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ScorecardAdam Wheater made his maiden first-class double-hundred (file photo)•PA Photos

For someone who does not see himself as a specialist batsman, Adam Wheater managed a fairly convincing impression of a cricketer with a considerable future in the role as Hampshire amassed their largest total in a Championship match in almost three years.Dropped by Hampshire at the end of May when first-team coach Dale Benkenstein decided he wanted 21-year-old Lewis McManus to take over as wicketkeeper, Wheater marked his second appearance since being recalled only as a batsman with a maiden double-hundred that showcased qualities he perhaps doubted he had.Naturally an aggressive hitter, strong on both sides of the wicket, Wheater turned his overnight 89 into a 147-ball century inside the first half hour, following a slightly delayed start, before taking advantage of an overworked Warwickshire attack to advance to 200 in just 79 deliveries more.He gathered 27 fours and hit three sixes, two of them off Keith Barker, who with Rikki Clarke willingly shouldered the extra burden created by Boyd Rankin’s absence with back spasms but found himself flagging at times on a pitch that remained stubbornly unresponsive.Wheater passed his previous best when he moved on from 164, the score he made for Essex against Northamptonshire in 2011, and went to 200 by reverse sweeping Jeetan Patel, whose stamina was also heavily tested in a series of long spells that added up to 48 overs in total.Wheater, who left Essex in 2013 to further his ambitions with the gloves, has found himself relieved of his duties behind the stumps for the second time since making the move, having previously had to make way for Michael Bates.Benkenstein now wants McManus to have an extended run, feeling that he brings more energy to the role and at the same time considers Wheater should focus on developing as a specialist batsman.”I rate Wheats’ batting but I’ve given him a very long run as a keeper and don’t feel he’s improved in a few areas I think are very important,” Benkenstein said recently. “But as a batter he’s still very young with a huge career ahead of him. Our top order are quite short of runs and he’s got a real chance of making his way in this team as a batter.”Wheater begs to differ, insisting that he wants to contribute more than one discipline to the team effort and that he will fight to win back the gloves again.”I was disappointed [with the decision] and the hierarchy at Hampshire know I want to keep,” he said. “I didn’t see that I was doing much wrong. I see myself as a keeper-batsman. I can’t bowl and I don’t just want to just be fielding. But having said that, when they asked me to play as a batsman in the top six I was going to take that rather than playing in the seconds. I feel I have battled to get back to where I was a couple of years ago with my batting and I feel in a good place.”That’s my role now, to score runs and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to be able to contribute as I have in this match. But things change quickly in cricket and as far as keeping is concerned all I can do is take any opportunity that comes along.”Wheater passed 5000 first-class runs during his partnership runs with Sean Ervine, who coincidentally reached the milestone of 10,000 during their 144-run stand for the sixth wicket.When Ervine chipped Patel straight to short extra cover to be out for 75, however, it precipitated an unforeseen flurry of wickets — five in the space of 20 deliveries with only nine more runs added — and reward for Patel and Josh Poysden, the young legspinner, who picked up the last three for career-best figures of 4 for 85.”Losing Boyd through injury was tough but we worked really hard as a unit,” Poysden said. “I thought we kept going and kept fighting and to get the last five wickets for nine runs was really nice as we finally got what we deserved.”On days one and two in first-class cricket you are not really expecting it to spin so I knew they were going to come quite hard at me when I bowled but that gives me a chance to get wickets so I never mind that.”Warwickshire’s reply got off to a stuttering start, Andrew Umeed leaving a ball from Gareth Andrew that came back and clipped off stump before Ian Bell played inside one from Gareth Berg, at which point 11 for 2 on the scoreboard would have been a considerable fillip for a makeshift Hampshire attack.Andrew claimed another success at the start of his second spell as Varun Chopra played down the wrong line but Jonathan Trott and Sam Hain added an unbroken 53 for the fourth wicket. Trott might have been out on 59 near the close, giving a chance off Berg that McManus might have taken had he been standing further back.

