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ScorecardRikki Wessels helped get the innings off to a flying start•Getty Images

Despite rapid half-centuries from Riki Wessels and Michael Lumb, Nottinghamshire needed the help of six penalty runs before scraping over the line to defeat Lancashire by two wickets in their NatWest T20 encounter at Trent Bridge.Wessels made 58 and Lumb scored 53 but the home side then collapsed in pursuit of a victory target of 185, before a dramatic intervention from the rule book. Needing 15 runs from the last over, Notts were awarded those six penalty runs as the defending champions hadn’t been in a position to begin their last over before the allotted cut-off time.A Sam Wood maximum, heaved high over the leg-side boundary, either side of a couple of scrambled singles, left Luke Fletcher to clip Arron Lilley away for the winning run, with two deliveries remaining.After Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 56 had helped Lancashire to 184 for 4, Notts had been sent on their way by their openers, with Wessels scoring his runs from 31 balls, with seven fours and three sixes, while Lumb registered his first fifty in domestic T20 cricket since July 2013.The chase got off to an explosive start, with 72 runs coming from the six Powerplay overs. The opening partnership had been extended to 100, a county T20 record against the Red Rose, by the time Lumb hit Stephen Parry to deep midwicket. Wessels was then bowled by Jordan Clark, who also removed Samit Patel for nought, before George Edwards grabbed 3 for 38, as Notts slumped from 143 for 2 to 168 for 8.Earlier, Buttler’s 27-ball 50 ensured the visitors finished their innings on a positive note. Martin Guptill and Alviro Petersen had put 40 on for the first wicket, before Harry Gurney had the New Zealand international caught in the deep for 28. Petersen followed for 21, trapped lbw by Patel, one delivery after lofting the spinner back over his head for six.Patel also removed the dangerous Liam Livingstone, who edged behind to Wessels. The wicketkeeper then handed over the gloves to Brendan Taylor, with the former Zimbabwe captain remaining behind the sticks for the second half of the innings.Karl Brown followed up his Roses’ half century on Friday evening with another handy contribution, although he should have fallen on 39 when he received a grateful gift from a close friend – Steven Mullaney, Brown’s pal from their days together in the Lancashire academy, put down the simplest of caught-and-bowled chances.Wessels, out on the ropes this time, took his second catch of the innings to remove Brown but that only enabled Buttler to take centre stage for some belligerent hitting, late in the innings. Three sixes in four balls, two of them from consecutive Gurney deliveries, helped take Buttler to his half-century and onwards to an unbroken 59-run partnership with Steven Croft.After two defeats, Notts now have their first victory in this season’s competition, while Lancashire’s record now stands at one win and three losses.

South Africa captainAB de Villiers is looking for a more dynamic performance from his team as they come up against what he believes is a more consistent West Indies team. The two sides will meet for the second time in the round-robin stage of the ongoing ODI tri-series in Basseterre on Wednesday.”They’re not as unpredictable as they used to be. They’ve become a really good ODI unit,” de Villiers said of West Indies. “They seem to know what they’re doing – they’ve got world-class players both in the batting line-up and the bowling line-up. They’re a force to be reckoned with, especially in their home conditions. They know what to expect.”West Indies have won two of their three matches – one each against South Africa and Australia – in their first ODI series at home in almost two years. They last played a 50-over series at home in August 2014, when they beat Bangladesh 3-0. Before that, they lost series against England (2-1) and Pakistan (3-1) in February 2014 and July 2013 respectively.The most noticeable difference between the West Indies side of 2014 and the current squad is the absence of players like Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, but senior players like Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels have emerged as the superstars of this series for West Indies so far and the only way de Villiers can see South Africa matching up is as a collective. “They’ve got world-class players all round but we’re just going to have to top that and have a better team performance. That’s the word that stands out for me – us operating as a team which was something we didn’t do well in the last game [against Australia].”South Africa’s batting has been a tale of two halves with the top five getting starts but only two of the bottom six getting into double figures in the three matches so far. Their only reserve batsman, Dean Elgar, plays in the top five, which means that to include him they would have to do away with a bowler. The other option is to bring in the other allrounder, Chris Morris. Either way, de Villiers hinted changes would be in order.”I’m a big believer, in a series like this, where there are three different venues, that you’ve got to chop and change the whole time; try not to be predictable but, at the same time, try and be consistent with your performances,” he said. “We’ve let ourselves down once or twice in the performances department but I’ve really enjoyed the way we’ve changed the balance of the side. All the guys who came in performed really well individually but as a team we haven’t clicked yet. That will be our focus – really operating together as a team, gelling nicely together, and I believe we’ll play those pressure situations much better.”De Villiers admitted there was a sense of “doom and gloom” after South Africa’s 36-run loss to Australia last Saturday, when they slipped from 210 for 4 to 252 all out in a 289-run chase. The South Africa captain, however, chose to focus on the other, more positive, side of their game – the bowling.”Our bowling department’s been really good. The bowling skills have been as good as they’ve been in the last two or three years,” he said. “I’ve seen guys really nailing their yorkers. When I’ve asked for bouncers, really good aggressive bouncers have been bowled. Skill-wise everyone who has come in has got it right. There’s been just one or two no-balls too many. Maybe it’s just a bit of a lack of that unit that I’ve been talking about, playing together as a team.”

