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Wellington wicketkeeper Tom Blundell has been called up to the New Zealand squad as cover for BJ Watling for the third Test against Bangladesh at Hagley Oval. Watling and captain Kane Williamson, who have sustained injuries, will have to prove their fitness by Friday to be available for selection as the match starts on Thursday.Blundell, who had made a century on debut in the first Test against West Indies in December 2017, is set to join the squad in Christchurch on Wednesday as back-up for Watling, who had strained his hamstring before play on the final day of the second Test in Wellington. It was Watling’s injury that made way for Blundell’s debut back in the 2017 series against West Indies, which was also the latter’s last Test appearance.Blundell is coming on the back of an unbeaten century and 52 against Otago in the latest round of the Plunket Shield. He has scored 240 runs in four matches at an average of 48 this season. Overall, Blundell has played two Tests and three T20Is so far, having last played for New Zealand in February 2018 against Australia in Sydney.On the fifth day of the Wellington Test, substitute Peter Bocock had kept wickets for the side as the management did not want to risk fielding the injured Watling or move back-up Tom Latham from the slip cordon.Coach Gary Stead had earlier hinted that uncapped Will Young, who is in the Test squad, could replace Williamson, who has sustained a grade one tear to his left pectoral minor muscle. Tim Southee stood in at Basin Reserve when Williamson had briefly left the field for medical attention. Stead also said the captain has sustained a rare – albeit minor – injury.”It’s a pretty rare injury – they’ve only seen I think five in the world before,” Stead said. “I know that the physio staff were saying ‘We’ll make this a case study’ because it is so rare.”

Bangladesh ensured their place in the tri-series final after a resounding five-wicket win over West Indies in Malahide. After their bowlers fought hard to restrict them to 247 for 9, Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim struck fluent half-centuries and dominated the chase as they sealed victory with 16 balls to spare.Mustafizur Rahman’s first four-wicket haul in eight months, as well as discipline from Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan, and Mashrafe Mortaza’s three wickets, took the momentum from West Indies twice, after they chose to bat first.Then it was Soumya’s turn in the spotlight, his 54 off 67 balls getting Bangladesh off the block quickly. After they had lost three quick wickets in the middle-overs to Ashley Nurse, Mushfiqur put together two partnerships, 83 runs for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Mithun, and 50 runs for fifth wicket stand with Mahmudullah, to boss the chase.Soumya Sarkar plays off the back foot•AFP

West Indies also contributed heavily to their own defeat, missing five chances during the Bangladesh innings. Kemar Roach dropped two catches while Fabian Allen and Shai Hope couldn’t reach the ball despite a dive. Nurse’s poor throw cost them Mithun’s wicket early during the defining fourth-wicket stand.After Tamim Iqbal struck the fourth ball of Bangladesh’s chase for a thumping four, Soumya piled the pressure on Sheldon Cottrell and Roach, hitting them for a six and four boundaries in the first five overs. Tamim then cover drove Cottrell, before getting two more fours off Nurse in the ninth over.But later in the same over, Nurse bowled Tamim with one that dipped on the left-hander, and struck his leg-stump.After their 54-run opening stand, Soumya added 52 runs for the second wicket with Shakib. During this partnership, Soumya survived two chances: at short cover when Allen couldn’t quite hold on to the chance diving forward, as well as Roach dropping a straightforward chance at short midwicket.Nurse who suffered the Roach drop, struck twice in his next over. He first had Shkaib caught at short cover, before Sunil Ambris caught Soumya at short midwicket.Things could have gone worse for Bangladesh had Nurse sent a better throw to wicketkeeper Hope when Mithun, batting on 7, slipped mid-pitch after being sent back by Mushfiqur in the 24th over. Mithun also survived Roach dropping him at deep square leg when he was 22, and eventually the Mushfiqur-Mithun pairing made West Indies pay heavily.There was to be one more fielding lapse: Mahmudullah, dropped by Hope off Holder when he was on 10, before the game was done.When they batted first, West Indies once again gave away a good start against Bangladesh during this tri-nation series. They were 89 for 2 in the 20th over when Mustafizur had Roston Chase caught at midwicket. Ambris and Hope had struck six fours in the first five overs before Ambris guided Mashrafe to Soumya at slip. Darren Bravo fell for yet another low score, when Mehidy Hasan had him lbw for six. Mehidy had dropped Bravo in the previous over.Chase and Hope had added 33 runs for the third wicket, before Chase and Jonathan Carter fell in the space of four overs. With the scoring rate falling drastically, Holder slammed two fours to break a 103-ball boundary drought.Holder and Hope added exactly 100 runs to revive the West Indies innings, but with both batsmen falling in the space of 12 balls, Bangladesh got back control. They conceded just two fours and a six in the last six overs, as West Indies reached the underwhelming score.

