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Bangladesh’s fast bowling once again stepped up in a match-winning effort, with Tanzim Hasan Sakib becoming the latest source of their joy. The 21-year old snatched the momentum from a dominant Sri Lanka in the first ODI, taking three wickets in his first spell after the visiting openers got off to a rapid start in Chattogram.Tanzim removed Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarawickrama in successive overs, to reduce them to 84 for 3. Sri Lanka couldn’t recover from that cluster of early wickets, with Shoriful Islam and Taskin Ahmed each going on to match Tanzim in picking up three-fors. It was only the third time in Bangladesh’s history that the fast bowlers totaled nine or more wickets in an ODI innings. It is no surprise that all three instances are from the last 12 months, a period considered to be Bangladesh’s pace revolution.Taskin and Shoriful made impressive comebacks in the match after getting a bit of tap in their first spells. Taskin is considered the natural leader of this fast-bowling group, identified first by Ottis Gibson when he was the bowling coach. Later Allan Donald, too, regarded him as the best of the lot. Shoriful has also come of age, particularly after he was briefly dropped last year.Related

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They are more established than Tanzim, who was playing in his sixth ODI. On top of that, he was replacing Mustafizur Rahman, the most established fast bowler among the current lot but whose form took a dip during the BPL and in the T20Is against Sri Lanka. Tanzim had, however, taken three wickets in Bangladesh’s previous ODI, in New Zealand, when the visitors won by a big margin. It was their first win in New Zealand soil, too.Mushfiqur Rahim, who took two of the catches off Tanzim’s bowling in his first spell, observed a disciplined young fast bowler, someone he feels has already fitted himself into Bangladesh’s team environment.”Sakib’s desire and work ethic is right up there among the fast bowlers,” Mushfiqur said. “I am not talking about the outcome, but he maintains his diet and fitness very well. He bowls with a lion heart. He doesn’t look for wickets. He tries to bowl in the right areas. He has the aggression and determination. It is a huge plus for any team when a young player has this attitude. When you come with a good habit into this environment, you don’t have to teach him. He will inspire others.”This attitude is exactly what the rest of the fast bowling group has brought about in the last three years. Taskin’s comeback story has inspired many in Bangladesh, but it has also brought much-needed discipline and performance among fast bowlers. Previous bowling coach Donald oversaw huge changes in attitude and fitness within the group. It yielded results in the form of their maiden ODI series win in South Africa in 2022.Tanzim is a fast-tracked graduate from Bangladesh’s trophy-winning 2020 Under-19 World Cup campaign, where Shoriful was his team-mate. His foundations are supposedly strong also because he is from Sylhet, regarded as Bangladesh’s new pace-bowling hotbed. Ebadot Hossain, Abu Jayed, Khaled Ahmed and Rejaur Rahman Raja are also from Sylhet.But Tanzim will have to adjust to the new reality that he won’t play regularly. Such are the fast-bowling stocks and the team management’s plan for home Tests, that he is unlikely to be a first-choice in the Test series against Sri Lanka coming up later this month. It could stunt his growth somewhat but, like his fast-bowling colleagues, Tanzim will hope to keep his discipline and performance intact for the T20 World Cup coming up later in the year.

0.1 Amir to Aaron Jones, FOUR runs Amir starts with the wide one but Jones is able to reach it. It was slow and into the pitch, slashed wide of third for four. Big advantage for USA!0.2 Amir to Aaron Jones, 2 runs Nails the on-pace yorker but Jones manages to skilfully drill the flick through midwicket. They scamper back for two as well0.3 Amir to Aaron Jones, 1 runPakistan, like they did at the death, go with the yorker plan. This is nailed. Pace-on again. Jones can’t do nothin with that. Jams it a foot or two in front but that allows a scampered single0.4 Amir to Harmeet Singh, 2 wide Amir misses his line (and length) and concedes a wide plus bye. Could have been worse but Harmeet missed the flick on the low full toss going down leg. Rizwan can’t collect cleanly, they run one0.4 Amir to Aaron Jones, 1 run Jones goes across to try and get inside the line. Gets a low full toss at the stumps, flicks it to deep square leg. Just a single0.5 Amir to Harmeet Singh, 2 wide Amir misses, Harmeet misses. Everyone’s disappointed but this is in USA’s favour. Low full toss swung down leg, went past the attempted flick. Another bye stolen0.5 Amir to Aaron Jones, 2 runs Into the pitch, wide too. Jones connects with the cut. Sweeper runs to the right, Amir yells as they return for the second on the throw (which was to the keeper’s end)0.6 Amir to Aaron Jones, 3 wide 5head leave from Jones. Buzzers too, USA are doing this with unforced errors. Jones cleared the front leg but saw the fullish ball, going away with the angle, to be outside the tramline and let it pass. The batters ran as Rizwan lobbed it high up, too far for Amir to collect but no one backing up either. They steal two byes!0.6 Amir to Aaron Jones, 1 run, OUT Amir looks for the yorker. It’s at the stumps and is clipped through square leg. Jones returns for the second, which is never on, and fails to make it. But he had to of course

