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Australia’s hopes of having Michael Neser available if needed for the Adelaide or Brisbane Tests have evaporated because of the severity of his hamstring injury, but there is a glimmer of hope that Jhye Richardson could be considered as a back-up option later in the series if his carefully crafted return to first-class cricket remains on track.Neser, 34, suffered the injury on the opening day on the Australia A match against India A at the MCG and looks set to be sidelined until the start of Brisbane Heat’s BBL season on December 18. Neser was unlikely to be selected as Australia’s first-choice back-up seamer for the Perth Test even without the injury, with Scott Boland in line behind Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.Barring an injury in Perth, Australia are unlikely to need Boland for Adelaide given there is a nine-day break between the first and second Tests. But there is concern about the three-day turnaround between Adelaide and Brisbane, followed by a seven-day break to Boxing Day and then a three-day gap to Sydney. The quicks themselves and the team management have publicly stated that playing all five Tests without a change, as they did last year, is highly unlikely.Related

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If two of the quicks were to go down, as they did in the 2021-22 Ashes and 2022-23 summer, then Australia would need another fast bowler beyond Boland. Neser’s unavailability brings the likes of Nathan McAndrew and Sean Abbott into the frame. But it is understood there is hope that Richardson, 28, could be fit enough to be considered as he continues his careful buildback from injury and other physical issues.Richardson took 1 for 19 from five overs at the MCG on Wednesday in his fourth List A game so far this summer to go with two second XI matches. He will not play in Western Australia’s upcoming Sheffield Shield game against Victoria at the Junction Oval starting on Friday. But speaking after WA’s One-Day Cup loss, Richardson said he was hopeful he could play in WA’s day-night Shield game against South Australia at Adelaide Oval, strting November 23, which could also be Lance Morris’ first Shield game of the summer.”Pending selection, hopefully next game,” Richardson said. “I’m still waiting to see what sort of restriction and stuff is put on that. It’s a pink ball in Adelaide, and, you know, I like playing pink-ball games, so I’ve been pushing hard to get into that one, but we’ll see how we go. Obviously, the plan’s not 100% finalised.”Richardson’s last Test match was a pink-ball game in Adelaide in 2021 when he took his maiden Test five-wicket haul against England. But he has endured a horror run with injuries since, including further shoulder and hamstring surgeries. On top of that, he has publicly acknowledged that a mental health battle has affected his physical conditioning. He is a different body shape to when he first started his first-class and international career and it has made him more susceptible to soft tissue injuries.He has been bowling without interruption since his return in IPL 2024 but as a Cricket Australia contracted player, a decision was made during the off-season that his build towards a first-class return would be gradual. There was a period as late as September where it was thought he may not play any red-ball cricket before the BBL.But since then he has strung together four List A games, taking 5 for 63, 3 for 36, 0 for 25 and 1 for 19 and two four-day second XI games for WA.”It’s been a little bit frustrating,” Richardson said. “But I was told that at the start of this whole process. I was told it was going to be slow and very purposeful. So we’re hopefully getting to the back end of it now, getting into some red ball [cricket]. Hopefully it’s all worth it.”The second XI returns were hugely encouraging. He was on heavy restrictions in the first game against South Australia in early October, bowling just ten overs in the first innings and six in the second. But his performance against New South Wales in early November has changed a lot of thinking around his progression. He took 4 for 13 from 11 overs in the first innings and backed it up with 1 for 30 from 14 in the second. It was the most overs he had bowled in a game in over 12 months.”To be honest, felt like I was alive again,” Richardson said. “The bones and the muscles were a little bit sore, but that’s a good thing. Means you’ve done something purposeful. Haven’t had that feeling for a long time. So very happy.Jhye Richardson’s first Test five-for sealed Australia’s win in the pink-ball Test against England in Adelaide back in 2021•AFP/Getty Images

“I think for the game, I bowled a spell of six, a spell of seven, and another two spells of six, or something like that. So they were relatively long spells, which is a good thing. I was able to sort of get into a bit of rhythm and feel what it’s like to bowl a long spell again.”I probably could have used another spell or two in there, but I’m very happy.”Richardson is still unable to throw from deep in the outfield due to the shoulder issue but he said it was manageable, while acknowledging fielding was an important part of contributing to the team.He was asked whether he thought he could handle playing back-to-back Shield games in late November and early December, before the BBL break. “I hope so,” he said. “I think I could.”Richardson confirmed he would go in the IPL auction but he did not have a target in mind in terms of his international return.”It’s [on] a game-by-game basis at this stage, especially with this process being a little bit slower,” he said. “It’s just looking forward to the game that I’ve got ahead of me. There’s so much talk about who’s going to be in and out with the Test squad and the changeover of personnel and stuff like that. But it’s not something that I can afford to think about too much. If I put too much pressure on myself, then it’s not good for anyone. So it’s just about playing these games, performing and getting through that’s the main thing for me.”

