He ripped through Tasmania on the second day in Hobart as the home side were forced to follow-on

AAP07-Mar-2025Michael Neser, the forgotten man of the Australian Test pace attack, reminded everyone of his capabilities at Tasmania’s expense.He ripped through the home team’s top order in their Sheffield Shield match on Friday, taking the first six wickets of the Tasmania first innings in a devastating nine-over spell after lunch – all the wickets coming in the space of 39 balls.Related

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Replying to Queensland’s first innings of 425 for 9 declared, Tasmania collapsed after lunch from 86 without loss and were dismissed for 161 at Bellerive Oval. Tasmania followed on and were still 194 runs behind with two days left.While Queensland and Tasmania started this penultimate round as the bottom two teams, a big win would keep one of them in the hunt to make the final against SA.Following Usman Khawaja’s century on Thursday, Neser’s command performance confirmed Queensland have the game by the throat.He snared 6 for 37 from 15 overs. It is his third Shield game back after a hamstring injury in November while playing for Australia A cruelled his hopes of a Test return this summer.The 34-year-old has played only two Tests, most recently against the West Indies in late 2022. Neser has had to bide his time, stuck in Australia’s pace-bowling queue behind Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland.He was faultless on Friday, always looking dangerous even when Tasmanian openers Nivethan Radhakrishnan and Jake Weatherald built their solid stand.Neser bowled Weatherald for a top score of 55 and took a wicket in each of his next three overs. When he trapped Radhakrishnan lbw for 39 and bowled Beau Webster, Tasmania were 122 for 6 and Queensland were in the box seat.Mark Steketee had Radhakrishnan caught behind for 24 late on day two, with Weatherald unbeaten on 39.Gabe Bell and Webster took three wickets apiece in Queensland’s first innings.

Milan Rathnayake, who is uncapped in white-ball internationals, also receives a call-up but his involvement depends on fitness

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jun-2025Left-arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka has returned to Sri Lanka’s ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh, having been unavailable for the Australia series in February due to injury. He replaces the now-injured Lahiru Kumara in the ODI squad.Also in the 16-member ODI squad is allrounder Milan Rathnayake, who has played five Tests but is uncapped in white-ball internationals. His involvement depends on fitness – he is out of the ongoing second Test against Bangladesh with a side strain, but is expected to have recovered by the time the ODIs begin, on July 2.Making a return on the batting front is wicketkeeper-batter Sadeera Samarawickrama, who last played for Sri Lanka in November 2024, and was dropped due to modest form. He essentially replaces Nuwanidu Fernando in the squad.Seamer Eshan Malinga also keeps his place, having had a good run with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2025. Asitha Fernando is the other fast bowler in the 16-member squad.The remainder of the squad is largely on expected lines. Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana lead the spin contingent, which also features legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay and left-arm spinning allrounder Dunith Wellalage. The likes of Avishka Fernando and Nishan Madushka are also competing for top-order spots, having been named in this squad.The first two ODIs will be played in Colombo, before the series moves to Pallekele on July 8. A three-match T20I series follows, with the first match on July 10 in Pallekele.

Sri Lanka’s ODI squad

Charith Asalanka (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kamindu Mendis, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranaga, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake, Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Eshan Malinga

Gloucestershire reply with gusto through Charlesworth and Phillips but still trail by 378

