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Shemaine Campbelle and Kycia Knight are back in West Indies’ squad for the three-match Women’s ODI series against England in Antigua from December 4 to 9.While West Indies will welcome the return of these two experienced keeper-batters from injury, they will be without allrounder Stafanie Taylor, who is yet to recover fully from the injury she suffered during the third ODI against New Zealand in September.Related

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The selectors have also picked the uncapped left-arm spinner Kaysia Schultz, who had taken part in a ten-day training camp with the West Indies players during the New Zealand series while not being part of the official squad.Shamilia Connell, Kyshona Knight, Natasha McLean and the uncapped fast bowler Jannillea Glasgow have been left out after being part of the squad against New Zealand, with the playing group downsized from 17 members to 14.The series is an important one for both West Indies and England, who are looking to bounce back after defeats in their respective opening bouts of the 2022-25 ICC Women’s Championship. While West Indies suffered a 2-1 loss to New Zealand, England were blanked 3-0 by India, with both defeats coming in home series.West Indies are currently in fifth place on the Women’s Championship table, and England are seventh among the eight teams who have played so far. Australia and Bangladesh are yet to begin their campaigns.The top five teams at the end of the 2022-25 cycle will qualify automatically for the 2025 ODI World Cup in India.”This series against England comes on the heels of the New Zealand tour to the West Indies and continues our important preparation for the upcoming tri-series against India and South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to follow,” lead selector Ann Browne-John said. “It gives the players a great opportunity to develop and push for final selection for the tri-series and World Cup.”West Indies ODI squad: Hayley Matthews (capt), Shakera Selman (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle (wk), Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight (wk), Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Rashada Williams

An epic David Warner innings in his milestone match. A 239-run partnership with Steven Smith, who brought up 1,000 runs at the MCG A scoring rate of 4.3 runs per over in the day, which peaked at 5.54 in the final session, in temperatures that touched 40 degrees. This was Australia’s day.They seized control of the Melbourne Test and the series and are on track to beat South Africa at home for the first time since the 2005-06 summer.Before the Test, amid questions over his long-format future, Warner promised to return to his old self and take on the bowling and he stayed true to his word. From his opening runs on the second day – a square cut off Kagiso Rabada’s first ball – to his final runs when an edge flew wide of slip and brought up his 200, Warner took the fight to South Africa. He became the second batter to score a double hundred in his 100th Test after Joe Root in a display of extreme determination, strong strokeplay and incredible fitness.Related

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In a minute less than six hours at the crease, Warner ran 63 singles, 14 twos, seven threes and three fours, in addition to the 16 fours and two sixes he hit. No South African bowler was spared but Warner asserted his authority over their spearhead Rabada with such assurance, it would not have given the rest much confidence. He scored 57 runs off the 60 balls he faced from Rabada and 72 off 81 from Keshav Maharaj.On a track that flattened out beautifully for batting, South Africa’s attack were never in the contest and may have some stern words for their line-up, who wasted the opportunity on the first day. Anrich Nortje was the most impressive of an energy-sapped pack and kept his pace above 150kph consistently. His fastest ball was clocked at 155kph. He was also the only one to enjoy some reward, when Smith upper cut a short ball to gully. By then, most of the damage was done.Smith and Warner put on the second-highest third-wicket stand by Australia against South Africa, after Marnus Labuschagne was run-out in the morning session. Smith was less fluent than usual but still managed to cash in on loose deliveries as the attack grew weary. But his time with Warner was not without its chances.The brutal Melbourne heat had its toll on the players•Getty Images