William O’Rourke admitted being “pretty streaky” and “hot and cold” in the early part of the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru. But having gone for 75 off his first 15 overs, he dismissed Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in three successive overs with the second new ball as India lost their last six wickets for just 29 runs.”Overall, for me, I’ve been pretty streaky, pretty hot and cold with the ball,” O’Rourke said at the end of the fourth day. “Pant and Sarfaraz [Khan] obviously batted very well for a long time there, but that second new ball came on and started doing a little bit for us.”So, credit to Timmy [Tim Southee] for getting that first breakthrough [of Sarfaraz] and then I was lucky enough to get a wee chop on there [from Pant] to give us a bit of momentum going through.”Related

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Sarfaraz, in particular, handled O’Rourke well, picking him for 39 runs in 35 balls and repeatedly throwing him off his lengths with ramps and late cuts. While O’Rourke said he and the rest of the bowling unit could have been tighter with their lengths, he credited Sarfaraz for using the angles and opening up the field.”He [Sarfaraz] played me really well,” O’Rourke said. “With that angle of me sort of falling away, it sort of opens up that little dab shot. Yeah, maybe we could have been in the game a little bit, but he played it so well.”I would have liked to be a little bit tighter. Obviously, one of his strengths is that [the late cut]. So, yeah, I would have liked to be a little bit tighter, but I was missing a little bit wide, and he put me away. So credit to him.”O’Rourke has had a rousing start to his Test career. This is his fifth Test and he has already picked up 26 wickets at 18.84, which includes two five-fors. Fifteen of his 26 wickets have been in the subcontinent. He had an excellent tour of Sri Lanka last month where he picked up eight wickets in two Tests, and has continued his good run in India.William O’Rourke took three wickets in three overs to hurt India•BCCI

“I think we had a really good prep in Tauranga and down in Lincoln,” he said about his success in the subcontinent. “We had a few wickets that were a bit drier than probably what we are used to at that time of the year in New Zealand. And yeah, learning from the guys like Matt Henry, Tim Southee, who have been here before and done it before, it’s been massive for me coming here.”In the first innings here, O’Rourke picked up four wickets, including Virat Kohli’s for a duck.”It’s obviously pretty special getting someone so great, one of the greats of our game, out like that,” he said of the Kohli wicket. “You grow up watching those guys. So to come here and take that wicket, it’s probably right up there as one of the [best] wickets I’ve got.”While O’Rourke has been pleasantly surprised by the bounce he has seen on the Bengaluru surface, he is also loving bowling with the SG ball.”It has got a bit more of a pronounced seam than the Kookaburra [that New Zealand use at home], so it seems to be nice and hard to start with. It goes through nicely and big seams are always a big plus. [It’s] my first time here and [Bengaluru] probably had a little bit more bounce, a bit more pace than we expected coming over here, which suits a bowler like me. So far, I’ve really enjoyed it.”We definitely do our scouting and stuff before games. I’d say at the moment in my career, I’m more of a feel bowler. I like to back what I do, run in and do what I do. But definitely I have a look at the players beforehand, I like to know their strengths and weaknesses. But I think it normally comes back to just being me and doing what I do.”

For the first time in six years, New Zealand’s domestic season will begin with the Ford Trophy, the men’s 50-over competition, instead of the Plunket Shield. NZC announced the domestic fixtures for 2024-25 on Friday, with the season set to begin on October 20 with three rounds of matches in the Ford Trophy. Defending champions Canterbury will play one of the three games on the opening day, against Wellington.The Plunket Shield then takes over from November 11, with two rounds scheduled in the lead-up to New Zealand’s home series against England. The first Test begins on November 28, along with the third set of Plunket Shield games.Likewise, the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield, the domestic one-day tournament for women, will begin on November 16, and will be held keeping in mind Australia’s inbound tour, which will comprise three ODIs. Six rounds of the Johnstone Shield games will be played before New Zealand take on Australia in the first ODI on December 19.In all, 14 venues will host domestic matches across the three competitions this season.”We consulted with the players, coaches and turf managers around white-ball cricket starting the men’s season instead of the Plunket Shield,” Richard Brewer, NZC head of cricket operations, said. “The change will see slightly different pitch conditions for both competitions, which will bring new challenges for both batters and bowlers. The fact the red-ball competition also now aligns with the England Test tour is an added bonus.”Similarly, it’s great to have the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield leading into the White Ferns series against Australia before Christmas, which will allow many of our best female players quality one-day preparation, and a chance to push their cases for selection.”For men, five rounds of the Ford Trophy are followed by four in the Plunket Shield until December 10. The Ford Trophy then resumes on February 6, and ends with the final on March 2 in Dunedin, before the Plunket Shield again takes over from March 5. The domestic season will conclude with the Plunket Shield final round from March 29 to April 1.For women, the Johnstone Shield breaks after six rounds on December 15, and restarts on February 8. The final will be played on March 1, again in Dunedin.However, the NZC is yet to confirm dates for the men and women’s Super Smash, the T20 competition.