Sanjay Bangar has been re-appointed India’s batting coach for their four-Test tour of West Indies. Abhay Sharma, who had been with the team in Zimbabwe as fielding coach, has been retained for the series in the Caribbean.Bangar had been the batting coach when Ravi Shastri had been team director for nearly two years from August 2014. His contract lapsed after the end of the World T20 in April, but was put in charge of the Indian team on an interim basis for the limited-overs series in Harare.The appointments were made after consulting with India’s new head coach Anil Kumble, but a BCCI release was specific that they pertained only to the seven weeks they would be playing against the West Indian teams from July 6. There won’t be a bowling coach travelling with the Indian team making Bangar the only one of the previous support staff, which had also included to B Arun and R Sridhar, to be retained.Regarding the absence of a bowling coach, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke told : “Anil himself is one of the greatest bowlers. He insisted on not having a bowling coach for the West Indies tour since he is in charge.”Abhay Sharma had previously worked with Rahul Dravid and the India A and Under-19 teams. He was also among the Rest of India staff when they beat Ranji Trophy champions Mumbai in the 2016 Irani Cup.

Alex Hales might have missed out on a maiden century for the third time in the series but he could console himself with the knowledge that he has established himself in England’s top order for the foreseeable future and given his side a decent chance of completing a third successive victory over Sri Lanka.Hales, who followed innings of 86 at Headingley and 83 in Durham with 94 here, admitted he was “frustrated” at failing to convert such scores to three figures. But, having answered many of the questions about his technique that hung over him at the start of the summer, he reasoned that, on balance, he had still enjoyed an encouraging series. He also conceded that he benefited from some significant luck during the course of this innings.Quite apart from being dropped twice, Hales also saw the DRS go his way when Sri Lanka reviewed an lbw shout and survived being clean bowled by Nuwan Pradeep when umpire Rod Tucker incorrectly called a no-ball.”It is frustrating,” he said. “But if someone had offered me nearly 300 runs at an average of 60 at the start of the series [he has scored 292 at 58.40], I’d probably have taken it. To have gone into the final Test 2-0 up and helped get the team off to some good starts, it could hardly have been a better. Well, it could if I had converted some starts, but so far so good.”I’d had my fair share of luck. I was bowled off that close no-ball and there were umpire’s calls and edges, so I guess my luck ran out. It’s disappointing to come so close and miss out again. When you get so close you have to be converting. But it was pretty decent delivery.”Hales was particularly pleased with his increased assurance outside off stump. While his tour to South Africa was dogged by dismissals to edges behind the wicket – he averaged 17.00 in the four-Test series, with a top-score of 60 – here he has dealt with Sri Lanka’s seam attack relatively comfortably and felt that he was also improving against spin bowling.”I had a lot of questions to answer after South Africa,” he said. “The biggest thing I’ve improved is my decision-making outside off stump. Whether it is leaving the ball or attacking the ball.”In South Africa, a few times, I was tentatively hanging my bat in the channel. So I’ve tried to be more positive. Positive in my leaving and positive when I’m looking to attack. It’s still something I’m improving on each game and there are other areas to work on as well, but I feel I’m heading in the right direction.”Maybe in the first couple games this summer, I have tried to go after the spinners more than should have. But this game I have played a lot better and picked my attacking options better against Rangana Herath. I’m learning from my mistakes and looking to build on this later in the summer. I know there are tougher challenges to come.”Hales admitted he had not changed his shot when bowled by the no-ball – it is doubtful whether a batsman has time to do so against a fast bowler at Test level – but suggested that, had a spinner been bowling, there may have been time to change his stroke. For that reason, it remains hard to envisage a scenario where an incorrect on-field no-ball call could be rescinded by TV evidence.”If the spinners are bowling, I guess your eyes could light up if hear the no-ball call,” he said. “But I have a bit of sympathy with Rod Tucker. You think about how fast the game moves and how close he was to the front line and it’s a split decision he has to make at the time. Rod had told him a few times that over he was getting close to the front line.”Perhaps the England declaration was also significant. While the first few years of Alastair Cook’s captaincy were marked by some low-risk, attritional cricket, here he has risked the possibility of losing in the attempt to win the game.The England side of a couple of years ago may well have batted on ensure they could not have lost the match before attempting to bowl out Sri Lanka but, in keeping with the more positive style that has characterised much of their cricket in the last 12 months, England have given Sri Lanka an outside chance of victory. Memories of West Indies’ run chase in 1984 were revived for some, though this pitch – offering a bit of spin and some uneven bounce at one end – looks considerably more demanding.”We could have batted on,” Hales said. “But this is the positive option. There’s still plenty of life in the pitch, so if they chase 350 or whatever it is, they deserve to win.”