Lungi Ngidi found Warner’s edge with his third ball, but it flew past gully for four and Marco Jansen drew Smith forward and got a healthy nick, but it fell short of second slip. Then, Smith offered a genuine chance when he gloved Jansen down leg. Kyle Verreynne made good ground to his left but could not hold on before Warner inside edged Ngidi past the stumps.All those half-chances meant nothing when Warner reached 8,000 Test runs and then went on to bring up his hundred with a pull off Rabada. He celebrated with a jump and air punch. Rabada thought he had Smith before the former captain reached fifty but overstepped on the delivery Smith appeared to glove on the pull although replays were inconclusive. Smith brought up fifty soon after, with a cut past point off Jansen.Australia led by 42 runs at tea and and accelerated in the final session. They scored 83 runs in 11 overs in the post tea session – and 155 in 28 in total – as they ripped into Ngidi and Rabada. Both bowled a little too short in search of a wicket. Smith looked well on his way to a century of his own before Nortje got the better of him, with Warner eight runs away from a double hundred and starting to cramp severely.He seemed to barely have the energy to keep going but the motivation of a double ton kept him at the crease until he was able to reach for a wide Ngidi delivery and it flew off the edge to the boundary. His second hundred came off just 110 balls. Warner dropped to his haunches and raised both arms in a double salute but he struggled to get back up. Once he’d made his way to stand, he was helped off the field to an ovation from the 40,000 strong crowd. If he does not return to bat, his will be the highest individual innings in Test cricket to end retired hurt.South Africa took the second new ball as soon as it became available and it was shared by Nortje and Jansen. While Nortje asked questions again, Jansen only seemed easier to hit. As he searched for swing, Travis Head flicked him over square leg for six and then four and raced to a run-a-ball 48.Australia are likely to continue to bat for as long as they can, especially as their attack could be depleted for the second innings. Mitchell Starc injured his left middle-finger while fielding on the first day and will bowl only if required while Cameron Green was hit on the right index finger by Jansen while batting and it immediately swelled up. Green also retired hurt which could leave Australia with only Pat Cummins, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon to close out the match.

The ICC has changed the “poor” rating given to the Indore pitch, for the third India vs Australia Test, to “below average” following an appeal from the BCCI. As a result, the Holkar Stadium pitch now has one demerit point and not three, which was the case for the earlier rating.A panel comprising Wasim Khan and Roger Harper reviewed footage from the Test. An ICC statement said that both Wasim, ICC’s general manager – cricket, and Harper, ICC men’s cricket committee member, felt that “the guidelines had been followed” by match referee Chris Broad, but “there was not enough excessive variable bounce to warrant the ‘poor’ rating”.The Indore Test lasted less than seven sessions, with Australia winning by nine wickets. Overall, 26 of the 31 wickets fell to spinners after a 14-wicket first day. While announcing the “poor” rating, Broad had noted that “the pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start”.The other three pitches for the series – which India won 2-1 to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – in Nagpur, Delhi and Ahmedabad have received “average” ratings.3:27

Chopra: If every Test lasts only two-and-a-half days, there is a problem

Indore was not one of the original venues for the series, and were given short notice after the Dharamsala outfield was deemed below par. The BCCI announced the shift to Indore on February 13, about two weeks before the start of the game on March 1.The last time a pitch in India was rated poor was in 2017, when Australia beat India on a similarly turning surface in Pune. Broad was match referee on that occasion too.The ICC rates pitches in six categories: very good, good, average, below average, poor and unfit. If any ground receives five or more demerit points in a five-year rolling period, it is suspended from hosting any international cricket for 12 months.It is unusual for boards to appeal against pitch ratings, but not unheard-of. In fact, the PCB did it recently – and successfully – for a demerit point given to the surface in Rawalpindi, which hosted the Test against England in December last year. Pycroft, the match referee there too, had rated the pitch “below average”. England won that Test by 74 runs.