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay23-Jul-2025Gloucestershire 179 for 1 (Charlesworth 104*, Phillips 60*) trail Lancashire 557 (Green 160, Hartley 130, Hurst 106, Zaman 4-85) by 378 runsChris Green and Tom Hartley produced record-breaking performances with the bat as Lancashire assumed the upper hand on day two of the Rothesay County Championship Second Division match against Gloucestershire at the College Ground, Cheltenham.Both made their highest individual first-class scores, Green raising a superb 160 from 199 balls with 13 fours and eight sixes, and Hartley 130 via 153 deliveries with 14 fours and six sixes as the Red Rose county posted a formidable 557 in their first innings. Together, the pair staged Lancashire’s biggest ever ninth-wicket partnership of 212, eclipsing a long-standing record set by Australians Les Poidevine and Alexander Kermode in a match against Sussex in Eastbourne way back in 1907.Opening-day centurion Matty Hurst made a career-best 106, while Gloucestershire seamer Zaman Akhter and spinner Graeme van Buuren claimed figures of 4 for 85 and 3 for 117 respectively as their side waged a campaign of damage limitation on an essentially sound if slow Festival pitch.Demonstrating character aplenty, Ben Charlesworth and Joe Phillips launched a spirited counter-attack thereafter, staging an impressive unbroken alliance of 159 in 43.3 overs as Gloucestershire reached the close on 179 for 1, trailing by 378 runs. Charlesworth produced a dazzling display of stroke-play to score the fastest century of the match so far and finish on 104 not out, while Phillips played the supporting role to perfection, posting a stubborn undefeated 60 from 135 deliveries to dampen Lancashire’s hopes of forcing a second consecutive victory in the red-ball format.Again without the services of injured paceman Marchant de Lange, Gloucestershire deployed four spinners, van Buuren taking two wickets in four balls to check northern progress after Lancashire resumed on 290 for 6.Hurst had added just one run to his overnight career-best 105 when he pursued a wide delivery and sliced to Akhter at backward point, while Jack Blatherwait miss-timed a drive and skied to mid-off as the visitors slipped to 302 for 8.That was as good as it got for Gloucestershire. Pulling and driving with growing confidence, Green raised 50 from 87 balls and, together with Hartley, helped secure a third batting bonus point. Putting Todd Murphy under pressure for the first time, Green pulled the Australian Test spinner for two successive sixes over mid-wicket, in the process causing some among a healthy Festival audience to seek cover. No slouch himself and especially strong off the back foot, Hartley also opened his shoulders to good effect as the eighth wicket alliance realised 50 inside 12 overs.Green raised the hundred partnership in 151 balls with an imposing six over square leg off Singh Dale as Lancashire went past 400.Hartley brought up his 50 via 78 balls with a single on the leg side off Singh Dale as Lancashire reached lunch on 415 for 8. Their partnership was already the highest for the ninth wicket for Lancashire in matches against Gloucestershire, improving upon the 107 staged jointly by Billy Tyldesley and Bill Huddlestone at the Spa Ground, Gloucester in 1914 and by Alan Wharton and Malcolm Hilton at Blackpool in 1951.Tom Hartley celebrates his maiden first-class hundred•Getty Images

Green went to his hundred from 156 balls in the first over after lunch, the Australian driving Murphy through the off-side for the ninth four of an increasingly authoritative innings. When Hartley nudged a ball from Murphy into the covers and ran a single to move the score onto 445 for 8, he and Green had established a new Lancashire record ninth-wicket partnership. The occasion was marked by a gentle ripple of applause from a small handful of aficionados in front of the pavilion.By now slog-sweeping with impunity, Green plundered a further two sixes off Murphy to establish his highest first class score, surpassing the 121 made against Derbyshire at Chesterfield last month. Not to be upstaged, Hartley posted a career-best score of his own moments later, eclipsing the 73 not out made against Essex at Chelmsford in 2023. Green’s sixth six at the expense of Murphy carried him to a maiden 150 and, six runs later, he claimed the highest score by a Lancashire number eight, eclipsing the 155 mustered by Wasim Akram and Glenn Chapple in 1998 and 2001 respectively.Amid the blizzard of landmarks was a small success for the home side, Charlesworth bowling Green to offer respite. It proved short-lived, Hartley driving Charlesworth to the long-off boundary to register his maiden hundred from 145 balls with his 13th four later in the same over. The England spinner then launched a murderous offensive, smashing a further 29 runs in eight balls, including a quartet of sixes, before hoisting Charlesworth to long-off.Gloucestershire’s suffering continued, Cameron Bancroft shuffling in front of a straight delivery from Jimmy Anderson as the home side lost their first wicket with 20 on the board. Charlesworth and Joe Phillips mustered stubborn resistance thereafter, as tea was taken with the score 59 for 1.Charlesworth then went to a 54-ball half century in style, straight-driving Hartley for six as the second wicket pair continued to frustrate the bowling in the final session.Phillips offered staunch support, eschewing risk and compiling steadily as the Kookaburra ball softened. The hundred partnership occupied 161 balls, after which Charlesworth allowed his natural attacking instincts to take over, the 24-year-old left hander going to his fourth career first-class hundred from just 123 balls with 16 fours and a six. Rather more sedate in his approach, Phillips raised a chanceless 50 from 111 deliveries.

