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Roston Chase has voiced concerns about the “infrastructure problems” and the continuous “struggle for finances” in the Caribbean, but said that he didn’t want to use that as an excuse for West Indies’ poor performances in Test cricket in recent times.West Indies have lost five of their six Test matches this year. This includes being bundled out for 27 in the third Test against Australia in July. On Saturday, they went down by an innings and 140 runs to India on the third day of the opening Test in Ahmedabad.”I think the systems in the Caribbean are a bit poor in terms of training facilities and stuff,” Chase said after the game. “I am not using that as an excuse or something to hide behind for poor performances that we’ve been putting out lately. I still think that the onus is on the players to find some way to churn up runs and wickets and stuff.Related

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“But what I would say is yes, there is obviously a struggle in the Caribbean for finances. So whatever help we can get, if they are planning to get the help, I hope that we do get it so that we could strengthen the infrastructure for cricket.”While West Indies still have good fast bowlers in their set-up, their batting has been in freefall. In their last 15 innings in Test cricket, they have crossed 250 only once. Tagenarine Chanderpaul’s first-class average of 34.80 was the best among the top six batters in the West Indies’ XI for the first Test against India. Chase attributed the low averages to the pitches in the Caribbean not being batting-friendly.”Yeah, that is some of the infrastructure problems that we do have,” he said. “The pitches in the Caribbean are not really batsman-friendly. So guys don’t really bat for long periods and score those big scores. And then, too, the outfields in the Caribbean are really slow. When you hit the ball in the gaps, you probably end up struggling to get two. Those are just some of the problems that we are faced with in the Caribbean.”That’s why you see guys averaging so low. If you look at the past series we had against Australia, I think that was the first time I’ve ever played an international series where a batsman never scored a hundred in three matches. Obviously, we had a poor batting display. This has been something that has been plaguing us for the past two series.”In Ahmedabad, West Indies won the toss and batted first. They were bowled out for 162 in 44.1 overs in their first innings, and for 146 in 45.1 in their second.”We’ve not been able to at least bat 80 overs, bat a day or even get at least 250 or 300 runs on the board,” Chase said. “Anytime you win a toss in a Test match and bat and you don’t bat out the first day, you’re always going to be in trouble.”We saw the wicket. Although it had a bit of moisture, we still thought that it was a good wicket to bat first on. We thought that once we batted well and the openers went out there and just softened that moisture, then it would have been a good wicket to bat on, as we did see coming on later into the first day. But we didn’t start well and we never really put any partnerships in place. We never really got back into the game.”Chase suggested the only way for the batters to improve was to tighten and trust their defence. “We gifted some of the wickets too easily,” he said. “For me, it was a bit of rough and some balls were spinning up the rough. But there wasn’t any devils in the wicket. I still thought that it was a wicket that you could stand up and bat on as shown by the Indian batters.”But we need to trust in our defence a bit more. I can’t say that we weren’t scoring because the run rate was still good. But I just think that we need to be a little more solid in our defence.”West Indies are missing two of their three main fast bowlers in the series against India•AFP/Getty Images

While West Indies’ batting has been an issue, they are also missing two of their key fast bowlers in Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph through injuries. Jason Holder also declined to be a replacement, citing a planned medical procedure. Players picking and choosing formats has also been an issue with West Indies, but Chase said that “a guy is going to try to earn his living”.”I can’t really speak on another man’s body,” Chase said. “One thing I can say is that there’s a lot more cricket being played. There’s not a lot of rest for a player, especially if he’s playing all formats of the game. And then, especially with the leagues around the world, guys are looking to earn their money. They’re not really resting, getting adequate rest that their body may need.”But if they can try to stay as fit as possible and do a lot of gym work and not get too bulky but be strong enough that they can handle the load or in the case where they can pick and choose certain formats of the game and be available, I think that would be obviously better for us. But it is what it is. A guy is going to try to earn his living.”So I can’t really fault a guy for trying to go there and be available for whatever cricket it may be that he’s given the opportunity to play.”