Sri Lanka gathered 276 brisk runs for the loss of just the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne, as they eased into control of the second Test, on a rain-curtailed day. Nishan Madushka’s maiden Test century was a highlight, as he added 108 to his overnight score. Karunaratne also hit his second hundred in as many innings, before being dismissed for 115 shortly before the scheduled lunch.Ireland had another torrid day in the field, with their spinners – with the exception of Andy McBrine – unable to keep a lid on the scoring, let alone put together seriously menacing spells. The surface isn’t taking a lot of turn yet, and as such, it does not allow bowlers a lot of margin for error.By stumps, Sri Lanka had scored at 4.63 runs an over, with Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis having been especially busy at the crease. Bad light forced players off the field shortly before scheduled tea, and then rains arrived to wash out the rest of the day’s play. Madushka was not out on 149 off 234 balls; Mendis was on 83 off 96. After the openers had put on 228 together, the partnership between these two was worth 129. The rain allowed only 59 overs in the day.Having moved the team score smoothly to 81 for no loss the previous evening, Sri Lanka’s openers didn’t take long to find rhythm on day three. Karunaratne was especially fluent in the early exchanges; he slashed Curtis Campher for four to start the second over, and later flicked Graham Hume for four through midwicket to bring up the team 100.Madushka had his outside edge beaten occasionally, and there were a couple of half-hearted lbw shouts against him as well. But eventually he too began to appear comfortable. Karunaratne, by this stage, was really getting the drives humming – he hit Campher for two fours in one over, one shot going past mid-on, the other just wide of mid-off. Both batters completed their half-centuries in the first 40 minutes of play.Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka put up a 228-run opening stand•Getty Images

McBrine was really the only spinner to put appreciable pressure on the batters – he kept his lines tight, and got the odd one to spin, to test the edge. But the batters took the other spinners apart. Debutant left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys’ eight overs went for 56 (three of these overs had been bowled on day two). Legspinner Ben White wasn’t quite as expensive but did not particularly impose himself either, going at 5.35 in his 17 overs.Late in the first session, Karunaratne completed a 16th Test century, off the 116th ball he faced. He had been so efficient at picking up singles and twos into the outfield that the milestone almost snuck up. He then coached Madushka to his own century, which the latter reached with a six over deep midwicket, having come down the track to turn a Harry Tector delivery into a full toss.Karunaratne would be out next over, however. He top-edged a short ball from Campher, sending it into the hands of Humphreys at fine leg. He’d made 115 from 133 balls.Mendis was immediately confident at the crease, getting to 15 off 20 balls, as he attacked even McBrine by using his feet. He got Sri Lanka to 300 with a big slog sweep over deep square leg off White, before sending McBrine scorching through cover point to complete his fifty. Mendis’ real big-hitting came as the stormclouds began to gather – he struck Humphreys for three consecutive sixes in the 72nd over, depositing him over deep midwicket each time – the first off a full toss, the second and third off long hops.As had been the case in the opening stand, Madushka was the quieter partner.

Unlike the other teams, who have their league matches spread across most of the ten venues for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, Pakistan will play their nine league matches in only five cities, according to the schedule released by the ICC and BCCI in Mumbai on Tuesday.Pakistan begin their campaign by playing the two qualifiers from the tournament in Zimbabwe in Hyderabad on October 6 and 12, before travelling to Ahmedabad to take on India on October 15. They then travel to Bengaluru to play Australia on October 20, and onward to Chennai, where they play Afghanistan on October 23 and South Africa on October 27.The PCB had requested the ICC to swap venues for their fixtures against Afghanistan and Australia (they wanted to play Afghanistan in Bengaluru and Australia in Chennai) a request that has not been granted.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan then head east to Kolkata for their fixture against Bangladesh on October 31 and back to Bengaluru for their match against New Zealand on November 4. Their final league match, which will take place on the last day of the league phase, is against England in Kolkata on November 12. If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, they will play the game in Kolkata.They will gear up for the 2023 tournament in India with warm-up games against New Zealand and Australia on September 29 and October 3 in Hyderabad.Related

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The World Cup schedule was finally released at an event in Mumbai just 100 days before the start of the tournament on October 5. In comparison, the fixtures for the 2019 World Cup in England and the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand were released more than 12 months in advance.The tournament will be played across ten venues in India, with the semi-finals in Mumbai and Kolkata on November 15 and 16, and the final in Ahmedabad on November 19. The knockout games all have a reserve day provisioned. The format will be the same as it was in 2019, with ten teams playing each other once in the league phase and the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.India qualified for the event as hosts, while Afghanistan, Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa made it by finishing in the top eight of the 2020-2023 World Cup Super League. The remaining two qualifiers will be identified at the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, which is being played by Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland, UAE, USA and Zimbabwe.