ScorecardTom Westley continued his push towards 1000 runs before the end of May•Getty Images

Scores of 80 from Tom Westley and Ravi Bopara allowed Essex to gain a useful first-innings lead on the second day of the County Championship match against Glamorgan. Westley further extended his lead at the top of the first-class run scoring charts and Bopara made his highest score of the season as Essex reached 300 for 9 at the close.Glamorgan bowled well throughout the day and every Essex batsman had to scrap for runs on a surface that has lost the verdant green from day one but which still had plenty in it if you put the ball in the right areas. Netherlands seamer Timm van der Gugten was particularly impressive for the hosts, finishing the day with figures of 4 for 77, his best return for Glamorgan to date.”It is quite a nice wicket to bowl on if you hit the right areas and if you bowl well enough for long enough you will get the rewards. I think as a team we bowled well today,” van der Gugten said. “They didn’t score more than two-and-a-half runs an over all day I think that was testament to how we bowled.”We always felt that if we grabbed a couple of wickets we would be on top. And we stayed patient and grabbed a couple and hopefully we can grab the last one tomorrow. If we can bat for an extended period of time and set them a decent total for the last day I think it will be tough for them to chase it down, especially if we bowl like we did today.”While van der Gugten claimed the spoils, Michael Hogan was unlucky not to have more than his two victims as he bowled 11 maidens in the day and passed the bat regularly throughout.Westley and Bopara were both watchful at the crease, both men realising that the key to success on a Cardiff surface that has subtle yet significant variations in bounce was to be patient, just as it was for the bowlers. It was far harder for a new man starting out than it was for someone who was well set.A flurry of wickets after tea that saw Essex go from 233 for 4 to 254 for 7 in the space of five overs left Glamorgan thinking of ending the innings with a manageable deficit. An excellent and unbeaten counterattacking 43 from Ryan ten Doeschate helped lift Essex beyond Glamorgan to finish the day with a lead as the Essex captain did an excellent job of marshalling the tail. In combination with last man Jamie Porter, ten Doescarte pushed Essex’s innings up to 300, but not quickly enough to claim a third batting point.The lead is already a significant one on this pitch, and Essex will be hoping that they can eke out a few more before the final wicket falls. For Glamorgan they will be looking for a better batting effort and will hope that the surface deteriorates enough that batting last will be hard work.

Oval Invincibles delivered a clinical performance in the Hundred at The Oval, securing a commanding nine-wicket victory over Manchester Originals. The two-time defending champions chased down their target with 43 balls to spare in front of 20,976 fans.Winning the toss for the second time on the day, Invincibles opted to bowl first and immediately justified the decision. Jason Behrendorff (2 for 6) struck twice in his opening spell, removing Matty Hurst for a first-ball duck and Jos Buttler without scoring, reducing the Originals to 18 for 2, 15 balls in. The early wickets forced Originals captain, Phil Salt, to anchor the innings, passing 1,000 runs in The Hundred in the process.Mark Chapman offered brief resistance with a gritty 28, before falling to Rashid Khan (3 for 19), who kept things tight in the middle overs. Salt battled to 41 from 32 but succumbed to mounting pressure, becoming Rashid’s second victim.Sam Curran (2 for 17) returned to dismiss Noor Ahmad first ball, as the Originals limped to 105 for 7. Despite a late push from Scott Currie (21), the visitors could only post 128.Rashid Khan finished with 3 for 19•ECB/Getty Images