Aston Villa are back in the Premier League, which will doubtless have raised a cheer or two in the Warwickshire dressing room. There have not been too many so far this season. As things stand, relegation may be their fate. By the time Villa reacquaint themselves with life at the top in early August, we will have a pretty good idea whether they can come up with an alternative ending.There is hope. Three defeats in three matches does not read well but they gave leaders Somerset a decent fight in the last round and they could not be accused of lacking backbone on the opening day against the defending champions. And, of course, they need finish ahead of only one county to stay up.Surrey, with a raft of injuries and three of their squad away with England, have yet to register a win themselves but still present formidable opposition. At times, their seam bowlers were a little erratic after Rory Burns had decided to forego the toss and test Warwickshire’s mettle against Morne Morkel and company, but until the last hour, when profit came from an unlikely source for the home side, there was never a point at which any batsman could feel quite at ease.Warwickshire supporters will not have been unhappy, then, with the application shown by Dom Sibley and Will Rhodes in trying to set down a solid foundation, or by Sam Hain and Adam Hose, who gritted their way through 25 overs in the afternoon. Rob Yates, playing in only his third first-class match at the age of 19, showed he could get his head down too.Yet on a slow pitch the one thing that was missing was momentum. Hain’s 47 took 138 minutes; Hose spent 117 minutes over his 38. Which meant that when Surrey’s bowlers found some momentum of their own in an extended final session following earlier rain, it felt like Warwickshire’s hard work had amounted to not very much.But then Surrey, unexpectedly, let a strong position slip from their grasp. From 186 for 8, Warwickshire closed on 275 for 8, thanks largely to the positive aggression of Liam Norwell and Henry Brookes, who had plainly decided they may as well chance their arm and see where it might take them.In the event, it took Warwickshire into a much healthier position than had earlier looked likely. Norwell, who moved to Edgbaston from Gloucestershire in the winter but missed the start of the season through injury, followed his nine wickets on debut last week with the third half-century of his career.Brookes, meanwhile, gave the full treatment to a couple of very inviting balls from Dean Elgar’s left-arm spin and thereafter confidently advanced to a pleasantly accomplished 35 not out. They have added 89 so far.It all rather took the shine off what was shaping up as the story of the day, a triumphant return to the Championship side for Matt Dunn.The 27-year-old quick was Surrey’s leading wicket-taker in 2014 but thereafter became rather lost amid the simultaneous emergence of so much young talent at The Oval, not least the two Currans. Last season, he barely got a look-in. Indeed, this was his first appearance in 13 months.In his afternoon spell, he served a reminder that he can still land a few punches, dismissing Hain, Hose and Tim Ambrose in the space of 21 balls. In tandem with Ryan Patel, one of the aforementioned golden generation, he reduced Warwickshire from 164 for 3 to 186 for 8 and the day seemed to belong to Surrey. Patel, who made his maiden hundred earlier this season, produced a pearl of a delivery to dismiss Liam Banks, which was then matched by the slip catch Rikki Clarke held to help him remove his namesake, Jeetan.I doubt if Norwell is a Villa supporter. Solihull-born Brookes, on the other hand, might well be. Either way, between them they caught the mood.

