Nicholls has played 58 Tests since his debut in 2016, but has only played the two Zimbabwe Tests since 2023, when he was dropped four innings after scoring an unbeaten double-hundred against Sri Lanka. That double-hundred was the only score of more than 40 Nicholls had made in his eight previous Test appearances. 

Having played the vast majority of his Test career at No.5, Nicholls will make the move up to No.3 this week to fill in for Williamson after the former captain's abrupt mid-series retirement. New Zealand called up Will Young as batting cover following Williamson's announcement, but he only arrived in the UK earlier this week.

Nicholls recall follows strong domestic returns

Nicholls' form in New Zealand domestic cricket sets a strong backdrop for his recall. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2025/26 Plunket Shield, scoring 870 runs at an average of 96.66, batting between No.3 and No.4. 

"He's someone that has a lot of international experience," New Zealand captain Tom Latham said. "He's been out of the squad for a couple of years now, but has certainly forced his way back into the squad through weight of runs at domestic level. It's a really exciting opportunity for him to come back into the side in a role at No. 3 that he's been doing for Canterbury back home."

Despite his drop in form in 2022 and 2023, Nicholls has a Test average just under 40, and has scored 10 Test hundreds. He was part of the side that won the World Test Championship final in Southampton in 2021, and also has 97 white-ball international caps to his name.

The second Test of the series between England and New Zealand will begin on Wednesday (June 17) at The Oval.

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Having won their first ever ODI series against Australia (2-1 in a three-match series), Bangladesh will now host Australia for three T20Is, scheduled for June 17, 19, and 21. The entire series will be played at the Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram.

Unlike in ODIs, Bangladesh have a reasonable record against Australia in T20Is, having won four and lost seven games. At home, that number reads 4-2, including a 4-1 series win just ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Australia are currently in third place on the ICC men’s T20I rankings (behind India and England), while Bangladesh are eighth. In fact, Bangladesh are part of a very close seven-team cluster, where New Zealand (fourth) and Afghanistan (tenth) are separated by only 27 rating points.

Also read: Latest ICC men's Test team rankings: India, Pakistan both gain after annual update

Latest ICC men’s T20I team rankings before BAN vs AUS T20I series

Mahmud became only the second Bangladesh player to feature in the County Championship after Shakib Al Hasan when he signed for Kent on June 9. He was drafted straight into the XI for the Division Two game against Lancashire, and starred in a 140-run win.

Batting first in Blackpool, Kent were bowled out for 178, with Liam Livingstone, making his first FC appearance since his Test debut in 2022, picking up a five-wicket haul. Keith Dudgeon starred with the ball for Kent, registering his 13th five-for in the format, to finish with 6-21 as Lancashire were bowled out for 87.

Mahmud, bowling first change, took three wickets for 32 runs, accounting for the wickets of Marcus Harris, Livingstone and Joseph Moores. Chris Benjamin’s third first-class century and Harry Finch’s 83 put Kent in a strong position to close out the game, as they posted a 424-run target for Lancashire to chase.

Mahmud punctured their pursuit, dismissing Harry Singh and Josh Bohannon in his first spell before returning to break a 104-run stand between Keaton Jennings and Harris by having the former caught behind. He broke another strong partnership, going through Livingstone’s defence before having Moores caught behind just two deliveries later to complete his fourth five-wicket haul in the format.

George Balderson was his sixth victim as he finished with 6-69, his career-best innings figures in first-class cricket, and registered match figures of 9-101, also a career-best.

The right-arm quick had made his international debut in 2020, lining up for Bangladesh in a T20I against Zimbabwe. He had to wait nearly a year for his second international appearance, playing two home ODIs against the West Indies. His Test bow came in 2024, following which he also became the first Bangladesh fast bowler to take a five-wicket haul in India.

Overall, Mahmud has played 13 Tests, 26 ODIs and T20Is for Bangladesh, taking 36, 33 and 28 wickets in the formats, respectively. His last international appearance came in the first Test of a two-match series against Ireland in November 2025 in Sylhet.

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The England head coach spoke to the media yesterday (June 15), ahead of the second Test of their series against New Zealand, which will begin at The Oval tomorrow (June 17). McCullum said that he went through "a range of emotions" after hearing that both Stokes and Gus Atkinson had broken the team's midnight curfew while celebrating England's win in the first Test, and had been involved in an altercation with a Saracens rugby player which left an ECB support staff member needing medical attention. He said his emotions turned quickly to "worry and concern" for Stokes, who was reportedly considering retiring from international cricket last week.

Speaking on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher said: "If Brendon had any idea as to Ben Stokes’ mental state in terms of returning to the team, let alone captaining the team, he probably would have said ‘yeah, of course it’s not his last Test, he’ll be back and he’ll be our captain when he’s ready to do so’.

"But, reading between the lines, it’s saying that Ben is having real difficulty in seeing a way through this himself. So the decision wouldn't be that the ECB would sack him or that Brendon doesn’t want him as captain anymore, but that Ben is undecided, or unsure, or just has no idea about what the next day looks like, as opposed to what the future of his captaincy looks like."

Joe Root has been named as England's interim captain for tomorrow's Test match, selected over Harry Brook – England's official vice-captain – postponing any potential transition of leadership. While Stokes was reportedly considering calling time on his playing career last week, he has since returned to training with Durham's County Championship side, and could play in their fixture against Northants later in the week.

England have made sweeping changes to their Test XI after standing down both Stokes and Atkinson. Sonny Baker and Jordan Cox will both make their Test debuts at The Oval, while James Rew may also earn his first international cap if Jamie Smith goes on paternity leave during the match. Ollie Robinson will miss the match with soreness to his knee, with Jofra Archer also named in the side having built his workloads back up after his IPL stint.

"England have gone with a safer looking team," said Butcher. "They bat down to Cox at seven, who's just made a blistering double hundred in his only Championship appearance so far. Bethell and Root will share a bit of spin duty should it be required. My instinct is always, if you think the pitch is pretty flat, then you're going to need somebody who bowls spin properly, but I can absolutely understand why they haven't gone that route in this Test match, given everything else that's going on."

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With 3-21, Shree Charani helped India crush Pakistan by 64 runs in their 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup opener. That propped her by five places, and she is now ranked second on the ICC rankings. Deepti Sharma’s record-breaking 5-10 helped her rise five spots too, and she is now fifth. Sadia Iqbal, previously second, returned 2-41 from her four overs, but her team lost. As a result, she slipped five spots to seventh place.

Linsey Smith continued to hold the top spot, with a rating of 733, but a very telling statistic is eighth-placed Sophie Ecclestone’s rating of 713. There is little to separate the top eight.

There was no significant activity among the top ten batters. The exceptions were Laura Wolvaardt, who displaced Beth Mooney at second place despite Australia’s win against South Africa, and Phoebe Litchfield, who rose to tenth spot, pushing Harmanpreet Kaur out.

Five all-time great all-rounders now occupy the top five spots after all five changed positions. Hayley Matthews regained the top spot, displacing Amelia Kerr.

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"He’s actually changing what a good-length ball means because he doesn’t come forward, which means good length for him is completely different to every other player playing at the moment."
Zubin Bharucha, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s coach and mentor, explains why the teenager is so hard to bowl to

 "Perhaps he’s not the best batter in the IPL in spite of being 15, but because of it. T20 cricket is a ‘no fear’ game. Who better to take advantage than a kid, with no fear of failure to get rid of in the first place?
Ben Gardner on Sooryavanshi's extraordinary IPL

"In so many ways, that five-day thrill has already been lost. For every Test that has all results possible going into the final hour, there are 10 abject surrenders." 
Andrew Miller argues the clock is ticking on five-day Tests

"Stokes may belong to us, but we don’t own him. We’re talking here about a flawed, deeply human public figure who has injected more joy and hope into the soul of this weird movement than any other English cricketer of the last 20 years." 
Phil Walker reacts to the latest instalment of the unmissable Ben Stokes saga

 "When the finger goes up it’s wild. Caps are being thrown in the air, people are trying to tackle Norts, and he’s literally doing laps of the ground. When we walked off me and a few of the other guys just started laughing – we couldn’t fathom what we’d just seen."
Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson on his teammates Tom Norton's record-breaking hat-trick in 'The Diary' 

"Of all Test batters with at least 20 innings at Nos.5-6 whose careers were primarily spent in that role, only the West Indies’ Keith Arthurton has a more ‘average’ average than Bairstow’s Jonny Bairstow takes the No.6 spot in Test cricket's 'Average XI'."
Jeff Thomas delves deep into the data to reveal Test cricket's all-time 'Average XI'

 "You can’t win the competition at the auction, because a lot of that probably does a disservice to the players and everything else that goes with it. But I do think you can probably lose an IPL at an auction."
Mo Bobat on RCB's back-to-back IPL titles

"Off the field Gay was refreshingly talkative, eyes a-sparkle, signing autographs – trying, as he put it, “to absorb all the emotions” of the occasion; while on it, he hinted at a game with the right alchemy of technical acuity and strokemaking touch to give the accursed job of being an England Test opener a pretty good go." 
Phil Walker considers if Emilio Gay can crack the toughest job in cricket

 

James Rew is also on standby to take over the gloves from Jamie Smith, whose partner is heavily pregnant with their second child. If Smith is unable to take part in the match, England will have made five changes to the team that won the first Test at Lord's. The last time they made as many changes between the first and second Tests of a series was in 1986.

England XI for second Test vs New Zealand: Emilio Gay, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Jordan Cox, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Matt Fisher, Sonny Baker

*James Rew will take over from Jamie Smith and make his Test debut if Smith goes on paternity leave.

The sweeping changes to the XI have been made due to a mixture of players being unavailable through injury and disciplinary issues. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were made unavailable for selection for the Test after they broke team protocols, staying out after the midnight curfew during their celebrations for the win at Lord's last week. Joe Root will take over as interim captain in Stokes' absence, chosen for the job over vice-captain Harry Brook. Robinson's injury, after he took seven wickets playing his first Test for two years at Lord's, was another blow for England's selection, with fellow Sussex pacer Henry Crocombe added to the squad as cover.

Cox to make long-awaited Test debut following Championship double

Cox's Test debut comes after several false starts. He was set to make his Test debut in New Zealand in 2024, covering for Smith, who, at the time, was on his first stint of paternity leave. However, he broke his finger during training shortly before the match, and Jacob Bethell was called upon instead. He was then named in England's squad to face Zimbabwe last year, but picked up an abdominal injury while playing for Essex in the County Championship.

He wasn't named in England's squad for the first Test, having spent the first half of the county season sitting on the bench for RCB in the IPL. However, playing his first fixture in the Championship for a year in the latest round, he hit a rapid double-century to stake his claim to a spot in the XI. England head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed that Cox would bat in the lower-order, a role he felt suited Cox more than Rew, who was named in the squad of 15 for the first Test.

"James Rew was our back-up batter in the squad, but that was very much to cover the top-six role," said Brendon McCullum. "Jordan Cox, he obviously was over at the IPL. We wanted to see him come back and see what he could do before we thrust him into that role for the first time.

"He scored a double-hundred, which is a pretty compelling case. We think that his power and his rounded game is quite a nice fit at No. 7. We still very much see James Rew as an exciting option for us - and he may even get the nod this week, too - but Coxy's a fine player. He's been on our radar for a long time across all formats."

Baker set for debut in new-look pace attack

Three of the four seamers who made up England's winning attack at Lord's are unavailable for the second Test – only Josh Tongue remains in the side among pacers. With Shoaib Bashir also dropping out as part of the effort to rebalance the side in Stokes' absence, Baker will be part of a fiery attack.

Baker has only played 12 County Championship matches in his career so far, but has long been on England's radar, and made his white-ball debuts last year. He has 22 wickets from six matches in the County Championship so far this year, at an average of 24.86.

"He's got good air-speed, he swings the ball, he's got great skills," said McCullum of Baker. "But he charges in and he's got wild celebrations, and you can just see that cricket is what he wants to do. I'm excited to see how he goes and he is very well-planned and very well-prepared, which fits in with what we're trying to achieve now in this team with some of the shifts we've made."

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Track A: Test specialists

Track AB: Test and ODI players

Track BC: ODI and T20 players

Track D: T20I and franchise specialists

Each track will have two internal tiers, with players moving across the two levels based on their performance and “each player will be compared only with players from their own track”. The media release further states that the Test specialists, “for the first time... will be allowed to participate in the world's major first-class red-ball competitive leagues”.

New Pakistan central contracts: No franchise T20 leagues for Test specialists, domestic cricket mandatory

Despite the wording of the announcement, Pakistan internationals have been regular in the County Championship, with the likes of Hasan Ali, Mohammad Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Abbas all given an NOC's to feature in the ongoing season. Another important development is that Test specialists will not be allowed to participate in franchise T20 leagues going forward.

Moreover, “to obtain a central contract, it will be mandatory for players to actively participate in domestic cricket.” There will also be special consideration given to fitness levels, and "a comprehensive medical and fitness assessment will be conducted for every player. The purpose is to protect players' long-term health and careers."

The modifications have been made to give equal opportunities to specialist red-ball players. "The old central contracts system for Pakistani cricketers created two problems. First, a player performing well in short formats sometimes gained more benefits than a committed Test cricketer. Second, opportunities for advancement for Test cricket specialists were limited without standout performances in white-ball cricket. The new system eliminates both issues because each cricketer will be compared only with cricketers from the format they are associated with," the statement further reads.

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32. 113 vs Zimbabwe, Bulawayo 2016: One of three hundreds (and five eighty-plus scores) in the first innings against an attack which seldom threatened.

31 and 30. 118 and 109 vs South Africa, Mount Maunganui 2024/25: Rachin Ravindra’s 240 (his maiden ton) was the talk of the first innings, but Williamson got his routine hundred against a second-string South African side. His second hundred of the Test came after New Zealand batted again despite a 349-run lead.

29. 114 vs Bangladesh, Chattogram 2013/14: A first-innings hundred on a flat pitch where only 30 wickets fell, in a Test usually remembered for Sohag Gazi’s hat-trick and hundred.

28. 113 vs West Indies, Kingston 2014: A first-innings hundred in a massive 508-7 against an attack which lacked penetration. The pitch became difficult as the Test progressed, but Williamson was done by then.

27. 130 vs South Africa, Dunedin 2017/18: Williamson’s hundred (along with Dean Elgar’s) were the highlights of a Test that was reduced to a draw after an entire day’s play was lost to rain.

26. 200* vs Pakistan, Karachi 2022/23: Pakistan’s 438 was not a low score, but Williamson batted for nearly ten hours to completely eclipse them with an unbeaten double century. The Test ended in a draw.

25. 166 vs Australia, WACA 2015/16: Williamson’s support act to Ross Taylor’s 290 helped New Zealand secure a lead after the hosts  declared on 559-9 (and eventually draw the Test).

24. 215 vs Sri Lanka, Wellington 2023/24: Williamson and Henry Nicholls both made double hundreds as they put on 363 in the first innings and won by an innings.

23. 238 vs Pakistan, Christchurch 2021/22: The biggest of the three hundreds of New Zealand’s 659-6. Not content with the 369-run stand with Nicholls, he added another 133 with Daryl Mitchell in a Test where Pakistan lost by an innings and plenty.

22. 102 vs England, Auckland 2018/19: After England were bowled out for 58, all New Zealand needed was a big innings from someone. Williamson got that for them (Henry Nicholls topped even that), and the hosts won by an innings.

21. 129 vs Pakistan, Mount Maunganui 2020/21: Pakistan’s reasonable seam attack did not seem to affect Williamson, whose 129 helped New Zealand post 431 and secure a 192-run win, before Neil Wagner famously bowled with fractured toes to help them seal victory. 

20. 132 vs England, Lord’s 2015: Four New Zealand batters (and extras) went past fifty in New Zealand’s 523 – it gave them a 134-run lead – but Williamson’s was the only score in excess of 70. It paved the way for a 124-run win.

19. 192 vs Pakistan, Sharjah 2014/15: Against a first-innings total of 351, Williamson was the ice to Brendon McCullum’s fire in a 297-run second-wicket stand that took the game out of Pakistan’s reach. New Zealand won by an innings.

18. 176 vs South Africa, Hamilton 2017/18: A big innings in the context of the Test that helped New Zealand amass a 175-run lead. South Africa slipped to 80-5 in the third innings, but rain played spoilsport.

17. 251 vs West Indies, Hamilton 2020/21: So massive was Williamson’s innings that he outscored the West Indies (138 and 247) in each innings. His teammates, too, could only get 268 between them – and that included 47 extras.

16. 113 vs India, Auckland 2014/15: Williamson’s hundred was drowned out by McCullum’s double, but it help lift New Zealand after they were 30-3. The significance of the hundred is highlighted by New Zealand’s eventual margin of victory: 40 runs.

15. 156 vs England, Hamilton 2024/25: When they batted again despite a 204-run lead, New Zealand needed to bat England out of the Test. With his 156 (the only hundred of the Test), Williamson did exactly that: New Zealand won by 423 runs.

14. 131 vs India, Ahmedabad 2010/11: A debutant Williamson came to bat at 137-4 after India had amassed 487. Demonstrating signs of brilliance that would become a feature of his later days, the youngster top-scored to reduce the deficit to a mere 28. A star was unveiled.

13. 133* vs South Africa, Hamilton 2024/25: South Africa’s weakened attack did secure a 31-run lead. Chasing 269, New Zealand became 111-3, but Williamson rose to the occasion yet again. The hundred gave New Zealand their first series win against the Proteas.

12. 104* vs Bangladesh, Wellington 2017/18: Bangladesh must have sensed a chance after securing a 56-run lead, but their second-innings collapse left New Zealand with only 217 to win. They became 39-2, but Williamson hardly seemed flustered by the target.

11. 135 vs Sri Lanka, P Sara Oval 2012/13: Two-match series' were a regular feature of Williamson’s Test career. Here, New Zealand had to win the second Test to level the series. Williamson added 262 with Taylor, his captain, to take his side to the big first-innings total they needed.

10. 104 vs Bangladesh, Sylhet 2023/24: This classic came on a turning track (Bangladesh went in with one seamer) against a very strong spin attack. It helped New Zealand finish on par after the first innings, but they fell apart in the fourth innings.

9. 140 vs Australia, Brisbane 2015/16: Let alone the defeat, Williamson could not even help save the follow-on, but his counterattacking 140 against a full strength Australian attack at their Gabba stronghold was New Zealand’s only score in excess of fifty in that innings. 

8. 104* vs England, Hamilton 2019/20: After conceding a 101-run first-innings lead (and left with 75 overs to survive), Williamson and Taylor got together at 28-2. Both scored hundreds to save the Test.

7. 108* vs Sri Lanka, Hamilton 2015/16: The first of Williamson’s seven hundreds at Seddon Park was a fourth-innings gem that sealed a win. Chasing 189, New Zealand became 11-2 and then 130-5 against a rampant Dushmantha Chameera, but Williamson stayed put until the end to seal a famous win.

6. 161* vs West Indies, Bridgetown 2014: The ubiquitous Williamson classic. Trailing by 24, New Zealand fell to 68-3, but Williamson – aided by Denesh Ramdin’s drops – pushed the lead beyond 300. McCullum’s bold declaration helped New Zealand clinch the series 2-1.

5. 102* vs South Africa, Wellington 2012/13: Williamson’s second Test hundred was also one of his finest. Needing to bat 81 overs to save the Test (or an improbable 389 to win it), New Zealand were reduced to 83-5 inside 36 overs. But Williamson stayed put against Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, and Dale Steyn to carve out a special hundred to save the Test.

4. 121* vs Sri Lanka, Christchurch 2023/24: Chasing 285 in this classic, New Zealand were 232-3 at one point. As Sri Lanka picked up five more wickets, the hosts had to both battle the clock and keep the wickets in hand in the dying moments of the Test. The win eventually came off the final ball, with two wickets in hand.

3. 132 vs England, Wellington 2023/24: In this fairytale of a contest, New Zealand became the second team to win a Test by one run, and the fourth to win after following on. Neither would have been possible without Williamson’s hundred, which came after a first-innings deficit of 126 – a 447-minute study in contrast to England’s Bazball.

2. 139 vs Pakistan, Abu Dhabi 2018/19: You know the template by now. Trailing by 74 in the first innings, New Zealand became 60-4 in the second, before – obviously – Williamson (and Nicholls) intervened. The pair put on 212, paving the way for a historic win for New Zealand on Asian soil.

1. 242* vs Sri Lanka, Wellington 2015/16: A familiar template, but a genuine magnum opus. At one point, New Zealand led by only 24 in the third innings with five wickets in hand, but Williamson and BJ Watling batted for eight hours, putting on an unbroken 365 to turn the Test on its head. New Zealand converted a certain defeat into a 193-run win.

Bowling all-rounder Vipraj Nigam scored his first List A fifty, batting at No.9, to take India A to a fighting total of 265 in Dambulla. His knock, which ended in a bizarre run-out, was eventful otherwise as well: he was penalised twice for running onto the protected area of the pitch, which cost India A 10 runs. As a result, Sri Lanka A began their chase with 10 runs already on the board.

Anukul Roy had received the first warning from on-field umpires for running onto the protected area. As per clause 41.14 of MCC’s Laws of Cricket, “It is unfair to cause deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch. If the striker enters the protected area in playing or playing at the ball, he/she must move from it immediately thereafter. A batter will be deemed to be causing avoidable damage if either umpire considers that his/her presence on the pitch is without reasonable cause.

“At the first instance the umpire seeing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, inform the other umpire of the occurrence. The bowler's end umpire shall then warn both batters that the practice is unfair and indicate that this is a first and final warning. This warning shall apply throughout the innings. The umpire shall so inform each incoming batter. Inform the captain of the fielding side and, as soon as practicable, the captain of the batting side of what has occurred.”

Nigam, who walked in after Roy’s dismissal, was informed that the warning was in effect, but went on to repeat the infringement twice, once in the 35th over and then again two overs later. As a result, the fielding side were awarded 10 runs, thus starting their chase at 10-0.

“If there is any further instance of deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch by any batter in that innings, the umpire seeing the contravention shall, when the ball is dead, inform the other umpire of the occurrence. The bowler's end umpire shall disallow all runs to the batting side, return any not out batter to his/her original end signal no ball or wide to the scorers if applicable. Award five Penalty runs to the fielding side,” the laws state.

Interestingly, India A received five penalty points as well when wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella couldn't collect the ball cleanly off a Kugathas Mathulan delivery, and it went on to hit the helmet placed behind him.

India A were reduced to 143-7 upon Anukul Roy’s dismissal in the 33rd over when Nigam joined Suryansh Shedge in the middle. The duo added 104 runs for the eighth wicket in 90 deliveries to rescue the innings and take them to a respectable total. Shedge, too, hit his first-ever List A fifty, finishing at 72 off 66.

Image courtesy: SonyLiv

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Since then, the women’s game has grown and flourished exponentially, with the England team lifting many more trophies and women’s cricket in England and Wales becoming a professional sport.

In honour of the work and passion put in across the women’s game, the ECB unveiled 53 purple seats at Edgbaston ahead of England’s opening T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka – each seat recognising one of 53 women shaping the future of cricket across the country.

The 53 women selected highlight the breadth, diversity and richness of today’s cricket community, ranging from those who played a starring role in England’s 1973 World Cup winning team, to current and future voices of the game, including broadcaster Nikki Kapoor-Chaudhuri and former England star turned commentator Isa Guha. Others recognised include those creating opportunities for women and girls to find their place in cricket, such as Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi and Mehwish Babar, as well as trailblazers like Clare Connor and the first female groundskeeper at Lord’s, Meg Lay.

Also being honoured is ex-England international Ebony Rainford-Brent. Growing up as the only girl playing cricket at her school, she went on to lift the World Cup trophy in 2009 and has become one of the most influential figures in the English game. She said: “Cricket has opened up so many opportunities for me through my career and my message to women and girls considering getting involved in the game is that cricket needs you. Whatever your route in – playing, coaching, working, volunteering or following the sport – cricket has a space for you.”

One of the seats at Edgbaston tells the story of Cardiff-based coach Ayesha Rauf, who has made it her mission to boost South Asian representation in cricket across Wales, building the women’s and girls’ pathway at Llandaff Cricket Club from scratch.

Rauf said: “Growing up in London then moving to Wales, I rarely saw women who looked like me involved in the game. The absence made me reflect on where I fit in the sport and, more importantly, how I could help change that for others coming through. Being visible in this role matters and I take pride in contributing to a more diverse and welcoming game.”

The seats have been installed in the stands for the duration of the World Cup. Purple has been chosen as a nod to the Suffragette movement (representing dignity, loyalty, and justice) with the seats acting as visual markers of recognition – celebrating not just elite athletes, but coaches, community leaders, broadcasters, officials, organisers, grassroots volunteers and changemakers. Each seat has a QR code on it that fans can scan to read the individual stories.

Unveiling the campaign, Kate Aldridge, director of business operations and equity, diversity and inclusion at ECB, said: “The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is set to be a brilliant celebration of our sport but it also provides an important platform to change perceptions and shift visibility. Through the 53 we are placing women’s stories, contributions and impact directly at the heart of one of the great stadiums of our sport.

“We want to spotlight a few of the incredible women across England and Wales who are thriving in the game, opening up access and being role models for the next generation. By giving these stories a platform, we hope people are inspired to get involved in the game across all roles and at every level.

“As we welcome the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup back to England and Wales, we’re proud to celebrate not just elite performance, but the dedication, passion and contributions of women who make up our game.”

Stories to tell

Snippets of three inspiring stories from the 53

Glynis Culley
Coach and volunteer at Winchmore Hill CC; former England player

I started playing cricket when I studied at Bedford College of Physical Education. There had been no opportunity, as a girl, to play cricket when I was younger. I was a tennis player so had good hand-eye coordination and instantly took to the game. In a short time I was playing for Gunnersbury CC and had advanced to playing for Middlesex. This was alongside my day job as a teacher. Success at Middlesex led to my selection for Young England at the inaugural World Cup in 1973. I then progressed to playing for England. Matches took me the length and breadth of the country as well as appearing in World Cups in India and New Zealand.

Liara Hampton
Lord’s Taverners youth ambassador

From a young age, cricket has played a huge part in my life. I first got into the sport in primary school when one of my teachers started a cricket club. I immediately loved the game and soon joined a local club, where my passion for cricket continued to grow. Now I proudly play for the Gloucestershire D40 team as well as Hatherley and Reddings Cricket Club, and I enjoy every aspect of the sport. I am also a youth ambassador for Lord’s Taverners, helping at various Super 1s events and supporting the mission of making cricket inclusive for everyone and breaking down barriers. Some of my proudest moments include speaking at Lord’s and having my story published in the book What Cricket Means to Me.

Emily Marshall
Digital content producer for England Women

I’ve been part of the England Women management team for over three years, and it’s been a privilege to work in this amazingly supportive environment while showcasing our athletes to audiences around the world. My role spans content strategy, filming, editing and publishing, with a focus on highlighting both the hard yards our players put in and their shining personalities that make them so relatable. A key part of my work is helping shape how we present the team to our audiences, creating content that raises player profiles, strengthens fan connection, and brings more people into the sport, all of which is a true honour.

Visit ECB.co.uk/the53 for more information

Having just ended a 22-year stint as club chairman, alongside starting a programme to help young offenders through cricket, Reeve speaks about his years of volunteering and how important it is to keep cricket clubs running in the day to day, as well as the long-term.

“At 20 I joined the committee and over the next 37 years I held almost every position, including Secretary, Junior Manager, Coach, Captain, Vice President and Chair,” says Reeve.

“My main role as chair was to keep the club together – we had no form of income as 80 per cent of our subs went to the landlords. It was about dotting the I's and crossing the T's and keeping us all up to speed so that we were complying with the ECB Clubmark,” he adds.

“Saturday morning would see me getting down to the club early, opening the clubhouse, letting the cleaners in and making sure the dressing rooms were tidy. Then I would clear all the stuff out of the umpire's room that had been dumped in there during the week, before keeping the groundsman happy by making him a coffee and helping him where I could,” explains Reeve.

“After being first to arrive in the morning, I'd be last to leave at night as I would lock up and put the security alarm on before going home.”

Outside of Acton CC, Reeve sat on the Middlesex County Cricket League committee and led a cricket programme that looked to improve the lives of inmates at a Youth Offenders Prison.

