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The Blaze 256 for 6 (67, K Bryce 66) beat Durham Women 252 for 9 (Villiers 79, Windsor 54) by four wicketsThe Blaze clinched their place in the semi-finals of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup women’s competition after overcoming Durham Women by four wickets at Trent Bridge.Half-centuries by Ireland international Orla Prendergast (67 off 79) and Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce (66 from 72) broke the back of a 253-run target, the two allrounders adding 107 in 109 balls for the third wicket before experienced England allrounder Georgia Elwiss finished the job with an unbeaten 46 from 45.Half-centuries from Mady Villiers, who hit a career-best 79 from 88 balls including 12 fours, and Emily Windsor (54 from 75) helped Durham Women to 252 for 9 from their 50 overs after opting to bat first.A home semi-final next Wednesday will be guaranteed if The Blaze win at bottom-of-the-table Essex on Saturday. Durham could still finish in the top four by beating Surrey at home on Saturday, but would need other results to go their way.Elwiss, Kathryn Bryce and Kirstie Gordon took two wickets each for The Blaze, spinners Katie Levick and Villiers doing likewise for Durham.On a sunny morning, the visitors had suffered an early setback when Emma Marlow slipped when sent back and was run out. They finished the opening powerplay strongly to be 47 for 2 but had lost captain and key batter Hollie Armitage, caught at gully off a delivery that climbed on her late.Mia Rogers made 25 before chipping to extra cover but Durham looked well placed at 107 for 3 from 25.Villiers pulled Lucy Higham’s offspin for her ninth four in reaching 53 from 56 balls, finding the rope again in the same over. She picked up two more boundaries to pass her previous best of 70 in this format.Yet the home attack were disciplined enough to stifle Durham’s efforts to increase their scoring rate and began to reap rewards.Skipper Gordon broke the Villiers-Windsor partnership at 75 when Villiers, going back, was beaten by her left-arm spin and bowled. Elwiss, nigglingly accurate, bowled Bess Heath for her 200th wicket in women’s List A cricket.Windsor completed her half-century from 69 balls but had added only four more when she was stumped off Gordon. Phoebe Turner pulled Grace Ballinger for an impressive six over the longer boundary but was trapped in front by Elwiss.From 210 for 7 in the 45th, Durham’s cause was helped by Katherine Fraser slog-sweeping back-to-back sixes off Kathryn Bryce before miscueing Ballinger to backward point. Bryce bowled Grace Thompson but Levick and Sophia Turner scrambled another 14 off the last 11 balls.The Blaze matched Durham’s 10-over score for one wicket fewer at 47 for one, leg-spinner Levick having bowled Georgie Boyce off her front pad.Sarah Bryce was caught behind off Phoebe Turner but Prendergast clubbed Levick over the legside boundary to bring up a 50-stand with Kathryn Bryce from 45 balls and by the halfway point The Blaze were well on course to attain their target at 130 for two, a brace of boundaries off Phoebe Turner taking Bryce to her sixth half-century of the competition.Prendergast lofted Levick for a second maximum as she reached 54 from 60 balls, the partnership eventually ended when Bryce backed away to cut Levick and was bowled, leaving 82 needed in 19 overs.That had come down to 48 off 13 when Prendergast picked out deep midwicket. Michaela Kirk was caught behind chasing a third boundary in four deliveries off Villiers and Ella Claridge was bowled by Fraser but Elwiss, who at 34 years old has topped 900 all-format runs in her debut season for The Blaze, made sure there was no nervy finish.

Jake Weatherald believes maturing as a player and a cricketer has helped put him on the cusp of a Test debut he feared may never come.An aggressive left-hander, Weatherald has been picked in Australia’s 15-man squad for the first Ashes Test in Perth following a stunning career revival in Tasmania.Darwin-raised, Weatherald’s first-class career started brightly in South Australia, before a form slump and mental health challenges ended in him being dropped from the Sheffield Shield team.Related