In normal circumstances, England wouldn’t consider taking a risk with Jason Roy or Jofra Archer. These are the men they hope will open the batting and bowling in not just the knockout stages of this tournament, but in the Ashes that follows on its heels. They are precious assets.But these are not normal circumstances. And such is England’s need to win on Sunday at Edgbaston – they could still progress if they lose, but it would require good fortune with other results – that Eoin Morgan, the captain, has confirmed that both will play if they come through fitness tests on the morning of the match even if it risks exacerbating their injuries.Roy has missed England’s last three World Cup games – two of which have been defeats – after sustaining a hamstring injury during the match against West Indies. His replacement, James Vince, has managed just 40 runs in three innings while Roy has passed 50 in five of his last six ODIs in a spell that includes two centuries. In his absence, his value has become abundantly clear.ALSO READ: Aakash Chopra: What India need to do against England’s key playersArcher, meanwhile, has been suffering from some stiffness in his side. His average pace has dropped a little in that period and he did not bowl in training on Friday. But even with that discomfort, he bowled at 92mph at Lord’s. He has quickly become one of England’s most valuable bowlers: threatening at every stage of the innings. Both men are, in short, some way better than their potential replacements.”Jason is preparing to play tomorrow,” Morgan said on Saturday. “Provided he gets through today’s practice and tomorrow morning unscathed. We think he might be fit to play.”If him playing is going to rule him out long-term, then absolutely not,” Morgan said in reply to a question asking if Roy would be risked for the game. “But if it’s going to rule him out for a couple of weeks, yes.”The exact same thing applies [with Archer]. If it’s long-term (risk), then no. if it’s short-term, then yes. Again, we’re going to see how he comes through today. It’s the same thing he’s been playing with the last three games.”There were moments on Saturday when it didn’t seem Archer was especially likely to get through any fitness session. After bowling one delivery off something approaching a full run – albeit wearing a cap – he left the pitch with the team doctor only to reappear a little while later and bowl several overs of spin. The team management seem confident he will be fine.England might also bring Liam Plunkett back into their team. They are anticipating a very good batting track – Ashley Giles, the England team’s managing director, reckons it may be the best batting surface this tournament has seen so far – which will offer very little to spinners or seamers. As a consequence, they are considering dropping Moeen Ali, who has not enjoyed the best of campaigns, to make space for Plunkett’s back-of-a-length cutters. Edgbaston’s wide square boundaries may well suit them. And, if England require some spin support for Adil Rashid, they can utilise Joe Root.Jason Roy of England speaks with captain Eoin Morgan during a nets session at Headingley•Getty Images

The reading of the pitch could yet prove crucial. The India team management, having watched previous games on the ground (not just in this tournament, but in the Champions Trophy of 2013), seem confident the pitch will spin and look set to include two specialist spinners and one part-timer. If either England or India have misread the conditions, they could be exposed.While the conspiracy theorists will suggest England are getting the pitch they demand, the truth is a little more mundane. It has simply stopped raining in England in recent days and the groundstaff have, at last, had a decent amount of preparation time. Had the weather been better, it is likely nearly all the surfaces in the tournament would have been this good. Besides, a surface enjoyed by England’s batsmen, may well be a surface enjoyed by India’s too.”We want to play on best possible batting wicket and we always do,” Morgan said. “We bat deep and we bat strong. It’s an area we’re more confident. Everybody knows that. On those wickets, we don’t have to think about adapting too much or fighting our natural game. We can just go out and play.”But where we’ve let ourselves down as a group is adapting to conditions. We haven’t adapted well enough. It’s been a bigger challenge in this World Cup than previous bilateral series that we’ve played. It’s been the most difficult part of the World Cup. Tomorrow is going to be the same. We’re going to have to adapt to conditions and to playing against a strong side in India.”We going to be clear about how we’re going to go about it. We’re going to show a huge amount of positivity in the way we play and back it with the courage to play that way.”One area India might have an advantage is in the level of support. While the percentage of ticket-buyers expressing an allegiance to India at the point of sale was around 55, it is understood some tickets may have changed hands subsequently. It will, Morgan admitted, leave England feeling they are playing away from home.”I sort of recall the Champions Trophy final we played here against India in 2013,” he said. “It was a complete away game. We had a number of fans in the ground, but the noise the Indian fans make with horns makes it that much louder. So yes, tomorrow will feel like an away game.”While Jonny Bairstow’s comments may have given a picture of a tense England camp, the reality appears quite different. Training over the last couple of days has been as relaxed as ever with no sign of the importance of the game ahead. We have seen tense and divided England sides before: this does not look like one of those at all. Even a somewhat bruised Bairstow, who feels the humour in his words was lost in the publication process.”We haven’t performed well, so critics are going to be critical,” Morgan said. “They’re entitled to their own opinion. I think the support that we’ve had from our fans and everybody around the country has been unbelievable. It has been outstanding. There’s been an enormous amount of goodwill going around, and it’s making our tournament that much more special to be a part of and to play in.”And there’s the rub. To remain part of it, they have to beat the world’s No. 1-ranked ODI side on Sunday. It is a scenario that could – should, really – have been avoided. But it’s only a year since they defeated them in an ODI series in England and only a week since they were the No. 1 side themselves. These are the big games in which these players love to be involved. They have enjoyed some fine moments over the last four years and they have been building to just such a moment throughout. Now it really is time to put all that work, all that talk and all that progress into action. It’s time to deliver.