“Someone told me they wanted to take cricket into the prison because they were only doing football and rugby. So I wrote a programme based on the acronym of cricket starting with character, resilience, integrity, courage, knowledge, education and trust. It’s got life skills, which I equates to running between the wickets as you've got to trust your partner.

“The programme could teach any human being but works well in prisons because cricket hasn't got any physical contact. With football and rugby, you can have a bad tackle that just sets off a chain of events that ends in violence, whereas with cricket, you haven't really got that contact.”

The programme Reeve devised was such a success that not only did it directly benefit the inmates, it also attracted visitors from the top of the sport as well as local religious leaders.

“We had some great visitors such as the head Imam from a London mosque as well as former professional cricketers like Simon Hughes and Chris Lewis. It was such a success that the prison guards gave everyone £10 phone credit, which is pretty much unheard of!”

Yet the biggest impact came outside the prison walls, as Reeve explains. “What usually happens at Feltham is that the inmates would get picked up by their friends and would be given a bag of weed to sell on the street and get straight back to business.

“Feltham youth offenders had an 80 per cent return rate, so kids would leave and only 20 per cent of them would avoid returning to prison. Our plan was to reduce the return rate by 10 per cent, which would save the government over a million pounds because it costs over £100,000 pounds a year for a prisoner to be in prison. The course cost us £10,000 so it was an absolute no-brainer.”
The programme had further incentives to promote engagement from the inmates as strong commitment would earn them a new shot at life once they left the prison gates.

“The top five performers on each programme would get a package when they left, where they would be met at the gate by a social worker who took them to their brand new flat with two months’ money and a job at a Costa, McDonald's or Subway,” says Reeve.
His exceptional work for the West London community was rewarded when he earnt a special trip to HQ for England’s Test match against Ireland in 2019.

“The Cricketer ran a competition for the best all-round cricket person in the country and I won it so I was rewarded by getting to ring the five-minute bell at Lord’s.”

The two wins propped Bangladesh’s rating to 87, two behind eighth-placed England (89) and well clear of tenth-placed West Indies (73). Finishing in the top nine is important, for that will guarantee automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup, to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

As hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe have qualified directly for the World Cup, while eight other teams will make it directly. Since South Africa is now at fourth place, it is very likely that the top nine teams in the ICC rankings as on March 31, 2027 will feature in the World Cup without having to go through the qualifiers.

As for Australia, the two defeats had resulted in them slipping to fourth place, but the win saw them replace South Africa at third. The two teams are now separated only by decimal points.

Smriti Mandhana (68 from 44 balls), Harmanpreet Kaur (36 from 35), and Richa Ghosh (34 in 17) helped India post 170-6 in their 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup opener, against Pakistan at Edgbaston.

Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza, the Pakistan openers, began well, racing to 37-0 in four overs. Deepti, coming to bowl in the fifth over, took out Feroza with her fifth ball and Ayesha Zafar with her ninth in her following over. After her first spell, her figures read 3-0-8-2.

By the time she returned, Pakistan were seven down and all but out of the match. She sealed the game with three wickets in her final over to help India win by 64 runs. It is worth a mention that she took 5-36 in her previous World Cup match – the 2025 ODI World Cup final that India won.

Her figures today (5-10) are the best figures for an Indian woman in T20Is. Deepti went past Jhulan Goswami’s 5-11 from 2012. 

Best figures for India in women’s T20Is

Deepti’s figures were also the third-best by anyone in the Women’s T20 World Cup. However, Deandra Dottin’s 5-5 remain the best, while Sune Luus (5-8) is at second place. 

Best figures in Women’s T20 World Cup

Deepti’s fourth wicket, the 165th of her career, had also helped her draw level with Thailand’s Thipatcha Putthawong. The final wicket made her claim the world record on her own.

Most wickets in women’s T20Is

Bangladesh beat the Netherlands with six wickets and five balls in hand in the first game of the day. Despite Babette de Leede’s 45-ball 50, the Dutch could only reach 139-8 as no Bangladesh bowler went for more than eight an over. With 4-0-17-1, Ritu Moni was the most economical, while Marufa Akter claimed 2-31.

Juairiya Firdous, the 20-year-old opener, then led Bangladesh’s response with a 33-ball 50. All seemed over at 67-0 in the eighth over, but the Netherlands hit back, and Bangladesh slipped to 85-4. Sharmin Akhter (37 not out in 32) then saw Bangladesh home in the final over to get them two points.

India spinners strangle Pakistan

India won the second game by 64 runs to rise to second place in the Group A points table. They became 18-2, which prompted Smriti Mandhana (68 in 44) and Harmanpreet Kaur (36 in 35) to delay their onslaught. Richa Ghosh (34 in 17) then took India to 170-6 even as Sadia Iqbal (2-41) and Fatima Sana (2-33) shared four wickets.

Muneeba Ali (41 in 35) led Pakistan’s charge. They reached 38-0 in the fifth over, but Deepti Sharma (4-0-10-5) took two wickets in her first two (very economical) overs to derail their charge. As the other spinners, Shreyanka Patil (3-0-17-2) and Shree Charani (4-0-21-3) also became difficult to score off, Kaur got Shafali Verma (3-0-22-1) to bowl her leg-breaks. Pakistan’s last hope went when Verma took out Sana, who had probably left her entry point for far too late. Deepti returned with a triple-wicket over to finish the game.

Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Updated points table after BAN vs NED, IND vs PAK

Group A

Group B

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At Trent Bridge, having made his maiden first-class half-century in the first innings, Rew went even better in the second. After Somerset were reduced to 106-4, Rew came to join his brother in the middle, who has been released from England's Test squad to play the fixture. Together, the Rews put on 68 runs before James was caught behind for 50.

Thomas, however, stayed firm, hitting seven fours and three sixes as he reached three figures off his 135th ball at the crease. Having reached the milestone, Rew accelerated, hitting three sixes in eight balls as Somerset put any prospect of Nottinghamshire chasing down a fourth-innings target out of sight.

Thomas Rew continues rapid rise

Thomas Rew's stocks have risen rapidly over the winter. He was included in England's Lions squad over the winter, and got his first franchise contract when he was signed to Paarl Royals. While his appearances for Somerset in whites have been fleeting so far this summer, he has been a regular in their T20 Blast side, with a top score of 27 from six outings.

He also captained England U19s over the winter in their World Cup campaign which saw them beaten by India in the final. He was also named in the England Lions squad which played South Africa in three 50-over games earlier this month, but did not make the final XI.

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Having won only one ODI against Australia before this series, Bangladesh won the first two games to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. For the decider, Bangladesh replaced Nahid Rana and gave Shoriful his first game of the series.

The hosts put on 274-5 after Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to bat. Towhid Hridoy top-scored with an 88-ball 83, while Mosaddek Hossain smashed 56 in 51 balls. Having retired hurt with cramps, Litton Das returned to remain unbeaten on 58. For the visitors, Xavier Bartlett returned 2-47 and Matt Renshaw 2-44.

The Australian innings turned out to be a contest between Cooper Connolly, who hit 13 fours and six sixes in his 134-ball 149 when no one else took 149, and Shoriful, who took six of Bangladesh’s nine wickets. Shoriful’s wickets included Josh Inglis and Renshaw in the space of three balls, Marnus Labuschagne, Oliver Peake, Bartlett, and Ben Dwarshuis.

Australia needed five runs when Dwarshuis fell. Six balls and a run later, Connolly inside-edged Mustafizur Rahman on to the stumps. The last pair got two singles before Adam Zampa, with two runs left, biffed Taskin Ahmed to the cover-point boundary.

Best figures while defending a target in men’s ODIs

Note: Imran Khan’s 6-14 against India at Sharjah in 1985 are the best figures by anyone in a losing cause in men’s ODIs after bowling first.

West Indies came into their first match of the 2026 T20 World Cup in a tricky position. Both of their pivotal allrounders in Staffanie Taylor and Chinelle Henry were sat on the bench injured. The extent to which the side normally rely on Hayley Matthews to both put them in winning positions and pull them over the line, looked to be even more grossly exaggerated than it normally is by the absence of those two senior players. Having restricted the defending Champions to a gettable target, hopes were dashed when big-hitting Zaida James was run-out in a calamitous miscommunication with Matthews, which triggered a brief internal flash-point when James bumped shoulders with her captain on her way off the field.

Campbelle’s partnership with Matthews was a vitally important partnership for West Indies’ chances of victory. Deandra Dottin, down to come in next, was the last recognised batter in the side with a T20I average of more than 20. Jahzara Claxton, carded at No.5, has an average in the format of 9.5. It’s in that context that Campbelle has become and maintained her position as a senior player in the national side for so long. West Indies’ have held their position as outside contenders for a semi-final spot at most ICC tournaments over the last decade by being greater than the sum of their parts. Campbelle, epitomises that numbers cannot show the true worth of any player to that particular team.

When she made her debut in 2009, it was as a right-arm seamer. She took 3-7 on debut, and was named Player of the Match. At the time, she switched it up by also sending down overs of leg-spin as the team balance and situation required and, in the T20 World Cup the year after making her international debut, was named as West Indies’ designated keeper. She remains the only player in international cricket to have more than 2,500 runs, 50 wickets, and more than 50 dismissals as a wicketkeeper.

But, what she lacked in her personal record book was an illusive T20I half-century. Having started out primarily as a bowler, Campbelle moved up the order as she bowled less and less. Still, her versatility is valuable in that she’s batted in every position from No.3-7 for West Indies in T20Is this year alone. That West Indies have struggled so much to find reliable runs indicates why Campbelle’s adaptability has kept her as a core member of the side for so long. Despite averaging 15 in the format with the bat before yesterday, she is still West Indies fourth-highest T20I run-scorer of all time (1,621). The gap above her to Dottin in third-place is huge, spanning 1,500 runs, but as is the gap to fifth-placed Stacy-Ann King below her, a void of 632 runs. The gap between Campbelle and the next-highest scoring still active West Indies batter, Chinelle Henry, is over 1,000 runs.

When Campbelle came together with Matthews in Southampton, with more than 150 runs still to get, the pair started building to take the game as deep as possible. By the end of the powerplay, Campbelle had faced 16 balls and scored 11 runs, with over half of the deliveries she faced being dots. After drinks left the field, there was a clear switch in pace. Matthews hit two fours in the first four deliveries after the break, riding her luck as New Zealand imploded spectacularly in the field, while Campbelle hit her second boundary of the innings off the final ball of that over.

#ICYMI, Shemaine Campbelle's unbeaten 90 last night steered West Indies to the highest successful run chase at the Women's T20 World Cup in 17 years 🌴#T20WorldCup #WIvNZ pic.twitter.com/hRQN9ZqdXC

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 14, 2026

After Matthews was caught from the fourth time of asking, Campelle took over as the lead aggressor. She lamped Melie Kerr for two sixes at either end of the 14th over, the second of which took her to that elusive half-century. No woman has waited more innings than Campelle (122) to score their first T20I fifty. Like many of Campelle’s quirky stats, it’s unlikely ever to be matched with the evolution of the women’s game happening at a pace.

It would have been fitting for Campbelle to score the winning runs in the final over, bowled by Sophie Devine, as a pair who have played in every single edition of the women’s T20 World Cup since its inaugural competition in 2009. But it was Claxton who scampered through for a leg bye which saw West Indies’ fell the defending champions.

As the emotion poured out on the field, West Indies head coach, Shane Dietz summed up why Campbelle’s position at the heart of the side outstrips a brief glance at her batting average.

"She's the heart and soul of the team," he said. "She has a lot of passion and was very emotional at the end there, but she's the heartbeat of the team, and has been for a long time. It's not just always about statistics, it's about how you integrate in the team and how you're a leader on and off the field, and we're so happy for her. She's one of the most loved players in the team.”

Having beaten New Zealand, West Indies have a realistic possibility of reaching the semi-finals in a few weeks time. It would be their second consecutive appearance in the T20 World Cup knockouts, a victory for the sum of their parts being greater than isolated stats.

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Spearheaded by Jaydev Unadkat (4-29), Sussex had bowled out Glamorgan for 155 on the first day at Hove after Tom Haines won the toss and opted to field. For the visitors, Ben Kellaway top-scored... and he made only 33.

Coles (72) joined Daniel Hughes at 143-3 on the second morning. At 289-6, it seemed Glamorgan might keep the lead to about 200, but Jack Carson (46) helped Coles put on 114 for the seventh wicket.

Coles accelerated once Carson fell to push the total to 521 as Tom Norton finished with 3-119. So dominant was Coles at the crease that his last three partners managed only 16 of the last 118 runs. He surpassed his previous highest score of 180, and eventually remained unbeaten on 224 off 226 balls, an innings that included 22 fours and 11 sixes. He equalled Murray Goodwin’s record for most sixes in a first-class innings for Sussex.

The youngest to play first-class cricket for Sussex, all-rounder Coles has grown in stature over the years. Earlier this year, he became the most expensive cricketer at the auction for The Hundred 2026.

At the time of writing, Glamorgan were 75-0 in their second innings with Zain-ul-Hassan (18) and Asa Tribe (40) at the crease.

Most sixes in a first-class innings for Sussex

Note:

- Andrew Symonds (16 for Gloucestershire in 1995) holds the record for most sixes against Glamorgan.
- Louis Kimber (21 for Leicestershire against Sussex in 2024) holds the record for most sixes in England.
- Tanmay Agarwal (26 for Hyderabad against Arunachal Pradesh in 2023/24) holds the record for most sixes in a first-class innings.

Rohit Sharma dabbed the fourth delivery of the sixth over of India’s chase towards mid-on and bolted for a run. Shubman Gill, at the non-striker’s end, and bowler Allah Ghazanfar came into each other’s path, and the India captain immediately declined the run with an audible "no run". Rohit, however, had already run halfway through the pitch and struggled to get back. Rashid Khan’s throw was collected cleanly by Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who didn’t waste any time in dislodging the bails, as the veteran opener headed back.

Rohit was fuming after his dismissal, pointing angrily at Gill, who felt Ghazanfar had got in his way. Graeme Swann, on commentary duty, felt Afghanistan should have taken back their appeal.

He was heard saying: "Gill's not happy with this as well. Someone's got in his way here. Are they going to reverse their appeal? Certainly not, they're going upstairs..." He later chipped in by saying the dismissal was "not fair”.  But as replays showed, Ghazanfar was only running to collect the ball and did not deliberately try to get into Gill’s path.

As per clause 41.5 of ICC’s playing conditions, “it is for either one of the umpires to decide whether any distraction, deception or obstruction is wilful or not.” Similarly, “if either umpire considers that a fielder has caused or attempted to cause such a distraction, deception or obstruction, he/she shall immediately call and signal dead ball and inform the other umpire of the reason for the call.” But both on-field umpires didn’t feel there was a deliberate attempt to block the non-striker, and Rohit was thus given out.

Also read: Oldest ODI players for India, full list: Rohit Sharma breaks all-time record

Gill remained unbeaten on 84 off 66 as India chased down 195 in a rain-curtailed 25-over game in Dharamshala. Gurbaz's rapid ton (102 off 51) had earlier taken the visitors to a fighting total in Dharamshala.

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India have won their last three T20Is against Pakistan, who last beat their neighbours in the Women's Asia Cup in 2022. Overall, their head-to-head reads 13-3 in India's favour, but two of Pakistan's wins have come at the T20 World Cup, in 2012 and 2016.

The India vs Pakistan game will be played in Birmingham, and is scheduled to start at 2.30 pm local time (7 pm IST, 6.30 pm PKT).

Also read: Pakistan preview, Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Onus on teammates to back captain Fatima Sana

India vs Pakistan, Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Where to watch live, TV channels and live streaming details

Where to watch in the UK and Ireland

Fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland can watch live action from the India vs Pakistan match of the WT20 WC across Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports+. The Sky Sports app will provide live streaming of the tournament.

Where to watch in India

The IND vs PAK match will be televised in India across multiple Star Sports channels, while it can also be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website.

Where to watch in Pakistan

PTV and Geo Super will televise the all-important game for fans in Pakistan, whereas Myco, Tamasha and Tapmad will provide live streaming.

Where to watch in Australia

Prime Video are the official broadcast partners for the Women’s World Cup 2026 in Australia, and will provide free coverage of every game on their platform, without any subscription or fees.

Where to watch in South Africa

SuperSport will provide live coverage of the tournament for fans in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. The India vs Pakistan match will be available across SuperSport’s TV and digital platforms.

Where to watch in New Zealand

The IND vs PAK ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match will be covered live on Sky Sport for fans in New Zealand, on both TV and digital platforms.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 squads: Full team lists for the WT20 WC

Where to watch in the US and Canada

Willow Sports are the official broadcast partners of the IND vs PAK WT20 WC match in the USA and Canada, and will provide live coverage for free across their FAST platforms. Willow TV and Willow TV Canada will televise the game, which can also be streamed on Cricbuzz via Willow.  

Where to watch in the MENA region

Fans in the MENA region will be able to watch the match live free-to-air on StarzPlay app’s StarzPlay Cricket W.

Where to watch in Sri Lanka

Dialog TV, ThePapare.com and the Dialog Play mobile app will provide live coverage of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 India vs Pakistan match for fans in Sri Lanka. PEO TV and TV Supreme will provide free-to-air coverage of the tournament.

Also read: India preview, Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Can they overcome Group of Death to do the double?

Where to watch in Bangladesh

Fans in Bangladesh can follow the match live on Rabbithole and ICC.tv.

Where to watch in the Caribbean

ESPN are the official broadcast partners of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, and will cover the India vs Pakistan game live.

Where to watch in Latin America

Fans in Latin America can stream the match live on Disney+.

Also read: Why the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup is the most open in history

Where to watch in the rest of the world

Fans in the Pacific Islands can stream the India vs Pakistan game on Digicel, while those in Singapore can follow the same on Hub Sports 4. Cricbuzz will provide live coverage of the match in Malaysia and Hong Kong through Astro and PCCW, respectively. ICC.tv will provide live coverage of the game, and for free, in the rest of the world.

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Bowling coach Morne Morkel had quelled all doubts about Rohit’s fitness on the eve of the ODI, confirming the opener had “passed all his fitness tests and was cleared and ready to go”.

The India opener’s spot in the 50-over squad, the only format he plays internationally, has been under scrutiny following a lean run of form recently, especially with the ODI World Cup coming up next year, and the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad waiting in the wings. A strong series against Afghanistan, however, would put the doubters at bay for the meantime.

Oldest ODI players for India, full list: Rohit Sharma breaks Mohinder Amarnath's 37-year-old record

Rohit broke Mohinder Amarnath’s 37-year-old record. The former all-rounder made his last ODI appearance for India at 39 years and 36 days of age, against West Indies in Mumbai in October 1989. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar complete the top five.

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Opening for Chambal Ghariyals against Gwalior Cheetahs, Ankush Singh scored 101 off 33 deliveries, hitting six fours and 11 maximums to help his side chase down a record 258 runs. His knock kept Chambal in the hunt, before No.8 Aman Bhadoriya’s 28-ball 60 took them over the line with two balls to spare.

Patidar, fresh off a second consecutive IPL title win for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and captaining Gwalior in the MP Premier League, opted to bat first. Parth Chaudhary (73 off 38) and Kuldeep Gehi (88 off 42) drove the side towards a mammoth total, and Patidar finished the proceedings with a 16-ball 46 to take them to 257.

Mangesh Yadav, who was also with RCB in IPL 2026 but couldn’t get a game, contributed with an eight-ball 21 as well. He could bowl just 1.5 overs due to an injury, however, affecting Patidar’s plans as Mangesh also bowls in the death.

Ankush lost his opening partner for a golden duck, but that didn’t slow him down as he got to 87 off 28 by the end of the powerplay. He completed his ton off 31 deliveries with a maximum but was dismissed on the next ball. He was the second wicket to fall, with Chambal on 129-2 in the eighth over.

They underwent a mini-collapse, going from 129-2 to 155-6, but Bhadoriya saved the day, eventually taking them through. The 258-run chase was the highest-ever in the MP Premier League, while Ankush’s ton was the fastest hundred.

Ankush, notably, has played domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh. He featured in six T20s, all of which came at the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 101 runs at a strike-rate of 148.52. He has played just one List A game, however, which came all the way back in 2018.

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Group 1

Australia: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson.

Bangladesh: Nigar Sultana Joty (c), Nahida Akter, Sharmin Akter Supta, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Fariha Islam Trisna, Marufa Akter, Shanjida Akther Maghla, Sultana Khatun, Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Taj Nehar.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Yastika Bhatia, Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav.

Also read: Predicted: India’s playing XI for Women's T20 World Cup 2026

Netherlands: Babette de Leede (c), Caroline de Lange, Frederique Overdijk, Hannah Landheer, Heather Siegers, Iris Zwilling, Isabel van der Woning, Lara Leemhuis, Myrthe van den Raad, Phebe Molkenboer, Robine Rijke, Rosalie Lawrence, Sanya Khurana, Silver Siegers, Sterre Kalis.

Pakistan: Fatima Sana (c), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan. Reserves: Amber Kainat, Momina Riasat, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah, Umm-e-Hani.

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Karabo Meso, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Kayla Reyneke, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon, Dane van Nierkerk.

Also read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, where to watch live

Group 2

England: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Dani Gibson, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Heather Knight, Linsey Smith, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

Also read: Predicted: England's 2026 Women's T20 World Cup starting XI

Ireland: Gaby Lewis (c), Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Ava Canning, Cara Murray, Christina Coulter Reilly, Alana Dalzell, Georgina Dempsey, Laura Delany, Leah Paul, Louise Little, Orla Prendergast, Rebecca Stokell, Aimee Maguire, Lara McBride.

New Zealand: Amelia Kerr (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu.

Scotland: Kathryn Bryce (c), Chloe Abel, Olivia Bell, Sarah Bryce, Darcey Carter, Priyanaz Chatterji, Gabriella Fontenla, Katherine Fraser, Kirstie Gordon, Ailsa Lister, Maisie Maceira, Megan McColl, Rachel Slater, Pippa Sproul, Hannah Rainey (in). 
Abtaha Maqsood (ruled out).

Also read: Full list of commentators and presenters for ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunarathne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kaveesha Dilhari, Hansima Karunarathne, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Sugandika Dassanayaka, Nimasha Madushani, Shashini Gimhani, Kawya Kavindi, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya.

West Indies: Hayley Matthews (c), Chinelle Henry (vc), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Jahzara Claxton, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Jannillea Glasgow, Shawnisha Hector, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor.

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Maybe of him stepping out to a spinner, turning a regulation ball into something no field could have been set for. Maybe of his one-handed swing, the bat almost leaving his grip, the ball still somehow finding the middle. Maybe of a paddle played while falling over, or that familiar grin after he has tried something funky that probably would not occur to anyone else.

Pant’s batting has always had that effect. You remember the audacity first, then the score.

Against Afghanistan, though, that version of him took a while to arrive.

Pant walked in after a difficult few months. His move to Lucknow Super Giants had not gone to plan over the last two seasons. The tag of being the IPL’s most expensive player followed him; the runs did not come regularly enough; LSG struggled; and he eventually stepped down as captain. India’s Test vice-captaincy also moved from him to KL Rahul. Around him, the conversation again turned to role, responsibility and situation, and he was under scrutiny from every direction.

He crawled to seven in the first 21 balls, giving little away. He blocked and left, quiet and almost timid, as if batting to all the voices around him. It was not a version easily associated with him in Tests, and you wondered if it had begun to weigh him down.

But soon the old image returned.

Pant skipped down against off-spinner Abdul Malik and launched him for six. Two balls later, he swung a full toss over cow corner. The next ball was short, and he rocked back to pull it into the crowd. Three sixes in five balls, a final score of 81 in 121, and he was here again: the smile slower to arrive, perhaps, but still unmistakably his.

And as familiar as it felt in Test cricket, it also sharpened the question that has followed him through the IPL. If these are the shots, the range and the imagination that seem made for T20 cricket, why has the format not always found the best version of him?

In Tests, Pant has made his name as India’s great disruptor, averaging 43.37, with eight hundreds, six of them outside Asia. He has seven more scores in the nineties, a reminder of how much more imposing the record could have looked after only 50 Tests. In the IPL, though, the returns have not made the same impression. He averages 33.60 at a strike rate of 146.79 overall, but since moving to LSG, the numbers have been far less convincing: 581 runs at 26.40, striking at 135.74, with only three fifty-plus scores in 26 innings.

Pant’s Test batting can look chaotic because the peaks are so vivid, but there is a method to the madness. According to CricViz, he attacks 34.8 per cent of the balls he faces in Tests - well above the 26.1 per cent recorded by other top-six batters in the format since his debut. In the IPL, too, Pant attacks more than most. His attack percentage is 68.6, compared to 62.4 for other top-six batters.

That is the first clue. Pant is an attacking batter in both formats, not just in the IPL. In the tournament, his control percentage is 80.5, almost identical to the 81 recorded by other top-six batters. His false-shot percentage is also similar: 19.4, compared to 18.9 for the same group.

Pant, then, is not making far more mistakes than everyone else in the IPL. The issue is what happens when a batter attacks more often than most, but without a major control advantage to offset that extra risk.

That is where the formats begin to separate. In Tests, Pant can absorb pressure, wait for a better option, and pick the moment to change the tempo. In the IPL, the innings is shorter, dot balls carry more weight, the release shot often has to come earlier, and the cost of getting it slightly wrong is higher.

The shot-wise numbers give a clearer picture. The pull is a good example of why this is not simply about Pant’s attacking game failing to translate. He strikes at 165.7 with the shot in Tests and 192.2 in the IPL, while the balls per dismissal are almost identical, 30.9 and 30.4.

The bigger issue comes with the slog and slog-sweep, two shots that have long been central to his ability to change a Test innings quickly. They are not Pant’s biggest run-scoring shots overall, and they are not being used here to explain his whole game. They are useful because they show the trade-off most clearly.

In Tests, Pant has scored 503 runs off 155 balls with the slog and slog-sweep at a strike rate of 324.5. He is dismissed once every 12.9 balls while playing them. In the IPL, those same shots have brought him 686 runs at a strike rate of 257.9, but he is dismissed once every seven balls.

The IPL dismissal areas add another clue. The regions where Pant has been dismissed most often are mid-on, backward square leg and mid-off. He has fallen 15 times through mid-on, 13 through backward square leg and 12 through mid-off, with a dismissal every 23, 25 and 21 balls, respectively.

That stands out because these are productive areas for him in Tests. He has 404 runs through mid-off, with 20 sixes and five dismissals, 515 through mid-on, with 42 sixes and 10 dismissals, and 384 through square leg without being dismissed. In Tests, those areas have often brought him reward. In the IPL, they carry higher risks.

The midwicket numbers show that Pant’s core scoring area is still working. In the IPL, he has made 521 runs off 246 balls against pace through midwicket, with a dismissal every 82 balls, and 417 off 255 against spin, with a dismissal every 64 balls. Those are strong returns. The danger is when the same attacking intent is dragged straighter, wider or squarer. 

In the end, the broader T20 question is not only about one shot or one scoring area. It is also about whether Pant has kept pace with a format that has moved quickly around him.

There have been periods when he was ahead of that curve. Between 2016 and 2019, Pant struck at 162.69 in the IPL while averaging 36. Since then, his strike rate has dropped to 141.18, and his average to 31.89. That would be notable in any case, but it stands out more because scoring rates around the league have gone the other way.

It is not that Pant has become a defensive batter. The problem is almost the opposite: he is still taking risks, but they are not producing the same impact as they used to. 

This is why the question around Pant is more complicated than asking why a naturally attacking batter has not dominated a naturally attacking format. T20 batting is not only about range. It is also about repeatability: which shots can be used again and again, which scoring areas can be accessed safely, and how a batter keeps moving when the boundary option is blocked.

There have been periods of high impact, and his overall IPL record remains good, but the recent returns have made the question harder to ignore.

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Having been dropped twice, once to a tough chance on the boundary and once to clanger by Sugandika Kumari off her own bowling, Jones finally departed after mistiming a ball from Malki Madara to Chamari Athapaththu at mid off. That brought skipper Sciver-Brunt to the crease, having recovered from the calf injury which kept her out of England's two T20I warm-up series. 