India’s failure to capitalise on their chances sent them tumbling to a 2-0 series defeat against South Africa, according to their stand-in captain Rishabh Pant.”They [South Africa] definitely played better cricket, but at the same time, in cricket you can’t take anything for granted,” Pant said at the post-match presentation. “You can play at home or away, but at the same time, cricket demands that determination and that extra.”There are moments in the game where you need to capitalise [on] it as a team, as a batting unit. But as a team, we didn’t capitalise on those enough for a longer period of time, and that cost us the whole series.”In the second Test in Guwahati, where Pant took over captaincy from the injured Shubman Gill, India let South Africa get away and post 489 after they had the visitors at 246 for 6 at one point.South Africa went on to bat India out of the Test, setting them an improbable 549. On the final day, India’s batters had their chances – both B Sai Sudharsan and nightwatcher Kuldeep Yadav were reprieved – but they eventually folded for 140, suffering a 408-run loss, theirbiggest ever in Test cricket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

This was India’s second series defeat in their previous three home series. Last year, they suffered an unprecedented 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand, which ended a proud run of 17 straight home-series wins over a 12-year period. Pant called on India to stick together and find a way past this rut.”Definitely it’s a little disappointing, but as a team we need to get better,” Pant said. “And you’ve got to give credit to the opposition that they played better cricket than us,” Pant said. “Because, in series like this, which has already been tough, if we dwell too much… you’ve got to take the learning and stick as a team.”

Dushmantha Chameera held his nerve in a clutch final over to ensure Sri Lanka did not throw away a win they had spent the rest of the evening working for. He conceded three runs in the final over, building on a magnificent opening spell to deny Pakistan victory by six runs in a 184-run chase.The stakes were higher for Sri Lanka than they were for Pakistan, with a victory required for a place in the final, or it would be Zimbabwe playing that game on Saturday. And Sri Lanka played with a hunger they have rediscovered since they finally won a game on Pakistan soil on Tuesday. Kusal Mendis and Kamil Mishara’s 36-ball 66-run stand got them off to a flier, with Mishara ending up with 76 off 48 balls, and cameos lower down the order got them to 184.Right from the outset, Chameera hampered Pakistan with three top-order wickets in his first two overs. The chase looked as good as dead after the loss of the first four, with 43 runs on the board, but captain Salman Ali Agha’s unbeaten half-century kept Pakistan fighting on until the bitter end.A 56-run stand between Salman and Usman Khan brought Pakistan back into contention, and Mohammad Nawaz brought Pakistan right to the brink. The hosts were favourites when a six over cover reduced the equation to 10 in the final over, but Chameera got a wicket, nailed his Yorkers and squeezed Pakistan out.

Mendis, Mishara nail the early overs

Earlier in the evening, Pakistan strangled Sri Lanka in the first three overs. It started with a beautiful delivery Salman Mirza kissing Pathum Nissanka’s off bail. But when Faheem Ashraf was thrown the ball for the fourth over, Kusal Mendis picked his moment. Three boundaries saw helped him plunder 16, and Mohammad Wasim disappeared for 15 more when he replaced Ashraf for the powerplay’s final over.Even the spreading of the field struggled to contain Mendis and Mishara. When Nawaz came to bowl in the eighth over, Mendis cut him for four before Kamil Mishara slapped him for six. A late flurry put Sri Lanka on course to a match-defending total.

Salman stakes a T20I case

Salman has played every single Pakistan game this year, but has never convinced as a T20 batter. Today, finding himself in the sort of situation where what was required of him closely matched his best attributes, the Pakistan captain got stuck in. He began sedately, as he tends to do, but then worked himself into touch and took the game deep. Through the middle overs, his ability to play spin was on full display as the boundaries came regularly enough and the runs kept ticking over.When Sri Lanka turned to pace, Salman kept the pressure up, picking up 10 off Dasun Shanaka, smashing Eshan Malinga for six to keep Pakistan on track. Increasingly, by the end, Sri Lanka’s ability to starve Salman of the strike would prove crucial to holding Pakistan at bay; the final three overs, Salman was at the non-striker’s end for all but five balls, with his unbeaten heroics going in vain.