But will Pakistan travel to India at all?

Despite the World Cup schedule being announced, there is still no official confirmation from Pakistan that they will travel to India. Due to strained political relations between the two countries, Pakistan have not toured India since the 2016 men’s T20 World Cup. The latest word on the matter was that Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs was evaluating the team’s participation in the World Cup and would convey its view to the PCB in due course.”The PCB requires the Government of Pakistan’s clearance for any tour to India, including the match venues. We are liaising with our government for guidance, and as soon as we hear something from them, we will update the Event Authority (ICC),” PCB communications director Sami Ul Hasan said. “This position is consistent to what we had told the ICC a couple of weeks ago when they shared with us the draft schedule and sought our feedback.”It is understood that with the term of the ruling government in Pakistan ending in August, the decision on whether the team will travel to India will be deferred until the next government takes charge. This being an election year, the government will not make a formal announcement at this stage, though tentative permission has been given. The final decision will be taken closer to the departure date, like it was when India hosted the 2016 World Cup.Back then, Nawaz Sharif’s government gave the team last-hour clearance to travel after sending a delegation to India for security reconnaissance. The PCB had threatened to pull out of the T20 World Cup in India unless they had assurance from the Indian government regarding the security of the Pakistan team, which eventually resulted in the India-Pakistan match moving from Dharamsala to Kolkata.

Worcestershire have confirmed that Jack Haynes will leave at the end of the season to join Nottinghamshire.Haynes, 22, who came through Worcestershire’s academy and had been capped by England Lions, was out of contract and has agreed a three-year deal at Trent Bridge.A highly rated top-order batter, Haynes has impressed across formats since his first-team debut in 2019. He averages 34.91 in first-class cricket, with four hundreds, 42.63 in 11 List A appearances and has a T20 strike rate of 143.31.”Jack is already a good player though it his hunger to move his game forward that really excites me,” Nottinghamshire head coach, Peter Moores, said. “He has already gained valuable experience in red and white ball cricket, which gives him a great platform to build on going forward,””As a top-order batter in all formats he will strengthen our batting unit as well as adding healthy competition. We pride ourselves in helping players fulfil their potential and we have already seen many of our players move their games forwards at Trent Bridge.”We pride ourselves as a coaching team in creating opportunities for all our players to keep improving, knowing that as they improve, so do Notts. Helping players develop is one of the most exciting parts of coaching in my opinion.”Haynes made his England Lions debut in Sri Lanka over the winter and has also played for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred.”I’m really excited to move to Nottinghamshire,” Haynes said. “Trent Bridge is always a place I’ve loved coming to as a player; the club has a great feel about it, and the facilities and pitch are conducive to helping me develop as a cricketer.”When I sat down with Pete Moores and Ant Botha, they were both passionate about the direction of this squad, and how I can fit into it. I’m under no illusion that it’ll take hard work to nail down a place in the side and continue to grow in all formats, but Notts have a track record of taking on players and improving them to help them reach their potential.”Worcestershire have already seen two other homegrown players depart for Nottinghamshire this month, with Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington making the move northeast, while another fast bowler, Pat Brown, has agreed to join Derbyshire.Worcestershire’s chief executive officer Ashley Giles said: “It is always disappointing to see a player nurtured by our own pathway and academy leave the club. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Jack every success in the future.”

