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After a whirlwind period abroad, where he made his Test debut and opened in the Champions Trophy semi-final against India, allrounder Cooper Connolly is back in his home comforts of the WACA as Western Australia’s dreams of a historic fourth straight Sheffield Shield title go on the line against Victoria.Ahead of the last round of the season, WA sit fourth but just 2.37 points behind second-placed Queensland in the race to play South Australia in the final starting on March 26. Almost two points behind WA, Victoria are also a mathematical chance to qualify.WA will need to beat Victoria and also rely on both Queensland and New South Wales not claiming victories in their respective matches. Their bid to become the first team to win four straight titles in the six-team era – since Tasmania joined the competition in 1977-78 – does look forlorn in what has been a tough season for a team that has battled inconsistency, injuries and unavailability.Related

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The mercurial Connolly is hoping to give WA a spark in what will be his first Shield match since October. “Always love coming back to play for WA,” he told reporters on Friday. “I actually haven’t played many Shield games, but I’m looking forward to getting around the boys again.”Just playing some cricket back at home will be nice and hopefully some results go our way and we can play a Shield final.”Connolly, 21, started the Shield season with back-to-back half-centuries against Queensland and Tasmania, having memorably clubbed 90 on first-class debut in last season’s final, before a hectic period ensued.He played in an Australia A match against India A before fracturing his hand in an ODI against Pakistan in Perth after he was struck by quick Mohammad Hasnain. Connolly recovered in time for the BBL, where he played a starring role for Perth Scorchers and was named player of the tournament alongside Glenn Maxwell – an x-factor type of player he has been likened to.Connolly’s BBL form helped him gain selection on the Sri Lanka tour, ahead of Maxwell, and he made his debut in the second Test. With just four first-class matches to his name, there were some eyebrows raised and Connolly had a tough initiation after throwing his wicket away on 4 batting at No.8 while his left-arm spin proved ineffective and he only bowled five overs across two innings.But Connolly soaked in the experience and the opportunity to learn from his teammates, especially stand-in skipper Steven Smith. “Just taking in his knowledge and seeing what I guess worked for me,” he said. “Just learning as much as I could, embracing it and having fun.”I felt like it wasn’t really a surprise [making his Test debut]. I felt like if I was going to play, I earned my opportunity. It was an overall great trip to Sri Lanka and I loved it.”Just a month later, Connolly found himself again in the spotlight after he replaced injured opener Matthew Short for the semi-final against India in Dubai. It was a bold call with Connolly having played just three ODIs previously and he had only opened once before in List A cricket.Cooper Connolly trapped Rohit Sharma lbw in his first over•ICC/Getty Images

Opening the innings with Travis Head, he faced nine deliveries from quick Mohammed Shami, making contact with the ball only twice, before edging behind for a duck. But Connolly bounced back with the ball and claimed his maiden international wicket when he dismissed Rohit Sharma plumb lbw.”I don’t think my opportunity [in the semi-final] was a surprise,” Connolly said. “I felt like I was picked in that squad for a reason to go out there and showcase some skills.”To walk out there in a semi-final was an unbelievable experience and I’ll take a lot of learnings from it.”While the conditions will be different, Connolly is unlikely to find respite in a WACA surface that was looking particularly grassy on match eve. With so much at stake, the pitch might be something similar to the one rolled out last month against South Australia in a match that was the shortest outright result in Shield history.But WA’s batters won’t have to deal with Victoria spearhead Scott Boland, who has not travelled to Perth as he manages knee soreness.WA will be without speedster Lance Morris after he played rare back-to-back Shield matches. Coming off a stress fracture last winter as well as a quad strain late in the pre-season, Morris, a Cricket Australia contracted player, has a restriction of around 30 overs a game. He bowled 32 overs against NSW, claiming a first-class career best of 5 for 26 off 20.3 overs in the first innings.Brody Couch is set to be a like-for-like replacement having had a strong Shield season since crossing over from Victoria with 21 wickets at 22.85. WA won’t have the services of Cameron Green, who is working his way back from back surgery, and IPL bound Mitchell Marsh, Josh Inglis and Aaron Hardie.Having not been snapped up at the IPL auction, this match against Victoria might be Connolly’s last for some time given he currently has no playing commitments in the off-season.”The dream would be to play the IPL eventually… [but] I’m just concentrating on what’s in front of me,” he said. “Not looking too far ahead, just trying to enjoy playing cricket and hopefully put some scores on the board while working on my bowling.”