Originals’ bowlers were immediately put under pressure by the Invincibles. Will Jacks exploded out of the blocks, sending the ball to all parts of the ground, while Tawanda Muyeye provided him with a composed partner at the other end.The pair raced to 114 without loss, claiming their half-centuries along the way. Jacks, in sublime touch, reached 61 before falling to Lewis Gregory, caught by Currie on the boundary. But the result was never in doubt, with Muyeye reaching 59 as he and Jordan Cox took the side to their second victory of the competition.”I’m feeling good getting the back-to-back Man of the Match awards, but more importantly the win was very special with a good run-rate as well,” Rashid said. “It’s definitely a good feeling, two back to back wins. It’s a great start to the competition, everyone is doing so well in taking the responsibility. Either the batter, bowler or fielding – for us this is a great start and we’re looking forward to [seeing] this continue.”

England has been confirmed as the host of the next three World Test Championship finals – in 2027, 2029 and 2031 – following the country’s successful staging of the first three such events since 2021.The decision, which had been on the cards since Lord’s played host to South Africa’s five-wicket victory over Australia in the third WTC final last month, was ratified at the ICC’s annual conference in Singapore this week.Despite some speculation that the contest could be set for a relocation to India from 2027 onwards, the ICC cited the ECB’s “successful track record in hosting recent finals” in confirming its decision.Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, said: “We are absolutely delighted that England and Wales has been chosen to host the next three ICC World Test Championship Finals. It’s a testament to the passion that fans in this country have for this treasured format of the game and the willingness of supporters from around the world to travel here for these games. Hosting these finals is a privilege, and we look forward to working with the ICC to build on the success of the previous editions.”The June window, early in the English summer, remains the ICC’s favoured time of year for staging the final, in the aftermath of the IPL and at a time of year when few other international fixtures are scheduled at that time of year.Furthermore, as was demonstrated at Lord’s last month, England’s ability to sell out venues for neutral fixtures remains unrivalled across the world game. This was also the case when the Kia Oval hosted Australia’s victory over India in 2023, and even at the inaugural event in 2021, which was staged in biosecure circumstances at the Hampshire Bowl with limited access for India’s and New Zealand’s fans.Speaking last month about the prospect of hosting the next three events, Gould told ESPNcricinfo: “We don’t think that we’ve got any absolute right to be the continual host of the WTC [final], but there are advantages to having it here.”Irrespective of who gets into the final, we will sell it out… We’re probably the only member nation within the ICC that could deliver that. We recognise that perhaps others would like to take it around the world at some point… But the worry is if you move it, end up with two neutral teams, and don’t get a crowd, the whole thing could devalue and deflate pretty quickly.”The atmosphere at Lord’s was noted at the last WTC final, with the ICC’s chair, Jay Shah visibly enthused by the sense of occasion that England’s most famous venue afforded the event.However, ESPNcricinfo understands that no decision has yet been made as to whether Lord’s will remain the preferred host for the final going forward.