105 off 62 💥
13 fours, 1 six ☄️
169.35 strike rate 🏏

Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s third T20I century has helped England post 219-1, their second-highest T20I score of all time, against Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup opener 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/xUkm04dFZz

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 12, 2026

Together, Wyatt-Hodge and Sciver-Brunt went through the gears. By the start of the final over of the innings, England were on 193-1, with Wyatt-Hodge on 96. A wide and then a free hit off a no ball which was punched by Sciver-Brunt before brought them to 200. Another wide from Madara, a six from Sciver-Brunt before a scampered single brought Wyatt-Hodge back on strike to secure her century, celebrating by pretending to rock a baby, a tribute to her first child born shortly before the tournament began.

A four off the last ball of the innings brought England's total to 219-1, their second-highest T20I score of all time. 

Sri Lanka started timidly in the chase, and lost wickets at regular intervals. Lauren Bell got on the board off the first ball of her second over, pinning Vishmi Gunaratne in front of middle. Charlie Dean kept up the pressure in the next over, snaring a top edge from danger-batter Athapaththu which was caught brilliantly by Wyatt-Hodge diving over her shoulder. 

A wicket in her opening over for Linsey Smith after putting the pressure on with three dot balls sent Dulani back, Hansima Karunaratne and Harsitha Samarawickrama departed in consecutive overs to Dean and Freya Kemp respectively.

That left Sri Lanka struggling at 67-5 before Kemp threatened to bring the game to a swift end. She took three wickets in four balls in her second over, leaving Sri Lanka eight down and herself on a hat-trick for the first ball of her next over. However, Nilakshika de Silva put up some late-in-the-day resistance, scoring 37 before she slapped a ball from Sophie Ecclestone straight down the ground and into Alice Capsey's hands. Ecclestone closed out the game by nicking off Madara two balls later, sealing an 87-run win.

Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Updated points table after ENG v SL

Group A

Group B

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Cox immediately launched into a counter-attack, hitting 18 off his first nine balls at the crease before slamming a cover drive off Josh Davey for four. By the time he reached his half-century, off 41 balls, Essex had recovered to 88-2. It only took him 32 balls to make his second half-century, bringing up three figures off his 73rd ball at the crease with a maximum hit off fellow England squad member Rehan Ahmed, hit straight down the ground.

Westley and Cox went into Tea unbeaten, having put on 147 runs together. The second ball after Tea, however, their partnership was broken, when Westley was dismissed by Rehan, mistiming a powerful pull shot to a ball that kept low.

With Matt Critchley at the crease, Essex continued to pile on the runs. Critchley tore into Rehan, dispatching him for four boundaries in two overs, including a flat six over midwicket. The 50 partnership between the pair came up off 70 balls, Critchley having hit 34 of the runs. Critchley brought up his 50 off 81 balls. 

At the other end, Cox continued to motor, although not quite at the pace he began his innings with. He reached his 150 off 144 balls. He finished the day unbeaten on 184 off 177, approaching what would be his third first-class double hundred. Critchley was bowled by Joey Evison three runs short of his hundred.

Cox marks England recall with rapid century

While Cox has previously been named in several England Test squads, he has never made a starting XI. In New Zealand in 2024, when he was called up to replace Jamie Smith who was on paternity leave, Cox broke his finger during training shortly before the first Test of the series, in which he was set to make his Test debut. After he was included in England's squad to face Zimbabwe last year, he picked up an abdominal injury ahead of joining up with the squad.

Cox wasn't included in England's squad for the opening Test of the summer last week, but was included in the XV named for the second Test at The Oval after Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson were both left out. He will face a tough route into the XI, however, with England needing to replace both Stokes' all-rounder capabilities and Atkinson's role with the new ball. 

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"I'm really fancying South Africa," said Winfield-Hill. "It's the story for me, it's the narrative, the nearly misses and the old girls getting back together. It's the last dance story...It wouldn't be an upset [if they won], I think they've got a real chance."

South Africa have reached three World Cup finals across formats since 2023. They made the final of the 2023 Women's T20 World Cup at home, where they lost to Australia, before reaching the 2024 T20 World Cup final against New Zealand. They also finished as runners-up to India in the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup.

They enter the 2026 T20 World Cup in a difficult group alongside Australia and India, with only two teams progressing to the semi-finals. The group also includes Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Netherlands.

Also Read: Can returning legends bring the elusive trophy home for South Africa? 

South Africa have also been boosted by the return of Shabnim Ismail and Dane van Niekerk to their ranks. Both retired from international cricket following the 2023 T20 World Cup, but both reversed their decisions before this tournament.

"I think Van Nierkerk is a different addition to Shabs [Ismail]," said Winfield-Hill. "I think Shabs coming in definitely strengthens the side significantly, and I think her reputation, her passion, her first gives them a bit of zest, gives them more.

"I don't think necessarily the inclusion of Dane gives them a lot more than what could potentially disrupt them. When you talk about why South Africa potentially haven't got a trophy in the cabinet, it's probably been their bowling attack. They can out-bat any side with their batting lineup. But it has been their bowling attack where adding Shabs in makes their chances greater."

The return of both players creates a selection dilemma, with both players having not played international cricket for several years – van Niekerk since 2021. Ismail was expensive in the warm-up games, while van Niekerk returned a top score of 12.

South Africa, though, have looked strong in the build-up. They come into the tournament after a series win over India, adding to a run of results that has kept them among the leading sides in the format.

Laura Wolvaardt remains central to their batting and leadership, while Tazmin Brits has been one of their most important top-order players in recent years. Kapp gives them experience with both bat and ball, while Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk and Nonkululeko Mlaba have all been part of South Africa's run to recent ICC finals.

South Africa will open their campaign in Group B, where their fixtures against Australia and India will have a major bearing on the semi-final race.

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In response to the incident, which has seen both Atkinson and Stokes made unavailable for the second Test while an investigation takes place, Rob Key, England managing director, suggested that a complete alcohol ban could be implemented following the episode. 

"Do we need to look at, actually, have [the measures] been strict enough?" said Key on Thursday. "Even when they win a game of cricket, is it now a time when there's just no alcohol at any time and at any stage? I need to think through these things, because I don't want to make a rash decision that actually hinders the team and creates a situation where they don't feel they can do anything. But the players now have to show the public that they can be trusted. At this point it's hard to say they can."

England have had to deal with several alcohol-related indiscretions over the last eight months. Harry Brook was involved in an altercation with a bouncer in New Zealand the night before an ODI, while a video of Ben Duckett intoxicated during England's mid-Ashes series break in Noosa did the rounds in December. After the Ashes defeat, England management implemented a mmidnight curfew – although Key admitted some players, including Atkinson, were not aware the curfew was in place following their win at Lord's last week.

"People might say, they’re professional athletes, they get paid very well, why are they drinking at all?" said Butcher. "All you’re doing there is you’re causing people to break the rules. You’ll be forcing people to break the rules on a regular basis and, given what’s happened this time, half the team will be suspended before the third Test. It’s a ridiculous suggestion."

The second Test of the series will take place at The Oval next week. Joe Root will take over from Stokes as captain on an interim basis, while Rob Key said he would "let the process play out" before making any decisions regarding Stokes' future as leader of the side.

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India vs Afghanistan ODI series, where to watch live: TV channels and live streaming

Where to watch in India?

The Star Sports Network has exclusive rights to broadcast India’s home matches, including the Afghanistan ODI series. The three matches will be televised across its various channels, while JioHotstar will provide a live stream of the same on its app and website.

Where to watch in Afghanistan?

Ariana Television Network (ATN) will live-telecast the IND vs AFG ODIs for fans in Afghanistan.

Where to watch in Pakistan?

Tapmad will live-stream all three matches of the India vs Afghanistan ODI series in Pakistan.

Where to watch in the USA & Canada?

Willow TV are the official broadcast partners for the series in the USA and Canada, and fans can watch the three ODIs across Willow’s platforms.

Also read: India vs Afghanistan ODI squads

Where to watch in Sub-Saharan Africa?

SuperSport will broadcast the ODI series between India and Afghanistan across the Sub-Saharan African region, including in South Africa.

Where to watch in Australia?

Fox Cricket will provide live telecast of the series for fans in Australia, while streaming will be available on Kayo Sports.

Where to watch in England?

TNT Sports will broadcast all three IND vs AFG matches for fans in England.

Though the West Indies won the recent tri-series against Ireland and Pakistan, they dropped to seventh after losing to Ireland in the last completed match of the rain-affected series in Dublin. Sri Lanka moved up to sixth, with their last T20I assignment ending in a 3-0 clean sweep of Bangladesh.

The top 11 sides on the rankings are all part of the World Cup, while the Netherlands are placed 14th. This is the first time 12 teams are part of the Women’s T20 World Cup, up from the previous 10.

Also read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, where to watch live

ICC women’s T20I team rankings ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

Williamson, 35, finishes as New Zealand's highest run-scorer in international cricket with 19,346 runs, including 48 centuries and six double-centuries. He is also the country's leading run-scorer and century-maker in Test cricket, having scored 9,515 runs and 33 hundreds in 110 matches.

An era ends as Kane Williamson retires

Having made his international debut in 2010, Williamson went on to become one of New Zealand's most influential players and captains. He led the side across all three formats between 2016 and 2024, overseeing one of the most successful periods in the team's history.

Under his captaincy, New Zealand reached the finals of the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup, and the semi-finals of the 2016 and 2022 T20 World Cups, as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup. He also captained New Zealand to victory in the inaugural World Test Championship final against India in 2021.

Williamson had already stepped away from T20I cricket in November after refusing a national contract in June 2024, reducing his availability for the national team. In a statement, he said the decision to retire fully from the international game had become clear in recent days.

"I've thought about it for a while, but over the last few days it's become clear now is the right time," Williamson said. "I've always felt a strong drive and hunger for international cricket, and I take pride in knowing I've given it my all in every match I've played for New Zealand.

"Continuing with anything less wouldn't be right and I feel fortunate to step away on my own terms. I leave feeling optimistic about where this group is heading. There's a huge amount of talent, and a real desire to do something special with this New Zealand team. It's a team I love, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of it for so long. It will continue to be dear to my heart."

Williamson's career was marked by consistency across formats. He finishes with the highest Test batting average among New Zealand players with at least 20 matches, averaging 54.06. In ODIs, he scored 7,256 runs at 48.69, the second-highest average among New Zealand batters with at least 20 innings, while he also finished as the country's second-highest run-scorer in T20Is with 2,575 runs.

He was also New Zealand's representative in the Fab Four, the group of leading batters of his era alongside Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Steven Smith. 

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Netherlands are at their first Women’s T20 World Cup, after coming through three rounds of qualifiers. They won 19 matches across the Europe Qualifier, the Emerging Nations Trophy and the Global Qualifier, making their rise one of the stories of the tournament.

The World Cup, though, is a different level. The Netherlands have never played Australia or India, two of the biggest sides in their group, and this will also be their first T20I assignment in England.

Babette de Leede gives them experience at the top, while Sterre Kalis, their leading T20I run-scorer, has spent time in English domestic cricket. Their seamers could also find some help in these conditions, but getting points on the board would be a major achievement.

Rapid rise meets toughest test - can the Dutch cause some upsets?

11. Scotland

Scotland should be stronger than they were at the last T20 World Cup. They have several players familiar with English domestic cricket, and Kirstie Gordon’s return gives them a major boost.

Kathryn Bryce and Sarah Bryce remain Scotland’s biggest names. Both have more than 1,000 T20I runs, while Kathryn is also key with the ball. The concern is the support around them.

Scotland’s first game against Ireland may be their clearest route to a first T20 World Cup win.

Will ‘home’ advantage produce elusive win for Scotland?

10. Bangladesh

Bangladesh arrive after winning the Global Qualifier earlier this year, where they won all seven games. They beat Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland in Nepal, and later recovered from a slow start in the Edinburgh tri-series to finish with wins over both Scotland and the Netherlands.

Their attack has enough variety to keep them competitive. Marufa Akter gives them a genuine new-ball threat, and Ritu Moni and Fariha Islam could also find some help in English conditions. The spin group remains deep, but in England, Bangladesh may need their seamers to take on a larger role than they usually do.

The batting has also shown some recent improvement. Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary remain central, while Dilara Akter’s tempo at the top could be important. However, they still need more consistency against the top sides.

Tough challenge awaits Bangladesh on first England assignment

9. Ireland

Ireland look like the strongest team to have come through the qualifiers. Over the last couple of years, they have beaten Bangladesh away, swept Zimbabwe, defeated Pakistan, and also beaten the West Indies.

Their progress has been built around Gaby Lewis and Orla Prendergast. Lewis has made 825 T20I runs since the last World Cup at an average above 43, while Prendergast has scored 707 runs and taken 30 wickets in the same period.

Their seam-heavy attack should suit England. Arlene Kelly has taken 32 wickets since the last World Cup at 14.25, with Prendergast and Ava Canning adding more medium-pace options. But Laura Delany’s withdrawal weakens the balance, and Ireland still depend heavily on a select group of players.

Ireland's strong core ready to seize opportunity for first tournament points

8. Pakistan

Pakistan have enough individual quality, but the overall squad still has clear gaps.

Fatima Sana is central to almost everything they do. Since the last World Cup, she has been Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in T20Is despite often batting low in the order, and she is also one of their best new-ball options. Her 15-ball fifty against Zimbabwe showed how quickly she can change a game.

Sadia Iqbal is another major strength. The left-arm spinner remains the No.1-ranked T20I bowler in the world, and Nashra Sandhu gives Pakistan another reliable spin option.

The concern is the batting around them. The opening pair has not been convincing, the younger batters are still untested against top teams, and the pace attack beyond Sana looks light.

Onus on Pakistan teammates to back captain Sana Mir

7. Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka lost all four games at the 2024 T20 World Cup, but they should be better placed this time. Their group is kinder, and their recent results have been encouraging, including a drawn series against New Zealand and a 2-0 win over West Indies.

They are also less dependent on Chamari Athapaththu than before. Athapaththu remains their biggest player, but Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Hasini Perera and Imesha Dulani give the batting more support. Dilhari also adds useful off-spin.

There is variety in the attack as well, with Sugandika Kumari giving them left-arm spin, while Malki Madara and Kawya Kavindi are seam options. Sri Lanka are not among the strongest squads, but they should be more competitive than before.

Sri Lanka are not a one-star team anymore

6. West Indies

West Indies were semi-finalists at the last T20 World Cup and enter as one of the more underrated sides in the competition.

Hayley Matthews is still their most important player. Since the last T20 World Cup, she has scored 781 runs in 20 innings at 55.78, with one hundred and seven fifties. No other West Indies batter has crossed 400 runs in that period. Deandra Dottin gives them power, while Chinelle Henry has also scored quickly when given chances.

Their bowling has variety through Afy Fletcher, Matthews, Karishma Ramharack, Zaida James, Henry and Dottin. But the batting still feels dependent on one or two major contributions. West Indies can beat stronger sides if their big names come off, but they can also struggle for that same reason.

West Indies' over-reliance on captain continues, but semi-finals a realistic target

5. New Zealand

New Zealand are defending champions, but they do not come in as obvious favourites. Their 2024 title run came after a poor build-up, and they may need another tournament where they peak at the right time.

Amelia Kerr is the key. Since the 2024 final, she has made 629 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 147.3, including both her T20I hundreds. She will also lead New Zealand in her first ICC tournament as captain.

Around her, there is huge experience. Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu are playing their final T20 World Cup, and the trio have a combined 439 T20Is. The squad still has all-round cover and bowling variety, but another deep run may depend on Kerr and the senior core.

Defending champions, New Zealand, gear up for the end of an era

4. England

England have one of the best bowling attacks in the tournament, and home conditions should suit them. Lauren Bell is the top-ranked T20I pacer in the world, Linsey Smith has added control with the new ball, and Sophie Ecclestone remains their premier spinner. Tilly Corteen-Coleman gives them another spin option.

The batting is the bigger question. Nat Sciver-Brunt’s return is a major boost, even if she is unlikely to bowl at the start. Alice Capsey’s 82 against India at Taunton also gave England the kind of boundary-heavy innings they had been missing.

The group draw helps, with Australia, India and South Africa all in the other pool. But England have fallen short in T20 World Cup knockouts since 2018. Their bowling can take them deep; the batting will decide how far.

Unbeaten in home ICC tournaments, hosts England have clear path to maintain record

3. India

India have one of the strongest batting groups in the tournament. Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma remain one of the most dangerous opening pairs in the format, while Richa Ghosh gives them rare finishing power. Despite usually batting outside the powerplay, she strikes at 145 in T20Is.

The WPL has also widened India’s pool. Bharti Fulmali’s return is a good example. Among Indian batters with at least 250 runs across the 2025 and 2026 WPL seasons, only Richa scored quicker than Fulmali’s strike rate of 159.5.

The issue is balance. Injuries to Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam have left India without a seam-bowling all-rounder. Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Shree Charani and Shreyanka Patil give them quality, but their recent form has not been great.

Can India overcome Group of Death to do the double?

2. Australia

Australia are still one of the strongest squads in the competition, but for the first time in a long time, they do not enter a women’s World Cup as the automatic favourites.

They have played only 12 T20Is since the last World Cup, fewer than every team here except Pakistan.

They have won 10 of those matches, but the two defeats came against India, in their first bilateral T20I series loss in nearly three years.

There is also a leadership change. Alyssa Healy’s retirement has moved Sophie Molineux into the captaincy, with Ash Gardner and Tahlia McGrath as deputies.

Even so, the squad is stacked. Beth Mooney, Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Gardner, McGrath, Grace Harris and Annabel Sutherland give them batting depth and all-round cover. Molineux, Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Alana King provide spin options, while Megan Schutt, Kim Garth and Lucy Hamilton cover the seam department.

Can Australia shed the baggage of no longer being outright favourites?

1. South Africa

South Africa look like the most complete squad in the tournament.

This is a settled squad with clear roles, experience across departments, and a seam attack that should be effective in England.

Laura Wolvaardt remains the centrepiece of the batting. She was the highest run-scorer at the 2024 T20 World Cup and has made 776 T20I runs since then at 48.50, striking at 143.70. Tazmin Brits, the second-highest run-scorer at the 2024 edition, gives South Africa a threatening opening pair.

Marizanne Kapp balances the XI as a frontline seamer and middle-order batter, while Chloé Tryon and Nadine de Klerk add further all-round depth. Shabnim Ismail’s return gives them pace, and alongside Ayabonga Khaka and Kapp, South Africa have an attack that should enjoy English conditions.

The middle order remains the one area to watch, but compared to the other contenders, there are fewer visible holes. After reaching the last two T20 World Cup finals, this could be the year South Africa finally go one step further.

Can returning legends bring the elusive trophy home for South Africa?

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I saw his first hundred, that freak thing at Perth. I saw him take that claw-hand catch at the Bridge. I saw him at Cape Town that time. Headingley. I saw him last year at Lord’s, bowling all day till he fell over. I’ve seen him usher a line of paralytic county cricketers into a series of black cabs after midnight while holding a drink in one hand and a smoke in the other. I saw him win a World Cup on his own.

I’ve called him on a Friday night when he’s lone-parenting his kids. I’ve called him from a field in Essex while sat in a pair of pads waiting to bat. I’ve asked him for places to go in Cockermouth and in response received an essay-long list of restaurateurs and barmaids who’d see me right if I mentioned his name. I’ve seen him in a pair of socks bowling off-breaks to his father. I’ve seen him emerge from Bristol Crown Court looking like death with a skinhead. I’ve heard stories of his generosity, of the money he’s given for youth programmes and the like on the proviso that it doesn’t leak to the press. I’ve heard other stories too, of a different colour. Still fixated, all of us.

In recent years I’ve seen him retreat further into himself, growing weary of the hassle. I’ve seen him lose his accent and sense of joy. I’ve wondered about the toll it’s taken, and the man it’s turned him into. And like everyone else, I’ve despaired on a personal level – because we all feel it, that desperate human frailty – at what’s happened now.

So, OK, we don’t know. We weren’t able to wait any longer. The murmurs when we went to press appeared to indicate that he’d been dissuaded from retiring, talked off the ledge, but we’re hostage to events and his fragile state. He may by the time you read this have decided to jack it all in. My word, I hope he hasn’t.

Factually, we know that Stokes and Gus Atkinson broke the team’s midnight curfew by being out in the early hours in a Chelsea nightclub the evening after beating New Zealand at Lord’s, that there was an incident involving a player or players from Saracens rugby club, that the ECB’s security guy who was with the players was punched and required medical attention, and that the police were not called. And we know that neither player was named in the squad for the second Test pending the Cricket Regulator’s investigation into what specifically happened, leaving Joe Root, the poor sod, to step in as ‘interim captain’ – which could be interpreted as a rejection of Harry Brook’s credentials, or as an olive branch to Stokes to show that they’re not ready to move from him yet.

To many observers it doesn’t matter who threw the first punch or whether, as reported in The Telegraph, the cricketers were “categorically not the aggressors”. Breaking the curfew was enough. That was the line. The point of no return. They busted their own rules, and inside five days of the much-billed summer of redemption. All that stern-faced talk in the build-up, and from McCullum in particular, of “refining the culture” and “improving behaviours”, and it takes less than a week to blow it all up. Look, in the stupidity stakes, it’s right up there.

But stupidity is lamentable, not contemptible. Yet note how quickly we rush to judgment, how swiftly we defer to the lavish viciousness of the times. What is pretty contemptible is the way he’s been characterised, this slab of meat to be tossed around and pulled apart by elements of a sanctimonious media, a few of whom have clearly never had such fun.

All things considered, Rob Key fronted up pretty well on Thursday morning. He is not the most polished operator, but that is no criticism. The anguish was visible, the disbelief palpable. He was unable to offer much in the way of guarantees. The headline will be that ‘England boss refuses to back Stokes as leader’ but the bigger story, at least as I heard it, was how they are managing him at this critical and volatile moment. Key said that people underestimate just how much the last six months has affected Stokes.

Stuart Broad on the Stokes-Atkinson incident.

Wisden 🤝 @ctshirts @StuartBroad8 pic.twitter.com/4f0etvtTzR

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 11, 2026

Key had driven away from Lord’s on Sunday feeling something akin to optimism. A good debut for the opener. Reintegration for one of the tricky ones. A rousing win, and everyone still in the job. Then comes the phone call. “You might want to prepare yourself,” was the gist of it from Brendon McCullum. The embarrassment is acute. In Key’s statements, some will hear the voice of a man scrabbling to save his own skin. I don’t think he possesses that degree of ruthlessness, or, let’s be honest, political agility. Any sense that these men are diverging, splintering into silos, protecting their own necks from the guillotine, is ultimately misplaced. They are tied together, their fates ineluctably entwined. Their futures hinge on each other.

Stokes may belong to us, but we don’t own him. We’re talking here about a flawed, deeply human public figure who has injected more joy and hope into the soul of this weird movement than any other English cricketer of the last 20 years. He has lived a thousand lives for our amusement. And people want him sacked for not going to bed earlier. Sorry, that sounds flippant. Apologies. But you know what I mean.

I haven’t forgotten the sound and fury of watching that Ashes tour fall to ruin. I still can’t believe how badly it was run, by a boosterish vibes-man who stripped out the backroom staff, couldn’t be bothered to find any bowling or fielding coaches, shrugged at the lack of preparation, let light-touch coaching tip over into negligence, and oversaw a culture of complacency that eventually swallowed them up. That one’s on McCullum more than it lands on Stokes. But the ‘shame’ of Noosa? The long walk back for the ‘disgraced’ Harry Brook? Spare me your pearls, please. The real shocker was giving the new ball to Brydon Carse and not playing Josh Tongue until you’re two-nought down. Winning excuses a multitude of gins. We’re really only here, agonising over window-dressed curfews and existential angst, because bad decisions were made on the cricket field. Get those right, and the rest falls away. We know this.

That night, Stokes was celebrating his 24th Test match as England captain – a win rate, not that anyone cares any more, better than all post-war captains bar Brearley. He even foreshadowed what was to come in his post-game press conference, saying that he’d only feel truly happy with a beer in his hand in the company of his team. Those words look a little chilling now, and rather sad.

In the joy of the moment, Ben Stokes lost himself. For the first time in many months (forget the pyrrhic Melbourne match), he’d remembered what it was like to take real satisfaction from this game he loves and hates. He got carried away on that feeling, and lost his sense of perspective. Let not this be the end.

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They had lost 10 successive games going into the tournament in the UAE, but lost just once en route to their final win over South Africa. Nevertheless, their victory in that game etched the White Ferns' names in history, especially for the players left of their golden generation, who finally got to lift an ICC trophy.

The end of an era, but the start of another

The T20 World Cup will be Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu’s final campaign for New Zealand. The trio have a combined experience of 439 T20Is, and along with Maddy Green, are the only players in the New Zealand squad who have played more than 100 T20Is.

Kerr will become the fifth from the 15 to reach that mark in their opening game of the tournament, which will also be her first ICC tournament as the White Ferns captain after taking over from Devine earlier this year.

As the world’s top-ranked all-rounder, still 25 years of age, Kerr has been in stupendous form since taking over as captain. She is by far her side’s top run-getter over the two-year period since the last World Cup final, with 629 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 147.3. Among the batters in any team in the tournament, only openers have scored more than her in the two-year period, and only Shafali Verma has scored more runs at a quicker pace.

From her 43 against South Africa in the 2024 final, Kerr went on a record run of making 30+ scores in 11 consecutive matches, which included both of her T20I hundreds and culminated with a 55-ball 105 in the five-match series finale against South Africa, which they won 4-1.

However, they lost their three-match T20I series against England last month, going down 2-1. Despite the progress they've made in finding replacements for Devine and Bates, the depth beneath their big stars will be a concern for their success in the tournament.

Along with all that experience, off-spinning all-rounder Nensi Patel, hard-hitting batter Izzy Sharp, will be playing in their first World Cups, while for left-arm seamer Bree Illing, wicketkeeper-batter Polly Inglis and left-arm spinner Flora Devonshire, this will be their maiden T20 World Cups after featuring in the 50-over version last year.

Among them, Patel only made her T20I debut earlier this year against Zimbabwe and has since taken nine wickets in six matches at 9.88 and sports an economy of 4.04. She, along with her skipper and Devonshire, will handle the spin department. Jess Kerr, White Ferns’ top wicket-taker in the two-year cycle with 19 scalps, Rosemary Mair, Illing and the Tahuhu-Devine-Bates trio are the quicks in the team.

No group of death, but also no bed of roses

New Zealand’s path to the semi-final looks achievable given the side of the draw they've fallen on. They’ve been grouped alongside England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland and Scotland in Group 2, with a win against England or the West Indies potentially taking them through to the semifinal. But that’s easier said than done.

Three of their seven defeats over the last two years have come against England (1-2 in May 2026) and Sri Lanka (1-1 in March 2025). However, their last appearance against the West Indies was in the 2024 semi-final, which they won, continuing their record of one loss against West Indies in T20 World Cups since 2018.

New Zealand squad at the women’s T20 World Cup 2026

New Zealand: Amelia Kerr (c), Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Georgia Plimmer, Izzy Sharp, Lea Tahuhu.

New Zealand schedule at the women’s T20 World Cup 2026 (All timings local)

June 13, 6.30pm: v West Indies, Southampton

June 16, 2.30pm: v Sri Lanka, Southampton

June 19, 6.30pm: v Ireland, Southampton

June 23, 10.30am: v Scotland, Bristol

June 27, 6.30pm: v England, The Oval

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This will be both sides’ first 20-over assignment since the T20 World Cup earlier this year, where they were knocked out at the Super Eights stage. The first T20I is scheduled for Friday, June 12, with a game each on June 14 and 15 as well. All three matches will be played in Kingston, Jamaica, and will start at 7.30pm local time (6am IST, 1.30am BST).

West Indies vs Sri Lanka T20Is, where to watch: TV channels and live streaming

Where to watch in the Caribbean?

Fans in the Caribbean can watch all three T20Is on ESPN Caribbean, while the Windies Cricket YouTube channel will carry the live audio commentary.

Where to watch in Sri Lanka?

The Papare 1 and The Papare 1 HD via Dialog TV will be broadcasting the T20I series in Sri Lanka.

Where to watch in India?

FanCode will live-stream the T20I series in India. There will be no coverage on TV.

Also read: Century, 11 overs, five catches: West Indies Academy wicketkeeper-captain does it all in four-day game vs SL Emerging

Where to watch in USA and Canada?

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch the WI vs SL T20I series on Willow TV.