There is no clear answer to whether India captain Rohit Sharma will travel to Pakistan for the ICC’s official captains call to ring in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The captains event, which as per practice happens in the host country, is tentatively scheduled around February 16 or 17 in Karachi, but the BCCI is yet to get any official communication on it from the ICC.”It [Rohit travelling to Pakistan] has not yet been discussed. It is not on the agenda yet,” Devjit Saikia, the BCCI’s newly-appointed secretary, told ESPNcricinfo.It could not be confirmed whether the BCCI would need the Indian government’s permission for Rohit to travel to Pakistan.Related

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Due to the climate of political tension between the two countries, India and Pakistan have played no bilateral series since 2012, but continue to meet at ICC tournaments. While Pakistan have travelled to India for ICC tournaments in this period, India have not played any international cricket in Pakistan since 2008.With the BCCI insisting that India would not travel to Pakistan for their matches, the ICC in co-ordination with the PCB, the tournament hosts, decided upon a hybrid model for ICC events until 2027, with Dubai named as the host of India’s Champions Trophy games.While there is no recent precedent for an India player visiting Pakistan in an official capacity, there is one involving BCCI officials. In 2023, Roger Binny and Rajiv Shukla, the BCCI’s president and vice-president, travelled to Lahore for an official PCB dinner during the Asia Cup, after being invited by the then PCB chair Zaka Ashraf.It is understood that the PCB has requested the ICC to ensure that, as per standard practice, all teams and captains are available for the Champions Trophy photoshoot, opening ceremony and other pre-tournament engagements. The ICC, it is understood, is still finalising logistics and travel dates for teams.Incidentally, the ICC did not organise a captains event ahead of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup which was co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA. With teams playing warm-up matches in several countries, the ICC instead opted to do the official launch via a lighting projection show that featured all 20 captains beamed onto the Rockefeller Centre building in New York City. It is understood that like in the 2024 T20 World Cup, teams will have the option of playing up to two warm-up matches each depending on their arrival time for the Champions Trophy.

Saikia: ‘BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule’

Saikia, meanwhile, has clarified that India will adhere to the dress code set by the ICC for the Champions Trophy, responding to media speculation that the BCCI had objected to the host nation’s name on their jersey. Player jerseys during ICC events usually include the tournament logo with the name of the tournament, host country and year below it.”BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule during Champions Trophy,” Saikia told . “Whatever the other teams will do regarding the logo and dress code, we are going to follow in true letter and spirit.”