Big picture: Teams tuning up ahead of World Cup

Two-and-a-half months out from the Men’s T20 World Cup, it’s time to get serious. There are squads that need finalising, strategies that need trialing, and players that need tuning into the rhythm and tempo of T20 cricket.For Pakistan, this tri-series series is a chance to build on some T20 advances this year. They have won 17 T20Is to the 12 they’ve lost in 2025. That run includes making it to the final of the Asia Cup, and beating South Africa 2-1 in their most-recent T20I series. Under the leadership of Salman Agha, the batting has had a little more purpose, even if it is the bowling that has tended to win Pakistan games.In that series against South Africa, for example, the bowlers had restricted the visitors to feeble scores twice. Still, the chases were largely smooth, and Pakistan’s two victories were comfortable. The generally-preferred strategy seems to be to put the opposition in, and try to blow them away cheaply.Related

• SL call up Vijayakanth Viyaskanth as cover for injured Hasaranga

• Injured Muzarabani out of tri-series, Nyamhuri named replacement

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have not been having an especially good time in this format either. Longstanding firepower issues in the batting order persist, although this is less apparent when Pathum Nissanka fires at the top of the order. They are also trying to figure out their combinations – frequently seeming either a bowler or batter short against top opposition.Ahead of a home World Cup, Sri Lanka are desperate to find a working formula. Dasun Shanaka being named acting captain of the side after Charith Asalanka was withdrawn due to illness suggests the selectors want him locked in, in the lower order, at least until the end of the World Cup. And Wanindu Hasaranga’s decent batting form will also help add some depth, provided Hasaranga recovers for the tri-series. Sri Lanka have drafted in legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth as cover on the eve of the tournament, but hope Hasaranga recovers to feature in the competition.Zimbabwe haven’t had quite so hot a year. But at least, unlike for the 2024 World Cup, they have bossed the Africa qualifier, and earned themselves a spot in the big show. And it was in that qualifier – played entirely in Harare – that they made their most impressive run of 2025, picking up five successive victories, including in the final against Namibia, who have also qualified for the World Cup.Zimbabwe recently beat Sri Lanka in a T20I•Zimbabwe Cricket

Pakistan and Sri Lanka will likely pose a much sterner challenge than the lower-ranked teams Zimbabwe played in Harare, though, and they are just coming off a 3-0 loss to Afghanistan. They have, however, also beaten Sri Lanka in a T20I recently; Sri Lanka lost the second T20I in a three-match series in Zimbabwe in September.Although the tri-series between Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka was originally scheduled to move to Lahore after two matches in Rawalpindi, security concerns following last week’s bombing in Islamabad has prompted a change. The tournament will be played entirely in Rawalpindi now.