Where to watch in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Fans in Sub-Saharan Africa, including in South Africa can follow the series live on SuperSport.

Where to watch in Australia?

Amazon Prime Video are the official broadcasters for the T20I series in Australia.

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The commentary panel for the 2026 Women’s World Cup will feature former stars. These include world champions Mel Jones, Julia Price, and Matthew Hayden (Australia), Stacy-Ann King and Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Isa Guha and Ebony Rainford-Brent (England), and Dinesh Karthik (India).

The line-up also boasts other cricketing stars like Mithali Raj, Tash Farrant, Anjum Chopra, Simon Doull, Veda Krishnamurthy, Sana Mir, Isobel Joyce, Katey Martin, Nasser Hussain, Ian Bishop, and Ian Smith.

The panel of presenters and broadcasters includes big names like Charles Dagnall, Natalie Germanos, Alan Wilkins, Laura McGoldrick, Jatin Sapru, Kass Naidoo, Raunak Kapoor, and Ali Mitchell.

Also read: ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, where to watch live

“This is the biggest ICC Women’s T20 World Cup ever, and it feels like a real milestone for the game. This tournament is a fitting celebration of how far women's cricket has come, and through our broadcast, fans everywhere will experience the skill, drama and emotion that continue to drive the sport forward,” said Jones.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 schedule

Raj added: “The depth of talent across the 12 competing teams is remarkable. Wherever you look, there are world-class players capable of producing moments that can define a tournament, and I can't wait to share those moments with the world.”

“All of the host cities and venues provide a wonderful stage for an event of this magnitude, which will be reflected both in the stadium and on broadcast,” said Guha. “Fans will experience world-class cricket in some of the most iconic settings our sport has to offer.”

“The players competing this summer have the chance to leave a lasting impact that goes beyond the sport,” commented Martin. “The performances and stories we witness will inspire young girls from every corner of the globe to pick up a bat or ball for years to come.”

The scars of those defeats are unlikely to have faded, which makes Australia a doubly dangerous proposition for opposition sides as they enter the 10th women’s T20 World Cup. However, their road to the tournament hasn’t been ideal.

Are Australia undercooked for the Women’s T20 World Cup?

Among the 12 teams participating in the tournament, Australia have played the second-fewest number of T20Is since the end of the last T20 World Cup - 12. Only Pakistan (9) have played fewer.

While Australia have won 10 out of the 12 games, the two they lost came against India earlier this year, in what was their first bilateral T20I series defeat in nearly three years.

The concern is less about results and more about readiness. The limited volume of T20I games leaves less room to settle combinations and tactics, particularly for a side undergoing a significant leadership change following the retirement of stalwart captain Alyssa Healy.

Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux was controversially appointed Healy’s successor, and she’s now set to lead Australia into a World Cup with a captaincy experience of just six T20Is and one ODI. Leadership uncertainty is not something Australia have had to contend with often at ICC events.

Also read: The gap has closed: Why the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup is the most open in history

Australia’s 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup squad: Major talking points

Australia have made only three changes to the squad that featured in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the UAE, with Healy, Darcy Brown and Heather Graham missing out. They have been replaced by Georgia Voll, Lucy Hamilton, and Nicola Carey respectively. Ash Gardner and Tahlia McGrath will both serve as vice-captains to Molineux.

Full squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson.

Darcy Brown’s omission is perhaps the biggest surprise in what otherwise looks like a squad on expected lines. Brown is one of the fastest bowlers in women’s cricket and played an important role in Australia’s last T20 World Cup triumph, in 2023, where she picked up seven wickets in six games at 15 apiece.

However, she hasn’t been at her best in the last couple of years. Since the start of 2024, Brown has picked up 25 wickets at 27.64, a sharp decline from 20.61 previously, while her economy rate has risen from 6.09 to 7.76.

Selector Shawn Flegler explained that her erratic performances went against her, while head coach Shelley Nitschke pointed out that the raw materials that Lucy Hamilton offered were too exciting to ignore. "She gets some good bounce, bowls a really heavy ball; it's a real point of difference, especially for our attack. There's not a lot of them around," Nitschke said.

Hamilton only recently turned 20 and was part of the Delhi Capitals squad at the 2026 WPL. She gave a glimpse of the kind of havoc her left-arm angle can wreak on her Test debut against India earlier this year, where she picked up 6-63 across the two innings. Despite having played just one T20I before the World Cup, it wouldn’t be surprising if Australia turn to her as a point-of-difference option during the tournament.

In the spin department, Australia have Gardner and Molineux as the two premier finger-spinning all-rounders alongside the two leggies Georgia Wareham and Alana King. Wareham also offers batting ability which puts her above King in the pecking order, as admitted by Flegler during the squad announcement: “Georgia's been a No. 1 legspinner. Alana's come in and done really well. But I think the pecking order is pretty clear. We've got Ash, Soph and Georgia, and then if conditions allowed, then Alana comes into it as well."

The batting remains familiar territory for Australia: deep, experienced, and still among the most intimidating in women’s cricket. Georgia Voll is set to partner up with Beth Mooney up top. Fresh off a hundred in Australia’s last T20I before the World Cup, Voll has already become an integral part of the Australia XI. Phoebe Litchfield will bat three in all probability, followed by the engine-room of all-rounders who offer flexibility and are capable of absorbing collapses as well as accelerating aggressively.

Individually, Australia have most bases covered, but with an average age of 28.4, they are an ageing side carrying the scars of the previous two World Cups. It was evident when seamer Megan Schutt admitted to looking at the upcoming tournament as “revenge”.

“Hungry is one word and for me it's revenge, or spite ... it's definitely one I want to go and win. I'm competitive in everything I do - which is a good and a bad thing - the last two have stung and, after being part of a lot of success, it stings even more,” Schutt told AAP recently.

Australia still arrive with perhaps the deepest squad in the tournament. But for the first time in a long time, they arrive with unfamiliar baggage: transition, scars from recent failures, and expectations they are no longer meeting by default.

Australia’s schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 13, 2.30pm: v South Africa, Manchester
June 17, 10.30am: v Bangladesh, Leeds
June 20, 10.30am: v Netherlands, Southampton
June 23, 6.30pm: v Pakistan, Leeds
June 28, 2.30pm: v India, Lord’s

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They arrive with a settled senior core, recent success against India, and a squad that should suit English conditions. On paper, South Africa have enough quality to reach the knockouts again, but after a series of near-misses, another good campaign may not feel like enough.
Are South Africa finally ready to finish the job?

Also read: Not yet 30, Laura Wolvaardt is already touching GOAT status

South Africa have won seven and lost six T20Is this year. They have played three series, beating Pakistan, losing to New Zealand, and then beating India 4-1 at home.

That latest result matters because India are in the same group as South Africa at this World Cup, along with Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands in what is arguably the tougher pool. They begin against Australia, which gives them a difficult start but also an immediate measure of where they stand. The India fixture later in the group can then become one of the key games in the qualification race.

Their squad is not in transition. It has clear roles, senior players across departments, and enough all-round depth. Their bowling, especially, should suit England. South Africa have several seam options who can use movement, along with spin control through the middle overs.

Laura Wolvaardt remains the biggest wicket in South Africa’s batting lineup. She has become one of the leading batters of the modern women’s game, and her role is central. She was the highest run-scorer in the 2024 edition and the only batter to cross 200 runs in the tournament. Since then, she has scored 776 T20I runs at 48.50 and a strike rate of 144, the most by any batter from a Full Member.

Tazmin Brits will be important alongside her. In the 2024 T20 World Cup, she finished behind only Wolvaardt, and played a major role in taking South Africa to the final.

Marizanne Kapp remains crucial to the balance of the XI. She gives South Africa a frontline seam option and a reliable middle-order batter in the same side, which makes her form and fitness important.

Shabnim Ismail’s return is the standout selection call. She last played for South Africa in the 2023 T20 World Cup final and comes back as the country’s leading T20I wicket-taker, with 123 wickets. Her pace could be a major factor, especially with the new ball.

Around them, South Africa have enough support. Chloe Tryon remains key, while Nadine de Klerk provides all-round depth. Ayabonga Khaka remains one of their most reliable seamers, and her pairing with Ismail will be key.

Where South Africa could thrive and struggle

South Africa’s main strength is their bowling depth. In England, where seam movement could play a role, they have the attack to trouble stronger batting sides. They also have enough experience in the batting order to build competitive totals if the top order gives them a platform.

Their biggest concern is the middle order. South Africa can sometimes slow down if early boundaries dry up, and against better attacks, they cannot afford to leave too much for the final overs.

That was an issue in the 2024 T20 World Cup as well. South Africa’s batters from No.3 to No.7 averaged 24.15, compared to 41 for the openers. Much has changed since then, but the reliance on the top two may not have disappeared completely. And that is why Dan van Niekerk’s return may turn out to be pivotal.

Their group is challenging. Australia will be the toughest test, India are genuine contenders, and Pakistan and Bangladesh can both be dangerous if South Africa are not sharp.

South Africa have enough quality to reach another semi-final, and possibly another final. But that is no longer the full story. After coming close repeatedly, this World Cup is about whether they can finally take the last step.

South Africa squad at the T20 World Cup

Laura Wolvaardt (c), Sinalo Jafta (wk), Karabo Meso (wk), Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe Tryon, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Kayla Reyneke, Annerie Dercksen, Dane van Niekerk, Shabnim Ismail, Sune Luus, Ayabonga Khaka

England schedule at the T20 World Cup

v Australia: June 13, Manchester
v Pakistan: June 17, Birmingham
v India: June 21, Manchester
v Netherlands: June 25, Bristol
v Bangladesh: June 28, Lord’s

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Speaking in a press conference at The Oval today, Rob Key said: “I’m trying to give myself a bit of time to look at, actually have they been strict enough? Even when they win a game of cricket, is it now time where there’s just no alcohol at any time at any stage? 

“I need to think through this because I don’t want to make a rash decision that actually hinders the team and creates a situation where they don’t feel like they can do anything. But the players now have to show, and I think they have to show the public, that they can be trusted. And at this point it’s hard to say that you can [trust them].”

Rob Key: ‘It could have been a lot worse’

Key also denied that the England team have become a national embarrassment, but conceded that if the curfew hadn’t been in place then the incident earlier this week “could have been a lot worse”.

“Gus Atkinson says he didn’t know [that there was a curfew in place], Ben Stokes and I have spent the last three months working through a number of things on how do we improve the culture, the performance and everything with this team, he’s been an integral part of that.

“So, as far as I’m concerned, as much as I’m angry, frustrated at having to sit here and talk through this, if those protocols weren’t in place it could have been a lot worse… When you end up as part of the story for being out and it’s alcohol, that’s not what you expect from an England cricketer.”

Following the Ashes loss last winter, the ECB conducted a review into what went wrong before and during the series. Both Key and Brendon McCullum kept their jobs following the review, which identified problems with preparation and squad selection. Speaking after the findings of the review were published, Key denied that England had a drinking problem, highlighting the stress on players spending long periods away from home during high-profile series.

Also read: Why Root, not Brook, is standing in for Stokes as England Test captain

Rob Key: ‘Process has to play out’ before decision made on Stokes’ future

Following details emerging of the incident on Monday, it was reported that Stokes was considering his future both as England Test captain and as a player. It was reported that both Atkinson and Stokes were present at a nightclub in the early hours of the morning, when a Saracens rugby player aimed a punch at Atkinson. The punch connected with an ECB security staff member, who required stitches. 

“Don’t underestimate how tough the last six months have been on Ben Stokes,” said Key. “We’ve got to let the process play out because I want to try and work out exactly what the best thing to do for this team is and what the best thing to do for Ben Stokes is.

“It’s still very raw all of this, certainly for Ben, Brendon and myself, the ECB. So I don’t want to speculate on any of that until I’ve had a proper think, and we’ve had a proper think and seen exactly what happens in the next week or so.”

Asked whether it had crossed his mind to sack Stokes, Key replied: “At this point in time, it’s not crossed my mind to get that far ahead.”

England named their squad for the second Test against New Zealand, which will take place at The Oval next week. Joe Root will captain the side on an interim basis, picked for the job ahead of vice-captain Harry Brook. “Ultimately we just thought this was too big a job at this stage for Harry to take on in the interim, even,” said Key. “We thought long and hard about the way to go, there’s so much that comes with the Test captaincy even if you’re only doing it for one Test match.

“Harry Brook's the white ball captain, I think he's been outstanding at doing that job on the field in particular, and he's coming of age as a captain. There's lots of different factors of why we went for Joe Root but ultimately when English cricket's in a hole Joe Root's the man that we asked to dig us out of it, whether that's on the field or off the field. We're incredibly lucky to have him, and when I spoke to him about whether he would consider this he didn't hesitate.”

Both Stokes and Atkinson will miss the Test match, while Jordan Cox and Jofra Archer have been included in the squad as replacements.

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India have named their U19 squads for the three Youth ODIs and two Youth Tests in Sri Lanka, to be played between July 4 and 23. Both squads will be led by Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan, while Lakshya Raichandani will be his deputy.

The Youth ODI squad also includes Anvay Dravid, the son of former India captain and head coach Rahul. Samit, Rahul Dravid’s elder son and an all-rounder, had played for the Karnataka U19, but could not break into the national squad. He was in the news last year when he played against Arjun Tendulkar, son of Rahul Dravid’s long-term teammate Sachin.

Wicketkeeper-batter Anvay has impressed for the Karnataka U16s, and was part of a tri-series in end-2025 that featured two India U19 sides (A and B) and Afghanistan U19.

India U19 Youth ODI squad for Sri Lanka tour

Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (c), Lakshya Raichandani (vc), Rajat Baghel (wk), Anvay Dravid (wk), Sagar Virk, Vineeth VK, Arjun Rajput, Kushagra Ojha, Anmoljeet Singh, Vutkuri Yashveer Goud, Rohit Anil Yadav, Shavin V, Kavya Paresh Patel, Mohit Ulva, Ishan Sood.

India U19 Youth Test squad for Sri Lanka tour

Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (c), Lakshya Raichandani (vc), Manav Krishna (wk), Aryan Sandesh Sakpal (wk), Sagar Virk, Patel Kush, Manal Chauhan, Kushagra Ojha, Hemchudeshan J, BK Kishore, Rohit Anil Yadav, Kavya Paresh Patel, Priyanshu Singh, Pranav Raghvendra, Chigurupati Venkata.

Sri Lanka U19 v India U19 schedule

All matches start at 10am local time

1st Youth ODI: July 4, Hambantota
2nd Youth ODI: July 6, Hambantota
3rd Youth ODI: July 9, Hambantota

1st Youth Test: July 13-16, Galle
2nd Youth Test: July 20-23, Colombo

The 33 matches, including the knockouts, will be played in three slots - 10.30am, 2.30pm and 6.30pm (local time). The tournament opener between England and Sri Lanka will begin at 6.30pm, while the final has been scheduled to start at 2.30pm.

Where to watch Women's T20 World Cup 2026 live: TV channels, match timings and live streaming details

Where to watch in the UK and Ireland

Fans in the United Kingdom and Ireland can watch live action from every match of the WT20 WC across Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports+. The Sky Sports app will provide live streaming of the tournament. England and Ireland’s respective opening matches and the tournament final will be available free-to-air on Sky Mix. England and Ireland’s group games, the semifinals and the final will also be available on the Sky Sports app for streaming even without a subscription.

Where to watch in India

The tournament will be televised in India across the multiple Star Sports channels, while every match can be live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website.

Where to watch in Australia

Prime Video are the official broadcast partners for the Women’s World Cup 2026 in South Africa, and will provide free coverage of every game on their platform, without any subscription or fees.

Where to watch in South Africa

SuperSport will provide live coverage of the tournament for fans in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. The WT20 WC will be available across SuperSport’s TV and digital platforms.

Where to watch in New Zealand

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 will be covered live on Sky Sport for fans in New Zealand, on both TV and digital platforms.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 squads: Full team lists for the WT20 WC

Where to watch in Pakistan

PTV and Geo Super will televise the tournament for fans in Pakistan, whereas Myco, Tamasha and Tapmad will provide live streaming of the same.

Where to watch in the US and Canada

Willow Sports are the official broadcast partners of the WT20 WC in the USA and Canada, and will provide live coverage of all the matches for free across their FAST platforms. Willow TV and Willow TV Canada will televise the tournament, which can also be streamed on Cricbuzz via Willow.  

Where to watch in the MENA region

Fans in the MENA region will be able to watch the tournament live free-to-air on StarzPlay app’s StarzPlay Cricket W.

Where to watch in Sri Lanka

Dialog TV, ThePapare.com and the Dialog Play mobile app will provide live coverage of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 for fans in Sri Lanka. PEO TV and TV Supreme will provide free-to-air coverage of the tournament.

Where to watch in Bangladesh

Fans in Bangladesh can follow the tournament live on Rabbithole and ICC.tv.

Where to watch in the Caribbean

ESPN are the official broadcast partners of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.

Where to watch in Latin America

Fans in Latin America can stream the tournament live on Disney+.

Also read: Why the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup is the most open in history

Where to watch in the Netherlands

NOS Player will provide free-to-air streaming for every Netherlands game as they mark their maiden appearance in the tournament.

Where to watch in the rest of the world

Fans in the Pacific Islands can stream the tournament on Digicel, while those in Singapore can follow the same on Hub Sports 4. Cricbuzz will provide live coverage of the tournament in Malaysia and Hong Kong through Astro and PCCW, respectively. ICC.tv will provide live coverage of every game, and for free, in the rest of the world.

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Sri Lanka Emerging Players were bowled out for 356 after captain Dinura Kalupahana won the toss and opted to bat first at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.

Batting at No.7, wicketkeeper Dinura Kalupahana lifted them from 133-7, adding 60 for the eighth wicket with Shakthi Udara (13) and 142 for the ninth with Nisala Abeyratne (48). Bandara was last out, for a 217-ball 163 that included 19 fours. For the visitors, Johann Layne claimed 3-68 and Ryan Bandoo 3-45 as Clarke held five catches behind the stumps.

Play – The bowling ’keepers quiz: Who had 11 wickets and 11 stumpings in Test cricket?

Clarke’s next act came when he walked out at the fall of Mavendra Dinyal (60), at 134-4. He put on 115 with Shaqkere Parris (55), then 57 with Amari Goodridge (28), and another 73 with Layne (35) before finally departing. Clarke’s 127 took him 218 balls, and included 11 fours and a six. It was enough to get WIA a 25-run first-innings lead even as Shakthi Udara returned 6-102.

SLEP became 91-5 but recovered to 173-5 by stumps, and stretched the sixth-wicket stand to 162 on the final morning. On the third day, Clarke took his pads off and bowled 11 overs, but they were in vain. By the time Jediah Blades got Pulindu Perera (87), SLEP were 253.

At the time of writing, SLEP were 276-6 with Bandara (106) and Tharinda Nirmal (16) at the crease. They lead by 251 runs.

How did Shreyas Iyer become India’s T20I captain?

One-down in the three-match ODI series, Australia batted first in the second game after Josh Inglis won the toss and opted to bat at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Disaster struck in the first over, when Taskin Ahmed curled the fourth ball in and clean bowled Matthew Short - his third consecutive ODI duck, the joint-most for Australia. At the other end, Cooper Connolly poked at Mustafizur Rahman’s first ball and was caught behind. Five balls later, Matt Renshaw’s tentative push resulted in another caught-behind dismissal.

Two overs into their innings, Australia were three down without scoring a run. This was their worst-ever start in ODIs, and the fourth time a team lost three wickets without scoring in the format. The last instance, back in 2003, also involved Bangladesh – but they were batting on that occasion.

Australia soon became 25-4 when Mustafizur removed Alex Carey (13), but they recovered somewhat from there. At the time of writing, they were 60-4 in 15.3 overs with Inglis (32) and Cameron Green (16) at the crease.

0 for 3 in men’s ODIs

- The 1983 and 2003 instances took place at the World Cup.
- Australia’s previous worst three-down collapse had been 5-3 against South Africa at Cape Town in 2006.

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That Stokes and Atkinson will be absent at The Oval is not a surprise, with the investigation ongoing into what exactly went on in the early hours of Monday morning. Really though, there is little that is unknown, thanks to the tireless cross-desk work of any number of rugby and cricket reporting teams. We know now all four establishments enjoyed by the England cricket team and Saracens rugby team, the identity of the Samoan rugby player who aimed a punch at Atkinson and missed, connecting instead with the security detail, and even the price of the double rum and cokes Stokes and England rugby captain Maro Itoje were drinking.

What remains to be decided is exactly what the appropriate punishment is for being out after midnight four days after your 35th birthday and 12 hours after your first win in over six months, when the added context of a winter spent pissing away a golden Ashes chance is taken into account. One or two Tests on the bench might do the job.

There remains the spectre of a sudden Stokes Instagram post, calling it quits out of a combined sense of shame and not being bothered with all the bullshit anymore. That prospect appears to have cooled. Political turmoil has a way of making a position seem untenable in the moment before easing with the mere passage of time.

Of the replacements, Root’s reappointment is a canny PR move. Harry Brook couldn’t have answered questions about late-night discipline with a straight face, while Root is basically blemishless in that regard and has experience of guiding all manner of crises. He will be able to strike the right tone. In a way, it’s a silver lining that he will get the chance to correct some of the perception around his captaincy. That ‘one win in 17’ stat obscures that, until then, he had done a commendable job in a turbulent, plague-ridden time.

Cox’s inclusion is interesting from a pecking order point of view, even if he’s unlikely to trouble the XI. Dan Lawrence is in red-hot form and loves The Oval, but it’s fair that Cox, one of the unluckiest men in English cricket, has only slipped one rung down the ladder due to being at the IPL.

On the XI, there’s still a decision to make. England could simply replace Stokes with James Rew and Atkinson with Archer. But, in terms of team balance, it could make more sense to bring in Rehan Ahmed to bat at No. seven and bowl some leg-spin, and then bring in Archer and one of Matthew Fisher or Sonny Baker, with Shoaib Bashir sitting out. It would be harsh on Bashir, who didn’t get a chance to do anything at Lord’s, but it would also be a very fun, watchable XI.

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Jofra Archer and Jordan Cox have both been called up to the squad.

England squad for second Test vs New Zealand

Joe Root (c), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.

Joe Root has been named as England’s interim captain for the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval next week 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson have both been left out of the squad, while Jofra Archer and Jordan Cox have been called up.#ENGvNZ #Cricket pic.twitter.com/lqy0xhI6hF

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 10, 2026

Root has been selected as captain on an interim basis ahead of Harry Brook, who was named as England's official Test vice-captain over the winter. Brook was involved in his own off-field controversy, when he was caught up in an altercation with a bouncer in Wellington the night before an ODI. He was subsequently fined £30,000, but retained his role as England white-ball captain. 

The last time Root led England in a Test match was in 2022, when he captained England in a Test series in the West Indies following their defeat in that winter's Ashes series. Root stood down from the captaincy following that series, and Stokes took over at the start of the home summer. Over his captaincy tenure, Root led England in 64 Tests, winning 27 and losing 26.

ALSO READ: Mark Butcher: Multiple sackings could follow Stokes-Atkinson nightclub episode

When Stokes has previously been unavailable to play since taking over captain, Ollie Pope has taken over, leading England against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in 2024, and taking the armband for the final Test against India at The Oval last year. Pope was dropped from the Test side following last winter's Ashes series.

The second Test of England's series against New Zealand will begin at The Oval next Wednesday, June 17.

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Nevertheless, before the start of the summer, it was hard to put them alongside the likes of India, South Africa and Australia, as favourites to take home the trophy. With much the same batting lineup that’s seen them fall short at the last two T20 World Cups, as well as in last year’s Ashes and 50-over World Cup, any progress they made during Edwards’ first 12 months felt capped. With a strong bowling attack and having made progress on their fielding, semi-finals felt like both par and ceiling.

For the majority of their two T20I series in the lead-up to the tournament, that script was followed. They beat New Zealand, but not emphatically, and lost their opening match to India crumbling in a chase. With their captain injured, and the lack of ball-strikers in their batting lineup laid bare in direct comparison with India, the lack of true match-winners was stark.

However, the final match of their series against India at Taunton breathed new life into England’s World Cup hopes. Faced with a big chase, Alice Capsey demolished India’s attack with a boundary-fuelled 82. Having been the likely candidate to make way when Nat Sciver-Brunt came back in at the start of the tournament, she made herself impossible not to select, playing the kind of innings England had been crying out for.

Equally as important was Heather Knight in that match, who scored the fastest half-century of her T20I career. Knight had come under pressure following her innings in the opening match of the series, where she was unable to either rotate the strike or hit boundaries. The partnership from Capsey and Knight energised England’s batting order, showing potential in the kind of chase England haven’t pulled off in years.

The right side of the group

England have other reasons to be optimistic other than the last-gasp fire from their middle-order. They have on paper the far easier group, avoiding all three of Australia, India and South Africa until the semi-finals. Of the teams in their group, England have only ever lost a T20 World Cup match to one of them (West Indies).

Even so, for a side who have never lost a World Cup on home soil, making the final will still be a tough ask. England have lost every T20 World Cup knockout match they’ve played since 2018, and should they reach the semi-finals this time, it will be an assessment on whether their pressure demons from the last few years have been overcome.

The big guns

The news that England will have their captain back from injury for the World Cup is a huge boost, even if she won’t be fit to bowl at least for the start of the tournament. Nat Sciver-Brunt provides the kind of boundary-hitting ability England were lacking until their final pre-World Cup match at Taunton, and, with her in it, their middle order looks emphatically more formidable.

Alongside her, whether Capsey can translate her masterclass in Taunton to more consistent runs, and where she fits in the batting lineup will also be key. Edwards must make a decision on how Capsey fits in, whether it’s for Sophia Dunkley at the top of the order, or for someone else, and how the rest of the pack fits in around her.

All-rounder balance

While the batting lineup has been a source of worry for England, their bowling attack is up there with the best in the competition. Linsey Smith has added a dimension with the new ball since her recall to the side last year, while Lauren Bell is the highest-ranked T20I pacer in the world. While Sophie Ecclestone was off the boil against New Zealand and India, she remains England’s most prized spinner. The addition of Tilly Corteen-Coleman has also provided a competent back-up to the main three.

The only concern for England will be how to balance their side with only one specialist seamer. Dani Gibson and Freya Kemp have shown how formidable they can be as lower-order batters, but have been more hit and miss with the ball. With Sciver-Brunt unable to bowl, England will have to pick both to avoid compromising batting depth for another pace-option.

England squad at the T20 World Cup

Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Lauren Bell, Issy Wong, Lauren Filer.

England schedule at the T20 World Cup

June 12, 6:30pm: v Sri Lanka, Edgbaston
June 16, 6:30pm: v Ireland, Southampton
June 20, 6:30pm: v Scotland, Leeds
June 24, 6:30pm: v West Indies, Lord’s
June 27, 6:30pm: v New Zealand, The Oval

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Lawrence' innings followed the double-hundred he made in the first innings of the game. His 218 off 190 was his highest-ever first-class score, and came after Surrey were reduced to 98-3. The score powered Surrey to 421 batting first, before Hampshire were bowled out for 333. After Lawrence's hundred in the second innings, Surrey declared on 259-5, setting Hampshire 348 to get in the final two sessions of the game.

In the process, Lawrence became the third Surrey batter to score a double-century and a century in the same match, after Scott Newman in 2005 and Mark Ramprakash in 2010. As well as the two three-figure scores, Lawrence also scored 94 not out in the T20 Blast last week, again against Hampshire, off just 47 balls. His effort was in vain, however, as Surrey fell short of their 216-run target by six runs.

Could Lawrence's run-spree bring an England return?

Lawrence last played for England in 2026, when he replaced Zak Crawley as opener in the Test series against Sri Lanka. After averaging 20 during the series, he was dropped at the end of the summer and hasn't been in an England Test squad since. Before being included in the XI for the Sri Lanka series, Lawrence had spent a significant amount of time being England's de-facto spare batter, having made his Test debut in 2021. 

While Lawrence has looked several rungs off an England recall over the last two years, his run-scoring spree could come at an opportune time. With Ben Stokes likely to mis England's Test at The Oval next week, Lawrence’s all-round skills and form could pull him back into contention for Test match selection. He currently leads the County Championship run-scoring chart, with 780 runs from 11 innings, as well as having bowled 148 overs across the season, taking eight wickets.