Chameera guts Pakistan

Pakistan felt they had built up a steady opening stand with Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan setting up a platform in the powerplay in the first three overs. It was from that point onwards that Sri Lanka had cut loose in their innings, and the home openers were positioning themselves to do the same.But then, along came fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera. His extra pace beat Farhan for timing and forced him into dinking one straight to cover. The big wicket came two balls later, when a touch of inconsistent bounce had the ball strike Babar Azam below the knee roll, sending him back for a second duck in four innings. Another two balls later, a length delivery grew big on Fakhar Zaman, who skied it straight to midwicket. Pakistan had suddenly lost four wickets in ten balls, and following the end of the over, Chameera’s figures read 2-0-3-3.After conceding 14 in his third over when Pakistan were on the charge, Sri Lanka’s hopes of victory were slipping away. Pakistan needed ten to win with Agha still set. Chameera rolled his fingers over two length balls to start off and allowed just three in the first three balls, but it was the killer yorkers that followed which sealed the deal. Three deliveries that landed on the batters’ toes got rid of Ashraf, and did not leak a single run to spark celebrations in the Sri Lankan camp.

Dewald Brevis scored South Africa’s highest individual T20I score, their second-fastest T20I hundred off 41 balls and became the youngest South African to hit a century in this format as they put on their best score against Australia to square the series at 1-1 in Darwin with the decider to come in Cairns on Saturday.Brevis, who already holds the South African domestic record for the highest T20 score of 162, put on a mesmerising display in only his ninth T20I. He hit 12 fours and eight sixes for a total of 96 runs in boundaries and was excellent down the ground. More than half of his runs – 66 – were scored in the ‘V’, including six sixes and all but single-handedly built South Africa’s total. Brevis, who was dropped on 56, scored 91 of the 126 in a fourth-wicket partnership with Tristan Stubbs.Related

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Four of Australia’s five bowlers conceded at 11 runs an over or more with Ben Dwarshuis the exception. His four overs cost just 24 runs but it was not enough to keep South Africa to a reachable total, despite their strength in chasing.This was the first time in nine matches that Australia had lost batting second, ending a record run of nine wins in a row, and the first time they had lost to South Africa in seven meetings. They would have required the highest successful chase in Australia to avoid that.There were moments when Australia were threatening, most notably at 104 for 3 in the 10th over, but were always behind the required run-rate. Tim David’s half-century was the only individual score over 26. Teenage left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka, who was expensive, and allrounder Corbin Bosch were the most successful of the wicket-takers and finished with three apiece. South Africa’s 53-run win was their biggest margin of victory over Australia.

Brevis takes down Maxwell and then gets to a hundred

Brevis led South Africa’s recovery from 57 for 3 in the seventh over. He was on 12 off eight balls when Lhuan-dre Pretorius walked down the pitch and was stumped off Glenn Maxwell but had already sent the offspinner over long-on. Much more was to come. Brevis made his way to 44 off 24 balls by the time Maxwell was brought back on, in the 12th over. South Africa were 99 for 3, Brevis’ partnership with Stubbs had grown to 42 and he was dominating proceedings but then he really stepped it up.Stubbs gave him strike after the first ball and Brevis brought up his fifty when he swung Maxwell over long-on for his fifth six. He barely had time to raise his bat before he lined up a Maxwell full toss and smashed it over cow corner for six more. Maxwell pulled the length back for his next ball and Brevis tried to force it for another six but miscued. Substitute fielder Matt Kuhnemann, on the field for David, was a long way off the rope at long-on and couldn’t hold the catch above his head.Brevis still hadn’t had enough. He sent the next ball over long-on again for a third six in the over. In four balls, Brevis moved from 44 to 66 and Maxwell’s over cost 24 runs. In total, it took Brevis just 16 deliveries to go from fifty to a hundred. He brought it up off Dwarshuis, who he swivel-pulled for four in the 15th over, which also gave Brevis plenty of time to add to his tally.Kwena Maphaka celebrates after removing Cameron Green•Getty Images

Australia limit the damage

At 179 for 3 after 16 overs, South Africa were in sight of a score in excess of 220 but Australia dragged them back a touch. Stubbs was a minor partner in the fourth-wicket stand with Brevis and keen to get going. He reverse-swept Adam Zampa for his third four but then sliced him to backward point where Kuhnemann took a simple catch. In the next over, Rassie van der Dussen holed out off Dwarshuis, whose back-of-a-length deliveries made him the pick of the bowlers. In the over after that, Bosch was castled by a Josh Hazlewood full toss that he tried to send into the stands but dismantled his middle stump. South Africa lost three wickets for 14 runs in 13 balls and had to rely on a strong finish from Brevis in the last 10 balls. They added 21 runs to finish two short of 220.