Dan Lawrence battles with unbeaten 44 but weather has the final say in Superchargers’ campaign

Matt Roller30-Aug-2025It will be Trent Rockets, not Northern Superchargers, who face Oval Invincibles in Sunday’s Hundred final at Lord’s after a soggy night in south London ended in an abandonment. Showers delayed the start by 20 minutes, prompted two hour-long interruptions, and eventually wiped the game out altogether, with Rockets progressing by virtue of their higher group-stage finish.The final call came at 9.52pm, nearly four hours yet only 80 legal balls after the scheduled 6pm start. Rockets twice started to chase adjusted targets – 134 off 75, then 105 off 55 – only for the drizzle to turn into rain, and the crowd had thinned by the time a final heavy downpour prompted umpires James Middlebrook and Martin Saggers to finally pull the plug.The final will start barely 20 hours after the Eliminator ended, and a stop-start night hardly served ideal preparation. “It’s been a long day… I thought you had to wait until the rain stops before you start,” reflected Rockets’ Marcus Stoinis, who removed Harry Brook and David Miller before the rain took over. “It’s a bit of chaos, but I think it will be fine.”Invincibles, by contrast, have had since Monday to prepare for Sunday’s final as table-toppers, and will welcome back Stoinis’ close friend Adam Zampa as a handy replacement for Rashid Khan. Jordan Cox and Sam Curran helped them to surge home against Rockets in the stand-out match of the group stage, and they are gunning for a third successive title.David Willey struck with his third ball to remove Zak Crawley•ECB/Getty Images

“It was a good contest last time,” Stoinis said of their meeting at The Oval earlier this month. “We probably had the better of them for the majority of that game and they played really well. Credit to them for winning… It was some of the best hitting that there’s been in any cricket, really. But to be honest, we haven’t really thought about it – we haven’t had a chance!”This was a cruel end for Brook’s Superchargers, but one they could have avoided. These two teams were level on points heading into the final week of the group stage, but Superchargers lost their last fixture on Tuesday, and Rockets clinched second place with a win on Wednesday. With no reserve day for the Eliminator, it proved enough for them.”I think everybody in the world knew that was going to happen,” Brook said, ruefully. “Everyone saw the forecast was going to be shocking from about five or six o’clock. It is what it is. We can’t do anything about it.”It’s easy to say loads of things when you’re sat on the losing side. You could say we could have played last night, knowing that it was going to rain tonight; or we could have brought the game earlier, say the girls play at 11 and we play at 2. But this is how they’ve set the schedule… There’s so many things you could say.”Harry Brook was cleaned up by Marcus Stoinis•ECB/Getty Images

Rockets shaded the limited action there was, with captain David Willey setting the tone after winning what looked like an important toss. He struck with his third ball, which Zak Crawley edged to slip, and frontloaded his 20-ball allocation into the first 40 in the knowledge that the innings was unlikely to last its scheduled duration.Dan Lawrence top-scored with an unbeaten 44 from No. 3 around cameos from Dawid Malan and David Miller as Superchargers reached 76 for 3 after 50 balls at the first rain break, and 119 for 5 after 75 at the second. Lawrence was unusually due to keep wicket, but the discarded Michael Pepper took the gloves as a substitute fielder after Malan tweaked a muscle.After the first long delay, Jacob Duffy pushed the first ball of Rockets’ chase past Tom Banton’s pad; after the second, Banton slashed him over slip for four and picked up four leg-byes from an attempted scoop. But no sooner had Matthew Potts removed his cap to bowl the second set, than the rain returned with a vengeance, sending Superchargers’ season down the drain.