England included Rehan Ahmed in their squad of 15 before the first Test match, but Rehan has only played one first-class match since the beginning of April. With the Test set to be played at The Oval, Lawrence's home advantage could also be attractive for selectors, if England decide to rebalance their side with another all-rounder.

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West Indies were one of the surprise stories of the 2024 T20 World Cup. They topped their group, knocked England out, and came close to reaching the final.

Since then, though, their T20I form has been mixed. They have won eight and lost 12 of their 22 matches, with series defeats against stronger sides such as India, England and Australia, as well as Sri Lanka. They did win the tri-series in Ireland more recently, where they also made 199 for 6 against Pakistan, their third-highest total in women’s T20Is.

They are in Group B with New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, Scotland and Ireland. New Zealand and England will be the toughest games, but West Indies will feel they have a route to the semi-finals if they beat Sri Lanka, Scotland and Ireland. The Sri Lanka match in Bristol could be especially important.

Hayley Matthews and the batting question

West Indies have experience, but the batting still revolves heavily around Hayley Matthews. She opens the batting, takes important wickets with her off-spin, and leads the side. When she has a good game, the West Indies immediately look much stronger.

Since the last T20 World Cup, Matthews has made 781 runs in 20 innings, the second-most by any batter from a Full Member side in this period, behind only Ireland’s Gaby Lewis. She averages 55.78 with one hundred and seven fifties, and is the only West Indies batter to score more than 400 runs in this period.

That shows both her quality and the West Indies’ concern. Qiana Joseph is next with 314 runs at 16.52, while Deandra Dottin has 313 runs at 28.45. Dottin remains their main power-hitter and has hit 19 sixes in this period, more than anyone else in the side. Chinelle Henry has also been useful, scoring 185 runs at a strike rate of 139.09.

But beyond Matthews, the numbers are not especially strong. Several players have either had limited chances or have struggled with tempo. Stafanie Taylor, for example, has made 150 runs at a strike rate of 85.71 since the last T20 World Cup. She brings experience, but West Indies will need more fluency from the middle order if Matthews or Dottin do not carry the innings.

This is where West Indies’ campaign could be decided. They have players who can win matches, but they need more than one or two batters to excel.

Where West Indies could thrive and struggle

West Indies’ bowling has enough variety. Afy Fletcher has taken 19 wickets since the last T20 World Cup, while Matthews has 17. Jahzara Claxton has 12 wickets, and Henry, Dottin, Karishma Ramharack and Zaida James have all taken nine each.

West Indies are not dependent on one bowler alone, and they have enough spin and all-round options to adjust to different conditions. James has been especially economical, with nine wickets at 18.33 and an economy rate of 6.11, while Henry has also done a steady job, taking nine wickets at 20.11 and going at under seven an over.

The concern is whether the batting can give the bowlers enough to work with. That was the problem in the 2024 semi-final as well. West Indies restricted New Zealand to 128 for 9, with Dottin taking four wickets, but could only reach 120 for 8 in the chase. Dottin’s 33 off 22 kept them alive, but the innings never fully came together.

That remains the basic question around West Indies. Their bowling and all-round depth should make them competitive, and Matthews gives them a genuine match-winner. But if the batting depends too much on a few, they may struggle against stronger sides.

West Indies’ schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

West Indies vs New Zealand, June 13, Southampton

West Indies vs Scotland, June 18, Leeds

West Indies vs Sri Lanka, June 21, Bristol

West Indies vs England, June 24, Lord’s

West Indies vs Ireland, June 27, Bristol

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Joe Root’s two single-digit innings in the low-scoring Lord’s Test against New Zealand has resulted in a drop in his rating from 880 to 851. In the same Test, Brook made a half-century and rose to 869 – putting him at the top of the chart. Twin failures also resulted in Kane Williamson dropping a spot, and he now sits below Kamindu Mendis. India captain Gill’s hundred against Afghanistan, on the other hand, helped him jump two places: he is now eighth.

Among bowlers, an injured Matt Henry took only three wickets on a seamer-friendly track and dropped to seventh place. Gus Atkinson, however, took 7-39 in the Test to rise seven places and break into the top ten.

Atkinson is also now the fifth-ranked Test all-rounder. An insipid outing resulted in Ben Stokes drop from third spot to fourth, while a half-century and five wickets saw Washington Sundar enter the top ten.

Latest ICC men's Test player rankings

Updated on June 10, 2026

Batting rankings

Bowling rankings

All-rounder rankings

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Dig deep, and things may not seem as dire. India did not lose a game until the semi-final in 2018 and the final in 2020. In 2023 (and the World Cup-sized Commonwealth Games in 2022), they conceded winning positions to eventual champions Australia. In 2024, they were pitted in the same group as Australia and eventual champions New Zealand.

Thus, it will not be unfair to summarise India’s woes at the T20 World Cup to their inability to conquer Australia, the Final Boss of the women’s game since goodness-knows-when. Over the past decade, India have knocked Australia out of the Women's ODI World Cup in 2017 and 2025; have won a T20I series in the country earlier this year; and have won two of the last five encounters at the T20 World Cup. That monkey is off their back now.

also read: Pakistan preview, Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Onus on teammates to back captain Sana Mir

The Group of Death – again

India are placed in a group that also features South Africa, the most rapidly improving team in women’s cricket, and Australia. A defeat in either game will significantly increase their chances of a first-round elimination – even if the other three teams do not stun them. Indian fans will remember their unceremonious exit in 2024.

However, things have changed since that tournament. Two more editions of the WPL have been played, pitting Indians against the best sides in the world as well as providing selectors with greater clarity.

The inclusion of Bharti Fulmali emphasises the latter point. After two forgettable outings in 2019, she had been left out of the squad for seven years, but is now back in the mix after two stunning WPL seasons. With a 250-run cut-off among Indians across the 2025 and 2026 WPL, only Richa Ghosh (163.8) had scored at a quicker rate than her 159.5.

The injuries to Amanjot Kaur and her like-for-like replacement Kashvee Gautam have left India without a seam-bowling all-rounder, offsetting the team balance. India have tried to cover that base with Radha Yadav, the in-form India A captain, but they cannot pick a third spinner in England (Shree Charani and Deepti Sharma are probably shoo-ins). As a result, they may end up going in with either a batter or a bowler short. To sum up, team balance may be an issue.

Also read: Batting depth or extra bowler: How should India replace Amanjot Kaur in their T20 World Cup XI?

The big guns

Eyes will be on Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana, one of the most dangerous opening pairs across formats. Always a prolific scorer, Mandhana took her time to match the ever-changing tempo: she struck at only 129 until the end of 2025. In 2026, that number reads 146. On the other hand, no batter has scored more runs than Verma at a quicker pace, while only Grace Harris meets the bill in all T20.

Despite not having the benefit of the powerplay, Richa Ghosh strikes at 145 in T20Is. With her, the biggest conundrum has always been her entry point: India will want her to be around when the death specialists return as well as use her to take on the spinners in the middle overs. With a hitter as versatile as Ghosh, that is the only concern.

It is hard to believe, but despite debuting in this decade, Renuka Singh Thakur already has more T20I wickets than Jhulan Goswami. In England, she has 12 wickets from eight games at 15.83 while going at 6.12 an over. Her lone, valiant effort against Australia at Birmingham in 2022 is still fresh in the mind.

Also read: Ireland preview, Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: Strong core ready to seize opportunity for first tournament points

India squad at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup:

Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Shree Charani, Shreyanka Patil, Bharti Fulmali, Radha Yadav, Nandani Sharma

India schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 14, 2.30pm: v Pakistan, Edgbaston
June 17, 2.30pm: v Netherlands, Leeds
June 21, 2.30pm: v South Africa, Manchester
June 25, 2.30pm: v Bangladesh, Manchester
June 28, 2.30pm: v Australia, Lord’s

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England have had a midnight curfew in place since the start of their white-ball series in Sri Lanka earlier this year, following publicised incidents of team members out drinking during the Ashes. While no official statement has yet been made, Stokes is reportedly considering his position as captain, and the future of his playing career. 

Speaking on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast on Tuesday evening, Butcher said: "This whole thing could take on a completely different complexion. But their biggest problem is the curfew. You agreed to it, you broke it, and not only did you break it, you've ended up getting your security guy punched in the head. It kind of ends there.

"What Stokes decides to do about his own career, we don't know, we have no control over that. In any event, I think the ECB are going to have to do something, because otherwise it's just empty threats. As I've said they were right on the line anyway, and now this has happened."

'At the first hurdle, they've fallen down'

The incident follows similar patterns of behaviour to England's tours of New Zealand and Australia over the winter. Harry Brook, who is likely to captain England at The Oval next week, was heavily fined after an altercation with a bouncer in the early hours of the morning before an ODI in Wellington. In Australia, England players faced criticism for being seen drinking in bars having already gone 2-0 down in the series. A video emerged on social media of Ben Duckett during the series, seemingly intoxicated and unsure of his way back to the team hotel.

Despite calls for a change in leadership on and off the field over the winter, all of the key figures in England management from the winter remain in place. In an interview with Sky Sports Cricket earlier this year, England managing director Rob Key rejected the allegation that England had a drinking problem, but admitted "there's two or three players that can be irresponsible with alcohol given that opportunity".

"The England team would not have been under curfew had it not been for the shenanigans during the New Zealand and Australia tours," said Butcher. "I can imagine that as part of the conversation between the ECB, the people who pay the bills, Brendon McCullum, Ben Stokes, Rob Key even, that you're all keeping your jobs, but we expect you to be spotless as part of that covenant. So therefore, the curfew was in place.

"At the first hurdle, they've fallen down. That in itself is extremely embarrassing for McCullum, it's extremely embarrassing for the ECB because breaking the curfew has now led to all of these extraordinary stories, and so everybody is in a really difficult position, nevermind Ben Stokes as the captain of the side.

"On the face of it, cricket players go out for a late night after winning a Test match is the worst scoop of all time, because that's basically what you do. It's not a back-to-back Test, they don't play again until Wednesday. If this was an isolated incident and there had been nothing before in the previous 10 months and this was a first offence, nobody would even have mentioned it. In fact, there probably wouldn't even have been a curfew, but we are exactly where we are. "

'It would not surprise me if there were multiple sackings'

The ECB has yet to release an official statement regarding potential sanctions for the players involved in the incident, but it is likely that both Stokes and Atkinson will miss England's next Test match against New Zealand. 

"It would not surprise me whatsoever if there are multiple sackings because of this," said Butcher. "I'm not being holier than thou and saying this should never happen, because my God there never would never have been Test match cricket if stuff didn't happen after games. But the ECB now are in such a difficult position. The riot act has been read, and a team led by the same people who allowed all the shenanigans to go on during the winter, has let them down again."

Stokes is also reportedly considering his position as captain, and the future of his playing career following the incident. 

"He took the Ashes loss particularly hard," said Butcher. "His batting form has been on a pretty constant slide for the last two or three years, his body keeps letting him down, he has to keep going through these mental rehabilitation spells to get himself back on the park again, he barely plays any cricket outside of Test matches because he's barely fit enough to do so.

"... All of this, it's a lot of pressure. And then something daft happens, you know you've dropped a bollock by being out past the curfew anyway, but then something like this kicks off, he might be thinking to himself, you know what I'm done, I can't do this anymore, regardless of who threw the first punch."

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The Pakistan Cricket Board named their squad for men’s cricket at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, to be played between September 13 and October 4 at the Korogi Athletic Park in the Aichi Prefecture.

Farhan will lead the squad that also includes four men who are yet to play in T20Is – Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat, and Saad Masood.  Of the 15 members, 14 are part of the NCA White-Ball Camp that will commence in Lahore from June 15.

From 46 T20Is, Farhan has 1,305 runs at a strike rate of 137. In 2026, he famously set a new record for most runs in a single edition of the T20 World Cup (383 runs, at 160). In all T20, his nine hundreds are the joint fifth-most of all time.

Men’s cricket at the 2026 Asian Games will feature 10 teams – hosts Japan, five Full Members (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan), and four qualified teams (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, and Oman).

Pakistan won the gold medal at men’s cricket in both Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014 before finishing fourth in Hangzhou 2022.

Pakistan squad for Asian Games 2026 – men’s cricket

Sahibzada Farhan (c), Abdul Samad (vc), Usman Khan (wk), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Muqeem.

Support staff

Mike Hesson (head coach), Ashley Noffke (bowling coach), Shane McDermott (fielding coach), Muhammad Tahir (physiotherapist), Imran Ullah (trainer), Usman Hashmi (analyst-cum-team operations coordinator)

Also read: The gap has closed: Why the 2026 Women's T20 World Cup is the most open in history

Bangladesh booked their spot in the 2026 World Cup by winning the qualifiers earlier this year in Nepal, winning all seven games. They beat all three of their fellow qualifiers, Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland, at the tournament; the latter the most handsomely - a 90-run win after they posted 191, their biggest total in the two-year cycle since the last World Cup. 

But they then went on a five-match losing streak; Sri Lanka clean swept them in a three-T20I series before back-to-back defeats to Scotland and Netherlands to start the triseries in Edinburgh. They roared back to form, however, beating both the sides to finish the series strongly.

A 13-run win in an eight-over affair against the Dutch was the highlight: they aggregated 98 runs, scoring at 12.25 per over - only once have they batted quicker in a WT20I ever. They also scored over 150 in two of their four matches of the series when they had managed to cross the mark only once since December 2024 outside the qualifiers. The faced more difficulties in their warm-ups, losing comprehensively to New Zealand and by 11 runs to Ireland.

Netherlands and Pakistan realistic targets in the group stage

Nigar Sultana and Co. have a herculean task at hand, with favourites South Africa, India and Australia all in their group. This would also be their first time playing in England, and they have only played West Indies and Sri Lanka among the full-member nations since the last World Cup, losing all six matches.

Also read: Pakistan preview, Women's T20 World Cup 2026: Onus on teammates to back captain Sana Mir

But the tournament’s expansion to 12 teams gives them the opportunity to match their best-ever win tally at a T20 World Cup of two, with Netherlands and Pakistan the other two sides in the group. Bangladesh have won two of their last three matches against both those teams (they last played a WT20I against Pakistan in 2023). They have never won more than one group game at a T20 World Cup.

Hopes lie in tight bowling unit

Though Bangladesh have built their identity on spin, their pace-bowling unit, led by Marufa Akhter, is also strong. Akhter will have Ritu Moni and Fariha Islam for company, with Moni and Akhter particularly impressing in the warm-ups against New Zealand and Ireland.

Vice-captain Nahida Akter and Shanjida Akther Maghla with their left-arm spin, off-spinner Sultana Khatun, leg-spinner Fahima Khatun, and leg-spinning all-rounders Shorna Akter and Rabeya Khan, the latter their top wicket-taker over the last two years, will form the spin attack.

Captain Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary, two of their top three run-scorers in WT20Is, will lead the batting unit. Dilara Akter’s role at the top of the order would be crucial for Bangladesh as she could score quickly to give them a solid start before the experienced campaigners in the middle order take over.

Also read: Ireland preview, Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: Strong core ready to seize opportunity for first tournament points

Bangladesh squad at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

Nigar Sultana Joty (c), Nahida Akter, Sharmin Akter Supta, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Fariha Islam Trisna, Marufa Akter, Shanjida Akther Maghla, Sultana Khatun, Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Taj Nehar.

Bangladesh schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 14, 10.30am: v Netherlands, Birmingham

June 17, 10.30am: v Australia, Leeds

June 20, 2.30pm: v Pakistan, Southampton

June 25, 2.30pm: v India, Manchester

June 28, 10.30am: v South Africa, Manchester

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Having lost their two previous matches in the series heavily, South Africa A got off to a decent start at Worcester, only losing Tony de Zorzi before rain caused a brief interruption to play. After the players resumed, Lhuan-dre Pretorius looked in ominous form. He hit 65 off 57 balls, forming a 65-run partnership with Marques Ackerman, taking the side to 93-1 in the 18th over. However, Rehan made the crucial breakthrough, drawing a leading edge from Pretorius which looped up for Rehan to take an easy catch off his own bowling.

Wickets fell quickly after that. James Coles struck in the next over, getting Ackerman caught in the deep off an attempted scoop. Coles also removed Jason Smith in his next over, trapping him lbw from round the wicket. With the exception of Connor Esterhuizen, Rehan took every remaining wicket in South Africa A's innings. 

He drew an edge from Sinethemba Qeshile which fell to Ben McKinney at slip, before bowling Gerald Coetzee through the gate. In his seventh over of the innings, he dismissed both Prenelan Subrayen and Nqabayomzi Peter, the forming slapping a shorter ball to point and the latter hit wicket, disturbing the balls with his back leg attempting a pull shot. That wicket gave Rehan his first five-for in 50-over cricket, with his previous best figures being 4-54.

Rehan finished off the innings with the wicket of Dian Forrester, who pulled a ball to the fielder on the boundary. That left England Lions chasing a target of 147 to win their first match of the series.

Rehan five-for comes amid Test call-up possibility

Rehan's six-for comes amid speculation that he could be picked for England's second Test against New Zealand next week. Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson are likely to miss the game after they were involved in an altercation in a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning. Rehan was named in the expanded squad for the first Test, but did not make the XI. As an all-rounder, he is the front-running candidate to replace Stokes in the side if the England Test captain doesn't play. 

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Alyssa Healy announced her retirement at the beginning of this year, leaving what turned into a power vacuum behind her. Sophie Molineaux has played only two of Australia’s six T20Is since she was named as Healy’s successor, with injuries hampering her selection. In her first series as captain, Australia suffered their first bilateral defeat on home soil since 2017, when they were felled 2-1 by India.

Naming Molineux as captain has placed Australia in a bind. With Australia spoilt for choice in the spin department, Molineux’s place, when fit, is never entirely straightforward. There is always a case that another specialist spinner could offer more, depending on the balance of the XI. In addition to Ash Gardner and Georgia Wareham, both of whom are bankers, Australia named Alana King in their T20I squad, after she starred on her return to the format in the West Indies.

In addition to the spin muddle, the sheer number of world-class all-rounders Australia have at their disposal means that their side can look oddly balanced. It’s normal for Annabel Sutherland to bat as low as seven, and while too much batting depth in theory is a good problem to have, the sheer number of options Australia have at their disposal sometimes brings with it an unclear game plan.

Australia remain the No.1 ranked side in the world with by far the biggest depth of quality. But there are widening cracks that haven’t been around previously. What was a winning machine is no longer as clinically ruthless as it was four years ago.

*******

So what of the others? New Zealand, the defending Champions, are in the final act of their goodbye tour for their two big guns – Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine. The emotional winning moment in 2024 was one of catharsis, and about those two more than anything. Now feels more like a passing of the baton. Melie Kerr’s volume of runs since taking over the captaincy has shown her ability to win T20 matches on her own, but the lack of contributions from the rest of the XI in their series loss to England means it’s hard to rank them as title contenders, even if their place in Group B makes them likely semi-finalists.

Group A is a clear-cut example of a ‘group-of-death’ – hosting arguably the three main contenders for the title, at least one of which will miss out on the knockouts. The opening match of that group, Australia v South Africa, could be vital in determining which of the three will face an early exit.

On tournament form alone, South Africa could be counted as a leading contender for the favourites tag. They are the only side that have featured in all three of the last ICC tournament finals, and have built a team brimming with match-winners. At the forefront is Laura Wolvaardt, arguably the most in-form T20 batter in the world at the moment, with Marizanne Kapp gearing up for what could be her last big show. They have also been bolstered by the un-retirements of Dane van Nierkerk and Shabnim Ismail – the latter of which adds a premium fast bowler to their ranks, the biggest gap in their squad over the last two years.

South Africa are outliers in that they’ve built a legacy from their golden generation, despite the lack of serious investment at the domestic level. Annerie Dercksen and Kayla Reyneke are two big-hitting all-rounders who have successfully transitioned to the international stage over the last couple of years, alongside the regular faces of Nadine de Klerk, Sune Luus, Ayabonga Khaka and Nonkululeko Mlaba. Still, their series win over India two months ago followed a series loss in New Zealand, albeit with some of their premier stars missing.

India are the most mercurial of the top bunch. Off the back of their 50-over trophy win, losses to South Africa and now England cast doubt over their ability to consistently string together a run of results. While they boast one of the most powerful batting lineups in the competition, their bowling lineup has less bite. Nevertheless, having got their first title under their belt last year, they have the opportunity to become reigning 50-over and 20-over World Champions.

While England definitely round up the pack, having not reached a T20 World Cup final since 2018, there were signs in their two warm-up series that things were starting to click into place. Under Charlotte Edwards, they’ve become fitter and smarter, while still struggling to hold up under scoreboard pressure. The chase that Alice Capsey and Heather Knight put on at Taunton against India showed they have the raw skill to go pound-for-pound with the most explosive lineups in the world, but they haven’t yet done it consistently. There’s also the question mark over the fitness of their captain and best player, Nat Sciver-Brunt, who will be fit for the tournament opener but won’t be able to bowl, changing the balance of their XI.

Nevertheless, England have never lost a World Cup on home soil and are in the more open group, with what should be a straightforward path to the knockouts. Home crowds, conditions, and the most complete run-in to the tournament all sit in their favour; they won’t get a more favourable opportunity to win an ICC trophy.

T20 World Cups should have an element of lottery. Fast-paced, with matches played in quick succession, there should be scope for upsets and unlikely victors. Women’s T20 World Cups have often lacked that element, without the feeling that more than two sides could realistically end up lifting the trophy. This one, however, is different. The fabled ‘gap’ between Australia and the rest no longer exists. For the first time, it’s anyone’s for the taking.

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If the ECB pull Stokes out of the second Test, Harry Brook will take over captaincy of the side. Brook was named vice-captain ahead of the Ashes, as well as taking on the white-ball captaincy role last year, although his position came under scrutiny after he was involved in a light-night altercation at a nightclub in New Zealand. As far as what England's XI could look like, however, with the potential for Jofra Archer also to be brought back in, England have wider options.

England's options to replace Stokes and Atkinson

While Stokes's batting has been in decline for several years, and came under scrutiny following his dismissal at Lord's, the absence of both him and Atkinson will require a re-balance. Of those who were named in the squad for the first Test who didn't make the final XI – Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Matt Fisher and James Rew – the most likely option is that Rehan Ahmed will be brought in to effectively replace Stokes as the all-rounder in the side. That would mean that Shoaib Bashir would drop out, with a quick replacing him. 

If England assess The Oval wicket as providing similarly scant opportunities to spinners as Lord's did last week, they may choose to forgo the spinner altogether, leave out Bashir for an extra quick and strengthen their batting. This would bring James Rew into contention, while Dan Lawrence scored a Championship double-century following England's win at Lord's at the weekend.

If Archer returns, he will take the new ball with Robinson, effectively replacing Atkinson, and one of Sonny Baker or Matt Fisher will likely replace Bashir. If Archer doesn't return, England could field both Baker and Fisher, the latter likely taking the new ball. There are also bowling options from the county circuit England could consider calling up to their squad. The likes of Sam Cook, with his 27 wickets at 19.25 in Essex's Championship campaign so far this summer, would be an option as an opening option to replace Atkinson, should Archer not be ready to come in. 

There could also be a desire for a more like-for-like option for Stokes, i.e a seam-bowling all-rounder, especially if England want to retain Bashir as the off-spinner.

Sam Curran is usually floated as an option to make a return to Test cricket when Stokes is injured. However, Curran is returning from his own injury and hasn't been bowling for Surrey in the Blast. Craig Overton could also come into contention; he hasn't played a Test match since 2022 but currently sits fourth in the Championship wicket-taking charts and has scored two first-class centuries this season.

Another contender is Jordan Clark. While Clark doesn't offer the same potential for runs as the other two, considering Stokes' own diminishing returns, that may not count him out. Clark has taken 17 Championship wickets for Surrey this season, and would be playing in familiar Oval conditions.

The Test match at The Oval will begin next Wednesday (June 17) with a statement from the ECB clarifying: "An announcement regarding the squad for the second Test will be made in due course."

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Test matches (2): Bangladesh 1, Zimbabwe 1

This tour had originally comprised six white-ball internationals but, because the teams had fitted in a T20 series the previous year as a warm-up for the World Cup, it was changed to two Tests. Bangladesh were in a rebuilding phase after the retirements of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah. But it was still a shock when Zimbabwe came out on top in a tight match at Sylhet, chasing down 174 with three wickets to spare. It helped that the pitch proved quick and bouncy: the tall seamer Blessing Muzarabani finished with nine wickets.

Bangladesh hit back on a more traditional subcontinental track with a thumping victory at Chittagong, where Mehedi Hasan completed a century and a five-wicket haul on the third and final day. But the result did little to mask off-field chaos, with former board president Nazmul Hassan questioned about an alleged financial scandal, and barred from travelling overseas; his replacement, Faruq Ahmed, likened the Bangladesh board to Frankenstein’s monster. Phil Simmons, now overseeing his fifth Test team, had his work cut out to ensure the players focused on the cricket.

Zimbabwe’s touring party to Bangladesh, 2024/25

*CR Ervine, BJ Bennett, JMR Campbell, BJ Curran, TW Gwandu, WN Madhevere, WP Masakadza, VR Masekesa, NP Mayavo, B Muzarabani, R Ngarava, VM Nyauchi, TE Tsiga, NR Welch, SC Williams. Coach: J Sammons.

First Test at Sylhet, April 20-23, 2025

Zimbabwe won by three wickets. Toss: Bangladesh

In advance, Bangladesh had been concerned mainly about Muzarabani, who had taken five-fors in both his previous two Tests. They were right to be worried: he added another here – and nine wickets in the match – as his side pulled off a rare victory. Zimbabwe’s batsmen defied nerves on the fourth day to chase down a tricky target of 174, completing their country’s 14th win in 123 Tests, the first since beating Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi in March 2021.

On a sporting pitch, Bangladesh toiled to 191 on the first day. Nyauchi dismissed the openers, before Muzarabani made his mark, removing Bangladesh’s captain Nazmul Hossain with a short ball. The spinners, Masakadza and Madhevere, then got to work on the middle order, while Muzarabani returned to dispose of the dangerous Mehedi Hasan. 

Bennett, cutting well, and Curran got Zimbabwe off to a flying start, putting on 67 before the first-day close. Both fell to Nahid Rana early on the second morning, but Williams dropped anchor for two and a half hours, before the last two wickets added 50 vital runs, stretching the lead to 82. Mehedi took the last five, but the spinners generally were off colour, and Taijul Islam finished wicketless.

It was now that Muzarabani came into his own. He removed Shadman Islam in his second over, and Mahmudul Hasan for 33, although the key moment was his dismissal of Nazmul second ball on the fourth morning, before he had added to his overnight 60. Only Jaker Ali resisted for long after that, the last five falling for 45, which left Zimbabwe a more gettable target than had looked likely at the start of the day. Muzarabani finished with a Test-best 6-72.

Bennett and Curran made another good start, putting on 95 – but four wickets in 12 overs, including the experienced Williams, and Bennett for an attractive 54, set the nerves jangling. Mehedi picked up his tenth wicket of the match – his 200th in Tests – and it was left to Madhevere, the last specialist batsman, to drag his side across the line. He reverse-swept the winning runs off Mehedi, to spark delight among the tourists.

Player of the match: B Muzarabani.

Second Test at Chittagong, April 28-30, 2025

Bangladesh won by an innings and 106 runs. Toss: Zimbabwe. Debuts: Tanzim Hasan Sakib; VR Masekesa.

Mehedi Hasan had taken ten wickets in the First Test, though in defeat. Now he added five more, and a century, as Bangladesh squared the series with an emphatic innings win, completed in extra time on the third evening. It was their 23rd Test victory, and third by an innings (at Mirpur in February 2020, they had beaten Zimbabwe by an identical margin).

Zimbabwe had reached 69-3 on the third afternoon, still trailing by 148, but with Curran doggedly fending off the spinners. However, a rush of blood from Ervine, who missed a slog at Mehedi, started a terminal slide. In the same over, a classical off-break trapped Madhevere; Taijul Islam, who had taken six in the first innings, chipped in with three, and the game ended when debutant Vincent Masekesa became the first Zimbabwean to be run out twice in a Test. Mehedi finished with 5-32, rounding off quite a day: earlier, he had taken his overnight 16 to 104, his second Test century. He shared stands of 63 with Taijul and 96 with the debutant seamer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, to lift Bangladesh to 444, almost double Zimbabwe’s total. No Test player had scored more runs on a day on which they had taken five wickets.