Finn Allen smashed his second straight 50-plus score, Jake Fraser-McGurk roared back to form, and fast bowlers Xavier Bartlett and Haris Rauf picked up four wickets apiece to lead San Francisco Unicorns to their second win on the bounce in MLC 2025. Unicorns posted a 200-plus total for the second game in a row, after their record-breaking 269 for 5 in the opening game of the tournament, and it proved to be too much for Los Angeles Knight Riders as only two of their batters scored over 30.It was Fraser-McGurk this time who led Unicorns’ charge with a blistering 88 off 38 balls that was studded with 11 sixes and just two fours, and it came after he had tallied just 61 runs in his last seven T20 innings at an average of just 8.71, which also included him getting dropped from the Delhi Capitals (DC) playing XI in the IPL. Against LAKR, however, he and Allen hammered 121 runs in just 55 balls for the second wicket – including a powerplay of 76 for 1. The highlight in that phase was the four consecutive sixes Fraser-McGurk smashed off Shadley van Schalkwyk in the fifth over that went for 25. After a rare boundary-less seventh over for just four runs from Sunil Narine, and seven more in the next bowled by Jason Sangha, Fraser-McGurk and Allen got back to smashing the ball around before Allen holed out to long-on off Narine for 52 off 27.Fraser-McGurk replied with three more sixes in the 13th over after he had brought up his 21-ball fifty, before he too handed a catch, to mid-off against van Schalkwyk. The top order had set the stage as Unicorns were going at over 12 an over when Fraser-McGurk fell with the score on 167 with 39 balls to go. The LAKR bowlers pulled things back after that as Unicorms lost four wickets and managed just 52 runs thereafter. They lost Hassan Khan, Corey Anderson, Bartlett and Brody Couch in the space of three overs, which included a double-wicket over from Ali Khan. Rauf struck a six and a four in the last two overs to stretch them past 200 and post a challenging total.The LAKR chase was dented twice early on with the wickets of openers Andre Fletcher and Alex Hales in the first 21 balls. No. 3 Unmukt Chand kept them going with a 30-ball half-century to post 66 in the powerplay. He lost his partner Nitish Kumar in the eighth over to Hassan that ended a quick stand of 46 off 24. Chand and Matthew Tromp then managed just 33 runs off the next 30 balls that saw three boundary-less overs on the bounce. Chand took off again with a four and a six in the next two overs before Rauf roared with a seven-run double-wicket over that saw Chand and the powerful Andre Russell walk back, the second dismissal coming through a 146km thunderbolt that rattled the stumps. LAKR were five down and needed 107 from 42 balls, which proved to be too stiff. Saif Badar scored 17 off eight balls and Narine, the captain, smoked 27 off 13 before Rauf struck with another double-wicket over that virtually ended the chase in the 19th over.

James Anderson took two wickets in his first four-day game for nearly a year as Lancashire took control of the Rothesay County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.The former England fast bowler finished with two for 24 from his five-over spell with the new ball but did not return to the attack on an evening when Lancashire’s spinners emphasised their team’s dominance.Replying to Lancashire’s 458, Derbyshire were 112 for four at the close with Brooke Guest on 14 and nightwatchman Jack Morley unbeaten on four after a day on which the home side had put their recent poor performances behind them.The morning’s play had set the tone for the day. Resuming on 250 for five, Lancashire’s sixth-wicket pair, George Balderson and George Bell, began brightly, taking five fours off the first six overs and scoring the 50 runs needed for a second bonus point in less than 12 overs.That early aggression set the tone for the morning. Balderson’s 11th four of the session took him to his half-century off 70 balls although 50 off those runs had been scored off 43 deliveries this morning.Seven overs later Bell reached his first half-century off 101 balls with six fours and the sixth-wicket partnership had added 133 runs when Balderson inside-edged a drive onto his stumps and was bowled by Jack Morley for 73 eight minutes before lunch. Despite that setback, Lancashire lunched on 380 for six, having added 130 runs in a 32-over session.Shortly after the resumption, Bell was caught at slip by Wayne Madsen off David Lloyd for 57 but Tom Hartley and Tom Bailey piled the pain on Derbyshire’s bowlers by adding 61 for the eighth wicket before both were dismissed in the space of three balls.Hartley was caught and bowled for 42 when he miscued a hook off Martin Andersson and Bailey was brilliantly caught for 29 by Caleb Jewell, who grabbed a one-handed catch at short extra-cover off Morley.Anderson Philip was then caught behind off Andersson for nought to end the home side’s innings on 458 and the crowd spent the tea interval anticipating the sight of one of the best fast-medium bowlers in the game’s history displaying his skills for Lancashire yet again. Aitchison was the most successful Derbyshire bowler with three for 87.The visitors’ reply began with a flurry of boundary fours but Anderson was not to be denied. He straightened the last ball of his third over to bowl Jewell for 16 and then extracted plenty of life from what had seemed a slow pitch to have Lloyd caught behind for 27 when he could not evade a short delivery and the catch looped up, probably off the glove, to Matty Hurst.Having taken two for 24 in five overs, Anderson was then removed from the attack but Lancashire’s other bowlers kept the pressure on Derbyshire’s batsmen. The visiting skipper, Wayne Madsen, was caught at the wicket for 14 when attempting to cut the left-arm spin of Hartley and the day ended with another success for the home side when Harry Came was deceived by Luke Wells’s googly and bowled for 31, playing no shot