“We need to talk about it.”That was India captain Rohit Sharma when asked if being spun out on dry Colombo surfaces to lose the ODI series against Sri Lanka 2-0 was a result of their lack of application against the turning ball. India lost 27 wickets to spin, the most by any team against this variety in a three-match series.”I don’t think it’s a concern,” Rohit said after India’s first ODI series loss to Sri Lanka since 1997. “But it’s something we need to look at seriously, into our individual game plans. We were definitely put under pressure throughout the series. We need to look into it, do something differently, need to talk about it and come back with different plans.”Rohit struck two half-centuries and was comfortably India’s best batter in the series. He provided barnstorming starts to every run-chase, but once the field spread, the ball got older and began to take turn, it became difficult for batters to maintain that tempo. Especially new ones. India’s middle-order were unable to find a way past this problem.In the series opener, India lost 5 for 57 after racing to 75 without loss chasing 231. On Sunday, they collapsed from 97 for 0 to 147 for 6 in a chase of 241. On Wednesday, Rohit struck 31 of the 37 runs for the first wicket before they lost 6 for 45.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Were India complacent?”It’s a joke,” Rohit responded. “When you’re playing for India, there’s no complacency as long as I am here captaining the team. It’s not going to be the case. You come here trying to win every game, give your best and find answers, but yes, we were outplayed. You’ve got to give credit where it’s due, Sri Lanka played better cricket than us.”India lost all three tosses and ended up chasing. In all the games, the amount of turn on offer under lights made batting progressively tougher. On Wednesday, with the series on the line, India strengthened their batting by including Riyan Parag in place of a second fast bowler in Arshdeep Singh.Related

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This meant Shivam Dube had to share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj. Rohit explained the shake-up in the bowling was dictated largely by the conditions, but also to an extent borne by the need to give some of the younger players opportunities. Parag, who impressed in the T20I leg of the tour with his assortment of legspin and offspin, was the pick of India’s bowlers with 3 for 54 on ODI debut.”We looked at the conditions and thought taking pace off is an ideal combination,” Rohit said. “Having said that, we also have a lot of players waiting in the wings. We have to look at some of the guys who haven’t got an opportunity. All in all, we didn’t play good cricket throughout the series, hence we stand here.”Were there any positives?”A few, like how our spinners bowled,” Rohit said. “But even though you want to look at the positives, I feel there are a lot of areas we need to look at rather than the positives. We will go back, chat about what we need to do when we come up in conditions like this.”India don’t play an ODI series until January against England leading into the next major global event, the Champions Trophy in 2025. They also have a longish break and don’t play international cricket until late September, when the home Test season kicks off with a series against Bangladesh.”A series loss doesn’t mean the end of the world,” Rohit said. “These guys have been playing good cricket for the past few years. Yes, we will lose a one-off series here and there, what’s important is how we move on from this and how we can come back.”