West Indies 230 for 3 (King 82, Lewis 49, Carty 45) beat Bangladesh 227 (Mahmudullah 62, Tanzid 46, Seales 4-22) by seven wicketsWest Indies coasted to a seven-wicket win against Bangladesh in St Kitts to claim the three-match ODI series. It was West Indies’ first ODI series win against Bangladesh in ten years. They had won the last four ODI series between the two sides too. West Indies had on Sunday broken Bangladesh’s 11-match winning streak against them in the first ODI.Jayden Seales’ career-best figures of 4 for 22 led the home side’s bowling efforts as they bowled out the visitors for 227 in 45.5 overs. Brandon King then struck a rapid 82 to accelerate West Indies’ chase, as they completed the win in 36.5 overs. Captain Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford, who struck 113 in the first game, were the unbeaten batters who completed the game.Bangladesh meanwhile have won just one out of their last six ODI series, while West Indies have turned around their fortunes in the format. They have now won consecutive ODI series wins after beating England last month. They had lost ODI series against Australia and Sri Lanka earlier in the year.Seales gave West Indies the foundation for this win. He dealt three early blows before Gudakesh Motie’s solid 2 for 36 kept Bangladesh on a leash for much of the middle overs. Bangladesh could only make a 200-plus total mainly due to a 92-run stand between Mahmudullah and Tanzim Hasan. It is a new record for the eighth wicket for Bangladesh. Mahmudullah’s 62 was also his third consecutive fifty in ODIs.Before Seales took his wickets, Bangladesh got off to a rapid start when Tanzid struck debutant Marquino Mindley for two fours and as many sixes in the first three overs. Seales broke through soon, getting Soumya Sarkar caught at mid-on for two. Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz then followed Soumya in the first powerplay, both falling to Seales. Litton plodded along for four off 18 balls before his attempted pull shot was much too early, as it took the toe of the bat, and lobbed to point.Seales then caught Mehidy in two minds, as he tried to leave the ball but it took the inside edge and on to the stumps. Tanzid had kept Bangladesh going at the other end, but he couldn’t convert another start into a big one. After striking Justin Greaves for two fours in the eleventh over, he fell in the same over, caught at point. It was similar to how Tanzid fell in the first ODI.Afif then started well, hitting Romario Shepherd for four boundaries, lofting him twice over his head, and once over cover. Attempting a similar hit off Motie however, Afif fell to a catch at long-off for 24.Jaker Ali and Rishad Hossain Motie then followed quickly, and cheaply. Motie trapped Jaker lbw for three, before Rishad became Mindley’s first ODI wicket, falling for a duck.West Indies were making it look like a cakewalk as they reduced Bangladesh to 115 for seven at this stage. Mahmudullah, who had struck one six till that point, had to trust Tanzim, who previously had a first-class fifty to his name. Tanzim looked determined as he struck two fours before launching Motie for his first six over long-on. Mahmudullah had struck two sixes till that point. The pair then hammered Greaves for a six and a four in consecutive overs, before repeating the same dose a few overs later, on the same bowler.Roston Chase ended the partnership in the 44th over when he caught Tanzim off his own bowling. It was a fine effort from the young cricketer, hitting six boundaries in his 62-ball stay.Mahmudullah followed Tanzim back to the pavilion in the next over, bizarrely hitting Seales’ wide delivery down deep point’s throat. His 62 came off 92 balls, including two fours and four sixes. It is only the second time in his career that Mahmudullah scored three fifties in a row in ODIs.When the home side replied to Bangladesh’s 227, King got off to a strong start with five boundaries in the first seven overs, hitting the ball well square on both sides of the pitch. He moved to 26, while Lewis languished on six off 23 balls. Finally in the ninth over, Lewis struck Tanzim for three boundaries, including a flat six over long-leg.Lewis struck Mehidy for a huge hit down the ground in the 14th over before getting dropped next ball, when Soumya who couldn’t hold on to a difficult chance. Lewis was on 29 at the time. After King reached his half-century off 52 balls in the 16th over, Lewis slammed Mehidy for his third six shortly afterwards. His fourth was a bit of a revenge against Rana who had struck him in the unmentionables during the 20th over.The pair completed their second century opening partnership this year. King has been involved in West Indies’ last five century opening stands. This one ended when Lewis, still reeling from that Rana blow, gave Rishad a caught-and-bowled after making 49 off 62 balls.The wicket didn’t seem to lift Bangladesh who promptly conceded five runs in overthrows. Litton conceded four byes also. Keacy Carty took advantage of their errors, hitting five boundaries while King slammed three sixes in a short spell. He launched Rishad twice, apart from lifting Tanzim down the ground, and on to the roof of the pavilion building.King fell to a Rana yorker in the 29th over. The long shadow of one of the light towers on the pitch could be a reason for King missing that ball, but he walked off quietly after adding 66 runs for the second wicket with Carty. King struck eight fours and three sixes in his 76-ball stay. Carty fell soon after King, slicing a catch to Rana off Afif Hossain, after making 45 off 47 balls. Rutherford and Hope blazed Rishad for a four and a six respectively, in his eighth over.Rutherford played out the final rites of the series when he disdainfully swung Shoriful Islam over square-leg for two sixes in the 37th over, to complete the win.