Naseem Shah’s opening salvo with the ball ensured Markhors came away with victory in the opening game of the Champions One-Day Cup against Shadab Khan’s Panthers.Panthers won the toss and inserted Mohammad Rizwan’s side in, with Kamran Ghulam’s 102-ball 115 setting the platform for the formidable 347 Markhors posted. Panthers were never really in the contest, with six of the top seven failing to reach double figures as Naseem’s 3-27 helped reduce them to 52 for 6. A late rearguard by Amad Butt, who managed a spirited 72, was much too little much too late, and the Markhors secured a 160-run win.The opening game of a tournament the PCB had set so much faith and investment in saw Faisalabad attract a decent crowd, which grew as the afternoon heat gave way to evening. Panthers had Markhors on a leash early on, prising Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Faizan out before they could really get going. Offspinner Mubasir Khan was the pick of the bowlers, getting rid of Zaman and Salman Ali Agha, but against most of the other bowlers, Markhors made hay.Shadab Khan was picked off in the middle overs and never returned to bowl, but fellow legspinner Usama Mir was smashed for 83 wicketless runs in his full quota. Amad Butt bore the brunt of a sizzling cameo from Abdul Samad; his 25-ball 62 helped Markhors add 83 runs in the final five overs, posting a total that appeared well above par.Naseem, aided by Shahnawaz Dahani, killed the game off before the chase ever took flight. A combined 5 wickets for 56 ripped through Panthers’ batting order, with Panthers briefly in danger of the heaviest defeat in Pakistan List A history. Amad combined with Mubasir and Usama for a pair of half-century partnerships, which staved off that prospect, but Panthers’ fate had long since been sealed.

India captain Rohit Sharma has credited his players for embracing the risk involved in forcing a result in the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur, where there was no play for two days because of rain. Overall only 35 overs were bowled across the first three days, but despite that, India found a way to beat the weather, clock, and Bangladesh for a 2-0 series sweep, which extended their lead at the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) rankings.After India’s attack bowled Bangladesh out for 233 in the post-lunch session on day four, Rohit laid down the marker by launching the first two balls he faced for sixes. The other batters also bought into this approach, even if it mean that the result might go either way.”The bowlers came to the party first,” Rohit told . “They got the wickets that we needed, and then when we came inside, we had to take a little bit of risk to get a result. I know the result could have gone either way, but I was okay with it. So was the coach [Gautam Gambhir] and the other players as well because you have to be brave enough to take those decisions and go and play that way. When things fall in place, everything looks good. And that is where it can change quickly, when things doesn’t fall in place. Everybody would’ve started criticising the decision that we took and all of that but what matters is what we think inside this changing room. And that is what mattered. And that is what we went with in this game.”It was a clear plan that we want the result, how we can get the result. Everybody started finding answers for that. I think it was an exceptional series. It may go unnoticed.”Related

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Under Rohit, India have adopted an aggressive approach across formats, even at World Cups, and it was no different in Kanpur, where WTC points were up for grabs. So, what does aggression mean to Rohit?”For me aggression is all about your actions,” he said. “It’s not about my reactions: the kind of batting we do, the kind of field positioning we do, the kind of bowling we do; that to me is aggression.”Look, without the help of the other ten players, and, obviously people who are sitting in the dressing room as well, this wouldn’t have been possible when we had lost two days, two-and-a-half days actually, it’s very easy for everyone to just drift away from the goal that we had of winning this test match. When we came here on the fourth day of the morning, first things first, they [Bangladesh] were batting and we needed to get them out. We needed seven wickets quickly, so I thought everything started there.”1:43

Decoding Yashasvi Jaiswal’s superb slip catch

Both as a batter and leader, Rohit has transformed India into prioritising winning over everything else. He said that his captaincy style is based around trusting his judgement and decisions.”When you are playing at such a high level, you need to have a bit of everything,” Rohit said. “You need to be calm, to think wisely. There are a lot of decisions that you have to take on the field. Not every decision will go your way, but you have to back it and use your experience, use your knowledge. So that is what I do. I, I’ve been there enough to trust my judgment that I do take on the field, the decisions that I take on the field, I trust on it. And then, then I go by it. There are players around me who are open to giving suggestions, but at the end of the day, I trust my mind and I trust my judgment, and that’s all that matters.”