Harmanpreet Kaur is likely to be penalised four demerit points for her conduct – on the field and later at the post-match presentation – in India’s third and final ODI against Bangladesh, which ended in a tie. While the ICC is yet to send out a statement on the exact penalty, Harmanpreet is in danger of becoming the first woman cricketer to be found guilty of a Level 2 breach of the ICC code of conduct, which deals with player behaviour.After being given out caught at slip by umpire Tanvir Ahmed on Saturday, Harmanpreet smashed the stumps with her bat and appeared to remonstrate with the umpire before making a gesture in the direction of the crowd. Later, at the post-match ceremony, she called the standard of umpiring “pathetic”.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the match officials have recommended three demerit points for equipment damage and one demerit point for criticising the match officials in public. The final decision will be taken by the ICC. It is understood that the BCCI has been talking to the ICC on the matter.As per the ICC’s rules, when a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points. Anything in the range of four to seven demerit points equates to two suspension points i.e. a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first in the player’s schedule.Harmanpreet Kaur last earned a demerit point when she flung her helmet to the ground during the 2017 World Cup semi-final against Australia•Getty Images

In the ICC’s latest list – which goes back to 2016 – that was released on June 7, there are 29 women cricketers who have been found guilty of breaching the code of conduct. Apart from Harmanpreet, Veda Krishnamurthy is the other Indian to have been found guilty twice.The last time Harmanpreet earned a demerit point was during the semi-final of the 2017 ODI World Cup against Australia. After working legspinner Kristen Beams through midwicket, she was involved in a mix-up with Deepti Sharma before they completed the double that brought up Harmanpreet’s century. Instead of celebrating the milestone, Harmanpreet flung her helmet to the ground and fired verbal volleys at Deepti. Harmanpreet was found guilty of a Level 1 offence, which she had accepted.Players breaking the stumps – either with the bat or by kicking them – while reacting to umpiring decisions is a rare occurrence in cricket. Coincidentally, the most recent case also happened in Bangladesh. In 2021, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was suspended for three matches and fined US$ 5800 (approx.) during a Dhaka Premier League T20 match between Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club.Shakib, who was leading Mohammedan, kicked the stumps immediately after umpire Imran Parvez turned down his lbw appeal against Mushfiqur Rahim. An over later, he ripped out all three stumps at the bowler’s end and threw them on the ground after umpire Mahfuzur Rahman called for the covers as it started to rain.

Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a half-century but Rinku Singh stole the limelight with a swashbuckling innings at the death as India sealed the series by beating Ireland by 33 runs in the second T20I.Gaikwad and Sanju Samson put on 71 to stabilise India after they lost two wickets in the powerplay. Then, with Ireland applying the squeeze following their departures, Rinku – batting for the first time in international cricket – took centre stage to help India pump 42 runs off the last two overs and get to a total of 185, which proved too much for Ireland.Andy Balbirnie fought a lone battle for Ireland with a 51-ball 72 but it wasn’t enough as Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi spearheaded India’s defence with two wickets apiece.After India were put in on a sunny afternoon in Malahide, Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal got going in the second over. Gaikwad nudged Josh Little behind square for the first boundary of the match before Jaiswal pulled successive deliveries for four and six.Jaiswal drove Barry McCarthy for another four before Craig Young got him for the second consecutive match by cramping him with a short ball. Jaiswal went for the pull nonetheless, and ended up caught on the boundary by Curtis Campher running to his left from deep midwicket and reaching over his head.McCarthy then struck in similar fashion as Tilak Varma skied a pull to deep square leg.Gaikwad stepped up the tempo soon after the powerplay, taking on the short ball. He first pulled legspinner Ben White in front of midwicket and then dispatched Young on either side of the midwicket fielder off consecutive balls in the next over.Samson then played an impeccable on-drive off Adair before ramping up the pressure on Little, hitting him for three fours and a six in the 11th over as the left-arm quick ended up conceding 48 in his four overs. Samson drove him over cover for a one-bounce four and then slapped a length ball over extra-cover. He then steered a low, wide full-toss past the keeper to make it 4, 4, 4. A dot off the next ball was only momentary respite for Little, who then went short only to be pulled behind square for six.Josh Little conceded 48 off his four overs•Sportsfile via Getty Images

