was complete when Craig Overton missed a reverse sweep and was lbw, triggering lunch and the declaration.To challenge the target – 377 in two sessions – Warwickshire needed a strong platform but they lost soon both openers. Alex Davies fell to the fourth ball, lbw, trapped in the crease by Matt Henry. Rob Yates left a gap between bat and pad and Jack Leach, who opened the bowling, turned the ball through it.That scuppered any chance of a Warwickshire win. Somerset’s hopes were ground away over the next two hours by Latham and Hain. There are few batters better-equipped than those to steer a side to safety and they duly quietened the excited fielding side with resolute, solid and watchful work.They declined to pursue a target of 276 from 34 overs after tea. Latham drove a return catch to Overton and Jacob Bethell top-edged a pull at Pretorius but the implacable Hain reached 50 for the 58th time in first-class cricket to see the job through in a soporific, slumbering, sparsely-populated stadium as far-removed as can be from the passionate cauldron it will be when England meet India there next week.

The sixth edition will run from November 27 to December 23, with SLC keen to prepare batting-friendly pitches ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup

Madushka Balasuriya01-Aug-2025The Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2025 will be held from November 27 to December 23. Now in its sixth edition, the tournament will take place across three venues – Colombo, Kandy and Dambulla.This will be the fourth time in six years that the LPL is scheduled for the November-December window rather than its preferred July-August slot. The last two seasons took place during July and August, however this year, with the 2026 T20 World Cup set to begin in February, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) felt the later window better suited their needs.”The idea to conduct the LPL during this time frame is aimed at aligning the tournament with the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2026,” LPL tournament director Samantha Dodanwela said.ESPNcricinfo also learnt that talks are underway to incorporate a sixth team into the tournament. The first five editions saw five teams representing Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna compete.”Potential owners for a sixth team are currently being vetted,” Dodanwela confirmed.The inclusion of a sixth team has long been discussed, though SLC’s cautious approach to introducing new ownership might be understandable. The LPL has struggled with long-term franchise ownership over the years.Earlier this year, Jaffna Kings – formerly the longest-standing franchise, having joined in the tournament’s second edition – and Colombo Strikers were terminated by SLC for “failure to uphold contractual obligations.” As a result, the LPL currently has no franchise owners with a history stretching back beyond 2024. New owners for both the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be announced.Dodanwela also elaborated on SLC’s desire to curate more batting-friendly surfaces, with a view to better prepare players for the kind of wickets they are likely to play on during the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.”We were quite happy with the wickets during the last edition, particularly in Dambulla and Kandy,” Dodanwela noted. “We saw lots of high scores and even some centuries during that portion of the tournament. It was only in Colombo where batting was a little harder.”Backing up Dodanwela’s assessment is the fact that the pitches at the R Premadasa Stadium are currently in the process of being relaid. Several national players, such as Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva, also recently voiced the need for more batting-friendly surfaces.

