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South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis has been found guilty of ball-tampering and fined his entire match fee from the Hobart Test, but will be free to play in Adelaide this week.The charge, laid by ICC chief executive David Richardson, related to clause 2.2.9 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, which deals with “changing the condition of the ball” in breach of the Laws of Cricket. The Laws of Cricket, in turn, allow that players may “polish the ball provided that no artificial substance is used and that such polishing wastes no time”.In laying the charge, the ICC had said that “TV footage appeared to show du Plessis applying saliva and residue from a mint or sweet, an artificial substance, to the ball in an attempt to change its condition” during the Hobart Test. Du Plessis pleaded not guilty to the charge and faced a lengthy hearing before ICC match referee Andy Pycroft in Adelaide on Tuesday.On Tuesday evening, the ICC said in a statement: “The decision was based on the evidence given from the umpires, who confirmed that had they seen the incident they would have taken action immediately, and from Mr Stephenson [MCC head of cricket John Stephenson], who confirmed the view of MCC that the television footage showed an artificial substance being transferred to the ball.”In addition to the fine, three demerit points have been added to the disciplinary record of du Plessis for what was deemed a first offence. If du Plessis reaches four or more demerit points within a two-year period, they will be converted into suspension points and he would face a ban.Cricket South Africa has confirmed that du Plessis, who had been represented by CSA’s legal counsel via teleconference, would appeal the verdict. He has 48 hours from the time of receipt of the written decision to lodge his objections.An appeal would require the matter to be heard from the beginning by a judicial commissioner, who can then increase, decrease or amend the sanction in accordance with the punishments for the particular breach. The maximum penalty for a level 2 breach is a 100% match fee fine and two suspension points, which equates to being banned for one Test. In essence, du Plessis would therefore be risking a ban by attempting to clear his name.Du Plessis’ stoicism in his own innocence has echoed around the South African squad all week. On Tuesday, coach Russell Domingo confirmed, prior to the hearing, that the entire touring party was “standing by our captain.” The squad was at the Adelaide Oval for the full duration of du Plessis’ hearing, conducting their training session. Du Plessis was unable to play any part in the practice as his time with the match referee lasted a full three hours.Australia’s players were also training at Adelaide Oval as the hearing took place. They arrived around 5pm and trained under lights, and as du Plessis left his hearing he walked past several of the Australians, accompanied by CSA’s security officer and team manager. Du Plessis had a coffee in hand and a stony expression on his face, revealing little, but 90 minutes later the guilty was verdict was made public.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsConfronted with bowling that was toothless at best and ragged at worst, Azhar Ali marched to 302 not out, becoming the fourth Pakistan player to score a Test triple-hundred. Azhar’s marathon 469-ball knock anchored Pakistan’s first-innings total of 579 for 3 declared, before West Indies moved to 69 for 1 in the 22 overs they had to face till stumps.After having shared a 215-run opening stand with Sami Aslam on the first day, Azhar was well supported on the second day too, first by Asad Shafiq and then by debutant Babar Azam, before Misbah-ul-Haq played an attacking cameo leading into the declaration. Pakistan scored at well over 4 runs an over on day two, adding 300 runs in 65.3 overs as West Indies progressively fell to pieces with the ball and in the field.

Azhar gets to 250 with a “six”

Batting on 244, Azhar Ali pulled a Jason Holder delivery towards deep backward square for what should have been two. The fielder tracked the ball down and flicked it to Miguel Cummins who had run round along the boundary to back up the effort. But the two men clearly hadn’t read each other’s intentions and the ball rolled past a wrong-footed Cummins across the boundary for four “overthrows”.
Added to the two that the batsmen had run, this gave Azhar the six he needed to reach 250. It was a moment of triumph for Azhar and comic haplessness for West Indies and, therefore, neatly encapsulated the day as a whole.

Resuming the day on 146, Azhar was solid and assured right from the outset and displayed more of the lovely drives and powerful cuts and pulls that lit up the first day. He went into tea at 194, but got to his milestone within two balls of the resumption of play – a leg-side delivery from Shannon Gabriel was tucked fine for four, after which a wide one was cut past backward point for the four that took him past 200. A salute and a set of nine push-ups followed; by that stage, West Indies’ fielders looked too ragged to follow suit. It took Azhar only a further 112 balls to bring up his triple-ton, powering his side towards a declaration that put West Indies out of their misery.Earlier in the day, Azhar and Shafiq had added 73 runs to the overnight total of 279 for 1, taking their second-wicket partnership to 137. The pair built on their solid platform with relative ease, facing little pressure either from West Indies’ bowlers or from a pink ball that did not do much in the air. While Shafiq played the odd false shot, Azhar looked compact and sharp, quick to pounce on anything that was short or wide. He greeted Roston Chase with successive lofted shots for four and six, and also played a number of assured sweep shots.The partnership ended when Shafiq drilled a return catch to Devendra Bishoo to depart for 67. That moment of success provided only fleeting relief for West Indies; debutant Babar Azam came in and settled down swiftly to provide capable support to Azhar. He glided his way to a half-century that seemed to come far too easily, before driving to Holder at covers to give West Indies their second and last breakthrough of the day. Thereafter, Azhar and Misbah added 62 off 76 in a partnership that wasn’t particularly graceful – with a number of skied miscues – but served Pakistan’s purpose. Azhar brought up his triple-century in much the same manner as he had brought up his century, with a drive wide of mid-off for four. On that jubilant note, Pakistan declared.Azhar Ali became the fourth Pakistan player to register a triple-century•Getty Images

West Indies had their moments, but were not able to capitalise on them. Bishoo found Azam’s outside edge early in his innings, only for the ball to fly to the right of slip. A few overs later, Chase got Azhar to nick to slip, where Jermaine Blackwood spilled a sharp chance that should have been taken.A more judicious use of reviews would also have helped. Gabriel, who clocked up impressive speeds in the first over of the day, seamed one back into Shafiq that clipped the top of his back pad on its way to the wicketkeeper. The appeal, seemingly for a caught behind, was turned down, but replays indicated that the ball would have gone on to hit enough of the top of middle for the umpire to overturn the not-out decision. West Indies didn’t review.The review West Indies did opt for left them red-faced. Jason Holder bowled an indipping low full toss at Azhar, went up in appeal for lbw and reviewed the not-out decision, believing the ball had brushed pad before bat. Replays, however, showed that the ball had gone nowhere near the pad and had been middled.These errors paled in comparison with West Indies’ shoddy bowling and often-farcical fielding, which undid the early pressure that Gabriel and Holder had created. While Bishoo bowled a number of short balls and half-volleys, Cummins repeatedly drifted onto the batsmen’s pads. Gabriel then bowled a terrible spell after tea in which he struggled for line and length and bowled three big no-balls – and at least another three that were not called.In the closing stages of the day, Pakistan’s bowlers provided a contrast to West Indies’ effort. Sohail Khan and Mohammad Amir bowled a fuller length and got good shape on the new ball, while Yasir Shah got more grip and turn than the West Indies spinners had managed at any stage. He was rewarded with the wicket of Leon Johnson, whom he trapped in front for 15. But Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo then provided a reminder of how good the wicket still was, batting out the rest of the session in solid fashion. With a mountain still to climb, West Indies require much more solidity in the days ahead.