India handed out one final shellacking to Bangladesh on their final night of the tour, but this was one for the ages. The second-highest T20I score, three short of 300; Sanju Samson’s silken 40-ball century, Suryakumar Yadav’s improvisation and power; and then the finish by the powerful lower middle order.There was no respite for Bangladesh: 22 sixes (joint-highest for a Test-playing side) and 25 fours combined for the most runs in boundaries in a T20 innings, a record 18 overs went for ten runs or more, one of them went for five sixes, and three bowlers conceded 50 or more. Two of the 26 dot balls turned out to be no-balls, a catch went down, and a run-out was missed.Samson, Suryakumar stun BangladeshWhen Tanzim Hasan got Abhishek Sharma out with a bouncer first ball, little would have Bangladesh known that would be their last moment of joy for the evening. Samson had already messed around with Taskin Ahmed’s lines by backing away and hitting four successive fours in the second over. The new batter, Suryakumar, took only one ball before hitting his first six.Related

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Samson wasn’t to be left behind. He backed away and got the better of Mustafizur Rahman too with a six and a four. Suryakumar then capped off the powerplay with shots that should be considered audacious but are the norm for him, managing to pull balls well behind square when most batters would be happy going just behind. The last of those was a pull over midwicket, taking India to their joint-highest powerplay score, 82.Suryakumar was to unfurl a carved six over backward point that he had no right sending there, but the most memorable shots came from Samson. Some of his eight sixes were audacious but they were not muscled. His control percentage for a strike-rate of 236.17 was a high 81.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The most incredible of Samson’s sixes was when he almost stepped on the stumps to create a short length on a Mustafizur slower ball, and drove it off the back foot over extra cover. Legspinner Rishad Hossain, who went for 55 last match, was just shot. He kept erring in length, starting the first over with a short ball, but in his second he kept letting Samson hit him for sixes down the ground without having to use his feet. Some of it was the pitch, but a lot of it was his lengths: too full. In the end, Rishad’s two overs went for 46 runs.The innings was a monkey off the back for Samson, whose talent had yet to translate into numbers in international T20s. It showed in his extravagant celebrations on reaching both the fifty and the hundred, India’s second-quickest. For a change, Suryakumar had to be content with being the support act in the 173-run second-wicket stand.Punishment continuesUsually you expect a bit of relief when you break such a long stand, but Riyan Parag and Hardik Pandya had other ideas. Parag took three balls to hit his boundary, Pandya the same. Between them they scored 81 off 31 balls, hitting four sixes apiece. Pandya managed to outdo the Samson back-foot six over extra cover when he made his off Tanzim even bigger. Again a good slower short ball with no room, but it still sailed over extra cover.Two wickets in the final over made sure India didn’t get to 300, but that was hardly any consolation for Bangladesh.Final ritesIt could still get worse and it did for Bangladesh. The chase began with a brute of a bouncer from Mayank Yadav for a golden duck for Parvez Hossain. Mahmudullah’s last outing in T20 international at 8 off 9 to go with bowling figures of 2-0-26-1. Ravi Bishnoi, playing his first match of the series, showed off India’s spin riches with three wickets. Towhid Hridoy’s half-century, at a strike rate of 150 with three fours and five sixes, did manage to prevent the biggest T20I defeat for a Test-playing team bug it was Bangladesh’s biggest loss in terms of runs.