Leicestershire eliminated after reaching 321 for 9 in spirited chase at New Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 24-Aug-2025Brett D’Oliveira’s 107 gave Worcestershire Rapids the platform for a 16-run victory over Leicestershire Foxes, clinching a top-three finish while eliminating the home side, who finished 312 for nine in reply to the Rapids’ 328.D’Oliveira’s second hundred of this year’s 50-over competition came off 105 balls and contained 15 fours and two sixes. He had shared a stand of 119 for the first wicket with 19-year-old Daniel Lategan (34 off 59). Rob Jones (67 off 59) made the next biggest impression on the Foxes attack.After Leicestershire had sunk to 23 for four in reply, Shan Masood (88 off 87) hit 14 fours and Ben Cox (76 off 80) a dozen as the pair put on 163 for the fifth wicket in a determined fightback.Ben Mike, batting with a runner after sustaining a hamstring injury while bowling, defied the pain to hit five sixes in a brave unbeaten 72 off 45 balls but it proved in vain, with seamer Ben Allison taking three for 87 to keep the Rapids in with a chance of topping Group A with one match to come.Occasional spinner Rishi Patel’s five for 65 for the Foxes was his maiden five-wicket haul in senior cricket.Rapids won the toss, after which D’Oliveira and Lategan dominated the first 80 minutes of the contest.Patel eventually had Lategan lbw sweeping, the breakthrough in the 20th over quickly followed by Kashif Ali and Libby falling cheaply. The former was beaten by a Patel leg break and stumped, Libby tamely caught and bowled by Trevaskis.D’Oliveira, who had swatted both his sixes in one over off the expensive Mike before the all-rounder limped off the field, was 100 from 99 balls out of 176 for three in the 29th.He was caught at mid-off soon afterwards, after which Ethan Brookes was leg before to Trevaskis reverse sweeping. But Jones holed out to long-on as Worcestershire lost wickets in each of the last four overs.Holland bowled Cullen (32 from 27) off a bottom edge, Patel saw Allison caught at long-on and bowled Ben Gibbon to complete his five. Matthew Waite hit Tom Scriven straight to cover.Nonetheless, the Rapids had thrown down a challenge which looked enormous as the Foxes found themselves four down for 23 inside six overs, despite the visitors resting two senior bowlers.Gibbon, who missed the 2024 competition through injury, struck with his third delivery as Patel dragged on, the Foxes opener brought down to earth with a duck.Lewis Hill was caught at point as Gibbon struck again, while Allison removed Sol Budinger, caught at cover, and skipper Peter Handscomb, who edged to second slip.Yet Worcestershire’s new-ball pair then surrendered runs rather easily, Masood and Cox reeling off six consecutive fours – three apiece of each of the bowlers – and putting on 50 in just 26 balls in a confident counter-attack.Waite and Brookes slowed their progress yet, as the silky Masood (50 from 41) and the busy Cox (50 from 53) stretched their partnership into three figures, a difficult caught-and-bowled chance offered to Brookes by Cox on 48 had been their only moment of jeopardy.But when Brookes returned for a new spell, Cox tickled one on the leg side to be caught behind with Cullen standing up. Four balls later Cullen, now standing back to Allison, dived to his left to snare Masood off a thickish edge, leaving 141 needed, four wickets left, and less than 18 overs remaining.Holland, top-edging to fine leg, and Trevaskis, slicing to third man, gave 19-year-old Jack Home two wickets. Mike was in obvious discomfort but after Scriven had picked out the fielder at deep midwicket he kept clearing the rope to keep the home crowd interested but 29 off the final Allison over was too many.

Notts gain vital first-innings advantage before Matthew Fisher’s second five-for keeps Surrey in touch

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Sep-2025Nottinghamshire 231 and 219 for 8 (Patterson-White 58, Fisher 5-57) lead Surrey 173 (Burns 47, James 3-35, Tongue 3-43) by 277 runsThe 2025 Division One season has been a scrappy affair. Sparse on real, top-tier quality, in part because of a wayward schedule. Even here at the Kia Oval, the home of the defending champions, it has been far from vintage. Nevertheless, 80,484 people have come through the gates this summer. Around 41,000 of them Surrey members wanting to vibe with a historic four-peat push.On Tuesday, however, for the first time this season, those of the brown cap persuasion had to confront the idea that, maybe, this might be a County Championship title too far. Worse still, the team that may take it from them were doing it on their patch.Nottinghamshire were trailing by a point coming into this penultimate round, and then four after being rolled for 231 in their first innings. But by stumps on day two, after 17 wickets had fallen, they were very much in front. They will start Wednesday on 219 for 8, 277 ahead, meaning Surrey will need the highest score of the match to win, on a pitch playing tricks off the straight. Nottinghamshire, having had the better of the first two days, are on the cusp of inflicting Surrey’s first home defeat since June 2023, and stealing a march on their title rivals into the final round.They have Lyndon James to thank for that. The allrounder, having the best season of his career, blew the match wide open in the morning session, taking 3 for 35 and then provided 47 vital runs. He was robbed of the honour of seeing out the day by Matthew Fisher, trimming him off for a for his second five-wicket haul in the match. Fisher’s 5 for 61 on day one – his first five-for for Surrey – gave his new county control. And when they relinquished it, dismissed for 173 in their own first innings, the 27-year-old dug deeper with five more and a maiden 10-wicket haul. He wrestled the game back Surrey’s way, at one point possessing figures of 4 for 11 from 3.3 overs, with Nottinghamshire reeling on 53 for 5, just 111 in front.But back came James to the fore, initially with a 36-run stand with Kyle Verreynne before finding an effective cruising speed with Liam Patterson-White for a collective 91 for the seventh wicket. Patterson-White, having brought up his third fifty-plus score of the season in 63 deliveries, looked on course to return on day three only to fall as Dan Worrall’s third victim shortly after 6pm with the close in sight.After a sedate start to day two, the match seemed to accelerate all of a sudden, almost as if it suddenly tipped over the peak of a roller coaster, which was when Surrey were cruising on a steady ascent. From 101 for 1, nine wickets were lost for 72 in 19.4 deliveries, a collapse triggered by a nine-over spell of unrelenting class from James.The 26-year-old’s 3 for 35 at the Vauxhall End began with the removal of nightwatcher Tom Lawes – chipping to cover to end a stand of 59 with skipper Rory Burns – before using a lacquer-less, 30-something-overs-old Dukes ball in tandem with Brett Hutton to send Nottinghamshire into lunch with the home top six accounted for.A lifter that left Ben Foakes was followed by something a little fuller, shaping away. Foakes, now sitting a little more on the back foot, reached and edged through to Verreyne. That ended up being the third dismissal for just 17 in 37 deliveries, sandwiching Hutton’s vital wicket of Burns on 47, moving one into his front shin.A leading edge gave Dan Lawrence a three-ball duck, and when Ollie Pope skewed a poorly judged drive to second slip, James had his third – the fifth dismissal in 48 deliveries. Emerging after lunch on 141 for 6, the heavies were brought on – Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington – to feast on what remained.By now, batters were casting anxious glances at the pitch, particularly the off-stump channel that, as ever, was a productive area to plough. That ramped up when Worrall got one to scuttle into Ben Slater’s off stump. And it was in this area that Fisher got to work, angling a couple off the seam to dismiss visiting captain Haseeb Hameed and Joe Clarke leg before.Left-hander Freddie McCann was done similarly from around the wicket, and when Jack Haynes inside-edged onto his stumps, Fisher had seen off one of the top order in each of his first four overs.Perhaps Nottinghamshire were guilty of being a little too passive early on. But James and Patterson-White learned, and when the latter pulled Lawes to midwicket for six on the shorter side, there was a subtle shift in mood.Maybe even a template for Surrey to follow, who themselves were a little shy with the bat. Though they finished the day with renewed enthusiasm having seen off both James and Patterson-White in the space of 3.1 overs, the target that will eventually come there way will require the very best of them. Something that has not been seen thus far.