Victory over Derbyshire not enough to qualify for knockouts as Hampshire’s win at Bristol denies Essex third place

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025Essex 366 for 6 (Westley 118, Benkenstein 74, Allison 64) beat Derbyshire 322 for 9 (Came 139, Montgomery 108, Critchley 3-63) by 44 runs

Harry Came’s highest List A score of 139 from 120 balls was in vain as Derbyshire Falcons lost to Essex by 44 runs in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup Group A game at the Central Co-op County Ground.But victory for Essex was not enough to qualify for the knock-out stages as Hampshire’s win at Bristol denied them a third-place finish.Came shared a second-wicket stand of 225 from 178 balls with Matt Montgomery, who made 108 off 91, but once Simon Harmer (2 for 45) broke through, the Falcons’ chase of 367 stalled as former Derbyshire all-rounder Matt Critchley claimed 3 for 63.The home side finished on 322 for 9 with all-rounder Martin Andersson unable to bat after injuring a hand in the field.Essex’s 366 for 6 was built around Tom Westley’s 118 from 110 balls, 74 off 48 by Luc Benkenstein and Charlie Allison’s 64 with Zak Chappell taking 2 for 64.Essex chose to bat on a pitch which was used for Friday’s high-scoring game against Surrey and lost Critchley in the second over.Critchley made only 2 on his return to Derby for the first time since he left the county four years ago when he missed a full length ball from Ben Aitchison.Paul Walter marked his first List A game since 2021 by flicking Rory Haydon over the deep square leg boundary and pulled the young spinner Joe Hawkins for two sixes in the 14th over.The Falcons were relieved to see him get a big leading edge to mid-off in the next over but Westley and Allison were soon finding the ropes or clearing them with regularity.After Westley went to his 50 from 60 balls, Allison reached his off 46 by dispatching Hawkins for successive sixes.Hawkins failed to cling on to a difficult chance running back from mid-off when Allison was on 57 but the Falcons broke the stand three overs later.Allison tried to drive the medium pace of Amrit Basra over cover but Caleb Jewell took a good catch above his head.Westley edged a drive at Jack Morley to reach his 100 which came off 98 balls and contained 14 fours and a six but was well caught at deep midwicket off Haydon in the 42nd over.Benkenstein initially struggled to beat the fielders but when he found his range, he did so spectacularly, driving and pulling Haydon for six to reach 50 from 38 balls.He dispatched Morley for two more sixes before a mistimed pull was taken at long on but Harmer’s unbeaten 29 off 20 balls took Essex to an imposing total.The Falcons’ chase started badly when Charlie Bennett moved one in to bowl Jewell in the third over but Came and Montgomery got them back on track.Came advanced to drive Jamie Porter for six and then Montgomery dismissed a free hit over wide long on for another maximum.Montgomery nudged Harmer to the third boundary to reach 50 from 37 balls with Benkenstein’s leg-spin coming in for some harsh treatment.Came completed his 50 off 61 balls and after 25 overs, the game was in the balance with the Falcons on 168 for 1, needing another 199.Essex were struggling to exert any control with Came driving Critchley for six, the pair reaching their hundreds in consecutive overs as the 200 stand came up off 163 balls.Harmer made the breakthrough when Montgomery dragged a drive into his stumps and four balls later he turned one through Basra’s defence.Came drove Shane Snater for six but Essex struck again when Walter’s throw from cover ran out Brooke Guest, leaving the Falcons to score 90 from the last 10 overs.Critchley gave the contest a decisive twist when he bowled Chappell and with the asking rate above 10 an over, Came was stumped to end the Falcons hopes.