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Midway through last season’s Bob Willis Trophy campaign, Jamie Overton took the agonising decision to call time on his career at Somerset, and seek out pastures new at The Kia Oval, where he hopes to find the freedom to break out of the constraints that he had found himself in at Taunton, and fulfil his ultimate goal of breaking into the England team.But no-one gets to break lifelong ties quite that easily – especially when your twin brother, and fellow fast-bowling allrounder, Craig is still a stalwart for your former county. And sure enough, when the fixtures were drawn up for this season’s rejigged County Championship, there were Surrey and Somerset, lined up in Group 2 for a pair of home-and-away fixtures – at Taunton on May 13 and The Oval on July 11 – where the Overton sibling rivalry can be stepped up an extra notch.”Excited is probably not the right word,” Overton said of his impending return to Taunton. “I’m not apprehensive but going back to a ground that you’ve called home for near enough ten years is going to be very strange. But it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to. Hopefully I won’t get too many boos, or that sort of thing.”The strangest thing will be playing against Craig,” he added. “I’ve played with him since I was probably 7 or 8, but I’ve never actually played a cricket game against him, so that’s going to be the strangest part. Knowing what we’re like, we will be very competitive. And we won’t be taking it easy on each other, that’s for sure.”The two brothers had been neck-and-neck for the formative years of their careers – and even featured in the same England squad back in 2015, when Jamie was called up to join his brother as an injury replacement for that summer’s ODI series against New Zealand.More recently, however, it has been Craig who has stolen the edge in their rivalry. He has earned more opportunities as a first-team pick for Somerset – as shown by his tally of 95 first-class matches compared to his brother’s 69 – and he’s got the England recognition too, with four Tests to his name so far, most recently at Old Trafford in the 2019 Ashes, and a one-off ODI against Australia the previous summer.”I wouldn’t say there’s extra motivation but it’s always nice to get one over your brother,” Jamie said. “Any sibling rivalry, you always want to get one over them a little bit, so we’ll see what happens. The last three, four, five years he’s done really well, so it’s going to be hard to pip him, but I’ll be doing my best, that’s for sure.”The one area in which Jamie does have the edge over his brother is on the speed gun. When he’s fully fit and firing, he is capable of speeds that are up there with the most rapid on the county circuit – and with England seeking to expand their fast-bowling stocks ahead of next winter’s Ashes, he recognises the chance to get hold of the new ball at The Oval could yet propel him into the selector’s thoughts.”I want to take the new ball,” he said. “I’ve done my years in Somerset with the old ball, so I want a new challenge, but I wouldn’t be too unhappy if I didn’t get a new ball. It’s just one of those things.”I’ve done quite a bit of work with Richard Johnson [Surrey’s bowling coach] in the last three or four weeks, just trying to fine-tune my action a bit,” he added. “That should help me to bowl quicker easier, if that makes sense, rather than trying to muscle it down, which I’ve done in the past. So fingers crossed, everything goes well and I have a good season.”Obviously, pace helps, but you’ve still got to be accurate. You’ve still got to put the ball in the right areas, you’ve still got to put shape on the ball. At times I’ve probably gone too much on the pace side of things and not relied on accuracy. And I think, going forward, I want to try and be more accurate. Over the last couple years, I’ve worked on it quite hard, but having both is a very good attribute to have.”Jamie Overton’s batting has all-round potential but opportunities at Somerset were few•Getty Images

Somerset’s consistent strength in recent seasons has cramped Overton’s style in other ways too. It’s hard to get much recognition for your all-round game when you’re surrounded by a glut of other bowlers with more than a passing ability with the bat – not just his brother, but Lewis Gregory, Roelof van der Merwe and Jack Brooks among others too.But it was while batting at No. 10 against Warwickshire last summer that Jamie crashed his way to a startling maiden hundred – 120 from 92 balls all told, with 15 fours and six sixes.”My bowling is probably my strongest asset at the moment, but I’m always trying to make myself more of an allrounder,” he said. “The move here was to give me more chances with the bat. You can never say where you’re going to bat, but I’d like to be around seven or eight.”Two weeks later, however, he was a Surrey player – signed on loan for the remainder of the season, ahead of his permanent switch this summer. And though that meant missing out on Somerset’s final push for that elusive silverware (they would once again lose out to Essex in the Bob Willis Trophy final), he was able to get stuck in immediately for his new club, playing a full part in their run to the final of the T20 Blast, where Nottinghamshire got the better of them in a rain-reduced final.Related