The series will be tagged onto the tour of South Africa although ZC had also held out hope for a Test match

Tristan Lavalette28-Nov-2025The long Test drought between Australia and Zimbabwe is set to continue, but the countries will contest a three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe next year ahead of the 2027 World Cup in southern Africa.Before their Test and ODI tour of South Africa, earmarked for September-October 2026, Australia will have a brief stopover in Zimbabwe for a trio of ODIs, a development first reported by and likely to be officially announced in the coming weeks.The series is to be played in Harare, and possibly Bulawayo, with the flagship 10,000-seat stadium at Victoria Falls unlikely to be ready by then.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Zimbabwe Cricket had been pushing for a one-off Test match to be included in what would have been a showpiece of the tour. But it will not eventuate with Australia to undergo a heavy Test schedule, playing at least 19 Tests from mid-2026 to the Ashes tour of 2027. An ODI series also looms as important preparation for Australia with Zimbabwe to co-host the next 50-over World Cup along with South Africa and Namibia.Zimbabwe and Australia have only played three Tests against each other with the last two being in October 2003 in a short series best remembered for Matthew Hayden briefly setting a world record score of 380 in the first Test at the WACA.The only Test in Zimbabwe was played in 1999 when a Steve Waugh-led Australia won by 10 wickets in what proved to be wicketkeeper Ian Healy’s last Test match.The ODI series will end an eight-year absence for Australia in Zimbabwe. Australia were part of a T20 tri-series, also involving Pakistan, in 2018 while they last played the 50-over format there in 2014.While Test cricket between the nations remains on pause, Zimbabwe power brokers are confident that England will visit for a one-off Test match as an extension of their tour to South Africa in late 2026-early ’27. It is hoped the match will be played at Victoria Falls, named the Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium.England and Zimbabwe in May ended a 22-year Test drought with a four-day match at Trent Bridge. The countries have played just seven Test matches against each other, with only two in Zimbabwe – a 0-0 drawn series in December 1996.ZC have been actively trying to encourage countries to stopover en route to neighbouring South Africa and long circled late 2026 as opportunities to negotiate rare fixtures with Australia and England.”We are a Test nation, so playing the top countries like Australia and England at home will go a long way to making this format popular in Zimbabwe,” ZC chair Tavengwa Mukuhlani told ESPNcricinfo.”Playing against the best teams will help our players develop their skills in Test cricket. Understandably Australia wants to prepare for the World Cup, but hopefully we can play them in Test cricket in the future.”As ESPNcricinfo reported earlier this month, the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle is likely to feature all 12 Full Members in one division.It means teams will have more incentive to play Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland, who aren’t part of the current nine-team WTC. If the 12-team, one division WTC eventuates as expected – a final decision is likely at the ICC meetings in March – it has been widely assumed that those teams will mostly host one-off matches. No extra funding is expected to be available for hosting Tests.But Zimbabwe plans to host longer series in the next WTC, doubling down on their commitment to Test cricket. “Some countries might just play a minimum number of Tests, but we are hoping to play more,” Mukuhlani said. “We will aim to stage two or more Test match series against the likes of Australia and England.”