On the first, Zimbabwe had begun well, thanks to attractive half-centuries from Welch and Williams. They struggled with the heat: Williams occasionally had trouble straightening his fingers, while Welch’s legs cramped up several times. At 162-2, he retired hurt, having faced one ball after tea, and from there it was all downhill; the sight of him walking off must have been like the promise of a breeze for the bowlers. Nayeem Hasan removed Ervine and Williams, before Taijul ran through the tail. Welch returned at the fall of the eighth wicket, but not for long: in all, Zimbabwe lost their last eight for 50, and Bangladesh were back in the contest.

There was another pleasant surprise for the home side when Shadman Islam and Anamul Haque put on 118, Bangladesh’s first century opening stand in Tests since December 2022. Anamul, recalled after three years in which he had been the most prolific domestic run-scorer, posed fresh challenges: he was busy at the crease, pinching quick singles and taking on the short stuff. He eventually departed for 39, but Shadman went on to his second Test hundred (the other was also against Zimbabwe, in July 2021). It was the first century by a Bangladesh opener for 16 Tests.

The middle order threatened to throw away the advantage, before Mehedi papered over the cracks, reaching his century with last man Hasan Mahmud at the crease. Masekesa’s leg-breaks brought 5-115, debut figures bettered for Zimbabwe only by seamer Andy Blignaut’s 5-73 against Bangladesh at Bulawayo in April 2001. But the lead was over 200, which proved ample.

Player of the Match: Mehedi Hasan. Player of the Series: Mehedi Hasan.

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Pakistan finished fourth in their five-team group at the 2024 T20 World Cup after naming Fatima Sana as captain just ahead of the tournament. Their losses to Australia and New Zealand were comprehensive, and the one to India was only close because their opponents made it so. A consolation win over Sri Lanka was the highlight of their tournament.

Between that World Cup and this one, Pakistan played 13 T20Is, fewer than any side in the competition bar seven-time champions Australia. They also played eight ODIs outside of their ICC commitments (Women’s Championship and World Cup). For perspective, New Zealand played 17 and three, while South Africa played 21 and 13 respectively.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 squads: Who's in, who's out? Full team lists for the WT20 WC

How much can one player do?

Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana certainly has a case for being the most underrated T20 cricketer in the world. While the WPL is off-limits for non-cricketing reasons, her awe-inspiring performances have not yet been enough for any team in the WBBL, The Hundred or T20 Blast to take a chance on her all-round ability.

She has been Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in T20Is since the last World Cup, despite batting no higher than five, and usually at seven. The brunt of her blade was felt by Zimbabwe a month out from the World Cup as she slammed a world-record 15-ball half-century. During the tri-series in Ireland, Sana said she was trying to “jump higher” in the order, but it was a team decision for her to bat as low as she is.

Only Sadia Iqbal has taken more wickets for Pakistan than Sana in this time frame as well; her bowling is perhaps less of a requirement for the team given their other personnel, but she is a bonafide wicket-taker with the new ball, conceding at just 6.7 an over in that phase since the last World Cup.

Also read: ‘I didn’t know if there was light at the end of the tunnel’ – Lauren Bell on rebuilding her action

How the rest of the side fits together

Pakistan come into the tournament with a settled opening pair in Muneeba Ali and Gull Feroza, but “settled” here does not imply “in form”. In six innings leading up to the Ireland tour, their highest stand was 27. In the Tri-Series in Ireland, that number read 18.

The brightest spots in their batting order barring Sana are the youngsters, 21-year-old Eyman Fatima and 24-year-old Saira Jabeen. While the two are relatively untested against top-quality opposition, the flexing of their muscle against Ireland and Zimbabwe showed a solid enough ceiling, in terms of scoring rate. Jabeen’s experience at a Sydney Thunder training camp in 2023 is also an experience most players in this squad have not had.

Pakistan’s lack of games means it can be easy to forget that left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal remains the ICC’s top-ranked T20I bowler in the world. She is undoubtedly the ace in the pack – an all-phase spinner with incredible restrictive ability through the middle and wicket-taking threat at the top. Nashra Sandhu is an able foil in the spin department as well.

It is the pace bowling that Pakistan will be gambling on. Outside of Sana, Diana Baig has looked rusty since returning to the side, and while Jabeen’s batting is promising, how her bowling holds up at international level remains to be seen.

Their qualification chances are bleak, with India, Australia and South Africa in the same group, but if one Sana special can turn over one of those sides, you never know...

Also read: Not yet 30, Laura Wolvaardt is already touching GOAT status

Pakistan squad at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

Fatima Sana (c), Gull Feroza (wk), Muneeba Ali (wk), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Iram Javed, Nashra Sandhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan.

Pakistan schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 14, 2.30pm: v India, Birmingham
June 17, 6.30pm: v South Africa, Birmingham
June 20, 2.30pm: v Bangladesh, Southampton
June 23, 6.30pm: v Australia, Leeds
June 27, 10.30am: v Netherlands, Bristol

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Arya’s partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad was going strong, with the duo having notched up a 50-run stand for the third wicket after openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh departed cheaply. But right after adding their 50th run together, they were involved in a bizarre mix-up that led to Arya’s dismissal.

Gaikwad nudged the ball towards deep extra cover and called for a two, but while he returned immediately for the second run, Arya hesitated as he saw the fielder closing in and stopped. The two eventually ended up on the same side, and the bails were taken off on the striker's end.

Replays showed Gaikwad had grounded his bat first, whereas Arya’s bat was accidentally blocked by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella’s boots as he tried to collect the throw and send it to the other end.

Ruturaj Gaikwad tons up as India A post 277-6 batting first

The Punjab Kings opener, who batted at No.3 in the A game, departed for run-a-ball 32, whereas Gaikwad went on to score his 21st List-A hundred, getting dismissed for 101. Sooryavanshi started well in his first game for India A, slamming three boundaries off his first six balls but departed for a 12-ball 14.

Captain Tilak Varma scored 60 off 97 from No.5 and built a 150-run partnership with Gaikwad. Suryansh Shedge (26 off 14) and Ayush Badoni (24 off 18) provided the finishing touches as India A finished their innings on 277-6 after 50 overs in the opening game of the tri-series, which features Afghanistan A as the third team.

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As is evident, the release did not mention exactly what the “incident” was, but they were investigating whether Stokes, the captain of the Test team, and Atkinson had breached “team protocols”.

A subsequent ESPNcricinfo report hinted that both cricketers “look set to miss” England’s next Test match, scheduled to start at The Oval on June 17 “while the investigation takes place”.

“Neither player was hurt in the incident,” assured the report, “which is understood to have involved players from Saracens Rugby Club, who were present as part of their end-of-season celebrations, and stemmed from a disagreement between Atkinson and an unnamed academy player.” Saracens confirmed that “an academy player had been involved in an incident on Sunday evening”.

It is worth a mention that following an incident involving a bouncer in Wellington on October 31, limited-overs captain and Test vice-captain Harry Brook had been reprimanded, while teammate Jacob Bethell had been warned. Then, in Australia, when the English unit took a break at Noosa, a controversial fan video of Ben Duckett again prompted an ECB investigation.

Following this string of incidents, the ECB introduced a midnight curfew for cricketers. As per the new ECB release, Stokes and Atkinson have flouted that.

“The first thing I said to these boys is don’t do anything that lands you on the front page of the paper,” head coach Brendon McCullum had said back then. “Nothing good happens after midnight, but we're going to have a good time.

The three teams will face the other two twice each in a double round-robin format from June 9 to 19, before the top two sides in the table face off in the final on Sunday, June 21. All seven matches will be played at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, and have been scheduled to begin at 10am local time (10am IST, 5.30am BST).

India-Sri Lanka-Afghanistan Tri-Nation A series: Full schedule

Tuesday, June 9: India A vs Sri Lanka A

Thursday, June 11: Afghanistan A vs India A

Saturday, June 13: Sri Lanka A vs Afghanistan A

Monday, June 15: Sri Lanka A vs India A

Wednesday, June 17: India A vs Afghanistan A

Friday, June 19: Afghanistan A vs Sri Lanka A

Sunday, June 21: Final

India-Sri Lanka-Afghanistan Tri-Nation A series, where to watch live: TV channels and live streaming

Where to watch in Sri Lanka?

The tri-series is being broadcast live on multiple platforms in Sri Lanka. Both Dialog TV and PEO TV will telecast all the matches across multiple channels, which include Sony Sports Ten 1 and Ten Cricket. The SLC YouTube channel is also live-streaming all the matches.

Where to watch in Afghanistan?

Fans in Afghanistan can watch live action from the series on Shamshad TV, which will also provide radio commentary of all the matches.

Where to watch in India?

The Sony Sports network are the official broadcaster for the tri-series in India, with its multiple channels covering the matches live on TV. Fans can also live stream the series on SonyLiv app and website.

Where to watch in the rest of the world?

The Sri Lanka Cricket YouTube channel will live stream all the matches for fans in other parts of the world.

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Scotland finished third in the Super Sixes of the 2026 Qualifiers: the only teams above them, Bangladesh and Ireland, are Full Members. Then, they beat both Bangladesh and the Netherlands (twice) to win the Tri-Nation tournament at home. Scotland also beat Zimbabwe the only time the sides have ever met (at the Qualifier). Their head-to-head against Ireland reads 6-9.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 squads: Who's in, who's out? Full team lists for the WT20 WC

‘Home’ advantage

The Scots come with an advantage matched by no other side barring the hosts: most of their 15 members plays domestic cricket in England. The Bryce sisters, the superstars of the side, play alongside Kirstie Gordon at the Blaze. Olivia Bell, Darcey Carter, and Alisa Lister are at Lancashire. And so on ... the list is long. 

Scotland are pitted in the same group with with hosts England, defending champions New Zealand, former champions West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Ireland. While qualification is not easy, they do have the potential of taking down at least one of the big guns.

Also read: ‘I didn’t know if there was light at the end of the tunnel’ – Lauren Bell on rebuilding her action

The potential stars

The leading run-scorer and second-highest wicket-take for her nation, Kathryn Bryce will be at the heart of Scotland’s journey in her second T20 World Cup as captain. Fewer than 200 runs behind her on the all-time list is her sister, wicketkeeper Sarah Bryce. Essex leg-spinner Abtaha Maqsood and Surrey all-rounder Priyanaz Chatterji add to the team’s strength. When she takes field, Kirstie Gordon will become the first woman to represent two sides at the tournament: she represented England in the 2018 final.

With a focus on youth, Scotland also included three members of the 2025 Women’s U19 World Cup squad – Gabriella Fontenla, Pippa Sproul, and Maisie Maceira. Right-arm seamer Maceira took eight wickets at 10.50 in the tournament while going at 6.54 an over.

Also read: Not yet 30, Laura Wolvaardt is already touching GOAT status

Scotland squad at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

Kathryn Bryce (c), Sarah Bryce (wk), Darcey Carter (wk), Ailsa Lister (wk), Pippa Sproul (wk), Chloe Abel, Olivia Bell, Priyanaz Chatterji, Gabriella Fontenla, Katherine Fraser, Kirstie Gordon, Maisie Maceira, Abtaha Maqsood, Megan McColl, Rachel Slater.

Scotland schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 13, 10.30am: v Ireland, Manchester
June 18, 6.30pm: v West Indies, Leeds
June 20, 6.30pm: v England, Leeds
June 23, 10.30am: v New Zealand, Bristol
June 26, 6.30pm: v Sri Lanka, Manchester

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Also play: Quiz! Batters with most runs in men’s T20Is

In this quiz, you have to list every bowler with a five-wicket haul on men’s Test debut between January 1, 2020 and June 8, 2026. Some of them have since gone on to become first-choice bowlers for their respective nations. Some others have not been as impactful.

Also play: Quiz! Name every 21st-century England men's Ashes cricketer

You have the country each player represented, along with the opposition, the bowling figures, the venue, and the year of their debut.

Also play: The ultimate quiz on cricket's multi-sport athletes

Quiz! Which bowlers have taken five-fors on men's Test debut this decade?

Please refresh the page if the quiz does not load properly. 

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With Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head ruled out (along with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc), Australia will be led by Josh Inglis. Captained by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh, on the other hand, will field a full-strength team.

Australia hold a 20-1 lead over Bangladesh in ODIs, but the teams have not met in a bilateral series since 2011. The last three ODIs between the two sides were at the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 and 2023 World Cups. Bangladesh’s only win was back in 2005.

BAN vs AUS ODI, where to watch live: TV channels and live streaming for Australia tour of Bangladesh

Where to watch in Bangladesh

T Sports and Nagorik TV will provide the live broadcast of the three ODIs on television, while Tapmad are the official streaming partners in Bangladesh.

Where to watch in Australia

Kayo Sports and FOX Cricket are the official broadcasters of the Bangladesh vs Australia ODIs in Australia.

Where to watch in India

The FanCode app and website will carry the live stream of the Test series in India.

Where to watch in the rest of the world

To be announced.

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KL Rahul (100) and Shubman Gill (126) tonned up in the first innings, while Rishabh Pant scored 81 in his usual style. Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 52, while debutant left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar contributed with a 41-ball 28 before turning up with the ball.

Suthar took a six-wicket haul in his first innings in Test cricket (6-33), overtaking Ravichandran Ashwin to register the third-best figures by an Indian on Test debut. Prasidh Krishna took three wickets, while Rahmat Shah (60) was the only visiting batter to score more than 20 runs. Afghanistan were bowled out for 152, and India enforced a follow-on.

Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav then ran through the Afghan batting line-up, taking seven wickets between them. Afghanistan’s second innings lasted just over a session, and India eventually completed their biggest-ever innings win in Tests. Their previous best was the thrashing of the West Indies by an innings and 272 runs in 2018 in Rajkot. India's biggest win by runs in the format also came in Rajkot - against England in 2024 (434 runs).

Biggest victory margins in Test cricket (by innings): India break into top 10

That question will define Ireland’s campaign in England.

Are Ireland finally ready for the next step?

Among the four teams that came through the Global Qualifier, Ireland looked the most complete bar Bangladesh. They won five of their seven games in Nepal, finishing inside the qualification spots with victories over Thailand, Netherlands, USA and Papua New Guinea.

The signs of growth had been visible even before that. In late 2024, Ireland whitewashed Bangladesh – who won the Global Qualifier unbeaten but have lost to Netherlands and Scotland in the last week – away from home in a statement result that would have felt improbable just a few years ago. Since then, they have followed it up with a 3-0 sweep of Zimbabwe, their highest-ever successful T20I chase (against Pakistan), and a dramatic win over West Indies in the tri-series immediately before the World Cup.

However, the context of those results matters.

Ireland have undoubtedly improved, but most of those gains have come against sides who occupy similar positions in the ICC T20I teams rankings. While they will likely still struggle against the big-hitters, this tournament is their best opportunity to get their first win in a T20 World Cup under their belts. They will face Scotland in their tournament opener, and also could spy an opportunity against any of New Zealand, Sri Lanka or West Indies. 

The tension that sits at the heart of Ireland's chances of securing that elusive win, however, is their over-reliance on the core of their side, particularly their senior batters.

Ireland are stronger than before, more settled than before, and considerably more battle-hardened than the side that travelled to South Africa in 2023. But are they ready to turn competitiveness into statement wins?

Ireland’s 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup squad: Major talking points

Unlike several other sides entering the tournament amid transition, Ireland arrive with a relatively settled core.

Captain Gaby Lewis and vice-captain Orla Prendergast remain the pillars around whom almost everything revolves. The pair have comfortably been Ireland’s standout performers over the last two years.

Lewis enters the tournament as Ireland’s leading run-scorer in T20Is since the last World Cup, scoring 825 runs at an average above 43. Her ability to hold the innings together, and do so at a decent pace, makes her the most important batter in the XI. Alongside her, Prendergast has become one of the most complete all-rounders outside the traditional powerhouses. Since the last World Cup, she has scored 707 runs at 37 and picked up 30 wickets at 15.6, comfortably the best all-round returns in the squad. Her contributions with the new ball, particularly in seam-friendly conditions, will be crucial in England.

Amy Hunter’s role is equally important. Still only 20, Hunter already feels like a senior cricketer in this setup having played more than 100 internationals. Her unbeaten hundred against Zimbabwe in 2023 remains the only one scored by an Irish woman in the last two years, and her ability to provide stability in the top order often determines whether Ireland post competitive totals.

Laura Delany’s withdrawal, however, weakens Ireland’s balance. Delany has been among their most valuable multi-dimensional players, contributing useful middle-order runs and medium pace while also offering leadership experience. Since the last T20 World Cup, Delany has scored 346 runs and picked up 11 wickets at 6.83 runs per over for Ireland. In her absence, some younger names may have to shoulder greater responsibility sooner than anticipated.

What Ireland have increasingly started to resemble is a lower-middle-tier international side with a settled core rather than a plucky associate-type. 

Where Ireland could thrive - and struggle

Ireland’s greatest strength is that they are built for English conditions.

Unlike teams heavily reliant on outright pace or spin, Ireland’s bowling attack revolves around disciplined medium pacers capable of exploiting movement. Arlene Kelly remains the spearhead, having taken 32 wickets since the previous World Cup at an average of just 14.25. Ava Canning and Prendergast add flexibility and depth to their seam attack.

Ireland begin with an important clash against Scotland at Old Trafford before travelling to Leeds and Southampton. Bristol, where they play twice later in the tournament, could also reward their disciplined seam bowling. That gives Ireland a realistic chance of staying competitive. Their bigger concern lies with batting depth.

When Lewis and Prendergast contribute, Ireland generally look like a coherent batting side. When they do not, collapses can arrive quickly. Against stronger bowling attacks, the middle order can stagnate, something they can't afford to be doing as totals start getting higher and margins start getting lower in the women’s game.

Among their opponents, Scotland are their most likely chance of a win, but Sri Lanka and West Indies are realistic upset opportunities, while England and New Zealand would remain considerably tougher asks. It might sound modest, but it also highlights how far Ireland have come. Not long ago, merely avoiding heavy defeats at global events would have counted as progress. Now, qualification scenarios are at least plausible.

Ireland are no longer trying to prove they belong at a Women’s T20 World Cup. The harder challenge now is proving they can matter once they arrive.

Ireland’s schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

Ireland vs Scotland, June 13, Manchester

Ireland vs England, June 16, Southampton

Ireland vs New Zealand, June 19, Southampton

Ireland vs Sri Lanka, June 23, Bristol

Ireland vs West Indies, June 27, Bristol

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The England batter, who last played international cricket in 2024, was largely the lone fighter for a star-studded Surrey side at The Oval. Batting at No.4, Lawrence slammed a career-best 218 off 190 balls, featuring 31 fours and five sixes, to take the side to a first-innings total of 421.

Ollie Pope played a strong hand with a 76 off 103, and added quick 255 runs off 222 balls for the fourth wicket with Lawrence. The rest of the Surrey batters couldn’t hang on with Lawrence, adding just 68 more runs for the remaining six wickets, with the second new ball also playing its part.

After being put into bat, the top three of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Will Jacks were back in the hut in 32 overs when Pope and Lawrence joined hands with 98 on the board. After the duo’s rapid stand, Sam Curran tried to maintain the momentum but fell for a 16-ball 20. His brother, Tom, followed him soon after, with the team eventually going from 390-4 to 410-8.

Lawrence was the ninth wicket to fall, with Surrey finishing their innings at 421. He had hit an unbeaten 94 off 47 against Hampshire just three days ago in the T20 Blast in a steep and unsuccessful 216-run chase.

Lawrence's previous best first-class knock of 178 came against Durham in the last county season. He scored those runs off 149 balls, and hit 19 fours and four sixes. Dom Sibley had slammed a triple hundred in the game as Surrey hit a record 820-9.

Lawrence had received his maiden Test call-up for the 2021 tour of Sri Lanka, and hit a 73 on Test debut, adding 173 runs with double centurion Joe Root. But he had a largely sub-par tour of India that followed, with a top score of 50. After being first dropped in 2022, he was recalled for a home series against Sri Lanka in 2024 and played at the top of the order under Brendon McCullum, but managed a top score of 35 in three matches. Overall, he scored 671 runs in 14 matches at 26.84, with three fifties and a top score of 91 against West Indies in Bridgetown.

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Smith has teamed up with the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund to build a women’s and girls’ section from scratch, with his journey being followed by a camera crew, resulting in an online documentary called Colson’s Cricket Club.

27-year-old Smith grew up in Castleford before advancing into an acting career that saw him spend 14 years as Craig Tinker in the cast of Coronation Street, as well as appearing in Celebrity Big Brother. Now a presenter, Smith has been involved with Castleford CC since an early age.

“Nine years old was the first time I went to my local club and fell in love with cricket but I wasn't very good at playing. So I turned my attention to how a club runs off the field,” says Smith.

“From 15 I was on the committee and for the last 10 years I've been at the forefront of running a club that is now in the Yorkshire Premier League North and has had success in recent years. However, the ECB changed the accreditation process to mandate having a women and girls section and we had never had one before.”

Faced with a challenge, Smith took inspiration from his background in television, with the aim of creating a documentary alongside the project to “showcase to other Premier League clubs that if Castleford can do it in a working class area where the main sport is not cricket, and with only one ground and two senior sides, then anyone can do it.”

Yet by no means was it going to be easy, as Smith explains: “The hardest challenge is getting them down for the first time because they just don't think cricket's for them.

“Selling cricket and keeping people interested is really hard. I've single handedly gone to shopping centres and schools to try to get people down to the club on a Wednesday night to try cricket. Especially in Castleford which is a working class town that is very proud of its mining background and rugby league. They don't even know that we have a cricket club here.”

Fortunately for Smith he didn't have to look too far for guidance, as former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and former Lancashire seamer Kyle Hogg had starred in Field of Dreams, a BBC show where they created cricket teams from scratch, including a women’s side.

“I asked Kyle for advice and it was the most helpful thing because he gave me a blueprint in an hour of exactly what we need to do and what we need to follow to make our project successful.

“Fred and Kyle did the most amazing job of showcasing cricket to an entertainment audience with Field of Dreams. They made cricket seem so accessible and it's a huge inspiration for me as it was probably the greatest non-sporting cricket related show that's ever been made.”

Smith also teamed up with Metro Bank, who have had a joint fund with the ECB since 2024, aimed at accelerating cricket's progress towards becoming a more inclusive sport, through community programmes that attract and retain women and girls within cricket.

“I was adamant in conversation with Metro Bank that this isn't a vanity project for myself and is instead me trying to showcase a club that I love, and hopefully get more women and girls to come and fall in love with cricket just like I did when I was an 11-year-old child.”

With help from the Metro Bank Girls in Cricket Fund and Hogg, alongside a lot of determination and persistence, Smith eventually saw the outcomes he was hoping for.

“What’s been the most rewarding is that I've seen people who said, it's not for them but after weeks four and five, they're still there and talking about when the first game is.”

Now with a women’s and girls’ section up and running, Smith has no plans of slowing down in his commitment to continue improving the cricket club he runs, as well as supporting the local community.

“My primary responsibility at Castleford is to future proof a club that has 150 years of history and hopefully has 150 years more. I have so many ideas like a centre of excellence in West Yorkshire, all-weather nets, and my goal has to be to make Castleford one of the top local cricket clubs in the country.”

Every Episode of Colson’s Cricket Club can be found on his Instagram, YouTube and Facebook pages.

“In his elegant downswing and flawless balance, there are distinct echoes of the great Graeme Pollock and the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers,” wrote Chappell. “When he slashes across the line or lofts over extra cover, one glimpses the ferocious, instinctive genius of Brian Lara, combined with the devastating, ball-one intent of Adam Gilchrist.”

At the same time, Chappell raised concerns over the lopsidedness of T20 cricket in terms of the balance between the bat and the ball.

“As administrators and caretakers of the game, we are faced with two contrasting paths,” noted Chappell. “We can either completely dismiss over 250 years of rich cricket history and allow T20 to drift into an entertainment product that has far more in common with Major League Baseball than cricket, or we can actively intervene to preserve the delicate balance between bat and ball, paying proper homage to the centuries of evolution that came before us.”

Next, Chappell went on to make three recommendations to restore “a legitimate contest.”

Read: Five T20 innovations that should be introduced for the bowlers

1. “The number of wickets a batting team is permitted to lose in a T20 innings should be reduced to six”

Since the bowlers are restricted to four overs, the batters need to be “curtailed” as well, feels Chappell. The “ten-wicket model” allows batting sides to “operate with complete impunity, treating wickets as entirely disposable resources”. Reducing that resource from ten to six will “balance their aggressive instincts with tactical restraint, restoring the value of the anchor role, and demanding high-level strategic shot selection.”

It is worth a mention that Chappell had himself pioneered Super Eights Cricket – a format where a team could lose only seven wickets (but across 14 overs). In 1996, Super Eights Cricket famously gave the cricketing world (well, most of it) an early glimpse of Adam Gilchrist. In 2022, the West Indies launched the 6ixty – a 10-overs-a-side format where a team could lose only six wickets. And the Hong Kong Sixes has been a six-a-side format since inception.

2. “Administrators must mandate that a minimum of 3mm of live grass be left on all T20 pitches”

The “minor adjustment” will assist fast bowlers to find “genuine lateral movement, seam variation, and true carry”. The opening batters, in turn, will “respect the new ball”. A subsequent step, of leaving 3mm of live grass on one half of the pitch while leaving the other side completely dry, will “revive the dying art of spin”.

Chappell feels that this “split-pitch dynamic” will challenge captains and batters, “forcing them to navigate completely different tactical realities depending on which end they were facing”.

3. “Adjust the lbw law so that any ball that is going on to hit the stumps, no matter where it pitches, is out”

The third recommendation is more or less self-explanatory.

Chappell feels that these changes will “immediately breathe life back into the middle overs, bringing the art of placement, hard running, and defensive tactical awareness back into vogue”, ensuring that 160 is a tense, thrilling chess match rather than a forgotten footnote on an evening where 260 is chased easily.

“If T20 cricket is to endure as a meaningful sport rather than a transient, one-sided carnival,” concluded Chappell, the ball must be given an equal right to dictate terms. By altering the laws to empower the bowler, we do not diminish the genius of young stars like Sooryavanshi; we enhance it. True greatness is only forged when it overcomes a genuinely formidable obstacle. It is time for the administrators to step in and restore the soul of the contest, ensuring that cricket remains a game of profound nuance, high strategy, and enduring balance for the next 250 years.”

The left-arm spinning all-rounder received his maiden India call-up for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh and registered himself in the history books. Suthar took three wickets on day two and added three more to his tally on the third day to finish with 6-33, overtaking Ravichandran Ashwin’s debut figures in the process.

The debutant struck with just his fourth delivery in Test cricket, removing opener Abdul Malik, who tried to slog only to get a top edge. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was caught in the slips while Afsar Zazai was removed caught and bowled. Sharafuddin Ashraf was caught behind, whereas Afghanistan’s only half-centurion in the innings, Rahmat Shah was bowled around the legs trying to sweep as Suthar completed a maiden five-for.

Just three deliveries later, the left-arm spinner trapped Mohammad Saleem leg before to get his sixth and become only the fifth Indian bowler to take six or more wickets on debut. Narendra Hirwani holds the top two spots with figures of 8-61 and 8-75 in the two innings of his debut Test against the West Indies in Chennai in 1988. Ravichandran Ashwin, previously third on the list with 6-47 on debut in 2011, has now moved down to fourth, making Suthar's figures the best by an Indian Test debutant in 38 years. 

India, meanwhile, enforced a follow-on after bowling out Afghanistan for 152 in reply to their first-innings total of 564-8.

Also read: Ranji record-breaker, IPL breakout star: How the four uncapped players made it to India squad for Afghanistan series

Best figures by India Test debutants, full list: Manav Suthar enters top three

The Test match between England and New Zealand – the first of the English summer of 2026 – was the 150th at the Lord’s Cricket Ground: the historic venue became the first to reach this milestone.

However, soon after Tom Latham won the toss and opted to field, it became evident that the pitch was not the easiest to bat on. Despite Matt Henry’s injury, the New Zealand fast bowlers put on a brilliant show to bowl out England for 140. Ollie Robinson then hit back, striking thrice in four balls in his first over in Test cricket in more than two years. New Zealand, 61-6 at stumps, folded for 113 in the second morning.