Opener Ashfaq Ahmed’s half-century and offspinner Rohan Mustafa’s three-wicket haul ensured UAE sealed the four-match T20I series against hosts Netherlands at the Hague with one game left to play.Netherlands opener Max O’Dowd made the highest score of the game – 65 off 54 balls – but his innings went in vain as his side slumped to their third successive defeat, this one by 14 runs.After being asked to bat, UAE started strongly with Ashfaq leading the way. He hit 56 off 41 balls – his second fifty in three innings – including five fours and two sixes. He was aided by a series of contributions from the middle-order batsmen. Medium-pacer Sebastiaan Braat and left-arm spinner Pieter Seelaar did slo down the innings by returning combined figures of 8-0-47-5, but Mohammad Boota hit two sixes towards the end of the innings to help his side pass 150.Netherlands then wobbled around O’Dowd in their chase. They were reduced to 53 for 4 in the tenth over, but O’Dowd took the chase deep. He was the eighth Netherlands batsman to be dismissed, in the penultimate over. The hosts needed 25 off nine balls with two wickets in hand after O’Dowd was run out, and they ended up short. Mustafa took 3 for 30 while Qadeer Ahmed picked up 2 for 18.

Misbah-ul-Haq has been handed unprecedented influence over Pakistan cricket, with the PCB confirming his appointment as coach of the national side, as well as – uniquely – chief selector. Pakistan’s most successful Test captain will also be reunited with Waqar Younis, who has been named bowling coach. Waqar was head coach twice during Misbah’s near-seven-year tenure as captain, the pair working well together in registering some of Pakistan’s finest successes in the period. Both have been given three-year contracts.Speculation had been rife about Misbah being appointed for a while now – though both positions were advertised publicly, the PCB actively chased Misbah. He delayed applying formally for the position and the reason, ESPNcricinfo understands, is because of yet another role he is due to take up: that of the PSL side Islamabad United’s head coach. Eventually, Misbah applied hours before the deadline, was interviewed, and ended up beating Mohsin Khan and Dean Jones, who had also applied. From being a shock candidate to take the captaincy less than a decade ago, Misbah is now, arguably, the most powerful man in Pakistan cricket.Applications were not especially abundant. Waqar was the only one who turned up for the interview after another shortlisted candidate, Mohammad Akram, withdrew at the last minute. This is Waqar’s fifth term with Pakistan in a coaching capacity, having served as bowling coach of the side in 2006-07, bowling and fielding coach briefly in 2009-10, head coach in 2010-11 and again from 2014 to 2016. The end, when it had come, wasn’t a pleasant one as he resigned three months before his contract was to end after a poor World T20. He will be replacing Azhar Mahmood, who was released alongside Mickey Arthur, the previous head coach, after the World Cup this year.ESPNcricinfo