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0.1 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, no run Iftikhar gets across, and the bowler follows. Netravalkar goes fullish and angles it across, with the ball finishing wide of off. But Iftikhar was far too across as he attempted to loft, but missed. So wide not called0.2 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, FOUR runs Thumped between long-on and deep midwicket! Netravalkar bowled on a length on middle and off, but Iftikhar waited before pulling hard in the gap for four0.3 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, 1 wide This is a wide! This time Ifthikar doesn’t move much, and sees this yorker-length ball wide of off go past him. He leaves it alone, and it is given wide0.3 Netravalkar to Iftikhar, OUT Wow, superb catch! Sub fielder Milind Kumar takes a great catch! Placed at long-off, he took a few steps forward before going low and grabbing it barely above the ground. The final verdict will be given by the third umpire, though. He sees multiple replays, with the ball almost hinting to drop off his hands on impact. Now the TV umpire looks at it from a different angle. The ball is dipping and dying on to Milind, who uses both his hands to try and catch that. And after much ado, it is given out! This is what had happened earlier: Netravalkar had bowled a low full toss, which was angling across towards off, as Ifthikar launched down the ground. But the length seemed too full for him to fireIftikhar Ahmed c Kumar b Netravalkar 4 (3b 1×4 0x6)0.4 Netravalkar to Shadab, 1 wide And it is another wide. This is angled across, and lands on a yorker length wide of off. Shadab lets it go0.4 Netravalkar to Shadab, 4 leg byes Ohh, lucky four for Pakistan! Shadab got across the stumps to try and sweep this, but the ball dribbled off his toes between the keeper and short third0.5 Netravalkar to Shadab, 2 runs Ahh, well bowled! This is a nice yorker angling across towards middle and off, and Shadab is able to loft it only as far as between long-off and long-on. They pinch two0.6 Netravalkar to Shadab, 1 run USA win by five runs! The first upset of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The USA players make their presence feel by yelling their feelings out. Their dugout is up in celebration and ecstacy, even as the Pakistan dressing room is left wondering what would have been.