However, concerns were already raised over the pitch after some balls took off the surface and some came unusually low. On the second day, Henry bowled Jacob Bethell with a ball that barely rose despite pitching short of a good length. After rain washed out almost the entirety of the third day, England won the 115 runs on the fourth morning.

Of the 150 Tests at Lord’s, this was the second-shortest decided match. At 996 balls, this was longer than only the 792-ball Ashes Test of 1888.

“We recognise that the pitch for this Test has shown more variable bounce than we would have wanted,” ran an MCC post shortly after the Test match. “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and are naturally frustrated when a surface falls short of those expectations.”

Mentioning their significant annual investments “in the preparation of the main square at Lord’s, as well as in research, technology and expertise aimed at producing pitches that provide a fair and consistent contest between bat and ball,” the MCC explained what might have led to the variable bounce: “The unusually hot and dry weather during May, followed by wetter conditions in the lead-up to the match, presented a number of challenges in preparing the pitch.”

They concluded by adding that they “fully recognise the need to act quickly” and assured that they would “remain fully focused on applying all aspects of pitch development and improvement as outlined in our recently published MCC Cricket Strategy 2026-29”.

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With figures of 4-27 from his four overs, tournament debutant Shami helped Siliguri Strikers beat the Rarh Tigers by 24 runs at the Eden Gardens. Defending 209, Shami had Sumanta Gupta out caught in the first over. After the fielder at first slip parried the ball to his right, Geet Puri at a wide slip dived and took an excellent low catch.

Thanks to Shuvam Dey’s 25-ball 48 (six fours, two sixes) and Rahul Prasad’s 26-ball 44 (two fours, three sixes), Rarh remained alive in the chase, reaching 156-5 in the 16th over.

But Shami derailed the chase in that over. He had captain Shahbaz Ahmed caught in the deep; had Rohit Kumar top-edging a bouncer; and trapped Dipanjan Banerjee leg-before to complete a hat-trick. Rarh eventually finished on 184-9. Karan Lal (4-0-36-3) was Siliguri’s other successful bowler.

Earlier in the day, Vishal Bhati (86 in 46 balls, five fours, six sixes) helped Siliguri amass 208-4. Contributions also came from captain Sudip Chatterjee (32 in 23, five fours, one six), Karan (39 in 28, one four, three sixes), and Pramod Chandila (36 in 16, six fours, one six).

With two balls remaining in the innings, Shami walked out and hit the first ball he faced, off Sukhmeet Singh, for six. He ran for two to finish unbeaten on eight runs off two balls.

Shami last played for India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Despite having an excellent domestic season for Bengal (and a reasonable outing in the 2026 IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants), he has not been able to return to the Indian side in any format.

Group B is undoubtedly the easier of the two at this tournament, with India, Australia, and South Africa all in the other one. Defending champions New Zealand should take one of the qualifying spots from Group B, while hosts England are favourites for the other – but one result may change that.

Sri Lanka drew 1-1 in New Zealand in March 2025, and beat the West Indies 2-0 in the Caribbean earlier this year – both results from which they will take heart heading into the World Cup. Their whitewash of Bangladesh (not in their group) in April was also a solid outcome.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 squads: Who's in, who's out? Full team lists for the WT20 WC

No longer dependent on Athapaththu?

Run-scoring at the previous World Cup was difficult, but even so, Sri Lanka had a horror show with the bat. Nilakshika Silva was their top run-scorer with 73 runs, and struck at 82. But even in that year, Sri Lanka showed they were slowly moving away from being over-dependent on Chamari Athapaththu to score virtually all of their runs.

Harshitha Samarawickrama and Kavisha Dilhari stepped up in the Asia Cup final in 2024. Since the last World Cup, Athapaththu remains the standout batter, but there has been a greater collective effort from the rest of the batting lineup. The experienced Hasini Perera and young Imesha Dulani in particular have shown that they can be counted on if and when their captain does not come off. In better batting conditions than the previous tournament, Sri Lanka will expect all three to come to the party.

Samarawickrama and Dilhari have not quite set things on fire in their recent games, but Dilhari adds all-round value with her off-spin. If all goes well, these two may not be required much, in any case.

Also read: ‘I didn’t know if there was light at the end of the tunnel’ – Lauren Bell on rebuilding her action

The wildcards

Between Dilhari and Athapaththu, Sri Lanka have their off-spin department covered. Sugandika Kumari adds the left-arm angle, and Malki Madara is set to lead their seam attack with Kawya Kavindi as support. When ambidextrous spinner Shashini Gimhani was ruled out, they replaced her with seamer Chethana Vimukti.

With two genuine bowlers in their top five, Sri Lanka have had room for another specialist bowler in Mithali Ayodhya. Now 19, she only made her international debut in end-April, and is perhaps the first bowler of her stature in the women’s game. At a naturally lower speed, around 110-115 kmph, she adds an element of movement with the new ball. Control remains an issue but unfamiliarity will work in her favour.

Also read: Not yet 30, Laura Wolvaardt is already touching GOAT status

Sri Lanka squad at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup:

Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunarathne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Imesha Dulani, Nilakshika Silva, Kavisha Dilhari, Hansima Karunarathne, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Sugandika Kumari, Nimasha Madushani, Kawya Kavindi, Malki Madara, Mithali Ayodhya, Chethana Vimukti.

Sri Lanka schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 12, 6.30am: v England, Birmingham
June 16, 2.30pm: v New Zealand, Southampton
June 21, 10.30am: v West Indies, Bristol
June 23, 2.30pm: v Ireland, Bristol
June 26, 6pm: v Scotland, Manchester

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England beat New Zealand by 115 runs at Lord’s to go 1-0 up in the three-match Test series. In helpful conditions, the New Zealand fast bowlers were magnificent on day one, bowling out England for 140 after Tom Latham had won the toss and opted to field. Kyle Jamieson, back to Test cricket, led the rout with 5-62, while Nathan Smith had 3-38.

Ollie Robinson, also on comeback, then took three wickets in his first over. He finished with 5-39 as the visitors were shot out for 116 amidst concerns over the Lord’s pitch. Debutant Emilio Gay (57) then pushed England to 226 even as Smith returned 6-70. Chasing 254, New Zealand were then bowled out for 138 as spearhead Gus Atkinson finished with 5-30. Not a single ball of spin was bowled in the match.

This was the second-shortest of the 150 Test matches at Lord’s.

Updated WTC 2025-27 points table after England beat New Zealand at Lord’s

The win boosted England’s PCT from 31.67 to 37.88, but they remained at seventh place. New Zealand, on the other hand, slipped from second to joint fourth place after the defeat: they are tied with Bangladesh.

Also read: Women's T20 World Cup 2026 squads: Who's in, who's out? Full team lists for the WT20 WC

One can understand the jubilations: it was a proud moment for a team that has not qualified for the Women’s ODI World Cup since 2000. Now, having made it to the big league, more will be expected of the strongest cricketing powerhouse in the European mainland for at least a century.

Can the Dutch rise continue?

The Dutch have been pitted in Group 1 – the Group of Death at this World Cup – alongside heavyweights Australia, India, and South Africa; the rapidly improving Pakistan; and fellow qualifiers Bangladesh.

It is not going to be easy. Of their five oppositions, Netherlands  have played neither Australia nor India. They have not played a T20I in England either.

None of that, however, tells how stunning and rapid the Dutch ascent has been through three rounds of qualifiers – the 2025 Division One Europe Qualifier, the 2025 Emerging Nations Trophy, and the 2026 Global Qualifiers. Across these three tournaments, they won 19 games and lost six – a stunning improvement on their 32-43 record before that. And now they have beaten Bangladesh, one of their potential opponents, for the first time.

The Dutch are undoubtedly on the rise: it is to be seen whether they can stun one of the big guns at the biggest stage.

Also read: ‘I didn’t know if there was light at the end of the tunnel’ – Lauren Bell on rebuilding her action

The big guns

When she steps out to toss against Bangladesh at Edgbaston, Babette de Leede will become the third World Cupper of the family, after uncle Tim and cousin Bas. Tim’s father Frans was an international umpire as well. A top-order bat and wicketkeeper, de Leede is one of the most crucial cogs of the Dutch squad.

No one in Netherlands history has more runs than opener Sterre Kalis. Her Yorkshire stint has certainly helped her acclimatise with the conditions (especially at Leeds, where the Netherlands will play India). This summer, she scored 38, 61, 45, 79, 65 not out, 46 in six consecutive innings in English domestic cricket – albeit in 50-over games.

The bowling will be led by the seamers, Isabel van der Woning and Iris Zwilling. Van der Woning played only four games in the qualifiers, but took nine wickets at a ridiculous 6.33 while going at 4.75 an over. Zwilling, their leading T20I wicket-taker, has been one of the longest-standing players, and is only two away from the 100-wicket mark.

Rounding off the list of potential stars are the senior all-rounders, Frederique Overdijk (the first to take seven wickets in a T20I) and Robine Rijke.

Also read: Not yet 30, Laura Wolvaardt is already touching GOAT status

Netherlands squad at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup:

Babette de Leede (c & wk), Rosalie Lawrence (wk), Caroline de Lange, Frederique Overdijk, Hannah Landheer, Heather Siegers, Iris Zwilling, Isabel van der Woning, Lara Leemhuis, Myrthe van den Raad, Phebe Molkenboer, Robine Rijke, Sanya Khurana, Silver Siegers, Sterre Kalis.

Netherlands schedule at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup

All timings local

June 14, 10.30am: v Bangladesh, Birmingham
June 17, 2.30pm: v India, Leeds
June 20, 10.30am: v Australia, Southampton
June 25, 6.30pm: v South Africa, Bristol
June 27, 10.30am: v Pakistan, Bristol

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This still leaves two open ends in the understanding of cricket; one, on the processes that lead to the results we see and two – from the players’ perspective – on how they can improve. These two, naturally, are linked to each other and after all, a coach’s eye is only human and can only do so much.

“Right now the data which we have is primarily ball tracking from Hawkeye, but that explains the outcome of the ball. That doesn't explain the why, and why it happens,” Sharan Mangrulkar, founder of CricProcess, tells Wisden.com.

A fast bowler in Mumbai school cricket himself, Mangrulkar says frustration from not getting enough feedback on why he wasn’t improving at training led to the idea behind providing players with a biomechanics analysis tool. When it comes to biomechanics, fast bowling is the easiest starting point thanks to a wealth of research on the topic.

“How it works is quite simple. So someone sends us a video that goes into our system, and then we apply the computer vision tech on it that gets all the data, and then we've built a layer of biomechanics on top of that, which is backed up by scientific principles of what actually makes a bowler fast.”

CricProcess measure a wealth of data related to fast bowling; the generation and transfer of momentum, direction of the bowler’s jump, the time of foot contact on the ground and more.

Mangrulkar says they look at the ‘primary limiter’ of a player’s action. This can be an aspect that limits their pace, or their line and length. This specificity is important, in order to nail down exactly why a bowler may be struggling.

“Realistically you have to see for a player and for a coach, what is the actionable data? What do they need to work on after that? Otherwise, it's just a report, which is nice to have, and we didn't want to be there.

“We wanted to be a tool, used in an essential part of the coaching process. How it works right now for our coaches is that they onboard a player, first thing they do is they send the video, and then we analyze the video, and then we give them the report back. So, for that, we have a summary, and we have the entire longer report, which has it all.”

But batting, he admits, has been more of a challenge. “We are first creating the data set, because that data itself doesn't exist.

“The batting [side] is more like being like scientists, rather than building a product, because you're looking at independent variables and dependent variables and trying to find correlations. In a sense that's good for us, because there's more opportunity, there's much more of a gap which needs to be filled.”

Some of the batting insights rather confirm conventional wisdom, indicating that at least some of the existing knowledge has sound foundations. For instance, the fact that all elite batters play the ball right under their eyes. This is a known conclusion, but Mangrulkar says the backing from data enables us to positively call it a way to distinguish elite batters from non-elite ones.

“The other thing is that they track the ball very well,” he adds. “So we were looking at [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, Abhishek [Sharma], and Vaibhav [Sooryavanshi], and for all of them, you saw that even if the ball was on the leg side, then the bat swing would go in the correct direction where it has to go from, and if it's on the offside, it'd go from the opposite direction, and before the ball lands. So just knowing where the ball lands before it does, that's something which is very high in elite batters.”

He elaborates on the process: “The head position is one system, the bat swing is one system, and then the weight distribution on the feet is another system. Then you're looking at that for each batter. At the moment batting is more qualitative. So the analysis we've done so far is more qualitative. Our aim is to make that quantitative, to try and standardize that into, ‘These are the factors, these are the things to do.’”

Mangrulkar also worked with former India men’s team analyst Himanish Ganjoo on examining Sooryavanshi’s biomechanics. From their discussions, he says that the future of biomechanics data is bright, as it ties directly into the work coaches do with players, on tweaking movements and timings. “Sometimes they don't trust all the other data, because they don't know why it happens or how it happens.”

Also read: Rapid hands, split-second reactions: What makes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a batting tornado

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Even outside biomechanics, the wealth of information available to today’s cricketers on what and how they perform in training is lightyears ahead of the scene even a decade ago.

“Some of the coaches at the highest level call this a conversation starter,” Rahul Nagar, co-founder of the company Str8bat, tells Wisden.com. “Data is bridging the gap between player and coach.”

Now ten years old, Str8bat’s sensors, which have now evolved into stickers no thicker that fit onto the back of a cricket bat, were one of the first evolutions in going beyond measuring what happened, into how it happened, both in training and matches.

“The bat knows exactly what’s happening,” Nagar says about the genesis of the company. “We started discussing, if there's a way to understand what the bat is saying, then we will have a good technology on hand. So there are motion sensors – we call them IMU sensors, which are accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer. They capture the motion of any moving object.

Also read: Virat Kohli looks as dangerous as ever - how has he adapted his T20 game?

“We capture the motion and convert the raw movement into interpretable motion signatures using our proprietary intelligence platform, right from the speed of the bat… or the speed of the bat when it actually hits the ball, because that's more important. You might be swinging the bat at 100 kilometers per hour, but when it's actually impacting the ball, that's where the energy is getting transferred.

“Players fundamentally want to understand their own game and improve. Coaches want clarity. Parents want measurable progression. We built around that. str8bat works directly on the bat without altering the weight of it. There are no cameras, markers or complicated setups. A player can train naturally and instantly receive objective feedback. That matters enormously in grassroots environments.”

Timing ratings and how well batters hit the ‘sweet spot’ of the bat are also measured based on the energy dissipated through the bat after contact.

Nagar explains how cricket teams and players have made use of this technology: “One IPL player, in his stance before attacking a ball, was vigorously moving the bat. If you put a camera in the front, it was not very easy to capture, but when the coach saw that [the data], that this is how he's loading when he's just waiting for the ball to come, he was losing a lot of stability. So then the coaches worked on making this more stable and less vigorous.”

Str8bat is used extensively by IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and Cricket Australia, to name two organisations at the top level. While CA mainly use it during high-performance camps, it did come in handy during the Covid-19 lockdown, enabling a centralisation of training data while the cricketers practiced individually, and could not be physically present together.

Nagar says RR also use this technology for player scouting. Team analyst Giles Lindsay told Cricbuzz last year about its role in shortlisting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi based on his bat speed, and his subsequent work on that aspect of his game with batting coach Vikram Rathour at the franchise’s high-performance centre.

The democratisation of information is Str8bat’s primary goal, Nagar says, and their recently-inked partnership with KL Rahul excites him. Similar to how Mangrulkar and CricProcess are creating the database on ideal biomechanics for batting, Nagar and Str8bat think the ability to monitor the metrics of a top-class player like KL Rahul can have incredible knock-on effects for the formative education of batters, right down to the grassroots.

“With KL Rahul, we are building a system where one of the world's best batters can effectively influence and guide millions of learning journeys through data and AI. If we can work out a way for the other cricketers, especially the grassroots and budding cricketers, to get these details of him, then that's also a very good legacy he will leave.”

Also read: Anatomy of a fall: Has the Varun Chakravarthy mystery finally been solved?

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If CricProcess work off video and Str8bat listen to the bat, so to speak, Arc Simulations track the ball itself.

Lawrence Booth first reported for the Daily Mail on their chips inserted into cricket balls at training, used by three counties in England. Co-founder Michael Armenakis spoke at length on the technology, on The Scoop, Wisden’s new YouTube show.

“[The tags] allow us to track each stage of the sporting event. And in a cricket context, that is the bowler’s run-up, release point, bounce point, contact point. And just before the ball hits the parameters of the net, we take the trajectories, angles, velocities of the ball and feed that into a physics simulator to play out the result, effectively, of whether you’ve been caught at point or if the ball’s gone over cow corner for six.

“Launch angle, shot power, contact point… not yet bat speed, but that’s something that we will employ in our development. From the bowler’s perspective as well, we get really accurate delivery speeds, lengths, pitch maps, release heights, swing curvature, all of the information that bowlers and batters both need.”

Teams can access this information through the company’s app. Having access to this information in training, gives them two advantages – a larger sample of data with which to judge players (compared to just in-match information), and the ability to tailor and tweak training sessions to be more focused. A video on Arc Simulations’ Instagram page shows how Kent’s Mikey Cohen walked through a session with analyst James Tomson with the help of the app.

What is far more tantalising though, is the plan for Arc Simulations’ next phase. The company are working on measuring RPMs (revolutions per minute), with a component of direction, so that players can experiment better in the nets with overspin, undercutting the ball, or sidespin. This same tracking technology can also be adapted to track fielders – the fielding and catching side of cricket remains grossly understudied, mostly due to the paucity of hard data.

While all these initiatives are new in cricket, they are long overdue. “It’s proven that data and simulation is part of other athletes’ processes,” Armenakis says.

“So we really feel cricket has some catching up to do, and hopefully we can bridge that gap, really, and supplement the work that coaches already do.”

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Following England's innings, New Zealand wickets also tumbled. Robinson took three wickets in his first over in Test cricket for two years, getting Devon Conway lbw playing down the wrong line, before getting Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra off the final two balls of his over. At the end of play, New Zealand were 61-6, 16 wickets having fallen in 59 overs.

The pitch came under more intense scrutiny on day two, however, midway through England's second innings. Josh Tongue had rattled through New Zealand in the morning session, before England reached 99-1 with relative ease. But, Jacob Bethell's wicket sparked alarm bells, when he was castled by a ball that kept very low from Matt Henry. "What can you do with that, absolutely nothing," said Mel Jones on Sky Sports commentary. "It will make New Zealand a little bit nervous for their fourth innings."

Stuart Broad replied: "I don't think there was anything Jacob Bethell could do about this... The ball has just rolled along the floor."

What are the ICC regulations for pitch penalties?

The ICC divide pitches into four different categories: Very Good, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, and Unfit. The final two of those carry points penalties – the 'unfit' criteria is only used if a pitch is dangerous, so does not apply to the Lord's pitch. 

The criteria for an 'Unsatisfactory' pitch rating is described as "a pitch that does not allow an even contest between bat and ball... By favouring the bowlers too much, with too many wicket-taking opportunities for either seam or spin."

The Melbourne pitch for the fourth Ashes Test in December last year was the most recent Test surface to receive an 'Unsatisfactory rating', after it concluded in under two days. In his ruling, ICC match referee Jeff Crowe said: "The MCG pitch was too much in favour of the bowlers. With 20 wickets falling on the first day, 16 on the second day and no batter even reaching a half-century, the pitch was ‘Unsatisfactory’ as per the guidelines and the venue gets one demerit point."

There are some parallels to the MCG surface in the game at Lord's, with wickets falling at a faster rate on day one at Lord's than on day one at Melbourne. Twenty wickets fell in just over 77 overs on day one in Melbourne, a rate of a wicket every 3.85 overs, while 16 fell in just under 60 at Lord's, an average of a wicket every 3.68 overs. 

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, Michael Vaughan said: "From what I've seen, on that pitch today there's certainly been a number of balls where, you know, we've seen snick offs and we've seen a lot of LBWs where the players have been kind of on the front foot playing the forward defence, and the ball's just thudded into the pads. That tells you that the pitch is a little bit inconsistent in terms of bounce... I don't think it's a good pitch. I think the MCC would be the first to admit that there's something not quite right with the square at Lord's. It's been an issue now for a few years. The Test match against India last year was a brilliant game and a great finish to a Test match, but the pitch wasn't great."

The India Test match last year saw both teams rolled out for under 200 in their second innings', although it was rated as 'Satisfactory' by the ICC. The criteria for a 'Satisfactory' rating is determined in relation to the criteria for a 'Very Good' rating. To be rated 'Very Good' a pitch must have: "Good carry, limited seam movement, consistent good bounce early in the match, acceptable amount of turn early in the game, natural wear that is responsive to spin later in the game". A 'Satisfactory' rating "falls significantly short of 'Very Good' with respect to carry, bounce or spin."

The World Test Championship Final was also played at Lord's last year, and saw 14 wickets fall on each of the first two days. Speaking at the time, Pat Cummins described the pitch as "pretty close to 50-50" in balance between bat and ball, and the pitch for that game was rated as 'Very Good'.

If the pitch for the ongoing Test at Lord's is rated as 'Unsatisfactory', the venue will receive one demerit point, which will stay on its record for a rolling five-year period. If a ground receives six demerit points, it will be banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months. Lord's currently has no demerit points on its record. 

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Shreyas Iyer has been named India’s new T20I captain as Suryakumar Yadav was dropped from the team after middling returns with the bat. Iyer, who has not even featured for India in T20Is since December 2023, makes a comeback on the back of an incredible few years in the IPL. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024 before leading Punjab Kings to the finals last year. This season, the team made a remarkable start, going unbeaten in their first seven matches before they narrowly missed out. With the bat, Iyer struck at 175.07 last year, while managing a strike rate of 168.81 in 2026 with an average of 55.33. 

Speaking about Iyer’s appointment as the new India T20I captain, Agarkar said, “We have obviously seen what Shreyas has done over the last few years leading different franchises. He has seen everything a captain possibly can, and his own performances were very good.”

Agarkar also mentioned that Iyer missed out on the home World Cup squad earlier this year by a small margin.

He continued, “He was quite close to getting in that World Cup squad, but with Surya still there, there was no room for him. He is the standout candidate with enough experience leading in the T20 format, but this would obviously be a different challenge.”

Suryakumar Yadav’s perfect reign as India’s T20I skipper ends

Suryakumar Yadav made his international debut at the age of 31, before being appointed the captain of the T20I side after the 2024 T20 World Cup. He enjoyed a near-perfect stint as India’s T20I captain between August 2024 and March 2026, when the team won every single bilateral series, whilst also winning the 2025 Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup this year.

Agarkar felt it was the right time to pass the baton from Suryakumar to Shreyas, given the longer cycle between the two T20 World Cups, as the 2028 ICC T20 World Cup will be played in the November-December window in Australia and New Zealand.

The selection committee chief quipped, “It's a tough one, having just won the World Cup, but as it happens, after most World Cups, you try and reassess what your best way forward is. Partly his own form, but also looking at the next two-year cycle, or a little bit more than two years now till the next World Cup, we thought this was the best way forward. As I said, Shreyas is a well-deserving captain.”

Bumrah and Hardik focusing on staying healthy for 2027 World Cup

After explaining Suryakumar’s ouster and Iyer’s appointment, Agarkar moved on to the exclusions of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, two pillars of India’s success in T20Is over the last decade. The duo have been rested from all three T20I squads. 

Agarkar said about Bumrah, “The World Test Championship and the 50-over World Cup are the main focus as of now. We know how important he (Bumrah) is, and we still have a chance in the ongoing WTC cycle, so if we can have Jasprit play the majority of those games and still keep him fit and healthy, it’s always the aim.

About Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik missing out on T20I selection, Agarkar explained, “With regards to Hardik, he is part of the One-Day squad for Afghanistan. Like Bumrah, if we can keep him fit for one-day cricket, I don’t think he has played (one-day cricket) for a while, and that is the main objective at this point. It also gives an opportunity to play Nitish Kumar Reddy in T20Is and ensure rest and rotation with regards to T20 and manage our squad for the World Cup in South Africa.”

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s much-awaited international call-up

After discussing a few tough calls, Agarkar moved on to the much-awaited news of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s maiden call-up to the India team after making it to the India A team for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. The youngster had a season to remember this IPL, ending the season with 776 runs and a strike rate of 237.30, the highest by any batter with at least 400 runs in a single T20 tournament. 

Talking about the Samastipur-born batter, Agarkar said, “We have seen what he can do. Even towards the playoffs, he almost single-handedly carried the Rajasthan Royals.”

He continued, “For a young kid, I don’t need to talk about how well he is batting, and it’s not just this season; he obviously had a great start last season, and to back it up in a high-pressure environment is great for a young kid. Like everyone watching T20 cricket in India, we have high hopes for him. I think he has picked himself really in the squad.”

India T20I squads

Against Ireland

Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

Against England

Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

For the 2026 Asian Games

Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

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Passing on the baton from SKY to Iyer

After nearly two years as India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav bows out with a perfect record of winning or drawing every bilateral series he has captained in his stint. Along with the good record in bilaterals, Suryakumar also led India to the Asia Cup win in September 2025, followed by a successful defense of the T20 World Cup trophy, which proved to be his last assignment with the Men in Blue as skipper.

While Surya’s captaincy record is spotless, the same cannot be said about his batting form during the period. After playing a knock of 75 off 35 against Bangladesh in October 2024, the Mumbai Indians batter didn’t hit a half-century for almost 15 months in T20Is, till New Zealand toured India ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Shreyas Iyer, who was not part of India’s T20I plans for the last two years, has made a comeback after impressing everyone with his fine form and captaincy skills during the last three seasons of the IPL. Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL 2024 title, followed by a runners-up finish with Punjab Kings in 2025, and another impressive campaign followed in 2026.

Also Read: India vs Afghanistan One-off Test: Where to Watch? Live Streaming & Television Channel Details

India hand maiden call-up to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi captured everyone’s imagination in IPL 2025 as he enjoyed a breakout season with Rajasthan Royals. After winning the Player of the Tournament award in the 2026 U-19 Cricket World Cup, thus helping India lift the trophy as well, Sooryavanshi broke all barriers in IPL 2026.

Winning the Emerging Player of the Season Award, Super Striker of the Season, Super Sixes of the Season, Most Valuable Player, and the Orange Cap in a single season was a feat that broke the door down for the 15-year old who might become the youngest debutant for India in a month’s time.

The RR opening batter not only scored the most sixes in IPL 2026, he also broke Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of most sixes in a single IPL season (59) and eclipsed it comfortably (72 sixes). The temperament and skill of facing quality international bowlers and being unfazed against them has only helped Sooryavanshi’s stock rise in the international circuit even before his debut.

Also Read: Is Sooryavanshi top? Ten Best Individual IPL campaigns, Ranked

India Squad for T20Is vs Ireland

India: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

India Squad for T20Is vs England

India: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

India Squad for 2026 Asian Games

India: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi

India A call-ups for Auqib Nabi and Zeeshan Ansari 

While the Indian team will be touring Ireland and England, India A is set to play two multi-day matches against Sri Lanka. Dhruv Jurel has been picked to lead the squad in the island country with Devdutt Padikkal serving as his deputy, while Jammu Kashmir's Auqib Nabi has earned his maiden call-up alongside Sunrisers Hyderabad wrist-spinner Zeeshan Ansari.

India A Squad for multi-day matches against Sri Lanka

India: Dhruv Jurel (C), Devdutt Padikkal (vc), Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Pandey, N Jagdeesan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Aman Mokhade, Harsh Dubey, Saransh Jain, Zeeshan Ansari, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur

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Gautam Gambhir’s tenure has brought plenty of white-ball success, but India’s Test results have been less convincing, particularly at home, where they suffered defeats to New Zealand and South Africa.

The two sides will now face each other in the format for the second time, and the first time in eight years.

Where will the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test be played?

The clash will mark a Test debut for the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. The venue has already hosted several IPL games since becoming Punjab Kings’ new home, taking over from the old PCA Stadium in Mohali. The match will begin from 9.30am IST. 

Also Read: India vs Afghanistan Squads for Test and ODIs: Who’s In? Who’s Out? Check out full squads for Afghanistan’s tour of India

India vs Afghanistan One-off Test: Where to Watch Live?

Where to watch in India?

As usual, JioHotstar has the exclusive streaming rights for the home matches for India, and fans can choose to stream it either on the app or the website, while Star Sports Network will televise the one-off Test across the country in several languages.

Where to watch in Afghanistan?

No official information on broadcast in the Afghanistan region is available yet. Further details for broadcast or live streaming in this region will be updated as and when the information is available.

Where to watch in Pakistan?

Fans in Pakistan can stream all matches of Afghanistan’s tour of India on Tapmad.

Where to watch in the USA & Canada?

Viewers in the US and Canada can stream the match live on Willow TV.

Where to watch in Africa?

SuperSport will broadcast the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan across the Sub-Saharan African region.

Where to watch in Australia? 

The Tets can be viewed exclusively on Fox Cricket, available on Kayo Sports. 

Where to watch in England?

The match can be viewed live on TNT Sports.

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South Africa also named a strong group, including a powerful bowling attack which included Gerald Coestzee and Kwena Maphaka. Also included was Ottneil Baatman, while Tony Di Zorzi was selected as an opening batter. 

Lions bowled out for 119 in opening match

Opening the batting after he didn't make the final XII for the Lord's Test, Rew gloved the first boundary of the innings off Coetzee just past the keeper's glove and down to the fine-leg rope. It was a measured start by the openers - Rew and Ben McKinney - who put on 13 in the first four overs. Rew chopped on the ball after hitting his first four of the game, playing a non-committal shot and getting an inside edge onto the stumps.

McKinney followed an over later, playing an expansive shot to a back of a length ball from Mapahaka, brushing the ball with the toe-end of his bat through to the keeper. That brought Cox to the crease who launched a counter attack, bashing a six over backward-square off Coetzee.

Tribe was dismissed trying to upper-cut Maphaka, before Cox edged Coetzee behind in the next over to leave the Lions 50-4 at the end of the ninth over of the innings. 

From there, the procession continued. Rehan got a thick-edge on a ball from Ottneil Baartman which lobbed into the hands of second slip, before Ben Mayes fell chipping a ball into the leg side, giving Baartman his second. Mason Crane, called up to the Lions squad eight years after his most recent international appearance, was out for a two-ball duck, gloving the ball behind as he tried to get his hands out the way of a ball from Baartman. 

The Lions had also lost Potts by the time they scraped to three figures, eight wickets down, with Coles the last point of resistance. Henry Crocombe hit three fours to get the side up to the hundred mark, before he was stumped dancing down the wicket to Bjorn Fortuin. Coles was the last wicket to fall, leaving England all-out for 119 in just 26.1 overs.

South Africa A chased the target easily, one wicket down with 183 balls remaining. Rubin Hermann finished unbeaten on 57, with De Zorzi the only wicket to fall, bowled by Crocombe.

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Jacks was the wildcard in England’s Ashes squad after it was decided the runs he could offer in the lower order were more valuable than the potential of Shoaib Bashir’s Australia-suited offering. Having re-established himself in a new role in England’s white-ball sides that summer, taking on increased responsibility with the ball and moving down the order, he was thrust into a similar mould in the Test side.

“I really enjoyed it and it's an experience that I'll always cherish and be grateful that I was able to experience,” says Jacks of the Ashes. “But there's no hiding from the fact that I wish I could have done some things differently or better. I'd love one day to get the chance to rectify those.”

To an extent, Jacks can be seen as a victim of England’s typical approach to spin bowlers on away Ashes tours. Having played two Tests previously – two years ago and in massively different conditions in Pakistan – and with five Championship appearances under his belt across the previous two years (two of which he bowled fewer than 10 overs in) he was thrust into action with England 1-0 down.

ALSO READ: Why England's gamble on Jacks is really about hedging their bets

Over the next four Tests, he took a battering. In Adelaide, he was brutalised by Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, going at more than five an over in each innings, serving up a platter of short deliveries and half-volleys which were pulverised. At the end of the series, Jacks was England’s most expensive bowler who played in more than one Test, with an average of 53.66.

“I found it very difficult to bowl dots,” says Jacks. “I think sometimes in England you can bowl quite tight stump to stump and you can bowl dots that way, but when you're bowling at those high quality players – as someone who spent most of my time bowling in white-ball cricket – I found that I was trying to bowl faster and bowl like Nathan Lyon. I struggled to tie them down and create pressure.

“I was sat on the boundary watching Nathan Lyon bowl, and just in awe of the speed that he bowls, but that he still has a way to set a deep field and bowl dots, which is an incredibly hard thing to do. That's why he's played 140-150 Test matches. You can learn a lot from watching someone like that.”

Coming out of the Ashes, England faced a dilemma over how they would fit overs of spin into their side for their next home Test series. Pitches in early June generally are not conducive to turn, reducing but not necessarily negating the need for a specialist. However, their base instinct is to pad out their batting order in English conditions over the value of a specialist, pulling them towards the Moeen Ali archetype, the all-round package who will offer something even if there’s no need for slow bowling.

Thus, while it was unlikely after the Ashes that Jacks would maintain his position, it wasn’t out of the question. Indeed, in picking Rehan Ahmed in their first Test squad of the summer, the desire for a spinner to bat at No.8 as a counterattacker, and make things happen with the ball is evident.

Nevertheless, Jacks’ success in a similar role in white-ball cricket, by his own admission, has ruled him out. He was England’s most valuable player during the T20 World Cup in February, taking seven wickets in the Super Eights and getting England over the line on several occasions with the bat. From there he went to the IPL, where he filled a similar role for Mumbai Indians, albeit in an unsuccessful team campaign.

“You have to also be realistic,” says Jacks. “Last year, I think I played three first-class games, maybe only two the year before that, and I've been away at the IPL and I haven't played any first-class games this summer. Obviously I want to be [England’s Test spinner] and I'd love to have been in the Test squad starting this week, but I can't have any complaints. I haven't played enough.

“I would have loved to have done better in that Ashes series, and going into that New Zealand series as a bowler without experiencing that red-ball output would have been a difficult thing to do. So I completely understand selection and decisions around that, and hopefully I'll have a chance to play some red ball games throughout the rest of the summer for Surrey and get some overs into my body and try and perform.

ALSO READ: England's spin drain is a problem of their own making

“...That's the difficult thing with cricket, you can never plan too far ahead. If you try, and I've tried in the past, you think about what you're doing in six months' time, and then things change and you have to completely re-evaluate your situation. So I'm not thinking about my red-ball career in that sense at the moment, I'm just trying to go day by day, week by week.”

In addition to the busiest six months of his career, Jacks also turned 28 and got engaged over the winter. It’s not unreasonable to believe that maturity, responsibility and his second chance at England success across formats points towards a different second half of his career. From a dominating opening batter in his early 20s, to a skilled and thoughtful competitor in his next act.

“A few years ago after I played Test cricket and hadn't quite had the success I wanted for England, I was getting grown towards the franchise stuff,” says Jacks. “I think over the last 12 months I've realised that nothing competes with England, and it's taken me a while to realise that.

“Going back to the Test stuff, playing in the Ashes and experiencing everything that brings, it's really gripped me and I just want to play for England as much as possible now. Experiencing that success at the World Cup, I now know the challenge is to keep going forward and starting again this summer.

“I want to achieve everything that I can with England. It's obviously a busy lifestyle, and it can be difficult at times, but you're on the road with your best mates and there's nothing to not love about it. I just want to do as much as I can for England.”

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Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

The certain starters

Captain Gill is a lock-in at No.4, as are new vice-captain Rahul and his opening partner Jaiswal. While Jurel has been in fine form recently, Pant should make it to the playing XI as the primary wicketkeeper. Sundar, the senior all-rounder in the squad in terms of Test caps, should get the nod alongside Kuldeep Yadav, who would be the premier spinner for Gill’s men in New Chandigarh.

Headlining the pace battery in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Siraj would be the first-choice seamer alongside one Gujarat Titans teammate.

The No.3 conundrum

Since Virat Kohli’s retirement, Gill has moved to No.4 in Tests, opening up the No.3 slot. Karun Nair was trialled in the spot in England, followed by Sai Sudharsan. Even Sundar got a chance to go up the order: he batted well on tough pitches. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir clarified at the pre-match press conference that Sai Sudharsan will be India’s No.3.

The all-rounders

In a home Test, there isn’t usually much debate about the all-rounders. But with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel rested and the thinktank eyeing a larger bowling group, Sundar and Reddy could be picked as primary all-rounders for the Afghanistan challenge. As the sixth bowler, however, Reddy has been underbowled at home.

It remains to be seen if the thinktank will go for six bowling options and include either Dubey or Suthar in the playing XI, while the incumbent Jurel may strengthen the batting if he is picked as a pure batter for the No.6 slot.

Siraj’s bowling partner

Prasidh has sometimes been the pressure reliever as he tends to go for a few runs when the ball gets a bit older. However, with Siraj and Prasidh having bowled in tandem since the last two months for the Gujarat Titans, the duo can be the preferred pairing. At the same time, one cannot rule out Brar getting fast-tracked into the Test team in Bumrah’s absence.

India’s likely Playing XI for one-off test against Afghanistan

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

But it was Aasif’s opening partner Kushal Bhurtel, who dominated the day. Bhurtel reached his half-century in 25 balls and took only 19 more to score his second fifty. He finished with 126 from 54 balls, smashing 14 fours and eight sixes during his innings. Nepal ended with 275 on the board, and sealed a 167-run win after the Malaysian batting line-up folded for 108. 

Kushal Bhurtel joins elite list of T20I batters

This was Bhurtel’s second century in as many games, after he scored one in the first group match against China. He joined an elite list of only 10 male T20I batters to achieve the feat. The list includes the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Phil Salt.

Malaysia had already qualified for the 2026 Asian Games courtesy of their win against China before their loss to Nepal, and will now face Group B table-toppers Hong Kong in the semi-final, while Nepal will be up against Oman.

Also Read: Former Australia all-rounder stars with record outing in T20 Blast win

Bhurtel was at his best against China in the tournament opener, where he brought up his half-century in the eighth over and let loose in the ninth. That over, bowled by left-arm spinner Chen Zhou Yue, was hit for six sixes by Bhurtel, most of them powered down the ground. Later in the match, Kushal brought up his century from only 35 balls.

Bhurtel joined an elite list of batters to hit six sixes in a single over in men’s T20Is, joining Yuvraj Singh, Kieron Pollard, Dipendra Singh Airee, Darius Visser, and Manan Bashir.

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M: 3 | 40 runs at 13.33, SR 114, HS: 32

Mandhana wasn’t at her usual best in the T20I series against England as she was dismissed for a golden duck by RCB teammate Lauren Bell. She showed glimpses of brilliance in the second T20I with a 25-ball 32, but her inability to increase the tempo in the powerplay cost India the match.

Shafali Verma: 3/10

M: 3 | 35 runs at 11.67, SR 152, HS: 22

Mandhana’s opening partner Verma had a disappointing series as well. However, there were witnessed sparks of brilliance in the second T20I, where she smashed five fours. She also rolled her arm over in the third T20I and could be a useful third spin option if Shreyanka Patil is not in the playing XI.

Yastika Bhatia: 7/10

M: 3 | 119 runs at 39.67, SR 127, 1 fifty, HS: 54

Making it to the Indian squad as the backup wicketkeeper, Bhatia grabbed her opportunity and scored runs in all three games, including a half-century in the first T20I and a brilliant 32 off 18 in the decider. However, being run out twice (she was retired out in the other) doesn’t bode well for her: these signify a potential problem in running between the wickets, especially while batting with swift runners.

Jemimah Rodrigues: 8/10

M: 3 | 99 runs at 33, SR 162, 1 fifty, HS: 69

Rodrigues played an impactful innings in Chelmsford as her 69 off 40 helped India post 188, where she smashed 10 fours and a six in a 126-run partnership with Yastika for the third wicket. After getting dismissed for a solitary run in the second match, she failed to convert her quick start in the third.

Harmanpreet Kaur: 6/10

M: 2 | 84 runs at 42, SR 135, 1 fifty, HS: 56

After missing the first T20I, Kaur added some reliability in the middle order in the last two matches. After scoring 28 off 22 in Bristol, she played a valuable 56 off 40 in the decider, forming two partnerships with Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma.

Richa Ghosh: 3/10

M: 3 | 18 runs at 9, SR 106, HS: 8 | Ct: 3

Ghosh was promoted to No.5 in Kaur’s absence in the first match, but ended up making only 18 in three innings. She was safe as a house behind the stumps, taking three catches in the series.

Bharti Fulmali: 2/10

M: 1 | 6 runs, SR 88

Batting at six in the first T20I, Fulmali failed to grab her opportunity. Her performance didn’t force the captain or the selectors to think in that direction.

Deepti Sharma: 4/10

M: 3 | 56 runs at 18.67, SR 137, HS: 32 | 1 wicket at 107, ec 10.19, BBI: 1-42

Deepti played two decent innings in the series with the bat in hand, cementing the No.6 (or 7) spot in the Indian lineup for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. But it was her bowling that left the fans discouraged as she picked only 1 wicket in three matches, often conceding at an economy rate of 9.5 or more throughout the series.

Shreyanka Patil: 7/10

M: 1 | 6 runs, SR 150 | 1 wicket at 29, ec 7.25, BBI: 1-29

While England included Linsey Smith, Charlie Dean, and Sophie Ecclestone in the playing XI, India preferred three frontline seamers: as a result, Patil got only one game. She provided control through the middle overs, giving away only 29 runs in her four overs, while also picking the wicket of the dangerous Alice Capsey.

Arundhati Reddy: 7/10

M: 3 | 17 runs, 2 wickets at 46.00, ec 7.66, BBI: 2-31

In the absence of Amanjot Kaur and Kashvee Gautam, Reddy’s role became even more crucial in the team. She justified her inclusion by keeping the runs in check across all phases. In the first match, she gave away only 23 runs, but went for 38 in the second. In the decider, she dismissed Sophia Dunkley and the in-form Capsey while giving away only 31 in four overs.

Nandani Sharma: 6.5/10

M: 3 | 4 wickets at 25.50, ec 9.27, BBI: 3-34

Nandani rarely got the new ball, but thoroughly impressed with her ability to bowl in all phases of the match. The Chandigarh fast bowler had everyone talking during the WPL, and her stocks continue to rise as a frontline fast bowler for India as she picked four wickets, including 3-34 to help India win the first match of the series.

Kranti Gaud: 8/10

M: 2 | 4 wickets at 16, ec 8.00, BBI: 2-24

Gaud is another WPL product whose stocks have immensely risen over the past couple of years. She was pivotal in India’s only win in the series as she picked wickets of both openers, Dunkley and Capsey. After being dropped in the second match, dismissed Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones in the decider.

Shree Charani: 7/10

M: 3 | 4 wickets at 21.75, ec 7.90, BBI: 3-25

Some expected Shree Charani to not make the playing XI outside the subcontinent, but she has made the premier spinner’s spot her own over the last few months. She gave away only 50 runs in eight overs across the first two games while picking regular wickets in the middle overs. In the decider, she was off-colour, and conceded 37 in three overs while going wicketless.

After being served a wide full toss to get off the mark in Test cricket with an easy boundary, Emilio Gay was the first victim of New Zealand's battery. Kyle Jamieson, playing his first Test since 2024 having recovered from a back stress fracture, snaked through a nip-backer that clipped Gay's outside edge. There was a similarity to Jamieson's last visit to Lord's in 2022, when he nicked Ollie Pope off with a similar delivery, bouncing off a length and nipping off the seam. 

The symmetry of the two games doesn't end there. In that match, the first of Bazball era, England were bowled out for 141 in their first innings, back then it was the Trent Boult-Tim Southee juggernaut. Today, their regenerated attack dismissed England for 140, their lowest total in a home Test since the beginning of 2022.

Jamieson's dominance in England, which includes the five-for and Player of the Match performance he put in at Southampton in the 2021 World Test Championship final against India, was referenced by teammate Rachin Ravindra in explaining New Zealand pace bowling strength and depth on Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast earlier this week. "He [Jamieson] is an awesome bowler," said Ravindra. "Swings the ball both ways, he's done it over here before, at Lord's and the WTC final. He's incredible with the tall bounce he gets."

🗣️ "It's actually scary to face in the nets" 😳

Rachin Ravindra on New Zealand's incredible pace bowling depth 🔥

🤝 @KiaUK

Watch 👉 https://t.co/z6qOu66LLJ#ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/9xFSBsJetd

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) June 3, 2026

Jamieson ended with another five-for, having broken the back of England's powerful middle order. Despite Jamie Smith's misjudgement in leaving a ball from Jamieson which ended up ripping his off stump out, the uncertainty Jamieson creates from both the balls he bowls which continue straight and the bounce he gets, made that dismissal. 

Perhaps the most impressive part of New Zealand's attack was how quickly they rattled through England despite losing Matt Henry to a suspected back spasm after he had bowled just four overs. "Sometimes he's [Henry] underrated," said Ravindra. "He’s incredible. He nips the ball both ways, hits my thigh pad too much in the nets, puts me on the front foot, nicks me off."

Despite Henry's loss, New Zealand's strength in depth meant they had another who terrorises Ravindra in the nets to turn that fire on England.

"Will O’Rourke ... there aren’t enough adjectives to describe how yucky he is to face in the nets," said Ravindra. "It’s lucky I’m a left-hander so it goes across me, but to the right-handers he’s over the top of his head at the mid 140s, can bowl 150. He bowled at 150 against England at home, it was an unbelievable spell to Root, Bethell, Brook, those boys. He was just running in and it was incredible cricket. I was fielding and as a cricket fan, it was like wow."

On cue, O'Rourke's seventh ball to Jacob Bethell angled in and whacked him on both pads, and would have gone on to hit middle stump. Forming a lethal swing-seam partnership with O'Rourke, Nathan Smith, with the Dukes ball back in his hand after he took 14 wickets in four matches for Surrey last year, and after his six-wicket-haul against Ireland last week, bowled lethally full down the slope. Having pinned Ben Duckett on his back leg, the tame modes of his second two dismissals to Brook and Smith underplay how uncompromising the partnership was. 

Waiting in the wings on this tour, New Zealand have Zak Foulkes and Blair Tickner. While for England, it was Ollie Robinson who blasted them back into the match at the end of the day, the BlackCaps strength in numbers, as well as quality, was the reason England were so far behind at all.

"The cool thing about these guys is they’re not classic mean, nasty fasties, they’re just good dudes," said Ravindra. "Whether that’s a Kiwi way or not, it’s cool."

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Having been picked for England's 2017/18 Ashes series, Crane endured a chastening outing in Sydney eight years ago, when England had already lost the urn. He conceded the most runs of any England debutant, returning figures of 1-193 in England's only bowling innings. Following battling a stress fracture in his back and getting limited red-ball opportunities at Hampshire, Crane moved to Glamorgan in 2024.

England Lions squad for South Africa A 50-over series

James Coles, Noah Cornwell, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Henry Crocombe, Scott Currie, Caleb Falconer, Eddie Jack, Saqib Mahmood, Ben Mayes, Ben McKinney, Dan Mousley, Matthew Potts, Rehan Ahmed, James Rew, Thomas Rew, Asa Tribe

Test squad members included in Lions white-ball squad

Several members of England's squad from the Lord's Test against New Zealand have also been included in the Lions squad. Rehan Ahmed, who missed out on selection in the final XI behind Shoaib Bashir, has been picked, as has reserve batter James Rew. Also picked is Rew's younger brother Thomas Rew, who was included in England's winter Lions series in Australia.

Jordan Cox will also feature, having been a bench member of RCB's winning IPL outfit over the past few months. Other fringe members of England's group who have been picked include Saqib Mahmood, Men McKinney, Matthew Potts and Asa Tribe. 

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In an Asian Cricket Council Women’s Premier Cup game, Nepal were bowled out for 113 in 20 overs after Bhutan captain Anju Gurung won the toss and opted to field at the Kolej Tuanku Jaafar Cricket Oval in Mantin, Malaysia.

Sonam (3-12) and Tshering Zangmo (3-21) had reduced Nepal to 67-7 before Sita Rana Magar (37 in 28 balls) and Rubina Chhetry (24 in 21) pushed them past the three-figure mark.

Kabita Kunwar then yorked Bhutan opener, wicketkeeper Ngawang Choden, with the first ball of the innings. No.3 Rishi Choden was clearly not ready when she walked out after the dismissal, carrying her helmet and gloves. Upon reaching the crease, she proceeded to put these on.

At this point, the Nepal fielders appealed for timed out, and umpires Ankita Guha and Sun Meng Yao ruled the decision in their favour, leaving Bhutan two down for no score after only one ball of the innings. They eventually finished on 62-8. The only resistance coming from Dechen Wangmo, the other opener, who finished unbeaten on 39 from 60 balls.

Ritshi Choden thus became the first woman and third cricketer to be ruled timed out in international cricket, after Angelo Mathews and Godfred Bakiweyem. The Mathews dismissal, which took place at the World Cup, had drawn much attention; Bakiweyem was ruled out a mere 41 days after Mathews.

Timed out in international cricket

'The spirit of the game extends beyond written the Laws of Cricket'

Later in the day in a detailed release on social media, the Cricket Association of Nepal issued their “sincere apologies to Bhutan Cricket, the player concerned, and all stakeholders”.

New Zealand chose to forgo Mitchell Santner in their XI, selecting Nathan Smith as a fourth quick with Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips as all-rounders. The BlackCaps won the toss and elected to bowl in overcast conditions.

What is the weather forecast for the England v New Zealand Test match?

The forecast for the opening day of play, and the rest of the Test, looks hit and miss. Following a heatwave last week, the last few days have seen rain showers and thunderstorms hit London, with the same weather predicted for the next week. There are thunderstorms forecast throughout the opening day of play at Lord's, although play was able to start on time.

BBC weather prediction for day one of ENG v NZ

BBC weather

BBC Weather forecasts sporadic showers throughout day one, although the chances of those showers hitting the ground decreases throughout the course of the day.

AccuWeather weather prediction for day one of ENG v NZ 

AccuWeather

AccuWeather presents the most optimistic picture of the forecast. It predicts a less than 50 per cent chance of rain for most of the day, with showers in the area during the morning session and before Tea.

Met Office weather prediction for day one of ENG v NZ

Met Office

In contrast, the Met Office presents a more concerning picture, with rain at more than 70 percent likelihood for most of the day.

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England began their home summer of 2026 with a three-match Test series against New Zealand, the first of which began today (June 4) at Lord’s. In the process, the historic venue became the first in the world to host 150 Test matches.

Ahead of the game, the ECB shared a press release that ran: “There will be a moment of silence before the national anthems, and England players will wear black armbands as a mark of respect for the former England cricketers who have passed away since England’s last home international match.” Both were duly followed.

England Men last played a home international on September 12, 2025 – a T20I against South Africa at Old Trafford. Another game, scheduled on September 14 at Trent Bridge, was washed out without a ball being bowled. 

Since September 12, 2025, eight England cricketers passed away: John Jameson (four Tests, three ODIs), Barry Knight (29 Tests), Robin Smith (62 Tests, 71 ODIs), Hugh Morris (three Tests), Norman Gifford (15 Tests, two ODIs), Eric Russell (10 Tests), Tony Pigott (one Test), and MJK Smith (50 Tests).

At the game, New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss and opted to field. At the time of writing, England were 18-1 with Ben Duckett on six and Jacob Bethell on two. Kyle Jamieson had debutant Emilio Gay caught at slip for eight.

One World Cup is a small sample, you may say. Fair enough. How about this, then? Among captains with 50 matches, Suryakumar Yadav has the best win-loss ratio (exactly 5, that too if one counts the Super Over wins as ties) in men’s T20I history. Under him, India did not lose a T20I series or tournament irrespective of the number of teams.

Stretch the records across all T20 – and his ratio of 3.058 is the second-best (best if you raise the cut-off to 70 games).  All this in a format designed for upsets.

The perils of leading a champion side

Let us first understand what has happened. In 2025, Surya had an ordinary year in T20Is, but he did well in Australia – and, more importantly – arguably the best IPL season in his illustrious career. 

He seemed to have recovered in the New Zealand series, where he blasted 242 runs at almost two runs a ball. The Surya of old seemed to be back. Then, his unbeaten 84 lifted India from the doldrums against the USA in India’s World Cup opener. 

Then things fell apart. Surya did lift the World Cup – but scored a mere 158 runs at 123. He did strike at 148 in the IPL, but that was slower than the season strike rate of 156. Neither of his two fifties – against Delhi Capitals or Rajasthan Royals – was particularly dominating efforts.

Still, with India dominating T20Is like no other Full Member has done in the men’s game, there was a chance that Surya the captain could have made up for Surya the batter. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, leading a champion side comes with a caveat.

Also read: Stability and consistency: Why Suryakumar Yadav was named T20I captain and not Hardik Pandya

Surya had taken over the mantle from Rohit Sharma, whose win-loss ratio of 4.083 puts him at third place on the all-time list. Among ICC Full Member captains, Virat Kohli (1.875) is just behind Rohit. India were a champion outfit that got progressively better with focus on power-hitting and all-rounders. 

Across formats, one thing has been common to the all-conquering sides: they never had a weak link. While the captains did play their part, they had to fulfill one criterion: they were good enough to make it to the XI as a player.

One may argue that Daren Sammy faced only six balls per T20I and bowled 13. Yet, the West Indies retained him – for he led them in a phase when there was no guarantee of their greatest cricketers being available, and there was a long-standing rift between the board and the cricketers. He responded by being the first (and till date, only) captain to win the Men’s T20 World Cup twice. Sammy was an exception – because he led in exceptional times.

It is easier for captains of most teams to endure a long string of failures. First, they do tend to have some weak spots, and the captain often becomes one of them. The competition for the slot is seldom fierce. Their captaincy (admittedly a vague term) can make up for a lack of form.

By leading a team of eleven world-class T20 cricketers, Surya suddenly finds himself below that league. The Indian selectors had shown ruthlessness by dropping vice-captain Shubman from the 15-member squad not too long before the World Cup. They will now have to take an even sterner decision.

Of course, India can sack him as captain but retain him as a player. But what would be the point? Surya the batter is the issue here and not the T20I captain. And while Surya is one of the greatest middle-order batters in T20I history, Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar are impossible to ignore at this point. 

Now 35, Surya is three years older than Patidar and four years older than Iyer. It is difficult to see how, given his form, Surya is ahead of either of them in the plans for the T20 World Cup and the Olympics in 2028. Since all of them prefer the No.4 slot, it is perhaps time for India to take that harsh call.

Patidar or Iyer or…?

As is often the case ahead of Indian squad announcements, there are numerous reports of Iyer being the frontrunner in the race, with Hyderabad captain Tilak Varma named as a left-field choice. 

The replacement conundrum is perhaps unique, for Surya’s replacement at No.4 is also likely to succeed him as captain. Iyer is the only captain to lead three franchises to the IPL final. This includes winning the title in 2024 and finishing runners-up in 2025. Patidar, on the other hand, led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first two title wins, in 2025 and 2026.

It is difficult to choose between the two captains. Iyer, with 51 T20Is, should have had the advantage of experience over the uncapped Patidar, but the last of them was in 2023. Iyer is also a first-choice ODI player (Patidar has played only one ODI) and has played more Tests, but this discussion is solely about the shortest format.

Across the last three IPL seasons, Patidar has 1,044 runs at 174 from No.4. Only four Indians have scored 800 runs only from No.4 across the 2024, 2025, and 2026 editions of the IPL, and this is how they have fared in terms of strike rates.

Iyer (and Riyan) had incredible seasons in 2025, but Patidar had outstanding outings in both 2024 and 2026. If one goes by form, one may see Patidar become the first man since 1936 to lead India on debut in a format (other than their first ever game in each format).

Is there a third option? Hardik Pandya has led India in the past, but his run-ins with injuries do not make him a sure starter. Perhaps a likelier candidate is 31-year-old Sanju Samson, the hero of the business end of this year’s T20 World Cup who led the Rajasthan Royals earlier this decade. Only 23, Tilak has age on his side and has led India A in the format, but is probably not in the race.

And while we are discussing, what about Axar Patel, the incumbent vice-captain?

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How does the slope at Lord's affect the gameplay?

Quiz: Guessing famous cricket nicknames