But Young pulled things back with a five-run 12th over before Samson dragged on off White, to bring Rinku to the crease.Rinku swept White for his first four in the 15th over before Gaikwad brought out a sweep of his own to bring up his half-century. Gaikwad then smacked him down the ground for six to take India to 129 for 3, leaving them poised for a potential 200-plus score.McCarthy outfoxed Gaikwad with a slower ball in the 16th over, however, and Ireland began stifling India with good use of the short ball and slower ones. India could score just 14 runs off the 16th, 17th and 18th overs.A below-par score on a high-scoring ground looked likely, with both Rinku and Dube struggling to break the shackles. Then Rinku did what he had done so many times in IPL 2023 to earn his India call-up.He carved McCarthy over backward point for four in the 19th over and hoicked the next ball, a slower one, over long-on for his first six. McCarthy then bowled two wides on the trot and changed his angle to go around the wicket, but it did little to stop Rinku’s charge as he carted him over cover for another six.Adair started the final over with a leg-stump full toss that Dube helped behind square for the first of two sixes. The next ball was in the slot and Dube swung it far into the stands over deep midwicket. Rinku then duly pulled a length ball for another six, the crowd’s cheers growing louder with each hit.A top-edge off an attempted pull saw Rinku walk back for 38 off 21, but by then he had done enough to get India to a more-than-fighting total.Chasing 186, Ireland saw out Jasprit Bumrah’s first over, although Balbirnie survived an lbw appeal that returned umpire’s call at the stumps after India reviewed the not-out decision.Sanju Samson scored a fluent 40 off 26 balls•Sportsfile via Getty Images

Balbirnie got going off the next over, hitting Arsheep Singh for two boundaries on either side of the wicket.But Prasidh broke the game open in the next over, using the short-ball tactic that had worked well for Ireland. He got Paul Stirling to top-edge a pull that Arshdeep claimed, running in from fine leg to send the Ireland captain back for a four-ball duck. Two balls later, Lorcan Tucker miscued a pull towards mid-on, where Gaikwad held on running across from midwicket, despite a mini-collision with Dube.Ravi Bishnoi completed a good powerplay for India by cleaning Harry Tector up with a wrong’un. At 31 for 3, Ireland already needed more than 11 an over.Balbirnie briefly raised their hopes, sweeping Washington Sundar for back-to-back fours in the seventh over, and Campher got going with a slog-swept Bishnoi for a six off his next over. But a quiet over from Dube amped up the pressure and Campher spooned a catch to backward point off Bishnoi to leave Ireland reeling at 64 for 4 after ten overs.But Balbirnie kept going, hitting Dube for two sixes and sweeping Bishnoi for four either side of a four-run 12th over bowled by Bumrah. Balbirnie brought up his tenth T20I fifty in the 13th, which also saw Dockrell hit Bishnoi down the ground for six.Ireland now needed 92 from 42 balls. Gaikwad dropped a regulation chance of Dockrell off Washington’s bowling in the 14th over, but Dockrell was soon walking back after a mix-up with Balbirnie.Balbirnie, who had pulled Prasidh for six right before Dockrell’s dismissal, gave Arshdeep similar treatment but the left-arm quick came back by throwing it up wide and getting the opener to edge behind.That all but sealed India’s win as McCarthy failed to recreate his heroics from the first T20I, holing out off a Bumrah slower ball. Mark Adair hit a few lusty blows at the end, but by then the contest was over. Bumrah eventually had him caught in the deep as he closed out the game with a wicket maiden.