Blaze beat Central Sparks by five wickets at Edgbaston in a last group match which turned out to be a dress rehearsal for a Charlotte Edwards Cup semi-final at Derby on Saturday.A ninth win in ten games left Blaze top of the final table while the defeat saw Sparks drop to fourth after Southern Vipers climbed above them with a bonus point win over South-East Stars at Hove.Sparks were restricted to 138 for eight by an impressive Blaze attack led by Kirstie Gordon (4-0-14-2) and Grace Ballinger (4-1-16-1). After solid contributions from top three Abi Freeborn (39, 32 balls), Davina Perrin (37, 33) and Amy Jones (36, 26), the rest folded as Josie Groves and Heather Graham also each took two wickets.Marie Kelly, on the ground where she learned her cricket, then swept Blaze to victory. Kelly’s classy unbeaten 89 (63) underpinned her side’s progress to 139 for five from 19.2 overs as a Sparks bowling attack which had bowled Vipers out for 98 three days earlier found life much more difficult. It is Blaze who will head to Derby with momentum behind them.Sparks chose to bat but started slowly as Ballinger opened with a maiden. Gordon conceded just a single from her first over as only 25 runs came from the first six overs.Perrin then began to climb into some shots and smote Graham over long off for six to raise the 50 stand from 51 balls. The 17-year-old added five fours to her six before going down the pitch to Groves but finding only Ella Claridge at mid off.Freeborn top-edged a sweep at Sarah Glenn to short fine leg and while Amy Jones settled, she watched a succession of partners find careless ways to get out. Eve Jones and Courtney Webb belted full tosses to fielders and Katie George managed to pull a good-length Graham delivery to mid off.Jones at least kept the innings moving but fell in the penultimate over when she charged and missed at the excellent Gordon who hit Em Arlott’s leg stump two balls later. When Graham knocked out Charis Pavely’s middle stump with the last ball of the innings, seven wickets had fallen for 49 runs in 43 balls.Sparks’ innings having started with a maiden, Blaze’s began even more hesitantly with a wicket maiden in which Teresa Graves chipped Em Arlitt to mid off. Kelly and Kathryn Bryce (27, 32) responded perfectly with a measured stand which passed 50 in 47 balls. Kelly had had an unproductive tournament, amassing just 48 runs in seven innings, but more than doubled that tally in one go as she reached her half-century in 37 balls.The pair added 106 in 86 balls before Kathryn Bryce was stumped at the second attempt by Freeborn off Potts. That triggered a clatter as Sarah Bryce edged Georgia Davis, Pavely hit Graham’s off-stump and Claridge, after striking two important boundaries, sliced Hannah Baker to point, but Kelly saw her side home at her spiritual home.

Johnny Grave, the chief executive of Cricket West Indies, hopes that memories of the team’s bio-secure tour of England in 2020 will help to advance the narrative about Test cricket’s revenue-share model, in the wake of his remarks earlier this year that the current system is “completely broken”.Speaking at Lord’s during MCC’s inaugural World Cricket Connects symposium – a gathering of many of the sport’s most influential players, administrators and media representatives – Grave expressed his hope that West Indies would once again prove a competitive force, just as they were in winning the first Test of the 2020 tour in Southampton, as well as each of their last two home series against England, in 2019 and 2022.But, he said, in the wake of CWI’s reported outlay of US$2 million to fulfil their tour of Australia in January and February, the onus was on cricket’s Big Three – India, England and Australia – to find a better means of propping up the economies of the sport’s less financially secure nations, rather than just sending their own teams on endless overseas tours, from which the host boards are able to replenish their coffers.”We don’t get any money at all from the Australian market, or from that tour, so it’s a double-whammy,” Grave said, in the wake of a Test tour on which West Indies again exceeded expectations with their thrilling series-levelling win at the Gabba in January.”There are a number of measures to ensure this competitive balance, and ensure that the three formats thrive. I think the easiest thing to do is say, well, this format doesn’t make money or isn’t sustainable in this market or that country, but if the game works together and has a collective mindset, there is plenty of money to go around to ensure the game can thrive.”Grave cited India’s ongoing T20I series in Zimbabwe, featuring a new-look team led by Shubman Gill, only days after their victory in the T20 World Cup in Barbados, as proof that the BCCI “cannot do more for the world game” in a pure playing capacity. Instead, he welcomed the suggestion voiced last year by Richard Gould, his counterpart at the ECB, that the time may be coming for touring teams to be paid a fee for fulfilling their overseas engagements.”Do we need to play more contextual, meaningful cricket? Absolutely,” Grave said. “But I think Richard’s point around being open to sharing revenue is a massive positive, because when we are talking about sharing revenue we are talking about three countries.Ben Stokes and Jason Holder hold microphones as they talk into a broadcast camera during the Covid series in 2020•Getty Images