The bowlers called the shots in Lahli where 17 wickets fell on the opening day between Gujarat and Railways in the third round of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. After being put in, Gujarat were shot out for 187, before fighting back to leave Railways at 63 for 7.Gujarat were wrecked by left-arm medium pacer Deepak Bansal, who took his maiden first-class five-wicket haul. Parthiv Patel, the Gujarat captain, top-scored with 61, but found support only from Chirag Gandhi (30), with whom he added 58 for the fifth wicket. Gujarat were also lifted by late contributions from Rush Kalaria, who scored 28 at No. 8, and Mehul Patel, who stayed unbeaten on 22. Bansal finished with 6 for 46 in 16 overs.Mehul Patel then ran through the Railways middle-order to finish with 4 for 22 after seven overs. Saurabh Wakaskar and Shivakant Shukla ‘s 20-run opening stand was the best partnership Railways could put together on the day, with three of their top-six dismissed for ducks. Karn Sharma, the Railways captain, stayed not out on 22.Sayan Mondal cracked his maiden first-class century to give Bengal a strong start against Punjab at the Lohnu Cricket Ground in Bilaspur. Mondal struck 135, with the help of 22 fours, as Bengal scored 332 for 5 in 89 overs.Mondal offset the early loss of Abhimanyu Easwaran by putting on 102 for the second wicket with Sudip Chatterjee. He added 140 more for the next wicket with Agniv Pan before he was caught behind off Manpreet Gony. Pan added 39 more with Manoj Tiwary, the captain, before being caught behind off the left-arm spin of Vinay Choudhary. Tiwary contributed 45 and was dismissed 10 balls before stumps.Sandeep Sharma and Choudhary took two wickets each, and Gony took one.Half-centuries from Aditya Shrivastava and Rajat Patidar drove Madhya Pradesh to 239 for 2 against Mumbai at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. Shrivastava scored 87 and put on 54 with Mukul Raghav for the opening wicket. Raghav was caught behind off Abhishek Nayar, after which Patidar joined Shrivastava. The two batted almost 38 overs and added 126 for the second wicket. Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil ended the association by dismissing Shrivastava. But Patidar batted out the remaining overs and stayed not out on 83. He had batted 31.3 overs with Devendra Bundela, the MP captain, and added 59 unbeaten runs for the third wicket.Uttar Pradesh scored 207 for the loss of one wicket in 90 overs against Tamil Nadu at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Opening batsman Samarth Singh, playing in only his second first-class match, compiled a debut century and scored an unbeaten 115 off 247 balls. Samarth laid a strong platform with Tanmay Shrivastava, with whom he put on 109 for the first wicket. Shrivastava was caught off Washington Sundar, the offspinner. He had faced 182 balls for his 53. Umang Sharma and Samarth then got together and played 32.1 overs together, during which they added 98 runs.

Allrounder Jimmy Neesham has been named in New Zealand’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of India, having not played an international since the Brisbane Test against Australia last November. Fast bowler Matt Henry and batsman Jeet Raval have been dropped from the 16-man squad that toured Africa, with Neesham the only addition to what is now a 15-man group.Neesham was forced out of last summer’s Australia tour due to back pain, but he has since then played for Otago during New Zealand’s home season and for Derbyshire in England’s county competition. New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said Neesham’s all-round ability made him an attractive proposition for the tour of India, while Corey Anderson could not be considered due to a back injury.”Jimmy has put in a lot of work to make sure he is physically ready for a return to Test cricket,” Larsen said. “Having two pace-bowling allrounders in Jimmy and Doug Bracewell helps the balance of the squad, particularly if playing on pitches which demand a spin-heavy bowling attack.”Jeet Raval misses out on this tour, but we were really pleased with what we saw of him in Africa. He did everything asked of him and we’ll continue to monitor him closely.””Mitch Santner and Ish Sodhi will have benefitted from getting a taste of Indian conditions earlier this year at the ICC World Twenty20 and both showed excellent form at that tournament. It’s another big challenge for them early in their young careers, as well as for Mark Craig, who has made some changes in the past six months and has shown growth in his game.”India’s the No.2 ranked side in the world, and their record at home is formidable. We’re yet to win a Test series over there and that’s motivating for everyone. We’ve got three Tests to try create a special piece of history.”The first Test is in Kanpur beginning on September 22, followed by Tests in Kolkata and Indore.Squad Kane Williamson (capt), Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling.