South Africa’s improved catching display

Australia put down two chances, Pretorius on 1 and Brevis on 56, with the latter proving costly, but South Africa just about learnt from their mistakes in the first match, where they dropped four. Pretorius had the first opportunity when Travis Head could not clear deep midwicket off Aiden Markram and he judged the catch well on the rope.Two overs later, Cameron Green sent Maphaka for back to back fours and was looking for a hat-trick. He pulled Maphaka to midwicket, where Nqabayomzi Peter dived forward to pluck the ball off the ground although lost his grip as he started to celebrate. The catch was checked by the third umpire who determined it was taken cleanly and Peter was in control.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stubbs is earning a reputation he will not like after he spilled a second chance in as many matches. He was at deep square leg when David toe-ended Lungi Ngidi to him but despite making good ground, could not hold on. David was on 18, and he was also dropped by Stubbs in the first match, on 56. However, Stubbs made up for it when he got under a Mitchell Marsh skier off Bosch and pouched it safely at long-on. Brevis took another impressive catch when he ran to his left at deep midwicket as Maxwell mistimed a slower ball and was dismissed for 16.

David delivers again, but Rabada halts him

David was injured when he landed heavily on his right shoulder as he unsuccessfully attempted to stop a Brevis drive from going for four and was unable to field for the latter part of South Africa’s innings. However, he had few problems swinging the bat. His first runs came unconvincingly when he gloved Maphaka to fine leg for four but he middled the next two balls and sent them both for boundaries.David brought up a third fifty-plus score in four innings and second successive one in the series headlined by his second six which went all the way out of the ground. It was against legspinner Peter, whose third ball David hit into the crowd, that David launched the ball over deep midwicket and over the stadium’s roof. David put Australia in a promising position on 104 for 3 in the 10th over but was caught at cover off Rabada in the moment that turned the game South Africa’s way.

Pakistan are set to host Sri Lanka for three ODIs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, in the nine-day gap between the end of the South Africa tour and the T20I tri-series with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in November.Once Pakistan conclude their series against South Africa with the third ODI on November 8 in Faisalabad, they will head to Rawalpindi with just a two-day gap before facing Sri Lanka on November 11, 13 and 15 – all matches separated by just a day’s rest. The hosts will remain in Rawalpindi as the T20I tri-series also begins there, on November 17 against Afghanistan before the action moves to Lahore after the first two games.This will be the first time Pakistan host Sri Lanka for an ODI series since 2019, when the hosts had beaten Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three-match series under Sarfaraz Ahmed after the opening game was washed out in Karachi. Sri Lanka’s last visit to Pakistan was just before the 2023 ODI World Cup, when they had flown to Lahore for the Asia Cup.Related

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The ODI series is the latest addition to a busy home season for Pakistan, which starts with two Tests against WTC champions South Africa from October 12 to 24 in Lahore and Rawalpindi, followed by three T20Is and as many ODIs against them. The T20I tri-series will run from November 17 to 29.Pakistan recently won the T20I tri-series involving Afghanistan and hosts UAE in the lead up to the T20 Asia Cup, which begins on September 9. Pakistan’s first match is on September 12 against Oman, followed by a clash against arch-rivals India on September 14.

Bangladesh A won the Super OverIn a thriller that nearly went into a second Super Over, Bangladesh A seamer Ripon Mondol knocked India A out in the semi-final of the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha, Qatar on Friday.Mondol delivered a superb 19th over, giving away just five runs and removing the well-set Ramandeep Singh to leave India A needing 16 off the final over; a target Bangladesh A nearly didn’t defend.With eight needed off the last three balls, Jishan Alam dropped a sitter at long-off to reprieve Ashutosh Sharma off left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan. Even worse, he parried it to the boundary for four. Ashutosh couldn’t capitalise, though, and was bowled next ball to leave India A needing four off the final delivery.Yet, India A found an unlikely lifeline thanks to a misjudged underarm throw from Bangladesh A captain Akbar Ali. As Harsh Dubey dug out a full delivery to long-on, he’d nearly given up but somehow willed himself to run a second.Akbar collected the return and had enough time to run to the stumps to seal the game, but instead flicked an underarm throw that missed. With no one backing up, India A stole a third run to force a Super Over.India A then perhaps misfired tactically, not unleashing the tournament’s highest six-hitter, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, to open. Instead, Mondol bowled a pinpoint yorker to castle a frazzled Jitesh Sharma, who premeditated too early and got into a tangle attempting to paddle. Ashutosh toe-ended a yorker straight to extra cover as India A ran out of gas, leaving Bangladesh A a mere one run for victory.There appeared to be another twist when Suyash Sharma struck off the first delivery to remove Yasir Ali to a sharp catch by Ramandeep at the long-on fence. Akbar then took a strike with an opportunity to undo some of his earlier damage. Fortunately for him, Suyash’s misdirected googly ended up being a wide and Bangladesh A sealed victory in dramatic circumstances.Habibur Rahman Sohan led Bangladesh A’s charge•Asian Cricket Council