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But having scored 1391 runs at 53.5 from his past 15 first-class games since his move to Tasmania, the 31-year-old is a chance to open the batting for Australia this summer.”Playing for Australia’s the hardest thing to do in Australian sport,” Weatherald said in Hobart on Friday. “It was always a goal that felt maybe a little bit out of reach at times.”But at the same time, I probably got comfortable with myself to know that if I did the right things, at the right time, and I took my opportunities, then I’d be ready to go. It is a pinch-yourself moment.”As a kid in Australia, you grow up wanting to play professional sport; representing Australia in cricket is the highest honour, and something that I’ve aspired to my whole career.”If selectors decide to go with Weatherald, he will partner with Usman Khawaja at the top. Khawaja raised eyebrows last week when he firmly backed in his Queensland team-mate Matt Renshaw to earn an Australian recall.But Weatherald, who was getting coffee with mates when George Bailey rang with the good news, laughed off the comments, with Khawaja fully behind the newest member of the Australian squad. Khawaja joined in the fun with a “Who this?” reply to a clip of Weatherald’s interview with the .”He didn’t have me in four days ago,” Weatherald joked when asked about Khawaja now backing him to play. “You get the backing of someone like that who’s played so much first-class cricket, so much Test cricket.Jake Weatherald had been a stand out in domestic cricket•Getty Images

“He’s made so many hundreds for Australia and is such a respected cricketer within our community. I’d be really excited to partner up with him at some point.”Speaking to Fox Cricket on Thursday, Khawaja said: “He’s been knocking the door down. I’ve played a lot of cricket against him…he’s a terrific player. Conditions last year were pretty hard at Shield cricket, and he was a standout.”Weatherald’s hopes of getting into the XI could hinge on allrounder Cameron Green being able to bowl enough overs in the next Shield game for Western Australia. Labuschagne will almost certainly be back after finding form following his axing for the three Tests in the West Indies.Green batted at No.3 in the Caribbean, but could shuffle down to No.6 to accommodate Labuschagne, as well as Weatherald as an opener, if he is able to justify his position as a genuine allrounder.But Labuschagne opening, as he did unsuccessfully in the World Test Championship final, also remains an option for selectors.Green is the only member of Australia’s squad aged under 30, leading to ‘Dad’s Army’ jibes from the English. But Weatherald is confident he is only in contention for Australia because of how he has matured as a cricketer.”People laugh about it, talking about the old team that we have,” Weatherald said. “But the same time, I think that’s the biggest blessing is we’ve all matured as cricketers.Jake Weatherald’s career was transformed last season with over 900 Shield runs•Getty Images

“We’ve got to a point in our careers where we understand our games and how to handle the media, how to handle the pressures of playing first-class cricket. Hopefully that keeps me in good stead.”When the squad was announced, Bailey spoke about Weatherald’s positive approach with the bat, something the selectors have been looking for since David Warner’s retirement, but while Weatherald will bring his natural game to Test cricket he is also willing to adapt.”I think the way I operate is probably around that [being positive],” he said. “But at the same time, I’m not too preconceived about what I want to do. I feel adaptable. I don’t feel like a one-gear player. I feel like I can do different things.”If that means I have to lock in and bat a day and score 50 runs, that’s the best thing for the team and the conditions, that’s what I’ll do. But at the same time, if the opportunity is there, I’ll definitely take it.”Weatherald, who reflected on the 2005 Ashes as “his first fond memory of cricket”, is also confident of being able to deal with everything Ashes cricket will throw at him.”I think so, in terms of my mindset,” he said. “I think I’m pretty understanding of what I need to do to get ready as a cricketer but also how to deal with the pressure that comes out. I’ve never been a part of it. I’ve only been from the outside looking in. I’m sure the pressures and things that will come will be intense. But at the same time, I just see it as a great opportunity to be a part of it. And whatever happens, happens. It’s just going to be a cool thing to be a part of.”You know, the media, the Barmy Army, all that sort of stuff is going to be a pretty incredible experience.”

England have defended their limited Ashes preparation ahead of the start of their warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill in Perth on Thursday. The three-day match-up is England’s only match practice ahead of next Friday’s first Test at Optus Stadium, which assistant coach Marcus Trescothick described as “the way of the modern game”.Ashes tours have historically started with a series of warm-up fixtures between travelling squads and either domestic or invitational teams, but they have been greatly reduced in recent series as boards look to streamline schedules.England have largely eschewed warm-up fixtures since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as head coach and captain, preferring training camps and intra-squad matches, but have generally started series strongly. They have won all the first Test in each of their last five overseas tours, including in India, Pakistan and New Zealand last year.”It’s the way that the series are generally done – for us and for other opposition teams – around the world nowadays,” Trescothick told reporters in Perth on Tuesday. “With the volume of cricket that’s played [elsewhere], you don’t have the time for preparations like potentially playing two or three first-class games, which has happened in the past.”I think you generally roll with a prep game, or some facilities – whatever you have available – and you go from there. Of course, most of the guys have been playing in New Zealand for us. Some of the guys have come out from England, but it’s the way of the modern game nowadays.”Michael Vaughan, who opened the batting with Trescothick on England’s 2002-03 tour to Australia, has questioned the value in playing on a club ground which will “bounce really low” ahead of the first Test on an Optus Stadium which is expected to be fast with steep bounce.Related