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“I feel fully settled to be fair,” he said. “In hindsight, it was actually quite a good move to come up for the last month or so of last season, just to put names to faces and get to meet everyone. The run we got on the T20 was really good for the squad, and it shows what we can do. And hopefully we can push forward this year.”And as and when the Covid restrictions are lifted and crowds can begin to return to county cricket, Overton is eager to take advantage of the bigger stage that The Oval can afford him, and maybe get himself used to the sort of limelight that, on the eve of his 27th birthday, could yet be awaiting him if he can use this move to fulfil his potential.”It’s been a long old year, not playing in front of crowds, and I’m certainly looking forward to the T20s we’ve got here, with potentially 25-30,000 people. It’s what you play for as cricketer. You want to put yourself in the spotlight.”I want to play for England, and when you play for England there’s going to be bigger crowds than I was getting at Somerset, so you never know how you’re going to deal with that pressure until the pressure comes on.”

Najmul Hossain Shanto has been omitted from Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the first two matches of their three-match series against Sri Lanka. Shanto is one of five exclusions from the large white-ball squad that toured New Zealand in March. Shakib Al Hasan has returned to the side and is the only addition in the 15-member squad.Shakib had missed the New Zealand tour because of a thigh injury and opted out of the subsequent two-match Test series in Sri Lanka to play in the IPL. He and Mustafizur Rahman were in hotel quarantine since returning to Dhaka after the IPL’s suspension and started training on May 18 after completing 11 days in isolation.The squad also excludes Al Amin Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Rubel Hossain and Nasum Ahmed, who toured New Zealand for the white-ball leg. Mahmud and Rubel are both recovering from back injuries, while Mohammad Naim, who played the T20Is against New Zealand, finds himself among the four standby players.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said Shanto, whose 163 against Sri Lanka in the first Test in Pallekele had brought him out of a batting rut, was dropped due to his ODI form. “Shanto hasn’t done well in ODIs so we thought of giving him a break,” Abedin told ESPNcricinfo.Shanto has just 93 runs in eight matches so far, including 38 runs in three innings in the ODI series against West Indies. He was in the squad for the New Zealand tour but didn’t play any of the ODIs.Abedin was confident that the selected squad can turn things around after their 3-0 defeat to New Zealand and sought to focus on their 3-0 win over West Indies at home in January.”We beat West Indies quite comprehensively in the last home series, so we didn’t change the squad too much,” he told media on Thursday. “We have almost kept every one. The selection panel hopes that we play better cricket against Sri Lanka.”Things are a little different at home and we have done well against them [Sri Lanka] in the past. The team always feels better with the best players. Everyone is fit, and playing in the practice match.”We have kept four standbys with the 15-man squad. They will stay with the team. It is a contingency for Covid-19 situation.”All 19 players are taking part in a practice match in Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) on Thursday, before having two days of training ahead of the first ODI on May 23.Squad: Tamim Iqbal (capt), Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Shoriful Islam
Standbys: Mohammad Naim, Taijul Islam, Shohidul Islam, Aminul Islam Biplob

Khaled Mahmud, the former Bangladesh captain and current BCB director, has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently isolating at home.Mahmud, 49, was the Bangladesh team director on their recent Test tour of Sri Lanka and was supposed to have the same role for the home ODI series that starts on Sunday, against the same opponents. He is also a coach in the Dhaka Premier League, which is scheduled to begin on May 31.Mahmud had reportedly tested negative twice after returning from Sri Lanka but tested positive recently, according to a board official. The Bangladesh squad had started training on May 18, after the Eid break, but Mahmud did not join them.The BCB currently has a biosecure bubble in place for the ODI series that has hubs in the team hotel and the Shere Bangla National Stadium where all three matches will take place.The Sri Lanka players were in quarantine for three days upon their arrival on May 16, while the Bangladesh team that arrived from Sri Lanka also had a three-day home quarantine. Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman were in hotel isolation for 11 days after they returned from the IPL that was suspended earlier this month.There have been 1504 new Covid-19 cases and 26 deaths in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours. The graph has taken a downward trend since early April when the country had gone into lockdown due to the second Covid wave.Bangladesh’s third Test captain, Mahmud represented Bangladesh from 1998 to 2006 and played 12 Tests and 77 ODIs. His contributions with the ball – 13 wickets in Tests and 67 in ODIs – were more noteworthy than his runs with the bat, 266 in Tests and 991 in ODIs. He was the Player of the Match in the 1999 World Cup match when Bangladesh upset Pakistan in the group stage. He later took to coaching after retirement and has been the BCB director since 2013.