“One country cannot play any more cricket, cannot do more for the world game than they are doing, and that’s the BCCI. England have been fantastic, they have toured us pretty much every year, bar a few, since 2017. Is there more they could do for us? Not really. So at that point you have to look at the model and the finances, and for leaders of the ECB, Australia and India to be even talking about it, I take it as a positive indication of a shift in mindset that needs to happen.”England’s vulnerability to the fragmenting international game was made abundantly clear in the Covid-blighted summer of 2020, when West Indies were instrumental in “keeping the lights on”, in the words of the then-ECB chief executive Tom Harrison.By agreeing to play their three scheduled Tests behind closed doors and in bio-secure environments at Old Trafford and Southampton, West Indies helped fulfil the ECB’s contractual obligation to Sky Sports, with each Test valued in the region of £20 million. This in turn helped mitigate the ECB’s losses that still ended up being in the region of £100 million.”I think what Covid proved was that you can’t play against yourselves, and that you need to have opposition,” Grave said. “The better that opposition is, and the more balanced the game is, the better the product is, because then there’s genuine jeopardy.”In Covid everyone had to come together. The fact that we were coming here and generating no revenue was irrelevant. We were trying to save the game, because none of us knew whether the game as we knew it would ever happen again.”West Indies’ Test tour comes just weeks after the completion of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. Despite the hosts falling short of the semi-finals after a tight loss to South Africa in St Lucia, the sense of togetherness and expectation was palpable from a set of big-name players whose greatest financial opportunities still come on the T20 franchise circuit, but whose restored faith in CWI has been a notable aspect of Grave’s era as chief executive.Related

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“We’ve had to find balance, which was initially struck by speaking to the players in a respectful way and creating two windows, in the IPL and the CPL,” Grave said. “We then tried to have balance and flexibility with our players in how we schedule bilateral cricket – we rarely play over that Christmas and New Year period because it’s important for our players to be at home with their families – while we’ve also tried to create windows for them to go to other leagues where the calendar has allowed it.”So it’s all about balance. And at the moment Darren Sammy and Rovman Powell, the leaders of our T20 team, have really got those players focused.”Now the attention turns to the Test series against England, starting with a first Test at Lord’s – a venue that West Indies haven’t frequented since 2017.”It’s probably the pinnacle Test series that we play, it’s the barometer of how the team are developing,” Grave said. “We’re coming off a high, obviously it’s a long gap since that amazing day at the Gabba, and for a number of the players this will be the first time they’ve ever played at Lord’s.”They’re playing for the Richards-Botham Trophy, the ultimate example of friendship and camaraderie between England and West Indies. So being here it’s always special, but I think for our players to hopefully announce themselves to the English audience with a Test series at Lord’s is fantastic.”

Derbyshire are on the brink of ending a five year red ball drought after Jack Morley put Glamorgan in a spin on the third day of the Vitality County Championship match at Derby. The on-loan left arm spinner from Lancashire took 3 for 35 from 20 overs to put Derbyshire on course for a first Championship victory at the County Ground since August 2019.Glamorgan were fighting back at 226 for 4 but they lost three wickets in the space of six balls and closed on 236 for 7, still 25 behind. Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson scored fifties but Morley and Pat Brown (2 for 50) bowled Derbyshire to the verge of a first Championship win anywhere for 25 months.After rain washed out the morning session, Brown and Zak Chappell started Glamorgan’s decline with three wickets in six overs. Billy Root did not profit from his escape the previous evening, scoring only 13 before he pushed at a ball from Brown he could have left and was caught behind.Brown tempted Ben Kellaway into a loose waft that gave Brooke Guest another victim before Chappell bagged the big wicket of Sam Northeast. The Glamorgan skipper had started purposefully but there was little he could do with a ball that was angled in and straightened enough to get through his defence and pluck out middle stump.A shower held up play for 20 minutes which would have helped keep the bowlers fresh and disrupt the batters concentration but both Carlson and Ingram settled in well after the restart. Carlson was more circumspect after he got away with a big drive early in his innings and Ingram, who scored a century on this ground last season, was quick to pounce on anything short or overpitched.With Anuj Dal off the field, Derbyshire were a bowler down and there was frustration for Brown when Carlson saw an edge loop just over third slip before Ingram was given a life on 25. Brown tempted him into a drive and the edge went low to Guest who could not hang on diving to his left.Ingram reached his 50 off 93 balls the over before tea which arrived with Glamorgan recovering well to get the deficit below three figures. But all the hard work was undone three overs into the final session when Ingram attempted a big slog-sweep at Morley and was bowled to end a stand of 110 from 179 balls.Colin Ingram made a fighting fifty for Glamorgan•Getty Images

Derbyshire thought they had Carlson in the next over, caught behind off David Lloyd, but the umpires ruled correctly that the ball had been played into the ground.Carlson completed his 50 off 125 balls before Derbyshire lost Brown who limped off with what appeared to be an ankle injury four overs into his second spell.Lloyd took over and struck when Chris Cooke tried to drive and was bowled, breaking a stand of 50 from 122 balls. Derbyshire moved a step closer to victory in the next over when Carlson inexplicably gave Morley the charge and was stumped.Timm van der Gugten was lbw first ball and although Mason Crane averted the hat-trick, Glamorgan will need something remarkable on the last day to deny Derbyshire that long-awaited home win.

Pakistan secured their first win in four meetings against Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka and opened their campaign with a win at T20 World Cup 2024. Sri Lanka had been riding a wave of success since the last T20 World Cup, winning three out of six bilateral T20I series and 22 out of 32 games, but Pakistan, who had lost four out of their last six series and 16 out of 27 games, had the measure of them on a slow, low Sharjah pitch.Run-scoring was laboured on the opening day of the tournament and scoring rates did not get above six an over but Pakistan’s 116 still looked well below par. None of their top six scored more than 23, there were no partnerships in the top eight of over 25, and captain Fatima Sana, batting at No. 7, was the top scorer with 30. For Sri Lanka, left-armer Udeshika Prabodhani, left-arm spinner Sugandika Kumari and captain Chamari Athapaththu, with her offspin, picked up three wickets each.Buoyed by their efforts in the field, Sri Lanka would have fancied their chances of pulling off victory but fared the worst of the four teams in action today with the bat. They were tied down by spin, particularly Omaima Sohail’s offspin and lack of pace. With the ball moving slowly through the air and keeping low, the Sri Lanka batters were often far too early into their shots. They were reduced to 52 for 5 in the 13th over and there was no coming back from that.

The tournament’s first six

It took until the third over of the second match before the World Cup saw its first six and it came from Pakistan’s only centurion in the format: Muneeba Ali. She advanced down the track against Sri Lanka’s only seamer, Prabodhani, and sent her 63 metres over midwicket boundary. On a day when boundaries were particularly scarce, there were two more sixes in the Pakistan innings to go with five fours. Sri Lanka’s innings featured only three fours. There were no sixes in the earlier game between Bangladesh and Scotland and just 15 fours across both innings.Chamari Athapaththu belts out a successful appeal for the lbw of Aliya Riaz•ICC/Getty Images

(Almost) three cheers for ChamariAfter doing an excellent job in keeping pressure on Pakistan by taking the wicket of Sidra Amin and with her bowling changes, Athapaththu brought herself on for a second over in the 14th. Her second ball was full outside off stump and took Tuba Hassan’s outside edge as she camped on the back foot and was caught behind. That brought Pakistan’s last recognised batter, finisher Aliya Riaz, to the crease with plenty of time to cash in but she missed the line of the next ball and was hit on the front pad. Riaz was walking off as she reviewed and the ball-tracking revealed it was hitting middle and leg stump. Athapaththu was on a hat-trick and came oh-so-close to getting it when Diana Baig edged the next ball but wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani could not hold on. Athapaththu finished with 3 or 18 from her four overs.

Sana saves the day

It could be argued that Sana made a tactical blunder by batting herself at No. 7 but she scored 30 off 20 balls, which ended up changing the game, and then took great responsibility with the ball. Baig only bowled one ball before she pulled up with what looked like a calf injury and Sana decided to take over immediately. She finished Baig’s over and kept herself on for more, when she took out her opposite number. Athapaththu was leaden-footed when she drove Sana to extra cover where Sohail took a good catch to her left. Athapaththu understood the magnitude of the moment and punched her bat as she walked off the field. Her dismissal sent Sri Lanka into a shell, and they finished the powerplay on 26 for 2, with the required rate already up at 6.50.

Gunaratne and gone

It was game over, in theory, when Vishmi Gunaratne hit Nashra Sandhu straight down the ground and into the hands of Amin to leave Sri Lanka 52 for 5. But this is not to put the blame on the 19-year-old. Instead, it’s an illustration of the kinds of shots that were being played in frustration as the Pakistan spinners became more and more difficult to get away. On a big outfield, Sri Lanka scored 47 singles but only nine twos and while Pakistan were only marginally better with 51 singles and 11 twos, it’s those tiny margins that make a difference.

Zimbabwe shattered the record for the highest total in T20 cricket on Wednesday when they ran up 344 for 4 against Gambia in the men’s T20 World Cup Africa sub-regional qualifier tournament. Sikandar Raza spearheaded the effort with a century – Zimbabwe’s first one ever in the format – off just 33 balls. He eventually finished unbeaten on 133, with 15 sixes. His team-mates hit 12 more to set that record as well. Until now, Nepal had been the holders of the highest total (314) and the most sixes hit in an innings (26). Gambia in return were bundled out for 54 as Zimbabwe also posted the biggest-ever win (in terms of runs) in T20s.The Ruaraka Sports Club Ground in Nairobi witnessed history on Wednesday with Zimbabwe showing great intent right from the first ball they faced. They brought up fifty in 3.2 overs. Tadiwanashe Marumani brought his up quicker, in just 13 balls. The team hundred was up before the powerplay was done and from there on it was an exercise of how far they could send the ball into the stands. There were 57 boundaries in the innings overall – which is also a T20 record – with four Zimbabwe batters contributing fifty-plus scores – another record. Brian Bennett made 50 of 26 and Clive Mandande got to 53 off 17 by hitting the final ball of the innings for six.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Raza, though, was the star of the show. He came into bat at the end of the seventh over, after the fielding restrictions had been relaxed, but it made no difference. He struck the third ball he faced for six and went on a run-scoring spree that made him the owner of the second-fastest century in T20I cricket. His 33-ball effort equalled Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton’s, for Namibia against Nepal in February 2024.Related

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Gambia, which is the smallest country in continental Africa, located to the west, could do very little to stop the run flow. Musa Jorbateh conceded the most runs by a bowler in a T20, his four overs going for 93. He was one of five bowlers to go for over 50 runs or more in their spell. The team is still looking for its first win in the Africa sub-regional qualifier so far, having given walkovers to their opponents Rwanda and Seychelles in the first two games, while Zimbabwe have already picked up four from four.

Shakib Al Hasan has said that he is unlikely to travel to Dhaka, the venue of the upcoming first Test against South Africa, because of protests against him in the city. Shakib was included in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test, which was going to be his final appearance in the format.”I am not sure where I am going next, but it is almost sure that I am not going home,” Shakib told ESPNcricinfo via WhatsApp.Shakib had earlier expressed concern about his safety if he came to Bangladesh, given the number of Awami League leaders being arrested since August 5, the day their government effectively resigned from power after 15 years. Shakib was a member of parliament from his hometown Magura. He was one of 147 people named in an FIR for an alleged murder during the unrest.Shakib, however, remains in the Bangladesh squad for the first Test according to chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain. He said that they haven’t received any further instructions from the BCB about Shakib. On Wednesday when announcing the squad, selector Hannan Sarkar said that they picked Shakib after getting a “green signal” from the authorities to select him.”We haven’t received any further instructions from the BCB or the cricket operations committee. It is a paused status at the moment. He is in transit in Dubai,” Ashraf said.While Shakib had reportedly been assured safe passage into Bangladesh, students started protesting his imminent arrival from Wednesday evening. A group recognising themselves as “Mirpur Chhatro Janata” informed the BCB that they will protest Shakib’s appearance in the stadium. Late into Wednesday evening, Shakib was reportedly asked to wait in Dubai where he was transiting from New York. Although Shakib’s flight is on Thursday evening, he is unlikely to come to Dhaka.Meanwhile, the chief adviser’s deputy press secretary Azad Majumder said that the decision is up to Shakib to return to the country. “Shakib can return to Bangladesh anytime. It’s his decision whether he will arrive here or not,” Majumder told ESPNcricinfo.According to , Youth and Sports adviser Asif Mahmud said in a statement that he had advised Shakib not to return home to ‘avoid untoward situations’.”I have advised Shakib not to come [to Bangladesh] to avoid any untoward circumstances. This decision was made to ensure the safety of players and to protect the country’s image,” Asif said.