Form guide

Pakistan: WWLLW
Sri Lanka: LLLWW
Zimbabwe: LLLWW

In the spotlight: Babar, Nissanka, and Bennett

Is Babar Azam back? There have been recent signs he is returning to a fuller version of himself, particularly when, on Friday, he struck his first international ton since 2023 even if that was in ODIs. Having been dropped from the T20I side for most of this year, Babar also struck a match-winning 68 off 47 balls against South Africa in Lahore less than three weeks ago. If he can have a successful tri-series, Pakistan will feel a much more menacing unit.Pathum Nissanka got a T20I hundred against India in September•AFP/Getty Images

Sri Lanka may already be over-reliant on Pathum Nissanka, their most improved white-ball batter of the past three years, and owner of a T20I hundred (against India no less), in September. His first week in Pakistan could have gone better. Nissanka got three starts in the ODIs, but could not even breach 30. On what are expected to be flatter tracks in Rawalpindi, he will likely come good at some point. Sri Lanka’s batting feels like a transformed unit on the days in which Nissanka scores heavily.Zimabwe’s run through the T20 World Cup qualifier had partly been fuelled by the form of their opening batters, and Brian Bennett in particular. Bennett crashed 314 runs at a strike rate of 181.50, making three fifties and a hundred in the space of five innings. At age 22, he has never played in Pakistan, but perhaps the greater challenge will be to counter attacks which will now, given his recent success, have spent much more time analysing his game, and devising plans against him.

Pitch and conditions

As we’re heading into winter, expect cold nights in Rawalpindi, where evening temperatures are forecast to drop into the low teens at times. This generally means fielding errors. The surface is expected to be batting friendly, though there is frequently something for the seamers there.

Squads

Pakistan made a late change to their squad, releasing Hasan Nawaz and bringing Fakhar Zaman, who was in excellent ODI form, in.Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (capt), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk), Usman TariqFakhar Zaman replaced Hasan Nawaz in Pakistan’s squad•AFP/Getty Images

With Hasaranga’s hamstring tightness a concern, after he sustained a minor hamstring strain in the second ODI against Pakistan, Viyaskanth could get a look-in. Captain Charith Asalanka and Asitha Fernando are returning home due to illness. Top-order batter Pavan Rathnayake has now been brought into the T20I squad. Rathnayake made his international debut in the third ODI of the Pakistan tour.Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka (capt.), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka (vice-capt), Kamindu Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranaga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushan Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan MalingaZimbabwe’s one change to the squad that played Afghanistan at home is to add a seamer. The is helpfully named Newman Nyamhuri, who’s a 19-year-old left-arm quick. He’s yet to play an international, and is in the squad because one of their senior bowlers, Blessing Muzarabani, is ruled out with a back injury.Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (capt), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Wellington Masakadza, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Newman Nyamhuri, Brendan TaylorSince October 2022, Zimbabwe and Pakistan have won two games apiece against each other•ICC via Getty Images

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have played five T20Is in Pakistan – most recently in 2020 – and have lost all five.
• Zimbabwe have a decent recent record against Pakistan, however. Since October 2022, these teams have faced each other four times and won two apiece.
• Although he has been playing T20Is only since 2021, Nissanka is Sri Lanka’s second-highest run-scorer in the format, with 2211 runs from 73 innings. Kusal Perera, who sits at the top, and is part of Sri Lanka’s squad for this tri-series, is only 65 runs ahead of Nissanka.
  