Tea Joe Root’s 38th Test century took him up to second on the all-time Test run-scorer’s list. And in typical Root fashion, his 121 and counting has raised England to a dominant position in this fourth Test, leading India by 75 in the first innings at tea on day three.Upon moving to 31, Root snuck past Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Jacques Kallis (13,289), bumping the latter off the podium to join Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. And, four minutes before the end of the second session, he walked down to open the face for a single down to third to move to 120, knocking Ponting (13,378) down a peg, who sung his praises on Sky as part of their commentary team upon being leapfrogged.Related

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Root did little more than raise a thumb to his skipper, Ben Stokes, with whom he has so far shared an 84-run stand. They had earlier embraced for his hundred after tickling his 178th delivery around the corner for his 12th boundary around, one which took him level with Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 38, level fourth on the all-time centuries list. It is also his 12th century against India, the most of any player, now ahead of Steve Smith.

He had batted for most of the day with Ollie Pope, sharing in a stand of 144 which was ended seven balls after lunch. It was Pope first after the break, edging Washington Sundar to first slip. And Washington had his second four overs later when he hoodwinked an advancing Harry Brook on the outside edge to have him stumped.It was a passage out of kilter with an otherwise listless performance from India in the field. They missed a chance to remove Root on 22 with a botched attempt at a run out, and they were unlucky when Root, on 98, inadvertently diverted a ball just past his leg stump after it caught his thigh guard.Otherwise, their lack of energy, partly due to being run-ragged by England’s penchant for quick singles, was compounded when Jasprit Bumrah was only able to bowl one over with the second new ball before having to leave the field with an unknown injury. Mohammed Siraj, lionhearted throughout, limped off after the 99th over to leave Shubman Gill with big headache heading into the final session.

Tamim Iqbal will miss competitive cricket for at least two months because of a knee injury. He will return home from Harare after the ongoing ODI series against Zimbabwe – the third game is taking place today – and miss the entire three-match T20I series as well as the upcoming T20I series against Australia and New Zealand at home.”Tamim will return home alongside Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam from the ODI side,” Minhajul Abedin, Bangladesh’s chief selector, said. “Tamim has been advised to rest for six to eight weeks. He won’t be able to play against Australia [in August] and New Zealand [in September] at home, but he might play against England [in October]. We have asked Rubel (Hossain), (Mohammad) Mithun and Mosaddek (Hossan) to stay back with the T20I side as part of our contingency plan for the Australia series.Related

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“We have to keep players in quarantine for ten days ahead of the Australia series bio-bubble. We want to have as many options as possible as we won’t be able to call up players from outside the bio-bubble.”Iqbal reportedly sustained the injury in Sri Lanka in April, but recovered enough to play the ODI series against them in May. He also played 11 matches in the T20 Dhaka Premier League, but the injury forced him to miss the Super League phase of the competition.He went on to miss the one-off Test against Zimbabwe earlier this month, before saying that he would “manage” the injury and play the ODI series, chiefly because it is part of the World Cup Super League.The decision to take time off came following a recommendation from Dr David Young, the Melbourne-based orthopedic surgeon, who many Bangladesh cricketers, including Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza, have consulted over the years.Australia are expected to arrive in Dhaka next week to play five T20Is, scheduled from August 2 to 8. New Zealand are likely to play three or five T20Is in Dhaka starting early September, before England arrive in October to play three ODIs and three T20Is.

Paul Stirling, the Ireland batter, will replace New Zealand’s Devon Conway at Southern Brave, and the availability of Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan quick, for the Trent Rockets means their South African recruit Marchant de Lange will leave the men’s Hundred after four matches and return to Somerset for their Royal London One-Day Cup campaign.Conway, also a Somerset man and one of the more prominent newcomers at the international stage, had a steady run with Brave in the Hundred, getting starts on each occasion. He had scores of 18, 23, 34 and 22 for a tally of 97 runs, scored at a strike rate of 112.79. But in that last game, against London Spirit at Lord’s, Conway took a blow from a Blake Cullen delivery in the fingers of his left hand very early in his innings, and while he finished his innings, he didn’t come out to field.Stirling, the veteran batter, wasn’t at his best when he turned out for Ireland during South Africa’s visit in July for a set of ODIs and T20Is, but brings with him a wealth of experience. Not to forget the exceptional form he was in earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, when he scored ODI centuries against UAE and Afghanistan.de Lange, meanwhile, was one of the bowling stars of the competition, the joint-leading wicket-taker after the first 17 matches with eight wickets, the same as Northern Superchargers’ Adil Rashid and the Rockets’ Rashid Khan.But the Rockets will welcome back their original pick, Riaz, whose participation in the Hundred had been delayed after he reached the UK because of an issue with his visa – he didn’t have a valid work permit – which forced him to fly home, sort it out, and then return to link up with his team. He has completed his mandatory quarantine on his return to the UK, and is available for the Rockets’ next fixture, against Welsh Fire on Friday in Cardiff.The Rockets have had the better time of it at the tournament so far, three wins in four outings giving them a top-of-the-table spot with six points, while Brave are in the other half of the eight-team table, down at seventh place with four points from four games, only above Spirit.

India have called up two uncapped players in Railways medium-pacer Meghna Singh and Baroda left-hand batter Yastika Bhatia for all three formats for their tour of Australia in September and October. The T20I squad includes another uncapped player, 25-year-old pace-bowling allrounder Renuka Singh of Himachal Pradesh.Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad returns after missing the tour of England owing to a knee injury and Covid-19.The 22 playing personnel selected for the Australia tour have been spread across an 18-member consolidated squad for the three ODIs and the one-off pink-ball Test, and a 17-player squad for the three-match T20I series. ESPNcricinfo understands that the selection of an additional player for the tour of Australia, compared to 21 picked for the tour of England earlier this year, was down to allowing Gayakwad and T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur more time to make progress on their fitness before the warm-up fixture scheduled for September 15.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gayakwad, who had been at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for several weeks for rehabilitation work around her injured right knee, entered the ongoing preparatory camp in Bengaluru directly from the NCA last week, while the first batch of probables had assembled on August 10. Kaur, meanwhile, returned to India last week, having ended her Hundred stint in the UK prematurely owing to a quad injury. She then joined the other four Hundred-returnees in the camp to round out the pool of 35 probables.Kaur and Gayakwad are understood to be clinically fit, but their ability to sustain workload for the longer formats is yet to be assessed, especially of Kaur, who is currently serving a mandatory six-day quarantine in the Bengaluru bubble. Given the squad for the Australia assignment was finalised on Monday, the possibility of deferring a decision on the inclusion of Kaur and Gayakwad was off the table. They are both, however, expected to train ahead of India’s departure on August 29.The injection of pace in Thakur and Meghna aligns with head coach Ramesh Powar’s thrust on widening the fast-bowling pool ahead of next year’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand.Yastika had got her maiden India call-up in March, for the limited-overs series against South Africa in Lucknow, but she warmed the bench all through.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Wicketkeeper-batter Indrani Roy, top-order batter Priya Punia, and medium-pacer Simran Bahadur, who were part of the 21-member squad that toured England in June-July, have been left out. None of them featured in the playing XI in any of the matches against England.India have also decided to split the wicketkeeping duties, with Taniya Bhatia selected for the Test and ODIs, and Richa Ghosh chosen for the T20Is.Before picking the final squad, the five-member selection panel met with Powar and several senior players in Bengaluru. Selectors Neetu David and V Kalpana are expected to be in the touring party to Australia, where the visitors will serve a mandatory 14-day hard quarantine. Meanwhile, Gargi Banerjee, the India manager for the tour of Australia, entered the biobubble in Bengaluru on Tuesday after a two-day delay, and is likely to be in quarantine through the best part of this week. She was felicitated in Kolkata on Saturday by the Cricket Association of Bengal for her appointment, causing the delay.India will begin the tour with three ODIs, after which they will play a day-night Test. There will be three T20Is to conclude the tour.Only Test and ODIs squad: Mithali Raj (capt), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-capt), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

Derbyshire 205 (Bamber 5-41) and 42 for 1 need 292 more runs to beat Middlesex 282 and 256 (Robson 52) A last-wicket stand of 58 between Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh leaves Derbyshire needing the fifth-highest run chase in their history ahead of day four at Lord’s.The two pacemen missed eclipsing Middlesex’s 10th-wicket record against Derbyshire of 66 set three years ago, but their effort carried the hosts to 256 all out, a lead of 333, Alex Thomson taking 3 for 71.Murtagh then removed Luis Reece as somehow Derbyshire limped to 42 for 1 in an absorbing last session truncated by bad light, still needing 292 for victory.Earlier, Ethan Bamber took Derbyshire’s last first-innings wicket to record a career-best 5 for 41.Bamber needed just five balls to register his landmark, having Sam Conners caught at mid-wicket.Middlesex, leading by 77 made the worst possible start as Mark Stoneman, on debut and on a pair, shouldered arms to the first ball of the innings from Conners and lost his off stump.It was the cue for a frenetic second innings effort from the hosts, who constantly seemed in too much of a hurry to build on their advantage.Stephen Eskinazi’s boundary-sprinkled cameo ended with an ugly shot caught at point and first innings centurion Robbie White fenced at a wide one to be caught behind for nought.Sam Robson was the exception, leaving well outside off stump and driving bad balls to the boundary on both sides of the wicket.This mix of judgement and aggression took him to 50 in 55 balls with nine fours as he shared a half-century stand with Max Holden for the fourth wicket.But on 52, Robson suffered a rush of blood, charging off-spinner Thomson who bowled him through the gate.Holden and Martin Andersson each threatened to establish dominance only to fall for 44 and 41 respectively, the latter the second of two wickets in seven balls for Anuj Dal as the Seaxes slumped to 198 for 9.But Murtagh and Roland-Jones (33 not out) wrestled back control with a mix of good running and aggression.Inspired by his 31, Murtagh then removed Luis Reece for a duck via an edge through to John Simpson and 46 balls passed before a run was scored as Billy Godleman and Tom Wood clung on amid numerous appeals like wounded boxers in need of the bell.Relief came with Middlesex forced to bowl spin before a second interruption for bad light brought play to a close 11 overs early.

What was essentially a dead rubber looked like slipping away from Royal Challengers Bangalore at 55 for 3 halfway into a chase of 165 against Delhi Capitals. But then two catches slipped through the hands of Shreyas Iyer and R Ashwin, and Glenn Maxwell made the most of the lives to set the scene for a blockbuster finish from KS Bharat.It was still anybody’s game when Royal Challengers needed 19 off 12 balls. Anrich Nortje, who had taken out both Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in his first two overs, stepped up once again, bowling a four-run penultimate over to leave Royal Challengers needing 15 off the final over, bowled by Avesh Khan.

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Maxwell found the boundary off the first ball and followed it with a double to notch up his fourth half-century in his last five innings. The third ball was a terrific inswinging yorker which smashed Maxwell’s boot, but he survived again because this had pitched outside leg stump. A leg-bye put Bharat on strike and the next ball was a swing and a miss. Two off the penultimate ball, thanks to a misfield from Axar Patel in the outfield, eventually left Royal Challengers needing six off the last ball. Avesh went searching for another leg-stump yorker, but ended up bowling a full-toss down the leg side for a wide.Avesh whisked short fine leg back for the last ball and went for another yorker, but it came out as a full-toss again, this time on the stumps. Bharat lined it up and pumped it over long-on to provide a throwback to Arun Karthik’s last-ball six for Royal Challengers in the Champions League T20 a decade ago.Perhaps if Royal Challengers had batted first and adopted a no-holds barred batting approach like Mumbai Indians had done in Abu Dhabi, their slimmest of chances of making the top two might have stayed alive a tad longer. Match practice and fine-tuning aside, the game was dead from the moment they decided to bowl. Next, they will run into Kolkata Knight Riders in the eliminator, while Capitals will face Chennai Super Kings in the first qualifier.The Dhawan-Shaw show
Virat Kohli had thrown the new ball to Maxwell, giving him a crack at Shikhar Dhawan, but the left-hander picked him off for 15 off eight. Prithvi Shaw, who had managed scores of 11, 10, 6, 18 in his first four innings in the UAE this IPL, hit form by driving and punching on the up in the powerplay, which yielded 55 runs overall for Capitals.Shaw also lined up Yuzvendra Chahal for a pair of sixes, but the legspinner dangled one outside the batter’s eyeline and found sharp dip to have him holing out to sweeper cover for 48 off 31 balls. Dhawan too had fallen by then, with Harshal Patel tricking him with his trademark loopy offcutter for 45 off 35 balls.Having copped a George Garton beamer on his shoulder, Dhawan was spotted with an icepack after his dismissal and subsequently he didn’t take the field in the chase.3:53

Gambhir: Bharat did a fabulous job for RCB

The middle order doesn’t show up
After Dhawan and Shaw put on 88 together in the first ten overs, the pitch slowed down, as did the rest of the Capitals batting line-up. They could muster only 76 in the second chunk of their innings, with Mohammed Siraj and the slower bowlers hiding the ball away from their swinging arcs. Dan Christian bounced out Rishabh Pant before Siraj had both Shreyas Iyer and Shimron Hetmyer holing out. Ripal Patel, who had retained his spot in the XI ahead of an overseas option, also couldn’t get the ball away at the death, getting a run-a-ball seven.Bharat, Maxwell punish sloppy Capitals
With the Royal Challengers openers falling cheaply, AB de Villiers came in as early as the third over and began a repair job with a run-a-ball 26. Axar dismissed de Villiers in the tenth over and could’ve got Maxwell (twice) soon after had Ashwin and Iyer had not dropped those chances. Having been reprieved on 6 and 16, Maxwell showed off his range once again, slogging and reverse-slogging his way to an unbeaten 51 off 33.As for Bharat, he was a more sedate presence in the early exchanges against high pace, but then laid into Axar’s left-arm darts, taking him for 25 off just nine balls.With two right-handers in the middle, Ashwin bowled just a solitary over, which cost Capitals 11 runs. Ripal stepped in for Ashwin with his medium-pace, giving up 22 in his three overs. Nortje maintained his machine-line accuracy at the death, but Avesh had a rare off day as Bharat finished off the league phase of IPL 2021 with a last-ball six.

Sydney Sixers have been left “a little bewildered” that they have been unable to secure permission for Erin Burns to join their squad in either Adelaide or Mackay which means she will miss the entire WBBL unless Sixers are able to host home finals.Burns, who has been capped six times by Australia, had made herself unavailable for the start of the competition in Hobart to be able to spend time at home following her stint at the Hundred which had required two weeks quarantine on return.It had been hoped that she could join the team in Launceston and when that wasn’t an option the club attempted to secure other routes but nothing has worked.”We tried all that we could, but it was to no avail,” Cricket NSW’s interim head of female cricket, Clare Crewdson, said. “We are disappointed for Erin and her team-mates and a little bewildered as to why we were unable to achieve what other sports have, by moving players and families across borders to fulfil their jobs.”But at the end of the day we respect the decisions and processes implemented by State Governments and feel for those people locked out of states that are unable to see family and friends.”Although New South Wales and Victoria have started to open to each other as vaccination rates rise, there remain significant border restrictions to other states which are expected to last until December for most areas.Sixers have said that if they are able to host a final at home – Cricket Australia has left the option open should restrictions allow in late November – that Burns could rejoin the squad.”I’m gutted I can’t join the Sixers because WBBL is always such a highlight of the season and so not to be able to pull on the magenta with the girls is devastating,” she said. “I have so much confidence in this group to do a great job and I will be following closely.”Sixers are currently sixth in the table with two wins from their first five matches.