The presence of a white-hot Josh Inglis in Australia’s Test squad at any point last summer might have made incumbent wicketkeeper Alex Carey nervous.But right now, Carey is arguably Australia’s most relaxed man. He enters the Test series against India as their most in-form player and looms as a potential match-winner with bat and gloves, even with Inglis in the squad for his batting.Carey, 33, is entering his fourth home summer as a Test player and says he has never felt fresher. No player in the Australian team had a longer layoff without cricket over the winter.Between his match-winning, and potentially career-saving 98 not out in Christchurch in Australia’s last Test in March, Carey went a full six months without playing a single game. He did go to Major League Cricket but did not play. That stint was part of a pre-season that international players rarely get these days.The benefits are showing. He posted ODI scores of 74 and 77 not out first up in England on his return to the side in September. He has blasted 90, 111, and 123 not out in the first two Shield matches and 44 and 42 as captain in a low-scoring win in the third. He rounded off his preparation with 75 off 63 in his last One-Day Cup game for South Australia.Related

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The time away gave him space to tinker with his batting. He credits his form, in part, to feeling fresh. But also to a small tweak in his set-up that he made without any input from anyone else.”When you play and play and play, you don’t really get a chance to work on too many things,” Carey told reporters on Monday ahead of the first Test in Perth. “Not having games coming up for a while, I’ve just mucked around a little bit with my hands and found something that felt good and sort of ran with that.”It’s only slight, but at the moment, it feels like I’m in a good position and reacting pretty well to the ball. But I think just a bit of time off and a bit of exploring gives you those opportunities.”The slight change? Simply picking his bat up a little higher in his stance. Carey had noticed in his set-up that his hands and bat were a little low, with the toe of the blade below horizontal and pointing to gully upon the bowler’s release.It was causing him to feel rushed at times on top of affecting his bat path, and his form had diminished over a period of 14 months between his only Test century in December 2022 and his 98 not out in Christchurch. During that period he averaged just 23.76 across 17 Tests, and lost his ODI place to Inglis after the first game of the 2023 World Cup.He now has his hands higher, with the toe of the blade pointing over first slip’s head. The results have been phenomenal. He has looked one of the best players in Australian domestic cricket this summer, striking the ball with power and looking like he has so much time at the crease.The technical tweak has helped his decision-making too. There were times in that 14-month lull when he was playing well but finding ways to get out through poor premeditated decision-making. He now feels less strongly about the need to premeditate.”I’m just trying to keep a really level and consistent process batting,” Carey said. “I think, at times, potentially getting out in ways with premeditation, which can happen, and trying to do too many things at once. I’m just trying to stay quite clear now and react to the ball and back yourself to make the right decision.”Like in the ODI format, there could be space for both Carey and Josh Inglis in the Test XI•Getty Images

The addition of Inglis to the Test squad, coming off two Shield centuries himself and some superb white-ball form, is of no concern to Carey either. Inglis has been picked as the spare batter, as cover for the top six rather than Carey. The pair have played ODIs together and did so as recently as in September at Lord’s.He acknowledged they could play in the same Test XI together at some stage which – as it did in the ODI team – could pave the way for Inglis to pinch his spot down the track. But Carey is pragmatic about the inferred pressure Inglis puts on his role as the No. 1 wicketkeeper.”I understand it’s a unique position to be in,” Carey said. “There’s one wicketkeeper in a team, and there’s lots of quality around the country who are trying to get that spot and I was one of those players once. You focus on your game. You control what you can control.”For me, it’s doing my job for this team, hopefully help us win games of cricket and play in this Test team as long as possible.”His long-time teammate Travis Head believes he’s never seen Carey bat better.”It’s the best form he’s been in,” Head said. “So for him, it’s trying not to overplay it and not worry about too much. I know he’s not. I think he’s in a great space. Has been for a while and now it’s starting to click for him. And once you sort of capture that form, you want to try to continue it on again. You’re never guaranteed that that happens, but I think he’s going to play a huge role in his position and in this team.”

Glenn Maxwell may not be touring Sri Lanka, but in a silver lining he’ll be part of the BBL finals after Melbourne Stars’ remarkable regular season turnaround was complete with a comprehensive victory over Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG.Stars needed a win to leapfrog Perth Scorchers into fourth place and qualify for the finals. They took care of business against a Hurricanes team with little to play for.Maxwell continued his purple patch with 76 not out off 32 balls before quick Mark Steketee claimed three early wickets as Stars reached the finals for the first time since BBL 09.Related

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After a woeful start to the season with five straight defeats, Stars have gained significant momentum with five straight wins to book a knockout final against Sydney Thunder at the Showgrounds.The match was essentially a tune-up for Hurricanes, who had already locked up top spot and a home final in the Qualifier against Sydney Sixers.