Dale Steyn has reaffirmed his commitment to South African cricket, after an injury-riddled 2015-16 season had cast a shadow over his international future. Steyn missed six of South Africa’s eight Tests last season and was left out of the ODI side that toured the Caribbean for a triangular series in June but says he has returned even more in love with the game than he was before, and is even more determined to keep playing.”I just want to play. I don’t know if I will wake up in a month and can’t do it anymore or if I will wake up in four years and can’t do it anymore. I just really enjoy playing Test cricket. I love it. It’s what I feel I have been put on earth to do,” Steyn said. “I do not know when to pull the plug or when the time to make that decision will come but if I am still making batters jump around and the pace is there, I will carry on doing what I am doing.”Steyn was the leading wicket-taker in the two-match Test series against New Zealand with 10 scalps at 10.20 and claimed his 26th five-for in Centurion to end questions over whether he could regain the fitness and form of the past. When he struggled through last season questions were asked over whether Steyn was spent, but he insists he never thought so.”No, there was never any doubt. I tried to rush back for the Bangalore Test and if I hadn’t, I would have probably played the [rest of the] series against India,” Steyn said, referring to the groin strain he picked up on that tour. “Then, against England, I tried to go from 0 to 100 too quickly and I broke a bone in my shoulder which is very rare. It was not a case of age or ability. There was no doubt that my ability was there or that I could play this game anymore.”Steyn worked his way back through T20, in the IPL, CPL and with Glamorgan, and still needed to prove to himself that he could bowl longer and more sustained spells. Before this Test series, he said he would be happy if he could just get through it injury free. He managed that after bowling more overs than anyone else in South Africa’s pace attack and re-established himself as the leader of the pack. Still, Steyn does not regard himself as more important than anyone else.”This bowling unit is at a stage where everyone can rely on everybody – you don’t have to rely on me,” he said. “Look at KG [Kagiso Rabada], he took 13 wickets here last time [against England]. It’s now about the culture in the side. You can step in and perform. It’s not aimed at one player to mentor anyone.”That may be the case, but Steyn remains the spearhead in every way. He is now six wickets away from overtaking Shaun Pollock as South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker. Considering he is committed to carrying on playing, he seems certain to achieve that, but maintained that is not the missing line on his CV.”When I am 70 years old that’s not what I am going to remember,” Steyn said. “I will remember tonight. I will remember winning in Australia, I will remember winning in England, and hopefully I will remember winning a World Cup too.”