Half-centuries from Rob Yates, Alex Davies and Jacob Bethell strengthened Warwickshire’s grip on the third day of the Vitality County Championship Division One match with Somerset at Taunton.The visitors earned a first innings lead of 128 when bowling out Somerset for 284 from an overnight 208 for 6. Tom Abell fell for 61 and Craig Overton finished unbeaten on 35, while Oliver Hannon-Dalby added two victims to his second day efforts and ended with 6 for 56 from 18.2 overs.Yates and Davies then produced a century opening partnership and, despite a mid-innings stumble, Warwickshire were able to reach stumps on 284 for 8, 409 runs ahead, with Bethell contributing a sparkling 66. Overton claimed 4 for 57, but his side will have to bat to save the game on the final day.Somerset’s first task on a morning in which they offered free admission to more than 1300 children from 41 schools across the South West was to score the 55 runs needed to avoid the prospect of following on.Abell missed a swinging full toss in Michael Booth’s opening over and departed lbw without adding to his overnight score. And, while Kasey Aldridge struck a couple of delightful boundaries in moving to 14, he undid that good work by chasing a wide delivery from Booth and edging to Yates at second slip.Somerset needed a captain’s innings from Overton, who survived a confident lbw shout from Booth first ball. From then on, he batted with great assurance, hitting 6 fours, and together with James Rew, took Somerset to a batting point at 250 for 8.When Rew ran three off a ball from Ed Barnard, Warwickshire knew they would be batting next. The second new ball was taken at 279 for eight and with three runs added Rew, on 18, drove at a wide tempter from Hannon-Dalby, edging to first slip.Hannon-Dalby then bowled Migael Pretorius with a swinging yorker, the tall seamer somehow gleaning a six-wicket haul from the bland hybrid surface. Overton was left unbeaten, having faced only 36 balls.By lunch, Yates and Davies had added 25 to Warwickshire’s advantage against the new ball and the pattern continued in the afternoon session as the two openers coped comfortably with Somerset’s attack.Yates was first to fifty off 90 balls, with five fours and a six, soon followed by Davies, who had faced 87 deliveries and hit six fours. The stand had reached 106 when the ball after reaching his half-century Davies was bowled by Jack Leach getting into a defensive tangle.Somerset spirits were raised when Yates pulled a short ball from Overton and picked out Josh Davey at fine leg. Sam Hain joined Will Rhodes and the pair opted for caution in taking the score to 125 for 2 at tea, Hain having made 3 off 33 balls.The final session saw Rhodes explode into action, taking successive boundaries off an Aldridge over, which had already seen Hain hit a four, to bring up 150. But just as the innings was gaining momentum Rhodes, on 36, went to pull another Overton short ball and feathered a catch through to wicketkeeper Rew.With the lead just past 300, Dan Mousley advanced down the pitch to Overton and only succeeded in miscuing a catch to Tom Banton at mid-on to leave Warwickshire 175 for 4.Worse was to follow for the visitors as Hain played Leach to mid-on for a single and Ed Barnard was run out by Aldridge’s smart pick-up and direct hit at the wicketkeeper’s end. At 177 for 5, Somerset could consider themselves back in the game.But Hain dug in and Bethell was severe on anything short as they put together a half-century stand off 102 balls to steady the Warwickshire ship before Hain, on 43, ran out of patience and holed out to mid-on off Overton.Bethell reached a 71-ball fifty with his second six, pulled over mid-wicket off Overton and looked in great touch before falling leg-before to Leach with three overs remaining. Leach struck again when Chris Woakes chipped a catch to cover and fell for a duck.

Essex Eagles claimed their third successive Vitality Blast victory after overcoming Middlesex by 16 runs in their heavily rain-affected South Group game at Lord’s.The visitors reached 129 for 4 after 12.4 overs, with Jordan Cox unbeaten on 31 from 19 balls when a heavy downpour enveloped the ground.Middlesex’s target was revised to 143 from 12 overs – and subsequently 80 from six after another rain stoppage, but that unlikely equation proved beyond their reach.Despite a valiant effort by Max Holden, who hammered an undefeated 41 from 24, the home side fell short on 63 for two.After an initial 25-minute delay due to earlier showers, Adam Rossington immediately set about Middlesex’s bowling in the powerplay with two sizzling cover boundaries off Tom Helm.Rossington bludgeoned his way to 20 before slicing Noah Cornwell into the hands of deep third and the young left-armer, who took 2 for 29, also castled Michael Pepper (23 from 12), swinging across the line.Dean Elgar (28 from 17) was next to depart, with Luke Hollman taking a skier off his own bowling, but Cox looked assured straight away, dispatching his first ball for four with a classy straight drive.Although Ryan Higgins bowled Walter around his legs, pinpoint placement brought Cox successive boundaries off Blake Cullen and he also launched Hollman into the grandstand before rain returned, resulting in a delay of more than an hour.When the pitch covers were eventually removed, Holden and Stephen Eskinazi had barely taken guard when another heavy shower descended and the players left the field without a ball being bowled.The equation morphed into 80 from six overs when the game’s final instalment began and Eskinazi did his best to sustain Middlesex’s pursuit, hitting successive Shane Snater balls for four and six.However, Walter effectively settled the contest by capturing the wickets of Eskinazi and Higgins during his first over, which went for just four runs – and, although Holden kept the battle going, it was not enough.