Rohit: Some crucial catches turned the game

Rohit was also impressed with India’s fielding, especially their slip catching, during the home Test series against Bangladesh. It was Yashasvi Jaiswal who had set the tone on the first day in Kanpur, where he took a smart, low catch to dismiss Zakir Hasan for a duck. Then, in Bangladesh’s second innings, Jaiswal completed another sharp catch, this time at gully, to send back a well-set Shadman Islam for 50 and hasten India’s push for victory.”I was just informed out of the 24 catches that came our way, we took 23 of them, which is a great result especially in the slips,” Rohit said.”You don’t often see in India ball carrying through the slips. But the guys who were standing behind were so sharp and to take those catches, it may look easy on television, but it is not, trust me, because they are standing way ahead than they normally do. So all those catches that come the way, they are very hard to take those catches. The reaction time is very less, and I have seen it. They put everyone puts a lot of effort in getting those things right.”And the Dilip [T Dilip, fielding coach] obviously is helping with the players. Some crucial catches as well, which actually turned the game around.”

Timm van der Gugten was the pick of the Glamorgan bowling, grabbing the first four Leicestershire wickets to fall, while Dan Douthwaite also chipped in with four wickets to justify the decision to bowl first.Leicestershire fast bowler Chris Wright made his first-class return from a drugs ban to help his side to a batting bonus point, his side recovering to 251 all out on a hybrid pitch in Cardiff.Wright, who was banned for nine months but found not to be at fault after a banned substance was contained in a fruit supplement, combined with debutant Sam Wood and Tom Scriven as the last two wickets added 75 runs.Glamorgan lost both openers early in reply, but moved onto 114 for 2 at the close with Colin Ingram, 63 not out, and Kiran Carlson, 42 not out, putting on an unbroken partnership of 87 to put their side in the driving seat.After winning the toss and inserting Leicestershire in overcast and drizzly conditions, Glamorgan would have been hoping for an early breakthrough, which was delivered from a familiar source.Van der Gugten has been the spearhead of the Glamorgan attack this season and he delivered once again, taking all three wickets to fall before the lunch break with arrow-like accuracy.He bowled opener Rishi Patel for 7 with a delivery which clipped the top of off stump, then fellow opener Ian Holland played on with one which jagged back slightly when on 13.The Dutchman returned to have a spell just before lunch and added a third, this time LBW as captain Lewis Hill did not get far enough forward to depart for 25.Ned Leonard, on loan from Somerset, should have had a wicket when Indian star Ajinkya Rahane top-edged a pull shot, but deep midwicket Douthwaite was slow coming forward and ended up spilling the low chance.It was the ever-reliable van der Gugten who brought the downfall of Rahane, finding the outside edge after lunch and helped by a sharp catch at second slip by captain Sam Northeast.After looking good, England all-rounder Rehan Ahmed gave things away when he lifted a short ball from Douthwaite straight to Billy Root on the deep square leg boundary.Then out of the blue Australian Peter Handscomb went for 46, trying to dab Douthwaite down to third man but instead just feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Chris Cooke.Then New Zealander Fraser Sheat got into the act with his first wicket in county cricket, a rather tame dismissal of Liam Trevaskis who chipped the ball to mid-on.The tame-ness was copied by Louis Kimber who also chipped the ball in the air, aiming a leg side half volley at catcher Asa Tribe off the bowling of Douthwaite.That brought Sam Wood to make his debut in confident style as he and Scriven put on a half-century partnership, Wright and Wood doing the rest to reach the first batting bonus point.Glamorgan’s innings could not have got off to a worse start, captain Sam Northeast promoting himself to open and then departing first ball of the innings, caught behind by Handscomb from the bowling of Holland.The same bowler accounted for debutant Asa Tribe, who played on for 4. Ingram and Carlson saw out the rest of the day’s play to put Glamorgan in a strong position.