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But Trescothick said England were “very happy” with their preparation: “We’ve had facilities here with the nets, and obviously then the nets out in the middle, and then we’ve got the preparation game here as well.”In my day, playing at the Waca was very unique and very different, but you prepare yourself for those sorts of changes in facilities and pitches as you go along. We’ll have three days of prep at Optus, just to get used to pitches and we go along with that, and we’ll go from there. We’re very happy at the moment.”Ben Duckett, who will open the batting in next week’s first Test, arrived in Perth last week and said that facing England’s fast bowlers in the nets has provided “pretty good” preparation following a white-ball tour to New Zealand.”I don’t know what the right answer is,” Duckett told the podcast. “We play a lot of cricket at the minute, and we’ve obviously just come off the back of our summer. We’re certainly not lacking any gametime.”I don’t make those plans, but I’m pretty happy getting ready in the nets. If we’re facing Jofra [Archer], Woody [Mark Wood] and those guys everyday, I think that will be pretty good prep.”England’s preparation has been heavily criticised by former players, with Ian Botham suggesting their slimline schedule “borders on arrogance”. It stands in clear contrast to Australia’s build-up, with 14 members of their 15-man squad for the first Test involved in the ongoing round of Sheffield Shield fixtures.

Alick Athanaze credited West Indies’ bowlers for rescuing the team after another night of unforced errors in Chattogram with the bat and in the field, as they sealed their first T20I series win in 14 months.The opener’s fifty and 105-run stand with Shai Hope set up a strong platform, but West Indies collapsed from 106 for 1, losing 8 for 43 and leaving Bangladesh chasing a modest total. Four dropped catches made matters worse, yet the bowlers bailed West Indies out. The 150 that Bangladesh fell short of was lowest target they had ever failed to chase in Chattogram. Athanaze said West Indies’ bowlers controlled the scoring in the powerplay, which helped them build run-rate pressure on Bangladesh.”Our bowlers showed their class again,” Athanaze said. “We bowled very well. They showed why we are one of the best T20 sides in the world.”I felt the pitch got better. The dew has a lot of effect on the pitch. We took the total in our stride. We wanted to make a good start with the ball. We weren’t the best in the field, but the bowlers showed their class. They picked up wickets and restricted them.Related

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“Once you control the powerplay, it gets difficult (to score) when the field is spread. We tried our best to utilise our bowlers. We know they are not big power-hitters down the ground, so we tried our best to plan for them.”Tanzid Hasan, who also scored a fifty, felt Bangladesh should have chased down their target. He said the batters would themselves have to find a way out of the run-scoring struggle that they’ve now endured for a considerable length of time.”I thought regardless of the wicket, we should have chased 150,” Tanzid said. “It was the batters’ failure. We couldn’t take responsibility. I think it was a bad day for the batters. I think we have to find a way to minimise playing dot balls. We haven’t achieved consistency of late. The batting is not clicking. We have to find ways to rotate strike and play bigger knocks. The batters have to find a way out of this.”Tanzid Hasan played a crucial hand in the first half of Bangladesh’s chase•AFP/Getty Images

Many of Bangladesh’s batters in this game looked to be caught in two minds. Jaker Ali’s return to the side was riddled with questions given his form. He made 17 off 18 balls at a stage when the asking run-rate was rapidly rising. Tanzid said he tried to remind Jaker about his Player-of-the-Match performance in the third T20I in Kingstown last year.”Jaker helped us win in the West Indies,” Tanzid said. “I told him that he had won us a game against West Indies, so he can do it again. I told him that if we stuck together as a pair, we could have won the game. I think I had the bigger responsibility, but I couldn’t perform up to expectations.”We have a world-class bowling department. They usually restrict the opposition on any wicket. The batters must follow how the bowlers have helped the team and taken the team forward. Responsibility is for everyone in the team. We have to do well as a batting unit.”Athanaze also praised the Bangladesh bowling attack and fielding.”You have to give credit to the Bangladeshi bowlers,” he said. “A lot of emphasis is on us not batting well but I felt they bowled really well. They spun the ball and bowled slower. In his first and second spells, Rishad Hossain understood how to bowl on this wicket. It also gave us the indication how to bowl as well. They bowled very well in the back end. They caught very well too.”The final T20I of the series is in Chattogram on Friday.