Liam Dawson will make a return to Test cricket after eight years in the wilderness as England’s sole change for the fourth Test against India at Emirates Old Trafford.Dawson replaces Shoaib Bashir, who suffered a broken finger on his left hand during the first innings of last week’s Lord’s Test, but returned valiantly to take the final wicket to give England a 2-1 series lead. He has since undergone an operation, with a wire inserted in his left pinkie finger to ensure it heals properly.In Bashir’s absence, Dawson will earn his fourth Test cap, having made his most recent appearance in July 2017 against South Africa. As a left-arm spinner, he has 371 first-class wickets to his name, but has been especially prolific in recent seasons, with 12 of his 15 five-wicket hauls, including three ten-wicket matches, coming since 2021.Since the start of the 2023 season, Dawson has 124 dismissals for Hampshire at 25.64, with last year’s 54 alongside 956 runs at 59.75 earning him the coveted men’s PCA player of the year award. This summer, his 21 wickets at 40.04 – at an economy rate of 2.55 – have been accompanied by 536 runs at 44.66. He has scored nine first-class hundreds in the last five seasons, including three apiece in 2023 and 2024.The news completes an about-turn for Dawson, who looked to have run his race with the national team before earning a recall to the T20I side after a three-year absence earlier this summer. The 35-year-old took 4 for 20 against West Indies in his comeback match, captained by England’s recently appointed limited-overs captain Harry Brook.”He’s a wily, old fox,” Brook said at Emirates Old Trafford on Monday. “He’s very experienced and a very skilful cricketer. He’s played everywhere, played against everyone so hopefully he can have an amazing performance this week.”As we’ve seen over the Test series, the footholes have been for the left-handed batters outside off, so hopefully he can land it in the footholes and create a bit of spice and some opportunities to take wickets.”He’s willing to always fight for the team, he’s very competitive and it’s good to have him here.”England have also decided to play it safe with Gus Atkinson, wary the seamer is still not quite ready for a return to Test cricket. The 27-year-old was added to the squad for the third Test after recovering from a hamstring injury picked up against Zimbabwe in May. However, the management do not want to risk causing him further harm, particularly with a soft outfield following rain over the weekend, with more on Monday.Chris Woakes, the veteran bowling allrounder, had been the likeliest man to make way for Atkinson, but he has recovered well after 39 overs during the Lord’s Test.Though Woakes has struggled so far, with seven wickets at 56.42 and just 60 runs from five innings with the bat, England have stuck with the 36-year old. He boasts an impressive record at this venue, with 35 dismissals at 17.37, as well as 221 runs at 36.83.England XI: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Jofra Archer

Tazmin Brits slammed a career-best 98 not out, off just 63 balls, to lead South Africa to a 50-run win in the opening T20I against West Indies in Cave Hill on Friday. There was little resistance from West Indies with either the ball or the bat, though two individual efforts stood out: Jahzara Claxton’s three top-order wickets and Jannillea Glasgow’s 53 not out from 44 balls in the second half of the chase, but it was far too little.Asked to bat, South Africa lost captain Laura Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp to Claxton inside five overs, and finished the powerplay on 44 for 2, but Brits and Nadine de Klerk were already starting to go fast. The two brought up a 71-run stand for the third wicket in just over six overs, Brits very much the aggressor, scoring 42 of the runs in that partnership.De Klerk fell in the 11th over for 21, Claxton again the bowler with the wicket, and though there was no major contribution from the rest of the batters bar Chloe Tryon’s 16 in nine balls before she was run out, Brits batted through the innings, hitting nine fours and four sixes.Faced with a target of 184, West Indies started quickly, but lost wickets quickly too. They got 47 in the powerplay, more than South Africa had, but they lost an additional wicket, including the big one of captain Hayley Matthews. And by the end of the eighth over, they were five down and gasping.The fight came from Chinelle Henry and Glasgow in their 81-run stand for the sixth wicket, but West Indies had fallen too far behind for the partnership to have an effect on the outcome. In any case, Henry and Glasgow couldn’t quite get going, even though they batted together for 11-and-a-half overs. Henry’s 26 took 32 balls, and Glasgow went at a rate of 120.45, remaining unbeaten at the close, having hit five fours in her innings.