If Misbah’s multiple roles weren’t already a talking point – and he was part of the selection of all province squads for domestic cricket too – he was also part of the very committee that reviewed Arthur’s tenure after the World Cup and then decided to not renew his contract. Now, in effect, one of those responsible for the decision to release Arthur has succeeded him.The PCB had used a five-member panel with two independent former cricketers – Intikhab Alam and Bazid Khan – as well as governing board member Asad Ali Khan, Wasim Khan (chief executive, PCB) and Zakir Khan (director – international cricket) for the recruitment process.The board had also sought candidates for the batting coach role, but didn’t shortlist the only applicants – Mohammad Wasim and Faisal Iqbal. Both were ignored and with Misbah at the helm, the PCB has decided to call in an assistant coach from the NCA as support staff.Of Misbah’s numerous roles, his position as head coach of a PSL franchise and the national team raises questions of a potential conflict of interest – much in the way it had with his predecessor. Arthur was also coach of Karachi Kings during his time as Pakistan coach. The matter was taken up by Ehsan Mani after becoming PCB chairman and he promised to form a policy on dual roles that caused potential conflicts of interest.Before becoming chairman, Mani had questioned the situation of national coaches working with domestic teams. But with Misbah now holding three roles, a definitive position on the issue may not be forthcoming. Last year, under Mani, the PCB did remove chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq from the PSL player draft committee because of a potential conflict of interest since he was involved with a talent-hunt programme run by one of the tournament’s franchises, Lahore Qalandars. Tauseef Ahmed, part of the national selection committee while also serving as Islamabad United’s spin coach, was also left out of the PSL draft committee.The first assignment of the Misbah-Waqar combination will be the upcoming three-ODI and three-T20I home series against Sri Lanka, which will be played from September 27 to October 9. Their first series in the World Test Championship will be in Australia, where Pakistan will play in Brisbane (November 21-25), followed by a day/night Test in Adelaide (November 29 – December 3).

Sussex will go into their T20 Blast quarter-final against Worcestershire on Friday night with only one overseas player, after Jason Behrendorff was recalled by Western Australia following a back injury.Behrendorff, who signed as a replacement overseas player due to Rashid Khan’s Afghanistan commitments, played only two games in the tournament, going wicketless against both Essex and Glamorgan.He was a more direct replacement for Tymal Mills, the left-arm seamer, who was ruled out of the tournament in August, also with a back injury.Behrendorff’s injury means that Sussex will go into Friday night’s game with Alex Carey as their only overseas player.It is unlikely that Carey would be available for Finals Day if Sussex were to make it. His state, South Australia, begin their 50-over season against Queensland three days later, and it is expected that they will recall him to train before that game.Rashid would also be missing due to a clash with Afghanistan’s T20I tri-series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, meaning that if Sussex were to win on Friday night, they could well be without an overseas player.Friday’s game sold out within 48 hours of going on sale, giving Sussex a seventh full house in eight Blast home games, and captain Luke Wright paid tribute to the club’s fans.”The atmosphere at Hove this year has been the best I can remember for many seasons,” Wright said. “Even in my 15th season playing T20 at the ground, the cheers of Sharks fans never fail to send a tingle down the spine when walking out to the middle.”

Australia’s Ashes squad members Matthew Wade, James Pattinson, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja are set to return for their states in the Marsh Cup this weekend after being rested from the first week of fixtures, but New South Wales’ Test stars will not feature against Western Australia.Steven Smith, David Warner, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will all continue to rest despite the Blues being desperate for a win after losses to Queensland and South Australia in Brisbane.Western Australia have named an unchanged side to take on NSW in two matches at Drummoyne Oval after obliterating Victoria and Tasmania in their first two matches at home.Wade will return to captain and keep wicket for the winless Tasmania while South Australia will regain their captain Head for the two matches against the Tigers at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide. Incredibly, it has been seven seasons since South Australia have hosted a domestic one-day fixture after the competition was revamped in 2013.Victoria have added paceman Pattinson to their 14-man squad for the two matches against Queensland at Junction Oval in Melbourne.Khawaja will return to lead the undefeated Bulls after being rested from their first two home wins against New South Wales and South Australia. Ben Cutting has also been added to the Bulls’ squad after being left out of the first two games. He replaces Jack Wildermuth, who suffered a hamstring injury after his Player of the Match performance against New South Wales.