Nick Kelly and Joe Carter will captain a young New Zealand A squad touring South Africa this month, with the team set to play three one-dayers and two four-day matches.Kelly, who will take charge of the white-ball side, and Carter, set to lead in the red-ball fixtures, head a 15-player squad with an average age of just 25. The squad includes ten New Zealand internationals.Among the most notable names are Muhammad Abbas, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Bevon Jacobs, and Rhys Mariu – all of whom have impressed on the international stage over the past six months.Related

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Foulkes starred on Test debut in Zimbabwe, taking a record-breaking 9 for 75 – the best figures by a New Zealander on debut. Abbas set a record in March for the fastest half-century on ODI debut, smashing one in 26 balls against Pakistan.Wicketkeeper-batter Hay was a regular feature in New Zealand’s white-ball squads last summer, setting a T20I world record with six dismissals in a single innings and rescuing New Zealand with an unbeaten 99 in an ODI against Pakistan in Hamilton.Jacobs and Mariu have both impressed in limited international appearances, with Jacobs hitting an unbeaten 44 on T20I debut and Mariu scoring an ODI fifty in just his second game.Two changes have been made from the New Zealand A squad that toured Bangladesh earlier this year, with Jacobs and Test quick Matt Fisher coming in. Auckland pacer Simon Keene and Jacobs are the only players in the squad yet to appear for New Zealand A.Joe Carter will lead in the red-ball fixtures•Mallikarjuna/KSCA

Keene, 22, has impressed in domestic cricket with a first-class century and three five-wicket hauls in just 21 matches for Auckland.One player missing from the squad is Northern Districts allrounder Kristian Clarke, who was unavailable for selection after suffering a side strain during a recent New Zealand A camp.The team will be coached by Northern Districts assistant coach Daniel Flynn, who takes on the head coach role for the first time. He will be supported by NZC high-performance coaches Bob Carter and Graeme Aldridge.Flynn, a former international himself, is relishing the opportunity to lead a side filled with both emerging and established talent.”It’s an exciting blend,” Flynn said. “We have guys who’ve already had a taste of international cricket, and experienced domestic cricketers who are trying to push their case for that next level. “While development is a key focus, Flynn stressed that the team is also heading to South Africa with a strong emphasis on performance. “We’re obviously going there to perform and win games of cricket,” he said. “But we’re also conscious of balancing that with the development of the guys and the opportunity the tour presents for them.”The squad departs for South Africa on August 24, with the tour set to begin on Saturday, August 30.New Zealand A squad: Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Joe Carter (red-ball captain), Josh Clarkson, Matt Fisher, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Curtis Heaphy, Bevon Jacobs, Simon Keene, Nick Kelly (white-ball captain), Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Rhys Mariu, Dale Phillips.

Pakistan’s home series against Ireland has been postponed to 2027 due to scheduling concerns. The white-ball series, which comprises three T20Is and three ODIs, will no longer be held in its current September-October window. While it was initially expected to be moved further out in the season, ESPNcricinfo has learned it will instead be removed from this home season altogether, and moved to the next one, with both boards looking at alternate dates in 2027.The series, which would have been Ireland men’s first visit to Pakistan was initially announced in May 2024. At the time, it was expected to take place in the early part of Pakistan’s home season in 2025. When the PCB released its official season schedule, the series against Ireland was slotted in for September-October. At the time of writing, that remains the official schedule for the series on the PCB website.However, that window has become increasingly congested for Pakistan, who are currently playing a white-ball series against West Indies. At the end of this month, they take part in a tri-series involving UAE and Afghanistan.Related

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More significantly, the Asia Cup, the schedule and status of which was increasingly uncertain following a brief skirmish between India and Pakistan in May, was announced last week; it runs from September 9 to 28. With South Africa touring Pakistan for two Tests in early October, the window for the series against Ireland shrunk untenably.”We wanted to balance content and planning better across the two seasons,” PCB’s international cricket department told ESPNcricinfo. “It made more sense for us both to spread the fixtures further out as we already have substantial content leading into Asia Cup and then the World Cup.”Pakistan have a busy white-ball schedule this season with the T20 World Cup early next year. They have made little secret of their desire to play as much T20 cricket as possible, initially increasing the number of T20Is to a home series against Bangladesh at the expense of ODIs, before scheduling concerns resulted in their scrapping.They were also understood to be keen to turn the ongoing series against West Indies to be T20-only, though ESPNcricinfo understands there were other considerations behind that move. In addition, the T20I series against Afghanistan will now be a tri-series, adding further short-form fixtures to their calendar.Ireland do not have a fixture clash around the time the series was set to be played, though ESPNcricinfo understands the decision to postpone is mutual.