Skipper John Simpson became the first Sussex batter for ten years to score five Vitality County Championship hundreds in a season as the second division leaders took charge against Glamorgan at Hove.Simpson also passed 1,000 runs in his unbeaten 112 as Sussex responded to Glamorgan’s under-par 186 with 407 for 5, a lead of 221.With promotion rivals Yorkshire and Middlesex in position to win their games, it is crucial that Sussex do the same and apart from a careless hour before lunch, when they lost four wickets for 25, they were in control at the 1st Central County Ground.Simpson has so far added 194 for the fifth wicket with Tom Clark, who played his part with an unbeaten 73, and just before bad light intervened at 4.20pm the pair took 19 off ten balls to ensure Sussex collected a fourth batting point.Ed Joyce – who also left Middlesex to move to the south coast – was the last batter as prolific as Simpson has been in what is his first year with Sussex, and not for the first time this season he made sure his team didn’t squander a good position.At the start of the day Daniel Hughes and nightwatchman Henry Crocombe extended their second-wicket stand to 78 and their only alarm came when Dan Douthwaite put down a tough chance at midwicket when Crocombe was on 25.Hughes looked on course for back-to-back hundreds but on 83 (14 fours) he chipped a straightforward catch to midwicket off Douthwaite, who was Glamorgan’s best bowler on a tough day. Crocombe forced Douthwaite through the covers for his seventh boundary to bring up a maiden first-class fifty before he was taken at short leg attacking off-spinner Ben Kellaway.The ambidextrous Kellaway, who later in the day switched briefly to bowling left-arm spin, had Tom Alsop caught at slip pushing forward and James Coles, the only right-hander in Sussex’s top seven, wafted at a ball he could have ignored in the last over before lunch to give Douthwaite his second wicket.Clark’s fifty was only his third of a difficult season and here he was tied down early on by Kellaway in particular. He didn’t score a boundary until his 58th ball when he cut Kellaway through backward point but with Simpson counter-attacking at the other end Clark grew in confidence and Sussex assumed control.Glamorgan only bowled eight overs of seam with the new ball before Kellaway was back on again at the sea end and the 20-year-old from Newport, who is playing only his fourth first-class match, impressed with his control on a surface offering some turn.But as the sixth-wicket stand prospered the only question was how many batting bonus points Sussex could secure in 110 overs. Simpson took two boundaries off Kellaway, the second of which took the left-hander to his 15th first-class hundred, as ten came off the 109th over and a pulled six off Ned Leonard from the first delivery of the next followed by three singles took them to a fourth point with two balls to spare.By then the light was fading and shortly afterwards umpires Nigel Llong and Sue Redfern took the players off but with two days left and a good forecast Sussex will feel they have enough time to press home their advantage and secure a seventh win of the season.