While New Zealand have spent the last two weeks practising patience in anticipation of slow, low conditions in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe cannot wait to get started. They have waited 20 months to play a Test match since visiting Bangladesh at the end of 2014. They have not hosted a Test in almost two years and have not held one in Bulawayo in five. To say they are eager would be an understatement.”My boys are ready,” Makhaya Ntini, Zimbabwe’s interim head coach said. “I say that because they have been waiting for too long to play Test cricket. This country is a Test country and we don’t have enough of those. They have been waiting for too long to show how hungry they are.”In preparation, Zimbabwe’s A side had two matches against South Africa A, the hosts lost the second one, and one against the touring New Zealanders, who also defeated them. Their on-field losses were magnified by the personnel problems due to injuries, which have effectively left an inexperienced attack.Tinashe Panyangara and Tendai Chatara’s injuries have left Zimbabwe’s squad with four other quicks who have two Tests between them. Njabulo Ncube’s came five years ago, against New Zealand, and Donald Tiripano’s against South Africa in August 2014. Taurai Muzarabani and Michael Chinouya are uncapped but have played 61 and 65 first-class matches respectively.Despite the new faces in his pace pack, Ntini insisted he was “not nervous” about how they will fare against batsmen like Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. “Me? No, I am not nervous. It’s them that are going on the field. For me, it’s just to motivate them, to show them the way and make them believe. If they get selected, it is a very good chance to show what they are capable of,” Ntini said. “We are bringing new things in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has been one of the countries that has been neglected for quite some time. If they get an opportunity, they will utilise it to their full potential.”Among the new things is the freedom to express themselves, something Zimbabwean players have previously steered away from as former coach Alan Butcher wrote in his book , an account of his time in charge. Ntini’s boisterous personality, and famously booming voice, has encouraged everyone around him to follow suit, tell some jokes and just generally have a little more fun.”It’s been good for us to have Makhaya. We were set in our ways for a long time where we didn’t express ourselves. Makhaya, with the way he is, has brought out a few characters in the team which can only be good for us,” Graeme Cremer, Zimbabwe’s newly appointed captain said.Cremer is hopeful that new attitudes will mean his team can make the mental shifts they need to compete in the longest format on a surface that will test the batsmen initially. “We’re a bit short on game time and we need to make a mindset change, from the white ball to the red ball,” he said. “Bulawayo will be a good batting wicket. Once you get in, you can score a lot of runs but it also a wicket where sometimes it is hard to get in. That first 18 balls you’re not sure on the wicket, because it is probably a bit slower than normal.”Cremer’s opposite number Williamson will also lead his team out for the first time but has “not thought a huge amount” about the feelings that may stir up. Instead, Williamson has been consumed by tactical preparation for unfamiliar conditions. conditions. His focus has been on finding different ways to be aggressive on a surface that could lend itself to letting the game drift.”There may not be a huge amount of pace and bounce, so the word ‘attacking’ [could mean something different]. We would like to attack and we’ll certainly try to with bat and ball but at the same time, patience, and how you look to skin it, is the challenge,” Williamson said. “How attacking looks on some of these surfaces, it may not be four slips and two gullies because there might be no point in doing that. It might be looking at how you want to target different areas, where you want to limit scoring. And then if you have an opportunity and you take that wicket, certainly you go all out and try and get another couple. But we know it doesn’t happen too quickly on these sorts of surfaces.”For Zimbabwe, nothing has happened too quickly in Test-cricket terms for several years. They have long periods of inaction between short series and there is not much they can do to change that although Ntini does have a vision for how they can ensure higher-profile games in other formats. “Every player hates being part of a country that needs to qualify for a bigger stage. My vision is that between now and 2019, Zimbabwe are not in a position to play qualifiers before they play in the bigger set-up,” he said.Ntini was referring to Zimbabwe’s failure to quality for the main draw of the last World T20 tournaments, and their low ODI ranking which ruled them out of the Champions Trophy. However, should a two-division Test league come to pass, they will also find themselves in the bottom tier and Ntini wants to put them in a position to challenge that, something he knows will take more time than a two-match series against New Zealand. So for now, he just wants them to enjoy something they have waited a long time for.

Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Chetan Desai, its secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla have been arrested by police for alleged fraud. Desai is also the chairman of the BCCI’s marketing committee.A first information report (FIR) had been filed against the trio by the economic offences wing (EOW) of Goa Police on June 4. The police had registered a case against the accused under sections 408, 409 (criminal breach of trust), 419 (cheating by impersonation), 463, 464, 468 (forged documents), 471 (fraud), 420 (cheating) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.According to Shekhar Salkar, the acting president of the Goa Cricket Association between November 2014 and June 2015, Desai, Phadke and Mulla had encashed a TV subsidy from the BCCI worth INR 2.87 crore.The Indian board had sent the cheque on October 23, 2006, when Desai had been the GCA secretary, Phadke the treasurer and Dayanand Narvekar the president. The cheque was valid for six months.Salkar said a fake account, in the name of GCA, was opened in the Panjim branch of Development Credit Bank on April 10, 2007. “Phadke pretended to be the president, Desai was the secretary and Mulla as treasurer. The cheque was realised on April 13, 2007. The three accused then started to withdraw amounts and emptied the account by March 29, 2008. So it did not reflect in the balance sheet.”The FIR, a copy of which is with ESPNcricinfo, filed in the Ribander police station against Desai, Phadke and Mulla on Wednesday, said “the above noted accused persons who were the members and signatory authority for Goa Cricket Association hatched a criminal conspiracy by impersonating and posing as president, secretary and treasurer of Goa Cricket Association and further prepared forged, fake documents and resolution of Goa Cricket Association and submitted the same to Development Credit Bank, Panjai Branch, for opening an account in Development Credit Bank in the name of Goa Cricket Association and thereby misappropriated the funds of TV subsidy sent by Board of Control for Cricket in India to Goa Cricket Association thereby cheating Goa Cricket Association for tune of Rs. 2.87 Crores.”In the FIR, it is also mentioned that Desai, Phadke and Mulla withdrew INR 26 lakh from Federal Bank account of the GCA on the “pretext” of giving it to a company called HAKO enterprise which, it was later found, had not received any funds.Phadke had been India’s team manager for the ODI series against South Africa in 2015, and at the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 as well.

ScorecardTom Curran had a fine night with bat and ball•PA Photos

Debate continues to ferment over the future of England’s T20 competition, which whatever the outcome is unlikely to survive in its current form, but the last thing the NatWest Blast needed on its opening night was for the Colin Graves, the ECB chairman, to deem it “mediocre” before a ball had been bowled.Record attendances last season; record advance ticket sales this. The NatWest Blast might be in for a revamp, but a noisy full house for the TV match at Chelmsford – ultimately silenced as Surrey stole an eight-run win in an engrossing, fluctuating contest – was another salutary reminder that this competition has its fans.It has angered many around the counties that the “Graves digger”, whether by accident or design, almost buried the competition before it had begun.Surrey’s victory came from the unlikely position of 80 for 6 in the 11th over as one of T20’s ancients, Azhar Mahmood, combined with the up-and-coming allrounder Tom Curran to steel Surrey with both bat and ball.Mahmood smashed 42 off 22 balls as he put on 65 in seven overs in a bright and breezy seventh-wicket stand with Tom Curran to spark a mid-innings revival.And Mahmood had barely removed his helmet than he had reduced Essex to 26 for 3 with the key wickets of Jesse Ryder and Dan Lawrence in successive balls – Ryder outwitted with a slower ball, Lawrence strangled down the leg side. He ended with four for 38.New Zealand quick Matt Quinn had claimed career-best T20 figures of 4 for 35 in his first appearance for Essex only to finish on the losing side.Ravi Bopara’s decision to bowl in his first match as Essex’s T20 captain broke the Chelmsford habit and the second-wicket pair of Jason Roy and Kumar Sangakkara raised 50 b y the fifth over. Bopara was forced to recall Quinn, who had already dismissed Steven Davies, and he removed Roy at mid-off. Four balls later, he caused Sangakkara to miscue a hook.By the time Ryan ten Doeschate claimed a third catch, diving in on the deep square leg boundary to dismiss Sam Curran, Quinn had four wickets and, at 90 for 6, seemed to have settled the contest in Essex’s favour.But Tom Curran responded with 32 off 26 balls until he played over a slower ball from Napier. Mahmood went in the last over, toe-ending Bopara to Ashar Zaidi.Essex’s reply got off to the worse possible start when Bopara departed to the sixth ball, hooking Sam Curran high to Mahmood at square leg for one.Tom Westley held them together with 46 off 33 balls, but he was lbw, reverse sweeping Gareth Batty after putting on 60 for the fourth wicket with ten Doeschate and at 89 for 4 with seven overs remaining Essex were behind the pace.The burly figure of Azhar Zaidi joined ten Doeschate and took 18 off an over by Matthew Pillans, including a flat six to midwicket, and then hit another big six in a Gareth Batty over that went for 17.Ten Doeschate also launched Batty over the sightscreen for a maximum and before middling a delivery from Tom Curran to Sangakkara to depart for 36 off 32 balls. Zaidi also tried to reverse-sweep Tom Curran and departed for a quickfire 30 off 15 balls.When Tom Curran lost a skier in the floodlights, and a ball change also seemed to work to Essex’s advantage, suddenly they were back in the game with 17 needed from two overs.But James Foster and Napier fell in successive balls, leaving the ever-competitive Mahmood to dismantle Matt Dixon’s stumps and take a return catch from Quinn.

Netherlands have handed a maiden call-up to 17-year-old batter Cedric de Lange and recalled right-arm quick Sebastiaan Braat and allrounder Sikander Zulfiqar for the upcoming T20I series in Bangladesh starting August 30. The changes had to be made after Ryan Klein and Fred Klaassen were ruled out with injuries, while Saqib Zulfiqar withdrew due to personal reasons.De Lange has been a consistent performer at the Under-19 level as well as for his club and in the recent Pro Series, the domestic T20s in the Netherlands which concluded on August 20.”It’s always exciting to bring a youngster into the squad,” captain Scott Edwards said. “Cedric has been impressive all summer and he’s really earned this call-up. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can offer us on this tour and, hopefully, across a long career ahead of him.”Related

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Braat returns to the Netherlands side for the first time since 2021, when he played T20Is against Nepal, after solid numbers in domestic cricket as well as club cricket.Sikander Zulfiqar’s absence from international cricket was even longer, having last turned out in T20Is in 2019.”It’s also great to welcome Sebastiaan Braat back into the side,” Edwards said. “It’s been a couple of years since he last played for us, but he’s had a very strong summer at club and domestic level, and we’re looking forward to having his experience back in the group as well.”Sikander has been a valuable member of our national team before and I’m glad to see him back in orange. He’s got phenomenal ability to clear the fence late in the game and I can’t wait to see him back and amongst the group.”Netherlands have only played five T20Is against Bangladesh and this will be their first time touring Bangladesh. The series acts as a preparation ground for Netherlands, ahead of the T20 World Cup early next year, while Bangladesh will use the series as an opportunity to finalise their line-up for the Asia Cup starting September 11.Netherlands train in Sylhet for three days before their first T20I on August 30, the second on September 1, and the third on September 3.

Netherlands squad for Bangladesh T20Is

Scott Edwards (capt & wk), Noah Croes, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Sikander Zulfiqar, Cedric de Lange, Kyle Klein, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren, Shariz Ahmad, Ben Fletcher, Daniel Doram, Sebastiaan Braat, Tim Pringle

Blazing a trail for cricket’s fast-bowling women suits Lauren Filer just fine, but she’ll gladly pull others along with her.Filer averaged 76mph in bowling the fastest recorded over in women’s cricket during England’s thrilling five-run victory over India in the third T20I at The Oval on Friday. She was twice clocked at 79mph in her fourth over – the 16th in India’s pursuit of 172 – and she said the magical 80mph mark was firmly on her radar.”Not to sound cocky, but I think I knew that I’d be able to push close to 80,” Filer said of that over. “I sort of touched on 78 every so often over the last year and, for me on Friday, the great thing about it was the fact that it was more consistent, that’s what I’ve been trying to do.Related

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• Ecclestone, Bouchier in England ODI squad to face India

“It’s not necessarily hitting that one ball that’s 80, that’s not going to make the difference. The difference is the consistency of increasing my speed. From the game in Trent Bridge, I think I was averaging 73, then I went up to 75 in Bristol and now obviously 76 at The Oval.”That’s what I’m trying to aim for and hopefully again I can hit that 80 number. I’m just going to try and keep consistently bowling at that mid-70s and in the women’s game that’s not heard of very often, so that’s my aim.”Filer has made some technical changes, including increasing her run-up since returning from the knee injury which kept her out of England’s T20I series against West Indies earlier in the season. As a result, she feels more “in time”.”Bowling’s all about feel,” she said. “It’s not about trying to lug it down as fast as you can because on Friday I didn’t necessarily feel at my quickest, but actually it’s usually then is when you probably are bowling your quickest, it’s all about flow and rhythm.”So it is more just getting into time and cleaning up my action. I’m quite limby, it’s all limbs go everywhere, so it’s all just bringing it together and that’s what’s happened over the last couple of games.”Filer has a propensity to fall over in her follow-through, which particularly stood out during the Ashes in January. There, she said her front foot was sliding a long way along the surfaces, causing her to fall over, which wasn’t a problem in the moments when she went tumbling in London last week.”It’s nothing that’s to be massively concerned about,” she said. “Sometimes it’s the pitch and then sometimes it’s just me.”Sometimes I just land and I just get in a position where I end up having to just tuck and roll and I’ve sort of mastered that, which is good because it just hurts less.Filer is hoping to breach the 80mph barrier•ECB via Getty Images

“We’re not too concerned as long I’m staying on my feet the majority of the time. It’s not affecting me massively and I can still generally bowl quick with this action. If I can do that, I don’t want to tweak with it too much because it could end up affecting it negatively.”Last year, Shabnim Ismail breached 130kph (80.7mph) for the first time in the women’s game, playing for Mumbai Indians against Delhi Capitals at the WPL, reaching 132.1kph (82.08mph) nine months after she retired from international cricket.South African Ismail also holds the record for the fastest delivery in women’s international cricket – 128kmph (79.54mph) against West Indies in 2016.The prospect of putting herself in that 80mph bracket brings a sense of excitement for Filer in terms of highlighting fast bowling in the women’s game.”That’s probably the reason why I want to hit it,” she said. “It’s not necessarily a personal milestone in myself, but actually proving that women can get to that milestone and hopefully others can follow as well.”I don’t want it just to be one or two people. We want loads of women to be able to be bowling at that speed. After Friday people are probably talking about it more than they were and hopefully if I can hit it then it encourages other people to try and aim for that and actually make the game even more exciting than it already is.”Filer isn’t the first bowler in this England women’s team to speak of bowling at 80mph. Five years ago, a then-17-year-old Issy Wong said she had ambitions to reach the milestone because it had “never been hit by a girl yet”.Wong is still re-establishing herself in England’s T20I squad after battling problems with her rhythm and run-up in 2023, having made her international debut the previous year. She took 1 for 36 from her four overs at The Oval, her first outing of the series with India, having played two T20Is against West Indies.Filer took 2 for 30 in the latest game against India, that pivotal over resulting in a dropped catch off Harmanpreet Kaur, the key wicket of Smriti Mandhana for 56 and a spicy welcome for Richa Ghosh, pinged hard on the helmet, all in the space of three deliveries.England will need more of the same as their next encounter, at Old Trafford on Wednesday, remains a must-win game for the hosts if they are to keep the five-match series alive. India lead 2-1 after a thumping 97-run win in the opening match at Trent Bridge and 24-run victory in Bristol.Winning matches for England, Filer says, is her main aim and the reason she has her eye on the speed gun.”I’ve always sort of kept a number on the speeds, but it’s not necessarily a judgement piece for me. It probably shows me whether I’m doing my technical stuff right,” she said.”If I don’t do some of the technical stuff that I have been doing right then I end up being slower. So for me it’s more of a thing to see if I’ve done my stuff well. I generally come off a pitch and ask the analyst what my average speed was and what my fastest ball was just to see where I was at.”I want to help us win games and if that means bowling 80 miles an hour or getting close to it, if that’s the way, then great. If it’s not, then I’ve got to focus on my variations or doing something else that’s going to help us win games.”