Rain played spoilsport in the men’s final at the Asian Games, meaning that only 18.2 overs were possible before the game was abandoned. India, by virtue of being the higher-seeded team, were awarded the gold medal in what proved to be an anti-climactic end to a competitive tournament.Earlier in the afternoon, India had won the toss and had elected to field first. Arshdeep Singh set the tone early, like he did in the semi-final, using the conditions and getting the ball to move prodigiously, both in the air and off the surface. However, it was Shivam Dube who dealt the first blow, getting Zubaidi Akbari to mistime his slog to mid-on in the second over.Arshdeep got his reward in the very next over, cramping Mohammad Shahzad for room and having him caught-behind. Shahzad was unhappy with the decision. His unhappiness was not entirely unwarranted, with replays later indicating that the ball flicked his right bicep rather than the bat or glove.Afghanistan were dented further in the fourth over, with Noor Ali Zadran involved in a needless run-out. He pulled the ball to deep square leg but was a little sluggish with his running, eventually falling inches short of his ground at the striker’s end while trying to complete the second run.Shahidullah steadied Afghanistan after early collapse•AFP/Getty Images

Afsar Zazai and Shahidullah stitched together a 37-run fourth-wicket partnership and looked set to increase the scoring rate in the middle overs. Zazai, though, could not read a beautifully-disguised Ravi Bishnoi googly in the 10th over. The ball pitched on a length just outside off and jagged back, breezing past the inside edge and crashing into the stumps. Shahbaz Ahmed castled Karim Janat an over later to leave Afghanistan tottering at 52-5 after 10.5 overs.Afghanistan got their act together once captain Gulbadin Naib strode out. He injected composure into their innings and put together a 60-run partnership with Shahidullah, off just 45 balls. The pair rotated the strike and were proactive enough to pounce on any loose deliveries.Shahidullah finished with a 43-ball 49, while Naib ended with 27 off 24 balls, helping Afghanistan to a total of 112-5 before rain arrived. Bishnoi was the pick of the bowlers for India, giving away only 12 runs in his four overs and bagging a wicket. Arshdeep, Dube and Shahbaz scalped a wicket apiece.

Chamari Athapaththu bludgeoned Melbourne Stars’ attack to help lead Sydney Thunder to the top of the WBBL table with a nine-wicket win at Casey Fields.After Hannah Darlington was in everything with the ball for the Thunder to restrict the Stars to 123 for 5, Athapaththu blitzed 69 from 40 balls to chase down the target with 7.1 overs to spare.Wooden-spooners last season with one win in the entire season, Thunder now have a 4-1 record this summer and loom as genuine contenders. Darlington and Athapaththu continue to be big parts of that.After being overlooked in the overseas player draft and only scooped up by Thunder just before the tournament, Athapaththu has proved a point in the opening weeks. The Sri Lankan’s 69 on Saturday follows scores of 52 and 80 earlier in the tournament, to now be the competition’s second-leading run-scorer.Given a life when Rhys McKenna missed a chance on the long-on rope on 29, Athapaththu whacked 11 boundaries and two sixes in her knock. The most damage came when she helped take spinner Sasha Moloney for 28 off one over, with two sixes over the legside and three fours through the off. Tahlia Wilson also made 45 from 33 in the chase, forming part of a 119-run opening stand with Athapaththu.Earlier, Darlington backed up her 4 for 33 against the Renegades during the week with 2 for 13 from four overs on Saturday. The 21-year-old had an impact from the outset, going for just one in the opening over, before pulling off a direct-hit run-out moments later to remove Sophie Reid.With the ball Darlington was then able to build up enough pressure to have Meg Lanning dismissed for 17. Hit on the pad by Darlington and given not out, Australia’s captain took off for a quick single and was sent back before being run out by Claire Moore. In her next over, Darlington bowled Alice Capsey for 17 with one that stayed low, before trapping Maia Bouchier lbw next ball.Handed her Australian debut as a 19-year-old two years ago, Darlington is now showing that kind of form again for Thunder.While Thunder are flying, Stars have just two wins from their opening seven games and are in real trouble at the competition’s halfway mark.