Saif Zaib hit a battling 90 off 144 balls to lead a Northamptonshire fightback after a top-order collapse on the opening day of this Vitality Championship match against Derbyshire at Wantage Road.Zaib found fine support from Justin Broad in a partnership of 73 in 19 overs which enabled the hosts to post 219, a score that had looked extremely unlikely at 89 for 6 soon after lunch.For only the second time in Derbyshire history all seven bowlers used took a wicket, Zak Chappell, Martin Andersson and Jack Morley taking two apiece. Luis Reece and Brooke Guest then saw the visitors through to 65 for 1 at the close, trailing by 154 runs, Broad taking the one wicket to fall.Playing on the same surface used for last Thursday’s Vitality Blast quarter-final and one expected to offer turn, the hosts opted to bat first in overcast conditions after winning the toss. Playing with a rejigged batting line-up, the gamble seemed not to have paid off as wickets tumbled although Northamptonshire’s spinners would have drawn encouragement from the turn found by their Derbyshire counterparts.India international Prithvi Shaw was first to go when he edged the second delivery of the day from Chappell to third slip, the bowler’s 50th first-class wicket for Derbyshire. Home skipper Luke Procter, who played two textbook drives through mid-off, was then trapped leg before wicket by Reece before Gus Miller, promoted to open, was undone by an Andersson delivery which swung back in to also pin him lbw.Rob Keogh’s stay was equally brief, Andersson moving one away and drawing the edge, keeper Guest taking an excellent diving catch.James Sales played some attacking shots, slapping Andersson through the covers and smashing Reece over the head of mid-off for another boundary. His was the fifth wicket to fall before lunch though when he drove loosely to Chappell and was caught low down at third slip by Aneurin Donald.Lewis McManus started positively after lunch, driving Chappell down the pitch for four but became teenage quick Harry Moore’s maiden first-class wicket on Championship debut, courtesy of a pull straight to fine leg.That brought together Zaib and Broad together who began to restore a measure of respectability to the hosts’ innings. Zaib worked Reece through square leg for four before lunch and eased into a glorious cover drive off Moore after the interval, while Broad drove Chappell down the ground and punched him through the covers as Northamptonshire passed 100 in the 37th over.As Derbyshire deployed spin from both ends, Alex Thomson immediately found some turn to pose Broad some challenges before the allrounder swept him to the ropes. Zaib meanwhile also found the sweep an increasingly lucrative bet against the spinners.The pair took Northamptonshire past 150 up in the 50th over before Morley spun one away from Broad, drawing the edge with David Lloyd taking a good low catch at second slip. Ben Sanderson fell quickly in the next over, offering short leg an easy catch when he prodded forward against Thomson.Zaib though progressed serenely to his half-century, reaching the milestone off 100 deliveries as he played Thomson through midwicket. He survived a strong shout for a catch at short leg off Morley when the umpires adjudged the ball had been hit into the ground first. Zaib responded by dispatching Morley imperiously over long-off for six and powering Thomson through extra cover.But Morley then picked up a second wicket when he turned one back in to hit Dom Leech’s leg stump as he attempted to sweep.With Northamptonshire nine wickets down, Zaib pressed the accelerator, clubbing Morley’s left-armers through mid-off and then sweeping him high over deep square for four and six. His downfall finally came was stumped coming down the pitch to Lloyd.When Derbyshire began their innings after tea, Sanderson bowled a typically miserly spell from one end, Broad making the initial breakthrough from the other. He found some additional bounce from back of a length, surprising Harry Came who was caught on the crease, fending fended the ball to Sales who took a good low catch at second slip.Reece meanwhile started to find the boundary, cutting Broad crisply to deep point, while he and Guest both pulled Yuzvendra Chahal fluently for boundaries as Derbyshire finished the session without further incident, despite some strong appeals from the hosts’ spin contingent.

Josh Hull, the Leicestershire left-arm seamer, has been added to England’s squad for the final two Tests against Sri Lanka, following confirmation that Mark Wood will play no further part in the series after suffering a thigh injury.Hull, 20, is one of the most exciting young players on the county circuit, although his first-class record is modest with 16 wickets at 62.75. Standing at 6ft 7in, he played a key role in Leicestershire’s triumph in the Metro Bank One-Day Club last season, and impressed earlier this month on his England Lions debut, taking five wickets across two innings at New Road to help inflict a seven-wicket defeat on Sri Lanka’s tourists in their only warm-up game.He has only taken two wickets in three Championship games this season, but showcased an ability to push the speed gun up towards 90mph when making his debut in the Hundred for Manchester Originals last month.”It was about half nine last night when I got the call from Brendon McCullum,” Hull told BBC Radio Leicester. “It’s a very special moment.””It’s come around pretty quickly, I didn’t think it would happen this fast, but I am really excited to be joining them””I was happy with how I performed [for England Lions] but I never thought it would lead to a call this early. They’ve got Olly Stone there as the first replacement, so it will be a great opportunity to join up and be part of that environment.”Hull is currently in Bristol, taking part in Leicestershire’s Championship fixture with Gloucestershire, and is expected to join up with England’s squad in London on Monday ahead of the second Test at Lord’s, which begins on Thursday. The final Test of the summer, at the Kia Oval, takes place from September 6-10.Hull’s inclusion is the only change to England’s 13-man squad for the remaining two Tests, with Nottinghamshire’s Olly Stone likely to step into Wood’s role for what would be his fourth Test appearance, and his first since New Zealand at Edgbaston in June 2021. Stone has also been playing Championship cricket for Nottinghamshire this week, after being released from the England squad on the opening day of the first Test, alongside the reserve batter, Essex’s Jordan Cox.Related