Maxwell ignites again after Webster’s half-century

All eyes were on Maxwell. But the big crowd at the MCG had to wait for their hero as openers Sam Harper and Thomas Rogers laid a solid platform.Stars have badly struggled at the top of the order with Harper particularly out of form. But they peeled off 19 runs in the first two overs in the best opening stand of the season for Stars.Harper whacked four early boundaries, but Stars couldn’t get through the powerplay unblemished with Rogers succumbing to a clever change of pace from quick Nathan Ellis.Having ended a run of five straight single digit scores, Harper could not go on with it after he was trapped lbw by the spin of Nikhil Chaudhary.With Beau Webster struggling with his timing, Marcus Stoinis tried to regain Stars’ momentum with numerous powerful blows to race to 32 off 19 balls. But like countless times this season, Stoinis could not launch off the platform and his dismissal brought Maxwell to the crease.Maxwell, fresh off his extraordinary 90 against Renegades, started fast and smashed Chaudhary down the ground for six on his fourth delivery. His presence had a profound effect on Webster, who shook from his slumber to put the foot down.Webster hogged the strike, but didn’t cop the wrath of Maxwell’s legion of fans as he powered to his half-century with a six down the ground.Maxwell took over after Webster’s dismissal and had the crowd in the palm of his hands when he got under a slower short delivery from left-arm quick Marcus Bean and with a flick of the wrists whacked it over fine leg.He was unstoppable at the death, clubbing a six off quick Cameron Gannon to reach his half-century and then smashing two more into the crowd as Stars powered past 200.It brought some cheer for Maxwell, whose Test career looks over after he missed out on Australia’s squad to Sri Lanka.Mark Steketee took three wickets in his first two overs•Getty Images

Hurricanes experiment with their attack

With little to play for, Hurricanes decided to play it safe. Spearhead Riley Meredith did not play while Nathan Ellis only bowled one over with Ben McDermott on the broadcast saying he was managing a sore groin.Ellis used the match to experiment and seven bowlers were used. Tim David’s handy offspin opened the bowling, while Chris Jordan bowled in the backend in his return from a back injury but struggled amid Maxwell’s onslaught.With injured quick Billy Stanlake to miss the finals, his position is up for grabs and seemingly a race between Bean and Gannon, freshly signed as Stanlake’s replacement.Bean, plucked out of Tasmanian club cricket, impressed in his professional debut against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. Sporting a change of hair colour, from gold to silver, Bean enjoyed the wicket of Stoinis with an awkward delivery that climbed and hurried the batter.But he suffered in the backend and so too did Gannon, who was playing in the BBL for the first time in three years. He’s been in outstanding Sheffield Shield form, but Gannon struggled with his lengths to finish with 0 for 48 off 4 overs. Bean took 1 for 45 off his 4.Hurricanes were also extremely sloppy in the field to cap a forgettable performance.

Steketee continues strong form

Veteran quick Steketee has been a key part of Stars’ revival with 15 wickets in five matches. He’s been impactful with the new ball and so was the case again. In the second over he dismissed opener Caleb Jewell after Stoinis took a blinder with a full-stretch dive running backwards at mid on.Steketee struck again two balls alter when Charlie Wakim drove straight to backward point. He trapped McDermott lbw in his next over before claiming Ellis at the end to finish with 4 for 24 off 3.3 overs.

Owen unleashes early but in vain

Mitchell Owen has been the breakout player this season with his move up the order being a considerable success for Hurricanes. Their hopes in the chase largely rested on Owen getting off to a flier and he tried his best by bludgeoning left-arm quick Joel Paris for a couple of big sixes in the opening over.He also took a liking to veteran quick Peter Siddle with several mighty blows, unleashing his considerable power, to motor to 34 off 10 balls. But he slowed down slightly before holing out on 38 as Hurricanes’ slim chances effectively ended.Ellis top-scored with a rapid 40 at the end until he holed out to – quite fittingly – Maxwell, who pumped his fist to the jubilant fans knowing Stars’ season will continue.