The transfer politics at play at Tottenham Hotspur are some of the most talked about and peculiar in English football, and the conclusion of the January transfer window looks set to evoke a whole new debate concerning what on earth is going on in north London.

Barring a dramatic announcement at any point on Wednesday, it seems that the Spurs faithful are going to wake up on Thursday morning with the knowledge that it’s been exactly one year since their club made a signing.

Lucas Moura signed on deadline day last year in a deal which has proven fruitful thus far, but Tottenham’s failure to add to their squad ever since is staggering.

Disgruntled supporters have consistently launched attacks on Daniel Levy for his apparent refusal to spend money in the transfer market. That Spurs are set to move into a new multi-million pound stadium can go some way to explaining the lack of activity, but a recent report hints that it is Pochettino and not Levy who has deprived the club of clinching a potentially cunning January deal.

A report from Het Belang van Limburg (via Sports Witness) published on Wednesday suggested that Leicester City have won the race for Monaco’s Youri Tielemans, beating the likes of Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur to the coveted 21-year-old playmaker.

Pertinently, the report reveals that Tottenham directors wanted to sanction a loan deal with an option to buy clause but Pochettino wasn’t convinced by Tielemans, paving the way for Leicester to clinch his signature.

The report also claims that Monaco were not willing to include an option to buy clause as part of any potential deal, so Spurs may have been unsuccessful in their endeavour even if Pochettino had given the green light.

However, the fact Pochettino refused to take up the chance to bid for Tielemans is perplexing to say the least. Monaco’s midfield lynchpin is a fantastic creative talent with plenty to offer in the Premier League, and the departure of Mousa Dembele has left a notable void which needs to be filled.

Pochettino has been forced to rely upon something of a makeshift midfield partnership so far this season comprising of Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko and, to their credit, they have been excellent for the most part.

But, with the race for the top-four beginning to heat up and a Champions League encounter against Borussia Dortmund beckoning, Spurs need more bodies in the squad to deal with injuries, suspensions and simply to provide fresh first-team options.

Pochettino’s commitment to the development of youth is commendable due to its uniqueness in the context of a financially-driven modern game, but at some point he needs to appreciate that it is possible, if not beneficial, to balance that commitment with new signings at the right time.

Time will tell whether Pochettino is actually a step ahead of the game and has seen a weakness in Tielemans to influence his snub but, if Levy doesn’t have a trick up his sleeve before the deadline passes, it’s a decision which the Argentine may live to regret.

Tottenham fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Brendan Rodgers’ outstanding record of winning domestic trophies is on the line again this weekend.

Since arriving in 2016, Rodgers’ Celtic side have been unbeaten in all domestic cup ties as the double treble was secured last season.

With this year’s Betfred Cup already won, Sunday’s home tie against St. Johnstone at Celtic Park is the next hurdle to be overcome if the Hoops are to achieve an unprecedented treble treble.

The Bhoys go into the game full of confidence and in good form since returning from their Dubai winter training camp. They’ve won six straight games in 2019, without conceding a single goal.

But injury concerns still persist, especially in defence, and Rodgers will have to use his squad to its full potential as he waits for the treatment room to clear – especially with a season-defining Europa League clash against Valencia on the horizon.

Speaking on Friday, the manager said: “We’ve played St. Johnstone four times this season, but we’ve always tried to train the players that every game is different. You have to respect every game, and we work very hard on excellency.”

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Timothy Weah could have been on Champions League duty at Old Trafford on Tuesday night rather than watching the action on telly.

At the start of January, Paris Saint Germain agreed to let their young striker move on loan to Celtic rather than kick his heels on the sidelines behind their celebrated strike force.

But PSG boss Thomas Tuchel will now have to pick a side to face Manchester United without Neymar and Edison Cavani – both of whom have suffered injuries since Weah’s departure. Kylian Mbappe will be the only member of PSG’s famous strike force on duty.

Weah made one scoring appearance for PSG at the start of the season, replacing Neymar and netting in the 3-0 home win over Caen. But as the big guns returned to full fitness after the World Cup, Weah slipped down the pecking order – prompting his move to Celtic.

PSG still have options but the situation has markedly changed over the last few weeks and had he stayed in Paris, there’s a chance Weah could have been involved in some form against the Red Devils – an opportunity to put his name in lights on club football’s ultimate stage.

Since moving to Celtic, Weah has started two matches and made five substitute appearances, scoring three goals.