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Wood’s status had been in some doubt from the moment he pulled up midway through his 11th over of Sri Lanka’s second innings on Friday evening. He took no further part in the match, and was subsequently sent for a scan midway on Saturday morning, with the results revealing a muscle strain in his right thigh.Though unfortunate in the short term, the diagnosis of a strain, rather than a tear, will be a relief for Wood and England, given the team’s busy winter schedule which includes three-Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand in the lead-up to Christmas.In his absence, England were made to battle for victory in the first Test, with Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal batting through the morning session of the fourth day to help post a taxing target of 205, which was eventually hunted down with five wickets standing, thanks to an unbeaten 62 from Joe Root.England squad for final two Tests: Ollie Pope (capt), Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Dan Lawrence, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes

Sophie Munro produced a stunning spell on her Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy debut for Sunrisers to keep them in the top two with a tense win over Lancashire Thunder at Chelmsford.Seamer Munro, on loan from The Blaze, captured three wickets in four balls – including the key scalp of ex-Sunrisers batter Naomi Dattani – as she wrapped up her side’s first victory over Thunder in any format with figures of 5 for 25.Dattani’s knock of 36 seemed likely to steer Thunder past the home side’s total of 253, which might have been higher but for a middle-order collapse after skipper Grace Scrivens (51 from 54 balls) and Jo Gardner (63 from 78) had shared an opening stand of 94.Sunrisers then lost six wickets for 52, with left-arm spinner Hannah Jones returning four for 50 to become the tournament’s joint highest wicket-taker with 14.Even with drizzle and dark clouds hovering above the ground, Scrivens chose to bat after winning the toss and, despite some early swing for left-armer Tara Norris, the home side built steadily. They reached 48 in the 10th over before the drizzle developed into heavier rain and, once the players returned after almost an hour’s delay, the contest was reduced to 48 overs a side.Scrivens looked nicely set, taking successive fours off former team-mate Dattani as she advanced to her 50 only to be bamboozled soon afterwards by Fi Morris, with Ellie Threlkeld completing a stumping.Gardner might have gone the same way when she misjudged a ball from Sophie Morris, who bowled consistently to finish with 2 for 38, but the opener survived to post her first half-century of the tournament.Having pumped Fi Morris for two leg-side sixes, Gardner’s pursuit of a third proved costly as Katie Mack clasped the catch just inside the rope to trigger Thunder’s fightback. Fi Morris was also the architect of Jodi Grewcock’s downfall, deflecting Cordelia Griffith’s full-blooded drive onto the stumps to run her out and Jones then weighed in by having Flo Miller and Amara Carr leg before sweeping in the same over.Clean hitting by Mady Villiers took her to 35 from 26 with back-to-back boundaries off Jones but, when she was clean bowled by the next delivery, that appeared to signal an end to Sunrisers’ hopes of posting 250. However, the visitors surprisingly returned to Dattani and Phoebe Graham’s expensive medium pace and last pair Munro and Kate Coppack took advantage, adding a valuable 32 to set a slightly adjusted target of 255.Thunder openers Emma Lamb and Seren Smale looked comfortable at the start of the chase, working the ball around with ease and ticking along at above five an over in their stand of 63 from 69. Grewcock finally broke the partnership when Villiers’ diving catch at midwicket accounted for Smale and the spinner also collected the scalp of Lamb, caught top-edging a paddle two short of a deserved half-century.Mack – who registered a hundred in Thunder’s win over Sunrisers earlier in the tournament – looked on course for another match-winning knock with 33 from 42 until Eva Gray trapped her in front.With Threlkeld and Danni Collins both run out after mix-ups, the burden fell on Dattani’s shoulders – and she survived a couple of close calls against Scrivens, with a pull fumbled at midwicket and a stumping chance going begging.But Munro’s sixth over proved decisive as she dismissed Norris and Graham in successive balls and had Dattani caught behind before Jones holed out to long-off to round off the win with 16 deliveries to spare.