As a result, India A bowed out following an underwhelming campaign, where they were also beaten by Pakistan A in the group stages, while also being pushed by Oman.As chaotic as the finish was, India A would reflect on a poor finish with the ball as one of the major turning points. They conceded 50 off the last two overs alone, as left-hander SM Meherob made an unbeaten 48 off 18 balls. This included four stunning sixes in a 28-run penultimate over by Naman Dhir.Meherob’s cameo was the perfect sequel to Habibur Rahman’s 46-ball 65 up top that helped set up the game for Bangladesh A, before the middle-order briefly wobbled.India A brought up their fifty off just 19 balls as Vaibhav Suryavanshi went big, hitting two fours and four sixes in his 38 off 15 before he toe-ended a slog to long-on. Dhir struggled for timing – he was on 3 off 10 at one stage – and fell soon after.The chase was revived by Priyansh Arya and Jitesh Sharma, who made 44 and 33, respectively, to ensure India A were up with the asking rate for most parts. When Jitesh fell to leave India A 150 for 4 in 15 overs, the chase was upon Ramandeep and Nehal Wadhera, who appeared to have it under control before India A’s chase combusted in dramatic circumstances.

England have deferred a final decision on their team for the first Ashes Test until Friday morning as they weigh up the merits of picking a spinner in Perth.Ben Stokes has often named an XI two full days out from Tests since taking over as captain, but on this occasion England announced they had trimmed their 16-man squad down to 12 names on Wednesday. Stokes said before England’s training session on Thursday afternoon that they would “probably” have a final team later in the day, but has instead opted for a final look at the pitch on the first morning.England’s biggest decision surrounds the possible inclusion of Shoaib Bashir on a pitch expected to offer pace and bounce for their fast bowlers. Australia’s Nathan Lyon has a formidable record at Perth Stadium, with 29 wickets at 20.86, but visiting spinners have a combined record of eight wickets at 87.50 at the venue.Related

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Bashir has not played competitively since taking the final wicket in England’s fifth-day win over India at Lord’s in July, having broken the little finger on his left hand earlier in the match. He was expensive in England’s warm-up match last week, returning figures of 2 for 151 off 24 overs, but Stokes backed him to play a role at some stage in the series.”Team sport takes all 11 [players] to influence a game at some point,” Stokes said. “All 11 guys who get the honour of being selected in the next five games will be just as important as each other. He was always going to be in the 12-man [squad]. Seeing the way the game at Lilac Hill went, it felt like we could just get him as many opportunities to bowl as possible.”It leaves open the possibility that England will field an all-seam attack for only the third time since Stokes took over as captain three years ago, which would see Jofra Archer and Mark Wood paired together for only the second time in Tests. They have lost on both previous occasions, against Australia at Lord’s in 2023 and against India at The Oval in August.Wood appeared to be a major doubt after hamstring soreness in England’s warm-up game, but Stokes was bullish about his prospects on Thursday. “He’s flying,” Stokes said. “I know you guys say he only bowled eight overs in the game, but he’s been bowling for a long, long time. He has always been someone who can just hit the ground running in a game, and he’s bowling rapid.”Some of England’s unused squad members may feature for England Lions in their four-day match against a Cricket Australia XI at Lilac Hill, which also starts on Friday. Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and Matthew Potts are all in contention to play.England XII: Ben Stokes (capt), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir