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Toby Roland-Jones, Mark Stoneman seize hold of Middlesex's must-win contest
Rapid five-wicket haul is followed by fast-paced fifty to leave Derbyshire on the ropes
ECB Reporters Network
17-Sep-2024
Middlesex 125 for 1 (Stoneman 79*, Holden 44*) trail Derbyshire 173 (Came 66, Roland-Jones 5-34) by 48 runs
Middlesex, trying to close a 15-point gap behind second-placed Yorkshire in the promotion race, utterly dominated an afternoon in Derby where the home side, attempting to overcome their own 19-point deficit to elude a first wooden spoon since 2016, lost six wickets for three runs in 43 balls.
With Toby Roland-Jones returning five for 34 in all, Derbyshire ignominiously sank from 130 for two to an eventual 173. The decline set in when Harry Came fell for 66 as the Middlesex captain extended his recent superb sequence to 36 wickets at 16.92 in six matches.
Full postYuzvendra Chahal leads the way as Leicestershire spun out
Indian leg spinner combined with Rob Keogh as seven Leicestershire wickets fell to spin on day one
ECB Reporters Network
17-Sep-2024
Northamptonshire 134 for 3 (Procter 38, Currie 2-26) trail Leicestershire 203 (Bundinger 56, Chahal 4-82)
Spin duo Yuzvendra Chahal and Rob Keogh combined forces again to share seven wickets and give Northamptonshire the upper hand on the opening day of their Vitality County Championship game against Leicestershire.
The pair, who bowled Northamptonshire to their first victory of the Division Two campaign last week, dismissed the visitors for 203 at Wantage Road, with Chahal taking 4 for 82 and Keogh 3 for 20. Opener Sol Budinger's 56 was the only score of note for Leicestershire, who opted to bat after winning the toss but struggled to get to grips with the home spinners.
Full postBrits, Kapp, Sekhukhune give South Africa 1-0 lead
Aliya Riaz and Fatima Sana tried to revive the chase from 47 for 5 but Pakistan eventually fell short by ten runs
Firdose Moonda
16-Sep-2024
South Africa 132 for 4 (Brits 56*, Luus 27, Iqbal 3-34) beat Pakistan 122 for 5 (Riaz 52*, Sana 37*, Sekhukhune 2-15, Kapp 2-22) by ten runs
Eighteen-year-old Seshnie Naidu enjoyed a dream T20I debut in Multan, taking a blinder of a catch at short fine leg and a wicket with her second ball as South Africa beat Pakistan by ten runs in the first match of a three-game series.
In the first ever T20I, men's or women's, played at this venue, South Africa did not get the "ten or 15 runs over 150" that captain Laura Wolvaardt hoped they would, and with Pakistan 47 for 5, it did not look like they needed it. But a strong effort from Aliya Riaz and new Pakistan captain Fatima Sana made a fist of things with an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 75 off 45 balls. That meant South Africa were made to work hard to defend their score and it did not help that they put down three catches, another area Wolvaardt earmarked for improvement.
Full postMubasir, Haider and spinners give Panthers comfortable win
Like the first four games of the tournament, the fifth match was also won by the side batting first
Danyal Rasool
16-Sep-2024
Panthers 283 (Mubasir 90, Haider 84, Daniyal 3-47, Shaheen 3-57) beat Lions 199 (Imam 60, Shadab 3-42, Mir 3-55) by 84 runs
Panthers claimed their second successive win, thanks to contributions of 90 and 84 from Mubasir Khan and Haider Ali and an all-round contribution from their captain Shadab Khan. A 144-run fifth-wicket partnership between Mubasir and Haider powered the team to 283. Lions did look well-placed just before the halfway mark in their chase with Imam-ul-Haq's second successive half-century guiding them to 127 for 3, before a collapse saw them lose their last seven wickets for 72 in 79 balls, giving the Panthers an 84-run win, and keeping Lions winless.
Panthers won the toss and batted first; that has been a winning formula all tournament and it did not change in the only day game of this competition. Sirajuddin and Shaheen Shah Afridi gave Lions a perfect start with four early wickets, reducing Shadab's side to 51 for 4, but a remarkable middle-order recovery got the innings back on track.
Full postIreland square T20I series after another final-over thriller
Mady Villiers nearly saves the day with the ball, after magnificent 80 from Orla Prendergast
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Sep-2024
Ireland 170 for 5 (Prendergast 80) beat England 169 for 8 (Beaumont 40) by five wickets
Ireland's women squared the T20I leg of their series against England in thrilling - and familiar - fashion at Clontarf, with Mady Villiers reprising her heroic efforts at the death in last week's third ODI, only for the contest to turn once again on a calamitous error in the field.
In Belfast on Wednesday, Villiers had engineered three wickets in as many balls, including a run-out, only for Hollie Armitage's final-ball misfield to gift Ireland their winning boundary. This time it was Villiers herself who was at fault, despite having once again claimed back-to-back bowled dismissals to leave Ireland needing two runs from two balls with a brand-new batter on strike.
Full postZahid, Salman, Iftikhar help Markhors skittle Stallions
Both teams endured collapses but Stallions' 8 for 26 was too big a slump in the end
Danyal Rasool
15-Sep-2024
Markhors 231 all out (Iftikhar 60, Agha 51, Jahandad 4-49) beat Stallions 105 all out (Babar 45, Mahmood 5-18, Agha 3-21) by 126 runs
Zahid Mahmood's five-for led Markhors to a crushing 126-run win over Stallions. Chasing 232 - the lowest target of the tournament by some distance - Stallions collapsed from the relative security to 79 for 2, losing their remaining eight wickets for 26. Iftikhar Ahmed and Salman Agha's middle order half-centuries got Markhors past the 200-mark in the first innings, with a clinical bowling performance preserving their perfect record.
The tournament looked set to get its first chasing winners when Shan Masood and Babar Azam were coasting through the opening powerplay. Babar dismantled Shahnawaz Dahani with five boundaries in his only over to underscore Stallions' dominance at that stage, bringing up the team fifty inside nine overs. But when Masood tried to cut away a Naseem Shah delivery that kept a shade low and ended up dragging it into his stumps, the game swiftly turned.
Full postRain forces England-Australia T20I decider to be abandoned
Wet weather swept across Old Trafford from early in the day which meant the series finished 1-1
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Sep-2024
England vs Australia - Match abandoned
The forecast for Manchester wasn't wrong as steady rain from early in the day forced the deciding T20I to be abandoned shortly after 4pm on a bleak Sunday. It meant England and Australia shared the spoils after the visitors were convincing winners in Southampton before England responded with a fine chase in Cardiff.
It was expected the two teams would recall key fast bowlers for this game: Jofra Archer and Josh Hazlewood had both been rested in Cardiff, and Australia left with only 11 players to select from with Mitchell Marsh ill. However, conditions meant XIs never got close to being named.
Full postMulani, Kotian share seven wickets in India A's big win
India A remain in contention to finish on top of the table heading into the final round
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Sep-2024
India A 290 (Mulani 89, Rana 4-51) and 380 for 3 (Pratham 122, Tilak 111) beat India D 183 (Padikkal 92, Khaleel 3-39) and 301 (Bhui 113, Kotian 4-73) by 186 runs
India A bounced back from a first-round defeat to record a 186-run win over the Shreyas Iyer-led India D to remain in contention to finish on top of the table heading into the final round of the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy.
Having set India D a target of 488, they were made to toil for 82 overs to earn an outright, with Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian playing key roles with the ball, picking up seven wickets between them. Mulani was named Player of the Match for his four wickets in the match along with his crucial first-innings 89 that helped India A set up the game.
Full postKamboj takes career-best eight-for, Gaikwad hits fifty as India C eke out draw
Kamboj's performance was among his most impactful yet in a nascent first-class career
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Sep-2024
India C 525 (Kishan 111, Suthar 82, Indrajith 78, Chahar 4-73, Mukesh 4-126) and 128 for 4 (Gaikwad 62, Patidar 42, Chahar 2-8) drew with India B 332 (Easwaran 157*, Jagadeesan 70, Kamboj 8-69)
Haryana seamer Anshul Kamboj's career-best haul of 8 for 69 and Ruturaj Gaikwad's second half-century of the match were the major highlights on a dull fourth day in Anantapur, as India C's second Duleep Trophy 2024-25 fixture petered to a tame draw.
Having begun the day on 309 for 7, India B were bowled out for 332 with Kamboj picking up all three wickets to fall. Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India B captain, carried his bat through and was unbeaten on 157 as his side conceded a 193-run lead early on the final day.
Full postUsman century, Hasnain five-for headline Panthers' win
Fifties from Qasim Akram and Sahibzada Farhan led Dolphins' spirited attempt in the chase but it wasn't enough
Danyal Rasool
14-Sep-2024
Panthers 328 (Usman 111, Shadab 65, Haider 63, Qadir 3-63) beat Dolphins 278 (Qasim 65, Farhan 52, Hasnain 5-74) by 50 runs
A century for Usman Khan and five wickets by Mohammad Hasnain inspired Panthers to their first win of the Champions One-Day Cup, beating Dolphins by 50 runs. A team batting effort that also saw quickfire half-centuries from Haider Ali and Shadab Khan helped them to 328, the third consecutive time in this competition the first innings saw a score in excess of 325. Qasim Akram's 65 and a half-century from Sahibzada Farhan led Dolphins to the most spirited attempt at a chase in this competition, but Hasnain ripping through the middle order meant they always looked a bit shy of the target.
Batting conditions have been easier in the first innings in Faisalabad thus far, and after being stung looking to chase in the opening game, Shadab had no hesitation batting first this time. His side wobbled in the early stages when Mir Hamza prised out both openers for single figures, but Usman and Haider's 103-run fifth-wicket partnership steered the ship back on course towards the huge first-innings total that has become characteristic of this season. Once again, the bowlers were unable to stem the flow of runs in the death overs, and though legspinner Usman Qadir did take three wickets in the final over, much of the damage had already been done.
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