Nottinghamshire 326 for 8 (Stone 74, Haynes 55, Clarke 51, Aldridge 4-90) vs Somerset Fast bowler Olly Stone’s unbeaten 74 led a Nottinghamshire recovery from 190 for seven to 326 for eight on day one of their Vitality County Championship match against Somerset at Trent Bridge.The England quick, who began this season with only one half-century to his name in 46 first-class matches, now has two in his last three following his 90 against Lancashire last month.He shared an eighth-wicket stand of 112 with Calvin Harrison to give the day a different complexion after Joe Clarke (51) and Jack Haynes (55) had put on 108 for the fourth wicket but been unable to kick on, seamer Kasey Aldridge the main driver of a Nottinghamshire mid-innings collapse that saw four wickets fall for 11 runs.Aldridge, in the Somerset side for the first time since April following an injury to skipper Lewis Gregory, finished the day with four for 90, South African seamer Migael Pretorius taking three for 73.Earlier in the day, a wicket apiece for Aldridge, Craig Overton and Pretorius against 111 runs conceded had made for a reasonably satisfactory morning’s work for Somerset after Nottinghamshire skipper Haseeb Hameed had chosen to bat first on a mottled pitch that in the event offered less help to the bowlers than some might have anticipated.Overton, skippering in the absence of Gregory, should have had a second, but Haynes was dropped at first slip on 19. Earlier he had bowled Hameed with an inswinger of full length, which had been the only breakthrough until Ben Slater and Will Young departed to consecutive deliveries around 20 minutes into the second hour.Pretorius could not take much credit for Slater’s dismissal, a poor ball down the leg side turned into a successful one by wicketkeeper James Rew’s spectacular catch diving to his right to snaffle Slater’s faint glance.Aldridge was more deserving, his inswinger beating Will Young to bring more disappointment for the New Zealander, whose unbeaten 174 against Somerset on his county debut at Taunton in April remains his only notable score.The first 40 minutes after lunch saw the Somerset attack lose their way somewhat. Overton and Jake Ball, back at Trent Bridge in the opposition dressing room for the first time after he was released last autumn, both offered width on which Clarke and Haynes eagerly feasted.Ball gave way to Pretorius but Haynes struck three more boundaries, lifting his tally to nine and taking him to a 52-ball half-century. Clarke completed his own fifty soon afterwards, from 75 balls with his 10th four, but was immediately out, finding Tom Banton at cover as Aldridge gained a second success.As happened in the first session, one wicket prefaced another. Pretorius produced a beauty to have Haynes caught by Overton at slip. And with the Somerset seamers suddenly now in the ascendancy, two more wickets followed, both to Aldridge, who found some bounce from the Stuart Broad End to have Tom Moores caught at gully and Lyndon James behind the stumps as Nottinghamshire, 179 for three before Clarke’s demise, slipped to 190 for seven.Yet, if Somerset thought they were into the tail as Stone emerged from the pavilion, the 30-year-old pace bowler was to disavow them of that notion.On a surface beginning to flatten and, for the next 30 overs, against an increasingly aging ball, he and the leg-spinning all-rounder Harrison constructed an impressive recovery, assembling the biggest partnership of the innings.And it was Stone, confirming his 90 against Lancashire was no fluke, who took on the leading role, again looking like an accomplished batter. His half-century, off 89 balls, arrived with a square drive off Overton against the new ball for his eighth four, which he followed with a couple more tucked away on the leg side off Ball.Harrison made 35 before he was bowled by Pretorius in the 10th over with the new ball, before Dillon Pennington picked up three boundaries of his own to leave Nottinghamshire needing 24 more in 14 overs for a third batting point.