Somerset’s James Rew has been added to the England Test squad to face Zimbabwe after Jordan Cox was ruled out with an abdominal muscle injury. Rew, 21, is currently averaging 54.71 in the County Championship this season and wins his first senior call-up.Cox had been named in the squad after missing a Test debut over the winter due to a thumb fracture suffered in the nets while on tour in New Zealand. He hurt his side when taking a single to move to 99 in Essex’s game at Taunton over the weekend, and subsequently retired hurt after bringing up three figures.Scans have now confirmed that he will not be able to take part against Zimbabwe. It is a setback that continues a cruel run of injury near-misses for Cox, including a badly broken finger sustained during the Hundred in August 2023, which required surgery and further delayed any prospect of an England debut.Related

• Cox recalled to England Test squad for Zimbabwe

• Cox suffers injury scare while scoring century against Somerset

• Rew hundred, Overton grit help Somerset to first win of season

Instead, Rew – who scored a fourth-innings hundred in the same County Championship match to anchor Somerset’s chase of 321 – will be the spare batter in the group. That innings made him the youngest Englishman since Denis Compton to score 10 first-class centuries.Wicketkeeper-batter Rew has been on the selectors’ radar for some time, having been a key member of the England Under-19s side that finished runners-up at the 2022 U19 World Cup, top-scoring in the final with 95.He scored his maiden century for Somerset that season, and followed up by scoring 1086 County Championship runs at 57.15, with five hundreds, during the 2023 summer. His white-ball numbers are impressive, with two List A hundreds and a score of 62 not out, on only his second T20 appearance, in last season’s Vitality Blast semi-final. He has also featured regularly for the Lions.The England squad to face Zimbabwe are due to meet this weekend in London before taking part in a training camp at Loughborough. They will then be given some time at home before the start of the Test, at Trent Bridge, on May 22.

Three times in 33 completed games: that’s how many times Sri Lanka have beaten India in ODIs. Add to this the fact that Sri Lanka’s tri-series final against India on Sunday will be their first final in any ODI tournament featuring three or more teams since 2009, and you begin to understand the scale of the task at hand for an ever-improving Sri Lanka unit.India, meanwhile, are pretty close to the textbook definition of well-oiled machine: their batting has been clicking, their spin attack – led by Sneh Rana – has been penetrative and dogged, while their fielding (arguably their weakest link) has been more good than bad. The weaknesses are few.But, on Sunday, all that fades into the background. Sri Lanka will be buoyed by self-belief with the memory of that momentous Asia Cup triumph, where they had beaten India ten months ago, albeit in the T20 format. But if that defeat wasn’t a reality check for India, their loss to Sri Lanka in the round-robin stage of the ongoing tri-series will have, no doubt, allayed any complacency that might have been setting in.Related

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• R Sridhar to conduct '10-day fielding programme' for SL teams

On that note, here are some of the key talking points ahead of what could be a riveting final in Colombo.

Can Sri Lanka contain India?

India have scored in excess of 300 in four of their last ten ODIs – including one score over 400 – and in two more of those, they have scored at least 275. In fact, the only games in which they did not exceed these benchmarks were when they were chasing. Suffice to say, India’s batting is on song.In that sense, how Sri Lanka manage – or fail – to contain this Indian batting unit will go a long way towards deciding the tri-series final. During their two group meetings, the first saw India capitalise on the better of both the batting and bowling conditions to steamroll Sri Lanka. But in the second, Sri Lanka managed to keep India below 300, and then nervelessly chased 276 down.Sri Lanka themselves will admit their best chance at victory will be to win the toss and chase, but India have the personnel to make the flip of a coin irrelevant.Chamari Athapaththu averages only 24.07 in her last 13 innings•SLC

Will the real Athapaththu please stand up?

You take Chamari Athapaththu out, and you take out half of Sri Lanka’s batting. That used to be true for the better part of the last decade or so. But of late, Sri Lanka’s batters have shown that they can get the job done even without their talismanic captain’s contributions.Against India last time out, Athapaththu’s 23 off 33 balls was just one of several – eight – double-digit scores that helped Sri Lanka hunt down 276 with the likes of Harshitha Samarawickrama and Nilakshika de Silva stepping up. And against South Africa before that, Athapaththu contributed just 6 runs even as Sri Lanka chased down a middling target of 236. Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari put their hands up on that day.But while that bodes well for the future of the side, Sri Lanka’s best batting potential can be realised when Athapaththu is in full flow. Sri Lanka’s highest successful ODI chase, and their only one above 300, came courtesy an all-time great knock of 195 by their captain. But since then, in 13 innings, Athapaththu has had just two scores over fifty, while averaging only 24.07. That last one, though, came against South Africa on Friday, and Sri Lanka will be hoping that that signifies a timely return to form, especially in the lead up to the ODI World Cup later this year.

Death-over struggles

Across the tri-series, Sri Lanka have been arguably the best side at capitalising in the middle overs. In both their group-stage wins, against South Africa and India, they bettered their opponents between overs 10 and 40. However, at both the start and finish of games, any pressure created has been released.In Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma, India have the explosiveness to turn losing positions around•SLC

South Africa struck 114 runs in the final ten overs on Friday, while even during their win against India, Sri Lanka leaked 70 runs in the last ten overs despite having limited India to just 151 runs through the middle.Sri Lanka’s failure to capitalise on the platform set in the middle overs with both bat and ball has been a genuine weakness in their game, and one that India will be keen to exploit. Particularly, as India, with the likes of Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma lower down, have the explosiveness to turn losing positions around.

Weather and conditions

The heat has been a trial in and of itself across this series, with the South Africans in particular struggling to handle it over long periods. But, on Sunday, the weather forecast points towards a slightly more bearable day’s play, with the potential of overnight showers leading into a cloud-covered morning and afternoon.If these conditions come to fruition, then that, combined with it being a Sunday final – one with free entry into the stadium – should (hopefully) mean the stadium fills up more than it has for the round-robin games.Runs, too, have been plenty this series, despite Khettarama’s reputation as a tough-scoring surface. With a fresh pitch set for the final, the conditions are primed for another engrossing contest.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has said that being denied the opportunity to get some game-time after a six-month gap in Test cricket is the “most disappointing part” after their one-off Test against Afghanistan was called off without a ball bowled.New Zealand had this match to familiarise themselves with the subcontinent conditions, with the series against Sri Lanka and India coming up. But persistent rain and outfield issues in Greater Noida reduced the first-ever Test between the two teams to a no-show.”The most disappointing part for us is that we lost the opportunity to be match-hardened and match-ready when we go into our Test match [against Sri Lanka] next week,” Stead said at the post-match press conference. “The guys are really disappointed. It was an opportunity to play Afghanistan. It doesn’t come around that often.Related

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• Amid persistent rain, one-off Test between Afghanistan and NZ called off without a ball bowled

“They have some unique bowlers – it’s always good to get your head around how you face them. The way they play is a little bit different to other countries. It’s always learning what you can do when you get in those match situations.”The one-off Test was not part of the World Test Championship. However, Stead said the team was left “frustrated”, as the format is “very, very dear to the team’s hearts”.”Even though it was fine for those two days, there were thunderstorms the nights before and the ground was just too soft and the umpires deemed that unfit to play on,” he said. “So that is sort of out of the players’ hands in a way as well.”But we were frustrated. We have come here to play cricket and play a Test match and as Jonathan [Trott, Afghanistan head coach] said, Test cricket, certainly to our group of players that is here, that’s very, very dear to their hearts and every Test you get to play in is a big one.”So regardless of whether it has World Test Championship points or not, that opportunity to get out there for five days, it looked a great surface. The whole block looked fantastic, so it would have been a great match of Test cricket.”New Zealand are not slated to play another Test against Afghanistan in the current Future Tours Programme cycle. Stead welcomed the prospect of playing more Tests against Afghanistan, heaping praise on their recent achievements in white-ball cricket, including a win against New Zealand in the group stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.Persistent rain and outfield issues in Greater Noida led to the one-off Test being called off•AFP/Getty Images

“I don’t make the decisions around the Future Tours Programme and big tours,” Stead said. “But I said it right from the start of coming here, Afghanistan have knocked just about every top team in the world over now. So they’re certainly a force and becoming more and more of a force in world cricket. That’s something for the Afghanistan and New Zealand boards to get their heads around.”It was our first Test match against Afghanistan and we were really excited about that. They’ve been great competitors of ours over the last few World Cups. We’ve had some great games of cricket.”Stead said New Zealand were “desperate” to make the World Test Championship final. Five of their remaining eight Tests in the cycle will be in Asia, but he is confident of the side adapting to the conditions.”The World Test Championship is alive and well, and we’re currently in third place, and we want to make the finals again,” he said. “We’ve been there once in the past, and we are desperate to get there again. So every test match we play will be an important one.”The conditions that we face in Galle will be, I’m sure, different to Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai when we come back here again. So it’s still about adapting to the different surfaces where I’m learning from those. But also banking the knowledge you have created in the past even though it’s been a couple of [sessions of] trainings out there, we’d still bank on what we’ve learnt on those sort of pitches.”

Fifties by Jake Libby, Brett D’Oliveira and Adam Hose ensured Worcestershire would make Essex bat again in their rollercoaster match at Chelmsford.When bad light took the players off the field with 20 over remaining on day three of the Vitality County Championship match, Worcestershire had turned a 138-run first-innings deficit into a 165-run lead.Libby laid the foundations for the recovery with a 112-ball 65 at the top of the order. But it was an 80-run stand for the sixth wicket between D’Oliveira (51 from 71 balls) and Hose (64 off 91) – the pair coming together with two runs still required to erase the arrears – that gave Worcestershire hope of securing a third successive victory to move clear of the relegation area.Simon Harmer spearheaded the mercurial Essex attack, sending down 26 overs in the foreshortened day and taking 3 for 110, including the wicket of Hose to an extraordinary delivery. Essex will be looking for a first victory in four games on the final day to maintain their fading interest in the title race.Nightwatchman Joe Leach lasted just four balls on a grey, overcast morning before Sam Cook ended his 21-ball nought by inducing a thick edge through to the wicketkeeper. Gareth Roderick narrowly avoided a pair before he was turned around by Jamie Porter on six and nicked to second slip.Libby found good support from Kashif Ali in a 51-run third-wicket stand until Paul Walter was introduced and with his fourth ball had Ali following the ball across him through to slip.Libby survived a couple of scares but reached his fifty from the 90th ball faced, his eighth four helped on its way high over the wicketkeeper’s head. His latest partner Rob Jones took a liking to Harmer, hitting four successive boundaries, two of them identical shots on the sweep.However, the 55-run fourth-wicket stand was broken soon after lunch when Libby drove loosely at Cook and was caught low down at backward point. And six runs later, Jones went for another sweep against Harmer, this time more uppishly, and Dean Elgar completed the dismissal when running back from square leg.That left Worcestershire five down and still two runs short of making Essex bat again. That landmark was duly achieved and built on as Hose and D’Oliveira dug in obdurately initially to the extent that Porter came on for three overs and went off again without conceding a run. The first fifty of their partnership took 16 overs.The run-rate rose steeply with 31 runs added by the pair in the next four overs before Matt Critchley switched ends to give Harmer a rest and first ball had D’Oliveira fencing to second slip. Harmer’s rest spanned the tea break but his first ball after the interval brought the downfall of Hose, who padded up outside off-stump to a ball that turned prodigiously as it hit the crease to leave him bewildered to see the bails lying on the ground behind him.Harmer had a third wicket to his name when Ethan Brookes went to reverse-sweep, as he had successfully on several occasions in the first innings This time, however, the ball popped up off an edge to Robin Das diving full-length at short leg to cling on one-handed.With the floodlights on and the light deteriorating appreciably, Essex declined the option of taking the new-ball when it was due after 80 over, sticking with their spinners. The gesture proved in vain as the umpires deemed it too dark to continue an over later.