Returning West Indies coach Phil Simmons has backed his two captains’ ability to get the most of their players, and suggested that Jason Holder will benefit from the decision to hand the white-ball reins to Kieron Pollard.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Simmons said that Pollard – who was appointed captain of the limited-overs teams in September despite not having played an ODI since 2016 – is capable of “leading from the front” with the bat.”It showed in the T20Is with India,” Simmons said. “He took the reins and led in those. That’s what I expect from him: that responsibility of being captain is going to make him want to always be on top of the runs and leading from the front. He is that kind of a leader – even though he asks you to do something, it is not something he wouldn’t do or he wouldn’t want to do.”Pollard was the leading run-scorer in that series with scores of 58, 8* and 49, and Simmons said that he expected that form to continue.”I expect a lot of runs to come from him. Hopefully he doesn’t get to bat where he’s batting much because the top order should be performing now – they have been around for a while in both those two forms.”And Simmons pointed to Pollard’s career as evidence that he stands up whenever he is under pressure.Phil Simmons and Jason Holder won the CPL together with Barbados Tridents•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

“A lot of people write him off,” Simmons said. “The pressure always makes him stand up. If you look at his career, every time he’s under pressure he stands up and he shows ‘look, I’ve had a blip, but I’m back’.”His experience in general, and not just the knowledge, but also his ability to involve all the players and his ability to give players challenges but at the same time be on their side – that natural leadership is there. It is something that he will bring a lot to the team.”Pollard takes over as ODI captain after a difficult World Cup, in which Holder’s side won just two matches and finished ninth in the ten-team round-robin group stage. That disappointment led Cricket West Indies to set up a task force to revamp their selection process, which recommended replacing Holder as captain, but Simmons thinks that “relaxing a little bit more” in white-ball cricket will allow him to maintain his impressive Test match form.”It might be [beneficial] but that is something that he has got to answer that question,” he said. “He’s the No. 1 Test allrounder in the world, so he has shown that he has learned a lot in that format, and he is going to continue to lead this team.”Holder was first appointed captain of the Test side back in 2015 at the age of 23, and Simmons said that his experience in the role meant he could now afford to demand performances of his players.Kieron Pollard muscles a slog-sweep•AFP

“With the experience he has now, he should be putting more pressure on a lot of the players to perform. So his role slightly changes, and he gets to relax in the other two formats because sometimes you could see that mind thinking on the field, and then when it comes to batting, the pressure is on.”Now with him relaxing a little bit more in the other two formats, maybe you’ll see a lot more coming from him in the Test matches.”Pollard’s first assignment as permanent skipper is a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in India, followed by three T20Is. Holder will then lead the side in a one-off Test against the same opposition in Lucknow, before they play another white-ball series against India, which comprises three T20Is and three ODIs.

Dhaka Division fast bowler Shahadat Hossain was withdrawn midway through a National Cricket League game on Sunday against Khulna Division, effectively leaving the team with just ten players, after an incident of physical assault on the field.The temperamental 33-year-old fast bowler, who has featured in 38 Tests, 51 ODIs and six T20Is, is alleged to have hit team-mate Arafat Sunny Jr, apparently following an argument about shining the ball. Those who saw the incident said it needed the Dhaka players’ intervention to restrain Shahadat.Shahadat’s actions in Khulna amounted to a Level 4 offence, which now leaves him with the possibility of a one-year ban from all forms of cricket in Bangladesh as well as a fine of BDT 50,000 (US$ 592 approx.). The NCL technical committee will meet on Tuesday to decide on the quantum of punishment.The disciplinary breach is yet another blot on Shahadat’s career, which hit a dead end of sorts since he was arrested in 2015 for beating up his domestic help, which led to a temporary suspension. He hasn’t featured for Bangladesh since.